Heaven With You

by Rebecca Julia Lauren

  “I want you to sleep with me.” He sighed, his eyes locked with mine. “I love you.”

  It felt like my whole world had been shattered and was magically put back together again by his words.

  “I’ve only said those words to two women. One of them was Ellie’s mom.” He paused, his expression intense. “And you.”

  He brushed a tear from my cheek, his eyes still hot with emotion and burning into mine. “I loved Anna.” Taking a deep breath he continued. “But Izzy, what I feel for you is much stronger. God help me, I felt it that first night we met. You were too young for me, and I’d never have touched you then but I couldn’t forget you.”

  I wanted to say ‘me too’, but I was too choked up to speak.

  “I don’t have a lot of experience with relationships, but I know this won’t be our last fight. Just so you know, I’m not going anywhere. I fight for what I want, and I’ve never wanted anything more in my life than I want you.”

  I’ve no idea who moved first, but we were suddenly kissing. “Are you going to make love to me now?”

  “If you don’t mind boring, vanilla sex.”

  I laughed. “It’s my favorite.”

  Chapter Twenty

  I’d just finished up at the hospital when I received the text.

  Unknown: I have your Christmas present.

  Figuring it was the wrong number, I ignored it, but a minute later another message from the same unfamiliar number popped on the screen.

  Unknown: I know how much you hate this time of the year. Thought I might give it to you early.

  This time I replied.

  Me: Leave me alone Scott or I’ll call the police.

  Unknown: LMAO…I’m not scared of your boyfriend

  I stared at the screen, but before I could decide what to do another text came in.

  Unknown: HE SHOULD BE AFRAID OF ME!!!

  A chill trickled down my spine. I put the phone in my backpack not bothering to respond. This was going to end now. I couldn’t keep living in constant fear. Leaving the hospital, I got into my car and drove straight to Scott’s house.

  I rang the doorbell once and didn’t have long to wait before he pulled open the door, a wary expression on his face. He exploded. “What, are you fucking crazy?”

  Startled at his attack, I hesitated.

  “This shit has to stop. I know I screwed up when I reported the car stolen, but enough is enough. If you don’t leave us alone, I’m going to file for a restraining order.”

  “What?”

  He stepped outside, closed his eyes a moment and when he opened them his expression was a mask of regret. “Look, I’m sorry Isabelle. I know I’m to blame for what went wrong with our relationship, but you’ve got to move on. You have to let go,” he implored, his tone lined with desperation.

  I had no idea what to say. “What are you talking about?”

  Scott’s eyes met mine, and I saw the blatant fear in his eyes. I froze, my blood icing over. Scott was afraid of me.

  “You’ve been following me. Sending me texts. That’s why I’m here, to tell you to stop.” I watched him closely, trying to gauge his reaction.

  “No, Isabelle. It’s the other way around. I think you should see someone about this. You need help. The dog…” He broke off, suddenly looking pained.

  “What about the dog?” I asked, frightened of his answer.

  “Abby started barking the other night when Deana was home alone. Deana let her out thinking it was a squirrel, but Abby never came back. The next morning we found her bloody collar on the welcome mat by the door.”

  My chest tightened and it was suddenly difficult to breathe. I remembered the feeling of unease I’d had the other night when I was alone and Jack had started barking like crazy.

  “Scott, I swear to you I would never do what you’re suggesting. Someone is following me, sending me texts.” I pulled out my phone and handed it to him. “I thought it was you.”

  He inhaled a shaky breath, scrolling through my texts and I thought he relaxed a little. “I know. That’s what I told Deana.” Scott looked up. “I didn’t send all of these texts Isabelle. Who the hell would be doing this?”

  I shivered. “I don’t know.” Searching Scott’s face for signs that he was lying, I found none. He still seemed wary, as if trying to decide if I was telling the truth. Finally, his shoulders sagged with relief.

  Looking as if he’d had an epiphany, his eyes widened. “You really haven’t been sending me messages or following Deana.”

