Eli sulked. “I like living with you more.”
“Yeah, well, we both saw how well that went last time. I’m in the hot-seat here, too, little brother. Under my supervision you got into the most trouble hanging with the wrong gang so Mom and Dad aren’t too eager to trust me right now, either.”
“This sucks.”
“Yeah, life tends to do that some times.” Swinging his arm over Eli’s shoulders, Zach ruffled his hair. “Just be happy you don’t have bills to pay. Now get out of here so I can get back to my girlfriend.”
“She really is cute.”
“I know.” Opening the door, Zach gave his brother a friendly shove. “Go straight home.” He closed the door on his sulking brother. He was trying to be sympathetic to Eli. Essentially he was an only child now since the rest of their siblings were grown and out of the house.
Still…there was only so much he could do for the poor kid.
And he would get to that right after joining Deborah in the shower.
***
His parents’ home hadn’t changed much over the years. Even having fled while the darkness had captured the city, the house had remained untouched. Maybe because it was on the outskirts of the city it hadn’t been damaged.
Zach sat down on the dark rust sofa that had been in the very same spot for the past fifty years. The craftsmanship spoke volumes. It had to be sturdy to stand up to eleven rambunctious kids. His mother sat in her usual cream pocket chair while his father sat in his Lazy-boy. It was the most recent new addition to the house.
For a couple well into their nineties, they looked damn good.
“You’re looking well, my son.”
“As are you, Mother. Is that a new dress?” It suited her perfectly with its soft cotton fabric and floral print. A delicate woman in build she was not, yet her demeanor was the exact opposite. She was a very gentle woman.
“Yes it is. It’s one of your sisters’ designs.”
“I thought as much. And Father, you’re looking well also.”
Jason Adams sat a little taller with the compliment and nodded. “Clean living. So what brings you by today, my son?”
Straight to the point, that was his father. Though Zach resembled his father he took after his mother more in his demeanor. “I’ve come about Eli.”
Both of his parents let out a long sigh.
“I know he’s been trouble lately, but…” He cleared his throat and went for it. “I think the restrictions you’re putting on him might have him returning his attentions to unsavory ideas.”
“If we don’t put restrictions on him he’ll end up getting into trouble.”
He acknowledged his mother with a nod. “You may put restrictions on him, and still let him have some freedom.”
“Freedom was what got him in trouble last time,” his father added in a deep stern voice.
“He was testing his ground. It was the first time he’d been out on his own. I was a poor supervisor, I know that, and I regret not being more of a role model. But if you want to punish anyone for him becoming involved with evil, then it is I who should be punished.”
“Fine,” his father spouted. “You’re grounded.”
Biting his tongue—his father so rarely joked—Zach continued. “If I might suggest something for Eli? A job. I could help him find something that suited him. It would give him responsibilities and a paycheck. And…it would keep him out of trouble.”
His father scratched his chin, his mother chewed her lip. Zach waited while they thought it over, enjoying his tea and looking over the many family photos collected on the wall. Nothing much changed in the Adams family.
“A job it is then,” his father piped up, slamming his fist on the arm of his chair. “A little hard work never hurt anyone.”
“My thinking exactly.”
“Then so be it. Now, shall we discuss your curfew?”
With a laugh, Zach leaned back in his seat and enjoyed his tea.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“What do you mean you’re not going back on the road?”
“You sound just like Bruce.” Deborah placed the pan in the soapy water while Ginny stood beside her, dish towel in hand, scowling at her. At least she’d managed to make a wonderful meal for her friend and Deborah was quite proud at the fact that she not only managed to go into the supermarket but had spent an hour and a half shopping at the mall after grabbing the groceries she needed to prepare the meal. And she hadn’t hyperventilated once.
She was healing.
“This is crazy, Deb. You can’t stop because of what happened to you. You’re too gifted to just give it up.”
“I’m not giving it up, and I’m not doing it because of what happened to me. I’ve been thinking about this for a while now.” She set the pan in the sink and Ginny instantly scooped it up to dry it. “I’ve been on the road since I was ten. The last time I had a vacation, an honest to goodness vacation, was eight years ago. I need a break.”
“Then take a break but don’t stop playing.”
She set the cloth on the counter and turned to her friend. “Can you imagine doing something for the better part of your life because you were told to do it? How enjoyable would your job be if you never stayed at one bar, always travelling to another one and helping out for three days then moving to the next? Your home was hotel rooms or stuffy trailers. Do that for twenty years and see if you don’t need to step away.”
Setting her cloth and the pan down, Ginny took her friend’s hand in her own. “I can’t say I know how it’s been for you but you’ve never, not once, mentioned being tired of it until now. It just seems as if this attack is the reason for you wanting to quit.”
“It’s not, well, mostly not. It does play a part in it but as I said, I’ve been thinking about leaving for a while now. You could say the attack was my wake up call. Life is too short. I want to enjoy it while I have it and being on the road, day after day, year after year playing for others is fine, but now I want to do something for myself.”
“But you love playing the piano.”
