Page 14 of Echoes in the Night

“He was also one of the guys that was an ass to you, wasn’t he?” All humor is gone from my voice.

“Yes. But it doesn’t matter. I’m comfortable with who and what I am.”

“My dad is a controlling manipulative bastard. He wanted a son. He got me. He’s tried to force me into a business marriage more than once. I refused. He’s disowned me. I celebrated.

“My mother lives in a bottle as far away from him as she can. She got pregnant on purpose to catch a rich man and had her tubes tied immediately after my birth…except she didn’t tell my father that part.

“It appears to me that you and I both got shit for parents.” I study him.

He covers my hand with his. “That we did. But we turned out just fine.”

“That we did.”

We finish breakfast, do dishes together, and he shows me how to wash clothes before he goes out to collect more wood from behind the cabin. The wind is still howling but the snow has slowed.

Making a cup of tea, I grab a sketch book and the notebook I started with and sit at the table. Unease settles on me as I finger the corner of the notebook. A sense of doom and gloom tightens my chest. I have no idea how long I sit there lost in nothingness.

“Talk to me, babe. What’s going on in that pretty little head? Let me help.”

He’s crouched beside me at eye level. He’s wearing fresh clothes and his hair is damp. “How… How long have you been back inside?”

“Ten, maybe fifteen minutes. I thought you were working at the table, so I took my shower. When I came back, I realized you hadn’t moved. You still held the full mug in the same positionand your finger was still picking at the corner of the notebook. I’m sorry I didn’t notice before.”

He places his phone on the table and pushes a button. “Don’t think about it, just tell me what you were seeing in your mind.”

“I’m not sure. It’s more like moments. I was in my favorite coffee shop drinking a latte and sketching a new dress idea. I must have ordered a second latte because I remember it being full when I thought I’d finished. The last picture I’d been working on was all wrong. The model was too skinny for the style of outfit. And sloppy like I couldn’t stay in the lines, so to speak. It didn’t make sense. I knew I could do better.

“I was uncomfortable about doing something. A photo shoot for my new line. I wasn’t prepared. Then I was enjoying a croissant and eating tangerines. I didn’t want any more, but I should eat them, they’re my favorite.”

“Was there a reason you didn’t want anymore?”

“They tasted funny, like the second latte. No, they felt funny. I felt funny.”

“What do you remember next?”

“The breeze. I thought I was a dog, leaning my head out the window feeling the cool air. I kept barking. No, that’s not right. He yelled at me for barfing. Getting the car dirty.”

Facing Jax, I start to shake. “I could barely stay on my feet. My head was swimming. He was yelling, making me walk by slapping the back of my legs with something. Then he pushed me against a tree and the bark hurt my back.”

I can’t go on. I start to cry, full on snotty tears. Jax hands me a hanky and grabs a couple dish towels before lifting me and snuggling me on his lap.

“He left me. He left me in the snow and cold. I heard him laugh.”

“It’s ok, babe. I got you. You’re safe now. No one is going to hurt you again. I’ll protect you. I’ll keep you safe.”

Chapter Nine

Jax

She snuggles into my chest, her tears falling on my shirt, her fear clutching my heart. I keep stroking her back and crooning reassurances until exhausted, she dozes off in my arms. After a while I lift her and cross to the couch and sit so we can both stretch out our legs. Hers on the cushions, mine in front of me.

When I find him, he’s a dead man. And I will find him. If it takes the rest of my life.

Holding her close I plot and plan until I doze for a little while. I wake instantly when she shifts in my arms. “It’s okay, babe. I got you.”

“I know you do, Jax. I’m?—"

“Stop right there. Don’t say it. What you can say is what you’d like for dinner.”

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