by K. F. Breene
“But Betz—“
“Adam,” Lump said the name like a command. “That’s enough. Give me the phone. I am going to take Jessica to Willie’s parents. They’ll keep her tonight.”
Adam nodded, the fight gone out of him. It broke my heart.
Lump put the phone to her ear and grabbed my hand to gently pull me up. By the desperation in her eyes, and the intense guilt, she might’ve told Adam it wasn’t their fault, but she was hating herself just as much as he was. I was the one always in peril, and everyone around me thought they were at fault for it.
Was I the only one that saw how messed up that was?
“Willie? Hello, Willie?” Lump looked at the phone, sighed, then dialed. “Hello, Willie?... How are you? I have her right here and she is 100% fine. Fred is going to be okay, too— Willie, now, you know how Adam is. It sounds way worse than it is.” Lump gave me a look that told me to play light of this whole thing. As if I needed that reminder.
“She wasn’t in a puddle of blood...No, she wasn’t. She was on clean floor--… Well, yes, but she feinted was all. Fred attacked; made a mess of two guys’ necks and faces--…Yes, Willie, I know he was trained to protect…Yes, I—William,” her firm voice was back. “You will not be talking to Jessica in the state you are in, do you understand me? Take a few breaths and a few minutes, and call back when you are under control, okay?...Okay, bye.”
Lump squeezed my shoulders. “He’ll call back in a minute. He’s just—well, you know, Willie and Adam feed off each other and Adam is a little—“
“I know. Did Fred kill that second guy?”
“No. Fred knocked him down. The guy hit his head, face first, off the counter. The police think that stunned him—it broke his nose—which gave Fred plenty of time to wreak havoc on the guys neck and face. When the guy stopped moving, though, it seems Fred stopped, too. This is all best guess. He was alive, but losing a lot of blood.”
“The first guy was dead.”
“Yes. Fred wasn’t hurt for the first guy. But Jess, he was protecting you. Fred would never do that to family or friends. He was trained to protect, and he thought you were in imminent danger. Both guys had guns, both had knives, and both had crowbars. They were both breaking and entering. Fred did good. And in Texas, you are allowed to protect house and home with drastic measures—thank God.”
“I know all that. I yelled for Fred with the second guy, knowing what he did to the first. I just—this is all a lot to handle, you know?”
I got another squeeze and stopped in front of Denise, who noticed me and moved in like a mother bird.
“I know, Jessica," Lump continued, "I absolutely know. There was no vendetta this time, though. This wasn’t personal. These guys won’t come after you later. This was just bad luck. Wrong place at the wrong time.”
“I’m tired.”
“Of course you are, honey,” Denise nodded to Lump and moved me toward Tom, who was nodding into the phone. Scotty the lawyer was still standing by, ready for legalities should they arise. His eyes were pointed at the camera crew, currently filming the large white van with a picture of a man hugging a dog and a cat on the side. They were probably trying to get a peek at Fred.
“Is Fred a hero or a villain?” I asked Scotty.
He turned to me at the sound of my voice; Tom and his phone turned away. Must be a distraught William. Not that I could blame the guy. Look at Adam, and he is actually here.
Scotty gave me a once over and looked back toward Fred. “Right now, a hero. Fred was stabbed, so that greatly helps his case--” My gasp made Scotty look back at me quickly—he obviously forgot who he was talking to. He hurried on, taking a step toward me. “It wasn’t deep, though, Miss Brodie. I’m so sorry if I gave you the wrong impression just there. It was more a glance. He handled some pretty experienced men. But he had darkness on his side, and he was trained for this sort of thing, so they were brought down before they really knew what hit them. But men have arms, so once Fred had them down it was harder going. But he triumphed and saved the day. I have no doubt he’ll come out the hero of all this. Him and Mr. Shoemaker.”
Mr. Shoemaker was the sweet, old English butler. I certainly wouldn’t be calling him Jeeves anymore!
