Unspoken Words (Hope and a Future Book 1)

by Janna Halterman

  “Yes,” she said, “and you said that it was humbling to see Him work. You and I can look at all of this in two ways. We can look at it with hope or despair, and I choose hope. It’s not your fault Tom is lost, or that he is striking out because he doesn’t like you and thinks you stole his toy. I have gained everything because you chose to talk to me. Without you, who would have introduced me to Jesus? Sure, you kissed me in front of a crazy person,” she smiled mischievously, “but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it.”

  It took everything in him not to grab her face and kiss her hard and fierce. She suffered everything because of him, and was facing more still, yet she saw nothing but hope. When he looked at her, it was as if her heart was radiating from within her, making her glow.

  Instead of kissing her lips, he took her hands in his and kissed them. “Then you don’t hate me?” he asked.

  “How could I ever hate you?”

  He wiped the tears that still wet her cheeks. “I’m so sorry I made you cry.”

  She laughed lightly. “That’s another thing I don’t do with other people. Cry.” In a moment of courage, driven by her love for him and wanting to calm the fire she saw burning in him, she reached up and touched his face. They were already close, but she thought he leaned forward a bit more. “I don’t want you to blame yourself, Jackson, and I don’t want you to worry.”

  “You have the most beautiful heart I’ve ever known, Evelyn.”

  She gave him a smile that said she didn’t believe him. “Are you alright?”

  “No,” he answered honestly, “but you’re helping.”

  They sat there for a moment longer, then she slid into the chair and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. She was a mess inside, but was determined not to show it. “So, what do we do about Tom?”

  “We won’t have to worry about him for a little while. As long as he’s on probation, he’s being watched. But I’ll pick up more Patrol shifts, and I’ll try and be on the route that watches you on nights he’s off as often as possible.” He’d work every night if he had to, to keep her safe.

  “You don’t need to do that,” she protested.

  He wasn’t going to argue with her about this. “Like I said, I don’t think we need to worry about him while he’s on probation. Right now, just don’t talk about me to anyone, and if people ask about us, just shrug them off.”

  “What do you mean, us?” she interrupted.

  Jackson’s look made her feel like she had been reprimanded, but what had she said wrong?

  “Just do it, okay?” he said. He knew they were just friends, but he also knew Tom was well aware he wanted more. And then there was Sarah... “I want you to go out with Bekah, too, and make it a point to talk with other guys; especially if Tom’s around. If Sarah invites him over, and you can’t figure out an excuse to leave, pick one of the other guys and show interest in him.”

  He could see she didn’t like what he was telling her to do. He didn’t like it himself. She looked like she was somewhere between about to throw up and freaking out.

  “Evelyn, I know it sounds weird, but Tom knows I’m with you a lot. He saw me kiss you, and I’ve said things to him that insinuate you and I are…more… I thought I was protecting you. It’s important that he, and others, see you aren’t interested in me.” And there went his plan to court her.

  Lord, please help me trust her to You; her safety and our future, if there is a future for us.

  Evelyn was about to argue with him, but Bekah bounced into the room, silencing her protest. “Gosh, what’d I just walk into?”

  “I was just telling Evelyn that she needs to spend less time with me and more time going out with you and flirting with boys…” His insides twisted “…to help keep her safe from Tom.”

  “Ah,” Bekah said, leaning against the wall. “Well Evie, looks like we’re going out tomorrow night.”

  “No!” Evelyn exclaimed. “I’m not going out with anyone, and I’m definitely not flirting!”

  “You will if it keeps you safe!” Jackson almost yelled. He instantly regretted his tone. Evelyn had cowered away from him. What was he doing? He looked at Bekah, silently pleading for help.

  “It’ll be fine, Evie,” Bekah said, calmly. “Jackson’s right. If you two are determined to be just friends, then Tom needs to see that. We’ll go out with some of my friends a couple times, maybe Jackson could send a few of his friends with us. You’ll dance or bat your eyes or whatever at a couple harmless boys and the word will get out. Really,” she spoke quietly now. “All we have to do is put on a show for Miss Priss and it’ll all get back to Tom. And Jackson,” she shot him a hot look. “Stop leaving your stuff around our place. It doesn’t help anything.” She grabbed his jacket that still draped over one of the kitchen chairs and threw it at him.

