by B. A. Wolfe
Table of Contents
Copyright
AWAY
Chapter One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Epilogue
Dan’s POV
Bonus Chapter
Bonus Chapter
Letting Go
PART ONE
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
PART TWO
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
PART THREE
One
Two
Three
Epilogue
Stay
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
Forty-Five
Forty-Six
Forty-Seven
Forty-Eight
Forty-Nine
Fifty
Fifty-One
Fifty-Two
Epilogue
Special Delivery
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Extended Epilogue
BONUS CHAPTER – Stay – Jase Bradley Grown Up
About the Author
The Keaton Series-Omnibus
Copyright © 2016 by B.A. Wolfe
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
AWAY
Chapter One
THE TERM ‘AWAY’ COMES IN many forms and phrases. Get away, stay away, far away, go away, went away, and move away, but the term that best fits my situation... Run away.
Girls like me don’t run away. We’ve had our lives handed to us on a silver platter. So why was I running away? All because of one night — one stupid night that ruined every little thing that I had worked so hard for. I needed someone to tell me that life wasn’t ending and that things would be okay. I wanted a Band-Aid to cover my injuries, but no bandage was large enough for the wounds I’d inflicted upon myself. What I truly needed was my best friend.
So I headed to Alamosa to see Melanie. She was the only person I trusted to know what I should do. Life wasn’t turning out the way I had planned. I was going to school and had a 4.0 GPA. I was little ‘Miss Perfect’, just how my parents raised and wanted me to be. Now, everything was in jeopardy, and my mistake threatened to haunt my future. If it weren’t for my blunder, I wouldn’t have realized how messed up my so-called perfect life actually was. That’s why I needed to see Melanie. Unlike my parents, she wouldn’t judge me or tell me how she expected more from me.
The only problem? I had never actually been to Adams State College to visit her. With GPS in tow, I felt positive that I’d be okay. Considering I was always decent at taking directions and orders from everyone else, following the GPS commands should be no different. The only enjoyable part was that it wasn’t making me call it Mother or Father.
“Hey, Mel,” I said into the phone.
“Hey girl. I hope you’re on the road.” Mel’s tone was somewhat somber. She knew that desperation was what prompted this visit.
“Yeah, I’m on I-25 right now. I just wanted to let you know I’m on my way. I need you right now, Mel,” I confessed in a shaky voice.
“I know. Just get here and we’ll figure it out.”
She was my rock, the only person who ever loved me for being me. I didn’t want to go to school to get a Bachelor’s in finance, let alone a Master’s degree too. I had other dreams for my life, but they weren’t acceptable, or allowed in my family. My parents had expectations for me, and if I delivered, I was their perfect daughter. If I deviated from their plan, there would be hell to pay. That’s what I was told the day that I applied for colleges. I didn’t have a problem getting into school. I was smart and enjoyed learning. But, the chosen path of finance had no interest to me whatsoever. I felt trapped, and now my mistake was forcing me to drop everything and run to Melanie, my lifeboat. She was the only thing that was keeping me from drowning a long torturous death. This time, Melanie was pulling me to shore.
“Thanks, Mel. I don’t know what I’d ever do without you.”
“You’d be lost and scared. Same as me, Cass. Drive carefully. Call me when you get close to Alamosa, okay?”
“You got it. I’ll call you soon. Love you,” I replied and ended the call. I tossed my phone in the cup holder in case it rang again. It wouldn’t be my parents, of course. They never called until after my grades had been posted for the semester. I had grown accustomed to that though. The ‘less is more’ theory applied to every situation when it came to things between my parents and me.
The drive down was uneventful and somewhat torturous. It was turning into the very definition of what a Sunday afternoon drive would feel like. I never ventured anywhere outside of the Denver area. The further south I drove, the more differences I noticed. There were farms, more trucks on the road, and the heat was just a little more unbearable. My exit was coming up, so I veered left and continued down the ramp, finally leaving I-25. I had never driven a longer stretch of highway in my life. The lit
tle digital box displayed that I needed to head east for at least another 100 miles. Leaving before sunrise was the only thing going for me. The towns I zipped through were small and brought to mind a time before there were city skyscrapers, fancy cars, or technology.
