Chapter Fourteen
When J.T. got to the store there was a crowd of people gathered in front of the cash register, and Nadya was lying on the floor with her feet elevated on a stack of newspapers. Little Billy sat by her head and pressed a cloth to her face.
“Everybody step back. Give the woman some air.” J.T. crouched next to her, checking for injuries. Her face was scraped and bruised, and she had nasty cuts on the one hand he could see, but nothing looked broken. She smiled wanly at him, then winced when a cacophony of voices all started talking at once.
“Enough!” Bill shouted over the din. “Store’s closed. Get out.”
There were mutters and grumbling, but everyone filed out. When the dust settled, J.T. could hear a baby crying in the aisle and assumed it must be Hunter. “Bill, why don’t you take the boys home. I’ll send Mary Ellen as soon as I get a statement.”
“Sure. Come on, Billy, I’ll make us some hot dogs and beans for dinner.”
“I want to stay with Auntie Nad.”
“Go on, honey,” Nadya said. “I’m okay now. Thank you for taking such good care of me.”
“You can keep Boo Boo Bunny. I have another one at home.”
J.T. waited while Bill collected the boys. His rage simmered but he kept it tamped down for the moment. It tried to bubble over every time he catalogued a new injury, but he fought it back.
“What happened?” he asked when he was sure he could control himself.
“Which time?”
“Don’t get cute with me, Nadya. I’m hanging on by a thread here.”
“Sorry. This time, I think I was in shock, or at least that’s what Mary Ellen thought, so she covered me with this blanket and put my feet up. I’m feeling less shaky now, so it must have worked.”
“What put you into shock in the first place?” He checked her pulse. It was a little rapid but strong. Her pupils looked okay, and she had color in her face—all good signs.
“When you called, I stepped into the alley by the post office so I’d be out of the way.”
“So you were talking to me, we hung up, then what?”
“As soon as I put my phone in my pocket, something slammed into me and I hit the ground.”
“Which way were you facing?”
“I had my back to the sidewalk. Why?”
“If you’d been facing the sidewalk it would have meant your assailant was already in the alley. This sounds like someone came along behind you.”
“I’m pretty sure no one was in the alley, but I didn’t go that far in.”
“Okay. Go on.”
“When I hit the ground, it knocked all the wind out of me and I couldn’t breathe. The guy mashed my face down so I couldn’t see and yanked my arm up behind me.”
“Did he touch you any other way? Kneel on you or kick you or anything?”
“No.”
“But he was strong enough to hold you with just your arm back and your head down.”
“Well, I couldn’t breathe, so I wasn’t exactly fighting him.”
“I’m just trying to get a picture here. Do you remember anything about his hand? Did he wear gloves?”
“No, no gloves. He had a huge hand. The palm covered my eyes, and the thumb was all the way down below my chin.” She tried to show him what she meant, but winced when she brought her arm up. “Come over on this side, I can’t reach across with this arm.”
“He yanked up your left arm?”
“Yes. Does that mean he’s left handed?”
“It could. It could also mean that was the angle he came in at. Did he have any calluses or were his hands smooth?”
“I don’t remember. It happened so fast, and I was focused on trying to breathe.”
“Did he say anything to you? Try and steal your phone or purse?”
“He didn’t take anything. He just said for me to go away, that they didn’t want my kind around here.”
“Here, have some juice. It’ll get your blood sugar up.” Mary Ellen started to crouch down, but J.T. stopped her.
“I’ll help her. If you get down on the floor, you may never get up.”
“I can probably get up now, I’m feeling much better.”
“No!” both J.T. and Mary Ellen shouted.
“You about scared me into an early grave when I saw you topple over. I can’t go through that again. Now I know why Bill would get so white when I’d faint during the first trimester.”
“I think you should go to the hospital and get checked out. We can rent a hotel room for the night.” And until he caught whoever was after her. He didn’t say it, but she must have read it in his face.
“No. I want to go back to the cabin. I got a little shook up because it reminded me so much of the last time I was attacked, but I’m okay now. Honest. A hot shower and some ibuprofen and I’ll be as good as new. Although, I won’t be winning any beauty contests, that’s for sure.”
“You’re going to be awfully sore tomorrow,” Mary Ellen said. “If you go to the hospital they’ll give you some good pain killers at least.”
“No hospital. I was chased out of this town once. I’ll be damned if I let it happen again.”
J.T. looked at Mary Ellen and shook his head. Nadya wasn’t budging on this. And he really didn’t blame her. But shit, he wanted her safe.
“You can make your statement tomorrow. Let’s go home now.”
He scooped her up off the floor and held her to his chest as if he were cradling a baby. For a second, he just held her close and inhaled the scent of her. He’d been so fucking scared when Bill had told him she’d been attacked. His heart had literally stopped beating.
