A Fresh Start for Two (12 page)

Leave town? She’d given it serious consideration, but there was one major problem with the plan. She had no money.

Who else could she go to for help? She couldn’t talk to anyone in Jake’s family without directly involving him.

Each time she reviewed her options, she kept coming to the same conclusion. She would likely have to go back to Vincent on Saturday, which meant she needed to make the most out of her last few days of freedom. And she wanted to tell Jake how she felt about him. She hadn’t given up, but if she didn’t manage to escape Vincent, at least she could do this.

Perhaps tomorrow. Tomorrow, she would make a plan.

The next morning, as soon as Jake got in the shower, she decided to do something about all her troubles. Julia reached into her pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, the one Lauren had given her with the phone number on it. She dialed the number on her phone and breathed a sigh of relief when she recognized Lauren’s voice on the other end.

“Lauren? It’s Julia.”

“Oh. Hi, Julia. I’m glad you called. How can I help?”

“I was wondering. Umm, this problem I’m having is escalating.”

“Ok, have you told someone about it?”

“Well, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. This person has made a threat, but if I tell someone, Jake or the police, he promises to hurt someone, and if he does, it will probably be bad. What do I do? If I don’t tell someone, I’ll have to go back with my abuser. If I do, he’ll hurt someone I care deeply about. I don’t know what to do. Can you help me?” She blinked her lashes several times to clear the moisture in her eyes, praying Lauren would help her.

“Julia, you need to tell Jake and the police. It’s the only way. I’m sorry, I know it’s frightening, but the only way you stand a chance is with all the police force behind you. They’ll protect you. If you don’t tell anyone, it’s all in your hands. Do you want to feel responsible for what he does?”

She stared at the ceiling, “No. You’re right. I’ll find a way to tell Jake.”

“Promise me you’ll tell him today? Please?”

She thought for a moment. Yes, Lauren was right. She just needed a little time to think about how she would say it to minimize any damage done by Vincent. There was no doubt in her mind that he would carry out his threats. Her fear was if he was arrested, he would still have his friends do his dirty work.

She needed to be very careful how she handled this. “Thanks, Lauren.”

“Julia, please don’t hang up. I need you to promise me you’ll tell Jake.”

“Okay. I promise to tell him today.”

“As soon as possible, Julia.”

“I promise to tell him today. That’s all I can promise.”

“All right. I’ll take that. You’re doing the right thing. Call me anytime.”

Julia hung up and dropped her face into her hands, still not convinced this was the best way to protect Jake and Lucia.

Chapter Twelve

Tuesday afternoon, Jake pulled into the track. He was surprised to see Randy’s car here, but then, his friend was a mechanic at heart. Randy loved working on engines. He had taken another day off just to make sure Julia was safe, and she suggested a trip to the racetrack.

The weather was beautiful in the summer in Orenda Lake, low seventies at night. As he opened his car door, Julia hopped out of her side of the car. It delighted him to see this evidence of her excitement, especially over something he loved as much as the track, and he quenched his desire to grab her and toss her into the air. She hadn’t acted very exuberant over these last couple of days, and he was still worried she wasn’t telling him something.

“Hey, Randy. What are you working on?” Jake strolled into the shed, his hands wedged in his pockets.

He rolled out on his creeper and said, “Just priming this one up. I finished the Pontiac a little while ago.” He tilted his head toward the car sitting on the track. “You want to take her for a spin?”

Moments after Randy finished his sentence, the car’s engine started. Randy stood up and Jake pivoted in time to see Julia was sitting in the driver’s seat with no helmet or seatbelt, and then she floored it and took off down the track as if she were being chased by demons.

Jake bellowed, “Julia! Stop! That car may not be safe!” Hell, but she just kept right on going. He ran into the middle of the track, but she continued—one lap, two laps—until the roar of the engine threatened to send him over the edge of hysteria. She had no idea what she was risking. The car wasn’t sound, and the track was riddled with small potholes. What the hell was she thinking?

He ranted and paced back to the edge of the track. Randy seemed almost as upset as he felt—after all, he’d probably poured hours of work into the car. After a few tense moments, he clapped him on the back and said, “Buddy, I trust you to handle this. You need to get her under control.” And with that, he got into his car and left.

Julia finally stopped the car at the far end of the track. He was furious at her for risking her life like that. In fact, he was quite sure his dark hair was sprouting grays as he charged toward the car. He had expected her to look exhilarated when she climbed out of the car, but instead she was sobbing and wailing as if in the worst possible pain.

Her tears stopped him dead in his tracks, about ten feet in front of her. Faced with such unpredictable behavior, he wasn’t sure what to do. She was moving erratically as she walked away from the car.

