Chapter Nineteen
On the following day, Julio glanced at his watch.
He knew Rebecca planned to escort Kara to her counseling session in thirty minutes.
Rising from his chair, he entered the kitchen and plucked a handful of cookies from Delaney’s homemade stash.
He searched for a thermos and found one.
Recalling how Rebecca enjoyed those fancy iced coffees, he opened the fridge and searched for the ingredients.
He picked up a carton of heavy cream and then a version of a lite one when Rachel entered the room.
“Hi, Julio. Have you seen Matthew? I’m driving into Corpus Christi with Delaney to pick up supplies,” she asked, curiously watching him.
“Yeah. I met with him about half an hour ago. I think he and Mac planned to check out the fence in the south pasture. A couple of cows made it out,” he informed her.
“May I ask what you’re making?” she asked as he set a half dozen items on the counter and pulled out his phone.
“Rebecca likes those foo foo iced coffees. I don’t know how to make it. I usually pick one up. When we stayed at her apartment, she made them,” he explained, searching for a recipe.
“Here, let me help,” Rachel said, pushing him out of the way. “Do you know if she likes caramel?”
“She loves it,” he told her, watching her reach into a cabinet and pull out a caramel sauce. She drizzled the inside of the tumbler, added ice, then opened the fridge. Pulling out a pitcher, she added chilled coffee, poured a dash of half-and-half, and stirred. “What about whipped cream?”
“Yeah,” he said, typing everything she did into his phone.
Rachel added a scoop of homemade cream, drizzled caramel on top and sprinkled a dash of sea salt on top.
“Here you go,” she said, handing him the beverage.
“For future reference, I keep a recipe book above the stove. Delaney and I love these, but since she’s pregnant, I try not to drink them in front of her.
If you use it, please return it to my hiding spot. ”
“Thanks, and you got it,” he said, admiring her handiwork. It appeared exactly like the six-dollar drinks he purchased for Rebecca in the past.
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you at dinner. Why don’t you invite her and Kara? We’re having chili and cornbread,” she informed him as she picked up her purse and headed for the back door. “Delaney has a severe case of eating spicy foods. Be prepared.”
He shook his head in disbelief at Rachel’s transformation. He grabbed his truck keys, the cookies, and the drink, and drove to the temporary counseling center.
Rebecca and Kara entered the building as he parked.
Giving them a few minutes to call Kara back, he stared at the drink, hoping it eased the tension he inadvertently caused between them.
He stepped out of his truck and opened the door, scanning the room.
He saw when Rebecca’s eyes landed on him.
They grew wide as she adjusted her expression.
Julio smiled and walked toward her. Handing her the drink, he greeted her, “Hi. I remembered you loved these and thought you might like one.” He dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out the cookies wrapped in a napkin.
“Delaney makes the best cookies. She made these last night and I thought you might like a snack while you waited for Kara.”
She sucked in her bottom lip as she accepted his offering. Taking a sip, her eyes flared and then closed. A deep sigh of contentment escaped her.
“I forgot all about these,” she said, sucking it down. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I can’t take all the credit, Rachel helped me make it.”
“She did?” she asked, astonished.
“Yup. She and Delaney have an addiction, too,” he teased.
“I’ll have to thank her. It’s really good,” she said, taking another sip.
Julio sat beside her. “How’s Kara doing?”
“Therapy’s tough on her. She usually cries when we return home,” she said quietly.
“It’s gotta be tough on her. Instead of attending dances and picking out prom dresses, she’s stuck here. Has she decided to contact her mom?”
Rebecca shook her head. “No, but I’m not giving up.”
“I don’t expect you to,” he said, confidently. “Do you want to come to the farmhouse? Delaney’s making chili and cornbread. I thought it might be a nice change for both of you.”
“Who will be there?” she asked, glancing around her nervously.
“Matthew, Rachel, Delaney, and one of our men, Mac. He helped watch over Tess after she got shot,” Julio said, watching her suck down the drink.
Rebecca paused. “It’s too long a walk for Kara. She tires easily.”
“I’ll pick you up,” he offered.
“I’m sure you have more important things to do. Kara struggles on therapy days,” she said, her eyes darting from side to side, letting Julio know she lied.
“This might cheer her up. When we finish dinner, I can take her on a tour of the barn. Do you know if she rides? Mac went to the auction and picked up three fillies,” he said nonchalantly. “I’m thinking about keeping one for myself.”
“What will you name it? Satan’s spawn?” she quipped, making him smile.
