A Little Town Called Mercy

by Wendy Saunders

  ‘Not this.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because you always get mad.’

  Jackson’s jaw tightened and suddenly he knew why she was reluctant to tell him why she suddenly had no money. Reaching deep down for his patience he took a calming breath, and when he spoke his voice was even.

  ‘What did he do this time?’

  Shelley sighed, knowing there was no way she could lie to him, not even to defend her fiancé, not this time. She was just too tired, too sick…too everything. All she wanted to do was lie down and have the whole world disappear.

  ‘He…he bought himself a new car,’ she admitted.

  ‘And?’

  She looked up at him, blinking slightly.

  ‘You may as well tell me the rest of it, Shelley,’ he replied firmly. ‘I know there’s more to it.’

  She blew out another resigned breath. Damn, the man knew her too well. It was a pity the man who was supposed to love her and spend the rest of his life with her didn’t.

  ‘Since he got that promotion at the company he works for in Salem, he said he was going to be doing a lot more entertaining of potential clients and he couldn’t pick them up in his old car. He said it didn’t project the right image.’

  ‘What car did he buy?’

  ‘I…I don’t know, some sort of Porsche I think. You know me, I don’t know jack about cars.’

  It was true, all she knew was how to put the key in the ignition and how to drive, everything else escaped her. It was Jackson who made sure the oil and water was checked regularly, as well as her tire pressure. He’d fitted her snow chains himself. Her so called fiancé Stuart never ever bothered to check if she was driving a safe car, yet he could go out and buy himself a hundred-thousand-dollar car.

  ‘He used your savings?’

  She nodded miserably.

  ‘Without your permission?’

  She nodded again.

  ‘He says he’ll pay me back, but the problem is my savings were nowhere near enough to cover the car, only the down payment. The monthly instalments are quite high, and he says he can’t pay his share of the bills for the next few months until he gets his commissions up. He gave me all the ‘speculate to accumulate’ crap. Only I can’t cover all the bills on my own. I have…’ she sucked in a reluctant breath, ‘I have medical bills of my own that I have to pay, and he’s used all my savings. I have no safety net.’

  ‘What medical bills?’ Jacksons gaze snapped to hers.

  ‘Nothing I want to talk about right now,’ she murmured.

  ‘Jesus Shel,’ he rubbed the back of his neck, ‘surely you can see the guy is an asshole. He doesn’t deserve you.’

  Her eyes welled up with burning hot tears, although she’d couldn’t tell if it was because of the gut-wrenching misery she was feeling or the ridiculously high temperature she had.

  ‘Where is he now?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she shrugged, ‘some fancy restaurant in Salem? I think he had some meet and greet thing with a client.’

  ‘He’s not home then?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘He’ll probably crawl in sometime in the early hours of tomorrow, reeking of whiskey and cigars.’

  ‘Why don’t you go home and get some sleep,’ Jackson stroked his hand comfortingly down her arm. ‘We’ll sort all this out tomorrow.’

  ‘I don’t know Jackson,’ she shook her head.

  ‘Shelley,’ he interrupted her, ‘you’re dead on your feet, you need to rest. Are you well enough to drive?’

  Before she could respond the door sprung open and Roni appeared.

  ‘Oh, sorry to interrupt,’ she murmured apologetically, ‘it’s just Owen was looking for you. I think he’s scaring some of your customers.’

  ‘Jesus,’ Jackson breathed as he rolled his eyes.

  ‘See I can’t go home Jackson,’ Shelley told him, ‘you don’t have enough staff.’

  ‘You’re too sick to be here and that’s final,’ he replied firmly. ‘If I have to, I’ll kick everyone out and close early.’

  ‘You’re sick?’ Roni interrupted, ‘I can help out if you need to go home.’

  ‘You?’ Shelley blinked. ‘Sorry, that sounded rude.’

  ‘I waited tables in college,’ she answered easily, ‘besides it’s quiet and only a few hours until you close anyway.’

