Beautifully Wounded (The Beaumont Brothers) (13 page)

Jackson

I stayed inside the kitchen doorway, not wanting to invade her space, but wanting her to know I was there. She seemed so fragile, yet so determined to overcome whatever demons continued to possess her. Troy demons I supposed. I wanted to bang my own head against the wall. I blamed myself for making her act so injured, so vulnerable, yet I knew it hadn’t been me that made her that way. It had been dickwad, Troy. If he ever came within twenty-feet of her again, I knew I’d be in trouble. I didn’t think I’d be able to stop myself from bashing his head in, which was a rather insane thought, considering I was not a violent person. Would I ever be able to break down the walls of the prison he’d trapped her in? I’d gotten too close. I knew it when I whispered in her ear, but I wanted to be close. I wanted her to be comfortable with me. To realize she could feel safe with me.

“No. It’s my fault. I never meant to crowd you that way or make you feel uncomfortable. Believe me.” I took a cautious step toward her
, but stopped as her left foot went behind her as though she were afraid of me. “I only want you to feel safe around here. I would never hurt you.” I took another step toward her, and she didn’t move. When I got close enough, I held out my hand to her. I hoped the smile on my face came across as warm and reassuring as I meant for it to. I guess I succeeded when she slowly extended her hand toward mine. It took a few seconds before our fingertips touched, but once they did, I didn’t waste any time and wrapped my fingers around hers. I didn’t pull her or make her move, just held her hand, and she smiled at me. Her eyes lit up like sparklers, and my heart sang a sweet song of praise.

As we stood in the kitchen holding hands
, I noticed the sun going down. The sunset over the lake was always beautiful this time of day.

“
I have an idea,” I said, and let the uncontrollable smile grow wide on my face as I tugged her out the kitchen door with me. “Come with me.”

“Wait,” she protested, but I didn’t stop walking as I coaxed her along to the car.

“Where are we going?” she added with a slight giggle.

“You see that?” I pointed at the sun blaring in the partially clouded sky.

“Yes.”

“Well, it’s about to make the most beautiful picture you’ve ever seen
, and I know the best spot to watch it from.” I held the passenger door open for her and she got in, fastening her seatbelt. I hurried to the other side of the car. “Oh, wait a minute,” I yelled, holding my hand up as I ran back inside and grabbed the bottle of wine off the counter. I found two red, plastic cups in the cupboard, and ran back to the car. With my free hand, I dug in the front pocket of my jeans for the keys and slipped in behind the wheel. We didn’t have much time, so I needed to get moving as quickly as possible, and I fishtailed the back end of the car a bit on the way out of the gravel driveway. Lena gasped as her body swerved toward mine and her hand landed on my thigh. She quickly removed it, and I glanced at her. “Sorry, about that. Are you okay?” She nodded, keeping her eyes forward as though she might be able to help me control the car if she did. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.” I stole a glance at her determined face and shot her a grin as she nibbled on her bottom lip. I almost wished she’d left her hand there. No, not almost.

Lena

The tires scrunched along the gravel mixed in with dirt until we made it onto the paved road. I don’t know what got into Jackson, but all of a sudden, he seemed like a little kid eager to show me his new prized possession, and he managed to instantly draw my mind out of the fearscape I’d drummed up. I worried a bit when my hand fell onto his lap as we swerved coming out of the driveway, but he didn’t make a big deal about it. It embarrassed me some. It was an accident, and I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. Not that I didn’t like him, I did. I wished I could have just left my hand on Jackson’s firm thigh. I blinked my eyes, willing the pleasurable moment away. I couldn’t allow my thoughts to go there right now, so … so soon after what just happened with Troy.

Jackson turned the SUV down something resembling a road, but from the looks of all the brush and trees growing amongst and through it, I couldn’t be sure it was an actual road.

“Don’t worry,” he said as I braced my hand at the top of the glove box for support. “I know this road like the back of my hand.”

