Marcus and Brent share a knowing look before agreeing. “Fine. We’ll be back in the morning then.”
Chapter 4
Pain is the first thing to pry Hallie awake, followed closely by an urgent need to pee. She opens her eyes for a split second before the light pouring through the nearby curtains feels like it’s burning her eyeballs and she snaps her eyes closed with a moan.
Her head is throbbing. She suspects the pain might be caused by more than just her normal morning caffeine addiction. Everything seems fuzzy and she takes a few minutes to try to piece together where she is. Memories of the car accident and being freezing cold come back to her followed by memories of a tall stranger with chocolate brown eyes. Unfortunately, she also remembers his brown belt that he’d wielded with practiced skill.
‘All men are assholes.’
As much as she dreads trying to navigate out of bed with her head feeling like a ticking time bomb, the urge to pee wins. Opening her eyes slowly, allowing time to adjust to the daylight, Hallie gasps when she realizes she’s not alone in the room. Propped up rather uncomfortably in the cushioned armchair at the foot of her bed is none other than the man of the house. What was his name again? Oh yes. Troy.
‘I wish it were Fred or something gross. I’ve always liked the name Troy, but now he’s ruined it.’
The sad thing is, he looks like a Troy. At least the kind of guy she would match with the name. She’s glad he’s asleep, not only because she wants no part of being in a room with him alone, but also so she has a few minutes to check him out without fear.
She remembers him being tall, but then again, at five foot one, everyone seems tall to her. She can see his long legs are stretched out as he lays his head on the back cushion of the chair. He doesn’t look so scary now. In fact, he looks peaceful in sleep. His strong jaw is covered with a sexy, scruffy beard and his dark hair is cropped short. He’s still dressed in the mint-green dress shirt and dark slacks he had on the night before.
‘Definitely not a scruffy musician.’
That realization actually works in his favor with Hallie. She’s had her fill of musicians to last her lifetime. Then it hits her. She’d hoped getting away from Eddie and the band would help her feel safe, yet the very first people she meets in what was to be her new home town turn out to be in just as an abusive relationship as she had been in California. It’s just another sad realization that since she lost her grandmother, violence seems to follow her wherever she goes.
The need to pee jars her out of her trip down memory lane. As Hallie makes her first attempt to get out of bed, she realizes she’s tethered to an IV bag, courtesy of the needle lodged in the top of her left hand. She’s glad she’d been knocked out when the doctor put that in. She hates needles.
Even though it will mean taking the long way around the bed to get out the door in search of a bathroom, Hallie knows she needs to stick with her IV stand. Pulling it out is the only thing worse than having it in. Pushing the warm covers off, she gets a look at the long flannel nightgown someone had dressed her in the night before. She’s praying it was the woman named Traci and not her husband, Troy.
Moving slowly, Hallie swings her legs over the side of the bed and struggles to push up into a sitting position. She has to rest a minute to let her body adjust to being upright. The pressure on her bladder in her new position has her rushing to find the restroom. The bed is so tall; her feet don’t reach the floor. She tentatively maneuvers her body into position to try to ease her feet to the carpet, but her foot gets tangled in the long IV cord, and she has to grasp the pole holding the bag in an attempt to stop her from falling forward. Unfortunately, the pole is on wheels, and too late, she knows what’s going to happen next.
‘Damn. This is gonna hurt.’
Moving like a ninja, Troy springs out of the chair at the foot of the bed and reaches out to catch Hallie, just before she would have face-planted onto the floor. She falls ungracefully into his outstretched arms face first, their chests slamming together, letting her know her first assessment of his athletic body had been spot on.
“Whoa there. You really shouldn’t try to get out of bed yet. We’re pretty sure you have a concussion.” He doesn’t sound like the devil incarnate, but then again, Eddie hides his temper well, too, when he wants to.
