by Lee Rose
“I need some for Ally’s Halloween party and some for home.” Lacy smiled. “You are going to the party?”
Ally held a party every year and left an open invitation for the town. “I have never gone before. I don’t know a lot of people, Lacy. I think I would feel uncomfortable.”
“You know me, Stella and Liz,” Lacy insisted. “Just think about it. Geez, you are as bad as Harrison. He refused to go last year too.”
Hearing his name made Selena’s pulse rate speed up but she ignored it. “Look at this one, Lacy. It is perfectly round.”
“I love it.” Lacy agreed and they walked through the field until they had the wagon filled.
“Me and Ally love carving them,” Lacy told her on the walk back. “Ryan just goes with it because he knows his mom will make him participate. She loves holidays. She has been throwing hints about grandbabies lately.”
Selena looked at Lacy. “Don’t you want kids?”
Selena loved babies and wished she had that to look forward to. Chances of her finding a husband were slim and having children even slimmer. She wondered if she would always be stuck in the babysitter role. The thought depressed her.
“I do want kids,” Lacy admitted. “I love Lily and Gregory. And now my friend Karissa just had a little boy. When Ryan and I first married I just needed time to learn to live without a stalker on my ass and I wanted to spend time with him. It was such a fast courtship.”
“And now?”
“Now I think I am ready I have settled into my life here. I love my husband and this town. It’s a good place to raise kids,” Lacy stated.
Unless you were the daughter of the town whore, Selena thought silently as she pulled the wagon to the driveway. Ed was out there waiting with a thermos of hot chocolate and cups.
“Ed, you are wonderful.” Selena smiled at him as they sat on the porch and drank the soothing liquid. Ed didn’t believe in making it from a box you picked up in the store. He used milk and real chocolate.
“Ed, this is the best hot chocolate ever,” Lacy said, closing her eyes. “I hate to say it but this beats Ally’s.”
“It was my wife Wilma’s recipe,” he said, sounding pleased. “She made everything from scratch.”
They stayed and talked with him for a while. Lacy paid him for the pumpkins and the three of them loaded her SUV up.
Selena yawned as she drove home. Now she was tired.
Hopefully her mom was not home. It had been four days since Della had gotten back together with Dave and she had been gone most of the time. Selena was grateful that at least Della was keeping Dave away from the house and from her. The less she saw of Dave the better.
“Della, I’m home,” Selena yelled, setting her purse down. She hung up her keys on the hook by the doorway. The house was silent and she breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll change and make dinner.”
“Good. I am starving,” said a male voice.
Selena jumped and screamed in fright when she saw Dave coming out of her mom’s room. His shirt was undone and crinkled and his hair was uncombed. “What are you doing here? Where is Della?”
“Doing what she does best. Drinking too much and passing out.” He grinned, coming closer toward her.
Selena backed away, thinking of making a run for it. She tried to sound calm even though her heart was racing wildly. She remembered Ryan saying to do your best to keep calm and think of a way out of your situation. “I just want you to leave me alone, Dave. I don’t want any problems between us. You are my mom’s boyfriend.”
He laughed. “You think Della Mae can resist me when I come over with a bottle of Jack? She is such an easy slut. But you, Selena, are a challenge. I like challenges.”
Selena took a few steps back and bumped into the couch. “Leave me alone, Dave, or I’ll scream bloody murder. The neighbors will call the police.”
“Who? Old man Ritter next door? He can’t hear worth a damn,” he replied, sounding amused. “Don’t give me a hard time, Selena. You’ll like my hands on you. I can’t stop thinking of you.”
He moved closer. He put his hand over her mouth and nose and she struggled to get a breath. Her lungs were hurting and her eyes were filling with tears, making her vision blurry. Suddenly he threw her on the ground and kicked her ribs a few times. She screamed as loud as she could, hoping someone would hear her.
“You thought you could make your mom stop seeing me?” he yelled angrily. She took the fetal position but he kept kicking. “I break up with women all the time and now I am breaking up with her. I want you, Selena. You are going to be mine and only mine.”
