Taking Charge (14 page)

Cole stopped her, taking hold of her hand and
squeezing it in his.

She looked into his eyes, those deep, dark eyes. She
kissed his lips again, closing her eyes and savoring every second
of how it felt to lose herself in someone, without any questions or
recriminations. Without anyone having to get up and go home.

Cole brought her fingers to his mouth and softly
kissed each knuckle in turn. His gentleness was too much to bear,
and she drew herself away, let him go and got to her feet, sweeping
her hair back out of her face.

“Sorry about the whole leaving you in the supermarket
thing. How much do I owe you for the food?” Robyn asked.

“Nothing, it’s fine. They had a special offer on the
ice cream,” Cole answered, getting to his feet.

“So, can I help put it away? I mean, I like things
ordered a certain way and, although you might think that’s a bit
freaky, you really need to just let me do it because…” Robyn began,
heading into the kitchen.

“It’s done. Look, do you want coffee, or a beer or
something?” Cole offered.

“Don’t you have to get back to work? Don’t you have
some deadly diseases to cure this afternoon?” Robyn asked, opening
the fridge and looking at the groceries.

“I have assistants for that if I can’t make it,” Cole
answered, his eyes not leaving her.

“Oh,” Robyn said not knowing what else to say.

“What happened back there, Robyn? You took off like
you were doing the hundred meters in the Olympics,” Cole said as
Robyn closed the fridge and leaned against the countertop, trying
to avoid his gaze.

“I saw someone I didn’t want to see,” she admitted,
biting her lip.

“Who? An ex or something?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“Then who?”

“You don’t want to know. The last thing you want to
hear about is my messed up past. I mean, you know about my useless
mother and my ill dad and my love of ancient old cars. I think
that’s about enough for anyone,” Robyn said with an unconvincing
laugh of nerves.

“I also know you kiss me when you want to lose
yourself in something…when you need to escape your life for a
second,” Cole told her.

He hadn’t put his t-shirt back on yet, and his body
was just there, he was just there, looking like he did, attracting
her with all his Freddie Prinze Jr. similarities.

“Robyn, at the moment you know more about me than
anyone round here. We’re friends already and we’re living together.
I’m exactly the person who needs to know, and Robyn, I want to
know,” Cole spoke.

“I saw Jason, Grant’s son,” Robyn blurted out,
putting her fingers to her mouth and chewing her nails.

“Okay, and you’re upset because…”

“Because…before I left for England…he raped me,”
Robyn admitted, swallowing a knot of tears as her stomach
contracted in remembrance.

Cole let out a long, slow, almost inaudible breath,
but his expression gave all of his feelings away. Robyn saw a
flicker of anger and then something like pain in his eyes as he
looked at her. He put his t-shirt back on and pulled it straight,
as if being topless was inappropriate.

He crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her,
pulling her protectively into his embrace. He began stroking her
hair so softly.

She shut her eyes for a second and enjoyed the
feeling of being held.

She could just relax into him, she could let out a
breath and all the tension might slip away. He would probably hold
her for as long as she needed him to, maybe even forever. She just
had to let him in.

She pulled away suddenly, like she’d been jarred by
something, and she shook her head vigorously.

“No, don’t. I don’t want you to do that. Don’t be
nice to me like that. I couldn’t stand it,” Robyn said, wrapping
her arms around herself.

“Did he go to jail?” Cole asked, watching her.

“Yeah, four years.”

“Is that all?!”

“Yeah. That’s all you get for raping someone and
reminding the whole town about how in olden times apparently that’s
what they used to do to the witches round here. And now he’s back,
just when I’m back,” Robyn said, her hands trembling as she held
them together.

“Well, he can’t be allowed near you, can he?” Cole
asked.

“I don’t know. I saw him, it freaked me out, you saw
me, you said it yourself—I did a world record breaking sprint out
of the shop,” Robyn said.

“And is that why you give Grant a hard time?”

“Do I give him a hard time?”

“A little. But now that I know, it’s understandable.
I mean, his son did that to you. Man, where was he when that was
all going on?”

“I know it isn’t his fault, but when I look at him,
all I can see is Jason. I’m messed up right?”

