Back to Life (9 page)

I
cleared my throat before I recounted back to him, “So instead of getting the stipend every 6 months, I’d get the full lump sum at my disposal. Got it.”  I opened the folder and pulled out a document I needed to give to him.  Fearfully, I looked Mr. McMannus in his eyes and asked, “And as far as the hearing goes, I don’t have to do anything do I?” Under my desk, my leg bounced with nervous energy.

“Well, Sahara, that’s the ot
her thing. I know your limitations, but it would help immensely to have you speak this time. The Mills family will be speaking. I know you’ve been in contact with Emily regarding the hearing. I understand why you were unable to during the trial, but I must encourage you to do it this time. If not for you, for—”

I cut him off with a look and warned, “Do not go there with me.
Ever. In fact, I think it’s time for you to go.”

Making no moves to leave my office, he continued, “Sahara, I apologize if I over stepped my bounds. I meant no harm
. What I just want to get across is that in order to make their case, Cole and his team of attorney’s are going to paint a sob story to get him released early.  My insider tells me they are going to try to redistribute blame.  I also am told they are going to play on the sympathies of the Hearing Examiner. Cole’s a young, good looking kid from an upper middle class family.  He’s only technically been incarcerated for 7 of his 15 years.  His new legal team is good, but nothing they can say can outmatch what you say in opposition to his parole.”

“Who will be there?” I asked quietly, after listening intently to what he said.

“Not many people at all. Generally, hearings will be conducted by a Hearing Examiner, who is a member of the staff of the Parole Commission. Chris Cole’s Case Manager will be in attendance.  Observers may ask to come into the hearing room occasionally.  But that’s usually if they are involved in some way—people speaking in opposition, victims, family, people involved with the case, members of the institution staff or personnel of the Parole Commission, etcetera etcetera.”

I
let the information sink in. Mr. McMannus hit a cord and he knew it.  I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t do everything I could to right the wrongs that I did that night. And with the information Mr. McMannus provided, it looked as though speaking at the hearing would be a step forward.
But could my statement really be the difference between Chris Cole being held accountable for his actions and his money getting him out of trouble?
I thought nervously.

Running the thought through my mind again, the answer came to me and I spoke it out loud, “Yes, I’ll do it.”

Chapter 9       

Leaving soon after Mr. McMannus left my office, I headed home.  I needed to clear my head and staying in the office wouldn’t provide me with the clarity I needed.  I walked slowly toward Libby Lofts concentrating on my breathing the entire time.  I let fresh air fill my lungs as I walked and I tried not to think about anything.  Between my overwhelming feelings for a man I just met and the information regarding the hearing, I didn’t want to think about anything.  I put my earbuds in and allowed myself to get caught up in the music.

Once inside my building, I made my way to the mail room.  I carefully got my mail without leaving many smudges. After flipping through my mail, I felt a strange sense of
déjà vu.  The mail was all bills and solicitations—no surprise letters. But something still felt odd.  I walked to the elevator quickly and looked around the beautifully decorated lobby.  I entered the elevator and carefully went through each letter one more time to make sure I didn’t miss anything. There was nothing out of the ordinary, yet I couldn’t shake the odd feeling. And furthermore, I couldn’t figure out where it came from.

The elevator dinged and as I stepped out, a large frame
barreled into me.  Knocking me back into the elevator, I dropped my handbag, phone and mail.  I grabbed the railing in the elevator and just narrowly missed falling to the ground.

“Shit! Sorry about that!”
the man burst out as he reached down and grabbed all of my belongings.  His large hand grabbed my elbow and ushered me out of the elevator.  He ensured I was steady on my feet before he handed me my things.  He looked like a professional football player—bulky muscles, thick neck, huge hands. He was good looking with straight white teeth, piercing hazel eyes and tanned skin. He wore his curly brown hair short and he was clean shaven.

“What or who are you running from?” I quipped slightly annoyed.
I checked my phone to make sure it wasn’t cracked or broken.

“Nothing and no one.
I was trying to catch the elevator.  And then I ran into you, literally. And now here we are. Hmmm, must be fate,” he flirted.

“I doubt it,”
I disagreed with a shake of my head.

“You’re hot. I’m hot. We obviously both have business on the 9
th
floor so let’s meet back up right here tonight.”

“I’m so not interested,” I said curtly.

He continued as if I didn’t shut him down, “Do you have plans tonight?”

“I do. And you are not a part of them,” I leaned over and pushed the elevator button so he could leave.  There was no way I was letting th
is creeper know which loft was mine.

