Entangled (Free Indeed Book 1) (10 page)

He opened the door, and she walked through onto the beautiful back deck. Jason followed behind her with the two dogs trailing happily.

* * *

J
ason and Allie
spent the day together with him showing her around the ranch. Besides the main house and the outbuildings, he also drove her around and showed her some of the acreage and surrounding lands. The best part though, was meeting the horses. Allie had never ridden a horse before or honestly, even been close enough to pet one. It was special to be able to get the chance to do it now. Shuggy and Malcolm tagged along behind them the whole afternoon. The little puppy was having the time of her life with so many new animals to meet, and new smells to investigate. The day went by so quickly, Allie was surprised to realize that it was dinnertime.

“Hungry?” Jason looked over at her and asked.

“Now that I actually think about it, I’m starved,” Allie smiled back. They had been so busy going from one thing to the next that she hadn’t even given thought to food the entire day. And now, just the idea of it was making her stomach rumble. A small laugh escaped Jason at the sound. He reached over to lace their hands together and led her back to the main house with the two pups trailing behind.

* * *

J
ason’s phone
started ringing just as they finished eating. He looked down at the phone’s display and frowned for a moment before swiping the screen to accept the call and bring it up to his ear, “Hello, Sheriff.”

“Hey Jason,” Sheriff Donaldson’s deep voice came through, “by any chance is Allie with you?”

Jason turned his gaze to where Allie sat watching him, “Yeah, she’s here with me now. What’s up?”

“Thank God,” came the sheriff’s relieved voice. “I hate to have to tell you this, but Annie noticed her stairwell door ajar tonight and went in to make sure everything was ok. She found the apartment completely ransacked. It’s bad. Everything is pretty trashed, Jason.”

“We’ll be right there. We’re out at the ranch, so give us thirty minutes or so.”

“I don’t think I have to tell you this, but stick close to her, ok? I don’t like this, and it’s starting to feel like she’s definitely being targeted for something.”

“Absolutely will do. We’re on our way.” Jason acknowledged and disconnected the call.

“What happened?” Allie asked gripping tightly onto the counter’s edge for support. Even though she wasn’t able to hear what the sheriff had said, she knew the news had to be bad. Jason moved over to her and grasped her clenched hands in his.

“There’s been a break in at your apartment. The sheriff and Annie are there now, but I need to take you back so you can report if anything’s missing.”

Instead of crying or breaking down, Allie stiffened and just quietly agreed, “Ok, let’s go.” He watched as Allie picked up her purse and then walked over to where Shuggy was sacked out next to Mal on his doggie bed.

He watched as she leaned down to pet Malcolm and gave him a quick scratch behind the ears, “We can leave Shuggy here.” he said. Allie turned back to look at him, “Mal will keep an eye on her, and it’ll probably be easier to look everything over without a puppy running everywhere. We can come straight back after everything’s taken care of.”

Allie thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement, “Yeah, it will be easier if I don’t have to worry about Shuggy getting into things she shouldn’t.” She dropped to her knees and gave the puppy a hug goodbye. Shuggs responded in her typical fashion and covered Allie’s worried face with kisses. After gently placing the puppy back on the floor, Allie turned back to where Jason was waiting for her. He reached out his hand, and she took it, then they walked out to the truck to drive back into town.

W
hen they arrived
, the sheriff and Annie were waiting for them at the entrance to the stairwell. Jason climbed out of his truck and then walked around to give Allie a hand in jumping down. He grasped her hand in his own, and together they walked up to the entryway. Before they even came the full distance, Annie dashed down from the steps and enveloped Allie in a big hug.

“I’m so sorry this happened to you, honey.” Annie squeezed her tight, “It’s just horrible...first the mugger following you home, and now this. I can’t remember the last time we had two criminal offenses go down in such a short amount of time in this town. And to have both of them happen to you...well that’s just crazy.”

Allie gave her a small smile, grateful that her landlord was supportive instead of screaming at her and handing her an eviction notice. After all the apartment belonged to Annie, and she could kick her out if she thought Allie was more trouble than she was worth.

Jason stepped up beside her and placed his hand to the small of her back in support. Allie glanced up at him and reluctantly sighed, “Ok, let’s do this.” Then they walked up to where the sheriff was waiting to lead them upstairs.

The sheriff nodded at them as they approached. He turned his attention to Allie, “Ma’am, I just wanted to give you a heads up, what you’re going to see up there isn’t very pretty. They really did a number on your furniture and personal items. It’s pretty trashed up there.”

Allie took a deep breath and grabbed an even tighter hold on Jason’s hand. Then she nodded to the sheriff to indicate that she was ready. Sheriff Donaldson led the way up the flight of stairs with the rest of them following behind. When they reached the door, he pushed it open and then stood to the side so Allie and Jason could enter.