“Julia, are you hurt?” He was afraid to advance on her when she was in this state, but he needed to make sure this was an emotional and not physical breakdown. Standing with his hands on his hips, he waited for a response.

She paced next to the car, pulling her hair, sobbing, wailing, and occasionally even screaming. Glancing over his shoulder, he checked to make sure Randy was gone. Thank God, he was.

“Julia? Talk to me. What’s happening? Please let me in.”

“Jake, I’m so sorry. I know I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.” She continued to pace up and down next to the car. There was no more screaming, but she was still in tears.

Jake thought she was calming a bit, so he took a few steps toward her. “You could have killed yourself. You scared the hell out of me. No helmet. No seat belt. What the hell?”

“I couldn’t think…no, I
can’t
think,” she mumbled. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where to turn. Help me, Jake. No,
don’t
help me. I don’t want you to get hurt.” Her movements still jerky, she held her head as if she were in terrible pain.

He stepped closer and her pace slowed. She buried her face in her hands, then picked her head up and stared at him.

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s bothering you, babe.” He dropped his voice so she wouldn’t feel threatened. He would do anything, everything he could to make her feel better.

“I love you. Jake…” She ran straight at him and cupped his face in her hands. “I love you more than I had thought it was possible to love a man, but I have to end this.”

Shit. What the hell was she talking about? His heartbeat had sped up at her declaration of love, but then she’d gone and ripped his heart right out of his chest by saying they were over. What?

“What are you talking about, Julia? You want to end this,
us
?” He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her close.

Her wrenching sobs broke his heart. “Yes, I have to go back with him.”

Fear clutched his belly, and his throat seemed to have closed up. He finally was able to force out, “No, you don’t.” Not now, not when he was falling in love with her. Not when he finally found someone to let into his heart.

“Yes, I do.” Her breath hitched as she caressed his cheek with one hand, her other holding his arm with a death grip.

“Why?”

“Because. He said he’d hurt you. I tried not to tell you…he said he’d hurt you if I did. Wait. Lucia. We have to get to Lucia. He said he’d break her leg.” Two shaky hands gripped his upper arms, and her eyes darted back and forth, filled with anxiety. “Jake, you have to…we have to…”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down. Slow down and tell me everything from the beginning.” He gently removed her hands from his arm and cocooned them inside his warm ones, hoping his heat would relax her. He had to get her to tell him everything she’d been holding back. “When did he tell you this?”

“Sunday. After he almost got me fired. He said if I didn’t get back together with him, he would hurt you and Lucia. I have until Saturday. But I’m not sure I can do it, Jake, not even for you two. Don’t you understand?” She sagged into him, leaning her head on his shoulder, her voice still choked with tears.

He enveloped her in his arms and hugged her tight. “Shhh,” he whispered in her ear. “It’s okay. I’ve got you. Take a deep breath for me.”

Her breath hitched as she clung to him. “I can’t. I can’t calm down. What if he hurts the people I love most? What do I do?”

He wrapped one arm around her waist and brought his other hand up to cradle her head. “Shhh. Don’t talk. Take a deep breath. We’ll figure this out together, but right now you’re hyperventilating, and we need to get you calmed down.”

She started, “But…”

“Shhh. Nothing. Let me hold you for a minute.”

She sighed and collapsed against him again.

“Take a deep breath for me, babe.”

She complied, but he could tell she was still panicking.

“Another one.”

No response.

“Babe? Another deep breath for me. I don’t want you passing out.”

She finally breathed in, and her body felt more relaxed against him.

He rested his chin on the top of her head, rubbing her back with one hand as he held her. No wonder she had seemed distant and preoccupied. This was the secret he’d sensed these past couple of days. As soon as her breathing had slowed, he turned her back toward the shed. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he led her back to the big maple tree next to his car and settled her next to it so she could lean her back against its bark. “Better?”

She nodded, but answered, “No.”

He grinned as he lowered himself to the ground, and she laughed. “See? I’ve apparently lost my mind, too,” she said. “It’s the only possible explanation for how I could laugh right now.”

“I mean it, Julia, I need you to tell me everything.” He said it as gently as he could.

She grabbed his hand. “Only if you promise to hold my hand while I talk. I’m scared, Jake. Really scared.”

He squeezed her hand. “I won’t let go. Start at the beginning.”

“Sunday night at the restaurant.” She pulled a tissue out of her pocket and wiped her cheeks and her nose. “After my boss sent me home, I walked outside, hardly paying attention to where I was going. When I got into the back parking lot, Vincent was leaning against his car.”

