“Lusty isn’t like any other place, sweetheart.” Grandma Kate met Jacqui’s gaze. Her face showed such kindness. “We’ve grown into a town that looks after its own, more than any other place I’ve ever heard about. It doesn’t matter how long this takes. We’re not going to get bored and give up watching for that miscreant.”
Jacqui sighed. “I know. I should be more patient. I don’t know why y’all put up with me.”
“Because you’re cute.” Will picked up her hand and kissed it as others in the room chuckled.
“William and Norman aren’t the only ones of ours we’re taking care of here, Jacqui Bethune.” Kate grinned. “You’re ours, too.”
Jacqui had to return that smile. There was just something about Grandma Kate that made her feel better.
Moments later, the meeting adjourned. Adam asked everyone to keep their eyes open, and to return on Saturday morning next week. He reminded everyone to call him if they saw anything out of the ordinary, as he had the last time. And of course, he promised that if there were any developments, he’d see to it everyone was informed.
The fact that he’d scheduled the next meeting for just one week away made her wonder if he’d heard something he wasn’t willing to share with the rest of them yet.
“It’s getting to us, too.” Norm turned and faced her. During the meeting she’d sat between them, and as always their presence grounded her.
“I imagine it’s getting to you a lot more than it’s getting to me. I don’t know why I’m so darn tense.”
Will had moved his chair, so that now he sat right in front of her. “You know, sugar plum, it might be an idea for you to go and visit your dad and your grandparents, just for a few days. It would give you a break from the tension you’re feeling. Give you a few days, maybe, without those headaches that have been nagging at you.”
She hadn’t told anyone that she’d been having headaches. They’d been growing, both in frequency and intensity since that day Adam had come into Lusty Appetites and told them about Rick Wilde being the suspect in a murder.
Part of her knew that was the moment when she really understood that this situation was serious. What she didn’t know was why it should affect her this way.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“All right. Then we need you to do something for us.” Norm had hold of one of her hands, and he was running his thumb back and forth over the back of it.
Jacqui tilted her head to the side—but gently. The pills she’d taken an hour before had already begun to wear off. “And that would be?”
“We want you to see Dr. Jessop over at the clinic.”
“Everyone gets headaches now and then.” She’d feel like a fool going to the doctor just to complain about nagging little headaches.
They aren’t so little and they aren’t every now and then.
“Jacqui.” Will’s voice took on that not-so-subtle tone of command. “You’re not getting them every now and then. You’ve been in pain for days, and it’s getting worse.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. Why am I acting like such a child? It was time to behave the way an adult behaved. She prided herself on being a doer, on taking care of business. So it was time to do just that.
“All right. I’ll call the clinic on Monday and see if they can fit me in.” She looked up to see Will and Norm looking at her with an expression that she honestly couldn’t read. “What?”
“It just so happens that Dr. Jessop is at the clinic now, waiting for you.”
Her temper sparked. Inside her, anger grew. “We’re just sleeping together. You had no right to make an appointment with him on my behalf.”
She saw the hurt in their eyes and hated she’d done that.
“They didn’t make the appointment for you, I did.”
Jacqui hadn’t realized her Aunt Holly was there. When she felt her touch on her shoulder, she felt like she wanted to cry.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.” She squeezed the hands holding hers. “I guess I’ve been scared about these headaches.”
“So have we, sweetheart, and so has your aunt. So let’s do what we can to get rid of them.”
“All right. Let’s do that.”
It occurred to Jacqui, as first Will, then Norm, and then Holly hugged her, that she mattered to these people—she really mattered to them because they really cared about her. And that was something to be cherished, because she knew what it felt like when no one did.
She got into the front seat of Will’s SUV, secretly pleased when Holly climbed into the back with Norm. It didn’t take very long to reach the clinic. And when she walked in, it was with each of her hands held by one of the men that she knew she was falling in love with.
Holly led the way, and Jacqui followed. And it was a good thing her men had hold of her, because the moment she stepped into what she thought was an exam room, she got the second shock of the day. Waiting with Robert Jessop in the room—not an exam room as she’d expected, but a conference room—was her father.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
“I called him,” Holly said.
“Hi, baby girl. I’m here because I love you. And it looks like you’re beginning to remember.”
If Will and Norm hadn’t been holding on to her, she would have run. She didn’t know what her father meant by that. In fact, in that moment, she was pretty certain she didn’t want to know.
* * * *
Will felt the tension in Jacqui, and knew that Norm did, too. Instinctively, he and his cousin stepped closer to her. Will slipped his arm around her, pleased when she snuggled just that much closer. She reached for Norm’s right hand with her left. The message they were sending out was clear to the other men in the room. Jacqui was their woman to protect.
“What the hell is going on here?” Jacqui’s voice had never sounded so sharp.
