Broken Pieces

by Carla Cassidy

  She smiled. “Thanks, but I’ve pretty much resolved that part of my past. Unfortunately there are far too many kids who are abused by people who profess to love them. You know what they say—what doesn’t kill you makes you strong.”

  Jack reached out and smoothed a strand of her hair away from her face. “I always knew there was something going on with you. I sensed a sadness inside you.”

  “This time when I leave Plains Point behind, I won’t carry any sadness with me,” she said. It was a firm reminder to him and to herself that it was just a matter of time before she’d be gone.

  “And speaking of leaving—” She checked her wristwatch. It was almost four. “I need to get home and check in with Kelsey. She’s babysitting Finn’s kids this evening.”

  They both got up from the sofa. She grabbed her purse and he walked her to the front door. “I meant it, you know,” he said. “The next time I want to seduce you slowly and give you some romance.”

  She gazed up at him teasingly. “Are you complaining about what happened in your kitchen?”

  “God, no.” He drew in a tremulous breath, as if just the memory of what had occurred between them shook him to his very core. “That was amazing, magnificent, incredible—want me to go on?”

  She laughed. “No, you’ve been quite eloquent on the matter.” She pulled her keys from her purse. “Thank you for the lovely meal and everything else.” She started to open the door, but he stopped her by once again pulling her into his arms.

  He kissed her with a tenderness that found every dark place inside her and lit it up. “You know I’m not finished with you yet,” he said as he released her.

  She laughed. “You make me sound like a project of some kind.”

  “Not a project, just a woman who not only excites me but intrigues me, a woman I want to spend time with.” He kissed her on the tip of her nose. “Now, get home to your daughter.”

  Minutes later as she headed home, she realized that she had to take care, that it would be easy to allow Jack into her heart, a place where no other man had been. Ultimately that would be a huge mistake.

  She had no intention of staying in Plains Point and he didn’t strike her as the kind of man who would simply pick up his established practice and move to Chicago, nor would she expect him to do such a thing.

  It would probably be wise to cool things between them, but with the warmth that filled her heart at the moment, it was difficult for her to consider denying herself the pleasure of seeing him.

  The warm fuzzies stayed with her all the way home until she pulled into the driveway and saw a strange car parked there. Nobody was in it, which meant whoever had driven it was inside with Kelsey.

  Fear rocked through her. Who was inside her home with her daughter? She was out of her car before the engine had completely shut off. She raced to the front door, her heart pounding as a million worst-case scenarios filled her head.

  She reached the front door and found it locked and realized she’d left her keys in her car. “Kelsey,” she screamed, and pounded on the door with her fists.

  The only thought that thundered again and again in her head was, what if it was he? Kelsey looked so much like Mariah had looked when she’d been seventeen.

  What if he’d waited and watched until a time when Kelsey was alone, maybe confusing in his sick twisted mind mother and daughter? What if the man who had raped Mariah was now alone in the house with her daughter?

  Chapter 17

  Jack grabbed his cell phone and left the house as soon as Mariah had gone. He walked the short distance to the clinic’s back door, unlocked it and stepped inside.

  He was greeted by a cacophony of barks and meows. At the moment he had six animals in residence: two cats recuperating from neutering the day before and four dogs all being boarded while their families vacationed out of town.

  He paid a teenage kid to clean cages and walk the dogs, but he liked to come in and check things out himself on a daily basis.

  As he filled each of the animals’ water bowls and put down fresh food, his thoughts were filled with Mariah. She’d stunned him. The sex had been explosive and intense and better than anything he’d ever had before.

  He’d been crazy about her as a teenager and he was surprised to realize that nothing had changed. He liked her. He liked her a lot and even knowing that it was probably going to end badly, he was helpless to halt things with her.

  Even now with the scent of her lingering on his skin and the taste of her still in his mouth, he was figuring out when and where he could see her again.

  His fingers tingled as he remembered the feel of those welts on the backs of her upper thighs. He knew the kind of force it took to leave scars like those and it sickened him to think that a father had done that to his child.

  Who knew what went on behind closed doors? It was only years after the fact that Jack had learned that Finn’s father had walked out and left Finn in charge of his little sisters when Finn had been a teenager.

  Behind closed doors Finn had shouldered the burden of being a man way before his time and Mariah had been beaten by her father. Joel had confessed one night that his father had been a wife beater, but nobody in town had known. Secrets. Jack had had his own with Rebecca. Nobody had known that he’d been married to a meth user until long after the divorce.

  He opened the large cage where Rover lay on the floor and looked up at him with chiding, soulful eyes. “I know, I know, it wasn’t fair of me to lock you up for the afternoon,” Jack said to the schnauzer. “But I needed some time alone with my lady and you would have been too much competition for her attention.” He slapped his leg and Rover rose, stretched, then ambled to Jack’s side.

  As Jack and Rover returned to the house, Jack was vaguely surprised to realize he was happy. Since his divorce from Rebecca he’d abandoned hope for any real, lasting happiness.

  He’d been wary of getting involved with any woman, especially any woman who had unresolved baggage from her past or emotional wounds that needed healing.