If this morning in the kitchen had been heaven, the drive from the state forest had been hell. Had he any doubt about his feelings for her, this would have taken care of them. He’d been half in love with her when she was eighteen, now he was in love up to his eyeballs.
All he had to do was convince her she was just as in love with him.
A flash had him spinning with Nadya in his arms. Mary Ellen stood there with her phone, snapping another picture.
“What the hell?”
“You two just looked so darn romantic, I needed to capture it forever. Don’t worry, I’ll tag you in it.”
“Mary Ellen Farley, if you put that picture on the Internet, I’ll get even,” Nadya yelled.
J.T. figured this was as good a time as any to make a quick getaway. “We’ll see you in the morning, Mar. I’ll want a statement from you too.”
He had to cross the street to get to his truck, as he’d driven the police cruiser straight to the store. Unfortunately, he’d forgotten about the church auction being held at the town green, which just so happened to be right next to the police station. No wonder there were so many people in the general store. They were all on their way to the green and stopped in for a pop or something.
Dale had a population of three hundred or so people, and J.T. swore just about every damn one was staring at him. Nadya lifted her head, saw a hundred plus people smiling at her and stuck her face into his neck.
“Please, let a hole open up and swallow us. Please.”
“I think we’re just going to have to brazen through this one, darlin’.”
“Fantastic.”
“We’re almost there, just hold on a few more yards.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Not really.”
He got to the truck and reached over to open the door. It wasn’t easy to juggle Nadya and his key fob, but he managed to get it open. They both breathed a sigh of relief when he set her down and carefully buckled her seatbelt.
She made a grimace of pain as she readjusted in the seat. “Sorry, I’m a little sore.”
“I’ll bet. I’ll give you a massage when we get home.”
“That’s the best idea you’ve had all day.”
“I’ve had a few more, but it looks like they’ll be on hold until you heal up.” He smiled and leaned in to kiss her gently.
Thunderous applause echoed between the buildings as the entire congregation clapped and whistled.
“God. Let’s get out of here.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
…
Nadya was sure someday she’d laugh about the spectacle she and J.T. had just put on for the town’s amusement. But that day wasn’t now. She was sore, her face hurt, her knees stung and she was emotionally beat up.
“I went into Canton today—well, thereabouts,” J.T. broke the silence.
“Oh? What for?”
“Wanted to have a talk with Woody Masterson’s sons.”
Her stomach flipped. Here was something else she’d avoided thinking about. She now had brothers. “What did they say?” Did they want to meet her? Were they curious about her?
“Nothing. Seems they’re on an extended buying trip in Ireland. Their mother is down in Sarasota with her sister, recovering from her loss.”
“What? I could have sworn Hornblower said he’d met with all three of them. Maybe I misunderstood and he just said he’d spoken with them.”
“Could be. Where did Hornblower say he was going?”
“He didn’t. He just said out of town and that he’d be back Wednesday.”
“I’ve got a few questions for Mr. Hornblower. Like how did he know you were staying at Mary Ellen’s?”
“I must have told him.” Although she didn’t remember mentioning it to him.
“I’ve got a call into his cell phone, but if he contacts you first, don’t meet with him alone. I don’t trust him.”
“He’s got to be in his late sixties. And he looks like Colonel Sanders. I really doubt he could have smashed up my car then scurried off unnoticed.”
“His office is right across the street from the post office. Yesterday, he could have seen you at the park near the green and circled around to smash your car. Today, he could have seen you go into the alley and been over in a flash.”
“J.T., I think you’re reaching here. He wears seersucker for heaven’s sake.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“I don’t know—it just seems wrong though. Muggers don’t wear seersucker.”
“No one should wear seersucker, but that’s not the point. Until I clear up some of these questions, I don’t want you meeting with him alone.”
Nadya sighed. “Fine.” She didn’t need to fight J.T. on everything. She’d gotten her way about not going to the hospital—she could let him win this battle.
Even though J.T. drove slowly, the ride up the rocky driveway was painful. If Mary Ellen was right and tomorrow would be worse, she wasn’t sure how she would get out of bed.
“Go take a shower. I’ll get you some tea and ibuprofen. Are you hungry?”
“Not really. Maybe later.” Her head ached and her face throbbed. The last thing she wanted to do was try to eat anything.
She stayed in the shower until it started to run cold. The warm water felt heavenly on her abused muscles. When she stepped out, J.T. stood there waiting for her with a huge towel and a bottle of ibuprofen.
“I thought I’d give you a massage first, then we’ll see if you’re feeling up to eating.”
“Okay.” He was being so gentle with her, it touched her deep inside.
He propped up some pillows so her face was cradled and squirted some lotion onto her back.
