Chapter 25
Lee
Farrah stopped talking. She shut down, shrinking in on herself the way she had when she’d seen Jim at the bar last night. She had turned inward. She wasn’t looking at either me or at Jim. Something was seriously wrong. I didn’t know what was going on and what she hadn’t told me, but something was up and I didn’t know what it was.
“Look,” I said to Jim, very tired of this shit. Farrah was deteriorating fast and I had to get her away from this guy or I was going to lose her completely. “Farrah and I are together, but seeing that you’ve been creeping around town, sticking your nose in my business, you already know that. You have no right to be here. You’ve got some nerve bothering her, not to mention chasing another man’s woman. Especially after you walked away a long time ago.”
“What did you say to me?” Jim asked, and there was a threat in his voice but I’d had it. I was sick and tired of this asshole and his intimidating ways.
“You heard me,” I said, looking him in the eye and not backing down. “You’re not welcome here. You’re not welcome in Farrah’s life and I’m taking it as a personal offense that you think you have some kind of right to her.”
Jim shook his head. He didn’t answer me but the arrogant smirk on his face suggested that he thought I was full of shit with my little speech. It only pissed me off more. I wanted to beat up the piece of shit so badly. I wanted him to get the hell out of town before I stopped trying to control my temper and did a number on his face.
Farrah was still silent next to me. It was as if she had just switched off. I was worried about her. What had happened that she knew how to shut down like this?
“What kind of a man goes after a woman who is pregnant with another man’s child?” I asked.
“People adopt children all the time,” Jim said.
Next to me, Farrah made a small sound. It was the first reaction I had heard from her for a while. She started trembling, and she was on the verge of a meltdown. It was time this came to an end. Jim was pushing his luck and there was no way I was going to let him get away with this. I had no claim to Farrah, she was her own person. If she wanted to go back to Jim, she could do that.
But she didn’t look like she wanted to go back to Jim. She looked like she would rather die. She was already wilting away. I had never seen someone go backward so quickly. It hadn’t been twenty-four hours and the person sitting next to me was a whisper of the woman I had been spending my time with.
Still, it wasn’t my call to make what she chose. But I could lay claim to the baby inside her womb. I wouldn’t force Farrah to do something she didn’t want to do, but that was the one thing I was allowed to stand on. I was that baby’s father and as such, I had certain rights. This wasn’t about Farrah’s choices, it was about Jim and how he was trying to take what was mine.
“I think it’s time you leave,” I said to Jim. “This conversation isn’t going anywhere.”
“Farrah, sweetheart, talk to me,” Jim said, turning his attention back to her. He was ignoring me again.
“Don’t talk to her,” I said.
Jim pretended I wasn’t there. It was a slap in the face, a worse insult than anything he could have said. He carried on, trying to get Farrah to talk to him.
“Don’t do this to me, babes,” Jim said. “You know how much it kills me when you do this to me.”
Judging by Jim’s tone and how he was trying to get Farrah to respond, this wasn’t the first time this happened. I didn’t get the feeling Farrah was giving Jim the silent treatment, either. She had shut down for self-preservation. She was taking care of herself, not manipulating Jim. Which meant there was a hell of a lot about the dynamic between Farrah and Jim that I didn’t understand.
Jim was looking like he wanted to reach for Farrah, but he glanced at me and thought better of it. Wise man. If he so much as touched her I was going to lose every shred of self-control I had.
“Farrah,” Jim said, and his voice was calm. The contrast between who he had been a few minutes ago and who he was now was ridiculous. There was no doubt that this man knew how to play the game. He knew what he was doing. Maybe this got through to her before, but it wasn’t doing much, now. Farrah was still trembling next to me. She was keeping her shit together, not falling apart, but her eyes were cast down and she didn’t look at me or at Jim. She sat there, a shell. I wasn’t sure if she would hear what was being said, even if it was me speaking.
I was sick and tired of this shit. Jim was obviously a master at the game he was playing, and maybe it had worked in the past, but I wasn’t in the picture in the past. Everything was different now.
“That’s enough,” I said to Jim. “We’re done here.”
“Come on, babes,” Jim said again and he motioned to reach for Farrah. She glanced at me, pleading with me. Her eyes were lifeless and their dullness floored me, spurring me into action. She needed me and it was time to step up and do what I needed to do.