“I do, and I’ll still play, just not on tour. Please don’t be angry at me for doing this, Ginny. It really is what I want.”
Taking Deborah in her arms, Ginny stroked her back in a slow calming motion. “I’m not angry at you, Deb. I just don’t want you to jump into anything and regret it later.”
They parted and Deborah took Ginny’s hands in hers. “What is life if not for some regrets? Be happy for me, okay.”
Ginny pursed her lips, nodded. “I am happy for you, if this is truly what you want. So…what are you going to do with yourself then?”
They continued the chore of washing and drying the dishes from their meal as they talked. “I think I want to find a house here and settle down for a while.”
“Really?” Ginny squealed.
“Really,” Deborah laughed.
“It’s Zach, isn’t it? He’s the reason you want to stay here. You two have been spending a lot of time together.” Ginny winked with a grin spread wide on her face.
Deborah felt her cheeks flush. “It’s not just Zach, silly. It’s you. Aside from my mother, you’re the closest thing I have to family. Besides, I want to be here to help you plan this wedding of yours.”
“It’s going to be huge, did I tell you that already?”
“A few times,” Deborah chuckled. “And that’s another reason I need to stick around. Someone has to keep you grounded.”
Ginny laughed as she continued drying the dishes. “Did I tell you the colors we want for the wedding?”
“Amazingly, no.”
“Green.”
“Deborah paused and slowly turned to her friend. “Green?”
“Yep. Lime green to be exact. It’s Mitch’s favorite color. And
oh—I found this shop on-line that has the perfect bridesmaid dresses. They’re backless with thin gold straps crisscrossing the back, and on the front, it comes to a point low on the bodice which will show off a lot of your boobs but hey, you’ve got great boobs, and the skirt is a straight pencil cut with gold lace bustling out toward the back and my God are you gullible.” Holding her gut, Ginny laughed hardily.
Until Deborah smacked her arm. “That was not funny.”
She rubbed her arm, calming her laugh. “It was from my viewpoint. The gold part was true though. Gold and black—girls in gold, men in black. What do you think?”
“I like it. Much better than the green. God, Ginny.” Deborah shuddered. Her friend had always had a warped sense of humor. She should have known better than to believe Ginny.
“I just couldn’t resist. What do you think of a single white rose as your bouquet?”
“I think it sounds perfect. When did you make all these plans?”
“Mitch and I have been mulling them over for a few days now.”
Deborah pulled the plug in the sink sending the soapy water down the drain. “And I wasn’t here to help.” She sighed.
“Well…you were busy being pumped to oblivion.” Ginny laughed, then dodged the hand Deborah swung out at her. “He makes you happy. I like it when you’re happy.”
“He does make me happy. I suppose I have you to thank for that?”
Ginny shrugged. “What are friends for? Maybe I’ll be helping you with wedding plans soon.”
Deborah snorted. “That’s jumping the gun a little.”
“Why? You plan on moving back here and it’s not just because of me so you must be thinking long term.”
She had been, and yes, Zach had been in the mix but not as her husband. She wasn’t ready for that big of a step just yet. “I’m content with the way things are right now and we really haven’t known each other long enough to even consider marriage. No, let’s just stay focused on yours.”
***
“You never think of marriage?” Zach asked as he held up the dummy for Deborah to punch.
“I never had the luxury of thinking of marriage. There was no time for it when I was on the road.” She sent a right jab to the dummy’s face and a left to his gut. Maybe she shouldn’t have told Zach about her conversation with a Ginny.
“What were you thinking of then when you were with a man?”
Her eyes lifted to his and a faint grin lined her lips. “I was thinking, ‘ah, that was satisfying’.” She threw another right to the face.
“So all it was for you was sex?”
“Not all, but I couldn’t let it get serious, for obvious reasons.”
“What reasons?”
“I was never in one place for long—always on the road. It would be wrong to expect any man to wait for me.”
“I think if a man loved you he would do whatever he could to be with you. I know I would.”
Bouncing on her feet, Deborah readied for a kick. “Then why haven’t you gotten married?” She slammed her right foot into the dummy’s gut.
“I was waiting for you.”
She stopped. “Excuse me?”
He stepped out from behind the dummy. “It’s my race’s belief that there is only one person who we are meant for and that connection is made at birth.” He took her hand in his, toyed with her fingers. “I knew the instant I first saw you that you were meant to be mine. I feel a connection to you I’ve felt for no other woman and I think you feel the same for me.”
Though her brain was racing with thoughts, she found it hard to choose one word to start with.
“You were born here as was I yet we never met, each going our separate ways, until now. I did some research into your background and I can’t think of it as a coincidence that I own a bar in every city you ever toured.”
“You own that many bars?”
He brought her hand to his lips. “And then some. Yet with all those bars, all those exotic places, I chose to come back here to Jacob’s Cove to settle down. You did the same. We’re drawn to each other. We’re meant for each other.”
