Over the Top

by Dee J. Adams

  OVER THE TOP

  High Stakes

  A prequel novella for Against the Wall.

  by

  Dee J. Adams

  Terry’s dreams sometimes come true. The trouble is, this time she’s had a nightmare—her fiancé, Jay, dead, their young daughter kidnapped. When events eerily unfold just like in her dream, Terry’s sense of déjà vu increases. Terrified, she realizes she has to change the course of events, or her life will become a nightmare for real.

  It took two years to get Terry to say yes to his marriage proposal, and just as they are set to celebrate their engagement, Terry reveals the secret she’s been keeping from Jay for years. Her lack of trust cuts him deep and leaves him wondering if they can make a marriage work. But when someone seeks to destroy their family, Jay and Terry will do anything to stay together.

  This is a prequel novella for Against the Wall.

  Dear Readers,

  When I wrote Against the Wall, I never expected to go back in time and write the story of the heroine’s parents, Terry and Jay, but I received such heartfelt comments about them that I thought you might be interested in seeing how they started, not to mention getting a look at Jess when she was just a toddler.

  For those of you who remember the 80s, it might be a fun flashback and for those of you who didn’t live during that time, I hope you’ll enjoy that period through Over the Top. Reliving the big hair, bigger shoulder pads and music had me falling for Jay and Terry all over again.

  Happy reading!

  Dee J. Adams

  Dedication

  This one is for all my awesome readers who reach out to me on social media sites. Your supportive emails, FB messages and Twitter posts lift my spirits and drive me to write better and faster. I do it for you. Thanks for being there and most of all, thanks for reading!

  Acknowledgments

  My usual and massive thanks go to Lynne Marshall and Kate Willoughby for their brainstorming and ideas. This story is not at all what it originally started out to be thanks to them. (And, yes, that’s a good thing.)

  To my world-class editor, whom I respect and admire more than just about anyone, Melissa Johnson. Without you my books wouldn’t be what they are. My heartfelt thanks for all you do—and see—when it comes to my stories.

  My love and thanks to Sean and Katelyn for understanding the crazy hours I put in…after the crazy hours I put in. I couldn’t do this without both of you supporting me. You are my heart and soul and I love you more than words can say.

  Chapter One

  Late nineteen-eighties

  Terry Williams ran from the water’s edge of the picturesque lake, dodging tall pines and thick brush. The gravel path shifted under every step. Blood covered her wet clothes and hands. Her lungs heaved, her muscles burned, and hysteria lurked in the corner of her brain, waiting to break out and take her over the edge. “No!” she screamed as her world crumbled around her. Her fiancé lay dead by the water, while her toddler stood in the path of a crazy woman.

  In a flash, the woman snatched Jess in her arms and continued running, her maroon sweater flapping in the cool breeze.

  Jess, wearing her favorite white top with pink hearts, screamed, “Mama!” at the top of her lungs. The wail cut through Terry like an arrow to her heart. The woman’s brown ponytail swung wildly before they disappeared around the side of the cabin.

  “No!” Terry screamed again, praying as she ran that she could catch them in time. The oversized plaid shirt hung wet and heavy on her shoulders. Her legs felt like dead weights, but she made it around the cabin as the engine of the old-model blue sedan roared to life in the driveway. The car peeled out, kicking up gravel and dust in its wake. Terry watched it zoom onto the windy road. “Jess!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, her heart slamming against her ribs, her eyes stinging with tears. “No!”

  The desolation crippled her. Heart-pounding fear rose up inside her and the urge to heave what little contents were in her stomach choked her. She almost changed direction to the house to get the car keys but one glance at the slashed tires of the Audi stopped her in her tracks. No car.

  Telephone!

  Busting through the front door, she snatched up the phone in the kitchen. No dial tone. That’s when she saw the cut cord dangling near the floor. Putting her head in her hands, she sobbed out her terror, her misery.

  She couldn’t quit. With new determination, she bolted out the door and down the road, but her legs felt like bricks. Every muscle struggled for each inch. She may as well have been underwater. With each step she took, her daughter got farther away in a speeding car.

