“Are you still alive in there?” he finally asked, softly.
Her eyes widened, before she blinked and looked down. Her hand trembled a little as she lifted it to push her hair behind her ear. When she looked back up at him, her expression was more focused. A little more resolved. “Yes,” she breathed softly.
He nodded and smiled. Squeezed her hand. “Good. I was hoping so.”
She smiled back, just a little, but it was enough for him to know that she had come back around. Holding out his hand, “let’s go upstairs and talk to Aunt Allie.”
After making sure that her gun was safely stowed and Aunt Allie was caught up on the latest text messages, Adam excused himself and went next door for his appointment with Bobby.
“Sorry,” he said as rushed in through the back door to see Bobby waiting patiently. “I got caught up next door.”
“Hey, no problem,” Bobby said, keeping his eyes downcast.
Adam pulled over an extra chair to the work desk. “Have a seat. Do you want some coffee?”
Bobby declined his offer. Adam went over to the coffee pot and filled one of the mugs from the cupboard for himself.
“They’re a nice group over there,” Bobby said as he took his seat.
“Yeah,” Adam said, absently as he stirred creamer into his cup.
“You’re lucky to be so close,” Bobby added.
“I guess so,” Adam said he pulled yarn from a case. “We’ll start with a wooly bugger,” he said. “It’s the easiest one to start with.”
“Claire’s a little young, but Tabitha...” his voice trailed off suggestively.
Adam glanced at him, frowning. “I’m going to start off by showing you how to tie a knot.”
“Cool,” he said.
“Here’s your hook,” Adam said, handing him a bare hook.
“I’d like to get a hook into that Tabitha. Do you know if she’s available?”
Adam stiffened. “I’ll not have you speak about her that way.”
“Hey, man, look, I’m sorry. I just got carried away,” he said, with his eyes on the floor. “It’s just she’s such a fine piece of ass.”
“Hey.”
Bobby held out his hands, palms up. “I won’t say another word. I’m sorry.”
Adam continued his lesson. He showed him how to attach a marabou feather to the hook shank and how to bind it down with lead wire, but his enthusiasm for teaching Bobby how to do anything had dimmed considerably.
He needed to get away, if only for a few minutes. “Go ahead and work on that tie,” he said, “I’ll be right back.”
“Go ahead. Take your time,” Bobby assured him. “Don’t worry about me.”
Adam mentally shook his head. Maybe the money wasn’t worth it. He went up front, checked with Amy about how the day was going and decided it was best to just get his time with Bobby over with. The sooner that was finished, the sooner he could get back to Tabitha.
With that thought, he remembered that he didn’t have to like Bobby. He was a client. That was all. All he had to do was teach him to make a fly and send him on his way. This would, however, he resolved, be Bobby’s last session.
Steeling himself, he went back to his work desk, picked up his coffee cup, refilled it, then checked on his client’s progress.
After the minutes ticked by excruciatingly slow, Adam wrote out a receipt, took the man’s cash, stuffed it in his pocket, and willed him out the door.
“I’ll just look around for a bit if it’s okay with you.”
“Sure, go ahead,” Adam said, trying hard not to clench his teeth.
“Look, man, like I said, I didn’t mean no harm.”
“No, I’m sure you didn’t,” Adam said dismissively.
As Adam cleaned up his work area, he watched the man examine some of the ties he had done himself that were on the display rack. With a downcast smile, he flirted with the part-time help, Megan. Megan responded with her best smile.
Adam bit his tongue. The man was a creep.
Chapter Nineteen
As Tabitha unpacked her things, she felt her resolve strengthening. It was such a relief that others knew about Bobby now. Last time, she had gone through it all alone. And it had given him power. Now she had support - Aunt Allie and Adam. Now she wasn’t alone. And Bobby was quickly losing his power.
As for leaving here, she was relieved that she hadn’t gone through with it. She liked it here. A lot. And with the exception of Bobby being around, she felt safe. Actually even with him around, she felt pretty safe. He could send her threatening text messages all day, but she could show them to Aunt Allie and to Adam. And that made them something she could deal with. And deal with him she would. In just over a month, she would have that divorce finalized and all ties to him would be erased.
She had to be brave and talk to Claire. To tell her what was going on. To warn her away from Bobby’s charms.
And speaking of charms, she had fallen under Adam’s spell. Closing her eyes, she could still feel his lips on hers. She wondered when she’d see him again and when he’d kiss her again.
She mentally shook herself. She needed to go down and help with the store. And she needed to have her mind clear, not all dreamy with memories of kisses from Adam. But, oh, his kisses set her body on fire and her heart into a tailspin.
Her divorce date couldn’t get here soon enough.
Later that afternoon after Claire had returned from class, Tabitha worked on shoring up her resolve to talk to the younger girl about Bobby.
Just after four o’clock, the store cleared out and Tabitha knew this was her opportunity.
“Claire,” she said, to get the younger girl’s attention. Claire looked up from the stack of receipts she was adding and focused on Tabitha.
Tabitha felt her resolve teeter, but she took a deep breath and plunged on. “Have you seen Bobby lately?’
“Not since that day he was in here,” she said, pausing, long enough to look up. “Why?”