  When Mariah had spoken of her father and his abuse, she’d remained calm, her gaze steady, and he’d gotten the definite feeling that she’d long ago resolved that issue in her mind.

  Good, because even though he considered himself a healer at heart, it would be a cold day in hell before he took on a woman who needed more than he could give. He’d learned his lesson well with Rebecca.

  Next time he got involved with a woman who had baggage from her past, he’d cut his losses and run.

  Chapter 18

  “What are you trying to do, break down the door?” Kelsey exclaimed as she let Mariah inside. Mariah grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into an embrace as her heart continued to pound the rhythm of terror.

  “Mom? What’s wrong with you?” Kelsey extricated herself from Mariah’s arms and stepped back.

  Now that the fear had passed, anger took its place as Mariah faced her daughter. “You know the rules. Nobody in the house when I’m not home. Who is here? I told you never to open the door to anyone while you were here alone.”

  “Surprise.”

  Mariah whirled around at the sound of the familiar voice. Janice stepped out of the kitchen and smiled ruefully. “Am I interrupting a tantrum?”

  “Janice!” Mariah rushed forward to hug her friend. “What on earth are you doing here?”

  “I told you I had some vacation time coming and I couldn’t think of anyplace I’d rather spend it than here. You know, I’ve never experienced small-town living before. I thought it would be fun to spend a couple of days here with you.” Janice smiled.

  She was a small woman with elfish features. Petite upturned nose, oversized, slightly pointed ears and a large mouth made many people not take her seriously. But Janice was bright, intuitive and one of the most competent people Mariah had ever met in her life.

  She now hugged her friend once again as they returned to the kitchen. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

 
; “Then it wouldn’t have been a surprise,” Janice replied.

  It was obvious by the food and drinks on the table that Kelsey had done the hostess thing. Mariah smiled at her. “Sorry I yelled at you.”

  “It’s okay,” Kelsey replied. “But you should know I don’t break the rules.”

  “If you’ve forgiven me for yelling at you, would you do me a favor?” Mariah asked. “I left my keys in the car. Would you mind getting them for me?”

  “No problem,” Kelsey agreed easily. When she returned from the car, the three of them sat at the table and chatted until Finn arrived to pick up Kelsey for her babysitting job. It was only after Kelsey left that the conversation grew more personal.

  “Kelsey told me you had a date with your vet friend today,” Janice said as she reached for a cracker and a cube of cheese that were on a platter in the center of the table.

  “Hmm, that’s right.” Mariah couldn’t help the smile that curved her lips.

  “You’re seeing him pretty regularly. Is this getting serious?” Janice raised a salt-and-pepper eyebrow.

  “Not at all, I’m just taking your advice and having fun.” Mariah hoped her friend didn’t notice the flush of heat that had to be coloring her cheeks.

  “Good, that’s good,” Janice said. “Has your old friend Clay figured out who spray-painted your house?”

  “No, and I doubt that he will. If it was some kid, odds are we’ll never know.” Mariah reached for a piece of cheese. “What are all your clients doing while you’re out of town?”

  “I’ve set them all up with my partner, who will call me if there are any crises, but I’m not expecting any.” She narrowed her eyes slightly. “To be honest, I’ve been more worried about you than any of my teenage clients.”

  “Worried about me? Why?”

  “Gee, let me think about it. You’ve come back to a house where you only had bad memories, back to a town you ran from after you were brutally raped and found yourself pregnant. You’ve confessed to me that your nightmares have been coming far too frequently and are more intense than usual. And what worries me most of all is that you seem to be handling everything just fine.”

  Mariah laughed. “You’d feel better if I was falling apart?”

  “Honestly? Yes.” Janice eyed her intently. “That would be more normal.”

  “I’m fine, really.” There was no way she intended to confess to her friend that there were odd moments of the days when the sense of impending doom was nearly overwhelming. No way she wanted Janice to know just how hard she worked to control her emotions each time she stood at her bedroom window and looked out at that grove of trees or that she often felt the presence of somebody watching her.

  “I’ll tell you what we’re going to do,” she said, wanting to change the subject. “That’s a rental car in the driveway? First thing in the morning we’ll take it back. There’s no reason for you to pay for a rental car when I have a perfectly good vehicle at your disposal. I’m assuming it goes back to Kansas City.”

  Janice nodded. “Yes, but that’s not necessary.”

  “Nonsense, we’ll make a day of it,” Mariah replied. “Joel, my handyman, is going to be varnishing the living room floors. It’s the perfect time for us to spend some time away from here. We’ll leave in the morning, have lunch in the city and do a little shopping.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Janice agreed.

  It was just after ten when Kelsey returned home, raving about how cute Finn’s kids were and pleased by the money she’d been paid. She was even more pleased when she heard the plans for the next day.

  By eleven they called it a night. Janice was settled in Mariah’s parents’ room and the house grew silent. Mariah intentionally got into bed without peering out her window. She wanted nothing to dispel the warm glow that filled her heart, the glow of her lovemaking with Jack capped off by the company of her most beloved friend.

  She slept without dreams and awoke the next morning to the sound of Janice’s and Kelsey’s laughter drifting up the stairs.