“James, this is William and Norman Kendall.” Holly took a position partway between them and her brother.
Jacqui’s father nodded to them, and then put his attention on Jacqui. Will felt their woman shaking, and was about ready to pick her up and just leave with her.
“Something happened to you when you were eleven. Something that, selfishly, I’ve always been grateful you never remembered. But I always knew the day might come when you did.”
“Nothing happened to me.”
Will heard the change in Jacqui’s voice. He gave her a little squeeze, and met the gaze of the man he’d wondered about—her father. There was no denying the expression in the man’s eyes. Pain and worry were right there. He looked down at Jacqui, and knew she didn’t see it.
He looked at Holly and saw the resemblance between her and her brother. But more, he read the same expression on her face. That more than anything convinced him that what Jacqui’s father had just said was gospel.
Norm raised Jacqui’s left hand to his lips. He kissed it, and then said, “Let’s hear what he has to say, sweetheart.”
“Why should I stand here and listen to his lies?”
“Because we’re asking you to,” Will said. “And we’re right here with you, sugar plum. We are not going anywhere.”
She spun around, breaking the physical contact between them, facing him—facing them both. He saw anger on her face. But in her eyes, he read something more—he read fear.
“Did you know about this…this ambush?”
“They didn’t—they don’t—know anything,” Holly said. “I convinced them only that you should see Robert, because of the headaches.” Holly stepped forward and cupped Jacqui’s face. “They’d noticed you taking pills—a lot of pills. So had both Nancy and I. Now, Jacqui Bethune, have I ever, in your entire life, lied to you?”
“No. No, you’re the only person who never has.”
Will took exception to that, because he and Norm had never lied to her, either. But under the circumstances, he let that go. Jacqui’s fear was growing, and he ached for her.
“Then please,
listen to what your father has to say.”
“You believe him?”
“Honey, I was there.”
Will couldn’t stand not touching her. Moving slowly, he took her right hand and drew her back into his arms.
Norm joined them so that between them they had Jacqui cocooned. He kissed the top of her head. “We are right here.”
“Everyone sit down now.” Robert Jessop had remained quiet until then, likely knowing that a certain amount of emotional upset was necessary.
Jacqui cast a glance at the door, and then looked at Will. “Let’s sit, Jacqui. We can listen.”
“All right.”
“When did you last take some pain pills?” Robert asked.
“I took two Tylenol extra strength pills before breakfast.”
“Did they get rid of the headache?”
“Just dulled it.”
“All right. How often are you waking up at night with the pain?”
Will raised one eyebrow and looked at her. Once they’d finished making love, they tended to go right to sleep. Jacqui looked a bit guilty as she answered Robert. “About every two hours.”
“For the last week?”
“Two.”
“I’ll give you something a bit stronger, and something to help you sleep. I want you to take them tonight, when you’re ready to call it a day.”
“All right.”
“The mind is a very complicated part of us,” Robert said. “Especially when we’re children, it can work to advantage—blocking out bad things. Children frightened by horrific events often don’t remember them. Not until they get older. Then something might happen, in adulthood, that triggers the subconscious. A connection is made between past events and current events, and because we’re no longer children, but adults fully grown, we begin to remember.”
“I don’t remember anything. I’ve just got these headaches.”
“Those headaches can be caused by the stress that arises when part of your subconscious is trying to stop those memories from surfacing.”
“Suppose I accept what you’re saying is true. What happened to me that was so scary? And why can’t I remember it?”
“What do you remember about when you came to live with me? When your mother and I first separated when you were four, you went to live with her.”
“I know that.”
“But when you were eleven, you came to live with me. Do you remember why?”
“Mom moved away.”
“Yes, she moved away. But that happened several months after you came back to live with me.”
Will could tell that having everyone—her father, her aunt, and Robert Jessop all staring at her was unnerving her. He had an idea.
“Why don’t you tell us what happened, Mr. Bethune? Norman and I are completely in the dark, and we don’t much like the feeling, especially when it comes to Jacqui.”
James Bethune looked at Robert Jessop, who nodded.
“All right. As I mentioned, Monica and I separated when Jacqui was just four years old. Monica argued that a four-year-old girl needed her mother more than her dad, and I agreed.” He looked down at his hands. “In a way I was relieved, because I had no idea how to care for a little girl all by myself. I was working long hours trying to build my business. Monica and Jacqui stayed in the house, and I moved to an apartment about a mile away. Monica, of course, started dating. There was nothing wrong with that. She was discreet—hired a babysitter, didn’t bring her dates around Jacqui, all behaviors we’d discussed, and agreed upon. Then, when Jacqui was about ten, Monica hooked up with a man named Tyler Merk. He seemed—I don’t know—a little on the too-slick side to me, but Monica really seemed to like him. I thought maybe she’d finally found someone to settle down with.”
