When Love's at Work (12 page)

Derek wanted to feel Purity under him again,
his hands around her neck. Loosely at first, then tighter and
tighter. He just had to be patient. Bide his time. The restraining
order she had issued was useless and they both knew it. The police
would never do anything unless he actually harmed her in some way
and he wasn’t stupid enough to do that.

“
You can stay at my place
tonight,” Derek’s friend offered.

“
Thanks.”

The two men sat on the porch for a solid
hour before Bobby said, “I don’t think he’s gonna show.”

“
I think you’re right,”
Alex concurred.

“
Wanna go get some
breakfast?”

“
Sure. There’s a Denny’s
about a mile up the road.”

“
Sounds good. I’ll follow
you.”

As they made their way to the restaurant,
Bobby wondered what would have happened if Derek had shown up. He
had been afraid he would lose control and beat the man to within an
inch of his life. How in the hell were they going to keep him away
from his sister?

Bobby pulled his car into the parking lot
and parked beside Alex’s car. Once seated, the men placed their
orders.

“
So, tell me more about
your relationship with my sister.”

Alex took a sip of coffee. “We don’t exactly
have a relationship at the moment. But, I’m working on it.”

“
I need to warn you that
Purity has been through a lot. She’s not one to easily trust these
days. I can’t say I blame her,” Bobby paused. “You seem like a
solid guy, but I have to say, if you hurt my sister, you’ll have me
to answer to.”

“
I can appreciate that.
I’d feel the same way about my sister, if I had one.”

As the men shared their meal, Bobby filled
Alex in on Purity’s past. Alex felt it was only fair that he share
a bit about his relationship with his wife.

“
I need to make one thing
clear here, Bob. I’m married,” Alex said, meeting Bobby’s gaze
directly. “I’ve been trying to get a divorce for a couple of years,
but my wife is adamant that we stay together.” Alex shifted in his
seat. “We don’t live together. We haven’t really shared our lives
for a long time. My wife believes that when you get married, you
stay married, no matter what. She thinks if we get a divorce it
means she’s a failure and she’ll never be desired or wanted again.
I can’t seem to convince her that we should cut our losses and move
on.”

“
You still wear your
wedding ring.”

“
Yeah,” Alex said,
fingering the ring on his left hand. “Twelve years is a long time.
It’s hard to let it go. Plus, it helps give women the signal that
I’m off the market.”

“
Has Purity ever asked you
about it?”

“
No. I have a feeling her
assistant filled her in on my story, although I’ve never asked her
if she knows my situation.”

They had finished their meal and were
sipping the last dregs of their coffee when Bobby asked, “What
now?”

“
Hell if I know. No one
can seem to keep Derek away from Purity, so maybe she needs to take
some kind of self-defense class or something.”

“
And carry pepper spray
with her,” Bobby added.

They said their good-byes and went their
separate ways.

When Bobby returned to Pure’s apartment, the
lights were blazing and he knew the women were still awake.

When Purity heard the knock on the door she
was relieved to know Bobby was okay. She thought about letting him
stand out there and rot for not returning her phone calls and
making her worry.

Meg answered the door with a hearty, “Did
you kick his ass?”

Bobby grinned, “No, but I would have, if
he’d been home.”

“
If he wasn’t home, what
took you so long?” Courtney asked, uncurling her legs from their
position on the couch.

“
I met a friend of yours,
Pure, and we ended up having a meal together.”

“
A friend of
mine?”

“
Said his name was Alex
McCallister.” Bobby eyed Pure closely and watched her
response.

“
Alex was
there?”

“
We flipped a coin to see
who was going to beat the crap out of Derek first,” Bob paused for
emphasis. “I won.”

“
Our hero,” Meg said,
throwing her arms around Bobby’s neck and giving him a quick kiss
on the cheek.

The move surprised Bobby, even as his hand
went instinctively around Meg’s waist.

