Loving Tessa (January Cove) (15 page)

“I promise,” she said softly. “But it’s nice to know you care so much.”

“You know I care, Tessa. Too much.” Her heart felt like it was going to jump right out of her chest at his words. She hated that she was going to break the promise she’d just made, but she felt like it was her only way out. It was her ticket to freedom. It was her one shot lottery ticket that she hoped would pay off and not end in her funeral.

“How about some music?” she said changing the subject to quiet her mind.

“Sure. I’ve got my phone in my pocket,” he said as he fumbled with the wine glass. A moment later, he had the music going.

“I love this song,” she said as “The Way You Look Tonight” started to play. Aaron put his glass on the table and stood, holding his hand out to her. She cocked her head at him.

“May I have this dance?” he asked softly. Again, her heart skipped so many beats that she feared she might pass out. She nodded and stood as he pulled her out into the open area of the deck.

They stood facing each other for a moment before he slipped his hands around her waist and slowly pulled her closer. Heat radiated throughout her body as she struggled to keep air in her lungs. Sliding her hands up his arms, she settled them on his strong shoulders and stared at his chest. Unable to look up at him, she continued staring straight ahead and holding her breath.

“Tessa, look at me,” he whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her neck as his nose brushed against her skin.

She tilted her head up slightly and allowed her eyes to lock in on his. Swallowing hard, she fell in step with the rhythm of the music and realized what a good dancer he was. He held her strong and confidently, and she felt safe in his arms.

Her lips were getting dry, so she ran her tongue across her bottom lip. He sighed and looked up for a moment before looking back down at her with a wry smile.

“What?” she whispered.

“You’re killing me.”

“Why?”

“Stop licking your lips. Please.”

“I didn’t know I was licking my lips,” she lied.

“I think you know exactly what you’re doing, Tessa Reeves,” he said pulling her closer. “And if you don’t stop, I might just die right here in this spot. And you’ll have to clean up an Aaron sized puddle right here.” He stomped his foot lightly as she giggled.

She tightened her grip around his neck and put her head on his chest, which generated yet another sigh from him. Looking up, she said, “I’m sorry. Is it not okay if I put my head on your chest?”

“Tessa, you can put your head anywhere on my body that you want to,” he responded which generated a small slap from her.

“Aaron!” she said with a laugh. “You’re bad.”

“You have no idea.”

“Maybe you’ve had too much wine,” she said before noticing that his glass was still full and sitting on the table.

“No, I’ve had enough of being near a woman that I find to be immensely attractive and perfect for me but not being able to touch her or hold her or kiss her. I’ve had enough of some jackass rogue cop ruling our lives from another state. I’ve had enough of rubbing against you on this deck and not being able to press my lips to yours and wash away all of your fears for just a moment. That’s what I’ve had enough of.” He wasn’t laughing, and Tessa knew he was dead serious.

“Aaron…”

“No, listen to me, Tessa. My mother will be okay. She’s a strong woman who loves me, and I could tell she really liked you. And she’s going to worry no matter what I do. What I know for sure is that you were put in my life for a reason, and I’m not going to take a chance of losing the opportunity we could have to be together. What I need to know is whether you feel the same. Do you have feelings for me? I mean, would you be interested in seeing where this goes?”

She stopped swaying and broke their embrace, although he kept his hands on her waist.

“I’m sorry. I pushed too hard. I’m sorry,” he repeated. She just stood there, like an idiot, and stared straight ahead. “Tessa?”

Her heart was skipping and those dang butterflies were whirling around in her stomach. She wanted to speak, but her mouth wouldn’t cooperate with her. She wanted to say yes, she had strong feelings for him. She wanted to say yes, please save me from myself and my fears. She wanted to say yes. Yes. Yes… But, she couldn’t say anything.

Realizing that she wasn’t able to speak, Aaron pulled her back in again and started swaying to the music. He knew just what to do, but she was angry with herself. How could she let him say those things to her and then not respond? It wasn’t right.

“Aaron,” she whispered against his chest, tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Yes?” he whispered back, continuing to sway.

“I feel the same way too.”

“Good,” he said giving her a squeeze. “Then everything is going to work out. You just wait and see.”

It was three in the morning when she heard the sound of someone talking. Grabbing a heavy vase from her nightstand, Tessa crept up the hallway toward the voice. That’s when she realized it was Aaron talking on the phone as softly as he could out on his private deck.

It wasn’t his fault that his voice woke her up. Over the years of living with Ethan, she’d trained herself to wake up to every little sound just in case he was coming to abuse her or kidnap Tyler. She was sure that she could hear a leaf blowing across the yard even if she was in a dead sleep.

Knowing it was wrong, she walked closer so she could hear Aaron talking. He was definitely whispering so that she couldn’t hear him.

“Listen, Stan, I need to know where he’s headed… You think the campground? Well, how long has he been on the road?”

Oh, God. Ethan was on the move. She’d have to move her plan up quite a bit to make sure that she had time.