Tabitha took a deep breath and plunged on. “I just didn’t want you to... well... “
“It’s okay,” Claire said, “putting her hand over Tabitha’s. “I understand that you were married to him and maybe things didn’t go so well.”
“How did you know?” Tabitha asked.
Claire smiled sadly. “I hear things.”
“I know he can be charming and I didn’t want you to get mixed up with him,” Tabitha blurted with relief.
“You don’t have to worry. He’s much, much too old for me anyway.”
“Oh, great,” Tabitha said.
Claire laughed. “It’s okay. But I don’t want you think I might be interested in him. I’m seeing a boy my own age.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Tabitha?”
“Yes?”
“Did Bobby hit you?”
Tabitha hesitated before answering. She wasn’t sure just how much she wanted to disclose to the younger girl. It wasn’t something she was exactly proud of. In fact, it was embarrassing to have people know that her ex-husband hit her. Then again, she did leave him. Which, she supposed made her a positive role model. She didn’t feel like a positive role model at the moment.
“Yes,” she said simply.
Claire nodded and went back to adding her receipts. “I thought so. It’s not your fault, you know.”
Tabitha smiled to herself. How many times had she been told that? How was it that other people could always know that, yet Tabitha struggled with the reflex of blaming herself? “I know,” she said. “Thank you for saying so.”
“It must be hard for you. I think you’re very brave to have left him.”
She wasn’t sure why, but Tabitha felt tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn’t explain why it moved her to have this college girl empathize with her plight. Tabitha hadn’t asked to be beaten by the man she had promised to love, honor, and cherish for the rest of her life. Going into the marriage, her eyes full of stars, she’d had no way to predict th
at she’d be where she was today. Any girl in her shoes would have the same ideals. But would they all have the strength to walk away - especially when he wasn’t willing to let her go so easily?
“I don’t think Adam would ever do anything like that,” she said, and Tabitha was speechless. Why did Claire make that connection? “Anyway, if he did,” she continued, “You should just smack him up side the head and divorce him.”
Tabitha laughed. She couldn’t help it. The laughter just bubbled up and tumbled out.
Claire laughed, too, and Tabitha realized that she’d lightened the mood on purpose.
“You’re a smart girl,” Tabitha said.
A customer walked up and they stopped their conversation. Tabitha wandered over to a display of mystery novels and began straightening them up.
Was her attraction to Adam obvious? She glanced toward the front door, as she did every few minutes. She couldn’t help herself. Adam was on her mind constantly and she watched for him. And now that she had tasted his lips, there was no hope for her.
She asked herself if she was afraid he would turn out like Bobby, but she couldn’t make a connection between them. She hoped that meant she was optimistic and not naive, but she couldn’t picture Adam being abusive. Of course, she had never considered that Bobby might be either. But she knew that not all men were abusive. She also knew that she had to get back on the proverbial horse and not be afraid to trust. And she wasn’t afraid to trust - at least she wasn’t afraid to trust Adam.
She only hoped that he wasn’t turned off by her baggage. Though he may deserve to have someone who wasn’t scarred, she believed that she was worthy of a good man.
A text message came through on her cell phone and sent her into an emotional tailspin. Cautiously, she opened her phone and read the message: Your new boyfriend is a good man. Too bad he had to go and get mixed up with you.
Tabitha glared at the cell phone. Half of her willed it to burst into flames. The other half wanted to call Bobby and accuse him of sending her anonymous text messages. To demand that he leave her alone. To find out what he knew about her and Adam.
And a secret, hidden part of her felt as giddy as a schoolgirl that he thought she was Adam’s girlfriend.
She had no more than tucked her phone back in her pocket, when another text come through: But I don’t like him very much. Still. He needs to know the truth about you.
What was that supposed to mean? What truth? Was he going to make up lies to tell Adam? Why was he even talking to Adam?
With a wave of nausea, she pictured Bobby talking to Adam. Adam would be at a disadvantage.
She had to find Adam.
As she opened the front door, the cold air slapped her in the face. The street was fairly busy for mid-morning, but then, it was getting into the Christmas season. There were still parallel parking places available though. Scents from the restaurant two doors down reminded her that it was nearing the lunch hour. Maybe Adam would feel like having lunch.
She stepped inside Adam’s shop and was greeted by one of his girls as he referred to them.
“Good morning, Miss Tabitha.”
“Good morning. Megan. Is Adam in?”
“You just missed him. He didn’t say where he was headed.”
Tabitha didn’t try to hide her disappointment as she thanked Amy and went back out the front door. She didn’t really feel like going back inside. It was a beautiful, crisp day. So, instead, she wandered down Main Street, peeking inside the windows as she passed.
At first, she found it soothing to be out exploring by herself. But as she stood studying a display of Christmas ornaments, her brain conjuring up ideas for their own display window, she felt a little shiver along the back of her neck. She slowly glanced around, but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. A man and woman met on the street, hugged, and went into one of the restaurants. An older woman with her granddaughter bouncing along beside her, stepped inside a store.
