Trust Again (8 page)

Chapter Nine

Crazy Indiana weather. A lightning storm in early November? Ellie shook her head as she locked the door to the shop. Rain clouds grew darker by the second with the sky lighting up in the far distance. She’d started parking in back ever since business had picked up. Her umbrella was in the trunk of her car… now she was going to get soaked. A couple of large rain drops plopped on her nose before she turned the corner. A loud boom of thunder vibrated through her chest, making her jump. She walked faster to her car.

“Ellie!” the voice of her nightmares commanded.

Her heart stopped and she froze. Bryce stepped out of the shadow of the building. The tiny hairs on her neck stood up. Run! Her body disobeyed her brain. Bryce reached out and grabbed her arm. She wanted to throw up.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he spat.

Her body trembled like she’d been thrown into a freezer. “Leave me alone!”

An evil smile was the last thing she saw before she turned her head to scream for help. “It took me a while to find you. But you had to have known that I would.”

Rain pounded down, soaking them both. Bryce’s fierce black hair clung to his forehead.

She tried to pinch herself awake from this nightmare. “How did you find me?”

He looked at her like he was a wild animal she was his prey. “It wasn’t that hard. You once told me your dad had a toy store. All it took was some calls around. I mean, how many Oliver’s Toy Stores are out there?” He paused as if counting in his head, then laughed. “There are two. One in Maine and one in Indiana.”

Ellie swallowed. She didn’t remember telling him that. It must have been before he started hurting her. She’d blocked a lot out. She had to get away. She tried to break free of his grasp. He slapped her. Blood trickled down her chin. She licked her lip and tasted the familiar metallic liquid.

A lightning bolt shot through the sky, making them both turn to look. Loud thunder shook the ground, startling them both. She got free from him and ran, but he was faster.

His hand grabbed her hair. She screamed as he pulled out a knife. The ground felt as though she was spinning. He dragged her by her hair over to a rusty black van she didn’t recognize, scraping her clothes and skin in the process. The cold rain made her shiver even more. He still had a hold of her hair when he opened the van door. She kicked and screamed. He grabbed her leg and she kicked his hand. He hit her head with his fist and tossed her inside like a rag doll.

It took her a few seconds to come back from that punch. The van started moving. She unlocked the door and jumped out of the back. When she landed on the pavement her whole body ached. The van screeched to a stop and Bryce came running at her with the knife.

“If I can’t have you, no one can!” Holding the knife up in the air in the pouring rain, he looked like the crazed lunatic he was.  A white bolt of lightning shot down from the darkened sky and struck the metal weapon. He fell on top of her and started convulsing.

“Okay, Milo, guess what? We’re going to be okay, kid.” Jacob glanced over at the chunky baby with big, blue-green eyes and dark blond hair. The first time the child services lady placed Milo in his arms, he knew there was no way he was returning home without him. The baby was terrified and cried the whole time he held him. Jacob was patient and spoke softly to the little boy.

Three days later, when the DNA tests came back confirming Milo was his nephew, he was almost relieved. It wouldn’t be easy, but it never was.

The baby sucked on his finger and looked at Jacob.

“It’s okay that I don’t know what I’m doing. Most parents don’t.” Jacob laughed.

Milo took his finger out of his mouth and babbled about something then said, “Ma Ma.”

Jacob pulled into his driveway. “Say Da Da.”

Milo shook his head. “Ma, ma, ma.”

He pulled into the parking lot. Nervous, Jacob carefully unbuckled his son from his car seat. Though Milo wasn’t officially his son until the paperwork was finalized, he was already his baby boy. He lifted Milo into his arms and the baby pointed to the sky and laughed. “Ma Ma.”

A peaceful feeling came over him, and Jacob knew his mom and sister were looking down on them.

Jacob opened his door and the phone rang. Sitting down with the baby on his sofa, he answered it. His heart sank when Ellie’s dad told him what happened. Anger and sadness gripped his heart. “I’ll be right there.”

***

After dropping
Milo off with Ryan and Maisie, Jacob hurried to County. When he walked down the sterile hall to her room, his heart threatened to pound out of his chest. Even though her dad had said she was okay, the thought of that monster hurting his sweet Ellie crushed him.

He rushed past the nurse to room 124. There sat Ellie staring blankly out the window at the drizzling rain. She turned when he stepped into her room. Her lip was swollen and stitched up so her smile was strained.

“Jacob. Don’t look like that. I’m okay.” A tiny laugh tumbled out. “I’ve been through worse. You should see the other guy.”

He walked over to her and kissed her head. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.”

“You had something important to take care of.” She took his hand. “Did you get everything figured out?” She paused. “Wait, where is Milo?”

“He’s with Ryan and Maisie. We can talk about that later. Your dad told me some of what happened.”

Ellie nodded. “Bryce found me. Deep down I knew he would. He’s in intensive care. The lightning bolt stopped his heart.” She frowned. “But they brought him back.”

Jacob sat down next to her and embraced her. For a few minutes he said nothing. No one would ever hurt this sweet woman again. “If he pulls through, he’ll go to jail. We’ll make sure of that.”

Ellie nodded and squeezed his hand. “They are going to release me if my CT comes back okay.”

“Are you in pain?” Jacob frowned.

Pain. Numb would be more suitable. “Not much. They gave me some meds before they stitched up my lip and head.”

He hung his head. “God, Ellie. I wish I could have been with you.”

She sighed. “It wouldn’t have mattered. He would have just waited until I was alone.”

Mr. Oliver walke
d into the room with a can of 7UP. Jacob stood up and held out his hand.

Her dad took his hand with his free one and gave him a firm shake. “My daughter tells me you two have become close.”