“I’m afraid I don’t have any girlie lotion. All I have is this generic stuff I use when my face gets chapped from being outside too long.”
“That’s it!”
“What? What’s it?”
“There was something about my assailant that I couldn’t put my finger on. Something that triggered a memory, but I couldn’t quite get it. He smelled like that stuff hunters spray in the woods during deer hunting season.”
“Doe urine?”
“I don’t know what it’s called, I just remember it stank if you rubbed up against a tree and got it on yourself. Mama would go out in the woods wearing her most obnoxious perfume whenever we came across those wick things hanging in the trees. She really hated hunters.”
“So whoever attacked you was probably a hunter. Deer season isn’t until September, so he either was poaching or he got some of the stuff onto his clothes before he went after you today.”
“There’s only a hundred or so hunters in Dale. I guess it isn’t that great of a lead.”
“It’s another piece of the puzzle. When you put them all together, you get the whole picture. What I want to know is how this lotion reminded you of doe urine. If that’s what it smells like, I’m in big trouble.”
“Idiot. No, when Mr. Farley used to go hunting, he’d get all red and chapped, and Mrs. Farley would make him use lotion, which he hated. You talking about using the lotion for when your face got chapped reminded me of that which reminded me of the hunting-scent stuff.”
“I guess that makes sense. In a convoluted sort of way. Now rest while I try to ease your shoulder. I know it’s hurting you.”
Nadya let J.T. massage her back and shoulder. At first, she winced every time he touched her upper arm, but after a while, the soothing motions helped her to relax and she felt less sore.
“You’ve got one heck of a bruise on your cheek. I’ll get some ice for that.”
Rolling over was easier than she expected. The ibuprofen must have kicked in. “Thanks. For everything. I’m sure this wasn’t how you expected to spend tonight. I know it wasn’t what I had in mind after this morning.”
J.T. helped her into a flannel shirt of his that was loose and soft. When she was covered, he held her hands in his. “The day I don’t want to have sex with you will be the day they put the last nail in my coffin, but that’s not all I want to do with you. I have a good time whether our clothes are on or off. I always have.”
“Really?” Her heart melted like butter. “I remember you spending a lot of time trying to get my clothes off the summer we graduated high school.”
“Well, yeah. I was an eighteen-year-old guy and you had breasts. It was hard to think about anything else.”
“News flash, I still have breasts.”
“Yeah, but I have a little more control over my dick now. Sometimes. You still manage to push me over the edge.”
“I find that hard to believe. You had some pretty amazing control for a teenage boy. I was all set to lose my virginity to you and you stopped.”
“That really bothers you, doesn’t it? It’s not the first time you’ve mentioned the incident.”
“I guess it does bother me. I felt like I was making this life-altering decision, then you changed the game plan. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you were thinking about protection, because I sure wasn’t, but still. I guess I always felt like I wasn’t good enough or something.”
She couldn’t look at him, so she turned her head aside. He brought her gaze back to his with two fingers under her chin.
“I never wanted to do this, but you’re forcing my hand. I lied to you.”
“What?” She was stunned. Before she could pull away, he pulled her close. “That day by the creek, I was so excited to touch you, to have you touch me, I lost control and came too early.”
“What? You made me think… All this time I thought… And you just had premature lift off!” She smacked him on the arm. “Even when we were on Mary Ellen’s porch you made it seem like you were thinking about me and not having protection. Jerk.”
A wave of relief rushed through her. It wasn’t that he hadn’t wanted her enough. It was that he’d wanted her too much. She couldn’t hold back the laughter any longer, and it burst from her in a roar.
“Hey, that was a traumatic moment for me. You were a virgin, and I’d already lost it at my last school. I was supposed to be experienced, and you shot me off like a rocket. I had to save face somehow.”
“In a way it was a good thing. For a girl, losing her virginity isn’t a great experience. I’m glad that wasn’t the memory I carried with me for the last twelve years.” If she could have bitten her tongue off, she would have. She’d all but said she’d pined after him all this time. “Not that, you know, I thought about it a lot.” Great, now she sounded defensive.
“I did.”
“I’m sure. I’ll just bet you’ve been celibate the last twelve years because of an aborted seduction by the creek.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but when I was lying in a hospital bed in Iraq, wondering if I’d live to see my father again, I had a lot of time to think. That was a memory I returned to over and over again. I think that’s part of the reason I ended up here in Dale. I could have gone anywhere when I got discharged. I came here.”
Nadya’s heart felt too big for her chest. Her emotions were so close to the surface, she was afraid of what would spill out of her mouth if she said anything. Finally, she couldn’t take the silence any longer.
“I’m glad you came back. I’m glad I did too.”
“I want you to stay.”