Chapter 7
Jason
“Okay, how many times do you have to show up at four in the morning at her usual spot and not bump into her before you get the hint?” Mark said with a laugh.
Jason frowned at his friend. “Maybe she’s not running.”
“Oh, she’s running. Far, far, away… from you.”
The tomato that Jason had just grabbed from the bowl flew through the air.
Mark was too fast and ducked. Red juice spurted when it made contact with the wall behind Mark.
Jason continued to glower at his friend even when Mark’s comical surprise filtered across his features. “What did you do that for?”
“You know why, and if you don’t want another one—”
“Another one, what?” Nikki asked as she backed her way into the kitchen.
Mark sent a look of glee in their boss’s direction before settling Jason with a knowing smirk. The last thing Jason wanted was to be reprimanded by Isabelle’s sister-in-law about a fight over his attempts to talk to the girl he couldn’t get out of his head.
Jason gave a subtle shake of his head. “Nothing,” he muttered.
Nikki glanced between the two of them before her eyes landed on the squashed and cracked tomato. Then her eyes narrowed on Jason. “You know the rules about food fights.”
His shoulders hunched slightly. Yeah, Nikki ran a tight ship. He couldn’t blame her. He did the same when he was the one running the kitchen. Squeezing the back of his neck, he murmured, “Sorry, Nik.”
Mark scooped up the tomato and deposited it in the trash.
The three of them fell into their usual routine, but Jason could sense Mark burning with questions.
He still wanted to know why Isabelle was taking up so much of Jason’s energy.
He still had no clue about what had happened that night.
He probably thought that Jason was simply enamored by the girl, wanting what he couldn’t have.
But it was so much more than that.
Isabelle was hurting. Sure, he didn’t know her well enough to know if she’d ended up getting help.
But from what he had pieced together, she wasn’t healing from the incident the way she should have been.
The insomnia. The way she flinched when he got too close.
The way she worked herself into exhaustion.
Those were all indications that she was still running from something.
Jason couldn’t shake the feeling that he should be doing something. But what? He couldn’t exactly tell her that he knew her darkest secrets. That wouldn’t come off well at all.
It wasn’t until he was having lunch with his brother, who had treated Isabelle at the hospital, that he finally voiced all these concerns.
“Oh, I definitely think you should tell her.”
Jason’s head snapped up so fast that a sharp pain sliced right through him. He rubbed the back of his neck with a wince. Then he gave his brother a pained look. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Mathew took a long pull from his soda and shook his head.
“I’m being serious. There’s no telling what exactly she’s remembered since that night.
She couldn’t remember much when she’d woken up.
I guess I would tell you to leave it alone, but…
” He paused, studying Jason for far too long to be comfortable.
“What? Just spit it out,” Jason demanded.
“It looks like you’re… interested?”
Jason rolled his eyes, settling back in his seat. “What? Like romantically?”
Mathew’s lips quirked upward. “Oh, most definitely. People don’t set their alarm one hour before they have to get up just so they can catch a glimpse of a girl they’re merely curious about.”
He was right. Of course he was. Isabelle had been on his mind since that night, and not just because he’d rescued her from that piece of filth.
He’d wanted to ask her out. He’d wanted to dance with her.
Jason would have sold his soul to turn back time and get to her before that guy had, so she would never have been hurt in the first place.
Swallowing down the lump that formed in his throat, he stared down at the empty plate from lunch. “Yeah, I’m interested.”
“Well, then you can’t allow this secret to weigh you down. Eventually her past will come up. And you’re a big part of it.”
Jason scoffed, shaking his head. “What am I supposed to say? Hey, Isabelle, remember me? Oh wait, you can’t remember me from that night because you were drugged and attacked. Your brain erased me. But I swear, I’m the good guy even though I’ve been stalking you for nearly a week.”
Mathew’s expression was unreadable but only for a few moments. Then he threw back his head and laughed. “Yeah, that’s a start.”
Tossing a wadded-up napkin at his brother’s head, he fought the urge to smile. Of course telling a secret like that one wasn’t going to be easy. He had no clue how he could bring it up without scaring her off.
But maybe there would be an opening.
If she ever gave him the chance to speak to her again.
Jason sighed, climbing out of the booth. “Thanks for your advice, but I think I’m going to pass. I don’t know what it would do. And right now, I’m already struggling to get her to even talk to me. Maybe one day when she trusts me.”
Mathew stood too, but he shook his head as he leveled Jason with a hard stare.
“I’m telling you, don’t keep this secret.
And don’t attempt to get close to her without laying all your cards out for her to see.
Trust can be shattered so easily these days.
Make sure she has a foundation she can build on. ”
“Yeah, okay,” Jason said as his brother tossed several bills on the table. “Same time next week?”
“Yep.”