“Listen, motherfucker,” I said, and jumped up, grabbing Jim by the collar. “Leave my girlfriend the fuck alone.”
I punched him in the fact so hard he spun around and crashed to the ground. I towered over him, but I wasn’t one to kick a man when he was down.
“If I ever see your face again, I’m reporting you for harassment. This town may be small but we’re all friends here and you’re not welcome. Get the fuck out of town.”
I turned around and took Farrah by the hand. She was fragile and her hand was freezing when I touched her. I helped her up and walked to the car with her. She looked over her shoulder where Jim lay on the floor, blood pissing out of his nose. He cursed and shouted but he stayed down.
Good boy.
When we were in the truck, I backed out of the parking bay and drove away from the motel. Farrah had to tell me what was going on. She hadn’t told me anything about Jim, but by the looks of things, she was going to have to. Her reaction to Jim was a problem. She had been on the verge of a mental breakdown back there and something like that didn’t just happen without a good reason.
Now wasn’t the time to push her for information. I had to get her far away from that asshole, get her somewhere safe and warm where she could relax, and I had to get her to come back to me. I’d never seen her so shut down and it was scary. I didn’t know what he had done to her but if she went with him again, if she was ever subjected to that man again, it would be the end of her. I was convinced of it.
I could see it. How long had she said she’d dated him? I couldn’t remember. But a couple of years with a man like that could break someone, and I was seeing the evidence.
We drove in silence to the cabin. I fuming, trying to calm down after hitting Jim. I had wanted to do so much more but Farrah was a lady and I wouldn’t fight anyone in front of her, even if she’d been perfectly fine. It just wasn’t right.
Finally, we parked in front of the cabin and I walked around the truck, opening the door for Farrah. She moved like she was on autopilot. I helped her down and we walked into the cabin.
“Do you need something to eat or drink?” I asked.
Farrah shook her head. “I think I just need to lie down.”
“Can we talk, first?” I asked.
Farrah looked at me and her blue eyes had lost the edge of fear they’d had since Jim had walked toward the table at the motel. She was already starting to come back to me now that we were away from him.
“I don’t really want to talk about it,” Farrah said.
“Please,” I said. “I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”
Farrah shook her head. “Everything is okay, now. I think I just want to sleep a bit.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. I wanted to know what was going on. She was shutting me out and I felt helpless, but I wasn’t going to force her. I had a feeling she had been forced to do things for a long time. I nodded and Farrah walked into the bedroom.
When she was settled, I walked outside and phoned Hannah.
“I don’t know what to do,” I said, after I told her what had happened. “She’s completely shut down. She won’t even talk to me more than saying a few short words to tell me she’s fine. Which is obviously a lie.”
“Just give her time,” Hannah said. “She’ll open up again given a bit of time. The guy looks like a menace.”
“He is,” I said.
“I’m glad you hit him.”
“I wanted to do more.”
We ended the conversation. It was almost time for me to leave to go to the bar to work, but I was worried about Farrah.
I walked back into the cabin. Farrah was still lying on the bed. Her eyes were open, staring into nothing. When I walked to the bed, she looked at me. It was an improvement, since I’d half expected her to keep staring at the wall.
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
Farrah nodded. “I’m okay.”
I wasn’t sure I believed her, but I didn’t argue.
“It’s almost time to go to the pub,” I said.
Farrah shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll come with you tonight. I’m so tired.”
She looked exhausted. The whole thing had to have been emotionally draining.
“I don’t want to leave you here alone,” I said. I was worried about her.
“I’ll be okay,” Farrah said. “I think I’m just going to sleep.”
I nodded. I really didn’t want to leave her alone, but maybe it was better for her to stay here at the cabin and get some rest. I couldn’t take the night off, Hannah really needed me. But at the pub, Jim would be able to find Farrah. Here at the cabin, hidden in the forest up against the mountain, I knew he wouldn’t find her. He had found her here in Packwood, but unless he had followed my truck closely—which I would have noticed—he wouldn’t find the cabin. Very few people in town knew how to navigate their way to the cabins up here.
I made sure Farrah had everything she needed. I left a sandwich and glass of water on the nightstand in case she was hungry or thirsty, and I put her phone close by too, so she could call if she needed me. I had to go to the pub, but the moment Farrah called I could come running.
Finally, still reluctant, I left.