Allie was unable to stop the gasp from escaping her lips when she saw the damage to her apartment. The furniture was slashed, the cabinets were all ajar with the contents scattered all across the room. Broken dishes, cups, and glassware littered the kitchen floor. Her closet and dresser drawers were emptied, the clothes and items inside thrown haphazardly around every spare inch of floor. Her brand-new computer lay broken at an awkward angle on the floor, the screen smashed into pieces.

She knew they were all just things, but they were her things. The items sprawled all over the floor weren’t things that were forced on her, and they weren’t hand-me-downs that dozens had used before her. They were the things she bought to start her new life, each item hand-picked because it was something she loved. So even though they were just possessions and she knew they could be replaced, it still hurt. It hurt that someone had violated her space and damaged her personal property.

Allie could feel the sting of tears as they started to fill her eyes. Apparently, Jason could see them coming as well because he grabbed her and cocooned her in a comforting embrace. She just stayed there in his arms for a moment, absorbing his strength.

After giving her a moment to compose herself, Sheriff Donaldson came up beside her and asked, “I know it’s a disaster area right now, but does anything stand out as possibly missing?”

Allie pulled back from Jason’s chest and thought for a moment. Then she turned and walked over to her closet, rummaging around until she pulled out her bag that she had fled Free Indeed with. Jerking the zipper open, she quickly rifled through the various compartments. Finally certain that it was gone, she stood back up to her feet and faced the others in the room.

“The rest of my money is gone,” she explained. “It wasn’t an awful lot, about three thousand dollars in cash, but it’s definitely been taken.”

The sheriff pulled out his notebook to jot down a quick note. He then looked at her and asked, “Do you have any idea who may have done this? Either the break in tonight, or the scare last night?”

Allie thought for a moment, but then shook her head, “No, I really don’t. There’s no one that I know anywhere around here who would have anything against me personally, and before moving here, I lived on the east coast. No one back there would have any reason to come all this way.”

The sheriff appraised her and seemed like he wanted to ask her more questions, but instead stopped. He gave her a little smile, “Well, I’m sorry you’ve been having a rough couple of days here.” He nodded in Jason’s direction, “Stick close to Jason here or your friends for the next couple days, just till things start to calm down. And if anything else happens, or you think of anything that may be important, let me know.”

“I will, Sheriff.” Allie agreed, “And thank you for your help.”

Sheriff Donaldson tipped his hat to her and grunted a quick goodbye in Jason’s direction, before walking out the door.

After the sheriff left, Annie stepped forward and embraced Allie again, “I’m so sorry about all this, Annie.” Allie apologized.

“Pssh, don’t you worry about a thing, ok?” Annie said, “I’ve got insurance to cover all of this mess and damage. So if you just want to go through and get your clothes and items from the mess, Jason and I will help you bag it up to take it with you for now. Then I’ll take care of everything else, and we’ll get you moved back in once I get new furniture in here.”

Tears shone in Allie’s eyes at the older woman’s words. She had honestly expected for Annie to be angry at her or blame her in some way for the damage. But to have Annie not only on her side, but taking care of the problem, it just made her feel so relieved.

Allie grabbed the bag that she had pulled from the closet, while Annie found the trash bags under the sink, and the three of them started to sift through the items scattered about to find clothes and other things that weren’t damaged enough to be thrown away. Not worrying about organization or making it pretty, they just grabbed everything they thought Allie might want or need and stuffed it into the bags.

“Do you have somewhere to stay, Allie?” Annie asked her while separating the clothes from the broken dishes. “Because you’re more than welcome to stay with George and me.”

“She can stay with me as long as she needs to,” Jason interjected quickly.

Allie looked over at him and smiled her thanks, then turned back to Annie, “Shuggy’s already out at the ranch now, and I’m sure she’s having a blast. So it’ll be easier to stay with Jason until the apartment is livable again. Thank you so much for thinking of me, though.”

“Of course, dear.” Annie looked back at her, “I’m just so sad that this has happened to you.”

It felt so good for once to have people in her corner. People who cared about her and looked out for her. That was a new feeling for Allie. The people she had grown up with forever claimed to share a community environment, where everyone helped everybody. But it was all such a sham. Besides the fact that the women tended to have anywhere from five to twenty children each, there was no time to worry about anyone else. The day barely had enough daylight to feed and clothe and clean one family’s worth, let alone look out for and help with the needs of others.

Despite the fact that her apartment had been broken into and her things trashed, Allie smiled as she kept shoving belts and shoes into bags. Fortunately, she didn’t have a huge amount of things, considering she had only left Free Indeed with a shoulder bag. Most of her current possessions were the items she had picked up at Garb & Gab, and while the intruder had scattered her clothes everywhere making it look like a mess, most of them were actually unscathed. After a laundry cycle and some ironing, they’d be as good as new. It definitely could have been worse.

After they had pretty much bagged up everything that could be saved, they tied the bags closed, and then Jason carted them down to his truck. When the last bag was secure in the truck bed, he walked back upstairs and nodded at Allie, “Ready to go?” He asked.

