The Awakening (Entangled Series Book 1) (16 page)

“Because I’ve met him.” He wondered if he should tell his parents everything. “I live in the same town.” He hadn’t realized that his voice had risen, until Xtina’s hand rested on his shoulder softly.

Closing his eyes, he took a few breaths. “Jacob is on the police force here.” He turned slightly as Xtina sat next to him on the bed.

“Jacob?” He heard his mother repeat the name. “How…” Suddenly the phone was put back on speaker. “How do you know it’s him?”

“Because…” He looked over at Xtina and thought for a brief moment of explaining everything to them, but then shook his head. “Because we look alike,” he lied slightly. Only slightly, since it was sort of true, most of it. The fact that Jacob was almost a spitting image of his father, he kept to himself.

The line was silent for a while.

“We’re heading down there first thing in the morning,” his father said.

“Fine.” He reached for Xtina’s hand and felt her tense at his touch, so he dropped her hand and looked over at her. Her face had gone pale again. “Dad, I have to go.”

“We’ll see you around noon,” he answered, then broke the connection.

“What?” he asked, turning to her after he tossed his phone down.

“They had no choice.” He watched a tear slide down her face. “Their parents…” She shook her head. “I didn’t see it before.” She wrapped her arms around him. “They were forced to give him up.” More tears slid down her face. “They wanted him as much as they wanted you.” Her eyes moved to him. “Don’t hate them. They’re suffering as much as you are.”

He held her close as he took it all in. He had a brother. Another one. A big brother. He’d been the oldest sibling for as long as he could remember. Even though Ethan and he were twins, he’d always thought of himself as the big brother.

But now, everything had changed. It didn’t matter that he hadn’t been raised side by side with the man, he was family. Period.

He glanced towards the phone and thought about texting Ethan, but he knew that his brother was too deep in his mission to have a phone on him. Besides, he didn’t know when he’d see him or hear from him again and he didn’t want that to be the first news to reach him after spending weeks out of touch.

He fell backwards, taking Xtina with him until she settled on his chest.

“How about that ice cream?” she asked, nodding towards the tray of dessert on the nightstand.

“Yeah.” He brushed his hands through her hair. “I suppose I could go for something sweet.” He leaned down and placed his lips over hers softly. “After.” He trailed his mouth over her face, kissing her eyes closed.

He needed the slowness, the softness of her to heal all the hurt that had built up inside him. Remembering seeing her pale, shaking with fear, made him go slower, made his hands and fingers gentler as he moved over her pale skin.

Looking into those sea green eyes of hers, knowing that they saw more than he could ever imagine, made him take his time pleasing her. He wanted to show her how he felt, since he knew she couldn’t sense it from him.

So many emotions had swelled up inside him that when they lay naked and intertwined, he allowed the words to slip from his lips as he entered her slowly.

T
hey needed to talk about so much. She rolled over, feeling her entire body still vibrating from everything Mike had just done to her.

“I think the ice cream melted.”

“It’s probably a puddle after all the heat we just generated,” he joked back and she was glad he’d chosen to play it easy.

His hand settled on her bare back and she closed her eyes, wanting to hold on to that moment forever.

“Mike.” She turned, looking down at him. His dark lashes were resting on his cheeks. When his eyes slid open, she knew they would have to talk about what he’d said.

“I…” She shook her head. “I can’t allow myself to love.” She felt the stab in her heart. “It’s not in my cards.” She stood up and watched his hand drop away from her.

“What do you mean?” His face went blank as he sat up slightly, resting back against the headboard.

“Love isn’t for people like me.” She reached down and picked up the robe he’d tossed onto the ground after he’d slowly peeled it from her earlier. She wrapped the softness around her, then hugged herself to try and get warm. Glancing over, she noticed that the apple pie and ice cream still looked good enough to eat. “Here.” She handed him a bowl. “Let’s enjoy this before it melts.” She took her own bowl and sat next to him.

“You can’t avoid this forever,” he said after shoveling a bite of pie into his mouth.

“I know.” She kept her eyes glued to the bowl of dessert. “Just not tonight.” She felt her energy levels fade further.

His hand reached out for hers. “I’ll give you tonight.” He took her hand up to his mouth and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles, sending warmth and pain throughout her entire body.

That night, her dreams were full of images of pain, sorrow, loneliness, and love. She knew in her heart that none of it was her own, but images left over from her experience from the previous day.

When she woke, the bed was empty and the sheets were cold. When she looked around, she saw the note on her nightstand.

