15.

 

She chopped up vegetables and potatoes as Evan sat out on the veranda drinking beers. He kept coming in to sit with her and tease her over little things, and she kept sending him back outside.

“It’s like we’ve been married a lifetime,” he said.

“It does feel that way, doesn’t it?” she laughed.

“Do you have red wine?” he asked her as his eyes scanned up and down an old wine rack that must have been there for years and years. Maybe even the dawn of time.

“I do not,” she said with a frown. “But you know what… you’ve finally cured me. I feel like I could enjoy a glass with dinner tonight.”

“Well then,” Evan said as he reached for his jacket and pulled it around his shoulders. “Your wish is my command.”

He winked at her and headed toward the doorway.

“Do we need anything else?” he asked as he opened the door and stepped out into the fading light.

“All I need is you,” she said.

Evan smiled back at her warmly and wholeheartedly.

“I’m a lucky man,” he said. “And don’t worry, I won’t be long…”

He closed the door behind him, and Monica felt so full of happiness she could burst. She waited until she heard the sounds of his footsteps disappearing down the driveway, and then she continued to chop the vegetables and arranged them in a dish.

She found a lighter and wandered around the room lighting all the candles that she had the previous evening and even a few more.

“When he gets back,” she said to herself quietly, “I’ll get him to light the fire, then we can really cozy up for the night.”

She smiled to herself, and she was just about to go back to the kitchen area and start to marinate the steaks when suddenly something caught her eye and made her jump, before she looked up toward the doors to the veranda and her heart almost stopped beating.

She felt her jaw sag down a little, and she was frozen and completely rooted to the spot.

Ahead of her, standing there and staring at her with nothing but malice… was Reggie.

“Oh my god!” she gasped as she took a step backward, but this only made Reggie come closer.

He was out on the veranda, at the opening of the double doors, and as she stepped backward, he stepped inside the cabin.

“Don’t move again,” he snapped.

Monica looked at him with wide eyes and an expression of disbelief. She had no idea how any of this could be happening, and she couldn’t believe that he was actually there.

“Reggie…” she managed to croak. “What are you doing here?”

He took another step closer, and Monica stepped back. She gasped as she bumped up against the counter and gripped onto its edges.

Reggie was smiling now, but it wasn’t in a good way. None of this was funny. It was frightening.

“I told you I was coming, Monica,” he said through gritted teeth. “I had to see for myself… I had to make sure you weren’t lying.”

She looked into his eyes and all she saw was wildness. This man was unhinged, and she could tell that she wasn’t safe.

Evan… why had she hinted for him to go?

“Why would I lie?” she asked. “Reggie, I thought we talked about this…” She was wracking her brain and all she could think of was that she should stay calm and keep him talking. If she kept him distracted enough, maybe he would stay exactly where he was.

Please hurry, Evan, please hurry… she chanted inside her head. 

“I told you how I felt about you, Monica,” he spat. “I called you and I texted you and I told you to come home.”

“But Reggie…” she said with confusion. “We worked together… I didn’t think we were anything more than colleagues and friends. Then, suddenly, you spring this one on me…”

He took another step closer and she held her breath.

“I’ve always made it clear how I felt about you, Monica… are you really just so self-absorbed that you couldn’t see it?”

She shook her head.

“Reggie, I never, ever gave you the impression that I felt anything but friendship with you. I know I didn’t. You can’t just suddenly decide that you want me and that I have to obey everything you say… I know you’re used to being my boss, but it doesn’t work like that. You’re not my boss anymore and you can’t dictate to me what I can and can’t do.”

“I want you to come back to the bar,” he said sternly. “Pack your shit and come back home with me right now.”

“Have you actually gone insane?” she laughed.

His eyes were wild, and he looked unhinged, but she still just saw the same old Reggie standing there. The same loser who had power tripped on being her “boss” since day one.

She rolled her eyes.

“I don’t have to listen to this,” she said. “And you know I’m with someone, so why would you go to all of this trouble?”