  ‘Exactly what I said,’ Jackson replied a little smugly. ‘Thank you, Roni, and greatly appreciated it is too. I’ll pay you for your time of course.’

  ‘No need,’ she shook her head, ‘I’m happy to help.’

  Jackson nodded gratefully and turned back to Shelley.

  ‘So, are you alright to drive?’

  She sighed in resignation. ‘Yes, I can drive myself.’

  ‘Well alright then,’ Jackson nodded, ‘you get yourself home and we’ll sort everything else out in the morning.’

  He watched quietly as she headed into the staff room to retrieve her coat and her purse and his jaw tightened almost to the point of pain. He forced himself to unclench his fists when his thoughts drifted to that parasitic son of a bitch Shelley was engaged to. He knew the guy was no good for her, he was a born user. He always put himself and his career above Shelley and he’d been forced to stand by helplessly one too many times. Well, not this time. Stuart had gone way too far. One way or another that bastard was going to pay back the money he owed Shelley and if he wouldn’t, Jackson was going to pound his face in until he did. With that comforting thought in mind, he turned and followed Roni back into the pub.

  Shelley could barely think straight. Thank God the streets were more or less empty. Although it wasn’t far to her house from the pub, she was still glad she’d brought her car, even if it was a little unreliable. She slowed and turned the corner, clutching the wheel and praying when the car shuddered beneath her.

  Not now, she chanted in her head, don’t give out on me now. Please, please just let me get home.

  The pain which had been throbbing in her skull all night had ramped up to a screaming pitch. She tried to swallow but could barely manage it at all. Her hands trembled against the wheel and she blinked as her vision blurred. Finally, she pulled up in front of her tiny compact one storey house. She put the car in park and switched off the engine, sending up a silent prayer of thanks that she’d made it home in one piece and that her trusty piece of crap car had made it.

  Another wave of dizziness washed over her, and she leaned her head forward against her hands which were still gripping the wheel. She’d only meant to rest her head for a minute, but she must have dozed off. She awoke sharply, stiff and cold. She didn’t know how long she’d been in the car but the waves of heat flushing her body had now given way to violent shivers. The sweat clinging to her body beneath her clothes was freezing cold.

  Opening the door, she climbed carefully out of the car and locked it behind her, not even realizing she’d left her purse on the seat. She headed toward the front door and let herself inside. She felt gross, her clothes, wet with sweat, were stuck to her and her body trembled. She didn’t even have the strength to take her coat off. She simply trailed numbly through the house toward the bedroom. All she wanted to do was face plant her nice soft bed and sleep for possibly the rest of time.

  She could have blamed her fever for the fact she didn’t realize something was off straight away, but as she moved closer to the bedroom two very distinct noises began to intrude on her hazy brain. One was the very distinct sound of the old mattress springs squeaking and the other was the blatant panting of someone exerting themselves.

  Shelley stepped up to the door which was open a tiny crack. Lifting her shaky hand, she slowly swung the door open. A loud moan punctuated the air, one that she was very familiar with, followed by more panting. In the soft light of the street lamp outside the bedroom window she could make out two very naked bodies. She recognized Stuart’s tattoo on his left shoulder as he leaned over hi
s dark-haired companion, his bare ass thrusting frantically as he tried to reach his peak as quickly as possible.

  Some things never changed; he was always more concerned with his own pleasure. Shelley couldn’t say why she stood there watching them, but they hadn’t yet noticed her. A curious numbness shrouded her as she watched, long dark hair spilled over the side of the bed…over her new sheets, the random thought occurred to her.

  The squeaking grew more frenzied, the pants more frequent, the moans louder, this time joined by a female voice. Either she’d managed to catch up to him or she was a hell of an actress.

  Finally, her fiancé let out a loud moan and arched his back, thrusting one final time as he finished himself off. His partner went silent and when she finally spoke, her voice wasn’t the slumberous purr of a sated woman, but a slightly irritated snap.

  ‘Your mattress squeaks too much,’ she informed him.

  ‘I told you we needed a new one,’ Shelley replied loudly enough to startle them both.

