This time, we make love, and it’s slow and sweet. He pauses to kiss me. To run his fingers through my hair and tell me how beautiful I am. He tells me how long he’s waited to be inside of me like this.
We haven’t used a condom once, and when I tell him he doesn’t need to worry because I’m on the pill, he actually looks disappointed.
My thoughts are shifting, and my heart is unthawing. For one blissful moment, I think that this might actually be real. That something good might be happening. Something real and tangible that I can hold onto.
When we finish, he says he’ll make me breakfast, and that I better not dare move from his bed. But while he’s in the shower, I sneak out to the kitchen anyway. I don’t get to cook often, and I want to do something nice for him.
I scramble some eggs from the fridge and then whip up a batch of pancakes while I’m at it. But while I’m on the hunt for the napkins, I find something else instead. Stashed into one of the cupboard drawers is my business card. The photo of me has horns drawn onto it and ‘Satan’ written beneath.
A fresh wave of pain washes over me as I stare at the glossy image. The image I had worked so hard to rebuild. The one I wanted so badly for myself. I thought I could start over again. Come back here and make myself new again. That I could fix the broken pieces of my life in Oak Grove. And not even ten minutes ago, I thought that Justice might fit into that picture somehow. That he might be a part of my life.
But I should have known that this was never the way the cards were meant to fall. Because when have they ever fallen in my favor?
When I look at this photo, it’s all so clear.
Sometimes the past is the past for a reason, and that’s the way it should stay. What Justice and I had before can’t be replicated again, no matter how many truths we tell.
Not now.
And not ever.
CHAPTER 14
Justice
I thought that Ginger was sneaking into the shower to surprise me. In fact, I was certain I heard the bathroom door open and close again. But when I called out to her, she didn’t answer. And when I step out of the shower and reach for a towel, I can see the reason why written on the mirror in big red letters.
Goodbye.
Right next the lipstick message, tucked into the corner of the glass is her business card. The same card I went to town on one night when I was drunk.
It was nothing.
Just a stupid drunken moment.
But I know Ginger won’t see it that way. Not after everything else.
I throw on some jeans and a tee shirt and walk through the house, but she’s already gone, the screen door flapping in the breeze. And all that’s left in her absence is some cold breakfast sitting on the table.
Breakfast that she made for me.
I swallow and snatch the keys to the cruiser off the table. My phone rings as I’m heading out to the car, and I have the urge to ignore it. Nothing else matters right now. Nothing but Ginger.
And if it weren’t the fire department, I might actually be able to believe that.
CHAPTER 15
Ginger
The smoke is still billowing out of the rubble, even after the fire has been snuffed out. If any hope had lived inside of me before, it’s long gone now.
I collapse onto the sidewalk and watch the firefighters check out the building. I don’t need to be a genius to know that there’s nothing salvageable. All of my dreams- and my salon- have gone up in flames.
My chest is cold, and my head hurts, but I don’t feel anything when I look at the remnants of what I hoped would be my new life. I don’t feel anything at all because I am numb.
I know when Gray arrives because I can smell his scent on the breeze before his shoes even become visible. He says something to me and holds out his hand, but I don’t hear what it is. I have nothing to say to him. I have nothing left in me at all. And I just want to leave, but he won’t let me.
“You need to come with me, Ginger.”
This time, it’s not Justice talking. It’s the Sheriff. If I had any energy left to tell him to leave me alone, I would. But instead, I let him lead me to his car and drive me to the station, where the fire chief meets us.
They ask me a lot of questions.
Gray seems to think it might be my ex, or so he says. But when I stop to look at him, he can see the truth in my eyes.
I don’t trust him. I can’t trust him. And he knows it. But he waits until the fire chief leaves to bring it up.
“I didn’t do this, Ginger,” he tells me. “You have to know that.”
He reaches for my hands, but I retreat into myself.
“I don’t know anything, Gray.”
My voice is thin and tired. And I’m just tired. I tell him so.
“I’m done,” I say. “You win. I’m leaving town. I’m never coming back.”
He looks at me like I’ve just slapped him.
“I can’t let you do that, Ginger.”
His voice is firm, possessive. And it makes me angry.
“I’m sorry to tell you that you don’t have a say, Sheriff. So, if you have no further questions for me, I’ll just be on my way.”
His jaw flexes, and his hands lock into fists on the table. I stand up, and he does too.
“Ginger.”
“I’m leaving,” I tell him again.
He sighs and rubs the back of his neck.
“Then let me at least give you a ride.”
CHAPTER 16
Justice
She’s already trying to barrel out of the car when I pull into the driveway of Johnson’s place. But when she realizes the door is locked, she turns to glare at me.
“You can wait here while I check the place out,” I tell her.
“I’ve already been home today,” she informs me. “It’s fine. There’s nobody here.”
I cut her off when I slam the door behind me and head over to the camper. The door is locked, and her key slips in without issue. I take a look inside, at least ten times over, but there isn’t anything to see. Everything looks just the way she left it.