“Oh, you are right, don’t I just know how much you’re with someone…” he said slyly. “Down on your knees for him and everything…”

She gasped and moved around to the other side of the counter quickly. Reggie looked menacing and frightening, and a dark look had descended over his entire face.

“What do you mean?” she whispered.

He smirked and looked over his shoulder slightly toward the dense foliage of the woods.

“It’s surprising how much you can see from out there,” he said with a wry smile.

He was pure evil.

“You spied on me?” she said.

“I wouldn’t put it like that,” he snorted. “More like I watched you acting like a fucking whore.”

She felt like she had been slapped across the face and she felt the tears welling up behind her eyes. She couldn’t think of anything to say, she moved backward a bit further, but Reggie just stepped closer.

She felt her shoulders begin to shake and she couldn’t stop herself from crying.

“He’s my husband, you freak,” she managed to gasp. “How dare you speak to me like that.”

Reggie’s mouth sagged open and his eyes widened.

“Husband?” he managed to say.

He looked crestfallen, as if he had had the rug pulled out from underneath him, and in that moment,  Monica could tell that she had completely disarmed him.

“Husband?” he said again.

“Yes! My husband!” she shouted. “You have no right turning up here and speaking to me this way, Reggie, now get the fuck out of here!”

She screamed so loudly it seemed to shock him, but that was nothing compared to when suddenly from behind, a shadow moved across the open doors and Monica sighed in deep relief as Evan came bursting through them and wrestled Reggie to the ground. She cried and put her head in her hands as she pushed herself back against the wall and watched as the scene in front of her began to unfold.

Evan was twice the size of Reggie, and he was so strong and muscular in comparison, it was clear that Reggie wasn’t going to stand a chance. Evan pounded his fist into his face again and again, kneeing him in the stomach and then dragging him to his feet.

“Are you fucking kidding me,” he said. “What the fuck did you say to her? What the fuck did you say to my wife?”

He had hold of Reggie by the hair and pulled him toward the front door of the cabin and then hurled him outside. Monica was shaking and could barely move, but she knew she had to get herself to her feet and go and stop Evan, or it was quite possible that he would kill him.

“Evan!” she shouted. “Don’t! It’s what he wants!”

Evan was pounding him hard in the stomach, but he stopped and let him drop to the floor as Monica appeared at the door.

He was panting and gasping, and he looked full of rage and fury. Her man was a beast, and he was a warrior. He would protect her until the bitter end, and no one would mess with her ever again.

She was safe. Evan had her back.

“You’re right,” he panted as he kicked some dirt across Reggie’s back and took Monica into his arms. He helped her back into the house and looked over his shoulder. “Get the fuck out of here,” he spat. “If you’re not gone in two minutes, I’ll be back out to finish you off.”

He slammed the door behind them and Monica rushed to it to lock it, but Evan took hold of her hand.

“He isn’t coming back in here, babe,” he said as he traced his finger down her cheek. “Don’t worry, you’re safe.”

She looked over his shoulder and out of the window and sure enough, she could see Reggie clutching onto his side and scrabbling to his feet, falling over slightly as he started to dart away toward the main road.

She sighed a breath of relief and then turned back to Evan and threw herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed him in deep.

“Oh my god,” she whispered. “I was so scared.”

“I know you were, babe,” he breathed. “And that’s why I was so mad I could have fucking killed him.”

She looked into his eyes and they kissed each other hard on the mouth.

“I’m sorry I left you, I shouldn’t have…” he trailed off.

“Don’t be silly,” she whispered. “We both thought Reggie was just full of shit saying he was coming here. I hadn’t even thought about it all day, there was no way I would have believed he would suddenly appear like that.”

“Well, I’m sure he won’t again,” Evan said as he lifted her up into his arms and carried her in a fireman’s lift.

He walked with her down the hallway and toward the bedroom.

There was nothing she wanted more than to have him again and again. Now that they had found each other, it was clear they were never going to let each other go…

He was taking care of her now, and they were joined as one.

It was early days, but they had one hell of a journey stretching out ahead of them.