  Joel arrived to begin on the floors, Roger dropped off a painting estimate and then Mariah got into her car to follow Janice and Kelsey to Kansas City.

  Mariah didn’t mind the alone time in her car. She found a soft-rock music station and thought about Jack. It still amazed her how she’d responded to him almost from the moment she’d seen him again. Even more incredible was that she’d reacted to him on such a sexual level.

  If nothing else came from this trip back home, she would leave with the knowledge that she was open to a relationship with somebody special.

  The day was one of fun and laughter. They window-shopped on the Plaza, an upscale shopping area, then found the nearest Wal-Mart, where Kelsey bought two new CDs and Janice bought a nightshirt in a grass green that would only increase her likeness to an elf.

  They got back to the house at five that afternoon. Joel had left instructions not to walk on the gleaming living room floor until the next day. Thankfully they could go through the dining room to get from the kitchen to the staircase leading upstairs to the bedrooms.

  After a dinner of sandwiches, Janice and Kelsey made plans to go to the eight o’clock movie. “Come on, Mom. It will be fun,” Kelsey said. “It’s the new horror film that all my friends have been talking about.”

  Mariah laughed. “No thanks. You know the Hallmark Channel is more my speed. But you two go ahead, knock yourselves out. I’m tired anyway. I’ll probably just curl up in bed with that new book I bought.”

  “Are you sure you don’t mind me deserting you tonight?” Janice asked when Kelsey had run upstairs to change for the evening.

  “Of course not. I love it when you and Kelsey spend time together. She adores you, you know.”

  Janice smiled. “No more than I adore her.”

  By seven thirty Mariah was alone. When the phone rang, she knew it would be Jack. “I’d like to tell you I haven’t thought of anything but you all day, but that would be a lie,” he said.

  “Oh? Bad day?” She could hear it in his voice and it surprised her that in such a brief time she knew him well enough to recognize his mood.

  “Could have been better. I had to put down one of my clients’ dogs today.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said.

  “It had to be done. The dog was old and sick, but that never makes it any easier. How was your day?”

  She told him about Janice’s unexpected visit and their day of shopping and fun in Kansas City. “They’ve now gone to see some horror movie.”

  “Definitely not your cup of tea?”

  “I don’t like to be scared. I’ve never understood why people pay money to get frightened,” she replied. “What about you?”

  “I like roller coasters and mystery novels, but horror movies aren’t my thing either. Now, when are we going to be able to get together again?”

  “It’s going to be a little more complicated while Janice is here,” she said.

  “Mariah, I don’t want to see you just to have hot sex. I’d be perfectly satisfied to have dinner with you, your daughter and your friend,” he replied.

  God, this man was dangerous, she thought. He was the kind of man she’d once longed for, a good and kind man who would make her feel special, feel loved.

  “Maybe we could all have dinner tomorrow or the next day.” She had no idea what plans Kelsey and Janice might be making at this very moment for the week. “Can I call you when I have a better idea of our schedule?”

  “You can call me anytime on any day or night,” he replied.

  By the time they finished the conversation and hung up, Mariah was filled with a happiness she’d never known before. He was seducing not only her body but her mind, and for the first time in her life she found herself wondering what it would be like to share her life with a man, to share her life with Jack.

  “Ridiculous,” she told herself as she climbed the stairs. She wasn’t about to share her life with anyone except Kelsey. She paused
on the stairs to admire the living room floor. The warm golden oak gleamed in the soft light spilling in from the kitchen. This place could be wonderful with a little more money and time invested.

  She’d even thought about wallpapering the old office, transforming it completely from what it had once been to a beautiful formal dining area. It was easy to imagine Kelsey serving one of her gourmet meals in the new, improved dining room.

  Even though it was just eight o’clock, a cloudy night created early darkness. She turned on the lamp next to her bed, changed into her nightgown and then got into bed with the new book she’d bought that morning.

  By eight thirty her eyelids were so heavy she could hardly hold them open. Finally giving up, knowing that Kelsey was in good hands with Janice, Mariah turned off her lamp and snuggled down in the bed.

  * * *

  She was alone!

  He stood beneath the trees and stared at the old farmhouse. He’d been watching when Kelsey and the other woman had climbed into Mariah’s car and taken off, leaving Mariah in the big house all alone.

  He clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides, fighting for control. He hated himself for what he was about to do, but he needed her. He needed her to assuage the pain inside him.

  When he saw the lamp go on in the upstairs bedroom, he knew she was there and thirty minutes later when the window went dark, he knew she was still there.

  Alone.

  Vulnerable.

  Before he realized what he was doing, he stood in front of her back door. He didn’t remember leaving the cover of the trees or walking around the house. He reached out and tried to twist the knob, but it was locked.

  That didn’t bother him. He had a key. He’d found it in the week following old man Sayers’s death when the house had been empty and waiting for Mariah’s return. The key had been hidden under a flowerpot on the front porch. Not exactly a brilliant hiding place.

  He withdrew his key from his pocket and unlocked the door. It whispered open. His blood pumped hot and furious inside him as he stepped into the kitchen.