“Can I talk to William now? Then I need to sleep.”
“Maybe a little later, dear,” Denise said, heading toward the car. “Let’s get you to bed and you can talk to Will—“
“No. Now. Please.” I pulled away and walked toward Tom. Denise caught up with me immediately
“Honey, Willie is a little...worried. It might be best to give him a second to calm—“
“I’ll speak with him now, please.”
“It might not be the best thing—“
“Now.”
I got a sigh. Denise finished walking me to Tom, who flinched the phone away when he saw me.
“Jessica,” he said, “now might not be—“
I put out my hand. I must have had a murderous look on my face because after a second’s delay, Tom handed it over.
“Tell her no, Dad. She doesn’t need—“
“Hi, baby.”
William’s speech cut off with a loud inhalation of breath.
“Oh God, Jessica, love. How—Do you—Were—“ He exhaled again. He sounded every bit as panicked and scared as I knew he would be.
“Adam is pretty tore up emotionally, but it really did sound a lot worse than it is,” I told him in a soothing voice.
“You’ve made the news already, Jess. I have a picture of Fred up as I speak. Adam was not—“ William’s voice hitched.
“It was no one’s fault. I switched up my schedule—so actually, if it were anyone’s fault, it would be mine.”
“Don’t—“
“I wish I could hold you to make it better, but I’m okay. I’m going to be okay. I don’t think I’ll be any good in the next crisis situation, but I’m hanging in there.”
Silence.
I had a feeling William was trying to stay strong. Sometimes men could be so freaking stupid—it really made their girlfriends work twice as hard at normality.
“Please say something,” I pleaded softly.
“I don’t know what to say, Jessica. I don’t. I’m hundreds of miles away when you need me most.”
“I don’t need you most right now. I needed you most the last time, and you were there. Tonight I needed Fred most. And he was there. God only gives us as much as we can handle. Didn’t you say that? Well, I am handling it, so now you have to handle it, okay? Have a good cry. It’s the boys turn to cry tonight. Lump and I will take our turns tomorrow..”
“Oh Jess—“ William said, finally letting the intense worry out. “I can’t stand this.”
“I know, babe. I know. But what you are doing is important. I at least have loved ones around me. You are all alone. But one week left then back to life as normal, huh?”
“Miss Brodie, we should go,” Scotty said beside me, one hand on my back, one out, directing me.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m on an early flight out,” William told me.
“Miss Brodie—“
“I’ll take the phone, Jessica,” Tom said.
“William, I have to go. I love you.”
“I love you, Jess—“
Tom gently took the phone from me as Scotty was moving me toward an idling car with Denise at the wheel.
“I’m sorry about that, but I don’t want you on camera,” Scotty said as he put me into the car.
“My vulnerable look has worn off?”
Scotty smiled slightly, pity in his eyes. “The strength is showing now, yes. Actually, I want Fred to be the star of the show. If this becomes a high-profile case, then we’ll introduce you to the cameras when you are all done-up. Right now, though, let Fred take the spotlight. Let’s keep him the hero.”
“Not enough room for two. That might be better.” I let him close the door and we drove away from the lights and the chaos. The only things I wanted was my
bed and William. I wouldn’t get either.
”I think it’s time,” William said as we sat at his dining room table around a glass of tea.
He had come in that morning, early, and rescued me from his parent’s house. When I woke up next to him a few hours later I had no idea how I’d gotten there. That was thanks to the drugged up OJ Denise had given me the night before. She wanted to make sure I slept. And for once, being drugged without my consent was not a bad thing.
William spent the morning clutching me like a poor man clutching his life savings. To say he was upset was to say the Titanic got a small scrape from an iceberg. The man was slightly unhinged. But so was I. He was not ashamed to cry over this, and obviously, I wasn’t either. We spent most of the day huddling in each other’s arms, saying little.
It was the evening now. It was time to come out of our shell and rejoin the world. William had one more day with me, then he had to return to work. Me likewise. It was an insanely anti-climactic end to one of the three scariest moments in my life.