“
Okay, Mr. Hero, just what
did you think you were going to accomplish by beating Derek up?”
Not waiting for a response, Purity continued, “Getting yourself
beat up? Making him even madder at me? Getting yourself
arrested?”

“
He was defending you,”
Meg came to Bobby’s aid. “I think its gallant.”

“
Too bad he wasn’t there,”
Courtney added. “I would have liked to join you in the
bashing.”

“
The question is, how do
we keep this guy away from Purity?” Tapestry said
constructively.

“
We can’t,” Court
commented.

“
Court’s right,” Bobby
stated. “Pure needs to concentrate on keeping herself safe, being
aware of her surroundings, and maybe even taking a self-defense
class.”

“
That’s a good idea,”
Tapestry agreed. “I took one of those classes last year and I
thought it was really helpful.”

“
We could all benefit from
a class like that,” Courtney chimed in.

“
I’ll check it out and
book us all for a class,” Meg concurred.

“
I’ll try anything,” Pure
said. “I need to get control of my life back.”

Since everything had calmed down, the girls
left and Bobby and Pure had some time alone.

“
So, sis, tell me more
about this Alex guy,” Bobby inquired.

“
He’s great, fabulous,
wonderful, and he deserves someone who can love him the way he
should be loved.”

“
You don’t think you can
love him well enough?”

“
I want to. I just don’t
know if I’m capable of loving someone, trusting someone. I’m having
enough trouble trusting myself, let alone someone else.”

“
You trust Court, and Meg,
and Tap. What’s the difference?”

“
They’ve never cheated on
me, lied to me, or tried to kill me.”

“
Well, there is that,”
Bobby said reluctantly. “What would happen if you just
tried?”

“
I could get
hurt.”

“
And, what if you don’t
try?”

“
Then I spend my life
alone.”

“
And you feel hurt,” Bobby
pointed out.

Purity looked her brother in the eye, but
didn’t say anything.

“
I love you, sis,” Bob
said.

“
I love you,
too.”

The two hugged and then began getting ready
to go to sleep.

“
What time do you want to
be at the hospital tomorrow… er… today?” Pure asked.

“
In all the hullabaloo I
almost forgot about mom’s surgery,” Bobby commented. “Surgery is at
7am, I double checked when I saw mom tonight, so around
6am.”

“
Okay. I’ll set my
alarm.”

“
G’night,” Bobby
said.

“
Night,” Pure replied and
went into her bedroom, then turned around and came back out.
“Bobby,” Pure started, as Bobby stopped fluffing his pillow to look
at her face, “thank you.”

“
That’s what big brothers
are for, kid. Sweet dreams.”

They were both asleep within minutes.

Chapter Seven

When Purity’s alarm went off, she was
tempted to throw it across the room.

Pure woke Bobby up by putting a CD into her
CD player and turning the volume up. It was an easier way to wake
up than being shaken or yelled at.

No shower today, they needed to be on the
road to Hope as quickly as possible. Purity endured a modified
version of her morning routine and then headed back to her bedroom
to change out of her pajamas.

She glanced into Bobby’s bedroom. Bob was
sitting up with his head in his hands. He looked exactly how she
felt.

“
Mornin’ sunshine,” Purity
said, her voice scraggly from lack of sleep.

“
Mmmm.” That was the best
Bobby could mumble as he got up and headed for the
bathroom.

While putting on jeans and layering a
wine-colored sweater over a white long-sleeved shirt, Pure made her
decision. She reached for her cell phone, found his number and hit
send. Suddenly her mouth felt dry.

“
Hello,” Alex said, sleep
clouding his voice.

“
Hi, Alex, it’s Purity. I
was wondering if you were still willing to meet me at Hope this
morning?” Purity closed her eyes and bit her lower lip, anxiously
awaiting Alex’s reply.

Alex was pleasantly surprised. He wasn’t
going to miss an opportunity, even though his curiosity as to why
Purity had changed her mind was overwhelming.