Road? What road? I wanted to ask, but decided my energy was better spent looking out for unsuspecting animals we might crash into, or worse yet, a cliff side that would take us plummeting to our deaths.
I didn’t dare take my eyes off the path for fear I might miss the attack of a tree right before we rammed into it, killing us both. I wanted to be aware of my last couple seconds of life. When he stopped the car beside a large oak tree and placed the gearshift into park, I breathed out a sigh of relief.

He heard me and laughed. “Did that ride scare you?”

“Maybe just a little,” I admitted, releasing my fingers from their death grip on the dash. “Where are we?”

“Come on,” he said without answering me. He came over to my side of the SUV and opened my door. With the wine bottle and cups in his other hand, he waved them in front of himself, bending a little at the waist he bowed his head
and splayed his other hand and arm out toward the forest. “This way, m’lady.”

I smiled and stepped out, taking
the outstretched hand that he offered to me.

Glancing around the woodsy surroundings, I couldn’t
imagine where he was taking me. The little voice inside my head wanted to scream,
No
!
Don’t go into the woods
, but I managed to squash down the panic rising in my chest. If Jackson wanted to hurt me he would have done it by now. I took a deep breath and followed him into the forest. The narrow path we entered didn’t look too bad, growing wider as we continued, and resembling more of a trail than it did in the beginning. A small hill sloped up toward our right with pine trees looming from the ground as we kept going. Some were so tall I wondered how they stayed straight, growing from the side of the slope that way. To our left, the hillside swept downward with trees covering almost every inch of free space.

“Let’s hurry. It’s getting close to sunset.” Jackson said as he led the way, pulling my hand with him. My side still
tender, I clutched at it with my free hand. Jackson noticed and slowed down. “We’re almost there. Stay close.” I kept my eyes on the ground watching where Jackson stepped, making sure to step right behind him.

When we stopped walking, I looked up. My eyes widened at the sight of the huge expanse of water in front of us. “Over here.” Jackson tugged to our left and led me over to a small
metal motorboat perched upside down on the bank, secured to a tree with heavy twine. He untied it and turned it over. Under it, two oars lie side by side. “It’s not fancy or anything, but this is my fishing boat, and this,” he gestured toward the water, “is my fishing hole. And in about ten minutes, that sun is going to sink just below the water’s edge over that way. His eyes were bright with excitement as he pointed down at the far end of the lake. “If we hurry, we can catch it. Take that end,” he said, motioning to the opposite end of the boat from the motor end he was now lifting. I helped him pick up the boat, and we carried it to the water. It wasn’t as heavy as I had thought it would be. “Hop in.” I did as he told me and immediately sat down at the end away from the motor. Jackson pushed the boat away from the shore and hopped in.

I sat staring at Jackson. He wore a silly grin that he didn’t seem to realize until he glanced at me and frowned. “You might want to turn around and face that way.”

“Okay,” I picked up my legs and twirled around to face the front of the boat. He started the engine, which was to my surprise, relatively quiet, and we floated away from the beach toward the sinking sun.

It was the most beautiful
picture I’d ever seen. The colors of blood-red orange mingled with purple covered the entire sky as wisps of clouds scattered throughout. The way the reddish-orange met the ocean looked as if the sky just above the water was on fire. I couldn’t contain the gasp that escaped my lips. “Oh my God, Jackson, this is beautiful.”

“I thought you’d like it.”

“Like it? I love it.” I turned briefly to see his grin, or just to make sure he was there and real. I wanted to reach out and touch him just to make sure I wasn’t in some beautiful dream that I’d wake up from, disappointed that I couldn’t stay asleep. He sat straight; confident looking with his hand on the steering shaft of the motor. My God, he was so handsome. His green eyes shimmered with the light cast from the sinking sun, and he smiled at me. Satisfied he was real and I wasn’t dreaming I quickly swiveled back around. I didn’t want to miss a single moment of the majestic sensation before my eyes, consuming every inch of my soul. “This truly has to be heaven,” I whispered, knowing, as real as this beautiful moment was, it could only be temporary.

