Page 46 of Healing Hope

She nodded, looking down at her fingers in Sophie’s fur. “I was really scared at first. But I knew Jess was there and she would save me.”

Jess shook her head. “I knew I was going to do my best. That was scary for me, too.”

Hope slid off the chair and went to Jess, wrapping her arms around her neck. “Thank you for knocking him down and getting me away. I love you.”

Tears filled Jess’s eyes. “I love you too, dear.”

The hug was exactly what Jess needed. Paul reached over and rested his hand on her shoulder, just staring at her with appreciation in his blue, blue eyes.

The day was spent playing and eating, getting over the shock of the attack. The detective called them and confirmed that Viktor and the woman were both going to be in jail for a very long time. They each had warrants in addition to the list of things Elkhorn was laying on them. And Greyhound had gotten back to him. He would be heading to Oklahoma, not Arizona, to test the key in the locker they’d identified the next day.

That night, Jess and Paul put Hope to bed together. And when they headed down the hallway toward the bedrooms, it just seemed natural to follow along as he tugged her into his. After they used the bathroom and brushed their teeth, Paul removed his prosthetic and put it in the closet. When he settled onto the mattress, he pulled her against his side with his arm.

Jess felt incredibly melancholy. She had a feeling she could burst into tears at the drop of a hat, and Paul being so kind to her wasn’t helping. Leaving them was going to be one of the hardest things she’d ever done.

They made love softly and quietly that night, and as she settled into his hold again, Paul whispered ‘I love you’, and her tears fell.

18

Paul could tell that Hope liked Mrs. Brown. Maybe not as much as she loved Jess, but he hoped that would grow with time. His daughter led the woman through the yard to show her the play fort.

Jess didn’t seem as sure about her. “Did you see the way she looked at me?”

They stood on the patio together, and Jess’s arms were crossed beneath her breasts. She wore a tank top and shorts, the same as she usually wore, but it was obvious she didn’t have a bra on.There were a couple of purple bruises on her forearms.

Paul laughed, because he’d looked at her the same way two weeks ago. Overly critical. “Hope likes her. That’s what’s important. Besides…” He stopped there, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

“I know, I won’t be here,” she said, narrowing her eyes against the sun. Or maybe against tears.

Taking her hand in his, Paul led her into the kitchen. “It’s up to us whether or not we allow Mrs. Brown into our home. You’ve been very firm that you are moving on, so you have no say in who we choose.”

Jess blinked at the words and he was sorry he had to be harsh, but he had his back to the wall. They were out of time. Jess was leaving, and he needed a replacement. “She’s been background checked, and I called her last employer. They could not sing her praises enough. She helped raise three of their children.”

Jess worried at a fingernail, before looking up at him again. Her eyes had cooled. “I’m sorry I’m being difficult. You’re right. She’s exactly what Hope needs. I’m going to go start some laundry.”

Paul hated for there to be tension between them, but he wasn’t sure exactly what to do. Did Jess want him to beg her to stay? Or manipulate her into staying? Or was she looking for faults with Mrs. Brown because she wanted to stay and didn’t know how to say it?

Mrs. Brown stayed for more than two hours. Paul thought Jess was going to avoid the woman the entire time, but after a while she came out and was the personable woman he’d grown to love. Even Mrs. Brown liked her before she left.

Then it was just the three of them again. Four, if you counted Sophie. Hope started to be a little fractious, and he knew it was because the time was ticking down when Jess would leave. That evening, they were coloring at the kitchen table when Hope broke into sobs. It tore Paul’s heart to pieces to see his little girl like this, and he knew he would have a massive amount of work to do when Jess left. This separation seemed more traumatic than losing her mother. “I don’t want Jess to go, Daddy.”

Paul pulled her into his arms. “I know you don’t, sprite. But it has to happen. She has a prior engagement. It was planned before she ever met you, and she has to travel a long ways away.”

“Jordan,” Jess said softly, stroking a hand down her hair. “The man that I’m meeting is a brilliant cellist. And he’s premiering with the Italian Symphony in Venice. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for him, and he wants his family there.”

Hope lifted her head. “He’s your family?”

“In a way. He’s my brother-in-law’s brother. I’ve known him many years.”

“Will you come back after that,” she asked, hiccuping.

“I can’t promise you that,” she said, and Paul could hear the emotion in her words.

Hope turned and buried her face in his chest. Paul looked at Jess over the girl’s head. It eased his heart a little that she wasn’t meeting some random man, but it still hurt that she was leaving.

He took a breath. “Jessamy Swan, I, we, want you to know that you are loved, and that you will always have a place here if you choose to return.”

Hope turned in his arms and nodded. “Yes. You can always come home.”

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