An hour or so later, my monotonous drive changed to terrifying. A loud pop stung my eardrums as my wheel shook erratically in my trembling hands. My stomach dropped. I gripped the steering wheel tighter, trying to fight the force that was veering me left, but it wasn’t working. My body stiffened as I saw what was in front of me. I tried to slam my foot on the brake as an impossibly large tree stood firm in my path. It was no use, too little, too late. We collided, and my body flew forward. My head bounced into the steering wheel, and then my seatbelt locked which jerked me back into the headrest. Steam poured from the hood of my car like an awakening volcano. The throbbing in my head immediately settled in. My breathing became uncontrollable, and I felt trapped beneath my seatbelt. I wanted to escape from its tight hold, and as simple as unlocking it should have been, panic was leaching in. I pulled at the belt and fought as it kept me contained like a prisoner. The harder I tugged, the more I realized that my head wasn’t the only part of my body in massive amounts of pain. My neck muscles had tightened and barely wanted to turn my head. I forgot about my seatbelt and put my hand to my chest as the pounding increased. If others were around, they would have been able to hear the beating. It didn’t take long for a second wave of terror to set in. My body was shaking uncontrollably as I realized I was alone and helpless.
Hearing a small tap on my window, I looked over to see a guy about my age with eyes as wide as I imagined mine were.
“Hold still. I’m calling for help right now. You were just in an accident. Your airbag didn’t deploy, and you hit your head pretty hard. I need you to stay put.” The young guy pulled his phone out of his pocket.
I lifted my hand to my throbbing forehead, and when I pulled it away, sure enough, blood covered it. I couldn’t help but let the welling tears uncontrollably trickle down my face.
“I know you’re scared, Sweetheart, but help is on the way,” he said calmly.
Scared didn’t even begin to cover it. I looked down at the seatbelt and sighed when I realized that all I had to do was unlock it. Clicking the buckle, and finally releasing myself from the strong grip it had on my body, I felt an ounce of freedom as I pushed it to my side. The door wouldn’t budge when I tried to open it, and so, the torment continued. I pounded my hands on the window with all my remaining energy, drawing the guy’s attention back to me.
“I need you to calm down. You’re going to be okay. The cops are going to help get you out.”
“NO! I need out of here. I need out now!” I yelled through the glass.
He pulled on the door handle with no luck. When he walked over to the other side and tried to open the passenger door, he motioned for me to unlock the door. I reached over, opened it for him, and got my first close look at him. A belt with a large, western-style buckle looped through his body-hugging jeans. Pearl snaps decorated the center of his shirt and all he was missing was the cowboy hat. Without question, a country boy had come to my rescue.
He looked around and then bent down, leaning halfway into the car. “Hi there,” he said, with a smile on his slightly scruffy face. His short, wavy, light brown hair was blowing in the breeze.
“Hi,” I replied quietly, focused on the gorgeous green eyes that stared into mine. They were dark and so exquisite, reminding me of emerald stones you would see showcased at a jewelry store.
“I saw the whole thing happen from across the street. Your tire blew, and you hit the tree. You seriously need to stay calm, okay.”
“I just want out of the car. Can you please help me?” I knew I was begging, but the enclosed space was beginning to suffocate me.
“Alright.” He nodded his head. “Let’s get you out then. I need you to climb over your console and come out this way. Can you do that for me?”
“Yeah... I... I can do that,” I said, my voice hitching. Reaching for his hands, I grabbed on tightly as I slowly swung each leg over the console. I let out a sigh of relief as he effortlessly picked me up. With one quick swoop, I was out of the car and held close in this helpful stranger’s arms, and for a split second, I felt safe and calm.
“See, you’re out, and you’re okay. What’s your name, Sweetheart?” He continued to hold me tightly against his chest.
I let out a deep breath. “It’s Cassandra. My name is Cassandra. At least I can still remember my name.” I tried to reassure myself.
“Cassandra, that’s a great thing.” He cocked his head to the side, allowing me to see his face more clearly. His eyes were even brighter in the sun. “Mine’s Jason. I’m the town’s knight in shining armor,” he said, his lips curling to the side as he kept a strong hold on me.
“Thanks for the rescue, Jason.” I smiled back at him. “I have a splitting headache right now though,” I said, closing my eyes and hoping the tension in my forehead would ease.
“No, no, no. Don’t close your eyes. You need to stay awake. You hit your head hard. In fact, here.” He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and put it on my lap. “Press that firmly against your forehead. It’ll help stop the bleeding.”
I studied the handkerchief for a moment. He barely knew me, yet he treated me as if I were his best friend who’d just been in an accident.
