Chapter Six
Pain. It pulled her from her sleep as it slammed into her. Her legs…her ribs…even her face hurt. It was like she’d been run over by a very large truck. There didn’t seem to be any part of her body that didn’t hurt tremendously.
She opened her eyes to morning light streaming in the window. For a split second she didn’t know where she was. Then she remembered. The knock on her door…the beating. She was in Jacque’s spare bedroom.
She had been in no condition last night to notice much of anything, so she slowly sat up and looked around with interest. She was in a queen-size bed flanked by two dark wood nightstands. A large dresser was against one wall, and there was a closet on the other wall.
The bedspread was a pretty turquoise and matching curtains hung at the window.
It was a very nice room, but she didn’t belong here.
She’d been too frightened, too traumatized to protest Jacque’s plan for her to stay here.
In truth, last night she had wanted to be here.
She’d been afraid to stay by herself after the beating she had taken.
But this morning she wanted to tell him that she needed to go back home. There was no way he should be burdened with her staying here in his home. She should be safe in her shanty as long as she didn’t do anything stupid. She’d been incredibly stupid the night before.
With this thought in mind, she slowly pulled herself out of the bed. Her entire body protested the movement, and her ribs felt like they were on fire, but she couldn’t stay in bed all day.
It took her nearly fifteen minutes to get dressed in a pair of jeans and a pink T-shirt. She brushed out her hair and then stepped out of the room with her toothpaste and toothbrush in hand.
As she left the bedroom, the scent of coffee wafted in the air. After brushing her teeth, she returned to the bedroom and tucked her toothbrush and paste back into her bag.
Finally, she walked out of the bedroom and headed for the kitchen area where Jacque was seated at the table with a cup of coffee before him. He immediately stood at the sight of her. “Coffee?”
“Yes, please,” she replied.
“Sit, and I’ll get you a cup. How do you like it?”
“With just a little bit of sugar.” Gingerly she sank down in the chair opposite his.
It took him only a moment to place the cup of coffee in front of her and then return to his seat. “Thanks,” she said as she wrapped her fingers around the warmth of the cup.
“How are you feeling?”
“A little rough,” she admitted.
His green eyes held her gaze for a long moment. “I’m sure that’s the understatement of the day.”
She offered him a small smile. “Okay, I’m feeling a lot rough. I hurt where I didn’t even know I had body parts.”
“Have you taken a pain pill?” he asked.
“Not yet.”
“Why don’t I make us some breakfast and afterward you can take a pill and stretch out either on the sofa or go back to bed?” He stood. “I was just about to make me some bacon, eggs and toast. All you need to do is tell me how you like your eggs.”
“You shouldn’t be cooking for me. What I really need to do is gather my things and go back to my home.” She took a sip of coffee as he stared at her.
“Monique, are you completely out of your mind? Somebody tried to kill you last night. There’s no way you should be alone in your shanty right now. Dear God, woman, aren’t you ever frightened?”
As she thought of the beating she’d taken the night before, hot tears suddenly burned at her eyes. “Yes, I’m frightened, and I don’t want to be alone in my shanty, but I also don’t want to be a burden to you. You shouldn’t be taking care of me.”
“Somebody needs to, and you aren’t a burden. So how do you like your eggs?”
She swiped at her eyes. “Any way is fine.”
He nodded, then turned around and pulled a two-burner cook stove from a cabinet. He plugged it in, grabbed an iron skillet and placed it atop the bigger burner. Within minutes he had bacon cooking.
The smell of it made her stomach rumble, and she realized despite all her pain, she was hungry.
She watched him work in silence. Although he was a relatively big man, he moved with an efficiency and grace that was surprising.
He didn’t speak as he worked, and neither did she.
She was content just to sit and watch him.
He was wearing a pair of jeans and a gray T-shirt that stretched taut across his broad shoulders and showed off his large biceps. He also had his shoulder holster strapped on with his gun. He was so damned attractive. If he would just smile more often.
She remembered how wonderful his big, strong arms had felt around her the night before. She had felt so safe, so incredibly protected in the tender shelter of his arms.
The beating must have addled her brains. Here she sat, hurting with every move she made, and yet she yearned to be back in Jacque’s arms once again.
“How did you sleep?” she asked, breaking the silence that had prevailed until now.