Trying to push away from him, Hallie awkwardly informs him. “I really need to pee.” By now he has her stabilized on her feet, and she’s wondering why he isn’t backing off. With their height difference, she finds herself staring into the buttons of his shirt. She tries again to push him back, but she might as well be pushing on a one-ton boulder for all the good it does. He has his arms wrapped around her, keeping her upright.
They stand there awkwardly until Troy uses a finger to lift her chin so she has no choice but to look him in the eyes. She sees him inspecting her forehead and remembers hitting the steering wheel. “How does your head feel today? You have quite the goose-egg, although it does look like the swelling has gone down some overnight.”
Why does he pretend to even care? And more importantly, why is he in here instead of the doctor or his wife? Allowing her anger to return, Hallie confronts him. “Listen, I need to go to the bathroom, and I’d like to do it without you pawing me, if you don’t mind.”
She sees a brief flash of something that looks like anger, reminding her how stupid it is for her to pick a fight with a guy twice her size. Under the best of conditions he could hurt her in a heartbeat. In her current condition, he could snap her like a twig. She’s relieved when his voice doesn’t betray any anger. “Okay, so you need to get to the bathroom. That’s fine, but you are gonna need my help. For starters, you have no idea where it is, but more importantly, you’re going to need help navigating there with this IV pole dragging behind.” He pauses to give his words time to sink in before continuing. “Come on, Hallie. Let me help you.”
She gasps. “How do you know my name?”
“Dr. Devon found your purse out in the driveway in the snow. You must have dropped it last night on your way here.”
Hallie doesn’t remember dropping her purse, but then again, she doesn’t remember much from that last leg of her journey on foot. Freezing, exhausted and wet, she had had to dig deep to just keep putting one foot in front of the other to try to get to safety.
She’s happy when Troy doesn’t dally anymore. He reaches out to grab the pole with one hand while allowing her to lean on his other arm heavily. They only make it a couple of steps, though, when they both realize this isn’t working. Obviously, his wife is much taller than Hallie because the long flannel nightgown is dragging on the floor, tripping her up with each step she takes. She has to choose between holding the gown up or holding onto Troy’s arm for support.
Taking the decision out of her hands, Troy scoops her up into his arms as if she were a rag doll. “Oh. Wait. Put me down!”
“Don’t be silly. You’re gonna trip and fall. Grab onto the pole.”
And that’s how Hallie travels out the bedroom, across and down the hall covered in photo frames of every shape and size and into a large bathroom, pulling her IV pole behind them. She wants to scream for him to get his hands off her. She doesn’t want or need help from a guy who takes joy in beating his wife until she cries, yet honestly, at this very moment, she wonders if her memory is playing tricks on her. Surely this handsome guy who is doing nothing but being kind to her couldn’t be the same man from the night before.
Troy setting her onto her feet next to the toilet jars her out of her thoughts. She looks up to catch him looking at her. “Okay, I’m gonna leave you in here, but I’ll be right outside the door so shout out if you need help. Okay?”
“I’m fine. You can just leave.” Her tone is sharp.
Hallie watches him closely, suspecting he’ll get angry, but surprised when Troy instead places his index finger under her chin, lifting her face up to make sure she is listening. Hallie flinches away from his touch and Troy doesn’t push her.
The look in his eyes is so intense. His words even more so. “Listen, Hallie. I have absolutely no idea what’s happened in your life that had you out walking in a blizzard in the middle of the night, but it’s clear you need help. I’m going to give you that help, whether you like it or not. So… use the restroom. Wash your hands. I’ll leave out a washcloth so you can wash your face and then you can call me back in. I’ll be outside the door and then I’d like to escort you back to bed safely.” If she didn’t know better, she could swear he is daring her to talk back. She has every intention to. Who does he think he is?
And then he does it. He breaks into a smile that could light up Times Square. The sexy dimple on his chin peaks through the scruffy beard and she suddenly understands what his wife sees in him. Abusive asshole or not, the man can melt hearts.