  Terry’s tears came hard and fast. The strange sound echoing in the surrounding trees was her mournful wail between gulps of air.

  Tree branches reached out to stop her. They grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard, calling her name, a sure sign that the world had gone mad and she’d lost the best things she’d ever had in her life.

  “Terry! Terry!” the voice persisted. The trees closed in on her, their darkness covering her like living, breathing death. “Terry, it’s okay, wake up! Wake up!”

  Gasping and bolting upright, Terry focused on her dim reflection in the mirror on the wall. Her red, bed-head hair and freaked out blue eyes went hand in hand with her racing heart. Her baby blue painted bedroom, the “Slippery When Wet” poster with the guys from Bon Jovi on her far wall all reassured her that the nightmare was over. The clock on her nightstand said it was a quarter to six. She quickly wiped at the foreign wetness on her cheeks. She never cried.

  Her mother, Elizabeth, stayed close, the concern on her face as clear as the perspiration beading on Terry’s forehead. “That must have been some nightmare,” she said, swiping her perfect Princess Diana blond bangs out of her eyes.

  Terry’s dad, George, stuck his sleep-rumpled red head in from the doorway. “You okay, Pumpkin? You scared us there for a minute.”

  Her heart still pounded like a drum and sweat rolled between her breasts. “Yeah. Sorry.” She sure as hell scared herself. She’d had some gnarly dreams, but nothing as bloody as this. “Did I wake Jess?”

  “No. Jess got up and crawled out of her crib, but we have no idea when. Your father found her playing with her stuffed animals fifteen minutes ago. Quiet as a mouse, just having a grand ol’ time.” Elizabeth smiled and nodded. “I think maybe it’s time to retire the crib. That little girl is too smart for her own good. She tossed all her pillows and Stuffy onto the floor and made herself a crash pad.” Her Stuffy was a plush, life-size bear that she dragged with her all over the house. “She’s pretty amazing. Now she’s in the den with her blocks, so she didn’t hear you.”

  Jess was amazing. Well, aside from getting up at five-thirty every morning.

  Terry had thought long and hard about keeping her baby. She was still a kid herself at sixteen when she’d become pregnant. So was her boyfriend Jesse Jr., or as everyone called him, Jay. It only took him three months to get into her pants, which, considering she nearly let him in after the first date made her pretty proud of herself.

  Of course getting pregnant hadn’t made her proud. Or her parents, or Jay, or his parents. It had changed all their lives forever. She’d learned the hard way that condoms weren’t a surefire method of birth control. She wouldn’t have let Jay in if she didn’t love him, but they had a lot of growing up to do and she wanted to make sure he was in it for the duration.

  Though neither one of them had any illusions that raising a child would be easy while they were still in high school, they’d agreed to deal with it. Luckily, so had their parents. Well, three out of four of them.

  Terry threw the tangled covers aside and wiped the sweat from her forehead. With a last hard exhale, she let go of the dream and shook off th
e tension.

  “You okay?” her mom asked, still keeping an eagle eye on her. “Want to talk about it?”

  “Not really.” The thought of Jay dead and someone taking her daughter was enough to bring back that sick feeling in her stomach. “It was just so vivid. I mean, I saw everything so clearly like it was really happening. I saw colors and could smell the trees and the lake. Everything was just mondo real.” Just like the two other dreams that had come true. Terry shook off the possibility. She’d had plenty of vivid dreams that hadn’t come true.

  “Sounds like it was mondo scary,” her mom said with a soft smile. She sat next to her on the bed. “You were calling Jess’s name,” she said softly.

  Terry swallowed hard. “Someone had taken her, but I couldn’t see her face. I just saw Jess and this lady had her in her arms. No matter how fast I ran to catch up, my legs wouldn’t move forward.”

  “Ugh. I hate those dreams,” her mom said. “You feel like you’re in quicksand and your legs are brick heavy.”