“I am not saying that I think moving in is a bad idea, I’m not," I said in a patient voice, "but I do want you to realize that houses get robbed all the time. Just because I’m in your house doesn’t mean that suddenly my bad luck will end.”
“I think it’s time we got married.”
“Wait, what? That doesn’t even make sense.”
“If you were a Davies, you would have our lawyers, our reputation, our connections... You would be more protected.”
“I am not going to marry you for witness protection. And if I’d gotten a crowbar to the head, Davies or no Davies, I would be just as dead.”
Shouldn’t have said that.
William looked sick, jumped out of his chair and smashed me into his chest. I loved his muscles, but they weren’t as soft as a teddy bear.
“I just think it’s time.” I heard the words rumble out of his chest, which my ear was uncomfortably pressed against.
“Not yet.”
“When Jessica? You said eventually. Eventually is nondescript. Marry me.”
“I hate to be the obvious one all the time, but this isn’t exactly the most romantic proposal in the world. I will move in with you. I am agreeing to that. But I will not be forced into marrying you because I keep ending up in bad situations that mess with everyone’s life.”
I heard William sigh. “Look, I’ll fly you out to Paris and propose if you want. I’ll give you a huge wedding in Rome. Whatever you want. Just marry me.”
I tried to disengage myself from William’s stone chest and arms. It didn’t work. I pinched his nipple instead.
That worked like a charm.
“Ow!” he said as he let me go and rubbed his offended nipple.
“Not yet, William. Okay? You can push most people around, but you can’t push me. Not yet. I am not ready. Closer, but not yet. I’ll just have to take my chances for a little while longer.”
“You are no spring chicken anymore, Jess. You are nearly thirty years old. You are plenty old to get married.”
“This conversation just ended.”
“It’s true, though. If you want children—“
I started walking to the door. He caught up with me and hugged me again. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m just—“
“Stop!” I yelled. Tensions were still way out of control from last night. William and I barely had a handle on ourselves; we weren’t doing well with each other. “I will not stand here while you tell me my eggs are old and I better get married soon or else it’ll be too late. I will decide when I marry. I will not be pushed into it by you, or anyone else. Is that clear?”
“Jess—“
“Is it? If you want to keep on with this, I will walk out of this house, into the world, and ignore you for tomorrow and the entire week you are gone. Is that what you want? I am not kidding about this. What you are saying is insulting and degrading.”
William sighed. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Please just… think about it?”
“Look, I’ll move in first, then, if that works, we’ll figure it out, okay?”
He nodded and herded me toward the bed. Back to more cuddling and sleep. We both needed it.
I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I was to stay with Adam until William got back. I refused.
I was commanded. That worked about as well as when I was told.
Then he asked nicely. Nope. The burglars aren’t going to track me down, so there was absolutely no point in staying with Adam. I would stay at William’s, or in the Big House with Gladis.
Finally he gave me one hell of a guilt trip. He couldn’t be the man he wanted to be with all his obligations; it was why he didn’t want to get involved with someone in the beginning. He didn’t feel like a man at all, lately, because I said no at every turn, I made him beg for the simplest of things, and now, when it mattered so greatly to him, I wouldn’t even bend a fraction in compromise. That wasn’t how relationships worked! On and on until finally I gave in.
Oh, and I was given another Doberman, named Ginger, while Fred was staying in the swankiest animal hospital in the state.
Poor Fred—they told me later that he almost died. He was kicked and punched and bit by those trying to get a big dog off them. He was bruised and battered from weapons. And stabbed. Twice. Once by the first guy in, which was nothing more than a gash. The second time when it saved my life. Pictures of him bleeding, red blood on a brilliant white table, flooded the stories. My picture showed up as well; of the girl he saved.
