Before they could dial Valentina, Gabby caught movement in the corner of her eye and turned to see Sheridan running full speed toward them. Sheridan was wrapped in nothing but a towel that she was doing her best to hold up. Her knee was bleeding, and her legs were scratched.
Sheridan, the woman they were supposed to be babysitting, was in obvious distress while she and Markus were arguing about her family. This wasn’t good.
When she reached them, she stopped and tried to catch her breath.
“What happened?” Gabby asked. No one appeared to be chasing her, but Sheridan had been running for dear life. Her hair wassoaking wet. Some of the suds from a recent shampoo were popping in the breeze.
When she’d almost caught her breath, she said, “Someone broke into my cottage while I was in the shower.”
Unlike Gabby and Markus’s place, Sheridan’s cottage had an outdoor shower with a little garden. She must have just grabbed a towel and run.
“Are you okay?” Gabby gestured to Sheridan’s knee.
“Yes. I had to climb up the retaining wall to get out the back. They’re just scrapes.”
“Let’s get you to shelter,” Markus said, standing between her and the direction from which she had run. “You’re safe with us.”
“Thanks,” she said shakily.
In a calm voice, Markus asked, “Are you sure it wasn’t a butler or someone dropping by?”
Sheridan stopped walking forward and gave him a scathing look. “Would I have climbed up a retaining wall naked if I thought they were friendly?”
“Why were you sure they weren’t?”
“I heard someone cock a gun. There was no way I was going to hop out of the shower and ask them polite questions.”
“Are you sure it was a gun?”
“I’m from Wyoming,” she said. “I know what a gun sounds like. Whoever it was, they weren’t dropping by for tea.”
Also, she was a psychic.
Gabby and Markus exchanged a look. They didn’t have much choice. It was either take Sheridan back to her place with a possible bad guy or to the family reunion going on at the honeymoon cottage. No one wanted to introduce her to Phil and Elena, but ex-husband and mom beat bad guys.
In action mode, Markus said, “You take Sheridan back to our cottage. I’m going to check her place out.”
“Markus,” Gabby paused and reached out to him. The wind whipped her hair around as words caught in her throat. She didn’t know what she wanted to say, but even if he was lying his ass off, she wanted him safe. “Please be careful.”
Markus didn’t reach back. Apparently, her mom and ex’s arrival was too fresh for forgiveness. “Get her back to the cottage safe. I’ll be back.” And with that, he was trotting down the beach toward the bad guy. She was pretty sure he didn’t even have a weapon.
Gabby escorted Sheridan to their cottage, scanning the area for danger and hurrying as best she could. Because they weren’t living in a movie, the only place where towels actually stayed up, Sheridan was struggling to keep the towel on. Luckily, it was an extra-large, fluffy one.
“Just to warn you, I have unexpected guests at my place.” She was about to tell Sheridan more, but what was the point?
When she slid the patio door open to the honeymoon cottage, her mom said, “Gab—” before catching sight of Sheridan. Elena’s jaw dropped, and her hand flew to her mouth in genuine shock. “Sheridan?”
“Yes, Mom, this is Sheridan. You know her?”
Gabby mouthed, “I’m sorry,” to Sheridan. To her mother, she said, “Sheridan needs to get changed. Sit tight out here.”
She took Sheridan back to her room and found a comfy one-size-fits-all outfit. “I’m going to check the perimeter while you get changed.”
Gabby could barely believe she’d just said “check the perimeter”in a serious voice. She tucked a sidearm in her yoga pants and pulled on a hoodie to conceal it from prying eyes.
While she was clearing the rooms, Phil found her and started following her around. “Gabby, we need to talk.”
“In a minute,” Gabby said.
