Page 40 of Evergreen Desires
I turned and ran in the opposite direction, back towards the door that led towards the house. My heart was thumping in my chest, and my lungs were on fire. I dropped my phone and headphones; my only goal was to get out, to get Beau.
"Grab him! Don't let him get away!" One man yelled.
His voice sounded familiar, but my focus was on running. The adrenaline had kicked in, and it felt like I was running in slow motion; I felt no pain in my shoulder when I ripped the sling from my arm. Suddenly, I felt my legs being tackled from behind, bringing me down.
I threw my arms in front of me to brace my fall and avoid slamming my head on the ground. During the struggle with my attacker, I managed to turn over on my back to try to get myself loose. Kicking and hitting the guy who clearly had more muscle, height, and weight on me. I was clearly in trouble as the other two men came up from behind into my line of sight.
"Beau! Help! Beau!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping against hope that Beau would hear me and come to my aid. I knew I was running out of time. But pulling Beau into this danger only fueled my determination to survive. Scratching, kicking, hitting, grabbing their arms… anything to try to get away.
The intruders, however, weren’t about to let me continue yelling for help. "Shut him up!" one of them barked, their voice filled with malice and hostility.
Despite my best efforts, my struggles began to wane as the men overpowered me. In a last defiant act, I managed to deliver a final blow, punching one intruder’s nose with all the strength I had left. It was not enough. My attacker drew back and punched me in the jaw. I saw stars for a split second until darkness enveloped me, the world around me fading away into nothingness.
CHAPTER 34
BEAU
My intent was not to hurt Jake. Just the opposite—I didn’t want him in any sort of pain, and seeing him hurt was like a stake to my heart.
Given the slamming of the back door, he was in pain. I stood up from where I was sitting on the edge of the bed and opened my bedroom window. If Jake was outside, I wanted to at least be able to hear him, just in case. It was not dark yet, but I couldn’t let go of the need to protect him.
Looking out the window, I saw Jake head towards the greenhouses. I let out a breath I felt like I'd been holding since the incident downstairs.
He’d be safe in the greenhouses. Even if he went on an emotional rampage there, it’d be fine—just would mean a bit of dirt and plants to clean up. I wanted him to work this out so he wasn’t hurt in the long run when he did decide to leave.
The idea of Jake ultimately leaving put the weight of a brick in the pit of my stomach. Turning to my bed, I lay down with my head on the pillow and my forearm across my eyes, trying to hold back the tears that were screaming to getout. A large part of me didn’t want Jake to leave. Everything in my being enjoyed having him around; my beast knew that he was his. Still, the logical, stoic side of me knew that he would be safer away from me.
I could just stop the cannabis business. See the current plants through the harvest, then sell off my license and even the branding. Will would be fine with it if it meant happiness. However, if Jake realized I was doing that just for him, it could backfire and push him away.
These decisions were emotionally draining. I felt myself slipping in and out of sleep. After a few minutes of slumber, I thought about what it would be like to grow old with Jake. The next cycle, I worried about him being taken advantage of by another boyfriend. It was a true ebb and flow of emotions intermixed with catnaps.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The door chime for the greenhouse came through the keypad in the bedroom, startling me awake. I didn’t move from my position on the bed with my eyes covered.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
“Hmm, what is he doing?” Given the quick succession of the door openings at the greenhouse, I moved to my window to take a peek across the field in that direction. I didn’t see anything; all seemed still. Maybe Will and Mat popped over. Will was always leaving something there in the office.
Let me grab some water before Jake comes back. I wanted to give him his space, and my wandering downstairswhile he was still ruminating wouldn’t help. Slowly creeping down the stairs just in case he came back in and I just missed it, I headed towards the kitchen to grab a glass.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
I peered out the kitchen window, expecting to see Jake and maybe Will and Mateo coming out of the greenhouse, but I saw nothing. I shrugged. Maybe he went through the front office.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
I turned to gaze out the window again. “What the fuck?”
Alarm set in this time. There was a faint orange glow. I dropped the glass in the sink, and it shattered. I darted through the back door.
As I reached the side door to the greenhouse, smoke was rising into the air. Swinging the door open hard, I saw the fire at the far end of the greenhouse. "Fuck!”
The smell of gasoline mixed with the pot smell was overwhelming.Gasoline.Arson. Of course. The flames had consumed the far two, maybe three rows of tables.
I grabbed my phone and pressed the emergency call button. The minute I heard a voice answer, I shouted, “There’s a fire at Boon Farms, Armsville, 1245 Evergreen Grove Road. Send a fire truck.”
