Protector: Doms of Mountain Bend Book 1 by BJ Wane (good books to read for 12 year olds .txt) 📕

she recognized the repair shop’s number. His report of a leak in her brake fluid caused nausea to churn in her cramped abdomen. She was meticulous about getting regular tune-ups, and even though he didn’t say it, her gut instinct told her that leak didn’t just happen, that somehow her stalker had sabotaged the line. That wasn’t enough to take to the authorities, so she thanked him and hung up after saying she would pick up her repaired car before closing today.

Lisa spent the evening on pins and needles, wavering between risking the odds she would stay safe and being overly cautious by leaving town for a while.  She had friends, but no one she was close to and could rely on for help other than Father Joe, but she hesitated to lean on the sixty-five-year-old priest too much. She also didn’t want to worry him, not after all he’d done for her over the years, and had put off calling him with an update about her car long enough.

He answered on the first ring, and she felt bad for making him wait. “What did the mechanic say?” he asked.

“They found a leak in the brake fluid, a common enough occurrence to negate going to the cops again. Maybe I panicked for nothing.” She didn’t believe that but saw no need to stress Father Joe out more than she already had.

“Don’t take the chance, Lisa.” He paused a moment before his tone turned cautious as he asked, “Do you remember much about the night the three teenagers brought you here from your first foster home?”

The unexpected resurrection of that trauma-filled night made Lisa’s knees give out, and she sank down onto the sofa with a painful indrawn breath. She didn’t recall much about two of those boys, but she’d never completely forgotten the one with the soothing deep voice, comforting hold, and soft gray eyes, or the confusing heartache of his swift disappearance from her life. As a distressed, confused child, the pang of betrayal she experienced when he vanished without a word after sweeping in like a superhero to save her had made sense. As an adult twenty years later, she never expected the quick return of those hurt feelings just from bringing up that memory.

“Vaguely,” she replied. “Why?”

“They live near Mountain Bend, Idaho, and I’m sure one would let you stay with him…”

“No, no way will I impose on strangers with my problem,” she interrupted, refusing to consider such a plan.

“One of them, Shawn McDuff, is a deputy sheriff. I know you’ll be okay with him,” Father Joe stated calmly, as if ready for her negative reaction.

Lisa couldn’t imagine the humiliation of showing up on one of those men’s doorsteps all these years later, the once pathetic girl now a grown woman still in need of protection from a cowardly bully. “I don’t want to put someone out to deal with this, Father.”

“I understand your reluctance, but I don’t know what else to tell you. You can’t go off alone, with no destination or plan for the next few weeks. Will you at least think about it tonight?”

Lisa rubbed her brow, hating she caused the worry in his voice. “Yes, I’ll do that and call you in the morning,” she agreed to ease his concern. “Thanks, Father.”

She hung up and, unable to help herself, she padded over to her computer in the corner, curiosity overruling common sense. “This is stupid,” she mumbled, sitting down and typing in a search for sheriff’s deputies, Mountain Bend, Idaho. Then her heart tumbled as a picture popped up, and she eyed the rugged features of the badge-wearing cowboy named Shawn McDuff for a hint of recognition. A black Stetson shielded his eyes, but she could make out a straight nose, shadowed jawline, and sculpted lips curled up at the corners. Thick, muscled arms were crossed in front of a wide chest, and her mouth went dry as she tried to remember which one he was.

Scrolling down, she found a clipping from the Mountain Bend newspaper and read the accounting of his rescue of a four-year-old boy who had fallen down a well. Twenty years and this one is still saving innocent kids. Was he the one who had carried her to safety that night? The article continued on the next page, but it wasn’t the photo of the grateful parents that snagged her attention. Right below the headline story was a large ad by the local school district, depicting their dire need for a substitute elementary teacher to finish the final school semester in the rural area.

Lisa shoved away from the computer and jumped to her feet. “What am I thinking? I can’t pack up and move to Idaho for a few months.” Pacing the worn carpet, she told herself it was an insane idea to contemplate leaving the only place she’d ever lived, and approaching one of those men was out of the question. She barely recalled the only one she’d gotten a good look at before he’d scooped her up in his arms, and, in all likelihood, they had forgotten all about her a long time ago. There was no way she’d impacted any of their lives as much as the one’s timely intervention had hers. Spinning around, she shut the computer down and resumed grading, determined to put that idea out of her mind.

By the time she finished dinner Sunday evening and there were no more threatening messages, Lisa allowed the butterfly flutters of apprehension in her stomach to ease. Her relief lasted all of one hour before a loud thump against her door caused her to jump and her pulse to skitter as she walked over and looked out the peep hole. She didn’t see anyone, only the taillights of a car speeding out of the apartment complex parking lot. Taking a deep, shaky breath, she inched open the door, gasping and