“Well, I think I need to plan dinner. How does spaghetti sound?” Jackie asked.

Franny giggled. “I didn’t know spaghetti made a sound.” That made Heidi laugh.

“Come on girls, we have work to do. Heidi, someone mentioned that you know how to make pecan pie.”

“Yes, I do. Is it okay if I check out the pantry to see if you have what I need?”

“Sure, take Robert with you, he’s the one that knows where everything is.”

Robert took her hand and they headed for the pantry. Jackie was watching them go when Charles came up behind her.

“Are you alright?” He gave her a hug and caressed her arm.

“Do you think they’ll be alright?”

“Yes. They may need some help from time to time, but Robert is strong and Heidi will recover.”

Jackie let out a sigh. “I hope so.”

“You need to rest for a while. The doctor told you to go slow.” She leaned back against him. “I’ll sit and supervise. If I get tired, I’ll rest. I promise.”

“You don’t want to lose that baby and I don’t want to lose you.”

“You’re right, maybe I should go rest for a while.” Charles scooped her up in his arms and carried her upstairs. He set her on the bed, covered her with a blanket and kissed her forehead. “I’ll let the girls know that you’re going to rest for a while.”

“Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He kissed her again and went down to the kitchen.”

 

                                                          *****

“You girls are on your own,” Charles announced as he entered the kitchen. “Jackie is going to rest for a while.”

“Is everything alright, Charles?”

“Yes, she just needs to relax and rest. Let me know if you need anything.”

Heidi came into the kitchen with Robert in tow, carrying everything she needed to make Pecan pie. “If you want to write down the recipe, I don’t mind,” she told Becky and Franny. “I won’t be going back to Oregon. I’m going to stay here with Robert.” She looked at Robert and smiled.

Franny gave her a hug. “I’m so happy for you. I’m going to miss you. You better take good care of her, Robert, or I’ll come back and kick your ass.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he laughed and gave Heidi a wink. “I think I’ll go see what my brother and Fletch are up to and let you ladies do your thing.” He kissed Heidi on the cheek and followed Charles. Heidi watched him go.

“Congratulations, is he really your true mate?” Becky asked softly.

“Yes, he is. I think I knew the minute I saw him.” She gave her friend a big smile. “It just took him a little longer to figure it out.” Heidi started setting things out to make her special pecan pie. She told the girls all the measurements and ingredients so they could write them down. Heidi knew the recipe by heart.

Once the pies were ready and in the oven, the girls relaxed.

“Now that Vicki has moved to Seattle and Heidi is staying here, Lizzi is going to be all alone in that house,” Franny remarked. “She’s going to need some new room-mates.” She looked to Becky. “Did Ally and Misty ever find a house? I haven’t talked to them lately.”

“They did, but they hate the place and the landlord is a real asshole. When Jackie comes down to dinner, I’ll tell her. It’s her house. She should be the one to decide. Heidi, are you going to come home to get your stuff?”

“No. I have very little. I’ll have Lizzi give it to a thrift store or something.”

“What about your job?” Franny asked.

“I don’t care about that job. I don’t need it now. That man wasn’t very nice. He was mean to his workers and he overworked them. In China, there are many employers like him, they run sweatshops. He should go back to China.”

Charles had forgotten something and was just about to walk back into the kitchen when he heard what Heidi was saying. Now he knew exactly who had beaten her. He stomped snow off his boots so the girls would know he was there before he walked in.

“Hey girls, all done pie making? It smells great in here.”

“Yup. We’re just taking a break before we pull the last ones out of the oven. Remember, Charles, they’re for tomorrow, so you can stop drooling,” Franny told him. “Do we have to place a guard at the kitchen door?”

Charles chuckled. “No, your pies will be safe. I’m not about to spoil dinner on Thanksgiving. I want to be thankful you’re not all mad at me.” He gave her a big smile.

“Good,” she replied and then laughed. “You’re learning.” The timer went off and the girls were back to work.

Charles excused himself and went to the den to make a phone call. Now that he knew who was responsible for Heidi’s condition, he could start to take action. First, he called Agent Adams and ask him if the agency should handle it or if he should let Sheriff Sawyer, in Bend, Oregon, take care of it.

After talking to Agent Adams, Charles could put the matter to rest for now. Agent Adams told him it would be taken care. He would keep him up to date of the results. Charles went to find Robert to let him know it had been taken care of.

He found Robert and Fletch in the kitchen. Robert had already started  fixing his homemade spaghetti sauce for dinner. He knew Jackie was resting and he was used to fixing dinner since Jackie became pregnant.

“Hey, Robert. I need to talk to you in the den for a few minutes.”

“Yeah, sure. Fletch, stir this for me, I’ll be right back.” He handed Fletch the spoon and followed Charles.

“What’s up?” Robert closed the door behind him.

