“It is fantastic. But that’s not the only reason,” Jessica said. “If things had gone differently on that call, I might not be sitting here right now.”

  I winced. “What a terrible thing to think about.”

  “It’s also the truth,” Jessica replied. “You know that. You have been in plenty of dicey situations over the years.”

  “As unpleasant as it is to talk about, it’s also an important reminder of everything we’ve been through. It also makes me appreciate how lucky I am to be alive.”

  With everything that had taken place in the last few weeks, I felt like life was trying to send me a message. It all began with David’s rooftop standoff. It was followed by Jake Williamson’s death. And now there was this domestic disturbance call that Jessica had taken.

  Was something else going to happen in the future? Had the universe just gone nuts on me? Or had all of this happened to remind me how fragile life truly was?

  Instead of getting lost in thought, I decided to be happy that Jessica was safe.

  “You’re right. Scary moments do help you focus on what’s really important in life,” I said.

  Jessica decided to get playful right then. “Like savoring dessert?”

  “Sweetie, I was being serious,” I said.

  “I know you were. Sometimes, I just can’t help myself. I end up using humor as a coping mechanism.”

  “I understand. I’ve done a fair amount of that myself over the years. I guess right now I’m just not in a joking mood.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “I don’t think fair is the right word. In fact, so many things that have happened in the last few weeks have been incredibly unfair. The more I think about it, the more I want another cheesecake bar.”

  I got up from the table.

  Jessica then put her hand out. “I thought you weren’t going to order seconds.”

  “I wasn’t, but I just changed my mind.”

  “In that case, can you order me another dessert as well?”

  I laughed. “You really do take after me, don’t you?”

  Jessica nodded. “There are worse people to take after.”

  “There certainly are,” I said. “One more cheesecake bar, coming up.”

  “Good. If dessert can’t cheer us up, then nothing will.”

  “Honestly, the thought of eating another cheesecake bar is making me feel better already.”

  “Dessert is a pretty wonderful thing, isn’t it?” Jessica asked.

  I smiled. “I couldn’t agree more. Now, let’s eat.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  When I got home, David had woken up from his nap. We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting together on the porch. For some reason, it wasn’t nearly as relaxing of an experience as lounging on Gavin’s porch. Maybe that was because when we were in Whistling Falls, we knew that there was still some vacation time left. Meanwhile, as we sat on our porch at home, there was a very small window of time remaining until work was nipping at our heels.

  Most of the time, I didn’t let an upcoming work shift weigh down my thoughts. I tried to live in the moment. However, as nightfall came, I found myself dreading the thought of going in to Daley Buzz tomorrow. The crazy part was that I didn’t have a pile of work ahead of me. I would just head in to the café, do a few hours of paperwork, and then make my way home.

  But after spending the last few days in a state of deep relaxation, any amount of work seemed taxing. As bedtime rolled around, all I had to do was look at David to know that he felt the same way that I did. He just seemed more content to keep his feelings to himself than I did.

  I wanted to talk things through. “So, this is it, huh?” I said.

  “Yup. Back to the grind tomorrow,” he said.

  “You don’t sound very excited.”

  “That’s because I’m not.”

  “I wonder why,” I deadpanned.

  “Those brief trips really are something. They are just long enough to make you relaxed, but they are also short enough to leave you wanting more. Much more.”

  I chuckled.

  David threw out his arms. “What’s so funny?”

  “At first, you didn’t seem all that excited to be going to Whistling Falls. And now look at you, talking like you want to go back there.”

  “I wouldn’t mind extending my vacation. Would you?”

  “Not at all. Vacations are the best.”

  “Exactly. It’s just really hard getting back into the work mindset.”

  “I know what you mean.”

  “Especially with a trip that was as short as this one. It was like getting a really delicious appetizer, but then having to leave the restaurant before the entrée was served.”

  “Thanks for making me hungry.”

  “How do you think I feel? I’m hungry for more vacation.”

  “Isn’t that always the case, though? I mean, after we came back from that two-week trip to Hawaii a few years ago, we were both talking about how we didn’t want to leave the island.”

  “I guess you’re right. I mean, who wants their vacation to end?”

  “No one that I know.”

  He scratched his chin. “It does seem different this time. I have zero interest in going to work tomorrow. Which is not a good sign, since I need to be really sharp when I hit the streets.”

  “Maybe you’ll feel different in the morning,” I said.

  “Or perhaps I’ll still be sluggish.”

  “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

  David stared out the window. “I have to say, right now I'm really jealous of Gavin and his wife.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because their entire lives are one big vacation.”

  “That is pretty sweet.”

  “Yeah. It’s magical.”

  “There's a reason why everyone loves retirement so much.”

  “I’m starting to understand that.”

  “You know, you don’t have to be jealous of Gavin and Angela. If anything, you might want to use them as an inspiration.”

  “I have a feeling about where you’re going with this.”

  “Honey, you’ve been putting it off for a while, but it might be time to give retirement some serious thought.”