  “Yes! It was just like that.” Terry took a deep breath. “Thank God it was just a dream.” She swiped a hand through her wrecked hair. “I need to shower. Jay said he’d come by this morning and make pancakes for Jess and I can’t be late for my psych class.” Her mom got up and Terry hopped out of bed, hurrying to get ready.

  “Pancakes for Jess?” her mom asked. “When did that plan happen?”

  “Last night when he tucked Jess in, she begged for ‘pacakes.’ Naturally, Jay caved and told her he’d come early and make her breakfast. He’ll be here soon because he’s got that big interview this morning at his dad’s law firm. An internship just opened up so he’s going for it.”

  “Seems like a shoo-in if it’s his dad’s firm,” her mom said.

  “Apparently, one of the other partner’s sons is up for it, too, and they only have the one spot.”

  “Ah. Well, I’ll get to tell him good luck then.” Her mom stood at the doorframe as Terry pulled clean clothes from her closet. “Oh, I almost forgot. The whole reason I came in here. We have a problem with Jess today. Jay’s dad split his tooth on a midnight snack and Lou Ann is taking him to the dentist. They’re squeezing him in first thing this morning. She doesn’t want to have to worry about Jess in the waiting room for hours so she bailed on us.”

  “You’re kidding me?” Lou Ann strikes again. Jay’s mom took any excuse to make Terry’s life miserable by yanking their chain whenever possible. Terry never let on that she knew Lou Ann did it purposely because she worried about the repercussions. It was one thing to be on the woman’s shit list, but it was another to cause trouble between both families. This was nothing less than what she expected from her boyfriend’s mother. Either way she had a problem. Who could watch Jess for a few hours?

  “Maybe Carolyn or Paige could use some extra cash,” her mom suggested.

  “Mom, you know they haven’t talked to me since I had Jess.” Once she’d gotten pregnant, her high school pals had treated her like she might be contagious. Everyone had backed off and the resulting loneliness had been as isolating as solitary confinement. Starting fresh in college had been a welcome change.

  “I know, but I saw Carolyn’s mom at the grocery store and she mentioned that you two should catch up. Okay, okay, I get it,” Elizabeth said when Terry shook her head. “How about your friend Marcella? Think she’s available? Jess really loves when she babysits.” Elizabeth waggled her eyebrows.

  That was more like it. “For sure. I’ll give her a try.” Terry took a minute to brush her teeth then headed to the kitchen for the phone and called her new college friend.

  The sun worked its way up the trees and brightened the narrow kitchen’s yellow buttercup wallpaper. On the other end of the line, the phone rang as Terry pulled a cutting board from the top drawer. “Marcella, it’s Terry,” she said when her friend answered. Terry told her the dilemma as she took some strawberries and cantaloupe out of the fridge. If Marcella couldn’t help her, she was in deep shit.

  “I do have plans, but I can cancel them,” Marcella said. “I love your kid, Terry. She’s the most adorable girl on the planet. I’d babysit her anytime.”

  Terry exhaled a relieved sigh. It didn’t hurt that they paid her cash under the table. Not bad incentive when every dollar counted. She set some fruit on a plate for Jess and packed more into a plastic container for later. “Thank you so much. You are so bitchin’.” They talked for another minute while Terry wiped something sticky from the cream countertop tile. She hung up just as Jay let himself in through the kitchen door. He looked choice in his dark gray suit. He’d cut his shaggy hair yesterday for the interview and now it looked neat and slick with a part down the side. His square jaw had never been more pronounced and his wide shoulders filled out his jacket to perfection.

  Butterflies still took flight in Terry’s stomach just like the day they’d met in history class at fifteen. If watching him play football hadn’t turned her on enough, then listening to him play his drums had taken her past the point of no return. A straight-A student, he excelled at whatever he set his mind to. She’d worried that he’d bail when she told him about the pregnancy. But he’d supported her every step of the way and tackled fatherhood with the same determination he’d shown in the classroom, on the football field and with his music.

  Terry glided into his arms. Jay glanced at the kitchen entrance before settling his hungry gaze on her mouth, then he bent his head and gave her a good morning kiss hot enough to melt plastic. He teased her lips with his tongue before going in for a full taste and the wet contact sent an arrow of lust to the juncture of Terry’s thighs.

