Despite the pain, she shook her head. Carl will know they’re here… what about the police?
It was almost like he heard her. “Julie has already given a statement to the police about what happened – she insisted on it. They got in touch with the police in Kansas City about you taking Sonia and so far, the word back from them is that there is a clear history of the domestic abuse you and Sonia suffered. The general feeling in both police departments is that nobody wants to see you spend even one minute in jail for protecting yourself and Sonia and Julie. We’ll see what the lawyers decide, but the way it looks right now, you’ll have a suspended sentence of some kind and some community service.”
He paused. She knew there was more.
“The cops in Kansas went to Carl’s place and they found a note.” Phil hesitated. “In it he – he said that he knew where you were, and he was going to force you to tell him where Sonia was, if she wasn’t with you. Then he was going to kill you. Then her. And your Mom, if you were together.” Phil held her gaze. “Then he was going to take his own life.”
She closed her eyes with relief that his plans hadn’t been carried out. Thank God. Thank God I was strong enough to stop him this time.
He saw her tears and he gently wiped them away. “Now. I want you to get some more rest. You have a long road to recovery ahead of you, and you need your strength.”
She tightened her hold on his hand and stared at him.
“Yes, babe. Of course I’ll stay.”
She sighed.
“Sleep.”
**
Two days later, Vicky woke up at about seven o’clock. She blinked, trying to figure out where she was. Then she remembered.
She lay for a minute, looking at Phil sleeping in the chair next to her bed. He looked exhausted and terrible, but he was hands-down the most handsome, kindest, sexiest man she had ever laid eyes on. She smiled, glad that she was being given the chance in her life to truly love a man and to be loved in return.
The door opened and she turned. Opal was standing there; she was smaller somehow, and older. Even her bright makeup and orange voluminous dress seemed wilted and tired.
“Oh, Vicky.” She kept her voice low to not wake up Phil. “I am so sorry this happened to you.” She crossed the room and gently took Vicky’s hand. “How are you doing?”
“OK,” Vicky said. She swallowed hard.
Opal poured her some water and Vicky took a few sips.
“Thank you.”
Opal sat down in the other chair. “Hon, I told you the next time a man laid a hand on you, you were to hit him with a frying pan. I did not say to shoot him.” She shook her head. “That was a bit too enthusiastic, don’t you think? A bit over the top?”
Vicky stared at her and was astonished to feel laughter bubbling up in her chest. She giggled and Opal joined in; they clasped hands and rocked back and forth, fighting to keep quiet.
Opal wiped the tears from her eyes. “Well. You did it.”
“Did what?”
“You got away from him – for good, this time. You’re free, hon. Completely, totally, one hundred percent free.”
Was she? Vicky thought about that. Maybe she was, in some ways, but she had lived looking over her shoulder for so long, she didn’t know how to live any other way at this point. That wasn’t freedom, was it? Living in fear? Could she learn to live with her eyes turned forward, not back? She didn’t know, but she knew she was willing to try. She’d need some help, though.
Opal ran her fingers over Vicky’s hand. “So. What will you do now?”
“Start again. Again. With my daughter this time – and with Phil.”
They both looked at him.
“Sounds like a plan,” Opal said.
“Yes. It’s enough for getting on with, at least for now.”
Vicky smiled, the first genuine smile she’d given since Carl had found her. Maybe she’d be OK, this time. For real.
Chapter Nine
Four months later
Vicky stood on the steps of the main building and watched Phil and Sonia walk up the dirt road from the stables. Sonia was glowing and talking a mile a minute, her hands going everywhere. Phil was nodding and looking mightily amused.
Sonia spotted her. “Mommy!”
“Hi, sweet pea.”
Her daughter ran up the stairs to her and Vicky bent down to accept a hug. She buried her face in Sonia’s dark curls and breathed in her scent. She hadn’t finished being grateful for the gift of being able to do this every day; she wasn’t sure she’d ever stop.