  David shook his head. “Right now, I need to get back into work mode. Talking about retiring will just distract me from all the things that I need to do. After all, I’m having a hard enough time focusing as it is.”

  “That should tell you something. I think you’re much closer to turning in your badge than you want to admit.”

  “Sabrina, now isn’t the time for this conversation.”

  “Really? If not now, then when?”

  “I’ll tell you what. Let me get settled in. We can have a discussion about retirement later in the week, once I’ve had a chance to get back into a rhythm.”

  “All right,” I said. “Suit yourself.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The next day, it was back to business as usual. A work shift awaited David. Meanwhile, I wanted to check in at Daley Buzz to see how things had gone at the coffee shop over the last few days.

  First, we had to make an unexpected stop. On the way over to Daley Buzz, David groaned from the driver’s seat. Apparently, we were running low on gas. Thankfully, we had just enough in the tank to make it to the nearest gas station.

  A few minutes later, David pulled in to Treasure Cove Gas Mart. David got out of the car and began to fill up at the pump.

  Meanwhile, I headed toward the mini-mart that was part of the gas station. I wanted to grab a quick snack to munch on. David and I decided on a container of mixed nuts.

  Even though mixed nuts were the healthier option, I had a weakness for honey roasted peanuts. There was just something magic about them. Then again, almost every food product that had honey in the title was amazing in my book.

  Much to my surprise, peanuts didn’t remain on my mind for long. When I entered the mini-mart, a shocking scene awaited me. There was a masked man standing at the counter with a gun in his hand.

  The gunman was staring down a terrified twenty-four-year-old clerk who was behind the cash register. The short and stocky clerk was trembling.

  I stopped dead in my tracks as I spotted the gunman. Talk about some awful luck. Of all the times to enter a mini-mart, I ended up walking in on a burglary-in-progress.

  Thankfully, the gunman had his back to me, so he didn’t know that I was behind him. The other thing that was in my favor was that I was a good ten feet away from the masked man. Then again, if I had been closer, and was able to retain the element of surprise, I could have grabbed a nearby blunt object and hit him in the head.

  Since I was so far away, that was too risky of a call to make. Besides, my fear was really making its presence known. As a matter of fact, it would have been easy to just stand there, completely petrified. But if I allowed myself to be paralyzed with fear, I could soon find myself in the line of fire.

  Right then, my survival instinct kicked in. I decided to try and backtrack out of the mini-mart. If I was quiet enough, I might be able to make an exit without the gunman spotting me.

  My plan hit a snag when the clerk spotted me. If the clerk had only glanced at me briefly, it might not have drawn the gunman’s attention. Instead, the clerk stared at me.

  When the masked man saw that the clerk’s focus had shifted to me, the maniac began to turn around.

  Luckily, by then, I was almost out of the mini-mart.

  By the time the gunman had completely turned around, I had started sprinting toward the gas pump where David was standing.

  As I darted out of the mini-mart, I didn’t know if the masked man had taken off following me. I also wasn’t going to take any chances.

  I yelled at the top of my lungs. “David. Help. Now!”

  When David heard my voice, he looked up from the gas pump. Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something to me, I continued my thought.

  “There’s a gunman inside the mini-mart. You need to stop him,” I yelled.

  David quickly opened up his car door and reached for the glove compartment.

  By then, I could hear footsteps behind me. That was followed by the sound of a scratchy male voice.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” the voice said.

  At that point, I had reached my husband’s car. I quickly ducked behind the vehicle, using it as a shield. I was fairly confident that I was safe back there. At least, as safe as I could be.

  I counted my lucky stars that I was able to get such a head start on the gunman. Otherwise, I might have been in deep trouble. Getting caught out in the open with a gun pointed at my back was a potentially deadly recipe.

  Even though I was hiding behind David’s car, I knew better than to let my guard down. In a situation like this, anything was possible.

  “If I were you, I’d run,” I said.

  “Oh yeah? Why is that?” the gunman asked.

  The masked man was so focused on me that he hadn’t taken notice of his surroundings. By then, David had finished retrieving his pistol and handcuffs from the glove compartment of his car. He pointed his firearm at the masked man.

  “Put your gun down,” David said.

  The masked man sounded confused. “Where did you come from?”

  “That doesn’t matter,” David said. “The only thing that matters now is that you put the gun down.”

  The masked man became defiant. “Why should I listen to you?”

  “Because I’m a police detective. And I have great aim. Don’t test me,” David said.

  Rather than following David’s orders, the masked man didn’t lower his gun.

  “You shouldn’t test me either,” the gunman said.

  David didn’t back down. “Don’t make me shoot you. I don’t want to fire, but I will if I have to. And let me tell you, I’m not going to miss. Now, put the gun down.”

  The gunman stared at David for a few seconds before making his final decision. The longer the gunman remained silent, the more frustrated David became.