  The pair of them yelped and scrambled for the sheets, trying to cover themselves as they turned and stared at her in horror.

  Shelley calmly flipped the light on, temporarily blinding them. Her gaze fell on the woman in her bed, a woman she recognized from one of the few occasions Stuart had taken her to one of his work parties. He worked with her, someone he’d sworn blind he barely even knew.

  ‘Stu never did believe in ladies first,’ Shelley told her dryly. ‘There’s a vibrator in the top drawer of the night stand in case you need to finish yourself off.’ Her gaze flicked to Stuart, who at least had the good grace to look slightly ashamed, ‘trust me…it’s seen a lot of mileage.’

  She turned and marched out of the room. She vaguely heard Stuart call her name, but she resolutely ignored him. She walked straight out of the house and slammed the door behind her. She headed back to her car, the adrenalin the only thing keeping her on her feet, but as she reached the car door she realized she was no longer holding her keys.

  They must have fallen from her slack fingers as she’d stood frozen in the bedroom doorway, but there was no way in hell she was stepping foot back inside that house. She moved past her car and started walking. She wasn’t even sure where she was going. Hell, she didn’t even know what time it was.

  She’d been walking for a while when she finally realized she was unconsciously heading back in the direction of the pub. The adrenalin and righteous fury were now draining away leaving her shaking, hurt and feeling slightly nauseous. The snow was starting to fall again; she blinked as the flakes caught on her eyelashes. She’d left her hat in the car along with her purse and with no gloves either she shoved her hands as deeply into her pockets as she could.

  It shouldn’t have taken her long to reach the pub, but she could feel her body slowing down as the fever raged through her. Her steps became sluggish and uneven, then she tripped on the edge of the sidewalk which was concealed by a fresh layer of snow. She managed to yank her hands out of her pockets in time to break her fall, but the pain still jarred up her arms to her shoulders. She lay in the wet snow, panting slightly and fighting the urge to close her eyes.

  She just wanted to lie there, to just lie there and let the whole world around her cease to exist. All the pain of the past few months came crashing in on her with such agony she wanted to just curl up and die. The secret she’d been keeping from everyone, especially Jackson, and the complete and utter betrayal of her fiancé, the one person who was supposed to love and protect her above everyone and everything else, and who, at the lowest most painful moment of her life, had stolen from her and then cheated on her.

  Her blurry vision fixed on her hand laying splayed out next to her face. A slow layer of snow was building up on her skin and she knew if she didn’t move she was going to die on this street, sick, heartbroken and alone. Would anyone even miss her? she wondered. Would anyone even notice she was gone?

  Jackson would.

  He was the one person in her life that mattered to her. The one person she knew she could count on.

  ‘Get up Shelley love…’

  She could almost hear his lilting Irish brogue whisper in her ear. Bracing her hands painfully under her she pushed herself up onto her knees. Panting heavily, her vision wavered slightly. Shaking her head in determination she pushed herself to her feet, swaying alarmingly, but she kept herself upright.

  Her whole body was wracked with violent tremors. She focused on the road in front of her, putting one foot in front of the other. It felt as if time had stood still. The road stretched out in front of her, impossibly long. She blinked and saw the pub. It was dark, all the lights were out. It was obviously well past closing; she must have slept in her car longer than she’d thought.

  She crossed the street and headed around the back to the staff entrance. Rummaging in her pockets with numb fingers for the keys she’d forgotten she’d left at home, she swayed and fell heavily against the wall beside the door.

  ‘Jackson….’ she whispered soundlessly as she slid down and crumpled to the floor.

  She didn’t see the lock turn slowly nor did she see the door creak open, revealing the dark empty room beyond.

  2.

  Jackson shifted on his bed, shoving the pillow up higher behind him as he leaned back against the headboard. Folding one leg under himself as he propped up the other he rested his elbow on his knee. Taking a sip of his tea he set the steaming mug on his nightstand and turned the page of his well-worn paperback. He must have read it a thousand times, but it still remained his favorite.