“No, you’re not. It’s horrific what he did. Seeing
him again, I can’t imagine…” Cole began.

“Everyone around here knew, you know, and they all
looked at me with pity in their eyes. They treated me like someone
who had had their insides scooped out and should now be left alone
and put in a secure room lined with cotton wool. Well, most of them
thought that, some thought I should be ducked in the lake because I
was obviously a descendant from the last witch brought to justice
in the town in 1898. I could never be Robyn again, and that’s all I
ever wanted to be, just Robyn. Now, I was Robyn who’d been
violated, not the same person at all. That’s why I left. That, and
the fact my own mother couldn’t even look at me. I think she
thought moving to England would kind of cleanse me, or maybe
cleanse her. She was a great one for making herself the victim.
Anyway, she wanted someone cleansed, it didn’t really matter who.
She said the word a lot. She said it so much, I almost felt like I
was clean from hearing it—almost,” Robyn carried on, tears running
down her cheeks.

“What this Jason did to you is the worst thing anyone
can do to another human being. You know that, right?” Cole told
her, taking hold of her shaking hand.

“No, that’s murder.”

“You’ll never forget it. You’re going to carry it
around for the rest of your life.”

“Thanks, like I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant stuff like
that does change you, it’s no use pretending otherwise.”

“But I should be moving on, it should have dulled by
now. That’s what everyone thinks and that’s definitely what Sarah
thinks,” Robyn said, holding his hand.

“To Hell with what everyone thinks. It’s how you feel
that’s important,” Cole assured her.

“Sarah didn’t get it.”

“I do. I get it,” Cole told her.

Robyn looked up at him and let herself have a moment
in his ebony eyes. He was so genuine, so comforting, so different
from anything she’d had in the past.

“Well, so, there we go,” Robyn said, breaking the
tension. “Which camp are you in? Want to wrap me in cotton wool or
duck me in the lake?”

She wiped her eyes with her fingers and side-stepped
away from him.

“Both sound kind of fun,” Cole admitted with a
smile.

“Listen, all you’ve done since we met is listen to me
prattle on about my baggage. Tell me about your issues, I don’t
know nearly enough about you, and you still haven’t let me talk to
your mother. I’m concerned by that,” Robyn said.

“Veronica’s having my brother’s baby,” Cole informed
her, his lips tight as he formed the words.

“Whoa!”

“And you wanted to know about the fight we had. Well,
I put him in hospital, broke his nose, his collarbone, and four
ribs,” Cole continued.

“I knew it.”

“Then I smashed up his Porsche and poured bleach all
over his apartment.”

“Way to go.”

“My mother, the one I will let you talk to the next
time she calls, cried for days when I said I was leaving. Half of
her wants to cut Bryn off because of what he did to me, but she
doesn’t want to miss out on a grandchild. I can understand that,
but it still hurts, you know.”

“Could the baby be yours?”

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m a scientist, Robyn. I deal with diseases every
day. I know better. You get what I’m saying?”

“Loud and clear. So where the Hell does Veronica get
off texting you after all that?” Robyn wanted to know.

“She wants me to make up with Bryn, for the baby’s
sake.”

“The audacity!”

“Yeah, I know.”

“So what did you say?”

“Nothing. I’ve nothing to say to either of them
anymore,” Cole informed her.

“Did you love her?”

“You know, I don’t know. I don’t know whether I was
mad because she’d broken our trust or just mad because it was Bryn
she broke it with.”

“Well, I’d move on, it’s the only way. Besides, you
have an ice hockey team to focus on, and I’m going to need your
help with the roadhouse and—shit! The interviews! I’ve got to get
back to the roadhouse, I’m interviewing staff,” Robyn exclaimed,
looking at her watch and rushing toward the door.

“Hey, Robyn, wait! Here, I got you these,” Cole
called to her, waving something in the air.

“Keys?”

“To the house. Next time you storm out of a store, at
least you can come home,”

“Thanks. And thanks for listening and…well, you
know,” Robyn replied, smiling at him.

“Anytime.”

“You might regret saying that, I’m a woman with many
projects.”

“And a woman with a whole freezer drawer dedicated to
ice cream,” Cole reminded her.

