Southern Romance (3 page)

Chapter Three

     It wasn't long and neither George nor Marie could hear Sara sobbing in the back of the truck.  They had brought a pillow and blanket and she had nestled herself into the seat and was passed smooth out. They didn't stop at all on the way home.  George kept looking in his rearview mirror.  Emmy knew he was watching to see if they were being followed.  The old green beret in him on high alert as if he were carrying some top secret object.

    
Home never looked so good.  When they arrived, JT met them outside.  He had been outside closing up everything for the night.  "I thought you guys weren’t coming home until next week."  They had been in such a hurry no one had called JT to let him know they were coming home.  Truth be told no one thought about notifying anyone.  Information and details could be given out later.  Getting her to a safe place was priorty.

    
"Oh JT, it's awful.  Something happened and I should have told you but it’s not the time right now.  Can you carry Sara into one of the guest rooms?  She is going to staying with us for a while.  When we get her settled in I’ll tell you everything."

    
“WOW!  Slow your roll there.  Mom what are you talking about?  What happened to her?”

    
“I can’t JT.  I just can’t.  Not now.  Let’s get her inside first.”

    
JT went to the door and opened it.  Sara was all grown up.  She was only a kid the last time he had seen her.  He picked her carefully up into his arms cradling her against his chest and did as he was told but took note of her small very light weight frame.  When he laid her down on the bed her hair had fallen covering her face. 

    
He smoothed the hair back and at that moment he seen it.  What the hell happened to her?  A large scar from the outer corner of her right eye that wrapped around and up to the far corner of her brow.  He stood there looking at her and it was almost as the scar had disappeared.  All he could see was how beautiful of a woman she had grown into. 

    
George stood at the door and cleared his throat quietly.  JT went back downstairs with George and Marie filled him in.  JT was angered and couldn't believe it.  They sat there and didn't speak a word after the truth was out.  Juggar laid curled up in JT's lap just like a lap dog wanna be.

    
"The last time I seen her I was chasing her around the pond.  I had a frog in my hand.  Oh she

didn't like frogs at all.  She was so mad at me when I caught her and put that damn frog on her, she pushed me in the pond.  I nea
rly swallowed the entire pond before I managed to drag myself out of it.  That son of a bitch.  The things I would like to do to him, bastard."  JT smiled remembering that day.

    
"JT we all feel the same way but you can’t let it get to you.  She had just started coming out of her room again.  We have to be there for her.  We have to show her she is safe here.  Son,,,, she's not the same Sara anymore.  She's changed.  What happened to her,,,, did more than leave physical scars and now mentally she is a wreck.  I’m afraid it is only going to worse before it gets better."

    
Night came and gone several times and nobody but Emmy had seen Sara.  George didn't really seem to care.  He knew that as long as she was up there in that room nobody could hurt her.  And if that meant she stayed up there for her entire stay here, he was fine with it.

    
"Don't you think keeping her or allowing her to stay locked up there in that room is only doing more harm than good?  She needs to get out.  She needs to live and she needs sun Mom.  Look, we can’t just allow her to stay locked up there and forget the world.  We have to teach her to live again.  Teach her it’s ok.  And damn it all to hell show her she is safe here with us!  I don’t mean to raise my voice my Mom it’s just I don’t want her to die any more than what she already had on the inside." 

    
"Your right she does but how do you suggest that?  How do you show someone they are safe now, when they weren’t even safe in the place they were supposed to be?  Her home JT.  How do we do it?  Tell me!"  Emmy Jean was crying.  She felt as though she was failing her friends and Sara. 

    
JT couldn't take it.  He had to do something.  He couldn't see his Mom cry like this any longer.  "I got it."  And just as quickly and before anyone could question him he was on his feet and up the stairs.

    
JT didn’t waste time by knocking on the door.  He simply opened it and walked in.  When he seen her curled up and so fragile in appearance his heart sunk.  "Sara are you awake."

 
   "Go away please."  Her voice was more of a whisper

    
"Sara look at me."  He was calm.  Kept his tone low.  He didn’t want to scare her.

    
Sara rolled over and faced him.  "Jade is that you?"  The man standing in front of her was not the little skinny short kid with buck teeth.  This man was well built, muscular, tanned complexion.  Straight white teeth. 

    
"Yeah.  You gotta come out of here.  You gotta get up."

    
"No I don't.  I don't have to do anything I don't want to do.  I don’t want to get up.  I want to stay right here in this bed!"

    
"It's not what you want at this point.  You have had plenty of time to lie around.  Now your

getting out of this bed, out of this room and coming down stairs."

     "No, I am not!  You can't make me!  I’m not some little girl anymore and you can’t bully me into doing what you want with frogs, Jade.”

    
"Oh yes I can."

    
Jade swooped her up into his arms, noticing again her tiny frame.  She was nothing but skin and bones.  He carried her kicking and screaming all the way down the stairs and out the front door.  Marie and George raced behind him questioning him.  "She wouldn't come down.  She needed a bath to cool off that temper of hers.  By golly that is exactly what she is going to get."

    
He wanted to laugh at her fighting him.  She didn’t stand a chance.  The best she could get out of him was a smile.  She couldn’t of gotten out of his arms if her life depended on it.

    
“
You put me down Jade!  You put me down right now!  I don't want to have to hurt you but I

    
Will!"

    
"The only thing your gonna do is cool off."  Just as soon as the words were out of his mouth he tossed her into the horse trough.  Emmy and George stood there remembering how George had done that very thing to her.  Emmy Jean had a temper like no other woman George had ever seen.  And well it worked.  A cool dip in a horse trough was just what she needed. 