“Hallie? Will you call me if you need help?”
‘Tell him to fuck off… tell him to fuck off…’
“Yes, I will,” is what comes out of her mouth instead.
‘What the hell is wrong with me? Tell him to fuck off!’
The words are on her tongue when she hears his “Good girl.” Two deadlier words have never been spoken. They are her Achilles’ heel. That’s all she’s ever tried to be - a good girl.
Leaving her in stunned silence, Troy moves quietly to the door, closing it behind him. She barely holds it together, letting loose her pent up sobs the second the door clicks closed. She hopes Troy hadn’t heard her from the other side of the wood. She doesn’t want to give him any more power over her than he apparently already has.
Troy flips the bacon before loading the toaster with two slices of wheat bread. His thoughts are all over the place this morning, remembering the events of the last twelve hours. Is it really possible so much has happened in such a short period of time?
After getting Hallie safely back into bed, he’d retreated to the kitchen to make breakfast, but more importantly, work on getting his emotions in check. First Traci and now Hallie. Both women bringing out the protective side of his nature Kathy had been sure to point out was so 1950’s.
For a while there, Kathy had managed to convince him something was wrong with him for being so behind the times. So old-fashioned as she called him. It’s taken him almost a year since their break-up to acknowledge their relationship’s demise had been the best thing for both of them. He’s spent the last year figuring out what was really going to make him happy in life and his move back to Colorado to be closer to his sister… and Corbin’s Bend… was a big part of his journey. He’d met so many couples during his weeklong visit last summer. He’d learned firsthand that he wasn’t the only one that believed in the power of domestic discipline (DD), as old-fashioned as some make it out to be. Old-fashioned or not, he’s seen it make for strong relationships. On the flip side, he sees examples every day in his co-workers and friends how messed up many relationships are without the kind of structure and intimacy DD provides.
It’s easy to get lost in thought as he puts on a fresh pot of coffee. He’s come to the conclusion that he’s a modern man in all things… except relationships. He works with cutting edge technology every day. The kind of stuff only those with a top security clearance like himself are privy to. He drives a new SUV with all the bells and whistles. Loves to snap up the newest gadgets the second they hit the market. Listens to cutting edge, new music of every genre.
There’s just one pocket of his life where Troy refuses to trade in his archaic views. Plain and simple, a man wears the pants in a family. Troy is more than happy to share leadership with women in all other aspects of his life, spare one. His home. His bed. As he has found, technically that’s two distinctly different things, at least according to every woman he has dated in the last ten years.
He hasn’t found it too hard to find women who like to give up control in the bedroom. Women happy to be dominated into doing all kinds of erotic acts they feel too guilty to admit they love. More than happy to let Troy ‘force’ them to be a naughty girl. Yes, those women he had no trouble finding at all.
It’s the woman who subscribes to his dominating tendencies once they leave the bedroom that he’s found to be a bit more elusive. Not that he blames them really. He knows and works with many brilliant, strong women whom he respects deeply. He really does understand the strength it must take a woman like his sister or so many of other women he had the privilege to meet last summer at the Corbin’s Bend picnic, to follow the lead of their HoH. Strength to walk that tight rope of dominance and submission every day as they go about their daily lives.
Troy thinks back to something his sister had said the night before that surprised… and disappointed, him. It hadn’t really been a conscious part of his plan, but only after finding out that Corbin’s Bend had not been a good singles place for his sister to meet other like-minded singles, did Troy realize he had moved back to Colorado to spend time with his sister here in this community, in hopes of finding a like-minded woman. Finding out his sister has lived here over two years and hasn’t met anyone special puts a damper on his enthusiasm.
Thoughts of his sister are still in front and center as he looks up to see her walking towards him, freshly showered and changed to a pair of jeans and comfortable top. Troy had taken the time to shower and change himself before deciding to start breakfast.
“Good morning, Trace. You ready for your first cup of coffee?”
