by Zoe Matthews
Daniel had a murderous expression on his face. “I said, let her go.”
Jason sneered at him, and shoved Barbara to the floor, releasing her arm. Blood rushed back into her arm, and she could tell she would have bruise marks tomorrow. Jason stalked towards Daniel. “You are going to regret ever coming here.”
Daniel just waited calmly as Jason strode to him. As soon as Jason got near enough, he cocked his fist and sent it straight towards Daniel’s nose. Daniel blocked the punch easily and used Jason’s forward momentum to send him to his stomach on the floor. Quickly, Daniel was on top of him with his knee in Jason’s back.
“Are you alright?” Daniel asked Barbara.
She was still in shock and could only nod.
She was reaching for her phone to call the police when the door burst open and a red-faced George stormed in. He said nothing, just plowed straight into Daniel, knocking him onto his side on the floor. Daniel landed with a loud grunt and looked dazed for a moment. George didn’t miss a beat and started pummeling Daniel in the face.
The sound of thuds made Barbara’s stomach turn and twist. It was enough to get her out of shock and take action. “No! Get off him!” She screamed.
She jumped onto George’s back, and reached around to his face to scratch or gouge wherever she could.
George made a noise that could only be described as a growl, and tossed her off his back and onto the floor. Her back exploded with pain, and she could only see stars for several moments.
When she stood up, she could see Jason pulling George off Daniel. She shook her head, not understanding. Within seconds, Jason and a bloody Daniel had George pinned to the ground.
George snarled at Jason. “I thought you were on my side!”
“I only wanted to meet my daughter.” Jason looked disgusted and ashamed. “I never wanted to beat a man to death.”
Barbara stood and scooped her phone off the ground, where it had landed when she had jumped onto Georges back. She quickly dialed 911 and explained the situation. She was told someone would be here shortly to make arrests.
Meanwhile, Daniel had found some rope that she used to tie herbs together. It was thin, but it was all she had in her shop. He tied George’s wrists together, looping the rope around several times.
As soon as Daniel was finished, and George could no longer lash out at the two of them, Jason backed off, and put his head in his hands.
Barbara looked at Daniel and could see several parts of his face swelling, while his nose and a cut right about his eyebrow were bleeding quite a bit. She rushed to the kitchen to get a towel to clean up with, as well as a bag of frozen peas and some bandages.
She returned and helped Daniel clean his face, then placed the peas against his cheek, where the swelling was the worst. She also put a couple of butterfly bandages on his eyebrow to help stop the bleeding.
“I am so sorry.” Her hand started to shake, and she glanced over at George frequently, scared he was going to jump on them again.
Daniel, who was glaring at George and Jason alternately, looked at her in shock. “Sorry for what? If it weren’t for these buffoons, none of this would have happened.”
Jason’s head dipped lower.
“If you hadn’t come here, you wouldn’t have been hurt,” Barbara spoke quietly to Daniel.
Daniel lifted her chin so she was looking into his eyes. “I would much rather have been hurt than even think about what they could have done to you if you were alone.”
Barbara’s eyes filled with tears, and she said nothing; she didn’t trust herself to speak. For so long, she had been the strong one for her daughter, something she would never change. Now, she realized how tired she had become, how much she longed to lean on someone else for a change.
She heard sirens coming down her street, and Daniel’s eyes grew focused and hard again as he walked over to stand next to George, who had started cursing and yanking at the rope on his hands.
Jason walked over to the other side of George, a determined look on his face. Two officers came into her already open door and took in everyone in the room.
“I’ll take it that is the one that needs arresting?” one officer asked, an amused look on his face.
“It looks like ya’ll have got this situation pretty much handled,” the other one chuckled in a Texan accent. They both came forward and put real cuffs on George, while Daniel explained what had happened.
After they put George in the car, they took Daniel and Barbara’s statements, writing everything down. Then, they turned to Jason.
“I don’t see you as much of a threat anymore. Are you going to leave these two alone now?” one of the policemen asked Jason.
“Yes, sir,” Jason said, looking embarrassed. “I can still come down to the station with you if you need an official statement.”
He sounded honestly remorseful, which made Barbara want to let him off the hook, but she couldn’t bring herself to truly forgive him just yet.
“I don’t think that is necessary,” the officer replied. “That is,” he added, turning to Barbara. “Unless you want to press charges?”
Barbara shook her head. “I just want him to leave.”
Jason gave a short nod and turned to walk out the door.
“Wait,” Barbara called out. “How did George find out about you?”
“He used a private detective. I’m not exactly sure of how he did it.”
Barbara nodded, sighing with relief as Jason left.