Phil watched them hug and smiled. Seeing Vicky with Sonia these past few months had been some of the happiest moments in the whole of his life: the love between them was something he’d never seen or felt from his own mother, and he rejoiced for Vicky and Sonia to have it back in their lives.
His eyes met Vicky’s and they smiled at each other.
“How are you today, babe?” he asked.
“Good.”
“Mommy! Mommy! Jake and Julie want to take me for ice cream in town. Can I go? Please?”
“Sure you can, sweetie. Go to the bathroom first, OK?”
Sonia dashed off to the apartment and the adults watched her go.
Phil kissed Vicky. “How was it this morning?”
“Good,” she said. “Francine is great.”
Phil nodded. Vicky had been in therapy ever since she left the hospital, and even though he’d never been to a therapist himself, he knew from his experiences in AA the benefits of talking openly about things. It was, in fact, AA and Kimana who had pulled him through these past few months: he had been so overwhelmed with rage and guilt and helplessness after Vicky’s horrifying attack that he had been afraid of relapsing.
They were both better now, though. Vicky’s nightmares had almost gone, and he was steady again, back in control of himself. Seeing Francine twice a week was good for Vicky; having Sonia here with her was better.
Sonia dashed around the corner of the main building. Her cheeks were rosy and her brown eyes brilliant and she looked like the happiest child in the world. She skidded to a stop. “Jake said I was to wait here for them.”
Vicky nodded. The door behind them opened and Julie came out on the porch with Annabeth Wheeler.
“Hello, Ms. Wheeler,” Vicky said.
“Annabeth, please,” the woman said, tucking her blonde hair back over her ears. “Anyone who calls me up out of the blue and offers to take me for coffee calls me by my first name!” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her blue eyes. “I am still so, so happy you got the job here, Vicky.”
“You helped,” Vicky said simply. “You helped with my research and preparation for the interview.”
Annabeth waved a hand. “It was my pleasure.” She glanced at Phil. “Nice to see you again, too.”
“Ma’am,” Phil said, nodding.
Sonia was dancing on the spot this whole time, trying to not burst. She knew not to interrupt the grownups, but she heard the siren call of ice cream and when you’re six years old, that is something very hard to ignore.
Julie noticed Sonia’s excitement and she grinned at the little girl.
“Your Mom said it was OK that we take you for ice cream?”
“Yes!”
“Alright. Where’s Jake?”
Sonia pointed to the stables.
“How about we drive down and pick him up on the way past?”
“OK.”
Julie smiled at Vicky. “You doing OK?”
“Oh, yes.”
“So, we’re off. I figure we’ll be back in about three hours, since Jake needs to pick up a few things while we’re in Clarity.”
“No problem,” Vicky said. “Thanks for taking her.”
“Our pleasure.” She took Sonia’s hand and beamed down at her. “
OK. Ready?”
“Yes!”
Julie smiled at Annabeth. “See you later, Anna. Good luck with your writing.”
“Oh, Lord,” Annabeth said. “Luck, I need.”
“Writer’s block?” Vicky said.
“More like writer’s ten-mile-high-wall-of-sheer-granite block.”
“That good, huh?” Phil asked.
They all laughed and then Sonia and Julie headed for the staff parking lot, while Annabeth returned to her cabin.
Vicky and Phil waved as Julie and Sonia went by in the car, and watched as Jake climbed in at the bottom of the hill.
Vicky turned to Phil. “You want some iced tea?”
“I do,” he said.
“Well, I just made some fresh, back at my place. Come on.”
They walked around the main building to the private staff entrance and down the hall to the apartment Vicky and Sonia shared. It was bigger than the first one she’d stayed in, but just as bright and warm. Julie, Jake and Mattie had converted the small office in to a bedroom for Sonia while Vicky was still in the hospital recovering, and Sonia adored it.
Phil sat on the sofa and looked at Vicky as she bustled around the kitchen. She was bright and beautiful, and he just loved to see how happy she was. She deserved it.