“
Why not? Are you dating someone? I don’t see any rings on your fingers so it must not be serious,” he noted as he leaned against the wall.

“
My relationship status has nothing to do with the fact that I’m not interested in seeing you again, let alone doing anything with you,” I declared loudly as the elevator dinged to announce its arrival.

“
Ahhh so you are single,” he stated, again without acknowledging my lack of interest. He backed into the elevator, holding his foot out to keep the doors from shutting.

“
No, I’m just not interested. Goodbye,” I said with disgust. I glared at him as he smirked back.

“
You’ll come around. They always do,” he called out just as the doors forced their way shut.

“What an ass,” I uttered under my breath as I made my way to my loft.

Walking in the door, I instantly felt like I was in my safe haven.  I put my keys on the hall console and I went straight to the bedroom.  Taking off my clothes, I showered and picked out my outfit for the surprise Ty spoke of earlier.  He didn’t text me instructions on what to wear so I picked out a navy blue knee-length one-shoulder Michael Kors dress for the night.  Figuring we’d be doing something upscale, I decided on my cream Prada pumps with my Chanel pearl necklace and earring set and a cream ¾ sleeve blazer. 

Laying
across the bed in my robe, I thought long and hard about the events of the day. A smile crossed my face when I thought of the flowers from Ty, the note from Ty, the phone conversation with Ty.
He is so sweet and thoughtful,
I thought dreamily.  And then I thought about the not so great moments of the day.  My smile faltered a bit when I thought of the conversation with Mr. McMannus and the fact that I have to talk to Ty tonight about things. 
I thought we might have sex tonight, but unfortunately we’ll be having a relationship ending conversation,
I thought as my eyes filled with tears.
Maybe the conversation can wait
, I reconsidered, wiping my eyes.

I almost drifted to sleep when I heard my phone vibrate on the nightstand.  Rolling over, I looked at the
text message and smiled.

Tyree Barker: I’m on the way home now baby girl. Something has come up so our plans will be altered tonight. I’ll make it up to you though. Wear something dressy
tonight. I’ll pick you up at 7 :)

Sahara Lee: Looking forward to seeing you.
Crazy stuff happened after work. Tell you later. Drive safely! :)

Stretching, I decided to take the extra time I had to do my hair. Combing, twisting, and pinning my ha
ir, I achieved a creative up-do.  I spent time doing my make-up and nails.  Finally, I pulled on my outfit.  When it all came together, I spent a few minutes admiring myself in the mirror. I looked both sexy and sophisticated. 
I clean up nice,
I admitted to myself as I did one more spin around in the mirror.  Carefully making my way down the steps to the kitchen, I grabbed a bottle of water and waited. A couple minutes early, I heard his knock on the door. As usual, my heart fluttered and I got butterflies in my belly.

When I opened the door, I was sure my expression matched his as we
gawked at each other in awe.  He looked amazing. Wearing a tailored navy blue suit, he wore a white, navy blue and grey checkered shirt with grey dress shoes.  He was clean shaven and smelled of his musky cologne. 
Wow…and I thought I looked sexy and sophisticated,
I thought as I looked him up and down. 

“Sahara… you look exquisite,” Ty finally said as his eyes slowly inched up my body. Once our eyes met, my mouth went dry.  He looked like he wanted to devour me. He walked
toward me and let the door close behind him. Taking my hand, he spun me around in a circle so he could see all of me. “Baby girl,” he groaned softly. Instantly, I felt that pull deep in my belly as my arousal grew.

Once I completed my circle, he pulled me into his arms. “You look amazing baby,” I said against his lips before kissing him.

“You are amazing,” he countered as he kissed me back.

“That’s you,” I said hugging him tightly and breathing him in.  “Oh and
how crazy is it that we both went with navy blue!” I laughed.

“
It was meant to be,” he said while he looked at me adoringly.

“
Agreed!” I smiled the huge smile I always get when around him. “So, where are we going all dressed up?”

“Well we are going to dinner at Mecca and a gallery opening in Baltimore,” he looked hopeful.

“That sounds great!” I said excitedly. “What kind of food does Mecca have?”

“It’s a gourmet
steakhouse,” he responded as we walked out of my loft and toward the elevator.

“Yum!”
I exclaimed as we stepped inside the chrome elevator.

Being in the elevator remind
ed me of my encounter with the creeper. “Oh, let me tell you about the B.S. I had to deal with when I got off the elevator this afternoon.  This creepy guy comes running at me, knocks me over. And then proceeds to hit on me. And I don’t mean, asking me for my name and number. I’m talking about telling me that he’s coming over later type of stuff. And before he left the hall, he told me that he always gets what he wants. It really creeped me out,” I recalled with a shudder.