He pulled her up roughly by the arms. He shook her roughly when she started sobbing. “Quit your crying and go make me dinner. Afterward I’ll teach you to please me.”
“You’re crazy,” she whispered. He slapped her across the face and pushed her into the kitchen. She stumbled but grabbed on to the stove to prevent herself from falling. “Don’t worry, your mom approves of us. As long as I keep supplying her with money to party she is happy to have me as a son-in-law,” he informed her, looking her body up and down with lust-filled eyes. “I know you have a body made for sex underneath those ugly, baggy clothes. First thing I am going to do is pick out your clothes and dress you better.”
Selena felt sick to her stomach. Her mother knew how she felt about Dave. How could she invite him over here after making her that promise? Her heart hurt just as much as her body did. But then hadn’t her mom always broken all her promises? Selena was a fool to believe her mom. Ed had told her she was being too sentimental, thinking she owed her mother some kind of loyalty. He had been right and now it was too late.
“I don’t smell any food cooking,” Dave yelled from the living room. She heard the TV going on.
She walked slowly to the fridge and got out the casserole she had made in the morning. She turned the oven on. Her side hurt like hell when she bent down to put the dish in the oven. She had to get out of here. She would rather die than let Dave touch her.
She turned the faucet water on to cover the noise of her slipping the lock open on the back door. With luck she would have a few minutes head start and she could make a run for it. Her keys were in the front along with her purse. She was in pain but she was not going to let Dave rape her. She had been fighting off men all of her life.
The lock slid open and she slowly opened the door. She slipped out and down the porch steps. It was dark and cold but she didn’t care. She ran for a block or two until she couldn’t breathe. She had no place to go but to Ed’s house. It was far, miles away, but what other choice did she have?
If she took the chance and made it to the sheriff’s station would they believe her? She could see Harrison’s disapproving glare and shuddered. He was just starting to come around and believe she wasn’t a bad person. What if this just proved he was right and he thought she flirted with Dave? She was also ashamed to admit her mom approved all this. What kind of mother did that to her daughter?
* * * *
Harrison was making his usual rounds when he saw a slight figure walking in the misty darkness. Was that a drunk person? He turned the lights on but not the siren. It was late and people were asleep. He stepped out of the car and onto the sidewalk. Once he got close he recognized the long golden hair.
“Selena?”
She gasped and looked up at him. Her lip was bleeding and she was holding her side and gasping for air. Her clothes were wrinkled as if she had been in a fight. Her hair was messy and tangled.
“What the hell happened to you?” He didn’t mean to yell and she flinched away from him. It made him feel like a heel. He took a calming breath. He always felt such strong emotions around her and it confused him.
“It wasn’t my fault. Please believe me. I’m going to Ed’s house,” she pleaded, sounding a tad hysterical. Her eyes were puffy and swollen from crying and he could see her shaking.
“Where is your car?” He put his arm around her and grabbed one of her hands. H
er skin was ice cold and she might be in shock. He opened the passenger door to his Jeep. He carefully put her in the car and closed the door. She moaned and leaned her head back against the headrest.
“I’m taking you to the hospital,” Harrison mumbled, turning on the Jeep and making sure the heat was on.
“No. I don’t have insurance. Take me to Ed’s,” she whispered, groaning in pain.
He ignored her and called the hospital first and then the station to let them know what was going on. Logan assured him he would call Ryan right away.
Doctor Jones was waiting for them. Once he had been the only doctor in town but now he had a younger man working with him and three nurses.
He carried her into the small building. The hospital wasn’t as big as some in other cities but it was up to date. He laid her on the gurney and watched as the nurses wheeled her away.
“What happened?” Doctor Jones wanted to know. His gray bushy eyebrows were arched in concern at her condition. Selena was too out of it to tell him much.
“I’m not sure. I found her walking on Elm Avenue. It looks like someone beat her up,” Harrison said honestly. As far as he knew from Lacy she didn’t have a boyfriend. The doctor frowned and went to check on Selena.
