If Jace couldn’t handle it, that was his problem, not hers.
“We need to talk,” she said.
“Where?”
People were still on their feet, applauding and calling for an encore. Tess and Jace would not be noticed if they left now.
She led the way backstage and found an exit. She wanted to be away from people, out in the open air, when she finally told him everything.
Chapter 13
The outside air was a welcome chill on Jace’s heated cheeks. The tension that held him in a tight grip had eased as Helen performed.
The performance was amazing, and for that, he was doubly thankful. But something in Helen’s words had obviously touched Tess.
Now he felt tense again as he followed Tess toward the small play-park beyond the parking lot. Her hair glimmered in the gathering dusk, and her pale green gown shone with its own ethereal light.
When he had seen her sitting at the table, she took his breath away. He had fought the urge to catch her by the hand, pull her away from the crowd, and demand answers.
That worked so well for you last time, he thought with a touch of cynicism.
The streetlights were just flickering on as dusk settled into the sky. A faint breeze whispered through the large trees overhead as Tess walked to a small picnic table beside a large slide.
She paused a moment, her hand toying with the beads at her neckline, then she sat.
Jace wanted to maintain the advantage by standing. “You said we have to talk,” he said, towering above her. “Why don’t you start?”
Tess folded her hands on her lap, her gaze focused on something just beyond him. She didn’t say anything, but Jace knew sooner or later, she would fill the silence.
“Remember that summer I left?” she said finally, her voice soft. Composed.
“When you took off without a word? Yes.” How did she think he could have forgotten?
“Something happened to me—”
“In Europe?”
“No. Before that.” Her shoulders rose and fell with a long, slow breath. “The night before I left, I was working late. At the office.” She stopped there, looking down at her hands, now twisted together on her lap. “I was doing some photocopying for the client you and Chuck and I were working on. The machine had jammed and I was bent over it, checking something out. Carson came up behind me. He made a comment about me teasing him. About leading him on, making him think I was interested in him. I thought he was joking. He grabbed me and spun me around.”
Jace frowned as a chill crept through his veins.
“What?” His word came out in a harsh note.
She held her hand up. “Nothing until I’m done. Nothing.”
The hard tone of her voice made him realize how serious she was.
So he nodded.
She pulled in a long, deep, trembling breath. “Carson grabbed me and he...he...pushed me back against the copy machine. He..he...yanked up my skirt...told me I had been asking for this...and then he attacked me.”
She stopped, her hands twisted around each other while icy fingers pressed against Jace’s skull. He fought to absorb what she had just said. To meld it with the man he knew and respected.
“When he was done, he told me again that I asked for it,” she continued, not looking at him, her eyes looking past him to some distant point. “He told me not to tell anyone, and if I did, he would deny it had happened and lay slander charges against me.” A tremor filled her voice. “I was afraid of him. I knew how tough and how powerful and persistent he could be. I was terrified, and I was desperately ashamed. I didn’t dare tell my parents. Or you. I especially didn’t dare tell you.”
The cold became splinters of ice that stabbed him with each word.
“He raped you?” His words came out on a whisper, as if saying them any louder would give them too much substance.
Tess nodded, then looked up at him. Her features were an expressionless mask.
“Carson MacGregor...?” Jace just stared down at her beautiful, innocent face as he tried to imagine the man he had admired for so long, the man he owed so much to, doing this unspeakable thing.
He couldn’t think. He didn’t know what to process first.
His girlfriend, the woman he had once thought of as pure... and innocent.
Raped by his boss?
“You’re the first one I’ve told,” Tess said, her voice quiet in the evening air. “Not even my parents know.”
Jace closed his eyes, trying to focus. Trying to figure out where to put this new information.
Please, Lord, I don’t know what to do with this, he prayed. I don’t know how to comprehend this.
He had to move, do something. He walked away to give himself some space, some room to think and understand the implications of this horrible admission. He leaned back against the kiddie slide, the hard metal of the posts digging into his back.
Last week, he had thought he and Tess could put the past behind them. For a few precious moments tonight, he held on to a tenuous hope she might change her mind and move to Vancouver.
But this? Could they even get past this?
She had told him for a reason. Now that she had told him, so many things fell in place: Tess’s sudden departure that summer, how she had cut him out of her life, and the complete change in her behavior when she returned. It all made sense now.
What shame she must have felt.
But Carson? The man who had given him so much? Who had hired him and Tess? Had helped them both?
He walked back around the slide to join her, to talk his way through this.
Just as he was about to speak, a voice called out, “Tess, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”
Tess’s mother. She materialized out of the darkness, the lights like a halo behind her. She dropped beside her daughter, slipping her arm around Tess and giving her a hug.
“Goodness, girl, your arms are like ice. What are you doing out here all alone without a wrap?” Deborah pulled her close. “You’ve got to come back to the arena. We’ve got a special surprise for you.”
