Page 9 of Guarding Her Heart
Then Amber’s face pops up and my stomach rolls. “I was dating someone, and it was pretty serious – or so I thought. She wanted to be an actress. Little did I know, she was acting all right, but in porn movies.”
“What? Did you know?”
I shake my head, “No, of course not. When I found out about the shit she was doing, I ended our three-year relationship and moved back home.” I push the rest of my food away from me as now the smell isn’t helping my rolling stomach.
“So, let me get this straight. You go on a mission, get shot, and while you are trying to get your strength and your career back, your girlfriend is cheating on you in porn movies?” She’s shocked and it shows in the disgust in her voice.
I only nod.
“What the fuck was she thinking? How could anyone do that to you? To anyone? What a bitch.” She takes my hand and I’m grateful I can feel her touch there. It’s electric and I’m loving it. “If we knew each other back then, I would have been by your side the entire time.”
My heart grows deeper for her in that moment. I’m falling for her fast and hard. I smile at her, “I have no doubt you would have.”
“Well, didn’t you have any job offers when you left? I would think that being a former Navy SEAL would have opened up a lot of opportunities for you in the private sector.”
“You’re right. I did get a few offers. One of them, from Cerberus in Chicago, I seriously considered. A former SAS Commando runs the place. Robert Fitzwallace. But in the end, I decided to come home to Hibiscus Harbor. Mainly because my friends and my sister, Lexi, live here. I missed home.”
She nods as she wipes her lips with her napkin and places it on her empty plate. I can appreciate a girl that will eat. “I get that. I’ve never lived anywhere else, but I also have never had the desire to, either. I love this town.”
“Me, too.”
We order dessert as Jenny tells me about her life—her passion for teaching, her love for the kids she works with, and her friends and family. There’s a strength in her that I admire, a resilience that makes me want to know more about her, to be a part of her world.
“So… can I ask about your ex-husband?” I’m hesitant to ask, but since we’re sharing life stories, I really want to know what I’m up against. I’m doing what I do best, recon.
She sighs heavily and nods, “We got married too young and he turned out to be someone I didn’t know. The first time he hurt me…”
“Thefirsttime?” I interrupt as my blood begins to boil and my fists clench under the table.
She nods, “Yeah, the first time, I dismissed it because he was drunk that night and under a lot of stress at work. He’s a banker for Hibiscus Federal and they were having trouble with an audit. Anyway,” she waves her hand in the air dismissively, “he apologized a million times for everything and so I blew it off.”
I don’t say anything because I can feel that there’s more to the story and I was right.
“The second, and last time,” she holds up her hand to stop me from blowing up, “I left him, got a temporary restraining order, and filed for divorce. Now, he’s having trouble moving on.”
I count to ten, then twenty before I can calm my nerves. I should have killed him on the spot the other night at the restaurant and been done with him. “I’m glad you got out when you did, Jenny. A lot of women don’t have the nerve.”
She looks out the window, “Yeah, I know. I may be a first-grade teacher, but I’m not a wallflower. I wasn’t going to live my life in constant fear of the man I was married to. That’s just not me.”
I take her hand in mine. “Without trying to sound condescending, I want to tell you that I’m proud of you. You’re brave.”
“I’m not sure ‘brave’ is the right word, but I’m proud of myself, too.”
“Do you know why he’s having trouble moving on? Is it a possessive thing?” I ask.
Her face scrunches up, “I’m not sure, but I suspect that may be part of it and another part of it is my family’s name. See, my great, great grandparents helped found Hibiscus Harbor over a hundred years ago. Don’t be impressed though,” she quickly adds, “it’s not like we have any money or anything, but the name Dalton is a pretty strong name here. It’s one of the reasons I went back to Dalton after the divorce. I’m proud of my family and all it represents.”
“Wow. I remember learning about the Daltons in middle school. That’s cool, but why would your ex be concerned with your name?”
“He works at the bank and in that world, prestige is everything. With a public record of the temporary restraining order and the divorce, I guess he’s struggling.” She shrugs her shoulders, “At least that’s what I’ve come up with. Honestly, I don’t really know, but it’s been almost two years since the divorce and as you could see the other night, he’s still trying to hold on.”
I nod, replaying the events of the other night, “Is the restraining order still in place? Why were you meeting him the other day?”
She takes a deep breath, “No, the restraining order was only temporary and expired ninety days after it was issued. Richard has a lot of pull being a vice president at the bank. It was a struggle just to get the temporary one; getting it reissued would have been next to impossible.” She sits up in her chair, “As for meeting him, I keep thinking if I just keep telling him it’s all over between us, he’ll finally move on,” she looks preoccupied, “but clearly that just hasn’t happened yet.”
By the time we finish dinner, the connection between us feels even stronger. It’s like we’ve known each other for years, like this was always meant to be.
“Thank you for tonight,” Jenny says as we walk back to my truck, her hand slipping into mine.
