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She was still crying when she walked through the shanty door. Thankfully Gramps had already put Danny to bed. Gramps jumped up from his recliner, and he pulled her down to the sofa next to him.

“What happened, Mimi?” he asked tersely.

She kept her hand on her aching jaw and told him what had just occurred.

Gramps immediately called the police. He then went into the kitchen and returned with a bag of frozen peas. He stood in front of her, his eyes filled with both a blazing anger and a wealth of concern. “Let me see,” he said tersely.

She slowly pulled her hand away from her jaw.

Gramps cursed under his breath. “Here, take this,” he said and handed her the peas. “Hold it against your jaw.”

Gingerly she held the cold bag against the throbbing wound. The coolness helped some but not much. The pain shot from her jaw to the very top of her head. She closed her eyes for a long moment and then once again looked at her grandfather.

“I think you need to take some time off work,” he said. “I don’t want you walking in the swamp all alone anymore until we know who is doing this to you.” He sat on the sofa next to her. “We have enough money, Mimi. We don’t need your paychecks. We’ll get by just fine.” He reached out and grabbed her hand, the grasp warm and familiar. “Who knows what this monster might do next? You are too precious to me for you to take chances by walking home alone from work.”

“But I need to contribute,” she said amid tears.

“You mostly use your checks to buy Danny toys, and the boy has more than enough toys. We’ll be fine if you take some time off,” Gramps said firmly. “Don’t fight me on this one, baby girl.”

“I have no fight left in me right now. I have to admit the thought of never walking alone in the swamp is appealing right now,” she replied tremulously. “I’ll go back to work as soon as Beau catches the man and throws him in jail.”

“That’s what I want to hear,” Gramps replied.

It wasn’t long before Beau arrived with two of his officers. He listened to what had happened, his expression grim. “This is a whole different kind of crime,” he said. “This is an assault.”

“I’d like to assault somebody right about now,” Gramps said angrily. “I’d like to take my gun and scare the hell out of all those men.”

“Now, Jacob, don’t you go getting yourself in trouble,” Beau said with a warning look at the older man. “I have enough problems on my hand without you adding to it.” He turned and looked back at Mimi. “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

She released a deep sigh. “No, I think I’ve told you everything.”

“Same suspects?” he asked.

She nodded. “Same suspects,” she replied. “I wish I would have recognized him. He said he was the man I belonged to.” Icy fear filled her veins.

“I’ll check the men’s alibis and see what I can find out,” Beau said. “In the meantime, can you tell me where you were on the path when you were attacked?”

She gave him an approximate location, and then the three lawmen left with Beau promising to stay in touch.

Once they were gone, she called each of her friends and told them not to come around for a while. They were all dismayed by her decision but agreed to her wish for some time and space.

After those calls were made, she called Max and told him she was taking a hiatus from work starting immediately. She explained to him what was going on, and he told her to take all the time she needed, that her job would be waiting for her whenever her issues were resolved.

She had to admit she was relieved at the thought of not working and walking alone in the swamp for a while. She didn’t want to take the chance of another encounter. One of those men were capable of hurting her. Who knew what might happen next?

She decided to call it a night. She was still thoroughly shaken up, and the whole left side of her face hurt.

Gramps eyed her worriedly as she stood from the sofa. “Is there anything I can do for you, baby girl?” he asked softly.

“No, thanks, Gramps. I just need a good night’s sleep.”

“That jaw is going to hurt for some days to come,” he replied. “It’s already turning a deep purple.”

“Great,” she replied dryly. The pain still radiated up the side of her face, creating a headache that pounded at her temples.

“I wish there was something I could do for you, Mimi.” Gramps’s voice was full of sympathy. “I hope like hell that Beau finds out who did this to you. I’m glad you’ve stopped those men from coming over here. I’ll not have my house open to somebody who could do something like this to you.”

“Thanks, Gramps.” She picked up the bag of peas from the sofa and tossed it to him. “I’ll be just fine.” With that, she turned and went into her bedroom.