Free Reclaiming by Gabrielle Demonico Page A

good second or two, nothing happened and then, the light came on. At the base of the stairs stood a tall, middle aged man. Behind a receding hair line and piercing chocolate-colored eyes he looked at Daniella down the twin barrels of a shotgun.
    “Now here I thought you were that damn mama coon again.” The man said. “Come close. Come on now. Let me see your face.”
    Daniella swallowed and started to walk in his direction.
    “Slow…” he said. “Hands up, where I can see ‘em.”
    From behind, Jett called out, “Daniella! Whooaaahhh!!!” He fell through the window and crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
    The man pointed his weapon in the direction of the sound. He squinted and yelled, “Hey, who’s there? You! You come out here. Right now!”
    Daniella heard Jett stand and straighten himself. As she stood with her hands in the air, the man pulled back the action back on the gun. A moment later, Jett emerged from the shadows.
    “Dad, don’t…” he said.
    Daniella watched as the man ’s grimace melted into shock and disbelief. He dropped the gun to his side.
    “Son, what?” He said. “Is it really you?”
    Jett nodded slowly at first and then more quickly as he walked towards him. Seconds later, they hugged. When they broke free, his father said, “Where have you been? When you took off we feared for the worst and after we heard about the manhunt, we…”
    He hugged Jett again.
    After he released him, Jett turned towards Daniella and said, “Pop, this is Daniella. She saved my life and she’s the only reason I’m still free. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know where I’d be. Daniella, this is my father, David.”
    “Nice to meet you, sir.” Daniella said.
    The man smiled and replied, “No, the pleasure is all mine.” He placed the shotgun against the wall, walked over and embraced her. “Come, tell us everything. Mother almost has supper ready.”
     
    ***
    They ascended the flight of stairs which led into the kitchen.
    “Was it that coon again, David?” Jett’s mother asked as she hovered over the stove with her back turned towards them.
    “No,” he replied. “It was something much bigger… and uglier.”
    “Uglier? What on Earth are you…” she said as she turned in their direction.
    She stopped mid-pivot and dropped the ladling spoon to the floor.
    “Jett!” she shrieked as she ran towards them. She threw her arms around him and started to sob into his shoulder. Daniella glanced at Jett’s father who seemed to fight back tears of his own. After they completed the joyful reunion, Jett introduced Daniella to his mother in much the same way he had with his father moments earlier.
    Jett promised to explain everything over dinner. As they ate over the next hour or so, he recapped all the events of the past six weeks which included his crash, subsequent memory loss, arrest and everything in between. There was one hairy little detail he overlooked however…
    Throughout the entire meal, Daniella waited on the edge of her seat to see if Jett would mention anything about his transformation. He didn ’t. For now, she decided that if he didn’t want to bring it up, then she wouldn’t either. It did seem strange to her but for the time being, she let it go. During a break in the conversation, Jo turned to Daniella.
    “I cannot even begin to tell you how grateful we are to you for helping him.” She said. “After Wyatt died and Jett disappeared, we imagined the worst. Then, when it was all over town that he was the suspect and had escaped… Well, let’s just say sleep was scarce for both of us.”
    Daniella nodded. “It’s okay. I know that he is innocent so the decision to help was easy.”
    Jett looked at her and chuckled. “Well, if everything that’s happened fits your definition of easy, I’d hate to be around when things get tough.”
    Daniella smiled but as she did, Jo interjected. “Well, it’s settled then. You didn’t do it. Just turn yourself in and let the