But I still can’t shake this feeling of dread churning inside of me.
I can’t let her go. I can’t let her leave without knowing she’s safe, and even then… I just can’t. Not now. But she’s never going to believe that I didn’t do this. I saw it in her eyes this morning. She’s never going to trust me. At least not when she’s like this.
Ginger has a way of turning cold in the blink of a moment. I suppose it’s her way of protecting herself like she said. She found a way to survive the things I didn’t even know were happening when she was just a kid. The truths she unburdened last night when she was in my arms.
When she trusted me.
We need to get back to that place again, but I just don’t know how.
She’s dead set on leaving, and her mind is made up, but I can’t let her. I glance back at the cruiser, where she’s looking at me with flames in her eyes to match her hair.
And then I walk over to her truck and lift up the hood. I can hear her shouting at me as I disable it, which doesn’t take too long. It might not be right, but it’s the best I’ve got right now. Ginger doesn’t have the money or know how to fix it, even if it is just a couple of cables and a spark plug. And this will ensure she stays put until I can think of something else.
When I let her out of the car, her face is red, and her eyes are glassy.
“You fix that right now, Gray!” she demands. “You go back over there, and you fix it.”
I get into the driver’s seat and roll down the window just a crack before I drive off.
“It’s only for a few days,” I tell her. “Just until the investigation is over.”
The last thing I see in my rearview mirror is her cursing me to high heaven.
CHAPTER 17
Justice
The whole town is abuzz with the news of the fire, and speculation is rampant. People are trying to flag me down left and rig
ht on the way back to the station with all sorts of tips that they think will be useful. By the time I get back to my desk, I’ve got a headache and a half.
I’m just starting to dig into Ginger’s ex when someone else knocks on my door. It’s Kelly from the diner. She gives me a shy smile and asks if I have a moment.
“Just a quick one,” I tell her gruffly.
Her face falls, and I feel a little guilty, but not enough to invite her in. Ginger is the only thing I want to worry about right now, and I can’t do that if everyone keeps interrupting me.
“It’s old man Johnson,” Kelly says. “I was just wondering if you’d seen him today. I was a little worried since he never came in for breakfast.”
Her words send a chill down my spine, and I’m out of my chair before I can even ask her anything else. Old man Johnson is as routine as a clock. For the last thirty years, he has eaten his breakfast at that diner every morning come rain, hail, or shine.
And if he didn’t today, there could only be one reason why.
CHAPTER 18
Ginger
“L et him go, Chris,” I plead. “He’s got nothing to do with this.”
He looks at old man Johnson again and taps his lighter against the chair in warning. It isn’t necessary because I can still smell the lighter fluid all around us.
“If you didn’t want him involved, you shouldn’t have moved onto his property.”
Mr. Johnson glowers up at Chris from his seat at the kitchen table and shakes his head.
“Worthless SOB,” he mutters.
“What did you just say?” Chris snarls.
I jump up from my chair before this can get any more out of hand and try to get the situation under control. Chris’s eyes move to me and flicker with warring desire and hatred. I know that this is it. He’s not letting me go this time.
I swallow past the feeling of glass in my throat and try to smile as I reach out to touch him.
“Let’s just go then,” I plead. “You and me. I’m done with this town. Let’s go back to the way things were.”
He grabs a fistful of my hair and pulls until my scalp burns.
“Do you think I’m stupid?” he asks. “Do you think I don’t know that cop has tainted you?”
My eyes water when I think of the way Justice left. How I thought it could have been him that did this. How I swore I wanted nothing more to do with him, and now the only thing I can think is that I wish he were here.
But he isn’t, and those thoughts aren’t going to help me right now.
“It was a mistake,” I whisper. “Like that waitress. Remember how you told me she was a mistake?”
Chris’s eyes soften with regret, but I know it isn’t real. The waitress was just one of many. It never made sense that someone who wanted so badly to own me would be dipping into everything else that came along, but I guess his ego could never get enough female attention.
And that’s how I know I need to play it now.
“I miss you.”
The words almost choke me coming out of my mouth, but I forge on.
“You are the only one who gets me, Chris.”
“I told you that,” he says. “I told you that before you left me, but you didn’t listen.”
I hang my head in false shame.
“I know.”
He strokes my cheek, and I want to vomit. His lips move towards mine, and I want so badly to close my eyes and block it all out. But before I do, I see something over his shoulder.
A flash of color. My knight in Navy Blue.
Justice puts a finger to his lips and shakes his head, indicating for me to be quiet. He has his weapon drawn already, but it’s obvious he can smell the lighter fluid as his eyes seek out a way to disentangle me from Chris.
Chris’s lips press against mine, and an involuntary sound of disgust rises from my chest. His grip on my hair tightens, and he pulls away to scowl at me.
“You lying bitch,” he snarls.
