“Well, when is it set for trial?” I asked.

“Two weeks from now. He’s already had his preliminary and everything since he was indicted by the Grand Jury. Floyd has been keeping me up to date because he talks to the prosecutor about it. Creepy had to find an attorney to come in from Cincinnati because no one here wanted to represent him.” She snorted before saying, “And the one he came up with is so full of himself and ostentatious in his court appearances that no one in this county can hardly stand him.”

I laughed. “That’s a good thing, right?”

She shook her head vigorously for a second and then sighed. “I almost hope that he plea bargains before then just so I don’t have to see him again.”

“Well, we’ll keep our fingers crossed. Okay, so we’ve talked about it, and now moving on. Right?” I asked.

“Right,” she said with a nod.

“Well…I think I have something to talk about,” I said tentatively.

She turned into the parking lot of the store and parked before turning to me and saying, “Okay. Spill. You don’t hesitate to tell me things so this has gotta be good!”

“I actually…finally…did…you know,” I whispered.

“What? You finally did what?” she asked.

I cocked my head and nodded, prompting her silently to figure it out.

“Allie, I don’t know what you are talking…oh. OH! You did it…THEM! You did THEM!” she shouted, her face lighting up with surprise. “I just have one question…was it good?”

I nodded, grinning at her. I don’t know why I was a little hesitant to tell her, but I was. I shouldn’t have been because she knows everything about me anyway. “It was amazing, Em. They both make me feel so special, not like I’ve ever felt before about anyone. Why the hell did I fight it for so long?” I asked, musing to myself out loud.

“Because you’re stupid,” Emma said bluntly. “Those two, especially Jackson, have been head over heels for you for so long. I can’t believe it really took them this long to get through to your dumbass. So is this something you see…I mean is it for good?”

I shrugged, not really sure how to answer that. “I think so…at least I hope so, anyway. I really don’t know where Brandon’s head is at because he’s not a big talker. He’s more of a doer, if that makes sense.”

Emma shut off the car and we got out to go in to the store. Grabbing a cart, Emma said, “It does make sense, you know. I think he’s big on that because of how they grew up. The whole actions speak louder than words thing…”

“Yeah, but…I don’t know. I just don’t really know where I stand with him. He says he’s wanted me and he wasn’t willing to step aside for Jacks, which, by the way, is the same thing Jacks said about Brandon, but that’s it.” I sighed.

We walked through the store, gathering the ingredients Emma needed to make dinner tonight. She was quiet for a few minutes before she said, “Talk to him about it. You and I both know that he can be serious and there’s definitely a very deep man in there hiding behind all the joking. You may be surprised at what you find.”

Twenty minutes later we were pulling into their driveway when I saw Emma tense and frown. I followed her gaze to see a woman sitting on the porch steps leaning against the railing with her knees drawn up. Her blonde hair was covering her face so I couldn’t tell if she was someone we knew or not.

Emma threw the car into park and got out, her voice ringing out with a slight cautious edge. “Is there something I can help you with?”

I got out and stood beside Emma, waiting for a response. The woman took a deep breath that almost looked pained before she slowly raised her head. Emma and I both gasped and went running toward her when we saw her face.

“Ohmigod!” Emma breathed as she knelt beside the woman on the steps.

I knelt on the other side of her and gently laid my palm against the woman’s knee. She flinched a little and we backed up just a bit, giving her some space.

“What happened? Is there something we can do, someone we can call? Were you in an accident and walked here for help?” Emma’s questions were coming fast, not even giving the poor woman time to speak.

She blinked up at us and opened her mouth to speak. Her voice was very soft, almost apologetic. “I…I’m sorry, I’m looking for my brother.”

“Sweetie, who’s your brother?” I asked gently.

“Jackson.”

Her reply floored me. There was no way in hell that I was expecting that response, even though now I could see a resemblance. She was beautiful, there was no mistaking that; however, the black eye, split lip, scratches, and other various bruises marring her otherwise flawless skin stood out in shockingly stark relief.

I glanced at Emma and saw that she was just as shocked by the answer as I was. “Does he know you’re here?” she asked.

The woman shook her head imperceptibly.

“Okay,” Emma said, getting to her feet. “Come inside and let’s get you somewhere comfortable while Allie calls Jacks to get his ass home.” Emma’s tone brooked no argument, and the woman didn’t even try.

She winced and whimpered as she began to rise and I quickly got to my feet and put my arm around her gently, trying to help. She steadied herself against me briefly before pulling away and walking slowly into the house. I noticed that she only used her right arm, holding her left crooked tightly against her stomach, and she flinched with every step.

Once we got her settled on the couch, I ran back out into the car and grabbed my purse, and as many bags of groceries as I could. I took them into the kitchen and headed back out for the rest, grabbing my phone on the way. Emma was sitting beside the woman on the couch, wringing her hands, clearly at a loss as to what to do next. I heard her asking questions as I closed the door behind me, my fingers already tapping out Jackson’s number on my screen.

“Hey, babe,” Jackson answered, his deep, sinful voice making me smile and sending shivers down my spine like always.

“Hey,” I said, softly, my smile fading away because of what I was about to say.

“What’s wrong.” He said it as a statement, not a question. He could read me so well.

“Um…your sister is here.” I said, not knowing how else to put it.

“What? What do you mean, my sister’s there?” He sounded very confused. “Chloe?”

“I didn’t get a chance to ask her name…she just said she was your sister. Where are you?” I asked him, really not wanting to have to go into all the details over the phone. Better yet, “Where’s Brandon?”

“We’re at the shop but…what’s going on? Why is my sister there, Allie?” His voice was dangerously soft, and I knew that he could tell I wasn’t telling him everything.

“Lemme talk to Brandon real quick, okay?” I asked, knowing that I was probably pissing him off.

I heard him swear under his breath and then Brandon’s voice came on. “What’s going on, Allie? Why’d Jacks just basically throw the phone at me?”

“Brandon, I don’t know what to do…how to tell him this. You just need to get him home. Chloe was sitting on the front porch of your house when Emma and I pulled up. She’s…hurt.”