  They never got enough of each other. Sure, finding out she was pregnant had been an adjustment, but even when she’d been round with Jess, their attraction to each other had remained hot and electric. They took any chance to screw in Jay’s car and though it had been a tight fit, they never complained.

  When she came up for air, she smiled into his mesmerizing brown eyes. “Wow. That was pretty outrageous. Something’s got you in a good mood.” She smoothed her thumb across his clean-shaven cheek. “You look like a lawyer and a stud, not a man about to make pancakes.”

  “Hey, I’m talented. I can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan.” He lifted a dark eyebrow. “At least if I get this internship, I’ll bring home the bacon.”

  Terry chuckled as she straightened his blue tie. “My mom told me that your mom has to take your dad to the dentist this morning so I got Marcella to babysit Jess.” She hid all traces of the fact that his mother terrified her. That emotion pissed her off since usually nothing scared her, bad dreams notwithstanding. Sticking up for herself had never been an issue, but facing Lou Ann’s quiet wrath since the rabbit died over two years ago had most definitely thrown Terry off balance. Lou Ann always waited until they were alone and never failed to make a comment that cut Terry deep.

  “Not necessary. My dad convinced her he can drive himself. My mom’s planning on watching Jess as scheduled.”

  “Oh.” Thank God for Jesse Sr.

  Apparently, Lou Ann couldn’t even pick up the phone to let them know. God forbid she actually talked to someone in the Williams family. Terry worked hard to keep her anger buried. Lou Ann had insinuated that saying anything to Jay would be the fastest way to lose him, and Terry refused to let his mother get between them.

  “Then I’ll call Marcella back and cancel. Jess is in the den if you want to say good morning before you get hopping on those pancakes.” Terry moved to the phone, but Jay pulled her back for another kiss, this one just as hot and spicy as the first. “We’re both going to be late if you don’t let me go.” But she murmured at his lips, “You are better than any breakfast.”

  “You can be my meal any day of the week,” he countered with a tap to her ass as she walked away. Jay moved into the den and Jess’s happy squeal carried through the house.

  “Dada! Time fo pacakes, pacakes!” Jess laughed wildly, and Terry pictured
Jay flying her in the air as he usually did when he saw her. Sometimes she wondered if trading football for fatherhood bothered him, but seeing the love in his eyes when he played with Jess made her think he didn’t have a problem with it.

  Terry called Marcella and when she answered the phone, Terry thanked her for being on call, but told her they didn’t need her anymore.

  “I totally just cancelled stuff for you, Terry.” Marcella’s attitude zipped through the phone line like an electric current.

  “I’m sorry. Jay’s mom threw us a curve ball. It’s not my fault. Look it’s only been a few minutes. Un-cancel your canceled plans. It’s not too late.”

  “Yes, it is,” Marcella huffed before groaning. “I was really looking forward to seeing Jess. She’s so much fun.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I promise we’ll schedule something soon.”

  “How about tomorrow?”

  “Can’t this weekend. We’re taking our first family trip to Big Bear. Just the three of us. Jess is almost two and we’ve never gone on a trip with her.” She got happy just thinking about it. “Actually, we’ve never gone on a trip ourselves, either, so we’re all really excited.” One day they’d be a family all the time, but until Jay proposed again, it wouldn’t happen. Terry was still beating herself up for not saying yes the first couple of times he proposed, but they’d been so young, it just seemed like too much. How were they supposed to be a family when the two of them were only eighteen? Not to mention the fact that Lou Ann had made her thoughts crystal clear on the matter. Her words still rang in Terry’s head. On the day they’d broken the news of their pregnancy, Lou Ann had cornered her in the hallway. With a smile on her face and her lips quivering in perfect Lou Ann style, she’d said, “You have ruined my son’s life and my family’s lives and I will never forgive you as long as I live. You’ve brought shame into this household and I hope you’re happy with yourself.” Then she’d moved on down the hallway like she hadn’t just dropped a piano on Terry’s head.