“You give us a call if you need anything at all, all right ma’am?” The officer handed her a card with his contact information on it.
She nodded as exhaustion swept through her. The officers left then, and Barbara locked up behind them.
Daniel looked over at her with concern. “Are you alright?” he asked as he took her hand.
“Yes, I’ll be alright. I think I just need some sleep at this point. You probably do, too.” She looked at the injuries on his face and could see the swelling was getting worse. “Let me get you some herbs to help the swelling go down. Do you have a headache?”
Daniel shook his head no, but she could see tension around his eyes. She decided that even if he didn’t have a headache now, he would likely have one soon. She made a tea to keep a headache away and gave him some oil to dab onto the swelling to help it go down.
“What a welcome you received,” Barbara said after they both drank a cup of the tea in silence. “I wouldn’t blame you if you decided to return to your own time.”
Daniel grinned wryly. “It seems to me that there are bad men in whatever time period a person might live in.”
“True,” Barbara agreed. “I am thankful you showed up at just the right time.”
She took another sip of her tea and then set the cup aside. She felt a hand cover her own and looked at Daniel.
Daniel leaned down and gently placed his lips on hers. For one beautiful moment, everything was alright in her world.
Chapter 19
The next morning, Barbara woke later than normal. Memories of the day before flooded into her mind as she took a shower and got dressed. She still shuddered every time she thought about George on top of Daniel, the sickening sounds of grunts and his fist hitting flesh.
She went down to the kitchen and saw her dinner from the night before uneaten on the table. Her stomach turned, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to eat much for breakfast. She dumped the food into the trash, then made some tea and toast anyway, figuring she should have at least something in her stomach.
While she sipped the tea and nibbled on the toast, Daniel entered. His hair was disheveled and he wore a pair of pajamas Keegan must have given him. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. She hadn’t ever seen him unless his hair was combed, and he was dressed-- not even when he was watching over Laura.
His eyes met hers, questions clear in his eyes. “Did you sleep all right?” he asked her with concern.
“Yes, I slept well enough.” It had taken her a couple of h
ours to get to sleep, but once she was asleep, she didn’t move or dream all night. “Did you sleep well?”
“I can’t say I did.” He paused, deep in thought. “I feel it is my duty as a gentleman to make sure you are in a safe situation. Please, will you explain to me who those men were last night?”
Softly, and with choppy words, Barbara told Daniel everything; about her teenage crush on Jason, the prom night and its results, the shame her parents put her through, and giving birth to Megan in a strange city all by herself. She briefly described the years she raised Megan on her own. She told him about George and the stalking he had been doing for the past six months. After she had told him everything, she felt an immense relief. How nice it was to have someone in her life who knew everything but loved her anyway. While she talked, she watched his face carefully, but she didn’t see any disgust or revulsion. All she saw was acceptance and love, although she did see some anger for what she had gone through, but that was understandable.
After she was finished, he sat for a moment in silence. He finally shook his head. “Any other angry men in your life I should know about?” he asked with a smile trying to break the tension.
Barbara chuckled. “No, that’s it.”
He took another minute to think, staring at her the entire time. “You are an incredible woman; did you know that?”
Barbara blushed and looked down. “You wouldn’t say that if you had seen me actually go through all of this.” She thought of her flashbacks, and how she still let something that happened over twenty years ago affect her every day. Other people would have learned to handle those memories by now.
Daniel hooked a finger under her chin. “You are an incredible woman. You have been so strong all by yourself for all of these years. Now it is time for someone to be strong alongside you.” He paused and leaned closer. “I would like to be that someone.” The question was clear in his eyes.
Barbara almost couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. He had heard all of her dirty secrets about the past, and he still wanted to be with her? She finally smiled and leaned forward to meet his lips with a happy passion that consumed her.
He cupped her cheek, kissing her for a short yet powerful moment, then pulled away. “I know things are different in your time, but I was taught to treat a woman with respect. I never expected to kiss a woman before marriage.” He looked at her lovingly and stroked her cheek as he talked. “If things are to continue as they are, I would like to ensure we do things the right way.”
Barbara’s heart picked up its pace as she understood where this conversation was headed. She thought she would be nervous, but instead, excitement coursed through her.
“Barbara, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” Daniel asked.
A smile spread across her face. “Yes, I will!”
She kissed him again and had to remind herself to keep the kiss brief. She had never thought she would ever want to be married or even have a serious relationship. Now here she was, happier than she had ever been and engaged to a man who she hardly believed she deserved.
Daniel laughed, and stood up, pulling her with him so he could spin her around in a circle. Barbara laughed with him, wondering how it was possible for her to feel so young and happy.