  Chapter 29

  “It’s getting bad around here,” George said.

  They had just returned from an off-campus call. A man had been murdered. They normally wouldn’t be called out for something off campus, but this had all the markings of extremist activity, so the local authorities called for backup. Jackson knew Tom couldn’t have been responsible for this; he worked last night, and it was too far from campus for him to have been able to get there and return without someone noticing his absence. He hoped Tom wasn’t capable of something like what he had seen. Jackson knew, though, that if this was the work of extremists, they should be looking for a female. Most, if not all, of the extremely violent murders were done by the women; huntresses, as they called themselves. He still couldn’t believe he’d practically lived with one for three months; and he now was almost positive Evelyn lived with one.

  “It doesn’t make sense, though,” Jackson said, forcing himself back to the present. “I can’t find any connections between the victim and Texas. Are we sure this is the work of extremists, and not some other group acting out?”

  George was looking through the report; he didn’t look up as he spoke. “I don’t know. I guess it could be. Maybe we’ll get lucky and be wrong.”

  Jackson laughed sardonically. “Yeah, this is one thing I’d love to be wrong about.” It was beginning to feel like New Mexico to him, just colder.

  George put the report on Jackson’s desk and sat across from him. “I don’t think Tom’s the only danger we have among our officers, or even our commanders.”

  It was something, that all of the crimes were happening unseen. “It would seem someone’s been shielding them. You don’t think officers are doing these things on duty, do you?”

  “Could be,” George answered. “But I think we’re missing some of the puzzle, and I’m getting the feeling it’s an important part.”

  Jackson spent the rest of the day going over the files of all the previous break-ins and tried to find a link between them and the murder. Before he left, he checked over the schedule for the EV Route; that was the name he’d given the Patrol route covering Evelyn’s building.

  As much as she loved her classes, Evelyn couldn’t pay attention in either of them. The week had begun so wonderfully, being surprised by Jackson on Monday morning, but it had already turned sour. Bekah and Jackson ganged up on her over what they thought would keep her safe, and she hated all their ideas.

  Bekah invited friends over Tuesday night and introduced Evelyn to a man named Everret. He smiled at her too much, and sat too close, but he wasn’t horrible to be around. He proved to be as harmless as Bekah had promised, and he managed to single-handedly keep their conversation running. She tried her best to do as she had been ordered, but she wasn’t sure how good she was at actually flirting. It did help, however, that she was angry with Jackson for ordering her around like she was a little girl or one of his officers. She wanted to make him jealous but, unfortunately, she had never been a manipulative person. Sarah saw her, though, and that was the plan.

  To make everything worse, her nightmares had stolen her sleep for the last two nights. She managed to battle her fears back during the day, but
both nights she had woken soaked with sweat, screaming into her pillow, and her knight seemed to have disappeared. Jackson left frustrated Monday morning, and he hadn’t visited her since; at home or work. She wasn’t even entirely sure if he was still expecting her and Bekah to go over that night.

  Bundled warmly in boots and her knee-length winter jacket, she walked to work after her classes. Snow shovelers were still working at clearing the snow from the sidewalks. The first real snow-fall of the season blanketed the city in white. She was very glad the skies had cleared. She loved snow, but didn’t enjoy walking in a blizzard and hated having to take the bus.

  Work held a pleasant surprise for her. One of the local schools brought their younger students to visit. They only stayed a half hour into Evelyn’s shift, but their smiling faces and sweet chatter filled her with joy. After they left, the library seemed much too quiet.

  Her final hour of work stretched out before her. To fight off the drowsiness of working the desk, she set herself to putting books away. She didn’t realize she had disappeared into the stained glass again until she was startled, grasping the ladder she was standing on so she wouldn’t fall.