  “No. Someone has been following Deana?”

  “She hasn’t seen anyone, but she’s been spooked a few times.”

  “I swear I’m not doing this. I’ve gotten the strange feeling that someone has been following me. I thought it was you.”

  Before I knew what he meant to do, Scott yanked me to him for a hug that caught me off guard. I stiffened. He pulled away just enough to lean down, and his gaze locked on my mouth. “I’ve missed you, Isabelle.”

  “I’m in love with Hunter. The words tumbled out.

  He didn’t look surprised, but he did let go of me. “When I saw you with him that day in court, I knew. You never really loved me. Considering what an ass I was to you, I don’t blame you. Not anymore.”

  “I’m sorry.” Hearing his heartfelt confession, I was floored. Scott seemed regretful, and I sympathized with him.

  I think that it was good that I confronted him. As I was leaving I heard him call my name and I turned.

  “Be careful Isabelle.”

  “You too,” I told him. I glanced around uneasily. Hurrying to my car, I got in quickly, needing to find Hunter.

  His SUV wasn’t in the driveway when I pulled in. Checking my phone for messages, I saw a shadow fall over me and I fell back, crying out and dropping my phone.

  “What’s wrong Isabelle?”

  I looked up and met Amber’s icy stare. Why exactly I was afraid, I couldn’t say. “You startled me.” I started to bend down to pick up my phone, but was astonished to realize I didn’t want to take my eyes off of her.

  Amber glanced down at my phone, frowning. “You’re acting really strange,” she said, scooping up the phone and handing it to me.

  “It’s been a long day,” I replied vaguely. “What’re you doing here?”

  “Duh, I came to see you. Why have you been ignoring me?”

  “Amber, you’ve been causing trouble for Reed and Ellie. I’m sorry you got hurt, but you have to move on.”

  “She told you, didn’t she?” Amber snapped. “Bitch.”

  “Yeah, Ellie told me that you asked her to stay away from Reed so that you could have a chance to win him back. I can’t believe she actually listened to you. Ellie isn’t the one that’s a bitch.”

  Amber looked stunned. “How can you side with her when I’ve been your best friend since we were kids?”

  The hurt in her voice tugged at my heart, and I softened my tone. “It’s not that I’m taking her side or even Reed’s side. What you did to Ellie was wrong, and she’s too nice a person to tell you to go to hell, which is what most women would have done in her position.”

  “You don’t think I know that?” Amber cried. “That’s the only reason I asked her was because I knew that she’d want to help me. It didn’t work out. Reed is still in love with her so I don’t know why you’re still not taking my calls.”

  “I’m sorry Amber, but I can’t be your friend if you’re going to keep trying to hurt Reed and Ellie.”

  Nodding, her eyes filled with tears. “I know.” Amber sank against the car and dropped her face into her hands. “You’re the only real friend I have, Isabelle. I don’t want to lose you.”

  Unable to stop myself, I reached out to her and she hugged me.

  “I’m so sorry, Isabelle,” she sobbed. “I’ll do whatever it takes to save our friendship. Just please say that you aren’t giving up on me.”

  Amber’s big, tearful eyes met mine and my heart broke for her. She’d re
ally loved Reed, and even though she had made some mistakes, I could never hold them against her when she was offering such a sincere apology.

  “We’re still friends,” I assured her. “Do you want to come inside? I can make coffee.”

  Amber’s hopeful expression made me feel guilty for not talking to her sooner. “I’d love that.” She turned and her smile faded. “Maybe another time.”

  Following her gaze, I saw that Hunter was pulling into the driveway. I looked back at Amber and saw that her gaze had hardened.

  “I don’t think I can face him now. He probably hates me for what I did to Ellie.”

  “He’s important to me. You’ll have to face him eventually.”

  “Not today,” she said nervously. “Thanks for talking to me. I’ll call you.”

  “Sure. You don’t have to run off,” I told her, but Amber was already walking off.