“I overheard Heidi talking about her job to the girls. I think it was her employer that inflicted those injuries to her back.”

“She actually told them?”

“No, she didn’t mention the beating. She told them that he was mean to his employees and ran a sweatshop. I assumed the rest. I gave Agent Adams a call and told him what I knew. He said he would take care of it and get back to me.”

“I’d like to beat that son-of-a-bitch. Do to him what he did to Heidi. Shit, are there others?”

“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised. I’m sure they all got the same treatment.”

“Charles, why would Heidi stay and allow that?”

“Shame. Guilt. The man is from China. Make better sense to you now?”

“Are you telling me she was staying there to punish herself.” Charles nodded. “Fuck. What if she hadn’t come here for Thanksgiving. I’d never had known about her. She couldn’t have lasted under that treatment forever.”

“Well, she doesn’t have to worry about it anymore. I’m going to check on Jackie and let her know what we found out. I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Thanks, Charlie.” Robert went back to the kitchen and Charles went upstairs.”

 

                                                         *****

“Is everything alright?” Franny asked when Robert returned to the kitchen.

“Everything is fine.” He checked his sauce. “I think we can turn off the heat and let this sit. We can reheat it just before dinner. I’d like to steal Heidi for a while. You girls have been working hard and cooking all afternoon, you should take a break.” 

“That sounds like a good idea.” Becky remarked. “I think I’ll take a shower.”

“Robert, do you mind if I look for something to read from the den?” Franny asked. “I noticed you had a nice collection of books.”

“Go right ahead.” He walked over to Heidi and gave her a kiss. “Do you have your jar of salve?”

“I can get it. Is your hand hurting?”

“No. Just get it for me, okay.” Heidi disappeared to her room and came back a few moments later with the jar.

“Come on.” He took her by the hand and they walked up to his room. Once inside, he closed the door.

“Heidi, you’ve been afraid to tell anyone about your back, haven’t you?”

“Yes,” she hung her head, “I was ashamed.”

“Your employer was beating you, wasn’t he?”

“Yes, but it was because I was bad.” She couldn’t look at him. “I deserved to be punished.”

“No baby, not like that. In this country, if you do a bad job, you get fired. What that man was doing is against the law.”

Heidi looked up at Robert. “I was afraid if I said anything, the punishment would be worse.” She stared to cry.

“Come here.” He held her. “You’re safe now. You’re with me. Okay?”

She nodded her head against his chest.

 “Now. Hand me your jar. I want you to remove your shirt and lay on the bed. I want to put salve on you back.”

“No, no. It’s alright. You don’t need to do that.”

“Yes, I do. Heidi, trust me. Please.” Heidi let out a sigh. She turned her back to him and removed her shirt. He caught a glimpse of the side of her breast. “Heidi, turn around.”

She slowly turned around, clutching her sweatshirt to her breasts. She had as many welts on her front as she did on her back.

“Oh my god. Come on, let me get your back first.” He led her to his bed and had her lay down. He carefully spread salve on the welts on her back.

“Hmm, that feels good,” she said quietly.

“Tell me if I hurt you. I’m trying to be as gentle as I can be.” He leaned down and gently kissed her neck and shoulder. He made sure he didn’t miss anything.

“Are you ready to turn over?”

“I can do the front,” she told him.

“If you’re embarrassed, just close your eyes. I want to make sure you’re healing.”

She closed her eyes tight and turned over. Tears ran down the sides of her face. He was so glad he told her to close her eyes or she would have seen shock and then anger on his face.

“Keep your eyes closed,” he said softly. “I’m going to touch your breasts and apply the salve. Okay?”

“Yes.”

He carefully applied salve to all her welts. She had beautiful small breast that fit perfectly in his hands. He wanted to kiss them, but he controlled himself and kept talking. “Did you tell Charlie what is in the salve so we can make more?”

“Yes, I gave him a list of all the ingredients this morning. Does your other brother really do business all over the world?”

“Mack. Yes, he does. I’m sure he’ll have everything you need to make more in no time at all. Okay, don’t move. I’m going to get you one of my t-shirts.” Robert rummaged through his drawers and pulled out the softest shirt he could find. “Okay, sit up. Put your arms up.” He slipped the shirt over her head and over her shoulders. He carefully pulled it down around her so she was covered.

“Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

Heidi opened her beautiful sea-green eyes and was looking right into Robert’s eyes. He leaned forward and gently kissed her. He wanted to make love to her, but he held off. He wanted her to heal. He didn’t want to cause her more pain. He could wait.

“I love you, Heidi. From now on, it’s you and me always together. Okay?”

“Okay,” she gave him a small smile. “Thank you. It doesn’t hurt so much.”

“Good. I’ll apply more before we go to bed. You’re moving in here with me. Is that okay?”

“Yes, that’s okay.” She suddenly threw her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. When she pulled back, she rested her head on his chest. “I love you.”