Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Michelle hadn’t thought she could be more frightened than she was during the attack in her home.
Her visceral reaction to the rattling doorknob proved she was wrong.
Call it PTSD or shattered nerves, the results were the same.
As she stared down at the pistol in her grasp, her hands trembled—her entire body shuddered.
Her stomach rolled as she tried desperately to recall Fletch’s lesson.
It was a gun, not too unlike her own.
All she needed to do was point and shoot.
With the Glock in her grasp, she set her sights on the door and extended both her arms. Michelle tried to steady herself as she released the safety. With the potential of harming someone, the pistol felt heavier in her grasp than it had during Fletch’s lesson.
She saw the movement of the doorknob. The sound was muted by the rush of circulation thumping in her ears.
A voice came through the chaos. “Shelly.”
The breath she was holding rushed from her lungs at the familiar timbre. Laying the pistol back on the TV stand, she hurried to the door. Peering through the peephole., a bird’s eye distortion of Fletch came into view. His baseball cap covered his messy mane, and his dark eyes stared back at her.
Quickly, she unlocked the deadbolt and opened the door. Her entire body sagged as he slipped inside the room and closed the door from the winter chill.
“You scared me.”
After dropping the shopping bags on the small table, Fletch’s gaze assessed the room milliseconds before turning his attention to Michelle. The darkness of his orbs intensified as he took in her expression and reached for her cheeks. “You’re shaking and pale. Did something happen?”
As she closed her eyes and shook her head, a rogue tear slithered down her cheek. “I picked up the gun, like you said.” She looked up at him. “I released the safety, but as I stood there waiting for someone to charge inside, I didn’t know if I could shoot.”
He wiped away the tear with his thumb. “That’s okay. You did the right thing by picking up the gun. Didn’t you hear me say your name?”
“Not at first. I just heard the doorknob rattle, and my mind went blank.”
Fletch wrapped his arms around her, holding her against his cool hoodie. The steady beat of his heart beneath the soft material, combined with his signature scent, allowed Michelle’s frayed nerves to mend a bit.
With a grasp of her shoulders, Fletch moved her to arm’s length and feigned a smile. “Hey, you reached for the gun and removed the safety. Those were the right moves.”
Inhaling, she nodded.
“I have food and supplies. The truck outside is our new ride. I made a stop at the junkyard for a different license plate.”
“I don’t know how you know what to do.”
“Years of practice.” He dipped his chin toward the small table. “Have a seat, and I’ll bring in the food. Then we need sleep.”
“How long until we reach wherever it is we’re going?”
“This time of year, we have Mother Nature on our side. There’re more hours of dark than light. We’ll set off after the sun sets tonight and get a good twelve hours under our belt before we need to stop. That will give us one more day of driving. We should arrive to the complex Saturday.”
“Complex? What is that?”
“We have time, Shelly. Let’s concentrate on food and sleep.”
Michelle wanted to argue, but the last seventy-two hours had drained her.
They’d done more than that. Since falling asleep at her father’s house, her life was completely upended.
She wasn’t certain she’d ever have a normal life again.
Mentally and physically, Michelle was exhausted.
During the few seconds of Fletch’s embrace, she could have been lulled to sleep.
After consuming a breakfast sandwich and orange juice, Michelle lay on one edge of the queen-sized bed and pulled the blankets over herself. One deep breath in and out. She told herself that she was safe as she listened to the rush of water through old pipes and thin walls.
Fletch was showering.
She didn’t know what the future would bring, or if Fletch would stay a part of her life.
Currently, she wasn’t reliving the magic they’d shared that first night that now seemed a long time ago.
Instead, as her cheek settled into the soft pillow, Michelle only knew that Fletch’s presence reassured her—which was bullshit.
Since the loss of her mother and her father’s move to Massachusetts, she’d been happily independent, not relying on anyone.
That didn’t mean she didn’t have friends.
She did. She even dated sometimes. Michelle had a few friends with benefits but spending significant amounts of time together wasn’t either of their goals.
Going home to a quiet house after a night out with friends gave Michelle comfort.
If she were into personality types, that would probably make her an introvert. She suspected that most authors were.
That life was gone.
