Breathless (15 page)

James leapt across the room in a smooth movement
and smashed his fist into Tad's cheek.
Alex heard
the crunch of bone on bone and saw the spray of
blood come from a cut that James had opened on
his face.
Tad fell to the floor, holding his face.
"You bastard! Do you know what you've done? I go
on national television Monday morning! All this
over her," he screamed pointing to Alex, "I guess
you want her money too," he accused.
"Tad, stop it.
He doesn't even know about the
money," Alex interjected.
She saw that James
looked as if he could hit Tad again, and reached out
for him.
James moved back across the room to the table and
took Alex's hand.
Caressing her cheek, James saw
that the welts had gone down some, but that a faint
bruise was forming.
"You deserved it.
Now get out," James declared.
Tad got up from the floor, blood still pouring out of
the cut, "This isn't over, Alex.
Just because you got
some backwoods, redneck to protect you doesn't
mean it's over.
Not by a long shot," he seethed
before slamming out the front door.
Alex burst into tears the minute the door
closed.
Still sobbing, James gathered Alex in his
arms and carried her upstairs to bed.
"Are you alright? Did he hurt you anymore than
this," he asked caressing her cheek.
Alex shook her head, still trembling with the shock
of the scene.
James laid her down on the bed,
covered her up and went downstairs.
After
rummaging through the kitchen cabinets, he made
her another cup of coffee, some toast and an ice
pack.
As soon as James went downstairs, Alex left the bed
and walked to the mirror on shaky legs, she
removed her robe and surveyed the damage.
Her
cheek had taken on a light purplish-green bruise
where Tad's hand had connected.
She felt a small
trickle of blood on the back of her right bicep and
saw the scratches and bruises that were forming
from his grip.
Sighing, Alex ripped a tissue from
the Kleenex box on the dresser and dabbed at the
scabbing cut.
As Alex finished tending to the
wound, a wave of dizziness hit her suddenly, making
her reach out to the piece of furniture for support.
James found her naked, sitting on the floor when he
came upstairs with her tray.
He had found it
underneath the sink while looking for paper towels
to clean up the spilt coffee.
Setting it quickly on
the night stand, James knelt beside her and brushed
the hair from her face.
"Your skin is like ice," he whispered, as he carried
her back to the bed and covered her up, "What
were you doing out of bed?"
"I wanted to see how bad it was," she whispered to
him from underneath the covers.
"It's not bad," he lied.
"Yes, it is," she replied back, pointing to the bruises
on her arm.
"Christ," James sighed, running his fingers through
his hair.
Getting up from the bed, James walked
into the bathroom, located a washcloth, ran hot
water over it and returned to Alex.
"Let me see
that," James said, pointing to her right arm.
Alex held out her offended limb as James wiped
away the dried blood.
Wincing at the tenderness
of the bruises, James looked at her left arm for the
same injury.
It had escaped the brutality that the
right had suffered and light purplish-green bruises
were beginning to form.
James looked up at Alex
tear stained face and shook his head.
He could tell
she had suffered this before, but why she hadn't
told him he wasn't sure.
"Would you like to wash your face," he offered with
the washcloth in hand.
Alex shook her head yes, wiped her face, inhaling
sharply as it brushed her cheek.
"Here, this should help," James said offering the ice
pack and two aspirin.
Alex downed the aspirin with a swallow of coffee
and applied the ice pack gingerly to her face.
Lying
down, she closed her eyes and sighed
again.
Feeling as if the weight of the world were
on her shoulders, Alex brought her attention back
to James who looked as tired as she felt.
"Do you want to tell me what happened," James
asked.
"You saw what happened.
You probably heard it
as well. "
"I did; most of it anyway.
I was half awake when I
heard the tea cup shatter.
I have to admit that I
eavesdropped before making my presence
known.
What did he want?"
"He says he wants me," Alex responded sitting up,
"He's making his announcement for Adler's seat on
Monday.
He planned on us getting married this
weekend and me moving back to D.C. to have a
good show of family values. "
"And you told him no "
"Of course, I did.
Did you think I wouldn't," Alex
asked shocked.
"No.