Harrison sat down and waited. The hallway was so still and quiet. He hated hospitals. It only reminded him of all the times he had taken his younger brother to the emergency room because of drugs. The waiting for information was the worst. He pushed away the bad memories and sent a silent prayer up for Selena. She was young and shy and he hadn’t heard Lacy mention a boyfriend. So who did this to her? It wasn’t long before Ryan and Lacy came rushing in. Lacy looked very upset and clung to her husband’s hand. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.
“What’s going on?” Lacy asked, her brown eyes filled with concern. “I was with her two hours ago and she was fine.”
Harrison told them both how he had found Selena wandering the street.
The doctor came out with a concerned look. “Miss Monroe will be fine. Her ribs aren’t broken but they are bruised and must hurt like hell.”
“Did she tell you who did this to her?” Ryan asked, running his fingers through his blond hair.
The doc shook his head. “She refuses to talk. I think she is scared. She was hysterical and wanted Ed. I had to give her a sedative to calm her down.”
Lacy sat down next to Harrison, looking upset. “I thought she looked scared when she asked about the classes but I didn’t want to be too nosy. Then Dave showed up and it looked like he was threatening her. Selena said Della is dating him even though she knows Selena hates Dave.”
“Shit,” Harrison muttered angrily. He would kill Dave with his bare hands if he was responsible for Selena’s injuries. He looked at the doctor. He hated having to ask but he had to know. “Was she raped?”
“I didn’t see any evidence of it but I didn’t go that far in my examination. She was having a hard time breathing and then I had to give her the sedative. She was thrashing around and I was afraid she would hurt herself more.”
Ryan hugged his wife as she cried into his shoulders. “Shit, he always manages to get out of the charges.”
“He won’t do that this time,” Harrison said firmly. The thought that some man put his hands on her made his chest hurt. He felt all his protective instincts rise to the surface. He hated men who used their strength to hurt those weaker then themselves. He heard the catty remarks Melissa had made to her and his heart had ached for the pain in her eyes. He had been tempted to go and console her but she barely spoke to him. He was physically attracted to her but she wasn’t the one-night-stand type either.
“Does she have a boyfriend?” he asked Lacy, ignoring the funny feeling he felt at that thought. He didn’t do relationships but he had to admit Selena tempted him to change that.
She shook her head. “She says she is too afraid to date anyone in this town because they would automatically think she was like her mother. She wanted to move and start over where no one knew her.”
Ryan grimaced. “Shit, that’s a heavy load for one woman to handle.”
The doc nodded and said he had to get back to his patient. “She’ll sleep through the night so why don’t you all go home?”
Harrison looked at Ryan. “Maybe I should stick around and make sure no one shows up to finish the job.”
Lacy hugged him before Ryan could answer. “That’s a great idea, Harrison. She is bound to be so scared if she wakes up. And if Dave Matthews has the nerve to show up I hope you kick his ass.”
Ryan chuckled and slung his arm around his wife. “You heard the boss.”
Harrison smiled at Lacy as they left and headed for Selena’s room. He pulled the chair closer to the bed. The nurse had left the overhead light on but the rest of the room was dark.
Her lip was swollen and her skin was as white as the sheets she was lying on. She was a tiny little thing and it made him angry to think of Dave or any other man using her as a punching bag. He knew she was nothing like her mom but even if she had been no women deserved to feel a man’s hand on her in anger. He had always thought of her as a beautiful woman but usually women with that kind of beauty were devious and cunning. He had learned that the hard way. Back in Chicago a lot of women wanted to date him just because of his job. Law enforcement agents collected their share of groupies. None of them had ever been serious though and he had ended up finding himself more and more cynical about the whole dating scene.
He was ashamed it had taken him a year for him to figure out Selena was genuine. The least he could do for her was protect her and make sure this Dave character got nowhere near her again.
He leaned back and settled in for a long night.
