Mr. Drake answered, and despite the fact that I knew he trusted me, his face did not look happy with me at the moment.
“It’s too soon for this.” His voice was stiff with tension as he stepped out on the porch with me.
“If she thinks it’s too much, I’ll bring her right home. It’s her assignment from her doctor.”
He leaned against the side of the house, crossing his arms. “No funny business. Understand?”
“Sir, I’d never do anything to hurt or harm Nova. You know this. I definitely wouldn’t do anything to make her uncomfortable. I’m just a chauffeur today. Nothing more.”
I held his gaze until he relented and shook his head in agreement. He reached out and patted my shoulder with his hand.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Davis. You know that, right?”
“I do, sir. I swear I’ll keep her safe.”
“All right then, let me get her.” He stepped inside, motioning for me to follow him into the living room.
“Nova!” He hollered up the stairs. “Davis is here!”
Her faint voice floated down the stairs. “I’ll be down in a second!”
Mr. Drake moved to sit on the couch and flipped on the television, thumbing through a few channels until he settled on an old war documentary. I remained standing by the door, shuffling from one foot to the other, watching the stairs and waiting. Although I told myself and Mr. Davis that this was nothing more than a chauffeur assignment, I couldn’t help but feel like I was about to go on a first date. It was like I was sixteen again, standing in Lorraine Shoran’s living room, being scrutinized by her father. I chuckled to myself at the memory and huffed out a deep breath, fixing my thoughts on this moment. Get your head on straight, Davis. Now.
Moments later Nova emerged, and I had to hide the fact that all breath left my lungs at the sight of her. My eyes couldn’t move away from where she stood. She wore a simple dark green cotton knee-length dress with a slim brown belt around the waist. It was modest, yet beautiful. Her beautiful blonde hair was curled and resting around her face and shoulders. I couldn’t stop my grin when I looked down at her old worn boots.
“You look great.” I stammered, then cleared my throat.
Her soft chuckle brought me back up to her eyes, which sparkled with a glimmer of light. One I hadn’t seen in a long time, the one she had when I first introduced myself to her on the beach.
“Thanks. You ready?” She moved to grab her purse and situate it across her body.
“Yes,” I confirmed, opening the screen door and holding it for her as she walked by me, slightly brushing my chest with her shoulder.
I hurried ahead of her to open the passenger side door of the truck. She stepped up into the cab and situated herself, her gaze catching the sunflower on the dash.
“That’s for you.” I nodded in its direction as I closed the door.
I went around and slid into the driver’s seat, letting out a deep breath, and then looked over at her. She held the sunflower to her face, eyes closed and breathing in the sweet scent of its petals. That’s when I saw it. It was just like the first time we met on the beach. Her smile was wide and uninhibited, joyous. She was happy and in that moment, the weight of the past wasn’t darkening her. She was shining brightly and it was infectious.
“Thank you, Davis.”
“You’re welcome.” I caught her eyes and grinned at her before turning the key and reversing the truck. As we drove by the fenced farmland and into town, I glanced at Nova every so often. She had her head back, eyes focused out the window, with a gentle smile on her lips. I didn’t want to disturb her peaceful daydream, but I had to let her know the rules for the day.
“Nova, just be honest with me today. If you feel like you’ve had enough, let me know. I will take you home. If you feel uncomfortable with me or anyone else, tell me. We’ll work on it. Don’t force yourself to do something that you’re not ready to do. Okay?”
She nodded in agreement, her face falling a bit and the smile gone. My heart ached at the pain she was no doubt feeling and the fear that was rushing through her. I reached over and gently slid my hand over hers, stilling the slight trembles in her fingers.
“Good. Now, let’s get some food.”
I pulled into The Buffalo Grille parking lot. This would be the first test to assimilating Nova back into public. The place was popular, and the lot was full.
“Ready?” I asked, stopping myself from moving out of the cab until she gave me an answer.
“I think so, but…” She picked at her fingers nervously. “What if we see someone I know? How do I explain…?”
“You don’t have to explain anything. I’ll steer the conversation away from anything of the sort if that happens. And we need some sort of signal so I know that you’re uncomfortable and you want to leave.”
“I feel like we’re spies or something.” She giggled a little, and the air around us lightened.
“You should touch your nose or something, and I’ll know.”
This caused her to laugh heartily, and I couldn’t help but grin.
“What’s wrong with that?” I asked, moving to slip out of the cab. I walk around the truck to her side and opened her door.
“I’m not doing that. I don’t know what it’ll be, but you’ll figure it out if I do anything.” Her dress flounced as she jumped to the ground. It was almost childish, in a cute sort of way.
“Of course. Ready?” I asked, securing the door behind her and reaching for her hand once again. She squeezed it tightly before relaxing her shoulders.
“Not really, but let’s go.”
As we walked toward the large stone building, Nova whispered quietly to herself. I imagine she was going through her of phrases, and it was working. Her shoulders visibly relaxed and I was grateful. I pulled open the thick wooden door and led her inside.