    
Maybe Jade was what Sara needed.  Emmy knew it was only a matter of time before they started arguing and bickering just like when they were kids.  And as bad as Emmy hated to admit it, she had just seen JT get more life out of Sara than she had been able to.  Emmy and George silently excused themselves to the house smiling the entire way trying to hold back chuckling.

    
"You pig!  You’re still a kid!  Don't you know that I am a grown woman, you can't do that.  You arrogant ass!"

    
"Oh yes I can, and I just did.  Now you gonna start acting like your alive or do we need to stay

here a bit longer.  And besides
apparently it was necessary to get you out of that room."

    
“Necessary!  Necessary!  You are a real piece of work you pompous jerk.”

    
“You know for a grown woman you sure do have a nasty little mouth.” 

    
Sara looked up at him and Jade couldn't help but to notice the devilish little grin on her full,

voluptuous lips.  Jade looked away trying to regain his senses.  After all, she didn't come here to get mixed up with him. 

     She had just been through a lot and well he wasn't going to let her pine away to nothing, all though he didn't know how much more weight she could lose without it killing her.  Sara looked anorexic.  She was pale, her hair a dull color.  Her eyes sunk in and grey.  He could tell she hadn't been eating.

    
"Ok, help me out of here."  Jade looked back to see she still had that same smile on her lips. 

    
"Ok princess, I don't know what you’re up to, but you’re in no shape to be pulling any kind of tricks."

    
Jade reached out a hand to help her up, Sara pulled with all her might, Jade simply let go and sent Sara falling right back down into the same place she was before.  "I told you princess, don't try it."  Jade turned to walk away and heard Sara cursing him beneath her breath.  "There goes that womanly mouth of yours again.  Come on boy.  Let’s leave the princess alone." Jade fought laughing hysterically at the sight of her as he and Juggar kept walking. 

    
Sara finally managed to get herself out and back into the house.  To everyone's amusement, and amazement, that incident was exactly what she needed to snap out of it.  She didn’t stay hid out in her room anymore.  She helped Emmy Jean out around the house, took long hikes, and played a lot with Juggar. 

    
Marie didn't necessarily like hearing Jade and Sara argue, which is exactly what she thought would happen eventually, but at this point, there was life again present into Sara's fragile little body. She had begun eating again, she even put on a few pounds, color returned to her skin.  She was changing again before them all.

    
Jade began to notice all the changes himself.  It was hard not to.  She was absolutely beautiful.  He was beginning to have some deep feelings for Sara.  He had never allowed himself to feel like this before.  He didn't want to like her like he was beginning to.  She had too much temper to Jade's liking.  Everything that came out of her mouth was simply to just piss Jade off and he knew it.  Was she taking her anger out on him?  Maybe so but still he didn't have to like it and he wasn’t going to.

    
"Where's everyone at?"  Sara questioned Emmy Jean.

    
"If you mean by everyone, Jade is out doing his chores.  I think he said something about fixing some fence on the north side."

    
"I don't care where he is.  Where are Justin, and Jacob?  I have been here nearly a month and I haven’t seen them since I’ve been here."  Emmy Jean knew better, she was watching the very thing that had unfolded between her and George.  They hadn't hit it off right away either.  Everything that came out of her mouth was just to get a rise out of him.  And she was watching history repeat itself again.

    
“They have their own lives now.  They both have moved on to bigger and better things.  Justin is practicing law in Houston now.  Jacob is still modeling.  He goes all over.  Every once in a blue moon they will call and let me know they are still alive.  JT was the only one who wanted anything to do with our ranch.  They are supposed to come in this weekend for a visit.  They should be getting here anytime as a matter of fact.  It’s not often I can get all three of my boys in the same place.  We are going to have a BBQ and small little gathering.  A dance, complete with dressing up to.  It’s also the only time I get to feel like a woman.”  Sara chuckled at Emmy Jeans words.

    
"I think I am going to go lay out by pool and get some sun for awhile.  I finished unpacking everything Mom packed for me and apparently she thought I needed some sun.  Amongst other things.  Do you need anything before I go?"

    
"No dear you go on.  Enjoy, relax.  Holler if you need anything.”

     “
Do you know if they have heard anything?  I talked to Mom this morning but she wouldn’t tell me anything.”  Sara looked at Emmy Jean hoping that the police at least believed her now.

     “
No honey.  I’m sorry.  Your Dad keeps calling them, but he keeps getting the run around.  No body knows anything.”

     Sara felt herself sink down.  No!  She would not do that to herself again.  She was away from there, away from him and no on
e would put her back to the way she was.  “Ok, come get me if you need me.”  Sara told Emmy Jean before heading out the back.

    
Sara thought this was a perfect opportunity for her to just relax.  And besides she had no intentions of Jade seeing her in a swim suit.  He would be gone for hours and it would give her the perfect opportunity, to give her pale skin the much needed heat and tan from the sun.  She had to agree with what everyone had kept telling her.  She was definitely pale.

    
The sun felt so good on her skin.  She laid there in the folded out chair and relaxed.  She cleared her mind and just took in the sun.  She was startled by a cold nose nudging on her side.  She looked over to see Juggar standing there.  "What do you want?"  Juggar nudged some more.  Finally Sara thought she would test the idea and slid over slightly.  Juggar got into the lawn chair with her and lay down. 

    
"I can tell right now you’re spoiled rotten."  Sara laid there rubbing his neck.  She questioned how he had gotten that scar on his back.  "I guess both of us have been through something terrible haven't we boy.  Poor thing."  As if Juggar understood everything she had said, he looked at her and then laid his head back down.  Sara laid there rubbing Juggar’s head.