  The standoff was already tense enough. David just wanted things to be resolved peacefully. He hated resorting to violence. But if this punk didn’t drop his gun, David would absolutely shoot him.

  Right then, David got a bad feeling in his gut. He zeroed-in on the gunman’s trigger finger. It sure appeared as if the masked man was going to fire. David prayed to himself that the man wouldn’t pull the trigger.

  Unfortunately, that prayer went unanswered. The masked man ended up firing at David.

  My husband managed to get one shot off as well.

  The masked man was able to wound David with his shot. The bullet lodged in David’s shoulder. I grimaced as I heard David groan in pain.

  Meanwhile, a different scene unfolded on the other side of the parking lot. True to his word, David had great aim. My husband’s shot was spot-on. The bullet ended up piercing the man’s heart.

  The masked man collapsed onto the pavement. He dropped like a ton of bricks and then just remained on the cement. He was completely lifeless.

  Since the masked man was no longer a threat, I was free to stop crouching behind my husband’s car. I rushed over to David, who had fallen to the ground. David was holding his shoulder, which was bleeding heavily.

  “David, are you all right?” I asked.

  Given the fact that he was writhing in pain on the ground, that seemed like a ludicrous question. But it was the first thing that came to my mind.

  “You need to put pressure on the wound,” David said.

  “What I need to do is call 9-1-1,” I said.

  “Put the phone on speaker and then put pressure on the wound,” David said.

  I dialed 9-1-1 and then put my phone on speaker. From there, I applied pressure to David’s wound.

  A few seconds later, the operator answered the phone.

  “9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” the operator asked.

  “My husband has been shot. We need an ambulance here immediately. Also, send the police. Right now!” I said.

  “What’s your location?” the operator asked.

  “Treasure Cove Gas Mart. At the corner of Euclid Street and Mansfield Drive.”

  “I am dispatching units to your location right now.”

  “Good. Tell them to hurry.”

  I then got off the phone and focused on David.

  “Sabrina, if I don’t make it, I just want you to know that I love you more than anything,” David said.

  “I love you too. But you’re going to make it. You have to,” I said. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “Please take care of Jessica.”

  “David, stop talking like you’re not going to survive. An ambulance is on the way. You’re going to make it through this.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “I can’t lose you. Not now. Not like this.”

  “I don’t feel so good.”

  “David, stay with me. Stay strong. The paramedics will be here soon.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The next six minutes were the scariest of my entire life. I talked to David the entire time. I was terrified that if things went quiet, he would slip away.

  I tried to stay as strong as I could, but on the inside, I was falling apart. I kept telling David that everything was going to be okay, but I had no way of backing up my words.

  He didn’t need to hear the brutal truth. He knew that things didn’t look good.

  Someone had to remain positive. It wouldn’t do us any good if we both let our thoughts get dark.

  The entire time that I was talking to David, I kept asking myself why it was taking so long for the ambulance to arrive.

  In reality, a very short time had passed since I had gotten off the phone with the 9-1-1 operator. I was just incredibly impatient. With my husband’s life in the balance, each second seemed like an eternity. I just felt so helpless.

  The good news was that we lived in a small town where traffic wasn’t existent. The fact that the roads weren’t jammed meant that the ambulance could arrive on the scene in just a little over six minutes. Two paramedics rushed out and did everything they could to stop the bleeding.

  As the paramedics were working, I nervously stood off to the side. When a number of police cars made it to the gas station a few minutes later, I briefly noticed some deputies walking over to the body of the masked dead man.

  I didn’t pay much attention to that commotion, though. All I cared about at that moment was David.

  That said, there was only so much the paramedics could do for my husband. Especially right there at the gas station. David needed to go to the hospital. As soon as possible. The paramedics loaded David into the ambulance and then darted off to Treasure Cove Medical Center.

  I wanted to come with David in the ambulance, but the paramedics wouldn’t let me. I would have argued with the paramedics, but every second was vital for David’s health. For his sake, I wasn’t going to take up any time trying to get my way.

  Instead, I jumped in David’s car and followed behind the ambulance. During the entire drive over to the hospital, I prayed for my husband to make it through this. I begged God to spare David’s life. Of all of the prayers that I had ever made in my life, I wanted that one to be answered the most.

  ***

  When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, the paramedics wheeled David into the emergency room. From there, David was treated by the best doctor that Treasure Cove had to offer.

  I was forced to remain in the waiting room. I understood why. It was hospital procedure. It was also agonizing. Of course, even if I was allowed in the operating room, I would just stand off to the side, completely helpless, wincing at everything that happened.

  I was pretty squeamish around blood. It was actually pretty amazing that I had been able to put pressure on David’s wound for a number of minutes without losing my mind.

  Desperation had a way of bringing the most important things into focus. In times of crisis, it was amazing what I was capable of doing.

  Rather than just pacing aimlessly in the waiting room, I grabbed my phone. Jessica needed to know what happened to her father. I also wanted to inform my parents of the news.