In Tune (Red Bird Trail Trilogy Book 3) (7 page)

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Chapter Eleven

H
arper held tightly
to Cash’s hand as they made their way down a rutted gravel driveway. This was as far out in the county as she had ever been, and she had to wonder how this doctor had so many people coming to her, and not the other way around.

Meredith, who had sought her out over the past few days, had assured her the doctor was worth seeing. Doc Jones had been the only one to help her through a vicious and violent rape. When Harper had heard those words, she’d been shocked. Meredith was a happily married mom of two who obviously enjoyed a healthy sex life with her husband. It was then Harper realized that perhaps Doc Jones could help her.

“Are you nervous?” Cash asked as he parked the car and shut it off. He was nervous—more nervous than he’d been in a long time. This meant a lot. It meant the continuation of their relationship; it would answer the question on whether they could remain together or not. This meant everything.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t,” she admitted. She hadn’t been this nervous or scared since she’d said yes to moving in with him. That had worked out okay, but it had also caused problems of its own. The question she had to ask herself was if the end supported the means, and in this situation, it did.

“I’m nervous too,” he was saying. “I think I’m nervous this won’t fix our problems. I hate to think we put this much into it and we still have issues. What if we find out this isn’t
the
problem? What if there’s more? I mean, what if we’re as fucked up as people seem to think we are?”

She grinned. “I think I’m more nervous that it will fix our problems, because then we’ll have to truly admit we’re in an adult relationship.”

As they climbed the steps of the porch, the front door opened, and they were met by an older woman.

“I take it you’re Doc Jones?” Cash asked, his hand protectively on Harper’s arm.

“I am, and I take it you’re Harper and Cash?”

Introductions were quickly made, and they were ushered inside.

*

Marcia Jones had
been helping people for most of her life. There wasn’t a single client she hadn’t helped, and over the last few years, she’d helped a lot of people associated with the Heaven Hill MC. None of those people had looked as haunted as the two young kids who had just entered her office, and that was saying something.

She invited them to sit down, watching as they sat closely to one another on the couch, but without touching. They both looked at each other, just barely missing the other staring. The tension between the two of them was thick, but Marcia could feel that it wasn’t the type of tension that tore people apart, it was the kind that brought people together. It just had to be directed. It had to be harnessed and leashed. She hoped harder than she had in a long time that she could do that for these two.

“I know you were given my name by the Heaven Hill MC. I was called and told you would be coming today. My question is, why are the two of you here?”

*

Harper hadn’t expected
that to be the first question out of the therapist’s mouth. She had expected a slow introduction, perhaps talking about their relationship before she got to the nitty gritty. But no, she’d gone straight for the jugular.

“Personally I’m here because I’m sick of being scared. I want to live my life, but I can’t until I let some pretty serious stuff from my past go. I’ve been told you’re amazing at helping people let go of all the bullshit. That’s what I want.”

Doc Jones turned to Cash and asked him the same question.

“I want to be able to completely trust Harper again. I want her to be one hundred percent in this with me and not have doubts as to where we are.” He swallowed roughly. “There’s also parts of me that have some childhood issues I need to deal with, but I want to deal with our,” he pointed between the two of them, “situation first, because it means the most to me.”

“Good, our goals are laid out so that we all know where we want to be. Now why don’t the two of you tell me what happened to make him question that trust.”

Harper took it upon herself to explain all of what had gone on. After all, it had been her father and their situation together that had almost ultimately ruined it. It wasn’t easy to talk about her past, to talk about the things that had happened, to hear the sharp intake of breath from Cash as she told of her betrayal. None of it was easy, but she put herself through it because she had to. If she didn’t give their relationship a real shot, she knew she’d never forgive herself, and if that meant she finally had to see herself in a bad light, then so be it.

Doc Jones listened with a pen in hand, making notes as Harper talked. Several times Harper witnessed Doc Jones eyes going to Cash, especially when she explained things that had more than likely been difficult for him. She didn’t say a word for a few moments after Harper finished, making more notes on her yellow legal pad.

“I’m correct in my assumption that the two of you do indeed care for one another a great deal?”

Cash was the first to answer. “Hell, yes, we wouldn’t be here if we didn’t, but I think after hearing that story, you realize, as we do, that there’s a lot of growing up and a lot of forgiving that needs to be done here. It won’t happen overnight, and we both know that, but we need help to get there.”

“I love Cash. I may have a weird way of showing it.” Harper swallowed roughly. “But my heart has always been in the right place, even when it seemed as if I was being shady. I wasn’t, I didn’t mean to be.”

“You love her?” Doc Jones tilted her head to Cash.

“Without a doubt. I want my life and family to be with her, but I don’t know how to get there.”

Doc Jones grinned at the two of them. “Then that’s what we’re going to figure out. What it takes for the two of you to be a family and to be together. It might be a slow process, or you might wake up one day and realize what you have to do in order to get there. Either way, I’ll be with you. I’m not going to let you two give up on each other. I won’t give up on either one of you.”

Finally Cash and Harper clasped hands. Giving up was easy. They wanted the hard—the hard meant more than either of them had ever known it would. With the clasp of their hands, they realized they were in this for the long haul. No matter how long that took.

‡
Chapter Twelve

C
ash stomped his
feet and blew into his hands as he stood outside his car, waiting for the Trail to start. Normally they didn’t run the Trail in November. It was too cold, tires didn’t stick, and the people who normally bet were too busy trying to save up for the holidays—which was ironic because that was exactly what he was trying to do. He’d never bought a woman a gift for Christmas, but he knew he was going to have to buy Harper one this year. He wanted to get her something good, something meaningful, and in his experience that cost money. Money they didn’t have.

“The crowd is a little thin.”

Cash looked to his left, noting Slim had come to stand beside him.

“Yeah, but what do you expect? It’s two weeks to Thanksgiving. Most honorable people are either saving, buying, or have bought Christmas gifts. It’s much busier than I thought it would be. There’s a chance we could make some money here tonight.”

Rodrigo came up to them. “The purse is light, but the people that are here expect a good race. At least make it interesting for them.”

Cash hated when Rodrigo acted like he had a say in how the race ended. It wasn’t pre-scripted. No one he knew worth their car would hand over a race to someone else. They did this because they loved it and needed the money. Sometimes, he would admit, he craved the adrenaline rush. He figured that was what people who did drugs felt like. The ever-elusive high they sought—he got one every time he got behind the wheel of his car and revved the engine.

“The race will be what the race will be. There’s no way either of us can predict it, and if that’s what you’re asking us to do, well you know how I feel about that.” Cash let a lazy, but lethal grin spread across his face.

Once before, when he’d first started running the Trail, Rodrigo had asked him to throw a race. Cash had thrown a right fist, laying Rodrigo flat on his back. He’d never been asked again.