A Changed Man (Altered Book 1) (11 page)

"And what if it's not? What if you find out he's been approached by the people who did this to you? Where are you going to go then?" she asked feeling worried for him.

"I don't know. I'll figure something out." He gave her a reassuring smile.

"You need clothes, you can't go running around in just a pair of raggedy sweat pants. We need to stop somewhere on the way and get you some shoes, a shirt, and a pair of jeans." She said looking him up and down.

Remington could feel his skin heat up as she gazed at him, her eyes roaming over his body. "Why?" he asked with an innocent look. "Am I distracting you?"

Jackie’s head jerked back up to Remington’s face. "HA HA." She said trying not to let him see just how much it did indeed affect her.

"I seem to have misplaced my wallet." He said smiling at her.

"It's okay, you can owe me."

"You have done so much already. I hate to keep asking more of you." He said, his face serious.

"Let me get my shoes and purse." Jackie got up from the table and went to her bedroom. Walking over to the nightstand where she had left her purse she glanced over to the bed and noticed the rifle was missing. She looked around the room thinking maybe she didn't leave it on the bed with her last night but didn't see it anywhere.
Where the hell is it?
She thought nervously.
I know it was in this room and Remington didn't take it. I definitely would have heard him come in and take it off the bed, wouldn't I?
Jackie slipped on a pair of sneakers and grabbed her purse and went back to the kitchen. Remington was standing at the sink washing the breakfast dishes.

"Where's my rifle?" She asked him in an accusing tone.

Remington turned around and leaned against the sink drying his hands on a dishtowel. "What do you mean?"

"My rifle! I had it on my bed last night, it was laying right next to me and now it's not there!"

"I didn't take it. I would never just sneak in to your room in the middle of the night Jackie, especially knowing you had it in there with you." He said with the most honest face he could make. "Are you sure it was on the bed? Maybe you left it in the living room."

Jackie turned away from him and walked in to the living room, she stood in the middle of the floor making a slow circle and not seeing it anywhere. She walked down the hall to the guest room and opened the door and walked in. She looked around that room as well, in the closet, under the bed, nothing.

Remington came in behind her. "I told you I didn't take it, I swear."

Jackie left the room and went to the bathroom and looked, then to the laundry room. She checked every cabinet and closet in the house and still couldn't find it. She went back to her bedroom; the only room she hadn't checked top to bottom yet. She looked in her closet, nothing. She knelt down and looked under the bed and gasped. There it was. Lying under the bed.

Remington was standing at her door. "Did you find it?" He asked.

"How the hell did it get under here?" She asked, mainly to herself. She pulled the gun out from under the bed and stood up turning to face Remington. "I didn't put it under there. It was lying right next to me when I went to sleep last night. I know it was!"

Remington was afraid she thought it was him that hid the gun, that he had came into her room last night while she was asleep and put the gun under her bed. "I've never been in your room Jackie. I didn't put it there."

Somehow Jackie believed him. With all the weird shit that had been going on since she had moved in, this was just one more thing.
Maybe this house is haunted,
she thought. Knowing damn well that was the dumbest excuse she could have thought of. Not wanting to let on to Remington that strange things had been happening even before he got here, not wanting him to think she was nuts, she wiped the bewildered look from her face and walked over to the closet, put the rifle inside and shut the door. "It was probably me." She said looking up at him. "I was just so tired last night. I probably forgot I put it there." Jackie waved her hand dismissively in the air as if to express not wanting to discuss it any further and walked out of the room. Remington just stood there and watched her walk out. He could tell there was something going on with her but not knowing her well enough, he didn't want to push. He followed her into the living room.

"You ready to go?" She asked, like none of that just happened. She grabbed the car keys off of the hook by the front door.

"Uh, Yeah. I'm ready. Wait, what about your doorknob? I wanted to fix that for you before I left."

"Oh, no big deal. I know how to put in a door knob,” she said rolling her eyes. "I'll lock the deadbolt; it will be fine." They walked outside. Jackie closed the doo, locked the deadbolt, and they headed for the car.

It stayed behind the tree line where it was darker, blending in so well with the smallest of shadows. It watched Jackie and her guest drive off. Wondering if the man would come back, if it had missed its chance. It drifted deeper into the woods where it would wait. Wait and see if the man returned.

                      Chapter 8

Jackie and Remington headed east on highway forty. The traffic wasn't bad, and Jackie hoped they would make good time. This trip is going to take the entire day and she wasn't crazy about the idea of returning home alone, after dark. The sun was down by six-thirty and it was already pushing ten in the morning. She put that thought aside and just focused on what they had to get done today. First thing was to get Remington some clothes. Although she saddened at the thought of covering up that beautiful upper body, she couldn't let him go around half naked. They drove for almost two hours when Jackie took an exit.

"There's a Wal-Mart up here. I'll run in and get you some things. What are your sizes?" She asked.

Remington turned in his seat to face her. "I wear a thirty-four, thirty-six in jeans and extra large in shirts."

"What about your shoe size?"

"Thirteen."

Jackie turned her head quickly toward him raising her eyebrows. "Thirteen?"

"Yeah." Remington stared at her waiting for the blush he knew was coming to slowly creep up her cheeks.

Jackie jerked her head forward facing the road again. "Okay then." She said, trying to hide a grin.

They pulled into the side parking lot of the store, finding a spot near the back where there weren’t too many other cars around. Jackie jumped out of the car then leaned her head back in before closing the door. "I'll be back as fast as I can, don't go anywhere."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Remington said giving her a wink.

