Chapter 27
Lee
On Sunday morning I woke up early, even though I had worked until late last night, and then Farrah and I had stayed up talking for a while. My mind was full of what she had told me about her relationship with Jim.
I couldn’t believe someone had the ability or the gall it took to control someone like that. I had seen Farrah quickly shut down when Jim had spoken to her, but I would never have guessed the extent of what he had done to her. I had seen how hard it was for her to talk about it, too. It had taken a lot of strength for her to be open with me about it.
But I was so glad she had done it. She had seemed to think that after she told me, I wouldn’t want her anymore. I had no idea why she thought that way, but was so thankful she had trusted me enough to open up. None of that was Farrah’s fault, and that fucking Jim was the devil himself for doing something so terrible to her. And worse, to make her think everything was always her fault. So, naturally, she would think that I wouldn’t want her when she told me.
This time she was actually wrong, and I wanted her more than ever. Farrah was one of the strongest people I had ever met. She had been through so much saw the fact that she’d needed to see a therapist for help to deal with her breakup and all that Jim had done to her as a weakness. But I was amazed that she had gotten through it all.
I was liking her more, as I found out more about her. And her reaction to Jim made sense now that I knew what was going on. I hadn’t wanted to push her to talk to me, and I was really glad she had opened up.
After carefully climbing out of bed so I wouldn’t wake Farrah, I walked to the kitchen and made myself a cup of coffee, then drank it outside on the porch. The sun was only a little above the horizon and the chill of the night was still hanging between the trees.
I hoped we’d seen the last of Jim, but I had no problem reporting him for harassment if need be. After he’d confessed that he’d accessed Farrah’s private medical records, and sought her out and harassed her at the bar with witnesses present, I was sure we could get a restraining order without trying very hard. I wanted him to stay away from Farrah for good. She deserved to focus on our future and the baby in peace.
I hadn’t been outside for very long when Farrah came to join me.
“You’re up early,” she said. I stretched out my arm and she moved close so I could wrap it around her shoulders.
“I had a lot on my mind,” I said. “I’m really glad you told me, and I’m so sorry he did that to you.”
She didn’t answer, but we stood in comfortable silence for a while before I suggested we head inside for breakfast.
“I’m hungry,” Farrah said, and I was glad to hear it. She had barely eaten at all yesterday and an appetite was a good sign.
Walked into the cabin, I offered Farrah a cup of coffee and got her settled in the breakfast nook while I quickly made us eggs and bacon with toast. I liked making breakfast for Farrah. Taking care of her a bit felt like I was actively doing something to fix everything that had been damaged, even when I hadn’t been involved in what had gone wrong.
Farrah looked better this morning. She was smiling and laughing when I joked around and we chatted about small things. She seemed lighter after she had told me everything, and she was slowly returning to her more confident self. I was relieved and feeling more hopeful. Last night I’d wondered if this was something she would need professional help with, and I felt bad I couldn’t help her the way I wanted to.
I was almost done with breakfast when there was a knock at my door. Farrah froze and looked at me. I frowned. No one ever came to my door, usually. I got calls that took me down the mountain when I was needed and Hannah saw me often enough at the pub, so she never made the trip.
After the whole story with Jim yesterday, I was immediately suspicious. If he was here to hurt her, I was going to cause him more trouble than I had yesterday. Now that I knew what she had been through, I was that much more protective of her. If I had known this extent of his abuse before we had seen Jim yesterday, he wouldn’t have walked away only a bloody nose.
I walked to the front door and opened it up.
“Sheriff Holland,” I said, surprised. I hadn’t expected him here. He hadn’t come alone, either. He had Bobby with him, another officer. “Please, come in.”
I had known Sheriff Martin Holland for years. We had grown up together. Bobby had come to Packwood a couple of years ago, so he was a friend, too. I introduced Farrah to the sheriff and his deputy and we sat down in my living room.
“I have bad news, Lee,” the sheriff said. “James Horace wants to press charges.”
“For what?” Farrah asked in a small voice.
“Assault,” Sheriff Holland said. “He said you punched him in the face, unprovoked.”
I snorted. “Unprovoked, my ass.”
Sheriff Holland chuckled. “I didn’t think it was. I know you. I also heard from a couple of people in town that Horace was causing trouble at the bar on Friday. Hannah confirmed that for me.”