Ty jaw clenched as I told him the story
and his arms, which were around my waist, tensed.  “Did he touch you?” he asked in a low and controlled voice. 

The chill in his voice gave me pause. I looked into his eyes and put my hands on his cheeks, “Absolutely not.”

A look crossed his face and he kissed my forehead. “You don’t have to worry about that asshole anymore. I’ll make sure of that,” he warned through gritted teeth.  

An older couple who I’d only seen a couple of times got on the elevator on the 4
th
floor.  We exchanged pleasantries and they complimented us on being a good looking couple before they exited on the 2
nd
floor.  I couldn’t hold back the beaming smile.

“
We are a good looking couple,” he said with a contented smile. Ty’s tone was back to normal and no longer cold.

“
Oh we’re a couple?” I joked nervously.

“Absolutely,” he laughed and
gave me a lingering kiss on the lips. 
Is he serious? Is he joking? I really hope he’s serious,
I thought as my heart thundered out of my chest.

The elevator dinged and opened into the first floor lobby.  “Oh and what I meant to tell you earlier but I was distracte
d my you and this dress… I got a call from Bennett this morning and he is coming to Richland tonight. I’m not sure what time though. I told him that we are going to dinner and the art opening and he said he’d stop by to say hi before we headed out.  If he’s not already here or close by, we will just catch him later.”

“Cool,” I offered hesitantly as he looked around the
lobby for his best friend. 
I’m not excited about meeting Bennett tonight because I don’t know how the conversation I might have tonight is going to go. I don’t want him to open his loved ones up to the disaster that is me,
I thought sadly. I looked down at my beautiful shoes.

Ty turned to me with his face awash with concern. “Sahara, what’s wrong?” he said gently, touching my cheek.  I looked up at him and I had to look away instantly.

“Nothing is wrong. I do need to talk to you when we get back tonight though. Can we have a night cap and a pow wow?” I lamely attempted to joke my way out of the funk I was putting myself in.

Ty looked at me for a beat too long, studying me. “We can talk now. We don’t have to go out.”

“You look way too good to be cooped up in the loft. And the art gallery will be an awesome experience!” I smiled at him and then closing my eyes, I reached up to hug him.

I got the weird déjà vu feeling that I had earlier
. Opening my eyes, my body tensed. Of the 20 or so people milling around the lobby, one stuck out. “That’s him, that’s the creepy guy I was telling you about,” I hissed quietly.

Ty’s body tensed and he turned around quickly, tucking me be
hind him and looked around the lobby.  I peeked over Ty’s shoulder and said, “That’s him! In the red shirt!” I turned and put my back against Ty’s back, not wanting to be seen.  

Ty
was facing the creeper who was only about 15 feet away as he quickly crossed the lobby.  “What’s up Barker?” The creeper’s familiar voice rang out.  I felt Ty’s body move away from mine and I turned slightly to see the tail end of their brief man-hug. In that moment, I knew and my heart sank.

“What’s up Bennett?” Ty responded
uneasily.

Awkward
,
I thought, shaking my head
.

“Not much man. Glad to get out of Boston for a minute,” Bennett replied.
“Who’s that with her back turned?” Bennett didn’t even try to keep his voice down.

“My girlfriend,”
Ty said evenly. He wrapped his hand around mine and I turned around.  “I believe you’ve met her.”

“Oh shit!”
Bennett exclaimed, shocked. He looked from Tyree to me and back.  “Sorry man. Didn’t know she was yours,” he shrugged and stuck out his hand toward me.  “Bennett.”

“Sahara,” I retorted shortly, briskly shaking his hand.

The awkward silence was too much for me to take so I turned to Ty. “I’m going to wait in the car while you catch up with your friend.”  I kissed him chastely.  I could see in his eyes he didn’t want me to go, but I couldn’t stand to be around Bennett a moment longer.

“I—” Ty started.

“No baby, he drove all this way. Catch up. I’ll be fine in the car. I should check my messages anyway.”

Reluctantly
, Ty gave me his keys.  He let me know he parked on the 2
nd
floor and promised to be right there. He kissed me once more before letting me go.  I was rounding the corner to the garage entrance when I heard Ty say, “Bennett you need to chill with the way you come on to women. What you said to Sahara crossed the line.”

Curious, I stopped in my tracks and flattened myself against the wall so that n
o one would know I was there listening.
I’m so glad he called him out on that,
I thought with a sigh of relief.