“What about you? You didn’t settle down.”
Jacqui’s interruption was uncharacteristically rude. She’d begun to sweat, and Will wondered if that had anything to do with the name James had just mentioned. He kept hold of her hand, kept rubbing it, letting her know in the only way he could that he was there. Norm was doing the same thing. He wondered if his cousin had a rock in the pit of his stomach, too.
James gave Jacqui a sad smile. “I’d been seeing Michelle, then, for a couple of years. I’d jumped the gun the first two times and had my relationships blow up in my face. I was taking my time this time.”
“I don’t remember any…wait. That’s not true. Did she have long, red hair?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Sorry. I do kind of remember her.”
“It was about a month later when I noticed the change in your mother. She’d always been sure of herself, and now, not so much so. I didn’t think anything of it—until the day I came unexpectedly to see you, and I saw the bruise on her face.”
“This Tyler—he was abusing her?” Jacqui asked.
Will shot a worried look at Robert Jessop. Jacqui was trembling now. Robert nodded, letting him know he was aware of her reaction.
“Yeah. Freaked me out, not just because I didn’t want to see her hurt. There was you to consider. I didn’t want that sick bastard anywhere near you.”
Jacqui jerked. “He didn’t hurt me.”
James Bethune sighed. “Yes, baby. He did.”
Chapter 16
Jacqui nearly got up and ran out. She didn’t know where she would go, but she knew she needed to be out of there. She didn’t want to hear anything else her father had to say.
She’d never felt so threatened in her life.
The presence of the two men on either side of her, the way William and Norman held her so close and so surely, helped.
In the last few years, Jacqui had been aware of something restless within her, eating away at her soul. She’d chalked that up to the fact that she’d been more or less deserted by both parents—first by her mother who now lived in California with husband number three and a step son who seemed to be more important to Monica than her own daughter. And then by her father, who’d seemed to have little interest in being a father to her for the last several years.
But maybe, maybe there was more to her emotional mess than she’d been willing to acknowledge until now.
Jacqui understood for the first time what was meant by the struggle between the fight and flight instincts. She never could have imagined that would be a battle she’d wage within herself, but it was. And she needed to choose.
No more running. Maybe in a way, she’d been running all her life. Since becoming an adult, she’d been running from commitment, certainly. But she’d been running from her own emotions, as well. And it was time to stop.
“What happened to me, Dad?”
“Your mother went to the police and laid a complaint against Merk, and the cops arrested him. He posted bond, and your mom, because she’d had him charged, was able to file a restraining order against him.
“And we all thought that was the end of things. There seemed to be the sense from the bastard’s attorney that he was going to plea bargain and get probation and counseling. Your mother didn’t explain to you exactly what had happened between her and Merk. Just that they’d broken up. You didn’t seem to care one way or another—probably because she’d already dated several men and married and then divorced Harold. But your not seeming to care—well, that was about the time you began to be very difficult in your dealings with me. I’ll confess that I wondered if Merk had had something to do with your attitude change toward me. Monica assured me it was just the age you were at, a stage you were going through. Anyway, as I said, you didn’t seem upset one way or another, and we thought the whole thing was over.”
Something about the way her dad said that made her feel queasy. She tightened her hold on both Will and Norm’s hands. She felt them looking at her but couldn’t take her eyes off her father.
Then a chair scraped, and the next thing she knew, Will had scooped her into his arms and set her on his lap. He wrapped both of his arms around her, as if he knew that she needed the ext
ra contact just then—or would, for certain, in a moment. Norm’s two hands held hers firmly. She looked at her father and nodded.
“Then about a week later, Merk showed up at your school, just as you were getting out, ready to walk home. And he convinced you to get into his car.”
Jacqui had a sudden flash, a quick photograph of the past, and a snippet of a memory. She gasped. “He said he wanted to get back with mom and he needed my help.” Jacqui jolted as the words—her words—echoed in her head. “Even though I didn’t like him all that much, I knew mom did. So I got into his car.”
“It’s our fault you did. You had no reason not to, pumpkin. He wasn’t a stranger to you.” Her father closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Then he opened them and continued. “We couldn’t find you anywhere. We were frantic. And then Merk called and told your mother if she ever wanted to see you again, she’d better come to him.”
“Mom didn’t come.” Jacqui felt the memories, all of them, close for one instant. Then they vanished and she was left hanging.
“We called the police, of course. But Merk somehow twigged onto that. He took you, and he ran. It was days before the police were able to locate you. We were afraid—” Her father stopped, closed his eyes again, and visibly fought for control. Then he met her gaze. “We were afraid he might have killed you. The FBI found you, and this time they were very careful when they moved. In the police operation, Merk was shot to death. The FBI recovered you, but you were unconscious. He’d beaten you.”
Love Under Two Extroverts [The Lusty, Texas Collection] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 14