  I watched her leave, and saw that she’d parked across the street. I wondered if it could have been Amber’s car I’d seen that night and immediately felt disloyal for the thought.

  Hunter strode towards me and I was so happy to see him that I flew straight into his arms. He caught me easily, letting me cling to him. I was overwhelmed with relief and didn’t notice immediately that he wasn’t hugging me back.

  Pulling back I noticed that he was still wearing his suit, complete with jacket and tie. He usually had his jacket slung over his arm and his tie loosened when he got home. It occurred to me how early it was, too early for him to be home from work. His blue eyes pinned mine, and I knew something was wrong.

  “Are you mad that Amber was here?”

  He looked surprised and glanced in the direction she’d just left. Turning back to me, his gaze sharpened. “Let’s go inside.”

  Something awful had happened. I knew it even before he closed the door and turned to me, his expression solemn. “Isabelle, is there something you need to tell me?”

  “Yes, but you’re scaring me. First, I want to know why you’re upset.”

  He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen and handed it to me. His eyes pinned mine, searching, studying, almost the same way that Scott had looked at me when he was trying to decide if I was the one stalking him and Deana.

  A terrible feeling took hold of me, and that was before I looked down and saw the picture of Scott and I. Dazed, I stared at it unable to believe what I was seeing. The picture had been taken just a couple of hours ago, and it looked as if Scott and I were embracing, as if we were about to kiss. I could only imagine what Hunter was thinking, and yet he stood calmly, waiting for me to explain.

  “It’s not what it looks like.”

  “I’m glad.”

  I choked up with the realization that I hadn’t been paranoid or crazy all of the times when I’d had the peculiar sense of being watched. Someone was stalking me, taking pictures, and I had no idea who it could be.

  “I don’t understand who could be doing this to me. I kept looking over my shoulder feeling like someone was there, and I thought it was all my imagination.”

  “Someone has been following you.” He was suddenly alert.

  “And sending me texts.” I showed him my phone. “I was sure that it was Scott so I went to see him today to confront him.”

  His gaze narrowed, and I knew him well enough to know that he was angry with me. “You went to confront a man you thought might be following you? Jesus. What were you thinking?”

  Hearing it put in those words made me realize how foolish I’d been. “I was thinking that I couldn’t go on like this.”

  “Tell me how you got from confronting him to—“ he gestured toward the phone. “What exactly is this?”

  “When I went to see Scott he was afraid of me.” I was shaking with emotion.

  Whatever Hunter had been expecting to hear from me, I’d shocked him. “What do you mean?”

  “He was scared of me. He said that I had to stop following him and Deana and that I needed help. Scott thought that I—“ Tears blurred in my eyes. “He thought that I did something to his dog.”

  Asking no questions or demanding answers, Hunter pulled me into his arms. I sank against him, borrowing some of his strength. I knew he needed me to explain the picture with Scott, and he wanted to know what was going on, but he was willing to comfort me first.

  He was the strongest man I knew. I wouldn’t let him down. Taking a deep breath, I brushed away my tears, stepped back and met the expectant gaze of the man I loved.

  I told him about the dog’s bloody collar, and how I’d wanted to convince Scott that I wasn’t doing those things to him. “He said that he believed me, and that’s when he hugged me.” I met Hunter’s intent blue gaze. “I didn’t know he was going to do it. I told him that I loved you.”

  He raked his hand over his jaw. “I wish you’d have come to me.”

  I frowned, thinking he sounded disappointed that I hadn’t. “I didn’t want to bother you with my crazy paranoia. If I’d known that someone was watching me, I would have told you.”

  “Nothing that concerns you would ever be a bother to me.” His expression was serious, and I realized he was in full cop mode, determined to figure out what was going on. I had no doubt that he would.

  “Have you noticed anything unusual?”

  I told him about the night Jack had acted strangely and about the car parked across the street from his house.

  Hunter looked up suddenly, at the mention of the car.

  Fear trickled down my spine. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’ve seen that car before.” He reached for his phone, and began tapping the screen.