The realization hit and combined with the memory of her father on the floor as flames climbed the walls of his living room.
The emptiness within her felt cavernous—a deep dark hole that she wasn’t sure how to navigate.
More memories returned. Her nose scrunched at the one of the man’s dirty hands on her mouth.
Phantom cold prickled her feet. Tears burned her eyes, as if there wasn’t enough room in her heart for more pain.
When the sound of the shower stopped, Michelle turned, burying her face in the soft pillow and trying to hide her breakdown.
“What the hell?” Fletch’s deep tenor seeped into her consciousness as a warm hand came comfortingly to her shoulder. “Shelly.”
She shook her head. “I’m all right.” The clean scent of the motel bodywash filled her senses.
The side of the mattress dipped. “Turn around.”
Slowly, she did as he asked and wiped the tears from her cheek.
Opening her blood shot eyes, Michelle took in the half-naked man.
A towel wrapped around his waist was his only attire.
His dark hair was wet, releasing droplets of water on his broad shoulders.
His lack of shaving over the last few days was accumulating into a nice dark beard over his cheeks and jaw.
“Really.” She tried to sound convincing.
Fletch’s lips pressed together. “It’s okay not to be all right. It’s probably the way a normal person would react to all that you’ve been through.”
Michelle shook her head. “I don’t know what to do. When I close my eyes, I see things I want to forget. I feel…alone.”
Fletch stood and turned. The towel fell to the floor showing Michelle his fine ass.
While the firm cheeks and dimple at his lower spine were gawk-worthy, her focus went to his shoulders, specifically to his tattoo, one like her father’s.
The view added to her distress. When he turned around, he was wearing black boxer briefs and a half smile.
“You’re not alone, Shelly. I promise to be a gentleman if you want to let me rest close to you, so you know you’re not alone. ”
“Fletch,” she began. “This isn’t who I am. I’m not needy or weak.”
“Okay, it’s me. Let me fall asleep knowing that no one can get to you.”
Swallowing, Michelle nodded. Although she barely knew this man, Michelle trusted him. And that was what mattered the most.
After turning off the lights, Fletch slid under the covers on the other side of the bed. He scooted in. “Are you going to meet me halfway?”
She contemplated his question. “I don’t want your pity.”
“How about just a shoulder to cry or sleep on?”
Exhaling, she scooted closer, feeling his heat and inhaling his clean scent. His arm came around her, pulling her closer. This wasn’t the mad passion of the other night. It was something different—not sexual. It was reassuring. Michelle laid her head on his hard shoulder.
No more words were said. In the warmth of his embrace, she closed her eyes. To her surprise, sleep came.
Time passed, but she didn’t know how much when Michelle woke to the sound of Fletch moving about the motel room. After blinking her eyes, she remembered where she was and why she was there. Pushing herself to sit against the headboard, she noticed the unmade bed to her side. Fletch must have slept.
When he turned to see her awake and sitting, a smile curled his lips. “I wasn’t certain what kind of magical spell I’d need to wake you.”
“Magical spell?”
“You know, in the fairy tales, the beautiful woman is awakened only by…” He scoffed.
Michelle pressed her lips together, certain she didn’t fall under that description. Shaking her head, she threw back the blankets. “I can’t believe how soundly I slept.” She stepped from the bed and stretched. “I owe it to you.”
“My goal is for you to have many more restful nights.”
“Did you get enough sleep?” she asked. “What time is it?”
“I got about six hours. That’s more than I normally get. We keep gaining an hour as we head west. I mapped out our next stop near Rapid City. We should be able to check in before sunrise.”
There were so many questions running through Michelle’s thoughts, yet it was her realization before falling asleep that kept her content. She trusted Fletch.
Less than twenty minutes later, they were sipping gas station coffee in the dusty black truck.
The clock on the dash read a little after five in the evening.
With a cooler in the back seat filled with deli sandwiches, water bottles, and caffeine drinks, there would be no reason to stop except to fill up the gas tank and take bathroom breaks.
Beyond the lights of Peoria, the dark sky prevailed and the cab of the truck filled with country music.
Michelle turned to Fletch. “I just realized, I don’t know your last name.”
“You know my real name. That’s more than most people know.”