I knew you would, eventually, tell him you
weren't returning.
However, I didn't think it would
be this morning. "
"James, I told you before, I'm not going
anywhere.
You're stuck with me," she smiled
finally.
"Good.
'Cause I'm hard to get rid of," James
smiled back, and then frowned, "Can you tell me
what money he was yelling about?"
"My maternal grandparents were quite well
off.
They left their entire estate to me. "
"Entire estate?"
"Yeah, roughly four million dollars’ worth of stocks,
bonds, property and liquid assets.
Tad will need
the assets to get his campaign off the ground.
But
the catch is that I must be married to receive
anything. "
James whistled.
He understood, now, why Tad
was so insistent upon marrying Alex.
It was all
about money and she knew it too.
"I'm almost afraid of what he'll do next.
He has
too many connections to let this go.
The
humiliation he received today along with the
questions about the cut on his face on Monday will
be enough to put him on the rampage. "
"I won't let him hurt you again, Alex.
I'm sorry I
wasn't there to begin with," James muttered pulling
Alex into his arms being careful not to touch the
bruises.
"It's alright, James.
It's over. "
James pulled himself away from Alex and looked
into her eyes.
He could see she was still
apprehensive about what happened, but was
feeling better.
"Has he done this before," he asked implying the
abuse she had just suffered.
"Once or twice," she admitted.
"That son-of-a-bitch," he cursed under his breath.
Alex laid the ice pack aside, wrapped her arms
around James' neck and kissed him tenderly on the
lips.
"Don't worry about it," she whispered against
his lips.
James sighed and returned Alex's kisses, finally
laying her down on the bed and insisting that she
take a nap.
"I'm fine," she protested.
"Take a nap.
I'm going to go get your car.
Lock
the doors and don't let anyone in until I return.”
"Yes, sir," Alex saluted, chuckling.
"Very funny," James smiled, kissed her lips softly
again and left the room, taking the tray with him.
James returned from Harry's house with Alex's car
about an hour later.
He had called Harry who
came, picked him up and took James to his house
where Alex's car still sat from the night before.
"Is everything okay," Harry asked on the ride up.
"Sure.
Why wouldn't it be?"
"You knuckles are bruised.
Like you just punched a
wall or something," Harry noted.
James removed
the cigarette from his lips and looked at his hand,
"Don't ask," he requested.
"Okay; as long as Alex is alright. "
"She's fine," James assured him.
Chapter 15
When James came back, he found the door hanging
wide open with the screen door locked.
"Alex,"
he hollered in the screen, filled with concern.
"Hang on," she hollered back making her way from
the kitchen to unlock the screen door.
"Are you alright," he asked concerned.
"Yeah.
I couldn't sleep so I got up. "
"What are you doing," he asked taking in the smell
of the house and the flour on her face.
"I'm baking cookies," she smiled.
"Baking cookies," he laughed, shaking his head.
Alex had gotten up showered and put on jeans and
a long sleeved shirt to hide her arms.
Her face was
bruised but an application of cover up had reduced
the coloring.
James looked at the lovely sight she
created and locked the screen door behind him.
"They smell great," he said.
"Come on and try them," Alex requested leading
him into the dining room.
James laughed when he
saw the table.
She had mixed up four types of
cookies while he was gone.
"Feeling industrious are we," he asked.
"A little; it helps to keep my mind busy. "
James took a cookie from the cooling rack and
tasted it, “Hmmm, good, " he muttered around the
mouthful.
"It's a family recipe. "
"Great family," he said around a mouthful of cookie
before leaning over to nuzzle her neck, "I need to go
home to check on the dogs.
They're probably
eating the couch by now," he chuckled, "Will you
come with me?"
Alex tilted her head to the side, to allow James
greater access to her neck.
She giggled slightly as
his mustache tickled her earlobe.
"Yes, I will, as soon as I finish these cookies.
I'll
pack a bag and follow you in my car. "
"Why do you need your car?"
"I'll stay until Monday morning and go to work from
there."
"That sounds good, but I still don't understand why
you need your car."
"Because, silly," she said spinning around to look in
his eyes, "how do think it would look if I went to
work in your car."