I have some work to do on my house before my folks come today. Can you come over for dinner? I’d like you to meet them. See you around six… I know you don’t want to hear it, but I love you. M

She tucked the note close to her heart as she sat down on the bed and tears rolled down her cheeks.

Love. She’d never believed she’d be allowed to have it. To feel it. To enjoy it. All her life she’d hidden from it. No, it had hidden from her. There had been a few times she’d believed she’d fallen in love. Joe. Billy. She sighed at all the disappointments she’d experienced over the years. How she’d tried to give them everything she had, only to come up short.

Was Mike different? Could she trust her own heart this time? He was different in many ways. For one, he was the only person she couldn’t read. When she looked into his eyes, she could only see what he was thinking through her own eyes.

She likened the feeling to being blind, only seeing the world through sounds and feeling around in the dark. She wasn’t used to it. But, she realized, it didn’t scare her so much with Mike.

Maybe she trusted him more than she’d trusted Joe and Billy. She didn’t think there was any way that Mike would end up being like either of those two. Especially Billy. She felt a shiver run up her back.

She blocked thoughts of her past from her mind as she went about her business. She had a long list of things she needed to get in town and decided to make the run first thing, since she was low on coffee and Rose was begging her for some more of the treats Jessie had brought last night. She knew it probably wasn’t good for the dog to have so many, but she figured a woman could afford to indulge when she was expecting.

Her first stop, after grabbing a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll, was the vet. Rose was a little jittery walking in, but hearing Xtina’s voice seemed to soothe her down. Then she met the vet and relaxed completely. She could tell that Rose liked the woman immediately.

“I’ll give her a full checkup,” the vet, Reba, said. “If you have some other errands to run, it should take about an hour.” She ran a hand over Rose’s belly. “We’ll give her an ultrasound to make sure everything’s all good.”

“Thank you, I’ve got some grocery shopping to do. I’ll be back after.” She glanced down at her watch and marked the time and then ran a hand over Rose. “I’ll be back.”

She smiled when Rose lapped at her in acceptance.

She walked the block to the grocery store, grabbed a cart, and pulled her list from her purse.

The last time she’d been in the store, she’d passed out. She still couldn’t figure out why, other than fatigue.

Now, she was careful to keep a few feet away from others as she piled items into her cart. She picked out two dog beds, one for upstairs, the other for the kitchen area. Then came the dog food and more treats and toys. She spent more time on the pet aisle than shopping for herself.

By the time she was in line at the checkout, she was sure she was spending way too much money on the dog, but Rose was worth it.

“You’re that girl,” someone said from behind her. “Aren’t you?”

She turned and saw several women around her age looking at her. They were standing at the checkout, but didn’t have carts or baskets. Instead, they each had a magazine in their hands, like they had just grabbed it so they could talk to her.

One was a tall blonde woman who had a purse thrown over her shoulder that had probably cost as much as the taxes on her car had. The other, a smaller dark-haired woman, was wearing very impressive designer clothing and some of the tallest heels Xtina had ever seen.

“I’m sorry?” she asked, not sure what they were asking.

“The one that’s working with the police on Laura’s case,” the dark-haired woman said.

She felt her entire body stiffen and she thought for a moment about leaving all her items in the cart and just leaving.

“I’ve been advised not to speak about—” she started. It was the truth. Jacob had asked her not to talk about the case to anyone.

“Christina, correct?” the blonde said, her eyes going to the other woman’s. “That’s her. I remember she was in my biology class.”

Xtina remembered the pair now. Robin and Carly. The dynamic duo, as Xtina and Jessie used to call them. Wherever they were, trouble was bound to follow.

Instead of answering, Xtina turned around and focused on emptying her cart onto the conveyor belt.

“I heard that you accused Laura of killing her husband,” one of them said behind her. “Even after she’d been attacked herself.”

Xtina took a couple deep breaths to steady herself. She’d learned that the best way to handle people like them was to ignore them.

“You have some nerve accusing someone when you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Xtina sped up unloading her items and tucked her purse tighter under her arm.

“We’re talking to you,” one of them said, then reached out and took Xtina by the shoulder. She hadn’t been prepared for the contact and when images flooded her mind, she felt her knees weaken and felt the sting of the floor as she fell forward.

Damn, she thought as she hit the ground. Not again.

She heard laughter, which shook her from the haze. Her hands and knees were burning as she looked up through her hair.

Both women stood over her, laughing down at her.

“I told you she was a freak,” Robin said, her arms crossed over her chest as Carly looked on. Both women had smiles on their faces as Xtina stood up slowly.