“Good, continue.”

“He told me I had made a laughing stock out of him, and if I didn’t go back with him, he would hurt you.” She stared at the tree top and breathed in deep. “And Lucia. He said he would break her leg for encouraging me to end things with him.”

“But he didn’t want you to go with him then?” That man had an odd mind.

“No. I think he must be going out of town this week, which he often does. He said he had things to do and would pick me up at my mother’s house on Saturday, and he plans on carrying out his threats if I’m not there.”

“Good job. Did he say anything else? I want you to remember all of this so that when we talk to my sarge…”

“No, no! You can’t tell them. He said if I involved the police he would just take me and hurt you both anyway. Please, Jake. I couldn’t bear for that to happen.” Her hands dug into her knees and she started to rock back and forth on the ground.

He tugged her closer so she could rest her head on his shoulder. “Listen, you have to trust me. We’ll figure this out, and if I have to put a round-the clock officer on you and Lucia, I will.” He reached up under her top and rubbed her back.

“Jake.”

“Hmm?”

“Make love to me.”

“I will when I get you in bed tonight. I’ll hold you all night long.” He took her sweet lips with his and caressed her mouth with his tongue, imitating what he would do to her later.

When he ended the kiss, she pulled back to gaze into his eyes. “No. Here, now. What if something happens? I need you now.”

“Sweetheart. He can’t touch us. He has no idea you’ve told me the truth. You don’t need to panic yet. I’ll take care of you.”

“Make love to me now. Please? Here in the grass?” She reached for his jeans and unbuttoned them, trying to slide them down over his hips.

He growled, picked her up, and found a beautiful spot where he could lay her down. He made love to her twice, overcome with so much emotion he was totally lost in it.

Under the trees and in the grass, he lost a little more of his heart to Julia Ross.

It was a night he would never forget.

***

Later that night, Julia sat in the upper level of the boathouse at the Ramsay inn, wringing her hands in her lap. Had she done the right thing? Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything to Jake, but she hadn’t been able to hold the truth back for a moment longer. Somehow, racing around the track on her own had clarified everything in her mind. She couldn’t resign herself to a life with Vincent Nye…at least not without a fight.

Jake had driven here directly leaving the racetrack, hoping to ask his father and grandfather for advice. The decision had quickly been made to bring both girls to stay at the inn for the time being. Presumably, everyone was safe until Saturday, but Jake still hadn’t been comfortable with the idea of leaving Julia alone at his apartment when he went to work in the morning. Jake would meet with his sarge in the morning, and more decisions could be made then.

Jake and Julia had gone to class, but it had been uneventful, with no sign of Vincent. After listening to Julia’s story, Lucia had agreed to stay at the Ramsay inn for her own safety. She would join them there after collecting some of her own things. This would also give them more opportunity to work on their project.

The big question on everyone’s minds was whether Vincent was capable of doing what he’d threatened. Jake explained that many abusers were just big talkers, but Julia had her doubts. As she stared out over the calm waters of Orenda Lake, she tried to absorb some of the serenity of the lake, listening to the calming sound of the small waves lapping against the stones. Surprisingly, it worked. It was as if a different energy existed here.

Rubbing her arms in the chilly air, she tried to focus on the positive. No matter what happened, she would never forget their sweet lovemaking in the grass. Jake hadn’t declared his love for her yet, but for some reason, it didn’t matter. His feelings for her were strong, she could see it in his gaze and feel it in his tender embrace. This was more than just sex to him, and she knew it. She knew her feelings for what they were, but their relationship was still too young for him to recognize it as love.

He would, in time, and she could wait for Jake Ramsay for as long as it took. She didn’t wish to rush his feelings because of her turmoil, and it hadn’t been her intention to do so. She’d just wanted to say it….well, just in case.

The door slammed and Lucia headed toward her, a little girl running along beside her. It was Lucia’s eight-year-old sister, she realized with surprise. Jake trailed behind them. Standing where she was, at the top of the steps, Julia waited for them to reach her. Lucia pulled her into a fierce hug. “Amiga, I’m so sorry this is happening to you.” Tugging back after a long moment, she gestured toward the little girl. “I texted Jake to see if it would be all right for me to bring Maria. I called my mother and she panicked about the danger.” She made a summoning gesture to the little girl. “Maria, be polite. Say hello to Miss Julia.”

Maria leaned against her sister, placing her hand in her sister’s as she glanced at Julia. “Hi,” she said in a small voice.

Julia forced a smile, but her insides churned. The last thing she wanted was for her situation to affect Maria. “Hi, Maria. How are you?”