She bit her lower lip for a minute, and then her mouth slowly transformed into a huge grin. “Okay.”
“I’ll help you move your stuff up there tomorrow.”
“I don’t have that much. I think I can manage.”
“I’ll help you anyway.” I walked down the hall, glancing back as she shut the door. Then I heard the lock click into place. I had to remind myself that this was a good thing. She was staying. That was the main thing, and she wanted to make a new start, set up a home for herself. This was a major step in her healing, one that I had to give her. I hoped I would be able to convince Brodie to agree to the four hundred a month for her.
Chapter 28
Lena
I locked the door to the room and sank down on the floor. My face fell into my hands, and I couldn’t help the tears that flowed beneath them. My only relief—I managed to hold them back while talking to Jackson. I didn’t want him to know I’d been affected so much. What Brodie said had hurt, but I really couldn’t blame him. This was Brodie’s house, and I had to admit, he didn’t have the same bond with me that I had with Jackson. A connection I worried over. A connection I would have welcomed a couple of years ago. I appreciated everything he was doing for me. I only wished I could return the affection that he seemed to have for me. Jackson wanted more, more than I could—or was ready to—give. I knew by the way his green eyes, so full of compassion and concern, drank in my every movement, by the way he spent all of his free time with me, and the way he always managed to stand so close to me whenever he had the opportunity. I knew by the way he’d sometimes let his hand brush against mine when he thought I might not notice. I noticed.
I glanced around the small room. The dark mahogany dresser with a feminine lace doily and white lace curtains in the window suggested that Brodie and Jack hadn’t redecorated this room since they moved in, and instead had left it pretty much the way their aunt must have had it. The bedspread, or I guess it was more of a quilt made up of delicate little squares of assorted pastels flowing together in a sort of ocean wave pattern, gave the room an old-fashioned flavor. It was a nice room, but it wasn’t mine.
The more I studied the room, the more I wanted to move back upstairs and start doing some of my own decorating. I stood, went to the window and looked up at the cottage. Excitement grew inside me with the prospect of decorating a home without Troy giving me grief about every little item. He was always so opinionated about those things. You’d think he’d actually possessed some sense of design, but I’m sure he just didn’t want me to have anything pretty. He would only allow pictures and other decorations he’d picked out. The only thing in our house that had any hint of me in it was that damn picture hanging on the wall by the stairs of the two of us. I’d learned early on in the marriage not to bother buying anything. Troy would only take it back to the store, or if it wasn’t too expensive, smash it in a fit of anger. He once threw a heart-shaped paperweight at me. It hit me in the shoulder and made a bruise that lasted two weeks. I hope the frame he knocked off the wall above the stairs shattered into a million pieces, and that the glass tore the picture to shreds.
The next day, I packed up the few clothes I’d accumulated over the past week and carried them up the steps to the cottage. Jackson, Rufus, and Rosie followed close on my heels. I had to smile; a trio of new best friends.
Jackson stepped in and placed a full bag of groceries on the counter in the kitchen, insisting that I’d need everything in there, and that they were only some basic items to get me started like coffee, butter and bread. “You should probably make a list of things you want or need, and when I go to the store I’ll pick them up for you.”
“That’s really kind of you, but you know, I can do my own shopping. Besides, now that I’m not covered with bruises I’d really like to investigate this little town of yours. Maybe do some sightseeing.”
“Well, here you go.” Jackson handed me the key and stuck his hands in his pockets, taking a couple of steps backward, almost as if he were shy. “It’s all yours. You can pay me once a month, starting on the first of the month.”
“But today is only the eighteenth. What about this month?”
“I know. Look, Lena. We don’t need the money. So, just stay here, make it your home, and start paying on the first.”
I swallowed, not sure how to respond to his generosity. I needed a place to stay. I didn’t have much money, certainly not enough for a hotel or some other place where the rent would most likely be way over what this place should be. He was already giving me a break on the rent, but to let me stay here for the next couple of weeks for free seemed like too much. But one thing I’d learned over the past few days about Jackson Beaumont was that he didn’t take no for an answer when it came to offering his help.
“Thanks, Jack. I’ll find a way to repay you.”
“We’ll see.” He glanced up at the dark clouds forming. “Get in there before it starts pouring. I’ll bring up some firewood for you. The heater works, but I heard from past tenants that the fireplace works better.”
I smiled and headed into the room. It seemed colder inside than it was out. I thought I’d try the heater just to take the chill off while waiting for the firewood. When I turned to ask Jackson how to turn on the heater he’d already gone, so I closed the door.
I found the thermostat for the heater on the wall next to the bathroom. It seemed fairly simple to figure out. It had a switch under the words heat, cool and off. Another switch stuck out under the words auto and on and was positioned to auto. I left it there and switched the other one to heat. I set the temperature to seventy degrees as warm air flowed out of the vent on the floor and the swirling sound of the fan filled the room. After a few minutes, I had to turn it off. The loud noise from the fan became so annoying I could barely think, and I understood why he went to get the firewood.
