Escaping the Past (Wester Farms) (37 page)

“I’m willing to try anything,” Olivia stated.

“You’ll like him.  He’s a nice guy.  And his wife is pretty fabulous, too.”

“Can’t wait to meet them,” Olivia replied, her voice full of excitement for the first time in a long time.

Chapter One

John Wester found himself bowing to his partner on the dance floor and lifting his cowboy hat from his head to mop his brow with his forearm.  His red hair was plastered to his forehead and he relished the feeling of air moving under his cap.  The smoke inside The Pour House was thick and the heat from all the bodies crushed together on the dance floor made it seem doubly so.  He made his way from the center of the floor and weaved through tables to the front door, stopping to talk to friends on the way out.

The Pour House had a long, wide porch that ran around three sides of the building with a wooden railing on which patrons could lean.  John jovially walked down the length of the porch and entered the shadows, sitting in a rocking chair that he knew was hidden in the darkness.  He sat back and lifted his boots onto a wooden wire spool.  He raised the hat from his head and balanced it on his crossed feet.  He sat back and took a deep breath, enjoying the breeze as it blew across his skin.  The music pounded through the walls of the building.  He tapped his long fingers on his thigh along with the rhythm of the band.

He smelled the scent of her perfume before he saw her.  She smelled like baby powder, simple and clean.  John slowly sat forward as he saw her slink into the shadows with him.  He reached for his hat and replaced it atop his head, slowly lowering his feet to the floor.  The woman stepped further into the shadows.

John heard her stop breathing as a uniformed officer walked by, heading for his car.

“I thought you would never get here,” he said quietly in her ear, his arms sliding around her waist from behind in the darkness.

The officer stopped in his tracks and turned, hearing the murmured voice behind him.  He pulled out a small flashlight and started searching the darkness.

John felt the woman spin quickly in his arms, her hands moving to clutch the back of his neck as she pressed herself against him.  She danced him around until her back was against the wall.  She lifted one leg and wrapped it around him, her lips meeting his fiercely.

John tried to pull back, saying, “You’re not-.”

But heard a whispered, “Please,” as she weaved her fingers together behind his neck.

He grabbed her behind her knee and ran his hand under the skirt of her sundress and then up her thigh to her bottom, squeezing gently as he did so.  He felt her gasp as she drew in a breath against his lips.  His mouth touched hers, gently at first.  But she clasped the back of his neck and drew him down to her, her tongue sliding into his mouth.  After recovering from the initial shock, he met her tongue, thrust for thrust.  He grabbed the back of her head and slanted his mouth against hers, feeling the kiss deepen and his pulse begin to quicken.

John saw the beam of the flashlight as it moved over them in the darkness and lingered.  He broke the kiss and lifted his head, calling out, “Do you mind?”

“Sorry,” the officer called back as he got into his car and drove away.

John felt the woman in his arms relax but he still held her leg up by his waist, her back pressed to the wall.

“You can let me go, now,” the woman said softly.  “Please,” she added.

“Who are you?” he asked against her ear, his heartbeat still pounding.

“Certainly not who you were waiting for,” she replied.  “Can you let me go, please?”

John heard the urgency and fear that entered her voice and loosened his hold on her leg.  He felt it slide down his side as she released his neck.   John stood up to his full height.  He was a full head and shoulders taller than she was.  He reached out to touch her hair.  Her short, choppy red hair stuck out in spikes.   Was burgundy a natural color for hair?  Her face was devoid of makeup.  But lashes heavily coated with dark mascara fluttered against her cheeks.  Green eyes danced from one object to another as she looked around, obviously looking for an escape route.

John reached up and resettled his hat upon his head.  He stepped back and regarded her quietly.

She moved to walk around him.  He grabbed her hand before she could walk away.  “You want to tell me what that was all about, ma’am?  Maybe I could help,” he added.

“You already did,” she replied, smiling shyly at him. “Thanks,” she threw back as she walked away, her fingers slipping slowly from his grasp.
Olivia remembered their encounter, differently.  The uniformed officer had been following her for miles.  Her hands shook as she changed gears in the small rental car.  She furtively looked into the rear view mirror again and saw that he was still there, despite her efforts to lose him.  She checked the speedometer to ensure that she was not driving too fast.  Then she spotted the full parking lot of The Pour House.  She turned the wheel quickly and slid into a parking space.  She looked in her rear view mirror and saw the patrol car stop as well.  Her heart clamoured in her chest as she slid out of the car and stayed low, walking toward the front of the building.  She walked through the double doors and squinted at the sudden flash from the strobes on the dance floor.  She saw a sign pointing to the bathroom and headed in that direction.

She stepped into a stall and closed the door behind her, chewing her fingernails as she walked in a small circle. 
What do I do now?  He can’t be looking for me?  But what if he is?  It’s just a coincidence
, she told herself, taking a deep breath as she walked out of the stall.  She primped in front of the mirror, fluffing her hair and wiping the sweat from her brow.

She stepped out of the bathroom and glanced around.  Spotting the officer at the bar, talking with the bartender, she quickly skirted the room and went back out the front door.  As she was about to step off the porch, she heard someone yell, “Hey!”

Not sure, and not caring, if it was the officer who yelled, she ran into the shadows of the porch and stood very still, watching his dark uniform as he crossed the parking lot.  The only sound that she heard was her heart beating in her ears.  She did not hear the man as he crept up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist, speaking low in her ear.  But she saw the officer as he heard the noise.

In desperation, she turned to the man in the shadows and pulled his head down to hers.  She used his large body to shield her smaller one.  When he hesitated, she grew desperate and wrapped her leg around him, deepening the kiss.  She fought the flutter in her belly that she felt at having a strange man’s hands on her and did her best to act like a lover hiding in the shadows with her beau.

When she heard the patrol car finally drive away, she could feel the tears that threatened to fall from beneath her lashes.  It was more than she could bear.  How long would she jump at shadows?  How long before she could feel safe being alone?  The man almost broke her down when he asked if there was anything he could do to help.

Rather than let him see her cry, she ran back to her car and got behind the wheel.  She asked the navigational system in her rental car to find the nearest motel.  She backed out of the parking space and toward the motel, stopping at the dingy registration office.  She almost forgot her new name, Olivia Gale, when she signed the registry.

She carried one bag up the stairs to her room and dumped it onto the bed.  She pulled the wig slowly from her hair and let her blonde locks fall over her shoulders, using her fingertips to massage her scalp.  Then she traded her green contacts for brown ones.  When all
that
was done, she climbed between the sheets and asked God to please give her one day where there was no fear.  And to let tomorrow be that day.