But Tess wasn’t looking at her mother. Her eyes were focused on him, her expression hard. All he could do was stare back at her. He couldn’t say anything. Didn’t know what comfort to give her. How to process this all.
“Come now, don’t dilly-dally,” Deborah said, pulling Tess to her feet. “People are waiting.”
As Deborah led Tess out of the park, she suddenly saw Jace. “My goodness...” Her voice faltered as she glanced from Tess to Jace, then back to her daughter. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think I was interrupting anything—”
“You weren’t, Mother,” Tess said, her voice flat. “Jace was just leaving.” She glanced over at Jace, gave him a tight nod, then left with her mother, taking away his opportunity.
Jace watched them go, his heart sinking with every footstep she took away from him. He had messed up. He should not have turned away from her. He should have swept her into his arms—comforted her, told her it didn’t matter. What else could he have done? He was blindsided.
Carson MacGregor raped my girlfriend.
Those words were an abomination to him. The two most important people in his life and...this?
Jace shoved his hands through his hair and grabbed the back of his neck. He had to get out of here. He had to decide what to do.
He started walking. He didn’t have any plan in mind; he just needed to keep moving.
Was Tess right about Carson?
He felt the clutch of disloyalty. How could he think she was lying? No wonder she was so upset with him. And yet...Carson? The man he had looked up to? The man he owed his career to?
Strains of “Happy Birthday” followed him as he walked away from the noisy arena, got into his car, and started driving. The bottom of his world had fallen out, and he had no ground on which to stand. No firm place to regain his balance.
He drove down Main Street, through one puddle of light after ano
ther, the rhythm of their coming and going flickering in time to the words he could not erase from his mind.
Carson raped Tess.
He drove past darkened stores, past Claire’s coffee shop, past his own office. As he drove, he reached for his phone a dozen times, only to pull his hand back.
He shouldn’t have walked away from Tess.
He slowed when he came to the road leading to the park where they had the picnic and from there, continued up the street until he came to Tess’s apartment. The lights were off.
His mind raced back to the fight they’d had. How he’d come demanding answers, and she’d ordered him out.
He followed the street, then turned back to the road out of town and headed to the ranch. Fifteen minutes later, he was getting out of the car in front of the house.
Memories of how eager he had been to leave this place slipped into his mind.
Yet, since coming back, he’d seen a different perspective on his parents’ lives here. Yes, they had little money, and yes, things had been difficult, but his memories didn’t jibe with other people’s perspectives of his family.
Leaning against the car with his eyes finally adjusting to the light, he looked at the place, trying to see it through others’ eyes. Trying to see the potential. His father hadn’t been able to make the ranch work. As he mulled things over, Aiden’s comments returned, tantalizing him.
Could I stay here? he wondered. Make a go of this place like my dad couldn’t?
He thought of Tess and his stomach clenched again. Would she take me? he asked himself.
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his suit jacket. His hand hit something, and he drew out the long, narrow box. Tess’s birthday present. He had forgotten to give it to her.
He had bought it at the farmer’s market the day before he and Tess had gone to pick up the chair from Mr. DeVries.
Now what?
He couldn’t think that far. He had messed up with Tess, but he’d had no way to prepare for what she had told him.
Please, Lord, give her strength, give her comfort, he prayed as he walked into his house. As he fell into bed, he prayed for courage for what he had to do tomorrow. The conversation he knew he had to have.
Jace prayed as he parked his car in his marked stall. As he slammed his door shut the sound echoed in enclosed area. He stopped, trying to contain himself. Trying to keep his temper in check.
He had felt so helpless when Tess had dropped those shattering words into his life. When she revealed the horror that had happened to her.
But this, he could do. He could confront the man that had done this horrible thing to the woman he loved so deeply.
Thankfully Carson was a workaholic, so Jace had got up early this morning and driven straight to the city, knowing he would find his boss in his office on Sunday. While Jace made the long drive from Sweet Creek to the city, he prayed for Tess and the pain she had endured all these years.
But mostly, he prayed for wisdom and strength to do what was necessary.
He prayed as he parked in the parking lot and as he walked up every single flight of stairs to Carson’s twentieth-floor office suite. He needed every second it would take to prepare himself. He swiped his card on the door and let himself onto the floor where Carson’s offices were.
Confronting Carson in his office was a risk, but Jace didn’t want to go to Carson’s home.
Carson’s secretary wasn’t there so Jace simply knocked on the door, fighting down a sudden attack of nerves.
Please, Lord, help me do this. Help me find the right words.
Then Carson opened the door. His frown faded when he saw Jace.
“Well, this is an unexpected surprise,” he said, opening the door wider and standing aside. “Come in. I’m hoping you have good news for me?”
Jace swallowed as he stepped inside Carson’s impressive office.
How often hadn’t he stood here, wishing for exactly this? Corner office with a view of Vancouver harbor. Money and prestige.
Not anymore.