“I slept okay,” he replied.
He took the crispy bacon strips out of the skillet, drained the oil and then got an egg carton out of his cooler.
He broke five eggs into a bowl, added a little milk and some shredded cheese and then poured the mixture into the awaiting skillet.
As the scrambled eggs cooked, from the cabinet he got out a four-slice toaster and filled it with bread.
It was only minutes later when he placed a plate before her and then sat at the table with his own.
“This all looks delicious,” she said. “I hope you didn’t go to all this trouble just because I’m here.”
“I cook myself a good breakfast every morning,” he replied. “What about you? Do you eat breakfast?”
“It depends on my work schedule. Oh, the store,” she exclaimed with dismay. “I need to get in touch with Debbie and let her know I won’t be in for a couple of days. Oh my gosh, I was supposed to open the shop this morning.”
“Whatever you need to do, it can wait until after you eat. You should probably get in touch with your sisters and let them know you’re okay and you’ll be staying here.”
She gazed at him for a long moment. “What exactly do I tell them? For how long will I be staying here?”
He held her gaze. “Until.”
“Until when?”
“Until the person who attacked you is behind bars,” he said.
“But that could be a long time before an arrest is made,” she said in protest.
“Then you’ll be here for a long time. Monique, I intend to keep you safe. I’m partially responsible for what’s happened to you.”
“Why are you responsible?” she asked.
“Because I was part of your plan when I knew it was a bad idea to begin with. I should have stopped you before we even got started. Now, eat up before it gets cold.”
“You couldn’t have stopped me,” she replied. The whole scene felt surreal. A week ago, she would have never expected to be sitting in Jacque’s kitchen having breakfast. She definitely hadn’t foreseen having to stay in his shanty for her own safety.
And yet she wanted to be here. She’d initially thought she wanted to go home, but if she looked deep inside, she would admit that she was terribly frightened and didn’t want to be alone in her shanty.
In a couple of days, she would feel stronger, both physically and mentally, and then she would move back home.
The person who had attacked her had tried to kill her last night. That person had been unsuccessful. Would the assailant come at her again? It was a very good possibility.
The search for her mother’s book had turned deadly, and she had no idea the identity of the monster. Even though she didn’t want to be a burden to Jacque, at least for now she was grateful to be here and under his protection.
They finished eating in silence. “Where are your pain pills?” he asked when they were done.
“They’re on my nightstand, but I don’t need one right now.” She didn’t want to depend on pills to get her through this.
“You definitely need one. You’ve been squirming in your chair, and you moaned between bites,” he replied.
“I did? Now I’m embarrassed.”
“No need to be embarrassed. Monique, you need to take the pills until some of your pain subsides.” He got up from the table. “Why don’t you go stretch out on the sofa, and I’ll be right back?”
She had just lowered herself to the edge of the sofa when he returned with a glass of water and her bottle of pills. He handed both to her. She swallowed the pill and then looked up at him.
“I appreciate that you’re protecting me, but you don’t have to play nurse.”
“Somebody has to do it,” he replied gruffly. “I’ll go get you a pillow so you can rest here, unless you’d rather go back to the bedroom.”
“I’d much rather stay out here with you,” she replied.
“Then I’ll get you a pillow. Do you need a blanket?”
“No, thanks, I’m fine.”
A few minutes later, she was stretched out on the sofa with a bed pillow behind her head and the pain pill starting to work. Jacque had also brought her cell phone to her, obviously knowing she needed to make a few calls.
As he cleaned up the kitchen, she first called Angelique and then Dominique.
Daniel had told both of them about the attack and that Jacque had been with her.
He had also told them to give her some space to get settled in at Jacque’s.
If he hadn’t told them that then she knew both of them would have already tried to see or contact her.
Both were grateful she was staying with Jacque and happy that she was okay.
She then called Debbie and told her boss what had happened. “I should be in tomorrow for my shift,” she said.
“Like hell,” Jacque said as he came back into the living room and caught that part of her conversation. “You need more time to rest.”
“Debbie, my keeper says I need more time to rest, so I’ll get somebody to cover for me tomorrow, and then I’ll be in for my shift the next day.”
Jacque huffed in obvious irritation but didn’t say anything more as he sat in his recliner. It only took her a couple more phone calls to get the schedule at the shop sorted out.