James smiled at her quick thinking.
He understood
now what her need was for her car; to preserve
their privacy and secrecy even though there was no
use in it.
"Okay," he mumbled against her lips before
capturing them in a deep kiss.
The timer on the stove erupted suddenly
interrupting the foreplay.
Alex reluctantly pushed
away from James and rescued the narrowly burnt
batch of sugar cookies, placing another tray in the
oven.
When the cookies were finished, in between kisses,
Alex packed an overnight bag and a few days of
clothing.
Sealing the cookies in Tupperware
containers, she and James loaded her bags and the
containers into her car.
"I'll see you at my house," he said before kissing her
on the lips and getting into his SUV.
"I'll be right behind you," she smiled getting into her
car and starting the engine.
Alex pulled up in front of James house, just as he
was getting out of his vehicle.
Smiling, he
approached the car and helped her unload several
of the batches of cookies.
"Leave the rest.
I'll
just take them to work. "
James picked up the suitcase she had packed and
led her into the house.
He took the case upstairs
and placed it in the bedroom where they had spent
the night. Alex walked into the kitchen and stopped
dead in her tracks.
She stared down at the dog
growling at her and gently laid the cookie
containers on the counter.
"Hi, Sasha," she whispered extending her hand for
the creature to smell.
Sasha smelled the hand and
shoved her snout into Alex's palm.
"You're starved aren't you," Alex said to the dog,
"Here, maybe this will help," she said quietly
reaching into one of the containers and fishing out a
sugar cookie. Sasha took the cookie eagerly and
allowed Alex to scratch her head as she chomped it
down.
"Shall we find you something better than that to
eat," she asked the dog, half expecting an
answer.
Turning to the cupboards, Alex located a
closet with a bag of dog food in it and poured some
into the empty dish on the floor.
She watched as
Sasha finished off the cookie and turned her
attention to the recently filled bowl.
Alex refilled
another dish with water and went to the backyard
to find Sly.
James found Alex standing on the deck, hollering for
Sly.
He had seen her handy work with Sasha and
was impressed.
Jean could never get close enough
to Sasha to feed her.
"How did you get Sasha to
let you feed her," asked James from behind her.
Alex turned to find James with his ankles and arms
crossed, leaning against the jam and a cigarette in
his hand.
"I gave her a cookie," Alex smiled, “however, I can't
seem to find Sly."
"Try this," James said, taking a drag on his cigarette
and then whistling a complicated whistle and then
hollering his name.
Alex saw out of the corner of her eye, the dog move
from underneath the shade of a tree in the fenced
in yard.
Shaking her head, she watched as Sly
bounded across the yard, up the steps and into
James arms as he knelt over for the pet.
"I missed you too," said James allowing the dog to
lick his face, before leading him into the house, "Go
eat you lummox. "
James and Alex moved back inside the house
following the dog, arm in arm.
"I put your things in the bedroom," James said.
"Okay.
You hungry?"
"Sure, but I'm not sure about the supplies."
"I'll find something. "
Alex searched the closets and the fridge for several
minutes before locating a few steaks which had
been tossed in the back.
After determining that
they were spoiled Alex walked back into the living
room, where James was working on the dry wall.
"I can't find anything decent in your house to eat,"
she smiled.
"You forget, I'm a bachelor," he smiled back, "I'll run
down to the market and pick up a few things.
You
want to make a list for me?"
Alex made the list and handed it to James as he
headed out the door, "Lock this," he suggested as
he took a kiss and left.
Alex got busy around the house while James was at
the store.
She washed a few dishes and located all
the pots and pans she would need for dinner.
When James returned she made grilled steak, baked
potatoes and corn on the cob.
James
complimented her cooking and chuckled when she
mentioned that she had spent a lot of time in the
kitchen as a child.
"I would go and hang out with Margaret, our cook,
all day.
She's the family where the cookie recipe
came from.
She never made me feel out of place
even though I was her employer in essence," said
Alex from across the table.
"Tell me about your childhood," he requested
gently taking her hand.
"Only if you promise to tell me yours," she replied.
James nodded his assent and Alex filled him in on