Chapter 29
Jackson
After getting Lena all situated upstairs with plenty of firewood to last the night and maybe a little into tomorrow, I reluctantly, and with a great amount of self-control, left her alone. It was one of the most difficult things I’d ever had to do, well, aside from accepting that I had to let that fawn go when I was a kid.
I went to the computer to check emails and noticed that Luke emailed the divorce petition and restraining order over, so I called him to let him know I got them.
“Yeah, Jack, the guy played it really cool when the process server handed him the papers, even seemed shocked and hurt that Lena would divorce him. Harington told the server he just couldn’t understand why she would leave him and file a restraining order against him, considering he’d never laid a hand on her. He told the server that he loved her more than life itself, and would never even dream of hurting her. The guy even managed to get all teary-eyed.” Luke chuckled.
“What an ass-wipe,” I said.
“Yeah, a real model citizen. I managed to find some more information on him. He was arrested about five years ago for beating a neighbor’s dog. They couldn’t prove anything since nobody actually saw him do it, so he got off. The neighbor claimed Harrington was always swearing at the dog, and had threatened to beat the holy crap out of it several times. But the charges were dropped after the neighbor admitted he didn’t see him do it and just assumed he had.”
“Too bad they couldn’t pin it on him.”
“Yeah, but just having the accusations on record helps your friend’s case. I’m sure if I had the time to dig further I’d come up with some more dirt.”
“Thanks, Luke. You’ve done plenty. So, now we just sit back and wait, right?
“Yeah, then it’s smooth sailing. In approximately ninety days, I’ll submit the final papers. I’ll get the judge to move quickly on this. He’s a friend of mine and owes me.”
“You’re the best, Luke.”
“Be careful, Jackson, this guy is sly and dangerous. I don’t think a restraining order’s going to deter him from trying to take what he thinks belongs to him.”
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I had no doubt about Luke’s warning. But I did have reservations as to whether or not I could talk Lena into sticking around long enough to be here when the papers came for her to sign.
Having her move in upstairs, as much as I wanted to keep her here with me, was a good start though. I knew she was safe, and I knew she’d heal better, both inside and out if given an opportunity to make a new home for herself. Staying in the guest bedroom of a house with two guys didn’t give her much opportunity for that.
Only now, I had to think of some way to keep a closer eye on her since she wasn’t exactly right by my side all the time. Oh, man, now I sounded like a crazy stalker or something. I was pathetic, and started to make myself sick.
Maybe Brodie was right, and I should back off. Let the woman live her life without me butting in with my two-cents-worth of bullshit. No doubt that’s the way she saw it. Unsolicited advice was usually considered boring and annoying. Brodie was right; I couldn’t keep treating her as if she were some injured animal like my fawn, but, God, if something happened, if that creep ever found her, I’d never forgive myself for not being there for her. Now I was beginning to annoy even myself. I cared too much. I was in too deep, and I didn’t know how to pull myself up and out of the box of emotions I’d created.
Chapter 30
Lena
I awoke with a start. I’d had a dream that Troy called me on my phone telling me he knew where I was. A phone I didn’t have anymore. I had to admit; I was very relieved about that. I knew I’d covered my tracks really well, and that he’d have to do some heavy duty investigating to locate me. At this point, though, I didn’t want to underestimate the power that I knew he possessed when it came to getting what he wanted.
He was ruthless to the core. I’d witnessed him track down a guy who’d owed him money once. I remember being amazed at his persistence and the extreme measures he’d gone through to locate the guy, who at the time, seemed to have escaped the entire planet, not just the city of Medford. So, I knew if I stayed in one place too long, Troy would eventually find me. I took the dream as an omen, and decided right then, no matter how much I loved it here or how wonderful I thought Jackson was, I needed to make this place just a temporary stop. Jackson was a great guy. A guy I could fall hard for if I let myself. But knowing that Troy would eventually find me, I couldn’t risk staying here too much longer. I’d give it a month or two just so I could pay Jackson back for all he’d done for me, and then I’d leave. Maybe continue heading south. The further I distanced myself from Oregon, the better.
When Jackson came up the other day with the divorce papers, I’d almost refused to sign them for fear that if I did, Troy would be able to find me merely through osmosis. I knew no matter what I did, sign them or not, letting the divorce go through wouldn’t make Troy stop looking for me. But Jackson seemed to think a divorce would make a world of difference. How could I argue with the nicest guy on the planet, a guy so determined to look out for my best interests? Jackson had been … well, still is my savior.
Over the past few days, I’d stayed inside and just vegged in front of the TV watching reruns of Charmed and Buffy. They’d been my favorite shows as a kid, and brought some comfort with memories of a time when it was just me and my mom. But I got lucky yesterday when I found a marathon of The Walking Dead. Troy hadn’t allowed me to watch it. He said it was stupid, and asked why I would want to watch a show about dead people eating people. Watching it now gave me an extra amount of satisfaction in the fact that he couldn’t control me anymore. I hadn’t seen Jackson at all during the past couple of days, and I wondered if I’d said or did something to make him not come up and see how I was. It was almost as though he’d done a one-eighty. He’d been so worried and helpful before. So… oh, my, God. Did he pull away because he thought that’s what I wanted? Or maybe he just found someone else he’d rather give his attention to. I knew it was probably better if he did, but for some reason that idea bothered me. The reality of the situation being, I was nothing but trouble, and Jackson would be much better off with anyone but me. Besides, he probably already had a girlfriend before I came along, except he’d said that he didn’t. He didn’t seem the type to lie about that.