Her mind was still racing but when he touched his lips to hers, she felt it all calm. He made her feel that way. Had from the first moment she’d seen him. Was what he said to her true? Had they been destined for each other? She gave to him like she had never given to any other man. Mostly, she trusted him. And he was right. Of all the exotic places she could settle in, she chose Jacob’s Cove, a city in ruins filled with monsters. Yet she felt absolutely at home.
When he pulled away, still holding her hands, she felt the lock on her heart click. “I think I need to sit down.” He helped her to the sofa where she sat staring at her hands.
“I hadn’t planned on springing this on you like I did.” He sat beside her, still holding her hand in his. “I was waiting, hoping you would come to the conclusion yourself and I think I might be shooting myself in the foot but there is something else I need to tell you.”
She looked up, wet her lips and nodded. “Okay, fire away.”
“I’m the cat you’ve been taking care of these past few weeks.” His hand slipped from hers and his body transformed into the black furry cat she so adored.
“My god!”
He changed back, took her hand in his. “I didn’t do it to spy on you. When I first showed up it was only because I wanted to make sure you were okay. We’d had a rough night and I worried I’d pushed you too hard. I just needed to make sure you were okay.”
“I love that cat.” And she realized what she’d just said. “Oh my…”
His lips curled up in a smile ever so slowly.
“I’m not mad at you. Why aren’t I mad at you? I should be mad at you for deceiving me like that but I’m not.” She really wasn’t and that was the oddest thing.
“You love me.”
Her eyes went wide as they flicked up to meet his. “I do. I really do.”
Pulling her closer, he brushed his lips across hers as he murmured, “And I love you.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.” He kissed her once more before pulling away. “But before we can proceed, there’s one hurdle you have to jump over before we can move forward.
Releasing her hand he stood. She looked up at him and before her eyes, he changed…into her abductor.
Chapter Twenty-Six
She stood there staring up at the man who had brutalized her, and all she could do was…nothing. He grabbed her hand and yanked her to her feet. And still she did nothing. Then she reminded herself it was really Zach.
“Change back.”
“Fight me.”
“I’m not going to fight you, Zach. Change back.”
“Until you can face your abductor you won’t truly be free. “
She jerked her hand away, frowning at him. “You’re not my abductor, Zach.” Stepping around him, she wandered to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. She would admit he had given her a jolt when he’d first changed, but inside, she knew it was Zach and not the madman who had brutalized her.
“I shouldn’t have done it in front of you. I should have waited and shown up at your door instead.”
She spun around, her mouth dropping open. “Why would you do such a thing? You know what seeing him would do to—oh…” she understood now. “Don’t, okay? Just don’t.” She didn’t want that coming between them and she knew it would. Every time she would look at him she would see her abductor and she didn’t want that.
He changed back. “Until you can face him, you won’t be free. You’re always going to be looking over your shoulders, always wondering if he’s out there somewhere, if he finally found you. I want you to be prepared for that day when he does find you.”
“If he finds me,” she insisted.
&nb
sp; “So you want to spend the rest of your life on edge? What kind of life is that, Deborah? I want to help you not be afraid.”
“I’m not afraid…or not as afraid as I was before coming to you. I can go into a mall alone now without hyperventilating.” That said something didn’t it?
“What would you do if you saw him in the mall sometime?”
“Run.”
He stared at her for a moment. “So you’ll keep running. I thought you said you were tired of being on the road. That you wanted to settle down and have a life.”
Her eyes narrowed as she spoke, “I don’t want to get into an argument with you about this. Besides, what are the chances he’ll find me here?” That was why she’d come back to her home town. Not many people knew where she’d grown up. She’d purposely left that out of her bio because it was the one thing she had to herself. Her life had been in the public eye since she’d been ten. Every move she made was reported. But her home town was private and she’d kept it that way.
“If he knows anything about you and I’m betting he does, he’ll put two and two together. He has to know where you were raised and if he doesn’t, there are means of finding out with today’s technology.”
She felt a lump form in her throat and remembered the headline in the local paper. She shook it away. “Why are you trying to scare me? There is no way he’ll figure out I’m here. Not many people know I was raised here and even still, why would he come all the way out here for me and risk going to jail? This is just silly. Now stop trying to scare me.” She drank down her water, set the glass in the sink. “Let’s go to a movie.”
He took her hand in his, held her in place. “This isn’t just going to go away, Deborah. You have to face him sooner or later.”
“No, I don’t. I’m safe here, Zach.” She touched his face with her hand, smiling at him, trying to ease the tension in the air. “I’m in the mood for a comedy. Let’s see what’s playing.”
***
The movie was just what she’d needed. It was a comedy with all the laughs necessary to make one’s ribs ache and have tears flowing from your eyes. Deborah felt better than she had in years. She was in love with a wonderful man, she didn’t have a care in the world, and had no plans aside from going back to Zach’s place and making wild passionate love. There were no worries, no stress of making it to her next concert or dealing with fans wanting her autograph. For the first time in her life, she had nothing to worry about and no one pushing her to do what she didn’t want to do. Of course, she loved playing the piano, and she would definitely continue playing but now she had the option of playing or…doing something else. She’d never had that before.
Shiela Stewart - [Darkness 08] Page 15