Page 2 of Sexual Healing

It had been six months since she had returned to town to attend her father’s funeral. Six months since she’d finally had the chance to tell Reese the truth—to reveal what had happened to her that fateful night that had driven her to flee from her family, the town she’d grown up in, and the man she loved. Since her revelation, she and Reese agreed to take things slow andrebuild their relationship one day at a time, giving her time to put what Neil Grunthall had done behind her.

Reese had been patient, understanding, and more supportive than any man she’d ever known. But still, after all this time, even after years of therapy, she couldn’t move beyond the fact that she’d been raped.

Reese scooted closer to her on the sofa. They sat so close, their thighs were touching, and she began feeling butterflies in her stomach, the first sign of anxiety she usually felt when a man got too close. She fought against the feeling, glancing down at their joined hands for strength. Being with him made her want to believe she could get through anything.

To her, he wasn’t an ordinary man. He was Reese, the man she had fallen in love with at seventeen, the man she had given her virginity to months before her eighteenth birthday, and the man she had planned to marry. He would be the father to all their babies. And he was the man who had secretly built this house for her as a wedding gift.

She hadn’t known about the house when she’d fled town. At the time, it would not have mattered. All she’d been able to think of that night was her humiliation and shame. And her very real fear that Neil might hurt those she loved. Neil had raped Leah as a way to hurt Reese, as well as to get back at Leah’s father for firing him.

But there was no way she could have gone to either her father or Reese with the truth. There was no doubt in her mind that they would have killed Neil, and she couldn’t risk that. Nor could she take Neil’s threat lightly that he would kill them if they came after him. He had been that mad and hell-bent on revenge. So, she had left town without telling anyone what had happened. She hadn’t even confided in her sister Jocelyn.

She smiled when she thought of the older sister that she was finally getting closer to. Jocelyn was twenty-seven to her twenty-three. But even with the mere four-year difference in their ages, they had never been close. Jocelyn had always been “Daddy’s” girl, while Leah had been “Mommy’s” girl. Their mother, Heather Mason, had died when Leah had turned thirteen. That had been the worst period of her life. She had felt so alone. No one seemed to know how badly she was hurting, and a part of her was convinced that no one cared. The only thing she had looked forward to was finishing school and leaving Newton Grove…at least that had been her plan until Reese and his family had moved to town. Once she had become Reese’s girl, he’d become her entire universe.

Neil had destroyed all of that in one night.

“Leah?”

She glanced up and met the intensity in Reese’s dark eyes. She actually felt it. And she felt something else. Desire. She could feel his passion like a heated caress to certain parts of her body, and although she wanted to respond in kind, a part of her mind would not let her. She had a mental block that refused to let Reese tap into what was behind her fears. If only she were strong enough to let go, but she wasn’t.

“I’m fine, Reese,” she said at last. “But it hurts to know how your family feels about me when there was once a time we were close. They had been my family, too. At least, they’d always made me feel they were. And what hurts even more is that I feel their animosity toward me is justified. I did hurt you. The only person that I never feel strong hostility from is Daniel’s wife Rita.”

“But they don’t know everything, Leah. They don’t know what happened to make you run away that night,” he said softly, gently squeezing her hand.

“I know and I can’t get upset with them for how they feel about me. I’m sure they’re wondering why you’re even seeing me again, spending so much time with me.”

“What I do is my business, Leah, and my family knows that.”

“Yes, but I still can’t help but feel bad for them. Because they don’t know the entire story, they’re worried that I will hurt you again.”

“But you won’t. You promised to stay in Newton Grove so that we could work things out. And we will.”

She felt the tears coming and blinked a few times to keep them at bay. “Will we, Reese? It’s been six months, and although I’m comfortable with us kissing, I can’t seem to get beyond that. It’s not fair to you. I know you, Reese, just as you know me. You want me. You want to make love to me the way any man would want to with the woman he loves. But I just can’t get beyond certain things.”

“But you will one day. I truly believe that. We will continue to take things one day at a time, Leah, and no matter what anyone thinks or how long it takes, you and I are in this for the long haul. We’re going to work through this. I truly believe that. Trust me.”

His words gave her some of the strength she needed. Because he believed, she wanted to believe. He was good at feeding her hope, and she clung to him. His belief in their future kept her in Newton Grove when Jocelyn had moved to Charlotte a few months ago after marrying Sebastian Steele. There was no one here for Leah now. Just Reese. He was the reason she had remained in Newton Grove instead of returning to California, where she had tried to start a new life five years ago. And he was the reason she had fulfilled her dream of opening a café in town. It was right next door to his warehouse, where he built his furniture.

“And because you believe, Reese, I will, too,” Leah said softly.

•••

Her words inspired Reese, and more than anything, he wanted to pull Leah into his arms and hold her, kiss her, and comfort her. But he couldn’t even do that. It was a good thing Neil wasalready dead, or he would have tracked him down and killed him with his bare hands. From what Reese had figured out, the bastard had died the same night he’d raped Leah. Fearful that she would tell her father or Reese what he’d done, a drunk Neil had quickly left Newton Grove and driven to a tavern on the outskirts of town. While there, he’d gotten even drunker. When he was spotted recklessly driving by the police, there was a high-speed chase, which resulted in Neil losing control of his truck and hitting a tree. He was killed instantly.

Leah’s father, Jim Mason, had been a good man, someone who believed in second chances. Everyone figured that was why he’d hired Neil Grunthall, a drifter, to work at his construction company. Still, it hadn’t been long before he’d fired the man for not doing his job.

“So why did you bring me here tonight, Reese?” Leah asked, breaking into his thoughts. He watched as she glanced around the house. Though it was to have been his wedding gift to her, he’d stopped building it when she’d fled. He’d even left town himself and joined the army for two years. There was no way he could stay in Newton Grove without her.

Still, time in the military had been good for him. He had learned how to accept situations that couldn’t be changed and move on. And after two years, he was ready to do just that, and he returned home and began working for Leah’s father’s construction company again.

He decided to complete the house and then sold it to Jocelyn. She had sold it back to him when she’d married Sebastian Steele and moved away. Reese was happy to have the house back because he too, believed in second chances. He was hoping that now that Leah was back, and she’d told him the truth of why she’d left town in the first place, that one day they would live here together and raise the family they’d always talked about having. While waiting for that day to happen, he’d begunrenovating the house. Specifically, converting it to the family home he’d always intended it to be.

“I wanted you to see the changes I’ve made to the place, especially the basement. I’d like your opinion about a few things I’m doing to the doors,” he said.

She nodded, smiled, and stood. “Okay, let me see what you’ve done.”

•••

Leah had always known Reese had a gift with his hands when it came to wood. She could even go so far as to say that he had a gift with his hands when it came to her, too. She just wished the thought of that could override her memories of having Neil’s violent hands on her, but it couldn’t. At least, not yet.

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