Page 41 of Heart of Stone
“I used to feel that way all the time. In the years immediately after my parents died and I was living with my uncle, and in the time that I’d been with Tim. It wasn’t until I came to Sandstone Heart, until Barrett had so graciously given me the help I needed, that I truly began to feel safe. It took time, but I got there eventually.”
Reid nodded his understanding. “And now?”
“Now?”
He swallowed roughly. “If you don’t want to discuss it now, I understand, but your ex approached you after years of being apart and did what he did to you. I don’t know where or how it happened; I don’t even know what exactly happened, but after going through something like that, I’m wondering if you’re feeling scared again.”
In all that I’d already shared with Reid, I hadn’t managed to tell him what happened on Thursday after I left work. Maybe it was time to give him that.
I exhaled deeply. “Normally, I don’t venture that far off the retreat, but after work on Thursday, I went to Lake Erie.”
“Wait. What?”
“What?”
“You said that you don’t normally venture that far off the retreat, but Lake Erie is a matter of twenty minutes away from here.”
I nodded to confirm he’d gotten that correct. “Yes. More than any other place, Lake Erie is one that I’ve avoided for years. And it devastates me, because I used to go there all the time with my dad as a kid. It’s where he taught me how to skip stones. The problem is that Tim knows that, and I didn’t doubt he’d hope to find me there one day, so I never went.”
Anger flashed in his expression. “All these years you’ve avoided going?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.” I could hear genuine sorrow in his tone. It bothered him to know I’d avoided a place that had been so special to me, and there was something about that I found endearing. “So, you decided to go on Thursday?”
Realizing that what I said next could impact Reid so negatively, I hesitated to answer him. But the expectant look on his face made it impossible to ignore the question completely. “Whenever I’m upset or want some quiet time to clear my head, I enjoy skipping stones. I always just go to the lake that’s here, but…”
“It’s right near my cabin, so you wanted to avoid it at all costs,” Reid guessed.
My chin dipped slightly, and with my voice barely a touch over a whisper, I answered, “Yes.”
Regret consumed him. As he shook his head with disappointment, he swore beneath his breath and muttered, “I’m the reason this happened to you.”
Even if the way he’d treated me in his office had been the catalyst for why I went to the lake, Reid was not to blame. As I’d already mentioned to him, this had happened enough in my life,long before I ever met Reid, that I knew who was responsible. “It’s not your fault that Tim put his hands on me.”
“No. But I’m the reason you were there to begin with, so we’re going to have to agree to disagree on this.”
Although I didn’t know much about Reid, I believed I knew enough to recognize that I wouldn’t be able to change his mind. So, I decided the best thing I could do was get back to giving him the facts. “It’s been eight years since I’ve seen him. How he managed to pick that day to show up at the lake is beyond me. And it wasn’t like I was there for a long time, either. Not even an hour.”
“Did he say anything to you?”
I shook my head. “Not much beyond pointing out that I was there at the same time as him and gloating about the fact that nobody else was around. There wasn’t a chance I was going to get out of there without him doing some serious damage.”
For a long time, Reid didn’t say anything. But it wasn’t because he didn’t have any thoughts about everything. I was willing to bet it was quite the opposite based on the look in his eyes. Reid had entirely too many thoughts running through his mind, and it was likely he just couldn’t begin to sort through all of it. Ultimately, he asked, “Does he know you’re here?”
“No. No, I don’t think so. And Tim is the kind of guy that would have been here years ago if he’d known where I was.”
Reid didn’t relax at all. He didn’t seem the least bit reassured. “Are you confident?”
I lifted one shoulder toward my ear. “I’m as sure as I can be.”
“Okay. And how are you feeling now as it pertains to your injuries? Was there anything the doctor was particularly concerned about?”
Shaking my head, I offered a small smile. I’d never seen this level of concern from him, and it was taking me a minute to get used to it. “Thankfully, there were no broken bones or injuriesthat were so severe they’d require surgery or anything like that. I know it looks bad, but I promise it appears worse than it is.”
He eyed me in a way that told me he didn’t necessarily agree. “Well, I’ll admit that this is the best you’ve looked since I got here on Friday afternoon, but I wouldn’t say that anything about this could be considered not bad.”
“If I haven’t already made it clear, Reid, I’m very grateful to you for staying here with me and looking after me when you didn’t have to,” I told him. “It’s quite possible I’m feeling as good as I am now because you did such a tremendous job of it.”