There were a large amount of people milling about, I would guess for some sort of party. The very western-style dining room was packed to nearly overflowing, chairs tucked at ends of tables that weren’t meant to be there, kids running around the room away from their parents, and a large group of men shouting a television above the bar. Nova shifted beside me, moving herself a little closer as if to use me as protection. Her eyes went wide as they shifted from one end of the room to the other.
“You okay?” I whispered.
“Mmhmm.” She slipped her small hand around my arm and held it tightly.
“We can leave, Nova. Go somewhere smaller.” I started to turn around, but she held me in place.
“No. I have to do this.” Resolution filled her tone as she refused to escape.
I nodded then turned to the hostess. “Two, please.”
“Of course. Right this way.” The young dark-haired teenager smiled and grabbed two menus before leading us down a long aisle toward the back of the dining room. We came upon a small two-person booth.
“Is this okay?” she asked.
“Sure. Thanks.” I nodded and waited for Nova to take a seat before sliding into the leathery seat opposite her. She chose to sit with her back against the wall, giving her a plain view of the entire dining room. Her eyes darted from one side of the room to the other, assessing any potential threats that may bring something horrible, finding all the different points to escape if needed.
“Nova.” I spoke firmly, attempting to get her attention.
“Hmm?” She said, eyes still shifting.
“Nova, look at me.”
Her fearful eyes turned to me and held my gaze.
“You’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.” My promise floated across the table and she held my gaze for a few more moments before nodding her head.
“Okay.” She whispered, looking down to her lap, folding her linen napkin. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I get it. I just want you to know and trust that I’m here to protect you. Try to push out all the other noise and activity around us.”
She gave a s
light nod and picked up her menu, flipping through the thick plastic pages.
After a few minutes, an older woman dressed in black with a white apron around her waist stepped up to our table, pen and pad ready in her hand. “Good afternoon, folks. Glad you could join us today. What can I get you to drink?”
I nodded for Nova to go first. She glanced up at the lady and her eyes softened. “I’ll have water, please.”
“Same for me,” I spoke, watching the way Nova took in the older lady as she smiled again and set her menu down.
“Great,” said the waitress. “My name is Sandy, and I’ll be your waitress today. I’ll be back in just a few moments with your drinks.”
She stepped away and Nova watched as she ran her fingers absentmindedly through her hair, curling the ends slightly around her fingertip.
“What are you thinking?” I interrupted her thoughts once again.
“She reminds me of my mom.”
“I can see that.” I could also see that as much as Nova was trying to be strong, there was still a lot of tension in her body and she was afraid. I pushed my foot slightly forward to touch hers. She jumped a little at the sudden contact but then relaxed as her eyes focused on me. Her beautiful dark blue eyes, the color of an evening sky, looked directly into mine and I felt my heart pick up slightly, knowing I wouldn’t be able to hide anything from her piercing gaze. I knew my emotions were plainly written on my face, but I kept silent.
Our exchange was broken in that moment as Sandy stepped up with our glasses of water and set them gently in front of us, setting two wrapped straws on the table beside them. She grinned knowingly as she pulled her pad from her apron and held it in her palms, ready to take our order. We told her what we wanted and she tapped her pen to the pad and stepped away.
I glanced back at Nova and tried to move on with some sort of conversation. I couldn’t just keep staring at her all afternoon. Well, I’d love to do that, but I needed to make her comfortable. So that’s what I’d do.
“So, how are you doing?” I probed. She gave a relieved sigh.
“Surprisingly, I’m okay. At first it was overwhelming, but the more I’m here, the more comfortable it is.”
We sat there talking about everything we could think to bring up for the next hour over our meals. We told each other about growing up, school, friends, the ranches.
“So why did you move in with your grandparents?” Her lips found the straw in her glass and she pursed them, sipping the water.
It had been a long time since I had thought of my parents. Those first few years, I couldn’t talk about them at all without feeling angry and hurt over the circumstances that took them from me. As I got older, I was able to look back and remember them fondly. The memories stayed vivid in my mind and heart.
“When I turned seventeen, my parents were killed in a car accident. I was just entering my senior year in school and it was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.” I thought about that for a second, then thought of Amanda. “Well nearly, the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through.”
She reached her hand across the table and found my strumming fingers, placing her palm across the top of them and offering comfort to me. I softly smiled at her and turned my palm to hold her hand gently in mine.
“I can look back now, and remember the good times I had with them, and that’s much better than the anger and pain that I used to associate with their names. After everything happened, Papaw came out and stayed with me in Trunksville for a month or so, but going back and forth to the ranch just wasn’t working for him. So he moved me out of my parent’s house and into the ranch. The rest is sort of history, I suppose.”
“Wow. I don’t know what to say, Davis. I’m so sorry you went through that.”
“It wasn’t fun, but I’m happy to be with my grandparents. We’re very close, and I couldn’t be more grateful that they stepped in to raise me when I needed it. I was very angry at the beginning, and Papaw just guided me through it all, even after losing his son. He was grieving too, but he spent his time focusing on pushing me to deal with my feelings and grieve.”
“That sounds like Mr. Matthews, for sure.”