“No. You’ll have to see her. She’s the opposite of Satan and beautiful.”
“Julio…I’m sorry about leaving abruptly the last time I saw you. You’re only doing your job, and I didn’t mean to make it uncomfortable between us,” Rebecca apologized as she concentrated on her drink.
“You’re not my job,” he said firmly. “Like you with Kara, I’m not giving up on you.”
Her gaze met his. The room suddenly seemed to consist of only them. Her lips parted as if she wanted to say something and decided against it.
“Please say yes to dinner. I’ve missed you.
There’s no pressure. I only want you and Kara to enjoy the evening in a small group.
It might help her to socialize again with strangers,” he added, feeling like a chump for using the kid’s need to get her to attend dinner.
At this point, he didn’t care how low he stooped.
“I’ll have to check with Kara,” she said. “We’ll see how she does after this session.
“I’m headed to repair a fence and may not hear my phone. I’ll stop by when we finish. If you can’t make it this time, then we’ll try some other time,” he said, rising. It took everything in him to walk away from her. He reminded himself to take baby steps as he returned to his truck.
Rebecca put her arm around Kara as they walked back to their cabin. The young woman sniffed and blew her nose. “I don’t know why I have to attend these things. It makes me feel worse,” she confessed.
“It may feel like it at first, but one day, you’ll wake up and the pain will feel a little bit less than the day before. Eventually, it will disappear altogether,” she assured her.
“Then why don’t you go?” Kara asked as they entered the cabin.
“I have training,” Rebecca said lamely, hoping the teen dropped it. She didn’t have any desire to talk about her feelings or what happened. Preferring to forget it ever happened, Rebecca dwelt on the possibility of having a sexually transmitted disease to remind her for the rest of her life.
“I didn’t know they trained people how to handle getting raped repeatedly,” the teen snarked.
“Don’t be snide. It’s my job to protect all of you. If I let my emotions get in the way, I wouldn’t be able to do it,” she explained.
“But you didn’t. You became one of us,” Kara insisted.
Rebecca closed her eyes, trying to maintain her composure. In an effort to change the subject, she said, “Julio dropped by. He invited us to the farmhouse for dinner.”
“Can we go?” Kara asked, perking up. “I haven’t seen him lately. He sent me a new phone through the therapist and put his number in it. I’m sending him memes, and Julio sends me these awful dad jokes.”
“When did he do that?” she asked, surprised. Rebecca went to the fridge and pulled out a ginger ale.
“Last week,” Kara informed her. “I figured he gave one to you, too. He asks all the time about how we’re doing. I’m pretty sure he likes you.”
“Says the girl he gave a phone to,” Rebecca teased, feeling almost jealous.
Her feelings about Julio confused her and she couldn’t pinpoint why.
While she waited for an opening to escape, she prayed Julio might find her.
Things grew more complicated when she realized she couldn’t leave without taking the others with her.
“I’ll text him and tell him we’ll come,” Kara said excitedly. “I wonder if the pretty brown-haired woman will be there? She told me I needed a haircut and until then, she’d teach me how to braid it.”
“Rachel?” Rebecca practically growled.
“Yeah,” Kara confirmed. “She gave me some makeup tips and promised to show me how to use them with Melanie and Penny. I haven’t seen her since they returned to their families. Maybe she thought I went home, too.”
Rebecca set her drink down on the counter and turned toward Kara. “Listen to me. Stay away from her, she’s bad news.”
“She seemed nice to me,” Kara said, appearing confused.
“When you got kidnapped, did the men act nice to you?” she blurted, getting angrier at Rachel and Kara. “Sometimes, people are wolves in sheep’s clothing. You can’t trust everyone you meet. It’s how you got into this situation.” The words left Rebecca’s mouth before she could stop them.
Kara’s eyes pooled with tears as she regretfully put away her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. Turning toward her bedroom, she disappeared from Rebecca’s sight.
Rebecca hung her head, feeling shitty for saying such an awful accusation. The young woman, like other teens, didn’t think things like trafficking ever happened to them. Her age, naivety, and innocence played a part in why they took her. Kara wasn’t to blame.
Sighing and feeling ashamed, Rebecca entered the bedroom. “I’m sorry, Kara. You didn’t deserve my anger. I didn’t mean any of it. Those men took you because you’re pretty and they have no conscience.”
Kara sat on the bed, her head resting on her knees. She angrily wiped the tears from her face. “You think I asked for it.”