Was she ever. The break in had just sapped all of her strength, and now that it was over, for now at least, she was completely wiped out. Allie turned back to give Annie one last hug, “Thank you again for all your help,” she expressed gratefully.

“Anytime, dear. Now you go with Jason and get some rest.”

Allie gave her a small, tired smile and waved as she walked with Jason back downstairs and out to his truck.

* * *

J
ason turned
the truck into the long driveway leading up to his house and pulled up right outside the front door to park. May as well make it as easy as possible to unload the bags from the back. Even before the engine shut off, they could already hear the joyous barking from inside the house welcoming them back home. Shuggy’s little, gravelly yips along with Malcolm’s deep, echoing barks brought a smile to his face. Jason turned over to see Allie grinning right back at him. A small laugh escaped her as she opened the door and jumped down from the truck.

He opened his door and climbed down, his long strides quickly catching up with Allie just as she reached the front door. With his keys in hand, he swiftly unlocked the door and pushed it open. Before it had even moved a foot, a furry little bundle dashed out and darted circles around Allie’s legs. Shuggy was so happy her mistress was home again. The little whines the puppy made were so stinking cute; Jason couldn’t help but laugh. Malcolm trotted out much more maturely and the dignified look he gave Jason said,
I can’t believe you left me alone with that thing for hours and hours
. Jason gave Mal a quick scratch on the head as Allie dropped to her knees to greet Shuggy. She swept up the puppy in her arms and promptly had her entire face covered in Shuggy-kisses, causing Allie to laugh in delight.

Her laugh was so contagious, Jason couldn’t help but smile as he watched them interact. She was already gorgeous, but when she laughed like that, her whole face seemed to just radiate joy, and it was a beautiful thing to behold. After everything that had happened over the last couple of days, he was glad to see her so happy. Finding that puppy hobbling alongside the road was a stroke of luck that he’d forever be grateful for.

They let the dogs run around outside to let off some steam and to take care of their doggy business. Then they wrangled them up, and all went inside.

“The guest room is this way,” Jason said gesturing down the hall. Allie followed him down a couple of doors until he opened one and walked inside. He watched her as her gaze quickly swept around the room until it came back to land on his face. The bedroom was quaint, very ranch-farmhouse. All of the rooms except for his were left as they were when his mom decorated them, so they all had a very nice, homey feel. From the warm, soft rug on the floor to the rocking chair in the corner and the four poster bed covered in a country quilt, it all oozed welcomeness, and he hoped she’d be very comfortable here.

Allie smiled that beautiful smile of hers up in his direction, and it did funny things to his insides. It was as if his heart liked to beat in triple time whenever she was around, and darnit, but he liked it.

“Uh, I’m going to grab some fresh sheets for the bed really quick,” Jason said. “I’ll be right back.” He barely heard her soft agreement before he was out the door. As much as he wanted her here in his house, it may wind up being more difficult than he thought it would be. He wanted her. There was no denying that, not that he even wanted to. But she’d already been through so much recently, and he didn’t want her to get the impression that he opened up his house to her for anything other than honorable, no-strings-attached intentions. He sighed as he pulled open the linen closet door and reached in to grab some clean sheets and fresh pillow cases. It was going to be a long night.

Jason walked back into the guest room. Allie had already pulled back the quilt and stripped the prior sheets from the bed. He smiled his thanks in her direction as he shook out the sheets and stretched them over the mattress. Allie took the opposite side, and together they remade the bed in record time.

When they had finished, Allie smiled up at him again, “Thank you so much for all your help.”

“You never have to thank me for helping you, Allie,” he said back. “I want you to feel welcome here. Anything you need, just let me know.”

She seemed to pause for a moment, but then stepped forward into his space and threw her arms around his neck in a big hug. Without a second thought, he wrapped his arms back around her squeezing her tight. She seemed to fit perfectly in his arms with her head resting right underneath his chin.

Jason pulled back just enough to be able to look into her eyes without letting her go. He trailed a finger along her cheek as he gazed deeply into her seemingly bottomless eyes. “Goodnight Allie,” he whispered. Then before he could change his mind, he leaned forward and ever so gently pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth. It wasn’t a real kiss, but it was. It was everything needed in this moment. He lingered there, drawing the sensation out until he finally pulled back and opened his eyes.

The look in Allie’s eyes made him want to kiss her again. Properly this time. But he knew if he started that, then there was a very good chance he wasn’t going to be leaving this bedroom tonight. And as much as he honestly wanted that, he also knew she wasn’t ready. It sucked, first the stalker and then the break in. But she still needed time to process how stressful the last two days had been, and sleeping with her now would only complicate matters. When they finally did sleep together, and they would, he didn’t want her to have anything else on her mind except for him. And he certainly didn’t want any other stressors influencing her decision. It was going to just be about them. And he knew it would happen, that’s why he was perfectly content to wait. Just knowing that she was here in his house and that she was safe was enough for him.