  Jackson.

  She climbed down the ladder and stood looking up at him. He was in uniform and, even though she was still mad at him, she couldn’t help but appreciate how handsome he was.

  He glanced around them. No one was watching, but they were close to the main hall, open to anyone who happened to look up. He took her hand and led her further down the aisle and further from peoples’ eyes, until they were alone.

  Evelyn pulled her hand free. If he wanted everyone to know there was nothing between them, then she was determined to show them. “Hello Officer Monroe,” she said, trying to sound indifferent. “Can I help you with something?”

  She looked exhausted, and his heart ached for her. “How are you Evelyn?”

  She fought against the tenderness in his voice. “I’m fine, sir.” He grimaced.

  “Evelyn, please don’t call me that.”

  She stared defiantly back at him.

  “I’d hoped you’d be happy to see me.”

  “If there’s nothing I can help you with, sir, I have a lot of work to get done before I’m off.” He caught her about the waist when she turned to leave. His touch threatened to break her anger, so she pushed him away. She didn’t want to let go of her anger yet. “Jackson!” she hissed at him in whisper.

  He let her go but stepped closer. “Evelyn, why are you so mad at me?”

  “I’m at work, Jackson. You already tell me what to do at home, but please don’t come here and treat me like a child.” She was losing her resolve to be closed off to him and dropped her eyes.

  He tried to hide his smile. “I’m not here to tell you what to do. I’m here to ask if you’ll still come over tonight.” He shifted his weight, bringing himself closer to her. “I’ve been looking forward to it all week.”

  She stepped towards him and looked up at him, tilting her head slightly. “It’s only been a couple days.” She was so weak; her anger was already melting.

  “It’s felt longer.”

  His closeness, and her lack of sleep, made her head foggy.

  “Then will you still come?” he asked. He was as distracted by her as she was by him.

  “Yes,” she said, smiling slightly. “I will come if you want me.” She had meant to say ‘to’…she would go if he wanted her to.

  “I hope you were easier on Everret,” he laughed.

  Completely confused, Evelyn asked, “What do you mean?”

  Jackson raised his eyebrows suggestively. “I mean, I’m away from you for a couple of days and you seem to have mastered flirting. I just hope you weren’t so convincing with Everret the other night.”

  “How do you know about Everret?” she asked. As soon as the words passed her lips, she knew. She should be embarrassed, but she was angry. “You told him to be there! He’s not even Bekah’s friend, is he? He’s yours!” Her anger mounted. She had been caught flirting with Jackson, when he was the one sending guys to flirt with her!

  Jackson couldn’t contain his laughter. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll still see you tonight, though, right?”

  She glared at him. “Yes, you’ll see me tonight.”

  He smiled. “Okay,” he said. “But really, poor Everret. I should have warned him.” He winked at her and left before she could retort.

  Chapter 30

  Evelyn was almost asleep, forehead on the table, with a half-eaten sandwich in her hand, when Bekah got home.

  “So, we’re off to Jackson’s tonight,” Bekah said as she took and ate a banana. “Are you excited to see him?”

  “You didn’t tell me you didn’t know Everret.”

  “Bah,” Bekah opened her mouth showing her thoroughly chewed banana. “Who cares? Jackson wanted someone he trusted. To be honest, I don’t even know how well he knows him. I think he knows one of Jackson’s friends better, or something like that.”

  “I’m mad at him,” she grumbled. Exhaustion made her grumpy.

  Bekah smiled knowingly. “You’re just mad because you’re being told to flirt with people who aren’t Jackson.”

  Evelyn put her head on the table, face down. “You’re right. I’m so pathetic!”

  “You’re not pathetic,” Bekah laughed. “You do have good taste in men though. Well, this time around you do.”

  “What good does good taste do? Sometimes I think there’s something there,” she finally admitted, “but then he gets all big-brother-like. There’s no future for us beyond that.”

  Bekah shook her head at Evelyn. “You’re ridiculous. Now get up.” She grabbed Evelyn’s coat and held it out for her. “We should be going.”