****
Barbara gripped the wheel of her car tighter as she started to recognize the neighborhood they were driving through. She hadn’t been back to this neighborhood since she left when she was eighteen. Nerves coursed through her, and only Daniel next to her kept her from turning the car around.
He had encouraged her to get back in contact with her parents. She had been unsure at first, but he insisted that she would never feel peace in her life until she reconciled her past. She had to admit that he was right, even if she was nervous about her parents’ reaction to seeing her again. She called her old phone number and was surprised to find out it was still in service. Their housekeeper had answered and after explaining to Barbara that neither of her parents were home, she left a message that she would be coming to visit. She gave the housekeeper the date and time she would be there. When she hung up, she was glad she wasn’t able to talk to them. It would be much better to talk to them face to face and it also gave her more time to decide what she wanted to say.
So much had changed in the past week. After she had agreed to marry Daniel, Jason had come back to the house. Daniel had immediately thought he was back to demand to see Megan again. Instead, Jason had explained how he’d had anger problems ever since he was a teenager. He admitted that he had realized just how bad his anger had gotten when he saw how horrible the situation with George had become. He told Barbara that he was going to get help, and when he had learned how to manage his anger better, he would like to get to know Megan. Barbara told him that she would let Megan make that decision. He seemed to respect that and left without any arguments.
Daniel had expressed his interest in traveling around the world to experience new things and help anyone less fortunate than they were. Barbara agreed it would be a wonderful thing to do, and they were working out a plan to make money while they traveled. She knew from her previous conversation with Laura, that he wrote well, so she was thinking about starting a travel blog, and maybe taking some photography lessons before they left. Daniel also was showing interest in photography and Barbara was excited to for their future.
And now she was in her old neighborhood, about to see her parents again for the first time in over twenty years.
She saw her parents’ house down the block and had to pull over to a stop for a moment.
“Barbara?” Daniel questioned.
“I just need a minute to prepare,” she said, even though she’d had a full week to prepare after calling to make this appointment. She almost wished she had just talked to them over the phone. That way, she could just hang up if everything wasn’t going the way she wanted it to. The way she hoped it would.
Daniel waited patiently and took her hand encouragingly. She closed her eyes and took several long, deep breaths.
“Okay, let’s do this,” she said, and pulled back out onto the street. She steered the car into the driveway and pulled the key out of the ignition with a shaking hand.
They both got out of the car, and Daniel quickly walked around to grab her hand again as they walked up to the house.
“Everything will be all right,” Daniel encouraged her.
She locked eyes with him as she rang the doorbell. “I hope you’re right.”
She was expecting a maid or housekeeper to open the door, but instead was startled by her father, looking hopeful.
“Lucy?” he asked, and she could tell by the way he said her name that he was happy that she was coming.
She decided to skip the lengthy explanation she had prepared and memorized. “Hi, Dad.”
His eyes filled with tears, and he stepped forward to hug her tightly. Barbara hugged him back, a confusing amount of emotions swelling through her. She had missed her parents a lot, even if they hadn’t been willing to support her and Megan in the beginning.
When she finally pulled away from her father, her mother was there, waiting for her. They hugged as well, and neither of them could hold back their tears. Her mother rocked her back and forth.
“I’m so sorry, honey. I’m so sorry.” She repeated the words over and over softly in Barbara’s ear.
After a few minutes, Barbara pulled back, and wiped her tears. She cleared her throat and gestured to Daniel, who was watching everyone happily. “This is Daniel Gouldsmith, my fiancé. Daniel, these are my parents, Patricia and Donald.”
They both looked surprised, but happily greeted him. “Please call us Pat and Don.”
“Well, please come inside. We have so much to talk about,” her mom said as she ushered them both into the front sitting room of the house. Iced tea and finger foods waited for them on a coffee table.
Barbara sat, taking a glass of tea, but not ready for food quite yet. “I guess you are both probably
wondering what happened to me after I left.”
Her father looked around uncomfortably. “After you ran away, we hired a private investigator to help find you.”
Barbara was surprised, and anger flared in her again. They had known where she was this entire time?
“At first, we were going to bring you home, but by the time we had tracked you down, we started to understand your need for independence. We figured you would come to us when you were ready.” He smiled a little. “We didn’t expect it to take quite this long.”
Barbara nodded and tried to calm herself down. They had respected her wishes; they had been making an effort to let her be who she wanted this entire time.
“We haven’t been able to help checking in on you from time to time, just to make sure your life was stable enough, but we did what we could to leave you and your daughter alone.”