They parted ways and Jason drove into the heart of Copper Creek. He had a few errands to run. Penny had been helpful in giving him ideas. He didn’t know if Isabelle had liked the tea, and even if she didn’t, he wasn’t going to let that stop him from trying.
The bookstore had to have some literature on ways to help with trauma and sleep difficulties. So that was his first stop.
Through the front windows, he saw her immediately. That gave Jason pause. With how hard she’d been avoiding him, would she even be interested in seeing him? Would she run out of the shop like her clothes were on fire?
He watched her through the glass as she sat curled up on a large chair with the sunlight shining through. She practically glowed like an angel. His hand remained on the door as he continued to weigh the consequences of going inside and saying hello.
Then his decision was made for him.
A man approached Isabelle.
His heart ratcheted as he watched the guy lean against the tall back of the chair. Isabelle immediately looked nervous. She chewed on her lower lip and inched away from him without climbing out of the chair. The guy wasn’t getting the hint. Did he think she was just flirting?
With a snap of his wrist, he slammed the door to his truck shut, then jogged inside. It took a little effort to get through a couple of groups of people lingering in various bookshelf aisles. By the time he reached Isabelle, she looked about ready to pass out.
Her skin was a pale shade of gray, which was saying something with her natural tawny skin tone. Her voice was a rasp as she said, “Thanks, but like I said, I’m not interested.”
At some point she’d risen from her seat, but the guy was blocking her from moving around him. He sported a cocky grin and laughed as he said something, but Jason didn’t register any of it before he grabbed hold of the man’s collar and yanked him backward.
The guy stumbled back a few paces but didn’t lose his balance. With the jerk to his back, Jason faced Isabelle. “You okay?”
Her eyes were wide, her breathing short and sharp. Her fingers shook even though they gripped the edge of the high-backed chair. He’d seen this before. When stress at the restaurant got to be too much, one of his employees had a panic attack.
There was no time to coax her into doing anything at this point. Jason gently grasped her upper arms and settled her into the chair. He placed the book she’d been holding on the ground and crouched down before her. “Isabelle, you have to listen to me.”
Her eyes were shut tight, and her breathing remained unchanged. She wasn’t getting enough oxygen.
“Isabelle,” he said, firmer this time. “Look at me.”
Her eyes flew open. “You need to focus on your breathing. Nothing else. Deep breaths.” He demonstrated, all the while grounding her with his touch. “In… out… Can you do that?”
Slowly, she nodded.
Minutes passed just like that. Deep inhales. Slow exhales. At some point, her small hands had wrapped around his wrists while he still held her face firmly in his.
Isabelle didn’t have to tell him what started the panic attack. He knew exactly what it was. And this moment only proved one thing to him. She had definitely not done anything to move on from her past trauma. She was still struggling, going it alone.
By the time her breathing was once again under control, she was staring at him with those piercing eyes of hers. Nothing else in the world mattered but the two of them. They were linked, tethered to each other in this moment.
“Izzie? Oh my gosh! What happened?”
Isabelle stiffened, then ripped herself away from him.
Jason remained crouched before her for just a moment, then slowly, he rose.
He turned just as a very pregnant Charlie Ashton darted past the crowd of people behind him.
The two friends clung to each other, Charlie asking too many questions and Isabelle’s eyes remaining locked on him.
Charlie’s hands fluttered around Isabelle’s flushed face. “Talk to me. Are you okay?”
That was enough to pull Isabelle out from whatever prison she’d locked herself in. She finally met Charlie’s eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she whispered. “I just got lightheaded.”
Jason would have snorted if it wouldn’t have brought attention to him. That was certainly not a moment of lightheadedness. Isabelle was struggling, and if her best friend couldn’t see the evidence of it, then either Isabelle excelled at hiding it or Charlie was blinder than Jason thought.
Charlie swung around the moment Isabelle’s focus collided with him. For a moment she seemed unable to place him. Then her expression brightened. “Oh, it’s you. Jason, right?” They hadn’t spoken for over a year. He couldn’t help but be impressed that she remembered who he was.
Nodding, Jason offered a smile. “Yeah.”
Charlie dragged her attention from him to Isabelle several times, and then she gave Isabelle an obviously pointed look. Isabelle blushed but turned her gaze to the book in her hand.
“We were just about to go to lunch, if you’re interested,” Charlie said.
Isabelle’s head snapped up and her pale complexion returned.
“No, that’s okay. I already ate,” Jason said quietly, if only to assure Isabelle she wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore today. He thumbed over his shoulder. “I better get going. I have a few more errands to run.”
Charlie looked like she wanted to say something more, but Isabelle’s hand on her forearm stopped her. Jason turned and strode toward the other side of the shop. If he had any chance at getting close to her, he’d have to figure out a way to get her to trust him first. Maybe Charlie could help.
Or maybe he was delusional.