Reckless Beginnings
Page 27
Paul agreed to put them on different shifts, and because Tammy had a car, he gave her the nights. Once again, everyone at work offered to help by donating most of their furniture, including beds for both mums and all the kids, a couch, a dining set, dishes, pots and pans, and toys and clothes for the kids. The only things they needed to buy were a TV and a telephone.
As per Paul’s Plan, Tammy had gone into hiding for two months and hadn’t heard anything from Steven. The plan had worked. She was now ready to start her new life and was due to return to work in two days. Tammy had agreed with Paul to take a small cut in her hourly wage to begin paying back the funds she was fronted while in hiding.
For the first few days, Tammy’s anxiety level was high. Every time the door to the restaurant opened, she span around and expected to see Steven. But, over the next few weeks, her uneasiness subsided and she began to embrace having normality in her life.
After returning home from a busy dinner shift, Tammy kicked off her shoes and flopped onto the couch like a wet rag.
“You look exhausted,” Judy remarked. “Want a glass of wine?”
“Yeah, that sounds great. How was Matt?”
“Oh, he was great as usual,” Judy hollered from the kitchen before returning with two glasses of white wine. “Here you go,” Judy said as she handed Tammy a glass and took a seat next to her, placing her glass on the coffee table.
Tammy took a large sip. “Oh, that’s good. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Hey, I’m off tomorrow, want to take the kids somewhere?” Judy asked.
“Sure. Do you—”
Judy quickly stood up, interrupting Tammy, and held her hand up in front of her. “Shhh, did you hear that?”
Tammy froze. “No, I didn’t. What was it?” she whispered.
“I could have sworn I heard footsteps,” Judy said quietly, feeling worried.
Suddenly, a loud crash came from the front door as one of the eight glass panes shattered to the floor. They both shrieked and Tammy jumped up from the couch to join Judy. Terrified, they clung to each other and watched as a gloved hand reached through the white mesh curtain, searching for the lock.
“Oh my god!” Tammy screamed.
Judy broke herself free from Tammy’s grasp and grabbed the poker from the fireplace.
“Where are you going?” Tammy screamed.
“Hurry! Call nine-one-one!” Judy yelled back as she raced through the kitchen toward the back door.
“Judy, don’t go out there…”
But she was gone.
While fumbling with the keypad on the phone, Tammy screeched at the intruder, “Go away! I’m calling the police.”
Not fazed by Tammy’s threat, the imposter continued to search for the deadbolt. “I’m calling them right now,” Tammy yelled.
A female dispatcher came on the line. “Nine-one-one. Is this an emergency?”
Holding the receiver tight as if it were her only lifeline, Tammy bellowed into the phone, “Someone is trying to break into my house! Hurry! They’ve broken my door. I have glass everywhere.”
“Stay calm, ma’am. Help is on the way,” the woman explained in a calm voice.
Still clinging to the phone, Tammy heard a loud thud and then a muffled groan. Staring at the door, she saw the gloved hand disappear back through the broken glass and fall away on the other side of the door. Fearing for Judy’s safety, she threw down the phone, leaving the dispatcher talking to herself. Tammy screamed, “Judy!”
Driven by adrenaline, her only concern being her friend, Tammy rushed to the front door. Avoiding the broken glass sprayed across the floor, she unbolted the lock and yanked the door open. Panting and listening to the sound of her pulse beating in her ears, Tammy found herself face to face with Judy. The intruder lay face down on the ground between them. Standing with her feet apart, holding the poker in one hand, Judy released her grip on her weapon and let it crash to the ground.
Tammy raced to Judy’s side and held her tight. “Oh my god! Are you okay?” she looked down at the motionless body at their feet. “Jesus, did you kill him?”
“No, I just gave him a good whack across the back of the head and knocked him out cold.” Judy smirked as she walked around to the other side of the man and crouched down. “Come on, let’s see who this bastard is.”
Tammy leaned down on the other side and took hold of the medium-built limp body with two fistfuls of his jacket. With one final shove, they managed to roll him over.
Tammy immediately jumped back. “Fuck…It’s Steven!”
Still crouched, Judy took a closer look at the scruffy, bearded face. “Damn. It sure is. I only saw him once when he came into the restaurant to bug you, but even with that beard sprouting out of his chin, I’d never forget that ugly, scrawny face.”