“It’s clean, Cassandra. I promise,” he said.
“No, it’s not that. I’ve just never met someone so helpful to a complete stranger before.”
“I don’t know where you’re from, but that’s how we do things around here. But, it’s not every day that I get to help out a pretty girl like you.”
“Does the town pay you to say that?”
“I wouldn’t need to be paid to tell you that,” he whispered against my ear.
“Thanks.” My cheeks warmed instantly. I kept my eyes forward, and knew that if I continued looking at him that I would melt through his arms. He was gorgeous, helpful, and sweet. Talk about a trifecta. I wish I had come here two months ago before I found myself in this predicament.
He gently set me down on the sidewalk and sat close to me until the ambulance and police arrived. A guy had never treated me as if I were something fragile that needed protection, and had certainly never taken care of me unless taking me out to a fancy dinner counted. I thought of myself as a strong girl, but this fragile, helpless Cassandra was emerging more frequently, and it was all too foreign to me. Navigating the new roads, both literally and physically, left me feeling uncertain because running away was an entirely new concept to me.
***
“Please, I don’t need to go to the hospital. I’m just a little sore,” I tried to convince the EMT.
“Ma’am, we need to check you out. At least get in the back so we can bandage up your head wound, and look you over.” The older EMT reached for my hand before I could tuck it behind me.
“No, really, I’m fine.”
“Cassandra, they need to check you out,” Jason said.
Before I could beg, I cupped my mouth with my hand, ran over to the side of the street, and released all the contents of my breakfast, right in front of everyone. I dropped to my knees, both half-embarrassed, and half-relieved to be feeling slightly better. A hanky appeared at my left side, and I knew it was Jason being helpful again. I grabbed the now-used hanky and wiped my mouth before taking in a deep breath and lifting my head. He knelt beside me and placed his hand lightly on my back.
“I don’t think you want this back,” I said, contemplating whether I even wanted to be touching it.
“Well, you’re right about that. You can keep it,” he said, a soft laugh escaping him. “But you’re going to the hospital now. You could have a concussion, Cassandra. They need to check you out.”
Feeling even more defeated, I gave in and stood. “I can walk to the ambulance.” I gazed at the grass I had ruined, and clenched my f
ists, angry that they were taking me where I didn’t want to go to yet.
“I know you can. I just want to be here to catch you in case you fall,” he said quietly.
I couldn’t help but feel the knots growing in my stomach. He was my ‘knight in shining armor’, and I was dismissing him out of anger over my need to go to the hospital. Some grateful girl I was.
He walked the short distance to the back of the ambulance with me, keeping his hands close as if he were putting a protective shield around me.
“Thanks for your help, Jason,” I said. He raised his hand to wave goodbye, keeping his eyes on me as they closed the ambulance doors. I wasn’t in the mood to go with them, and wished he were going with me. The warmth of his touch was comforting compared to the cold feeling of the ambulance.
Two
THE ER, IF THAT IS WHAT they wanted to call it, was the size of my doctor’s office back home. When I arrived, the only other person there was a spouse dropping off lunch for one of the nurses. I waited in a small room, and when the curtain opened, a lady in brown-colored scrubs walked in. Her curly hair was in a ponytail, and a pendant that read ‘Mom’ swayed from a delicate chain around her neck. She looked to be close to my parents’ age.
“Cassandra Pierce? I’m your nurse, Trish. I’m just going to check a few things before the doctor sees you.” Her voice was gentle and warm, and helped to take away an ounce of the fear that was settling inside me.
“Trish?” I asked after she finished checking my vitals.
“Yes?” Her soft, honey-brown eyes looked down at me.
“I’m pregnant. Well, I was before the accident. I need to know if the baby is okay.” She looked as if I’d just set off a fire alarm. I had to say something though. I was curious and almost too hopeful that, with some small miracle, I was no longer pregnant.
“I’ll get our OB in here so we can check.” Compassion flowed through her soft words. “Everything will be fine, Sweetie. Don’t worry,” she said before walking out of the room.
My heart sank as her words settled in because I didn’t want everything to be fine. I wanted this over with and my freedom back. I wasn’t ready to be a mother. I needed to know if my accident happened for a reason and took care of my problem for me. An immense pang of guilt twisted in my stomach. My thoughts ate at me, haunted me. Everything about them and my situation was awful in the worst possible way.