He was holding her tight as if he was afraid to lose her.
A large fire truck pulled up to the house and the firemen began rolling out their equipment.
Hank went over to talk to them.
The sheriff arrived along with his deputies. They began to question the Brotherhood Protectors to find out what had happened.
An ambulance arrived. There were dead bodies to remove, those men that didn’t make it, and Barrett had been shot, but he would survive.
As more information came to Ellen, she learned Chyna’s ex had come for her again, but this time, he came with his cousins. He was the man who’d attacked her in the parking lot, and he’d somehow found her at the center. He and his cousins had been the cause of the shooting and the fire.
Ellen was distressed to know Chyna’s ex had tracked his ex-wife to their center.
How? And if he could do that, will my stalker be able to find me here too?
Her perceived security here was all about how her stalker didn’t know where she was and how he could never find her here. If that wasn’t true, then was she safe anywhere?
Leah’s reassurances that Ellen would be fine, did little to reassure her now. She was pretty sure Leah had said the same thing to Chyna.
* * *
A coupleof big changes took place the following week. Barrett was no longer their defensive instructor. Another of the Brotherhood Protectors would take his place. Chyna and Barrett were dating now, and Ellen was happy for them, but she did wish they could’ve finished with the same instructor they started with.
She, along with everyone else, agreed that those two were meant to be together.
Just the way they looked at each other, now that they weren’t fighting the urges, it was clear how much in love they were. Chyna would be staying in Montana to be near Barrett and Leah had helped her find a job like her old one, working online from her new home here in Montana.
The lodge had suffered fire damage but not enough that they would have to find another place to live. Sections which had suffered fire damage were covered with plastic sheeting and repairs would begin soon.
In the meantime, the women would finish their program and then head back out into the ordinary world to start new lives.
* * *
Ellen would graduatethe program in just two days. She was going to miss the center’s nice pool.
She was in the pool, doing laps, when Leah came hurrying out of the lodge, looking as if she were about to burst. As Leah came to the edge of the pool, Ellen stopped swimming. “What’s new?” she asked.
Something was.She’d never seen Leah like this.
“What would you say, if I were to tell you there’s a chance for you to be an elementary school teacher again?”
Ellen’s eyes widened as she faced Leah and treaded water. “I might jump with joy?”
Leah grinned. “And that the school is local, here in Eagle Rock?”
Ellen’s jaw dropped, then she said, “I might scream with joy?”
Leah laughed. “And that they are looking for a Kindergarten teacher?”
Ellen went speechless with joy as tears started rolling down her face. “Is this real?” she finally whispered, “Or am I dreaming?”
“Oh, it’s real.” Leah said, nodding with a huge smile. “I just found out and had to come tell you right away.”
Ellen was pinching herself anyway, hard. Just to be sure.
“Thank you, thank you,” she spoke through her happy tears. “What do I need to do?” she asked Leah.
“Dry off and come inside, then we’ll get started on your application right away,” Leah said.
