CHAPTER SIXTEEN
They walked back to the Hoot side by side, both silent, and Hope was fairly sure that only a plunge in the lake would bring her body temperature back to normal. The man turned her inside out. His touch sent her spiraling out of control, and even Jay hadn’t done that. The sex had been good, but then as he was only the second man she’d been with, and the first when she lost her virginity, she didn’t have a great gauge.
She knew Newman was experienced, and was fairly sure he’d had plenty of partners, and that thought was a terrifying one, but she also knew that he’d been right when he said they’d end up in bed. They had chemistry, there was no doubting that. If Hope stayed in Howling, and kept in contact with him, then it was likely they would end up doing it. Did she want that?
“So what do you think?”
“About us ending up in bed?”
“No, but yes, that will happen. However, I meant about telling the others, and coming up with a plan to bring that that limp dick to his knees.”
The flash of excitement at the prospect told Hope she wanted that. Before now, she’d just been numb, but today, talking with Buster, and now Newman, she realized that she did want justice.
“I don’t think we can get him.”
“Surely with your reputation your boss knew what you were capable of, Hope? You’d been with Wildlife longer than Jay. You should talk to her, your boss, now the dust has settled and explain your side of the story.”
“There’s this thing between me and my boss.” Hope looked straight ahead, but felt his eyes on her. “Her opinion of me was never very high.”
“What?”
“What?” she said right back, to buy herself time.
“You and your boss. What’s the deal?”
“I may have accused her of incompetency… maybe.”
He laughed. “And was she incompetent?”
“She is the wealthy daughter of some business mogul who thinks she’s right at everything. I didn’t always happen to agree with her. I also think she had a thing for Jay.”
“Not an ideal situation. Are you open to at least discussing it with the others?”
Was she? It was humiliating, and Hope was usually a solitary person. Could she open herself up to others knowing what Jay had done to her?
“You can’t let him get away with this, Hope, because he’s not going to stop with you. You know that, don’t you? People like him don’t stop until they get to the top, and they don’t care who they stomp on to achieve that.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t see through him.” Hope said the words that had been riding her since her world had imploded. She’d never voiced them, only thought them, because she’d not confided in anyone until now.
“Why would you? He sounds like he worked hard at getting you where he wanted you, all the while behind your back he was setting up another play.”
“I should have realized.”
“Shit happens to all of us sometime in life.”
“Did it happen to you?”
He was silent as they came out of the trail and headed back into town. He took her fingers in his and swung them a few times, and the surprise was, she let him. It felt strangely good to be connected to this man.
“My dad.”
Just two words, but they told her that there was a lot more that he was dealing with in relation to his father. Hope didn’t ask what. Something told her this was a touchy subject for Newman.
“You should try being raised by my mom.”
He snorted. “No, thanks. One demanding parent was enough.”
“She was actually a good mom. I mean, we had everything and she made us independent, even though she comes across like this bitching hardass. I spent my childhood trying to get her approval,” Hope said softly. Now she’d started talking, it seemed she had a ton of stuff she wanted to say. As if years of silence had built up and needed release. “She was like this straight-A student, who excelled at everything.”
“My father was the opposite, but I didn’t realize that until I was older. He always wanted me to do more, be more. I was never enough.”
“I never knew that. I mean, I thought you were like the poster for the family to be.
“Not so much.”
And that had hurt him. Hope wondered if this had made him into the man he was today. The man who needed constant approval. The man who was always the first to help others.
“Parents have a lot to answer for.”
“True that,” he muttered as they reached the Hoot.
Walking inside, they found Jake, Annabelle, and Brad seated at the table they’d left. Annabelle was looking at her photos.
“Usually you ask permission to look at people’s stuff.”
Hope’s words were waved away with an elegant flick of a wrist.
“I’d heard you were good, Hope. Your mom’s always dropping little hints about your achievements, but I hadn’t seen any of your work before today. These are really good.”
“Thanks.” It always gave her a little jolt when she heard Millicent had been praising her work.
She took the seat Newman held out for her, then felt a hand on her shoulder.
“You doing okay there, sweet cheeks?”
“Sure, thanks, Buster.”
He squeezed and then released her.
“Now I suppose you want another one of those insipid teas.”
“Just water thanks.” After her crying jag, she felt dehydrated.
“So when’s the next assignment?” Annabelle asked. “Where are you flying off to next?”
“Yes, and on that, we’ve all been walking around the fact that Wildlife are here but you’re not working with them,” Jake added. “So care to tell us why?”
Hope looked at Newman, but his expression gave nothing away, and he remained silent, which told her he wasn’t going to say anything. The choice of full disclosure was hers. Could she lay open her life before these people like that? Do something she’d never done before, and actually ask for help?
“I—ah, I kind of ran into trouble.” She said the words so quickly, they merged into one.
“Yeah?” Brad joined the conversation. Like Newman, he’d been sitting in silence until then. “Who do we have to beat up for you?”
Hope looked around the faces before her and realized that they were actually interested in what she had to say. She wouldn’t say she was close with any of them, but that didn’t matter because she was one of theirs. A Howler, therefore she mattered. It was a humbling thought, and an unsettling one.
Hope had always believed herself an island. Isolated. It would take some effort to change that mindset.
“Ha, thanks, but not necessary.”
“Yet,” Newman added.
“So someone does need a touch-up?” Jake said, suddenly serious.
“Yeah.” Buster arrived again, and put a glass of water before her. “He needs a lesson taught to him all right.”
“Okay, so spill, Hope. I don’t like that Buster knows something I don’t.” Annabelle looked determined.
“The thing is, I really don’t think there’s anything that can be done, and I’m not entirely comfortable with all this.” Hope waved her hand around the table.
“This being confiding?”
Hope nodded in response to Annabelle’s words.
“You’ll get used to it. My suggestion is just say it quickly. It’s less painful that way.”
They all focused on her, and she noticed the side of Newman’s mouth lift. He knew she was cornered and would have to say something. She opened her mouth, but he stopped her.
“No interruptions until she’s done.”
“Who made you boss?” Annabelle glared at him.
“Annabelle, you can’t be quiet for five seconds. I’m just asking that you at least try.”
“Do you know this story already?”
Newman nodded, and that had Annabelle’s lips tightening.
“I don’t like him knowing stuff I don’t, so let’s hear it, Hope.”
So she talked, and they listened. She even found herself mentioning the clips Jay had of her. Annabelle broke her vow of silence briefly to ask a question, Newman rolled his eyes, but after that, they let her finish.
Jake whistled. “What a peach of a human.”
“So how do we get him?” Annabelle said.
“Tell them about your friend at Wildlife, Hope,” Newman said.
She threw him a look, but his face was still calm. The man was turning her inside out. She’d never experienced what she had in his arms, with any man before him. She and Jay had had a pleasant thing, but it didn’t set her alight like Newman did. Just another reason she needed to get out of Howling.
“A colleague from Wildlife called me to say she hadn’t believed Jay, but hadn’t said anything because she was scared of losing her job. She’s sort of a friend,” Hope added, and wasn’t entirely sure why. Maybe she wanted these people to know she had people in her life when she left here.
“How do you have sort of a friend?” Jake asked.
“Not everyone has lifelong buddies and lives like an episode of Friends like you weirdos,” Hope muttered.
“Tough, you’ve always been one of us, you just never figured that out,” Annabelle said. “So we’re not ‘sort of’ buddies, we’re friends. Suck it up, buttercup, that’s just how it goes when you live in this town.”
Hope refused to smile, but it was there. She felt warm on the inside that these people actually thought of her as a friend. Maybe not the really tight kind, but still, it was a nice feeling.