He sat down at the kitchen table and put his knuckles
to his mouth. Someone had raped her. Someone had had sex with her
against her will. Someone had forced themselves on her, when she
would have been scared and screaming for help. They had violated
her and left her with an indelible memory that would always try to
shape her future. No wonder she had run from the store if her
attacker had been right in front of her. Hell, he wished he had
seen him. He thumped his fist on the table and tried to quell the
bubble of anger burning in his gut. People like that took things
that weren’t theirs to have, and they didn’t care. They knew what
they were doing was wrong, but they did it anyway, regardless of
the consequences. They took advantage—just like Bryn had.

“So, Grimalda, let me just check that I’ve got all
your details correct. You haven’t worked a bar before, but you used
to make coffee in the office and you went to the store for
doughnuts, so you’re used to dealing with money,” Robyn said,
trying not to look too hard at the young girl with dreadlocks who
sat opposite her.

She had three studs in her nose and a variety of gold
earrings in a line up each ear. She was also wearing a t-shirt
stating the slogan “You Suck
”
and her tattered jeans were
being held together with safety pins.

“Uh, huh,” Grimalda replied, chewing gum and smiling
at Milo.

“Okay, well, I think that’s all I need for now. I’ve
got your number, so I’ll be in touch,” Robyn said, standing up and
offering her hand to the girl.

“So have I got the job? I could start right now, but
I’d have to leave about eight—band practice,” she informed them,
shaking Robyn’s hand and then taking her gum out and putting it
behind her ear.

“We’ve got a few more people to see. I’ll call you,”
Robyn said, leading the way to the exit.

“Awesome. Catch you later,” Grimalda responded,
directing another smile at Milo.

Robyn waited for her to leave and then let out a
shriek of despair.

“Shit, Milo! What’s happened to this town? Why are
there no decent bar workers within a fifty mile radius? She was
grimy! Larry was so old he would’ve needed to sit behind the bar to
serve, Julie wanted to bring her kids to work, Sapphire had ideas
above her station and thought this was a cocktail lounge, and as
for Teresa…well, if she’s twenty-one, the Panthers are going to
beat Reading six zero on Saturday,” Robyn exclaimed.

“Sapphire wasn’t so bad,” Milo replied, looking at
his notes.

“And what did you make notes on? Nice hair? Slim and
pretty? You would…” Robyn glared at him.

“She
had
worked a bar before,” Milo reminded
her.

“I think you’ll find she said she was a ‘drinks
coordinator.’ She couldn’t even bring herself to say bartender. No,
she wouldn’t last in a roadhouse. It’s going to be busy, Milo, full
of families pre-nine and then full of people wanting a beer and
some good music after that.
And
she wanted to make
cocktails. We are
not
doing cocktails. My dad would have
another heart attack if he came back here and found me serving
margaritas,” Robyn informed.

The front door swung open and Nancy strutted in,
dressed in a short, gold sequined skirt and a barely there strappy
vest in the same shade.

“Afternoon,” she greeted with a smile, approaching
Robyn and Milo.

“What are you doing here?” Robyn questioned.

“I hear you’re holding interviews,” Nancy replied,
sitting down in the interviewee’s chair.

“Yes. And?”

“Fire away. Interview me. There’s nothing about this
place I don’t know,” Nancy replied confidently.

“You want to work here—for me,” Robyn said, staring
at the woman.

“I saw your dad today, he thinks you need help,”
Nancy answered.

“Well, I don’t.”

“Robyn, you’ve hated everyone we’ve seen,” Milo
reminded her.

“Not everyone. Larry was okay; we could get him a
stool,” Robyn suggested.

“Listen, kiddo, whether you like it or not, me and
Eddie are for keeps. I’m gonna be your step-mom and, I figured we
should be getting to know each other better,” Nancy told her.

“Really. That’s what you think, is it?”

“That’s what Eddie thinks and it’s what he wants.
Okay, so I didn’t do such a great job of running this place,
perhaps I took on more than I was capable of, and maybe Eddie
deciding not to do food any more was a mistake. None of that means
I don’t know my way around a bar,” Nancy continued.