Tammy and Judy turned their heads in unison at the sound of sirens coming closer to the house. Judy rose to her feet and approached Tammy with open arms. “How the hell did he find me?” Tammy said. “He’s like a friggin’ nightmare that won’t go away. What am I going to do? I can’t keep running from this creep.”
Rubbing Tammy’s shoulders, Judy led her over to the steps of the front porch. “Sit here while I go check on the kids. The cops should be here any second, they sounded pretty close.”
“Okay.” Tammy eased herself into a sitting position against the cool front wall of the house.
Judy returned just as the patrol car pulled up, illuminating the front yard with its flashing lights. “Amazing, the kids slept through the whole thing. They’re all sound asleep. I’ll be right back. I’m gonna go talk to the cops,” Judy said as she scurried to meet the officers stepping out of the patrol car.
Tammy scanned the street while she waited. Neighbors were now standing on their front lawns dressed in pajamas and bathrobes. She spotted others peeking through their curtains. Embarrassed by the scene unfolding in front of her house, Tammy avoided their curious stares.
Moments later, the two officers approached Steven, who was still out cold on the ground. Tammy watched with slight amusement as they brought him to a conscious state by slapping him across the cheeks a few times. “What the fuck!” Steven hollered as he started to come to. Not giving Steven an opportunity to lash out, the two policemen immediately brought him to his feet and handcuffed his hands behind his back. One of the officers led him to their patrol car while the other stayed with Tammy.
“Are you okay?” Judy asked her as she slid down next to Tammy and held her hand.
“Yeah, thanks.”
When the officer approached them, both girls stood to greet him. “How are you doing?” the cop asked Tammy.
“I’m okay, just a little shook up.”
The cop smiled at Tammy. “Well, you can relax now. He won’t be bothering you for a long time. Apparently, he just robbed a liquor store a few blocks from here. We have eyewitnesses. He also has numerous outstanding warrants. He’s obviously under the influence of drugs and he’s carrying a loaded firearm, which I’m sure he doesn’t have a license for. We also now have him for trespassing and breaking and entering on your property. You can, if you like, file charges, but he will be charged anyway, whether you do or not.”
Tammy shook her head. “No, I just want him to go away. How much time do you think he will get?”
“I’d say at least six years,” the officer replied, followed by a smile, knowing he was giving her good news.
With a huge sigh of relief, Tammy let the tears trickle freely down her cheeks. She was finally free of Steven and, without a doubt, she had her life back. She glanced over at the pathetic excuse of a man sitting in the back of the patrol car—a man she no longer knew. A man whose mind was consumed by drugs. An addiction so powerful that it cost him his family and his son.
Because of their twisted love affair, Tammy had lost one love to drugs, but she gained an even greater one the day Matt was born. She and Judy watched from the porch as the patrol car pulled away. Tammy knew that chapter of her l
ife was closing. It was time to take her life by the reins and turn these reckless beginnings into happier, better endings.
End of Book One
Acknowledgments
I couldn’t have written this book without the continued support of my husband GORDON GRANT. On the days I struggled, he showed me encouragement and with his words of wisdom pushed me through the difficult days. Thank you for believing in me—I love you.
My dear friend JOANIE BARKER who has been waiting for this book for years. Our hours of discussions over coffee about “RECKLESS BEGINNINGS” has finally paid off. Your friendship is a treasure. Thank you for your support during this amazing journey.
My editor CAT CHESTER of PINK PROOF who did an amazing job by bringing everything together and making it shine. I am forever grateful. Thank you.
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About the Author
Tina Hogan Grant was born in England and grew up in a small town on the Yorkshire Moors. She is the youngest daughter of science fiction author, James P. Hogan. After moving to California, she became a commercial lobster fisherwoman, fishing off the coast of Southern California for ten years with her husband Gordon.
For fourteen years she’d had a notion to write this book. But it wasn’t until the sudden death of her father in 2010 and a battle with breast cancer a year later that she made the decision to get it done. Seven years later, she finally completed her debut novel “Reckless Beginnings” with a sequel currently in the works titled “Better Endings.” She now resides with her husband in the small mountain community of Frazier Park in Southern California. Together they enjoy anything that involves the outdoors, fishing, hiking, kayaking and riding quads.
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