“Have a seat,” Carson said, pulling out an antique wooden chair. He settled himself into his own large chair, the huge oak desk between them. The overhead light glinted off his graying hair, styled to perfection and giving him the patrician air that served him so well in court. His suit rested easily on his broad shoulders, the silk tie cinching his blinding white shirt, giving off the sheen of money. “And how are things in Sweet Creek?”
Carson spoke those last words with a tiny sneer. As if the town was beneath his notice now that he had moved up in his business.
Jace sat down on the wooden chair. No sooner had he done so than he wished he had stayed standing.
“Not good,” he said, needing to come straight to the point. “I’ve been spending time with Tess Kruger again.”
He waited a moment to gauge his reaction to that. But Carson’s expression was impassive.
“She told me something very disturbing. Something to do with you.”
This caught Carson’s attention. His eyes narrowed and he folded his hands on his chest. “And what would that be?”
Jace sucked in a quick breath and sent up another prayer for strength. He had to make this quick. Decisive.
“She told me that you raped her. Here. In this office.”
Carson blinked and Jace caught a glint of anger in his boss’s eyes, followed by something else. Fear?
But it disappeared as quickly as it came.
“Surely you don’t believe I would do something like that?” Carson MacGregor leaned back in his leather chair, one corner of his mouth curved up in a cynical smile.
“Did you?” Jace pressed. He wasn’t getting sidetracked. At all.
“I don’t know if you have any right to ask me that question,” Carson said, his voice growing silky and quiet, the way he always did when he was about to close a deal. “This is dangerous territory you’re veering into.”
“I have every right to ask that question about the woman I love.” Jace kept his own voice even as he shifted his weight on the wooden chair. “I’m telling you what Tess told me and I believe her.
Carson emitted a short laugh that held a note of disdain. “Tess Kraus has proven to be a flighty, irresponsible young girl. She left us in the lurch during a very important deal with no explanation.” He got up, his movements deliberate as he walked around his desk. He stopped in front of Jace and rested one hip on the desk, looking at him with a patronizing expression. “I doubt the testimony of a slightly disturbed woman could be taken seriously against anything I would have to say. I think you would be wise to realize this.”
Jace tried to sort his emotions and pull back from what Carson was saying, and focus on what he wasn’t saying.
“You still haven’t responded to what I told you.”
Carson’s jaw clenched. “Are you cross-examining me in my own office?”
Jace wanted to stand, to put himself on equal footing with his boss. Having the man looking down on him was disquieting, and he realized how easily Carson could intimidate.
“Why did you do it?” His heart was hammering in his chest.
Carson rose to his full height, making a slight adjustment to the front of his coat. He shook his head, a slow movement that didn’t bode well for Jace.
“Do you truly believe I did that heinous thing?”
Jace knew this was classic Carson. Answer a question with a question. But he stood his ground. And then he stood up. He was tired of Carson having the psychological advantage.
“Did you?” he asked again.
Carter’s eyes narrowed. “After all I’ve done for you, all the help I’ve given you and...that Theresa girl...I can’t believe you would come to me with this accusation and believe that girl over me.”
His bluster only served to increase Jace’s doubts.
He felt stymied, then wondered what he had expected. That Carson, a man who never wanted to lose would simply admit to what he had done because Jace accused him?
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Jace said.
Carson narrowed his eyes, holding his, and for a moment, Jace felt the same fear Tess must have felt. A man this powerful, this self-assured, trying to dominate.
“I don’t feel it warrants any consideration. I’ve given you a very long leash, but I’ve reached the end of my patience. There’s no room in this corporation for someone who presumes to question my integrity, so I’ll make this very clear. Either you stop accusing me, or you leave.” Carson raised his palm toward the door behind Jace. “Simple as that.”
Jace was on shaky ground again as he reflected upon all the years and time he had put into getting to where he was. For so long, his dream was to work for someone like Carson MacGregor. Someone who had lived in Sweet Creek and had made a name for himself. Who had moved out of town and into Vancouver. Had established a successful company. At one time Jace had badly wanted that for himself.
He knew his job was at risk when he came here. Carson had put together difficult deals, had faced down reluctant shareholders, and had pushed and cajoled projects to fruition—he wouldn’t back down in the face of an accusation from an underling.
Jace took a long, slow breath holding Carson’s angry gaze. “My choice is clear. I’m sorry, Carson. I can’t work with you.”
Carson stared at him—as if he didn’t believe Jace—then his mouth tightened, his eyes narrowed, and he drew back. “You’d better think this through very carefully, Jace. If you walk out that door, it’s over. I won’t ask you back.”
“If I walk through that door, I won’t come back.”
Carson’s expression grew thunderous. “You’re throwing your whole career away for the sake of this...woman.”
Jace’s clenched his hands into fists and had to force himself not to punch Carson in his self-satisfied face as an all consuming anger took over. That wouldn’t do him or Tess any good. He couldn’t afford to lose control no matter how angry or disgusted his former boss made him.
This man had almost destroyed the woman he loved.
Close to His Heart Page 16