Page 17 of The Daddy She Needed

And yet here she was. Right back at the place where it all began.

Catherine took a step back toward her car, her vision blurry from tears. She blinked them back, trying to hide them, but Jason had always been so good at reading her. He stepped forward, taking her in his arms, brushing the tears off her cheeks with his thumb.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come.”

“I’m glad you did.”

“Why? This isn’t going to work between us; you know that as well as I do.” She hated the way her voice sounded, so broken.

Jason leaned forward, kissed her forehead, held her tightly. Catherine leaned into him, allowing his comfort. Needing it, even. He’d always been able to make her feel like everything was okay, even when the world was falling apart around her. She both loved it and hated it in equal measure.

“It depends whatthisis, I suppose,” he murmured against her hair.

“Us.” Catherine gestured between them, in the small space between their bodies. “Being back here now, it brings back so many memories. I grew up here, Jason. I fell in love with you here. And now that I’m back here, it all feels so familiar, like I’ve never even been away. The hay barn over there…” Her voice trailed off as she remembered the sparks that had flown between them in that hay barn, the way they’d explored each other’s bodies so intimately.

“I’ve never taken anyone else to the hay barn,” Jason whispered. “That was our special spot.” He straightened up, letting go of her, but took a hold of her hand instead. “Here, come.”

Hesitantly, her heart pounding, Catherine followed where he led.

The closer they got to the hay barn, the more erratically her heart pounded, the more ragged her breathing became. The air around them was thick, the chemistry sparking between them. She knew exactly where Jason was taking her. But she didn’t know how she felt about that.

At the barn door, she took a deep breath and inhaled the sweet, woody smell of hay stacked up higher than her head. She hadn’t been around hay in years, not since moving to the city, but the intoxicating smell was as familiar now as it had been back then, and it reminded her of Jason. Not horses. Not riding. Jason.

His hands went to her shoulders and she let him press her back against the stack of prickly hay. Her bare skin tingled where his fingers rested inside the collar of her shirt and heat rushed through her.

“Jason.” His name whispered on her lips felt so right. So good.

“Catherine.” His grey-blue eyes bored into her, piercing right through to her very soul.

He lowered his face to hers, his lips mere centimetres away. She tilted her chin up to meet his mouth. His hand went around her throat. His body trapped her, pressing her back against the hay. There was no escape. Nowhere for her to go.

Catherine’s body stiffened. Her heart stopped. Her lungs tightened, burned in panic. Terror flooded her body, overwhelming her senses. She wanted to scream, to fight, to get away. But instead, she froze.

“Catherine? Catherine, what’s wrong?” Jason’s urgent voice broke through the barrier of her fear, pulling her back to reality. He’d let go of her throat. Taken a step back. Held her hand in his instead. Tugging her upright, to her feet. “Breathe, baby girl. Just breathe. You’re okay.”

It took her several long minutes to calm down. Severalverylong minutes. It felt like an eternity as blood pulsed in her ears, pounding with the erratic beating of her heart. She struggled to breathe, gasping for air, but not inhaling enough oxygen to ease the desperate burning of her screaming lungs. Her body shook, her legs trembling so much they couldn’t take her weight and she wobbled unsteadily on her feet.

Jason’s arm went around her back, supporting her.

“You’re okay,” he whispered. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

It took her a while to believe that.I’m safe. Jason is safe. He’s not Steve.She repeated the mantra over and over in her head firmly, making herself believe it.

“You’re safe. I promise.” His words washed over her, reassuring her, comforting her.

She turned away, buried her face in her arms, embarrassed. But Jason wasn’t having it. He turned her back around to face him and gently pulled her arms away from her face.

“Look at me,” he commanded softly. “Catherine, look at me. It’s okay.”

She did. But she didn’t want to. “I feel so stupid,” she whispered.

“Don’t feel stupid. He hurt you, didn’t he? Your ex?”

Catherine’s eyes filled with tears as she nodded, remembering. The terror she’d felt as he’d wrapped both his hands around her throat and slid her up the wall threatening to kill her. And then releasing her, dropping her to the floor and turning away as if nothing had ever happened, making her feel like she was crazy. Like it was all in her imagination and none of it had really happened at all. The helplessness. The confusion that had taken over her brain. When it had happened at home, she’d go for a run afterwards, to clear her head, run away from it all. But at the restaurant… running had been an impossibility. She had a business to run. A business she had large financial stakes in. A hugely successful business she couldn’t afford to lose. So she’d gone back out to the bar and poured drinks, served meals, cleared plates, laughed and smiled and chatted and pretended nothing was wrong. She’d consciously had to keep her hands away from the hot ring that burned around her throat.Don’t bring attention to yourself, Catherine,the little voice in her head had reminded her over and over again.It will only be worse for you if you do. And for other people.She remembered one of the sous chefs who had noticed tears in her eyes, asked if she was okay, genuine concern etched all over his features. Steve had overheard. She didn’t hear their exchange, but the sous chef hadn’t returned to work the next day. He’d cleared his things out at the end of his shift and never come back.

“Oh, baby girl,” Jason breathed, hugging her close, pressing the side of her face into his chest, tangling his fingers in her hair. Gently. Soothingly. But possessively. “I’m so sorry, baby girl. I’m so sorry that you had to go through that.”

Catherine snuggled in against him, taking the refuge that Jason’s strong arms offered. She hadn’t thought about that in ages, but his hand around her throat, even if the circumstances had been entirely different, had triggered a flashback. For just a moment, she’d been back there, with Steve. Trapped. Alone. Helpless. Scared.

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