  He picked up the mug and took another slow sip; tea wasn’t generally his favorite, but it was far too late for coffee. Knowing Miller, he’d be up with the crack of dawn. He supposed he should switch the light off and try and get some sleep, but his mind was still occupied. He’d tried to read the same page five times and was still failing miserably as his thoughts once again drifted back to Shelley.

  His mind always seemed to be on his best friend these days. He hated the way that Stuart treated her; he just couldn’t understand why she accepted it, why the hell she didn’t just leave that narcissistic son of a bitch. He could only assume she actually, truly loved the bastard. He rubbed his chest unconsciously as his heart gave an uncomfortable thud.

  He shook his head and turned his gaze once again back to the dog-eared pages, but he couldn’t focus, nothing was sinking in. Closing the book, he tossed it down on the bed and allowed his head to fall back against the wall.

  He had to stop thinking about her. There was no point in torturing himself, she was never going to leave Stuart no matter how shitty he treated her.

  A sudden clatter downstairs had him sitting up sharply. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed he padded across the soft carpet and out into the hallway. Ducking his head quickly into his son’s room he saw Miller still curled up fast asleep in his crib, his night light casting swirling stars across the walls and the ceiling above him. Satisfied he was okay he closed the door and headed downstairs toward the bar.

  The main bar area was empty and still, just as he’d left it. He headed through into the kitchen and found a stack of pans on the floor. A frown creased his brow; they had not been there when he locked up and went to bed. A sudden gust of ice-cold air brushed over his skin making the hairs on his arms rise. He followed the cold breeze through the kitchen to the staff entrance. The door lay wide open spilling in moonlight and a soft filter of snow.

  He hurried forward worriedly; he’d definitely locked that door, but as he moved to close it his gaze fell on a figure curled up on the freezing cold ground. His heart almost stopped when he saw a lock of blonde hair splayed out across the floor.

  ‘Shelley!’ he rushed forward, dropping to his knees and pulling her limp body into his arms. ‘Shelley!’

  He shook her, cradling her gently as he cupped her pale face and turned it toward him.

  Her eyes fluttered but she didn’t stir.

&
nbsp; He scooped her off the ground and pulled her inside, carrying her gently as he hurried up the stairs to his apartment. Heading into the lounge he laid her carefully down on the couch. He grabbed a couple of spare blankets from the closet and bundled her up to warm her. He had no idea how long she’d lain outside in the freezing cold.

  ‘I’ll be right back,’ he told her as he left the room and hurried back downstairs. He quickly relocked the door, double checked all the locks, checked the pub to make sure there were no intruders and ran back up the stairs taking them two at a time.

  By the time he made it back to Shelley her cheeks were once again bright red and when he touched her face she was burning up. Dammit! What the hell was he supposed to do after finding her in the snow? Warm her up? Cool her down? She had a raging fever, that much was obvious, but he had no clue what to do.

  Reaching for the phone he dialed quickly.

  ‘Hello?’ a sleepy voice murmured.

  ‘Louisa?’ Jackson replied worriedly, ‘I’m sorry to call in the middle of the night.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ her voice sounded a little more alert, ‘what is it? Is Miller okay?’

  ‘Miller’s fine love,’ he assured her, ‘it’s Shelley. I don’t know what to do, I need your help.’

  ‘Slow down Jackson and tell me what happened.’

  ‘She was sick earlier this evening. I thought it was the flu as she had a fever and she looked pale and shaky. She left the pub and I thought she was home safe, but I heard a noise downstairs about ten minutes ago. I found the staff door open and she was collapsed outside. I don’t know how long she was out in the snow. I brought her in and tried to warm her up but now she’s burning up. I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘Okay listen Jackson,’ Louisa told him sharply, ‘is she conscious?’

  ‘No, not really,’ he shook his head even though she couldn’t see him. ‘She’s not out cold but she’s not exactly conscious either.’

  ‘Alright you need to strip her down.’

  ‘Sorry?’