  “Across the street?”

  He glanced up, his gaze steady on mine. “No. In front of Reed’s house.”

  Oh, God.

  He reached out and rubbed my back. “Your brother will be fine.”

  “Ellie stays with him—“

  “I know,” he said, his tone reassuring. “I’ll talk with both of them.” Turning his attention, back to the phone, his gaze sharpened and I thought he must have found what he was looking for. “I took a picture of the plate. I don’t know why or what it was about the car that bothered me, but I’m sure as hell glad I did.”

  “That’s it,” I told him, looking at the picture.

  “Do you know what kind of car Scott’s girlfriend drives?”

  “No.”

  “You think it could be her?”

  “I don’t know yet. The pictures of you and Scott, that’s something a jealous woman would do.” He raked a hand through his hair. “The text you got. That sounds like a man,” he said thoughtfully.

  “Do you think Scott was telling you the truth?”

  “I think so.”

  “Can you think of anyone else that might have a vendetta against you or Reed?”

  My blood froze. “Amber.”

  This caught his attention.

  “She was here when I got home, and I was—“ I stopped, closing my eyes and trying to wrap my mind around the possibility that Amber would want to hurt me.

  “You were what, Izzy?” Hunter gently prodded.

  “I was afraid of her. Something about the way she looked at me, made me uneasy. I shook it off. I even invited her inside. She was going to come in, but then she changed her mind when you got home.”

  From his expression, I could tell Hunter was processing this bit of information and it didn’t look good for Amber.

  “She said she wasn’t ready to face you after what happened with her and Ellie. I didn’t question it.”

  He wore an expression of concern. “You shouldn’t be alone with Amber until I figure this out. I want you to be careful. Be aware of your surroundings, and don’t go out alone.”

  “Amber drives a black sports car,” I offered hesitantly.

  He gave me a measured look. “Until we know who’s doing this, be cautious of everyone and if you’re getting a bad vibe from someone don’t ignore it.”

  He was right, but I couldn�
�t stop myself from trying to convince him that Amber didn’t want to hurt me. “It’s just that I’ve known Amber since I was seven. Her parents have been like a mom and dad to Reed and I.”

  “I know, Izzy.” His eyes softened. “I’ll find out who’s doing this, I promise you.”

  From the determination in his voice, I had no doubt that he would. I relaxed. Hunter would figure this out. He wouldn’t rest until he did.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  To distract me from everything that was going on, Hunter got down the Christmas decorations from the attic and I started hanging ornaments on the live tree we’d bought the day before.

  I carefully unwrapped the delicate balls and handmade ornaments that Ellie and Hunter had obviously done together. One ceramic painted ball read ‘Our Family X-mas 2000’. Painted on the ornament was a picture of a little girl holding her father’s hand and a dog was sitting between them. Up in the clouds, an angel with wings looked down on the family, Ellie’s mom.

  The innocence, the sweetness of the painting on the ornament brought tears to my eyes and I smiled, wondering what it would have been like to grow up with a father that loved me as much as Hunter loved Ellie. I could imagine the homey scene with a charmingly decorated tree twinkling with tiny glowing lights, a cozy fire burning in the fireplace and the smell of fresh-baked sugar cookies just out of the oven.

  It was so far from what Reed and I had grown up with that it was difficult to imagine. I felt sick remembering Christmas at the Bentleys. There was no lit tree, cigarette smoke instead of a crackling fire, and the smell of Darryl’s drunken vomit replaced the sweet smell of cookies.

  I hated thinking about him, hated that he was killed before he could be sentenced for his vehicular homicide conviction. I couldn’t stand thinking about the family of the woman he’d killed. No one deserved to rot in prison more than Darryl Bentley.

  The only good memory I had of my childhood was Reed, and the times we’d spent with Amber and her family. It was unthinkable that she would want to hurt me.

  Hunter’s hands settled on my shoulders, gently massaging the knotted muscles. “I thought the Christmas decorations would make you happy,” he whispered against my ear.