I glanced at the window. The sun was out today and spring was just around the corner. I took a deep breath and knew it was time. It seemed like a great day to venture out and get some stuff at the store.
I still wasn’t quite sure about showing my face around this small town, but I’d gone through most of the items Jackson had brought up for me. There were still some things left, but a girl can only take so much pasta before she explodes from an overdose of carbs. Some fruits and vegetables were definitely on my shopping list, and I just didn’t want to ask Jackson or Brodie to go to the store for me. I’d asked Jackson not to bring me anything else. I didn’t want to keep using him that way, especially knowing that I’d made the decision to leave at the end of the month. It was hard to get him to agree, but once I told him I needed to start fending for myself and taking care of myself if I ever wanted to succeed in this new life he seemed so hell bent on me having, he backed down. Well, I didn’t really say it that way, but I wanted to just so I could get it through his gorgeous skull that I didn’t need any more of his help. He’d been coming on a little too strong. Not to the point that I didn’t like it, I did like it, too much, and that was the problem. It appeared that he’d backed so far away now though I’d never see him. In fact, being up here by myself made me realize just how much I really did miss his company. Another reason I needed to leave.
I stood in the bathroom hardly recognizing the girl in the mirror. I still wasn’t used to the blonde hair. I missed my long, dark auburn shade, and I didn’t care much for the dark roots that were already visible only after a little over two weeks. I didn’t know how I’d make it a whole month without a touch up. I might need to go see Leslie sooner than that, but I knew that would cost money, and I didn’t start working at the bar until next Monday. I wanted to wait until all the bruising on my face went completely away before I started working. No matter how much Jackson said he liked the color of my hair, I still thought it made me look a little washed out and fake. I had to admit it did make me look completely different though, and might just help keep Troy from finding me.
I got dressed, and put on a bit of make-up; managing to cover almost all of the bruising that was mostly a yellowish color now, but still visible. Maybe I could start working at the bar sooner. Jackson mentioned that he wanted me to start on a slow night though, and since today was Friday, I’d most likely still need to wait until Monday. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, which showed the dark roots at the hairline of my forehead, so I quickly took that out. God, I hated this. Maybe bangs? Nah. I hated those too. Then I’d always need to have them cut. I was a simple girl and hated the idea of “needing” to go have my hair done all the time. Only, I knew the blonde hair was a necessary evil, one that just might save my life.
I grabbed my keys and went out onto the landing. I turned to lock the door, making sure it was secure by pulling on it, and then headed down to my car. Jackson stood at the bottom of the stairs, one foot on the first step as if he’d been on his way up. My heart danced a little and my stomach did a little flippity flop at the sight of his gorgeous face.
Chapter 31
Jackson
Wow, I didn’t realize how much I’d actually missed watching Lena’s pretty face heal. She just got more beautiful every day.
We both kind of just stood there staring at each other for a few minutes until she finally said, “Jackson.” My name sounded like sweet music flowing from her lips.
“Hi.”
“Hi,” she said, walking down toward me.
“Where are you going?” Okay, even I thought that sounded a little too nosy, but I couldn’t help myself. She was so fragile still.
“Um …”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.” I took my foot off the step, feeling like a fool. I’
d wanted to see her so badly, and I couldn’t stand to stay away for one more second. I’d never dreamed that she’d be taking off to go somewhere.
“No, no, you’re not prying at all. I’m going to the store for some fruit. There are only so many potatoes and pasta dishes a girl can handle. After a while, she starts to bloat.” She laughed at her little joke, but now I felt horrible about leaving her up there with nothing but carbohydrates for three days.
“Sorry, I uh ... I should have been more considerate.” What the hell was wrong with me? I was acting like I hadn’t spoken to a woman in a year.
She smiled. “No worries. I’m just going to drive over to the grocery store.”
She walked passed me, and her scent had me entranced as I blurted out, “Want me to drive you?”
She paused, looking at me over her shoulder. “No. That’s okay. I think it’s time I start figuring out how to get around in this town on my own.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Thanks, though.” She got in her car and started the engine but didn’t go anywhere. She rolled down her window. “Jack?”
“Yeah.” I hurried over to her car.
“How do I get to the store?”
We both broke out in laughter at that.
“Why don’t I just hop in and go with you this time?”
She sighed, and I could tell she really wanted to try to do it on her own, but realized she couldn’t yet. “Well, okay. This time.”
I practically ran, sliding into the passenger side and buckled up. I glanced over at her smiling face. “I’m sure there will be plenty of other times in the future for you to proclaim your independence.” I don’t know why I said that. The smile on her face changed to a frown, and I instantly regretted the comment.
Beautifully Wounded (The Beaumont Brothers) Page 12