Vicky brought him his iced tea and sat next to him on the sofa. “So, I talked to Mom this morning.”
“Yeah? How’s she doing?”
“Great. She and Ben just bought tickets for a cruise.”
“Like, a boat cruise?”
“Yep. They leave in September and they hit something like six islands in three weeks. She promised to send Sonia postcards from every port.”
Phil laughed. He adored Diana, and he and Vicky were thrilled that she and Ben had rekindled the spark of their past relationship while Diana and Sonia were staying with him.
Vicky thought of her mother, and remembered what Diana had said to her two months earlier, at the airport in Denver.
Diana was going back to Kansas and Vicky and Phil were seeing her off. She hugged Phil tightly, thanking him for taking such good care of her daughter and grand-daughter. Then she held Vicky close for a very long time and whispered in her ear.
“You have a good man here, darling. He’ll wait for you. Some men – they wait until you’re ready to come back fully. Ben did, and Phil will, too. I know it.”
Vicky sat next to Phil now, watching him drink. He licked his lips and she felt a flutter in her stomach. She moved a bit closer, took the glass out of his hand.
He looked up at her, startled, and he saw the look on her face.
“Vicky?”
She leaned forward and kissed him. Her mouth opened against his and he groaned. She smiled and touched his muscled chest.
“Phil?”
“Yeah, babe?”
“I want you.”
He pulled back. “But – your back… it’s not safe to…”
“My back is fine,” she said. “No pain, no tightness, no pulling. Not anymore.”
“I don’t know, Vicky.” The doubt was deep in his eyes. “I’m scared of hurting you.”
“Phil. I want you. It’s been four months. I’m ready.”
He shook his head and she mock-sighed.
“I see I’ll just have to take matters in to my own hands here.”
She stood up and in one movement, pulled off her light summer dress. She was completely naked under it.
At the sight of her creamy breasts and the warm space between her thighs, Phil hardened. She saw his face and tugged his t-shirt off before sitting down in his lap, straddling his hips. His desire flared, but his worry for her kept it still within his control.
“Vicky, are you sure…”
She cut off his words with a kiss and he tried to keep his thoughts straight.
“Vicky, what if…”
She made an impatient sound in her throat and put his hands on her breasts.
“Phil. I want this, I want you. I am fine.”
He closed his eyes as his cock swelled beneath her gyrating hips. She felt it and she smiled at him, her eyes dancing and alight. She took his head in her hands and pressed his lips to her breasts. He started to suck her nipples gently, still determined to go slowly with her.
Vicky clutched his head and arched her back. God, it felt so good to have his mouth on her again. It had been so long, too long. She moaned, her whole body loosening and opening.
Phil heard her and his self-control started to unravel. He lifted her off his lap and laid her down on the sofa, adjusting the cushion under her head. He stretched above her, keeping his weight on his forearms. She looked up at him, her beautiful eyes glowing and full of desire. He bent down and kissed her, no holding back his passion this time.
She clutched his butt and opened her legs, pressing him closer to her. He felt her incredible heat through his jeans and he gasped. Vicky’s fingers were on him now, undoing his belt and snap and zipper, freeing him from the rough material. She reached in to his boxers and touched him. Phil groaned and she smiled. That was it; he had to be inside of her now.
He yanked off his clothing clumsily and then it occurred to him. “Oh, babe. I don’t have any condoms.”
“I do.”
He paused. “You – you do?”
“Yes. I bought some while I was in town this morning.” She pointed to her purse on the floor. “In there.”
He reached for her purse and found the box. He stared at it for second. “You came prepared, huh?”
“I did.” Brazenly, she opened her thighs to his gaze.
Phil fumbled with the wrapper, ripped it open, rolled the condom down his length. She watched, breathless. She wanted him so badly.