Chapter 7
Selena tried to sit up and winced with pain. She wished she was strong enough to hit Dave back. She was tired, frustrated, and angry. Telling the sheriff all that had happened had been so hard. She had sobbed through most of the story while Doc Jones held her hand. Ryan had promised her he would get Dave. She was glad Harrison had left. She didn’t want him hearing her ugly story. The nurse told her he had sat with her until sunrise. Even though she knew the sheriff probably told him to do it, it had warmed her up inside. She wished her life was different. Maybe in another life he would have been interested in her romantically.
“Are you sure you don’t mind me staying with you, Ed?”
Ed patted her hand gently. He had wanted to take his shotgun and hunt Dave down himself. “Of course not, sweetheart. I would enjoy the company. You know that.”
Doctor Jones walked in. “So you’re sure you want to leave our luxurious spa.”
Selena laughed but sucked in her breath when it hurt. She had been here overnight and she winced when she thought of the bill. Her insurance covered doctor visits but not stays in the hospital. “You have been great, Doc, but yeah, Ed said I could go home with him. I don’t have to worry about work. I got a whole week off.”
Dr. Anderson had not been happy with her asking until Dr. Jones got on the phone and explained the situation to him. He reluctantly agreed to give her the time off.
Lacy walked in at that moment looking relieved to find her still there. “I am so glad I caught you before you left, Selena. Promise you’ll call me in a few days. I will go visit you. Stella said I could bring Lily but not until you feel a bit better.”
Selena brightened up. “That would be great, Lacy. Thanks.”
Lacy grabbed her hands and squeezed. “We’re friends, Selena. You can call me anytime.”
Ed stood up after nodding politely at Lacy. “Let me go sign the release papers, Selena.”
The doctor followed Ed out of the room, leaving the two girls alone.
“I know you’re hurting physically and emotionally but it will get better, Selena.” Lacy sat in the chair Ed had just vacated. “I’m sure you heard people talking about what happened to me two years ago. You never have to announce things in this town, people always seem to kn
ow everything anyway.”
“Yes. I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Selena whispered, closing her eyes. Lacy had witnessed a murder and had been kidnapped by the murderer. She had been beaten and almost raped. Selena knew Lacy understood how hard the whole situation was for her.
“I survived,” was Lacy’s firm answer, as if assuring herself too. “It is not easy to put the memories out of your head so promise me if you need a shoulder to cry on you’ll call me.”
“I promise,” Selena whispered. She thought about the phone call she had received this morning from Della. “My mom is blaming me for all of this. She wants me to come and get my stuff out of her house.” Selena felt a tear roll down her cheek. The idea that her mom took Dave’s side over hers really broke her heart. Della Mae had never been much of a mom but Selena had no one else.
Lacy stood up and sat next to Selena on the bed. She gently put her arm around Selena. “Your mom is a fool and that is my polite version. Ryan is sending Harrison and Ethan over there right now to get your stuff. I hope Dave is there so they can hang his ass in the middle of town.”
Selena smiled, secretly agreeing with her friend. “I think public hangings are a thing of the past.”
“Well they shouldn’t be,” Lacy grumbled.
A young dark-haired nurse brought in a wheelchair. “No walking for you, Miss Monroe.”
Selena slowly got off the bed with Lacy’s help and sat in the wheelchair. Doctor Jones had given her some scrubs to wear. It was better than the clothes she had arrived in. She had thrown them away.
Lacy walked down the hall with the nurse who was pushing the wheelchair. “You concentrate on getting better, Selena. Don’t you worry about anything. Ryan will get Dave.”
“Thank you, Lacy. You have been my first friend and that means a lot to me.”
Lacy sniffed. “You’re easy to love, Selena. You just got to throw all those self-doubts out the window and more people will see it.”
Ed was waiting outside the door in his pickup truck. It was tricky getting in. She waved bye to Lacy and sighed. Her life was changing so fast that her head was whirling. She had new friends and a new confidence in herself but she also lost her mom and got attacked by her mom’s boyfriend. Suddenly she just wanted to go and lie down until all her thoughts weren’t whirling in her head and giving her a headache.