Page 53 of Color of Love

Chapter 16

Justine was packing up her stuff for the evening when she heard the door to the office open. She berated herself for not locking it like Blake told her to and for a moment wondered if it was him that had come to see her. Her stomach fluttered in anticipation at the thought. Ugh! She couldn’t stop thinking about him, and how wonderfully skilled he was at particular activities. Heat pooled low in her belly at the memory of his mouth on her last night and a little moan nearly slipped out.

She pushed the thoughts out of her mind as her visitor came into the room, and she was surprised to see who it was.

“Hi Rebelle, how are you?”

Rebelle looked around quietly, her big eyes taking in all the details of the office, the action reminding Justine so much of Blake. Her heart clenched. What ghosts haunted Rebelle to cause such an action?

Rebelle swiped her tongue over her lip and shook her head. “It was stupid to come here,” she muttered, squeezing her eyes shut. She spun on her heel and left the room.

“You’ll regret leaving more than you’ll regret whatever it was you came to say,” Justine called after her, hoping her words reached Rebelle. She held her breath waiting for a response. Rebelle was a mystery to a lot of people in this town, Justine included. She usually stayed away from everyone and kept to herself.

The town talked. The majority of them believed that Rebelle murdered her husband, and they didn’t trust her, she was a black widow, a bad penny, an outcast. No one wanted her around, believing she left a trail of disaster wherever she went, except Christy. Christy had become close with Rebelle when they were all at school together so if Christy liked and trusted her then Justine did too.

The silence stretched on until finally Rebelle peeked from around the doorframe and Justine was boosted by a flare of satisfaction.

“What can I help you with?” Justine asked softly.

Rebelle hung her head, her fingers picking at a hole in her denim shorts that Justine didn’t think was there for fashionable reasons. She looked Rebelle over: her sandals were held together with some tape and the strap on her top looked like it had snapped and been tied back together to keep it up. She was too thin, her hair which had been so shiny as a child now looked dull and lifeless. Sympathy surged through Justine. How much help did Rebelle need?

“I was, uh, thinking that it might be nice to talk to someone,” Rebelle mumbled, vulnerability pouring off her in waves. There was a pause and when she didn’t say more, Justine spoke up.

“Well, thank you for choosing me to come and see, what did you want to talk about?” Justine sat in the armchair and gestured to the couch opposite for Rebelle to sit. Rebelle stepped into the room and walked over, perching on the arm like she was giving into the situation but not fully committing to it yet. She was a fighter though, Justine could see it.

She waited patiently for Rebelle to continue speaking, the situation reminding her of Blake’s first few sessions where he refused to talk, just watching her with that hot, intense stare of his.

“Is there something in particular you wanted to talk about? Something you need help with?” Justine asked patiently.

Rebelle met her stare, tears pooling in those doe-eyes, magnifying them. “Yes,” she breathed. “But, uh, money is a problem. I don’t really have a lot spare. I was wondering if you had some kind of payment plan?” She nibbled her bottom lip nervously.

Justine only thought about it for a split second before she made her decision. She earned plenty from some of her other clients who paid top rate, money wasn’t an issue, and she certainly wouldn’t feel good about taking what little money Rebelle had to offer. She could feel herself being lured again by the challenge of being able to truly help someone. It was the easiest decision she’d made, but she could see the pride shining in Rebelle’s eyes, she wouldn’t take a handout from anyone.

“I do have payment plans but I don’t think that’s what we need,” Justine began.

“Oh,” Rebelle said softly, her shoulders dropping. Justine got up and went over to her desk and flicked through her calendar.

“What I think we should do is meet up every Thursday at 6pm for a coffee and a chat,” Justine said.

Rebelle’s head shot up; she fixed her with a questioning look.

“You can meet me here and we can catch up, like old friends do. I’ll bring the coffee, and for that hour, we can talk about anything you like.”

A ghost of a smile hit Rebelle’s wide mouth.

“Anything.” Justine repeated meaningfully. She came back to sit in front of Rebelle and held out her card. “If we’re just having a friendly chat over a coffee then money doesn’t need to come into it. Now you have my number too, so if anything comes up outside of our Thursday catch up, you can just call up your new friend—me—and we can chat.”

Rebelle took the card and Justine noticed she had another piece of paper already crumpled in her fist.

“I don’t know what to say. I don’t think I can accept this,” she whispered brokenly.

“Everyone needs a friend to talk to, that’s all this is. I really can’t wait for our first chat,” Justine flashed her a bright smile and Rebelle let out a gentle chuckle.

“Thank you, that’s very generous of you.”

“Don’t mention it. Now did you want a coffee now or to talk about anything? I have plenty of time?” Justine asked. Rebelle’s expression shuttered, and she stiffened.

“No, thank you. I think I’ll come back next week for our catch up if that’s okay?” she replied.

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