“I was ready for that about an hour ago, but I was too tired to get out of bed to get up and make it. Thanks so much for starting breakfast. I’m starving.”
“Me too. How’d you sleep?”
“Honestly, not too great. It was hard to turn my brain off, ya know?” Troy sees her glance his way sheepishly.
“Yeah. I had a bit of that myself last night.”
“I just checked in on Hallie. She’s asleep. Did you get any sleep sitting up in the chair?” Traci has crossed to the refrigerator to pour herself a glass of orange juice when she turns back to her brother. “Wait a minute. Where did all of this food come from? I haven’t been to the market.”
Troy grins. “Really? I couldn’t tell.” He lets her off the hook. “I’m glad the storm broke so I could drive over to the quick mart and pick up some of the basics. You know you really need to stock up during the winter. You never know when you will get socked in for a few days.”
“I know, but I was planning on going to Denver today to run all of my errands. I guess that’s out now.”
“Especially with the roads covered. You really need to take more care with your safety, Trace.” When his sister shoots him a ‘yes, dad’ look, he retorts. “Are you trying to go for round two today? I must not have gotten through to you last night about the safety rules.”
She backs down immediately. “Oh no. You got through loud and clear. It’s just gonna take me a little time. You’ve been away for a while, you know.”
Troy plates the eggs and hands his sister her breakfast. “Keeping safe isn’t just a part-time job, Trace. You are the only relative I have left. You are important to me. I need to know you are taking care of yourself, even when I’m not here.” When his sister looks doubtful, he adds on the incentive he knows will hit home. “Fine. Don’t do it for me. Consider it practice for when you meet Mr. Right. I’m sure he would have gone harder on you last night than I did.”
“Somehow I doubt it. Heroes from romance novels rarely jump off the page to spank women’s butts, as much as we readers would like it.” She at least smiles sheepishly.
Troy can’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, well I noticed your choice of reading material while I was waiting for you last night.”
His sister is blushing a rosy pink. “Just great. My big brother is gonna tease me about my immoral reading habits.”
Troy steps up to his sister to look her in the eyes, making sure she knows he’s telling the truth. “I just want you to be happy, sis. You can read or even watch whatever you want. Makes me no difference. It’s when you get around
to acting where I’m going to make sure I stick my nose in. No woman has ever been hurt by reading a racy romance novel. Going to a bar to pick up a stranger, on the other hand, has landed many a young woman in the hospital, or worse… the morgue. Got it?”
He sees the regret in her eyes. “Got it.”
“I’m sorry, but I just have to ask. I love you, Trace, but did I overstep my bounds last night? I know I’ve never played that kind of role in your life, but honestly, it was more because I’ve never felt the need to before. You’re normally so level headed that I’ve never felt like you were off course like you were last night. Did I read you wrong?” When his sister silently looks into his eyes, he pushes her. “Please tell me I didn’t damage our relationship by disciplining you.”
Tears flood her eyes just before she launches herself into her brother’s arms, letting loose a stream of hot tears. “Oh Troy, I love you so much. I know at the time I hated it, but you were right. I’ve been so lonely lately and I was feeling sorry for myself. It just felt like no one loved me, but I was wrong. I know how much you love me and want me to be happy and safe.”
Troy holds his sister close until her tears are spent. He reaches for a tissue from the near-by counter and offers it to her to dry her eyes. “Your Mr. Right is out there and he won’t be happy when he finds out you were acting so foolishly while he was looking for you.”
His sister’s half smile tells him his message might have gotten through. She confirms it with a quiet “Yes, sir.” Music to his ears.
“Let’s eat before it gets cold. Then we can go feed your houseguest.”
Chapter 5
Hallie is stirred awake by the promise of caffeine. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee mingles with the heavenly scent of bacon. Her passion for bacon had not been popular in California. Hallie suspects she’s even thinner than normal considering it’s been days since she’s had a really good meal. The promise of one now has her opening her eyes.
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