Jackie shut the car door and went around to the front entrance. Walking in and grabbing a cart, she headed for the men’s department finding the jeans first. She put two pairs in the cart she then started looking for shirts. She couldn't remember the last time she shopped for a man, and never for a man she didn't know. What would he like? What was his style? She was going to have to make all those decisions and just hope he liked them. She grabbed him a three-pack of mixed colored t-shirts, a couple of flannels, and a new pair of sweat pants. Jackie went to the shoe department and found some black sneakers. She had no idea whether he'd prefer black or white, but she thought the black would look better on him. She added socks to her cart and found herself standing in front of the underwear. He was going to need underwear.
Boxers or briefs?
She drifted off into space for a few seconds, imagining what he would look like in both. That just made the choice harder; he could wear a potato sack and still look hot. Since it was her choice and she liked boxers, that’s what she wanted to get. "Boxers it is." She said to herself throwing them in with the rest of the stuff. Jackie turned down another aisle and saw backpacks hanging from the wall; she grabbed a blue one and headed over to the personal care section. She picked out a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and a pack of disposable razors. Then made her way to the checkout. While in line she grabbed a couple of bottled waters and candy bars. She paid for her items, loaded the bags onto her arms, and left the store.

Remington sat in the car with the windows down. It was a beautiful day out; those were numbered this late in the year. He thought about calling his friend, knowing that if Rick knew something, he would do everything in his power to let Remington know without giving him away. They knew how to talk to each other when other people were around. They had a language all their own, a kind of code. He just hoped he wasn't putting his oldest friend in danger; then again, Rick was someone that thrived on danger. He never shied away from a fight, but Remington didn't want him to have to fight because of him. He laid his head back against the seat and closed his eyes; mentally drained, he listened to the radio and tried to relax.

Jackie returned to the car waking Remington from a light sleep when she opened the door. She put the bags in the back seat before getting in. "You want to climb in the back and get dressed?" she asked. "It's going to be tight but it's better than standing outside where anyone can see you. The back seat folds down, that would give you a lot more room."

"Yeah, good idea." He said getting out of the car, He opened the back door and folded the seats down. He was surprised at how much more room there was this way; he could sleep back here if he had to. He crawled in, shut the door, and started going through the bags.

"Sorry if it's not your style. I really had no idea what you would like so I just got the basics." She said looking at him from the rearview mirror.

Remington turned and faced her reflection in the mirror. "Are you kidding me?" He said surprised. "You didn't have to do any of this for me. You could have bought me a bathrobe and I would have worn it gratefully!"        Jackie smiled at him from the mirror.

Remington went through all the bags and pulled out the clothes first. He squirmed out of his sweats and laid back to put the boxers on. He turned his head back and caught Jackie still looking at him in the mirror. "See something you like?" He said grinning at her.

"Shit!" Jackie said in a low voice turning her head down and toward the driver side window.  Remington laughed the loudest she'd heard him yet. It was a great laugh. A deep, but relaxed, not a trouble in the world kind of laugh. She loved the sound of it.

He shimmied into his jeans, grabbed a shirt from the package, and put it on. Followed by the socks. He grabbed the hat and put it up in front of the mirror. "Do I look that bad?" He asked jokingly.

Jackie turned her head back to look at him. "NO! No, I just thought you wouldn't stand out so much if you covered your stitches." 

"I appreciate it." He said seriously. "More than you will ever know." Remington put on his hat and went through the rest of the bags. "You got all this stuff for me?"

"Well yeah! If I drop you off in the middle of nowhere I wanted you to have a few things. You can carry everything in the backpack."

"You're an angel." He said softly. He removed the tags and packaging from everything and loaded it all into the backpack. He laced the sneakers and opened the back door so he could get his feet out to put them on. He left the shoe on his injured ankle untied.

"Actually, not all of that is for you. Everything except a water and the candy bars are yours." She said turning around in the seat.

Remington looked at her. "Candy bars? I didn't see any candy bars." He replied, trying to keep a straight face. He got out of the back, climbed into the front seat, and closed the door, setting the last plastic bag on the floor between his legs.

"Oh? You didn't see any huh? Well what’s that between your legs?" She asked.

"Now Jackie, you were peeking at me through the mirror. I think you already know what’s between my legs."

Jackie turned toward him with her mouth hanging open. "Oh my god!" She said laughing. "I'm mortified!" She covered her face with her hands trying to hide herself, wishing she could crawl under a rock. She couldn't stop laughing.

"Don't do that." Remington said honestly, pulling her hands away from her face. "You don't ever have to hide from me." He reached down, handed her a water, and both candy bars. Jackie saw such admiration in his eyes. No one's ever looked at her like that before. She stopped laughing and took the items he handed her. She set her water in the cup holder and handed him back a candy bar. "Let's get back on the road." She said, and started the car.

They drove the last hour with only idle chitchat, mainly listening to the radio. Jackie wasn't sure how to respond to him after what he had said to her earlier. It made her feel a comfort that she was afraid to feel, having only known him for such a short time. She wanted to let it in but couldn't, especially knowing she was dropping him off in a few minutes and would never see him again. Her emotions were everywhere. She wanted her day-to-day life back, but at the same time, this man excited her. Although scared and wary of him at first, she really enjoyed his company, and to tell the truth it was nice just having someone else around. Then he goes and does something like that, says something like that, and she wants more. More of a stranger she knows nothing about.