Jackson

As Lena whispered those words, my heart sank two inches in my chest and ached for the young woman before me. I don’t think I’d ever heard or seen such a beautiful statement in regards to my favorite spot on earth. Of course, I’d never brought anyone here before, other than Brodie. Actually, Brodie and I discovered this fishing hole together when we were kids. The special part about this stretch of the river was the stillness of the water. The only rippling was the small wake the boat made, and when I turned off the engine, the tranquil water looked like glass. A soft, but warm early spring breeze caught a few strands of Lena’s beautiful new blonde tendrils. They pressed against her cheek into her lips, and she brushed them away as she turned to glance back at me with a wide grin. The moment the magic of the beauty surrounded her, she was like a sponge, absorbing every molecule of wonderful energy the sunset provided. It was a gorgeous one too. I was grateful that I was able to show it to her.

“Yes, it is beautiful,” I finally managed to say
, after being so swept up in her reaction. I cut the engine and reached for the bottle of wine. Pouring a little into each cup, I made my way to the spot on the bench next to her and handed her one. “The beauty of this place is what keeps me coming back. I don’t really care about fishing so much, though on a hot summer day, with a few beers, I’ve been known to disappear here for several hours. The best time of the day is right now.” She sipped the wine and kept her eyes on the sunset, while I couldn’t tear my own eyes away from her profile. “I’ll have to bring you here on the fourth of July. The fireworks they light off each year are spectacular and reflect off the water as they illuminate the sky.”

She glanced at me
and caught me staring, but all I could do was smile. She averted her eyes though, and mumbled, “I don’t know if I’ll still be here in the summer.”

The statement took me completely off guard. “What? Why not?”

She gave a slight uncertain shake of her head, but didn’t answer. I had to remind myself that this girl, as beautiful as she was—and as much as I wanted her—didn’t belong to me.

“I can’t stay here, Jackson. You’ve been terrific, a wonderful friend, more than I could have ever hoped for, but if I
remain in one place for too long, I’m afraid he’ll find me. In fact, I’m certain of it.”

“You don’t know that. We’ll have a restraining order
issued against him. I won’t let him harm you ever again, I promise.”

“You can
’t make that promise. How could you? Troy isn’t the type of person to pay attention to a restraining order. I know he’s searching for me right now.”

“From what you told me, you’ve done a very good job of covering your tracks. Why would he even think of you being here?
”

“I don’t know. But if there is a way, he will find it.”

“Jackson, people are starting to ask about you. The band wants to know when you’re going to join us again, and customers keep asking for you.” Brodie held the kitchen screen door wide open, letting Rufus in. The dog came barreling through the opening so fast he skidded across the hardwood floor, stopping just short of the stainless steel refrigerator, but not soon enough that his wet nose didn’t make smudge marks across the middle of it.

“
Tell them I’ll be there soon. Jeez, can’t a guy take a little vaca?” I hadn’t been going into the pub as much as I normally did. I didn’t want to leave Lena alone. But after the first week, she insisted I go in, said that she would be fine at the house by herself. I agreed, but I only managed to stay for an hour. Once I walked into the bar, I started worrying so much I couldn’t concentrate, and took off for home shortly afterwards. Since then, I hadn’t tried going in again.

“Vacation?
Look, I don’t need you to help at the bar, and you can take all day, every day, doing whatever it is you want, but the band is suffering because you’re putting some stranger ahead of your obligations to them. We are good, but we need our lead guitarist and singer. If you don’t show up soon, I heard the other guys talking about finding someone to take your place.”

“They can’t do that. It’s my band, my place.”

“Our band, and well, they recognized the fact that we’re losing customers too.”

“Don’t you have any compassion?”