He came back to her now, his hand between their bodies. He stroked her lips, opening her with his fingers to find her hard nub. He pressed on it, felt her get wetter and hotter under his hand. He gently inserted a finger just inside her sex. She shuddered. He slid in a bit more, and then more. Her slick passage was totally open to his fingers, and he knew her body wanted this: she writhed under him, her beautiful face flushed.
“Are you ready, babe?” he whispered.
“Yes.” She arched. “Oh, yes.”
Phil gently pressed the tip of his cock inside of her and then waited, afraid he was hurting her. When she showed no signs of discomfort or pain – just impatience – he slid in a bit farther. Farther again. And again, until he was sunk all the way inside of her pulsing center. He slipped his hands under Vicky’s lower back, the place Carl had stomped on her and hurt Vicky so badly, cradling and supporting her. He waited.
Vicky’s whole body was one gigantic nerve of feeling: he felt so huge inside her, so thick and hard. How have I done without this for so long? She started to move, taking him in as deep as she could. His hands under her lifted her hips higher and he thrust in to her, slowly at first, then faster. They moved together, their mouths fused and gasping.
As her climax built inside of her, Vicky clutched his shoulders. “I love you. Phil, I love you.”
He paused and stared down at her. “I love you too, babe. More than anything.”
Their movements were stronger now, more sure and determined. Vicky gave a cry as the sensations rose and rose, and Phil responded by plunging in to her faster, harder. He had no worries about hurting her now, and he gave in to the moment.
When the tension released inside of Vicky, it wasn’t the strongest climax she had ever had with Phil, but it was the sweetest, somehow, the one with the most meaning and feeling behind it. The one that made her feel the most connected to this man – like they truly belonged together.
Her muscles were pulling on him now, as strong as hands, and Phil felt his own pleasure reaching bursting point. He groaned against her sweet throat and thrust one final time –
the explosion was ripped out of him and he could do nothing more than come and come, shuddering as he called her name over and over again.
They lay together, their heartbeats and breaths slowing down. Phil’s fingers were stroking her golden-red hair, Vicky’s hands ran over and over his lower back, loving its firm curve.
He kissed her, clenching his hands in her hair. “I love you.”
She smiled, and it was radiant. “I love you.”
That was when she knew that she was going to be OK. She’d have the strength to see things through: Carl’s trial and having to testify to her entire life with him; her own suspended sentence for taking and hiding Sonia and all her hours of community service. She’d get through therapy and the occasional nightmare that visited her in the dark. She’d reach out for love and she’d give it in return.
Yes, Vicky Thompson was going to be just fine. For the first time in years, she was completely sure of it.
Excerpt from ‘Open Heart’ (Open Skies #4)
Dear Reader,
I very much hope that you enjoyed meeting Vicky and following her story in ‘Open Eyes’ (Open Skies #3). As a thank you for your support, here is a short excerpt from the next book in the series, ‘Open Heart’ (Open Skies #4).
**
Annabeth Wheeler sighed and stretched her neck. She reached for her cup of coffee and took an absent-minded sip before realizing that the coffee was, actually, stone-cold.
“Urgh!” She spat it back in to the mug and gazed down at it, bemused. She glanced at the clock in the corner of her laptop screen and started. How is it 11:40 already? I haven’t even had breakfast yet!
Annabeth got to her feet a bit unsteadily. She raised her hands to the ceiling, stretching her back and shoulders now, and looked outside at the Rocky Mountains, taking note of the brilliant colors of the wild late-summer flowers.
Cam brought me wild flowers, bright yellow ones, and the petals scattered on the floor next to the bed when we made love. He held my face between his hands and kissed me as I came.
Annabeth flinched at the pain of memory and resolutely turned from the window.
“OK,” she said, her voice echoing in the empty cabin. “I’ll go to the restaurant and have some lunch.” It didn’t bother her much that she was talking to herself; she’d been doing it for the past three years. But she wouldn’t be doing it for much longer, she knew. The book was almost finished and then she’d be free to go.
Open Eyes (Open Skies) Page 14
