Page 58 of Protecting Jess

“I know so. Jessica Killian is going to be the talk of the dance world.”

Jess smirked. “I think you might be exaggerating a little bit.”

He shook his head. “Nope. I saw you dance. You’re breathtaking on stage, Jess. You deserve that promotion to principal dancer. That position will be yours, regardless of what happened to you today.”

She sighed. “It’s a nice dream to have, but I wouldn’t expect Madame Baxter to hold the position for me. Not that she would, anyway. Her concern is for the company and the company only.”

The resignation in her voice sounded so desolate, and she’d know how the dance world worked better than he did.

Finn just hoped that whoever had done this to her would be found soon, because the thought of a threat still hanging over Jess’s head wasn’t one he liked.

Nineteen

Jess was ready to get out of the hospital. It’d been three days since her attack, and her parents and Finn’s were hovering.

Neither of them had questioned why Finn was always by her side. They’d just seemed to accept it, as if it were normal.

If Finn had been acting like a friend, Jess would’ve understood their reaction, but he was acting like an attentive boyfriend. Knowing what she wanted before she did. Making sure she was comfortable. Feeding her chocolate habit by always getting her a chocolate bar from the vending machine after lunch each day.

Well, those were all things a friend would do, too, but a friend wouldn’t kiss her every time they walked out of the room. Or hold her hand as if she was the most precious thing in the world.

Many times, her mom had looked at her with questions in her eyes, but those questions remained unasked.

The police had come and taken her statement; fortunately, her parents hadn’t been in the room at the time, so they hadn’t heard her repeat yet again what she’d gone through in New York.

So far, the detectives hadn’t come back with any leads, but Finn assured Jess that Tex was on the job and was determined to find out who’d stabbed her.

She reached for her Kindle. Kaley had brought it to Jess on one of her visits, and she was excited to read the latest book from one of her favorite authors, Susan Stoker.

The fact Ms. Stoker wrote about military men was a bonus. Prior to reconnecting with Finn, there’d been times she’d imagined she was the heroine in danger and Finn was the hero who rescued her.

Once again, life was imitating art, and Jess didn’t like experiencing it as much as reading about it. Even after what she’d been through with Bartholomew, it hadn’t put her off reading her favorite author’s books.

One day her hero would come in and save her, like in the books. Maybe her hero already had—and that was Finn. He was exactly like those heroes. All protective and caring.

Over her short stay in the hospital, her feelings for him had deepened. He might not have said the words, and neither had she, but he’d shown he loved her in so many ways.

Telling Finn that she was in love with him wasn’t something Jess wanted to do in a hospital bed. She wanted the moment to be perfect. Maybe when she got discharged, she’d pester him to take her to the beach and then she could express how she felt with the ocean and the setting sun as the perfect backdrop.

“Hey, sweetie. How are you?” Her mom’s head popped around the door.

Jess pushed away the dream of her and Finn declaring their love for each other.

“Hey, Mom. Where’s Dad?” she asked when her mom sat on the plastic chair near the bed.

“Oh, he’s taken Sawyer and Paula to the beach. They were getting bored and seeing as the beaches are so much nicer here, he took them there for the day.”

“You didn’t want to go with them?”

Her mom shook her head, her eyes darting to Jess’s arm.

Her scarred arm.

Jess had been surprised that not one of them—her parents or Finn’s—had asked about the scar. Once the brain fog from her surgery had disappeared, she’d not bothered to try to hide it. It had been on display while she’d been knocked out, so they had to have seen it.

Had they asked Finn about it? Had he told them?

Not possible. Not with the way Mom’s finger was now hovering over the top of the raised red line.

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