And Tabitha was alone on the street. It was a surreal feeling, just for that moment, as though the world had gone still around her. She felt isolated. And vulnerable. A burning sensation shot through her gut. It reminded her that Bobby was out there - somewhere.
It reminded her that she was not safe.
Then a car turned and broke the silence.
She exhaled and mentally shook herself. She turned and headed back to the shop - much faster than when she’d set out on her walk.
By the time she reached the shop and dashed through the front door, she was out of breath and on the verge of a panic attack.
But Claire was there and Aunt Allie. They looked up in greeting and smiled at her. She felt ridiculous.
She stood there a moment, her hand on the doorknob, her mind on her fears. She’d started a new life here. A good life. A life that didn’t include Bobby. A life that she actually liked.
It was in that instant that she decided that she would not allow Bobby to get to her again. She wasn’t sure how she would manage it, but somehow, she would. He would no longer have power over her.
Smiling back, she went over and hugged Aunt Allie.
“I’m glad to see you feeling better,” Aunt Allie said. “No more text messages?”
“Oh, I’ve had some. But I’ve decided to ignore them.”
Aunt Allie gave her a suspicious look, then nodded. “I hope that works.”
“I’m going to go tomorrow and get a restraining order on him,” Tabitha said with a sudden flash of inspiration.
“I’m so glad,” Claire said. “Then if he shows up here again, we can call the police.”
Tabitha nodded. “He’s sneaky. And he’ll try to find a way around it. If you see him, don’t hesitate to call the cops.”
“Don’t worry,” Claire said. “I programmed the number in my cell. I’d already decided that I would call if I needed to.”
“You are the best,” Tabitha said. “Thank you.” She glanced toward the door and felt a stab of disappointment. She’d hoped to see Adam, though it was an irrational thought to think that she could see him anytime she thought she wanted to. “I’m going up to make myself a sandwich,” she announced, forcing herself to give up on the idea of seeing Adam for lunch.
That night, Tabitha lay awake in her bed. She hadn’t heard from Adam all day. Hadn’t he said he would see her later? Something must have come up that demanded his attention. Maybe a family situation.
She’d gone from feeling neglected to worrying about him. For the most part, she had managed to squelch that part of her that wondered if he’d gotten tired of her or maybe he’d met someone he liked better. Because of those thoughts, she hadn’t tried to call him or otherwise get in touch. His girls would have told him that she had come by and asked about him. So, he knew she was looking for him. She certainly didn’t want to appear needy.
The one thing that she hadn’t completely managed to squelch was the notion that somehow Bobby had gotten to him and had harmed him. She hadn’t gotten a text message from Bobby since the one about not liking Adam. She didn’t care whether he liked him or not as long as he left him alone.
As she lay there tucked into her bed, she gave into her impulse and sent Adam a simple text message. Are you okay? Surely with all that had happened, she was being reasonable. In fact, she thought, under the circumstances, I should have sent this message hours ago.
Holding the phone, she waited for a reply.
She waited for a reply, with the phone in her hand, until she fell asleep.
When she woke, it was still dark. Her heart felt like it would pound out of her chest.
She lay still, not daring to move a muscle. Daring to take only shallow breaths. Something had shattered her fitful sleep. But what?
Feeling the cell phone still clutched in her hand, she slowly brought it up, opened it, and looked at the display. No missed calls. No text messages.
No word from Adam.
The ceiling above her creaked. Once. Then again. Footsteps?
&n
bsp; She held her breath. Then she heard the soft sounds of Silent Night drifting on the cold night air.
Chapter Twenty
When Adam woke, his head was pounding and it was dark. And he was disoriented. He had no idea where he was or how he got there.
Lying on his side on a hard, wooden floor, he was facing a wall. His arms and shoulders ached. He tried to shift them, but his hands were bound behind his back. It felt like some kind of rope - maybe one of the ropes he used to tie his flies.
He forced himself to remain calm. There had to be a reason why he was trussed up on a cold floor. He focused on anything he could remember.
The first thing that came into his mind -- like a bad penny -- was Bobby. That son-of-a-bitch. Somehow he had to be the cause of this. He had to be one who trussed him up like this and tossed him... where? And how had he gotten him tied up?
He heard the heavy footsteps of a man and closed his eyes. His footsteps were accompanied by a rustling sound like someone wearing a raincoat.
He squeezed his eyes shut, then with a deep breath, relaxed his eye muscles.
The man came up behind him and stopped. Adam fought the urge to flinch. He expected to be kicked any minute. But he wasn’t. He tried to keep his breathing steady.
After a few minutes, he wasn’t sure how long it was, the man walked away and the footsteps stopped at what must have been the other side of the room.
Adam strained his ears to hear what the man was doing. He willed him to go away, but instead there was just silence. Deafening silence.
Waiting.
Dreading.
What would he do next?
He heard a clock chime three times somewhere in the distance.
Then his cell phone rang.
He felt his bound muscles react, before his wrists caught on the rope. A faint rustling drifted from across the room. The cell phone went silent. Then beeped. Someone had left a message.
The rustling moved closer.
And once again, the man stood behind him. He could hear his breathing now. Adam fought to keep his own breathing steady.
A Very Merry Christmas Gift (Winter Kisses Book 1) Page 11