“He left an hour ago? That doesn’t give me much time. No, we aren’t there, but it’s only a matter of time. No, I can’t wake her up. That’ll scare her to death. I’ll just wait until morning and then break the news to her. We’ll stay locked down here, so keep your guy on him. Once he gets to the campground, tell your guy to back off. I don’t want him to know he’s being followed, okay?”

That was perfect. She wanted the private investigator to back off so Ethan entered the campground alone. Tessa sneaked back into her room and quickly changed her clothes, preparing herself for the scariest thing she would ever do in her life.

***

Aaron couldn’t sleep after his phone call with Stan. He was wracking his brain about how to best protect Tessa and Tyler, and the weight of the problem was giving him the worst case of insomnia he’d ever had.

If he reported the situation to local police, they would just have to give it to Ethan’s department. And she had no proof. Without proof, she had nothing. And what if Ethan tried to fight for custody of Tyler? That just couldn’t happen, Aaron thought. He’d hide them forever if he had to.

Pacing his room, he decided that a strong cup of coffee was in order. Maybe Tessa was up too, although he hoped she was getting some sleep. She didn’t know Ethan was on his way to find her. She needed a few more hours of peace because the onslaught was coming.

He crept up the hallway, but noticed Tessa’s door was cracked open. Unable to keep from seeing how she looked while she was peacefully sleeping, he peeked in. The room was dark, of course, but the light of the moon was streaming in the window and bathing the bed in a sea of muted shades of blue. But he didn’t see a lump in the bed. He didn’t see Tessa.

Willing to risk her getting mad, he flipped on the light switch. She wasn’t in the bed. “Tessa?” he whispered as he walked around the room. She wasn’t in her adjoining bathroom either.

As he started to run out the door, worried that she’d fallen down the winding staircase, he saw a piece of paper on her dresser. It was a letter to him, and its contents took his breath away.

Dear Aaron,

Wow. Where do I begin? You’ve been such a godsend for me and Tyler these last few days, and I can’t believe the feelings I’ve developed for you in such a short time. I thought I’d never feel that way about anyone, but there you were.

And then it dawned on me that I will never be free until Ethan isn’t. I can’t go on living like a fugitive. I want to grab everything that life has to offer me, and I want Tyler to have the best life possible. So, I had to make a decision.

Tyler is still sleeping soundly in his bed, and I pray that you will watch over him until I get back. I’m sorry to put such responsibility on you, but I couldn’t put him in more danger. This is my problem to deal with, and it’s time to stand up and fight.

And, God forbid, if something happens to me, please take care of my son. He doesn’t have anyone else, and he adores you.

Until we meet again,

Tessa

Aaron’s heart was pounding as he tried to think through what she was doing. He had to get to her before it was too late. But why did she leave in the middle of the night like that? What prompted her…

Wait, he thought. She must have heard him on the phone. That was about an hour ago, so he still had time to get to her.

Aaron made a call to his brother, Kyle, and asked him to come babysit Tyler for awhile. He told Kyle that he had an emergency come up at the campground, but he knew that Kyle didn’t buy it.

After he arrived, Aaron told him what to say to Tyler when he woke up and headed outside to his car. Tessa didn’t take the car, obviously, so he wasn’t sure how she got anywhere on foot. It would take her over an hour to walk to the campground, and it would dangerous for her to do. Then it dawned on him. The bicycle he normally kept on the porch was gone.

“Oh, God,” he muttered to himself as he started the car. “Why do women have to be so stubborn?”

He peeled down the driveway as fast as he could, hoping against hope that he would somehow get to Tessa before Ethan did.

***

Tessa’s legs were aching tired when she pulled into the campground on the rickety old bicycle that was on Aaron’s porch. She had no idea how old the thing was, but it wasn’t nearly as state of the art as she’d hoped when she left.

Her hope was that Aaron was fast asleep and wouldn’t know what she’d done until morning. She prayed that he wouldn’t hate her, and that Tyler was safe with him.

The funny thing was that her adrenaline was pumping so much from the bike ride that she was no longer scared. She was ready to fight for her freedom no matter what happened.

She pulled the old bike behind her dilapidated camper and walked up to the door. Ethan’s car was nowhere to be seen and the campground was eerily quiet with only the sound of the waves off in the distance.

Her plan was to sit in the camper, hot as it was, and wait for Ethan to arrive. As she unlocked the door, something just didn’t feel right but before she could figure out what it was, Ethan’s strong arm came out from the darkness of the camper and pulled her inside violently.

She didn’t have time to scream as he put his other hand over her mouth and dragged her to the floor, kicking the door shut behind her.

Writhing around, trying to wiggle away from him, she kicked randomly in the air. He picked her up and threw her across the room, and she landed on the floor with a thud just beside the bedroom door.

Backing up, she stood and leaned against the wall, hands in her pockets.

“You stupid bitch. Did you really think you could run from me? Get your hands out of your pockets.”

“Ethan, now listen…” she said, begging him to relax as she held up her hands. It never worked, but she needed to buy some time and calm him down. She was sure he had a gun on him somewhere. He always did.