“Still, it’s better than what the two of you have going on.” Xtina straightened up, her shoulders going back as she felt strength building inside her.

They chuckled. “And what would that be?” Carly asked.

“Oh, I think it would be obvious.” Her eyes moved to the expensive purses and clothing. “You do know that internet fraud is a crime.” She motioned to the expensive bags that had been bought online using fake information.

“It’s still theft.” She leaned closer. “Even if you have gotten away with it for years.”

She turned and ignored the sounds of them gasping and groaning behind her.

“She can’t know about that,” she heard Carly tell Robin as they rushed out of the store.

“Are you okay, miss?” the clerk said. He was a younger man who appeared to be in high school.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She smiled and dusted her hands, only then realizing that they were slightly bleeding. “If you can, will you wait until I grab a box of bandages?”

He nodded and she rushed back down the aisles until she had a box of bandages.

“Thanks,” she said, setting the box down.

“If you want, I’ll tell the police what happened.”

She shook her head. “No need. Those two have been a pain to me since they were born.” She smiled and waved her hand. “Besides, I think they’ll be leaving me alone from here on out.”

With her knees and hands hurting, she pushed the full cart towards her car and knew she’d just taken the first steps to securing her future in Hidden Creek. No longer was she going to be afraid of the people in it. No longer was she going to hide her true self from anyone.

She felt more powerful than she had in her entire life. Stronger. More sure, and most important, free. Free to finally be herself.

***

Mike finished setting up his guest room by moving the furniture from the garage into the room and making the bed with the new sheets he’d bought a few weeks back. Then he moved into the kitchen. He’d hardly gotten anything done in the room in the past few days other than the flooring.

His cupboards had been delivered a few weeks back and sat in the garage, so he spent the next few hours carrying them in and installing them. The process was slow and he sure could have used a second pair of hands.

When there was a knock at his door, he called out for them to enter, just as he slammed his thumb with a hammer.

“Son of a….” he exclaimed.

“I wouldn’t finish that if I were you. Not with the woman you’re speaking of standing in the same room,” his father said, smiling slightly.

“Hey.” He set the hammer down and walked over to shake his dad’s hand and receive a hug from his mother. He held on to her while she burst into tears. His eyes met his dad’s over her head and he knew he’d better hold on to her, that she needed it.

“I’m sorry,” she kept saying over and over. “I should have…” She cried into his shoulder as she continued to mumble into his chest.

“Mom.” He held her. “It’s okay. I think I understand.” He hadn’t realized that he was crying until his father handed him a napkin.

“Well, if you two are done sniffling about it,” his father said, using a napkin himself, “can we sit down and have that talk?”

Two hours later, after a long talk over cold sandwiches, his father changed into some work clothes and helped him finish installing the cupboards.

“The countertops are being installed next week, so we’ll have to deal with the boards.” He nodded towards the plywood they had set atop the cupboards.

“It’ll do,” his mother said when she came back from the local store with a car full of groceries. “Now, you two go clean up while I get to work.” She rolled up her sleeves and pushed them out of the room. “You stink.” She smiled and then reached up and kissed them both on the cheek.

He’d always loved how well his family could bounce back from things. He’d never had to question if he was loved. All he had to do was look into his parents’ faces.

He knew, after what Xtina had said, that they had been young and trusting. Too naive to really understand what they were doing, giving up a child at the tender age of sixteen or seventeen.

He took a deep breath. He’d never been in the position himself, but if he had… He thought about it as he showered. Would he have done the same?

He’d like to think no. But… children change things. Sure, he’d always thought that someday he would have a family. But after the military and the police force, he’d put all that aside. Especially when he’d thought he was going crazy.

Now… his mind conjured up an image of children with sea green eyes and blonde curls running around. He hadn’t realized he was smiling until he cut himself shaving and cursed under his breath.

Refocusing on the simple task, he finished his shower and put the thought of enjoying Xtina and his kids off to the future.

When he walked out, his house smelled better than it ever had. “My god!” he exclaimed as he walked into the room. His father was already sitting at the bar area, his elbows propped up on the plywood as he watched his wife cook. “I’d forgotten how wonderful your cooking smells.”

His mother turned and smiled at him. “Good, now go and get the rest of the groceries from the back of my car.” She winked at him. “I’m almost done here.”

He groaned as he walked out. When he pulled the two paper bags from his parents’ trunk, he noticed the white bouquet of flowers and smiled.

His mother thought of everything. He heard the barking first, then turned to see Xtina walk across the yard towards him. Rose made it to him first, so he bent down and spent a moment enjoying the dog kisses.