  They knocked and a dark, handsome man with a grand smile and happy eyes answered the door; George, she assumed. He looked familiar, but Evelyn couldn’t place his face. She smiled and looked at her friend who, she was pleased to see, looked very taken with the man before them.

  “Come in,” the man said in a rich, almost melodic voice, as he opened the door wider so they could enter the home. “I think Jack’s getting out of the shower. He just got home.” He closed the door and took their coats. “I’m George.”

  Bekah waited for him to put their coats down on the bench behind the door and extended her hand to him. “I’m Bekah,” she said, still smiling.

  They shook hands a little longer than was necessary, and Evelyn smiled at them. Bekah was so much better with men than she was.

  George looked to Evelyn and extended his hand to her. “And you’re Evelyn,” he said, shaking her hand. “It’s nice to officially meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  She tried to hide her blush. “It’s nice to meet you too, George.”

  Jackson came out of a room then, pulling a shirt over his head. “Good,” he said. “You’ve met. Thanks for coming, Bekah,” he said, hugging her.

  “Thanks for inviting me,” Bekah commented, hugging him back.

  Evelyn was ashamed of the jealousy she felt as she watched them embrace.

  Jackson let go of Bekah and turned to Evelyn. “Are you still mad at me?” he asked with a teasing tone.

  “Yes,” she tried, looking him over. His hair was still wet from his shower. He was too handsome to stay mad at, and that wasn’t rational at all. She shook her head, defeated. “I guess not.”

  “Good,” he said, and moved at her quickly. He lifted her from the ground, hugging her. “I’m glad you came.” He set her down and took her hand. “Come on. No reason for us to hang out at the door.”

  Evelyn was thrilled to have her hand in his again as he led her, and George and Bekah, to their living room. The home was modestly furnished, and remarkably clean, but warm and comfortable, too. On the coffee table sat a stack of booklets.

  “Are these all books from the Bible?” Evelyn asked, releasing Jackson’s hand to get a closer look.

  “Yes,” he answered. “That’s not
even all of them. There are sixty-six in all.”

  “Sixty-six!” She was amazed. “I had no idea there were so many. What are we reading tonight?” she asked, anxious and excited to learn.

  “That’s up to you,” he said.

  She was kneeling on the floor and looked up at him. “Do you have a favorite?”

  “I do. I have two favorites,” he told her, “but I don’t think that either of them would make the best start. Maybe we should just start at the beginning?”

  “That’s probably a good idea,” Bekah laughed. “Are we starting already?”

  “Oh,” Evelyn said. This was why Bekah was better with people. Bekah wanted to be social. Evelyn wanted to disappear into the books. “Sorry, no, we don’t need to start so quickly. I just got distracted by how many there are.” She turned back to the books and skimmed through them, trying to glean anything she could just by touching them.

  “Evie,” Bekah called at her loudly.

  Evelyn snapped back to the present. “What?”

  “Oh, never mind,” Bekah groaned.

  George laughed. His laugh was joyful and had a deep warmth to it. “Let’s not keep her waiting,” he said to Bekah and Jackson. “She’s clearly anxious to get started. It’d be cruel to make her wait.”

  Evelyn couldn’t keep from smiling. She was very grateful to George.

  Jackson helped Evelyn up from the floor. She chose to sit in the chair, leaving him to sit on the couch with Bekah and George.

  “Wait,” Evelyn interrupted soon after he began reading from Genesis. “God just spoke, and our world, our universe…everything was created?”

  “He’s a really big God,” Bekah stated. “Really big.”

  Evelyn had a hard time grasping the grandness of her God. Jackson continued reading, and she was captivated by what she heard. She listened to him read about Adam and Eve, their sin and banishment from Eden, and Cain and Abel. She was just so tired. As Jackson began reading a list of genealogies, peace washed over her.

  Jackson glanced up and saw that Evelyn had fallen asleep. No sooner had he noticed when he was elbowed in the side by Bekah.