“Yeah” was all I could say, before reaching down to lift the final bite of my meal into my mouth. Nova pulled her hand back and finished up her drink, waiting for me to finish. I pushed the plate from in front of me and slid out of the booth.
“Ready to go?” She nodded and slid out of her bench.
After I paid the bill, at my insistence of course, we headed outside. When we passed the bar area a tall, burly man with dark blonde hair moved in front of us, grinning.
“Nova!” He greeted her excitedly, moving to put his arms around her and pull her into a hug. I reacted before he could touch her, stepping in front of her and shifting her behind me, halting his movements. Nova’s hands pressed against my back, trembling slightly.
“Dude! Move!” he demanded, scowling.
“I don’t think so.”
“Nova?” He asked, glancing around me. “You okay?”
“She’s fine, we’re just leaving now.”
“Let the lady speak for herself.”
Nova tapped me a little, then stepped to the side. To my surprise, she slid her hand down my arm and linked her fingers with mine, forcing a very fake smile on her face and looking up into the giant’s face.
“Hey, Blake. How’s it going?”
“Great.” He huffed and glanced between her and me. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine, Blake. This is Davis. Davis, this is Blake. We went to high school together.”
I nodded, gripping Nova’s hand tightly to offer all the security I could. If she was choosing to face him, then I’d let her.
“You want to get a drink?” He asked Nova, completely ignoring me.
“I don’t drink, Blake. You know that.”
“Not even one little beer?”
“I’m here with Davis, and we were actually just leaving. It was nice seeing you,” she said, then turned to walk out the doors, pulling me along with her. When we stepped outside, she curled into my chest and breathed deeply. I didn’t move my arms around her, wanting to make sure she didn’t feel trapped. I just let her have this moment. She eventually calmed and straightened herself, eyes raising to mine.
“Good?” I lifted my finger to brush a curl out of her face and sweep it gently behind her ear.
“Better.” She whispered, smiling slightly at my gesture.
“You want to keep going, or are you ready to go home?”
“Not ready for home yet, but maybe somewhere a little… less.”
“Sure.” I moved toward the car, and Nova didn’t detach herself from me. I had a feeling she needed the security as much as I needed to know I was doing something to help. I helped her into the truck and moved around to the driver’s seat.
“All right, then. Somewhere less. How about the bookstore?”
“That sounds fun.” She smiled again, resting her head against the top of the seat.
I drove the few blocks over to the bookstore, the only one in town. We walked inside and quickly grabbed a few coffees to could sip while browsing their selections.
It took a while for Nova to feel comfortable leaving my side and venture out on her own. I stayed relatively close, watching her from a small distance and letting her know I was still around, but giving her the space she needed. She ran her fingers across the bindings of the books, taking in each title and pulling a few out to read the back covers. She’d take a few minutes to read before slipping them back onto the shelf in their place.
I pulled a war novel from the shelf and took a seat in a comfortable overstuffed chair at the end of the aisle and flipped open the pages, but keeping an eye on her as she browsed.
Nova eventually found her way to the seat beside me and rested her feet on the bar that braced the bottom of the coffee table.
“Find something?” I asked, glancing at the book in her
hands.
“Yeah. Seems good.”
“Do you want to stay and read, or head on out?”
“I think we can go.”
“Sure.” I nodded, moving to stand up. Nova’s watched the shelves around her as we walked toward the front, but she halted her movement as the section labeled ‘Science’ caught her eye. It took her a minute of browsing to find what she was looking for, but when she did she smiled and pulled the thin hard-covered book out and tucked it into her arms.
“Science?” I questioned.
“It’s for a friend.”
I nodded and moved toward the registers, grabbing the books from her hand.
“You don’t have to do that, Davis. I can buy my books.”
“I know you can, but so can I.” I shrugged and set them on the counter. I handed the bag to Nova before we walked out, and I watched her smile again, causing my heart do that fluttering action that had started to become a well-acquainted friend of mine.
“Thanks.” She whispered, once again slipping her soft palm against mine.
“You’re welcome.”
“Do you think we could stop by the center? I’d like to give this book to someone.”
“Sure,” I agreed as I held the truck door open for her, waiting for her to situate herself before closing it. I walked slowly around the truck, taking a few moments to remind myself why this wasn’t a date and why I had to relax.
I slipped into the truck and drove us out to the secluded plantation. There were people milling about and I saw a few people that I knew. Knowing I had to be very guarded in my steps here due to the nature of this safe house, I parked the truck in the first available spot.
“Should I stay here?” I questioned her.
“Um…” She glanced around. “I’m not sure. I think it’ll be okay for you to walk around as long as you’re with me.”
She reached for my hand again once we were out of the truck, like a magnet. It was like she absentmindedly knew this was her place, her hand to hold, her place to be, and the feel of her small hand in mine made my skin tingle. Her skin was soft and gentle, and she smelled like vanilla and mint. It was overwhelming. I held tight, giving her whatever strength she needed, reminding myself that this is what she was seeking from me. Strength.
Redemption (The Restoration Series Book 1) Page 16