“
I’m heading over right
now,” he answered.

Pure thought for sure he’d say he was busy
or needed to sleep or just any reason really not to show up. But he
hadn’t. Bobby was right. She could get hurt if she got involved
with Alex or she could get hurt if she didn’t get involved with
Alex. So, it would be a lot more fun with Alex than without him.
She’d deal with the hurt later. Maybe this time would be
different.

“
We’re meeting in the
surgery waiting area on the second floor. And, Alex,” Purity
paused, “thanks.” Both parties hung up their phones.

Alex ran a comb through his hair, brushed
his teeth, put on deodorant and washed his face. He rubbed the
stubble on his chin. No shaving today. He wanted to be the first
thing Purity saw when she entered the waiting area.

When Bobby and Purity walked into the large
area that served as a gathering place for folks who had a loved one
in surgery, Alex McCallister was the first person they saw. Purity
wanted to run to him and feel his strong arms around her. If Bobby
hadn’t been standing by her side, she might have done just that.
Instead, she walked over to Alex and gave him a kiss on the cheek,
then leaned in closer and whispered in his ear, “Thanks for coming,
Alex.” She could feel his morning stubble coarsely on her cheek.
Pure’s legs went slightly weak at the knees.

Such a simple gesture, yet Alex knew
something had changed between them. Purity had taken a not-so-small
step toward trusting him.

He engulfed Pure’s frame in a warm embrace
and she breathed in the strength and comfort he offered.

Alex released her, keeping one arm around
her waist. Purity turned at the sound of Meg and Courtney’s
voices.

“
I told you they’d be
here,” Courtney said a bit too loud.

“
I thought Pure said the
third floor waiting area,” Meg replied, grumpy with too little
sleep and not enough caffeine.

“
There is no third floor
waiting area,” Court chastised her friend.

“
Well, I know that
now
,” Meggie responded,
her body language perking up when her eyes spotted Bobby
Zyetta.

Courtney was wide awake, having decided to
stay up all night downing Jolt soda and making a quasi voodoo doll
of Derek Worthington. She wasn’t sure if it would really work at
debilitating him, but it couldn’t hurt.

“
How are you feeling this
morning?” Meg asked Purity.

“
Tired, but okay. This is
Alex,” Pure said, introducing him to her friends. “You already know
Bobby.”

Bobby and Alex shook hands, exchanging nods
of acknowledgement.

Tapestry joined the group with two large
Diet Coke’s in her hand. She gave Pure a hug and handed her one of
the sodas.

“
Thought you might need
this, Pure.”

Purity took a sip and proclaimed, “Ah!
Nectar of the gods.”

“
Is Angela here?” Meggie
asked.

“
Haven’t seen hide nor
hair of her,” Pure replied.

“
There’s a surprise,”
Courtney muttered under her breath sarcastically.

A nurse came by and told the group that
family members could come back into the pre-op area. Bobby and
Purity headed in that direction to see their mother. The rest of
the folks assembled arranged themselves in various positions on the
sofas and chairs in the waiting area.

Pure and Bobby assured their mom that
everything would be fine, wished her well and told her that they
loved her. Shortly after, the nurse gave her some medication to
relax her and their mother was feeling no pain and enjoying a bit
of a euphoric feeling. The nurse said the surgery would take about
an hour and a half and recovery would be about the same amount of
time. The duo left to join their friends, then they all headed
toward the cafeteria to get something to eat.

After breakfast, they all gathered again in
the waiting area. It didn’t take long before the doctor came to let
them know the surgery had gone well and their mother would be back
in her room in about an hour.

Relief filled the air. Bobby called Angela
and left a message on her cell phone.

Alex’s hand had been holding Purity’s for
quite some time. She didn’t know if he had reached for her hand or
if she had reached for his hand. It wasn’t as hard as she thought,
allowing Alex to care for her. Pure leaned over and gave Alex a
tender kiss.