His thumb grazes over the ridges of the lighter at the same time a floorboard creaks behind us. The next few moments happen in rapid succession.
I collide with the floor at the same time a gunshot rings out. A flash of old man Johnson standing there with his shotgun enters my vision before the room fills with smoke. Blood drips from Chris’s gut and his teeth when he coughs and sputters one final sentence, lighter still in hand.
“Say goodbye to your bitch.”
CHAPTER 19
Justice
“Sheriff,” the nurse pokes her head in again. “She needs her rest.”
Ginger’s eyes are heavy and glassy, and I know she’s in a lot of pain, but she gives me a smile anyway.
“It’s okay, Gray,” she tells me in her scratchy voice. “I’ll just be sleeping until you come back here and do this all over again tomorrow. Don’t need any supervision for that.”
She may be right, but I don’t ever want to let her out of my sight again. Even if her deadbeat ex is six feet in the ground, it still doesn’t put my mind at ease.
“I’d just feel better if I was here,” I tell her. “In case you need anything.”
“I don’t need anything,” she assures me. “And if I do, I’ll make the nurse call you. She’ll probably drag you out of here herself anyway if you don’t go. Besides, you need some sleep too.”
I nod and stand reluctantly. I am bone tired, but I have no intention of sleeping. When I leave here, I’ll be going straight back to town to check on the progress of Ginger’s homecoming gift from me.
Before I go, I lean down and give her a kiss on the forehead, which is about as brave as I’ve dared to be since the incident, but Ginger doesn’t protest. Her whole leg is bandaged up, and it still makes me sick every time I think about the way he burned her. It makes me sick that I couldn’t get to her in time.
But every day she tells me the same thing. The important thing is that Mr. Johnson is okay and that in spite of everything, she is too. She says it’s all that matters, but it isn’t to me. I’ll never forgive myself for not getting there in time. For not thinking of checking Johnson’s house sooner.
There were a lot of things I should have done differently that day, but I can’t change the past. The only thing I can do now is make sure that I do everything right in the future.
“Have a good night,” Ginger says. “Make sure you get some sleep, okay?”
I nod so I don’t have to lie to her and then walk to the door. Her eyes are shut, and she’s asleep before I even make it through to the hallway.
I drive to the construction site and find the place full of all the locals helping out where they can. They might be gossiping about you over their breakfast, but the thing about Oak Grove is that we all come together when we need to.
It makes me proud to call this place my home, and deep down, I still hold out hope that Ginger may want to as well.
CHAPTER 20
Ginger
J ustice has driven an hour each way to be here every day since they admitted me, so it’s no surprise to me that he’s here on the day they finally release me too. I get emotional when I see him walk through the door, and I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t been here. But it’s more than just having a familiar face.
It’s so much more.
I know that when he takes me by the hand and helps me out to his car. I know that when my heart feels warm inside of my chest, there’s nothing false about it. And I know that whatever has happened in our past, Justice will always be my foundation when I need it.
We haven’t talked about it yet, though.
And so naturally, I get nervous when he drives me through town and doesn’t turn off on the road to his house. I don’t know where he’s taking me, and I’m too choked up to ask. But when he parks in front of the old salon and I see all the locals standing there proud as punch in front of the freshly resurrected building, I can’t contain myself.
I turn to Gray, and he looks just as nervous as I do for reasons I can�
��t fathom.
“Did you do this?” I ask.
“Yes.”
That’s it. That’s all he says before he gets out of the car and comes over to my side to help me out.
Everyone greets me like I’m one of them now, and I guess I am. All it took was a fire, and apparently, all is forgiven. Mabel- the woman who I thought would never give me the time of day again- leads the charge by taking my hand and offering to give me a tour of my new salon.
It’s beautiful, inside and out. The space is even bigger now, and I don’t know how Justice did it, but he managed to get the top of the line chairs and appliances and everything.
There are no words that can express my gratitude to everyone who’s done this for me, but I say the only ones that I can force from my clogged throat.
“Thank you.”
After a round of hugs and well wishes, Justice tells everyone that I’m still under doctor’s orders to rest before he takes me to the car.
The drive back to his place is quiet, and I don’t know how to fill the silence.
He did all of this for me, but I still don’t know where we stand. Not until he pulls into the driveway and turns off the ignition. His eyes are on the house, and his grip on the steering wheel is tight. He seems nervous and tense, and it’s making me nervous and tense.
“Justice…”
“I’ll never forgive myself for…”
We blurt out our words at the same time, and it makes me laugh. Justice smiles and some of the tension leaves his body as his eyes fall on me.
“I know I did wrong, Ginger,” he says. “This is only the beginning of the making up I have to do. If you’ll let me, I’ll spend every single day making it up to you.”
My eyes roam over his face, and I remember when I first fell in love with him. Back when we were just kids, sitting under the light of the moon with our feet swinging off a pile of old cinder blocks that we used as a couch.
Drawn to Him: A Romance Collection Page 42