It could have gone the other way. There were some that thought he was a danger to society. A dog that could rip someone’s throat out should be terminated. That’s what they said: terminated. Thankfully, Dr. Phil Blankley was the best vet in the area, some said the state. He also loved attention. He ensured that Fred stayed a hero, and was absolutely no threat to anyone besides evil-doers. He literally used the term evil-doers. If I wasn’t so thankful he saved Fred’s life, I would’ve rolled my eyes.
And here I was, walking out of Adam’s guest shower in my robe, trying not to be late to meet Lump in half an hour. She hadn’t stayed over last night—Adam felt weird about it. He had his buddy’s girlfriend staying in his house, who was friends with his girlfriend, but he felt weird about having said girlfriend sleep over.
I was so, so thankful Lump trusted Adam.
Speak of the devil, I ran smack into him, shirtless. The guy liked to air dry, apparently, so I saw him in boxers and nothing else quite often. Since I no longer had any sexual hang-ups, it wasn’t a big deal, except for the fact that if he fell out of his boxers it would really gross me out.
Then there were the constant smells. He didn’t always smell bad, but I was used to William, who grew up with Denise. Not only did William very rarely ever smell bad, even his feet, but he went out of his way to smell good. Mouthwateringly good. It was just one of the ways that I was spoiled.
“Did you remember deodorant?” I asked as he sidestepped me.
“Yes.” He answered as though I was a nagging wife.
“I am only trying to help you.”
“Uh huh.”
“Oh, by the way, I invited Lump over tonight. If you won’t have sex with her, I will.”
Adam popped his head out of his bedroom, which was the last one down the hall on the right. “Jess, I can’t keep my wits on you if I am distracted by her. You’re a dad-gum full-time job.”
“Then what will you ever do when you have kids?”
“What?”
“Well, you’ll have kids someday. And a wife, probably, unless you want a baby-mamma. So how will you protect your kids with a wife lying next to you?”
Adam blinked at me a few times, then scowled and went back in his room. I totally won that one! It was too easy. He never put up much in the way of an opposition, which reaffirmed what I'd realized shortly after I'd met him. If I was with him, I'd walk all over the guy, then feel badly. This way, I got to pick on him, then test my strength of w
ill against William, who won half the time and kept me on my toes. Victories were always sweeter when you earned them.
I met Lump in a coffee shop around the corner. I was ten minutes late, which she reminded me by saying, “You’re late.”
“Yes, thank you for spotting the obvious. Your stupid boyfriend wanted to follow me here before he went out to the ranch.”
“He takes forever to get going.”
“I know!”
“He loves you, you know.”
I choked on my hot coffee, which was really painful. When I stopped sputtering I met Lump’s eyes, ready for an unpleasant conversation. She had a habit of springing these things on me.
“No, Lump, he loves you. Really strongly. He says it often. Thanks me for bringing you here. For getting you to stay. Loves you fervently.”
Lump smiled—thank God—her eyes going soft. “Nice reaction. At first I thought you might run. But yeah, I wasn’t kidding, he loves you. Deeply. Like he loves Willie. Like he loves his family. You are that important to him.”
“Oh. Uh. Thanks? I’m sorry? Not sure how to take that.”
Lump laughed again. “I trust him. Implicitly. He won’t cheat on me, and if he did, which he won’t, he will never, ever, leave me for you. Ever.”
“Wow…asshole?”
Lump bent over laughing, which made Ginger look up at her. Oh yeah, I took Ginger everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. Dr. George hooked her up with a tag that people with mental issues got. She was a canine companion. I doubted many people got attack dogs for mental help, but I was special. Helmet wearing special, yes, but still.
“He says he loves you to pieces, but he can’t rest around you," Lump went on. "Either you are getting into trouble, getting him into trouble, or bossing him around. I am pretty sure he secretly thinks you smoke crack.”
“Not a secret. He asked me yesterday after I cooked him dinner, made him clean up after, then yelled at him for not throwing salt over his left shoulder.”
“He spilled it?”
“Yeah. Bad luck!”