Jacob nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Mr. Oliver poured the can of soda into a cup of ice and gave it to Ellie. “She also tells me you would never hurt her.”

“No, sir. I’d die first.”

Mr. Oliver smiled. “No need for that. We’ve already established your character at our last meeting. If my Ellie is happy, I’m happy. Just glad she is close enough for me to keep an eye on this time.”

Jacob looked at Ellie as if seeing her for the first time. “If I have anything to do with it, she’ll stay close.”

Her dad smiled. “That is all I needed to hear.”

***

Viola hugged Ellie tight. “I can’t believe you went through that alone.”

She looked around her cozy apartment, happy to be back home. “No woman should ever go through what I did.”

Her friend had tears in her eyes. “If you ever need to talk about any of it… ”

Ellie shook her head. “I just want to put it behind me. I want to forget.”

“Your secret is safe with me, Ellie.”

She laughed. “Small town people talk, remember? Unintentionally or not, things seem to spread like wildfire around here.”

Viola sighed. “Well, they won’t hear about it from me.”

Ellie looked at her friend. “It’s okay. I can deal with anything now that it’s over. The sheriff collected my medical records from New York. Bryce isn’t going to get away with it anymore.”

The knock at the door didn’t send Ellie into a panic. She smiled and got up from the sofa. She opened the door to Jacob holding the most beautiful baby boy she’d ever seen. Wide, blue-green eyes met hers, and her heart melted.

Jacob smiled. “Someone wanted to meet you.”

“Hello, Milo.” Ellie reached out and felt the soft, blond hair that was close to the color of Jacob’s. “I’m Ellie.”

The baby hid his face in Jacob’s chest. “He’s shy at first.”

Viola stood up. “He’s adorable.” She paused. “I was just leaving.”

“Thanks for checking on me,” Ellie told her.

She nodded. “Of course. See you later.”

Viola left, and Ellie turned to Jacob. “How are you doing with all this?”

They sat down on the sofa and Jacob placed the baby boy between them. “A little overwhelmed.”

Milo reached for the stuffed bear that Jacob had gotten Ellie.

She smiled and handed him the toy. “You like the bear?”

Milo grinned, showing the only two teeth he had, and put his face in the bear’s fur, making his blond hair stick up with static. He smelled of baby lotion and sweetness.

“It’s going to be okay.” She took Jacob’s hand. “There’s something that I haven’t told you.”

His eyebrows shot up. “To be honest, I’m not sure if I can handle any more surprises right now.”

“It can wait.”

Milo climbed into Ellie’s lap. “Ma Ma.” All that was wrong in the world faded away. A joy that she’d never felt filled her heart. She looked at Jacob.

He shrugged. “He doesn’t know what’s going on. Sorry.”

She looked down at the baby that had just called her what she wanted to be called for a long time. “Don’t be sorry. He can call me anything he wants.” She had to tell him. He deserved to know.
“Jacob, I have to tell you something.”

“Tell me.”

She swallowed and looked down at Milo. “I can’t have children.”

He crinkled his forehead. “What do you mean?”

She could see he was confused. “I can’t get pregnant. Ever.”

Jacob pulled her close to him with Milo sitting between them. “Because of Bryce?”

Ellie nodded. “He tricked me into getting my tubes tied. I let him take so much from me. I can’t have babies.”

“I’m sorry.” He kissed her lips and put his forehead to hers. “But that doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

“And how do you feel?” She looked into his eyes. “About me?”

He smiled. “Isn’t it obvious? I love you, Ellie.”

Her eyes misted and her heart skipped a beat. “I love you, too.”

Her phone rang. She reached over to pick it up and Milo climbed over to Jacob and cooed.

The sight of them together warmed her heart. “Hello?”

“Ellie, this is Sheriff Stone, I thought you’d want to know that Bryce Lindun has died. He suffered a heart attack a few weeks before he’d even gotten struck by the lightning. His heart was just too weak to sustain the damage.”

She swallowed and tried to find her voice. “Thank you for letting me know.” Ellie hung up the phone and looked at Jacob.

“He’s dead.” She blew out a deep breath. “That monster will never hurt any woman again.”

Jacob placed a hand over hers. “Are you okay?”

A twinge of guilt kept her from smiling. “Is it wrong that I’m happy?”

Jacob shook his head. “It is understandable. And no, it’s not wrong.” He took her other hand. “What he did to you was wrong.”

Ellie bowed her head in shame. “I wished him dead all the time, you know.”

He kissed her. “Want to know a secret?”

She looked up at him.

“So did I.”

***

A week had passed since Jacob had brought Milo home. He was proud of himself for keeping Milo in a dry diaper all week and seeing that he was fed and happy. He even figured out how to ease his teething pain by freezing a wet wash cloth. But now it was the weekend, and he couldn’t wait to see Ellie. He was upset when she told him they both needed some space this week after everything they’d both been through. But that only made him more determined to finish the miniature house on the lot. If he could physically show her what he was able to provide, maybe she would like the idea as much as he did. With Ryan’s help, he had even figured out how he was going to propose to the woman he couldn’t live without.

***

How did she let him talk her into this? Ellie put her free hand up to the blindfold Jacob had tied around her eyes. Her other hand held the chocolate heart covered in gold foil he had just given her, but told her not to eat. “Are we almost there?”

Jacob laughed. “Yes. Now be patient. Trust me.”

Ellie swallowed. “That is easier said than done.”

She gripped his hand as he helped her out of the truck. Her heart pounded wildly. Being blindfolded was not her idea of a good date.

“Okay, you can look.”

Ellie took a deep breath and pulled the soft cloth off of her head. “Where are we?” They stood in an empty lot next to some trees with only brownish grass and something under a huge blue tarp.