“Yeah, I have compassion, but Jack, you’ve become obsessed with this girl. I just don’t get you. You’ve put your entire life on hold for a complete stranger, and on top of that, instead of having her stay up in the cottage like she was supposed to, she’s moved in here with us. Why is that Jack? Why do you have such a hard on for this girl, why are you so hell-bent on rescuing every fucked up, damaged soul in this universe, and why did my house suddenly become a refuge for them?”

“Stop being an ass,
Brodie.”

“I will, as soon as you stop being a sap.”
Just as the words left Brodie’s mouth, I looked up to see Lena standing in the doorway to the kitchen. By the somber look on her face, I knew she’d heard every word of the fucked up conversation that Brodie and I just had.

“Lena,
wait!” I called out as she hurried away toward the guest room. “Way to go, jerkwad,” I muttered to Brodie as I pushed my way past him. I caught the guest room door just before she had the chance to shut and lock it. “Listen, Lena, don’t pay any attention to Brodie. He’s … he’s just looking out for the bar. He didn’t mean anything by what he said.”

“
Brodie’s right. I shouldn’t be staying down here. I should have stayed upstairs like the original arrangement. It’s probably best if I leave in the morning.”

“Leave
? You mean go back upstairs to the cottage?”

“No, I mean leave all together. I should get moving anyway
, the sooner the better.”

“No. Please don’t. Look, I know you want to pay your way.
I completely understand that. I want you to feel comfortable. Maybe you can put in a few hours at the bar?”

“Doing what, Jack? I don’t have any experience.”

“Hell, it doesn’t take much experience to wash glasses and wipe off tables, maybe even carry a few drinks out to the customers sitting at them. At least if you’re there, I know you’re safe. And I’m sure the band would love for you to do a couple numbers with us. I know I would.”

She studied my face
with contemplation heavy in her eyes, and slowly shook her head, not in disagreement, but more as if she just wasn’t sure what she should do. “What is it with you? Why are you so interested in what happens to me? I’m nothing to you, a nobody who walked into your bar one morning looking for a warm cup of coffee.”

“But you needed more than that
, and you know it.”

She shook her head, slowly, her voice a low whisper.
“I never asked for anything more.”

“Do you really think that I could have just let you walk away that morning in the condition you were in? You were hurting. Your face looked
as if it had met up with a mack truck, and you could barely walk. I’m not the kind of man to ignore someone like that.”

She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. “
Most would.”

“When are you going to get it through that pretty head of yours, I’m not most guys.”

She pressed her lips together in a tight line. “That is most definitely the truth. Okay. I’ll stay. But I want to start working at the bar soon. I don’t want to be a charity case. I think it would be best if I moved back into the cottage instead of staying here in your guest room too.”

“That’s not necessary,” I protested.

“Yes, it is.” She placed her hand on my forearm. “Jackson, I
want
to live upstairs, please. You’re very generous, and I know you’re thinking of my safety, but I’d like to have my own place, pay my own way. You can understand that, can’t you?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I can.” I nodded and took a step back.

“Good. Now how much is the rent?”

I sighed and shook my head, studying my shoes as if they had the amount etched on the tops
, deciding on what I thought she might be able to afford. The normal rate for the cottage was seven hundred a month. Brodie liked to keep it in competition with the other studio rentals in the area, but there was no way I was charging Lena that much. “How does four hundred a month sound? You should be able to swing that from what you’ll make at the bar, and still have enough left over for food and whatever else you’ll need.”

She bit her lower lip for a minute,
and then her mouth slowly transformed into a huge grin. “Okay.”

“I’ll help you move your stuff up there tomorrow.”

“I don’t have that much. I think I can manage.”

“I’ll help you anyway.”
I walked down the hall, glancing back as she shut the door. Then I heard the lock click into place. I had to remind myself that this was a good thing. She was staying. That was the main thing, and she wanted to make a new start, set up a home for herself. This was a major step in her healing, one that I had to give her. I hoped I would be able to convince Brodie to agree to the four hundred a month for her.