I nodded. Farrah was quiet, but she didn’t look like she had when we had been talking to Jim.
“Let me tell you what happened,” I said. Sheriff Holland sat back, ready to hear what I had to say. I knew he would be open to my side. We had known each other for a long time and he was a reasonable guy.
I explained to him about Farrah and his past relationship with her, that he had been harassing her and demanded to have her back now that she was pregnant. I knew that the sheriff wouldn’t run around with the news. After explaining that I had been defending Farrah, he nodded.
“Right,” he said, slapping his thighs and standing up. “I think I know how to handle this. Thanks, Lee.”
I shook both their hands and walked them to the front door. Farrah followed me and we watched as the two officers climbed into their police car, turned it around in front of the cabin and followed the dirt road back through the trees.
“Do you think it will be taken care of?” Farrah asked.
I turned to her and nodded. “Yeah. Sheriff Holland is a close friend of mine. You saw how he was on our side. Nothing will go wrong, trust me.”
Farrah nodded and we headed back to the cabin. I finished making breakfast. Farrah was quiet but when I glanced at her, she didn’t look scared the way she had before. I hoped it was a good sign. I wouldn’t push her to deal with it any quicker than she was comfortable with, but I hoped she was coping with everything that was happening.
I had half-expected Jim to press charges. It was the pathetic kind of thing he would do after he had lost the fight. He wasn’t going to get Farrah back by asking or trying to manipulate her, so he wanted to get me out of the way so he could get to her alone. Well, that wasn’t going to happen. Everyone was on my side. Jim had come into town causing trouble from the start. Maybe in a big city like Seattle, it was more about every man for himself, but in a place like Packwood, we stuck together. If Jim had wanted sympathy from anyone around town, he shouldn’t have gotten drunk and caused a scene the moment he had arrived.
When breakfast was ready, we ate together. Farrah was more and more her usual self, despite the news of Jim trying to cause trouble by pressing charges. It was wonderful to watch her opening up again and I was glad she was able to do it so quickly.
After breakfast, we washed the dishes together. We worked side by side and even when we were together in silence, it was comfortable silence and companionship, the way it had always been between us.
The rest of the day was a calm one. We spent it together largely in front of the television, watching old movies. We laughed and we talked, watching classic show and commenting on them.
Sometimes, Farrah and I made out. I loved touching her and kissing her. I loved being with her in general.
When I kissed her, I wanted more. I wanted to take her to my bed and make love to her. I wanted to touch every inch of her body. I wanted to kiss her, taste her, and make her mine after everything that had happened. But I wasn’t going to push her into anything she didn’t want to do. After what I had found out about Jim, I was even more careful with her when it came to sex. I had never done anything like he had, but I wanted to give her the time to deal with all that had happened.
I would wait and when she was ready for me, in her own time, I would be here.
“It’s really early on,” Farrah said, when we paused our movie watching to make lunch. “But do you ever think about names for the baby?”
I shook my head. We were standing in the kitchen, making lunch together.
“I haven’t,” I said. “I’ll have to think about it. What about you?”
Farrah shook her head. “I want to, obviously. I’ve wanted this for a long time. But I’m too scared to take that step. I’ve believed I couldn’t have children for so long that I’m too scared to get my hopes up only to end up losing the baby after all.”
I understood what she was saying, but I had a feeling we were going to get through this just fine.
After we had made lunch together we sat down in front of the television but we didn’t play the movie.
“Thank you,” Farrah said.
“For what?”
“For being so nice about everything. There have been so many times you could have chosen to turn me away. Instead, you’re taking it all in and you’re still trying to make it work with me.”
“Of course I am,” I said. You’re amazing. I know he led you to believe otherwise, so I will just take whatever time we need to show you how great you are.”
Farrah blushed. I smiled, but I wasn’t only paying her a compliment. I was serious. I had seen glimpses of who she was and I would give her all the time she needed to become the woman she was meant to be.
When Hannah had asked me if I was already in love with Farrah, I hadn’t been able to answer that question. I wasn’t sure if could say yes, but I knew I couldn’t say no. Now there was no question. I was falling for Farrah.
I was falling for her, hard.