Chapter Six #2
“Going back to work day after tomorrow is way too early,” Jacque said once she was off her phone. “You’re pushing yourself too hard, and the doctor said more than anything you needed to rest.”
“My work doesn’t require any hard labor,” she replied.
“That doesn’t matter. Being up on your feet, waiting on customers and unloading boxes is work and not the kind of rest the doctor wanted you to get.”
“I’ll be resting until I go back to work.” A drowsiness swept over her, and she knew it was the result of the pill she had taken. She gazed at Jacque, who wore a deep scowl. “Are you going to be a big cranky-pants the whole time I’m here with you?” she asked groggily.
Unfortunately, she drifted off to sleep before she heard his reply.
Cranky-pants. Was that who he had become? A bitter man who couldn’t even smile at the beautiful sleeping woman on his sofa?
The problem was Monique was a beautiful woman. Normally her light floral scent radiated from her, filling the air with the image of a field of beautiful flowers.
His stomach had been tied in knots from the moment she’d entered the kitchen. In her jeans and light pink T-shirt, she’d looked positively lovely even with the bruise that darkened one side of her chin.
Just the sight of that bruise had ticked him off. What kind of person could beat on a petite woman like her? It had been obvious that she’d been in tremendous pain as she’d eaten breakfast and yet she still had shared her beautiful smiles.
Watching her sleep was a guilty pleasure. Her skin was poreless and her eyelashes were so long they almost dusted the top of her cheeks. With her features in repose, she looked tranquil and without pain.
His hands tightened into fists as he thought of the beating she’d taken. Even though he wasn’t a violent man, he’d love to have five minutes alone with her attacker.
Nobody would lay a finger on her now, he’d make damn sure of it. For as long as it took, he intended to be her shadow. She was marked for death by some unknown person, but Jacque would make sure no harm came to her.
This wouldn’t end like the last time he had vowed to protect someone. It couldn’t, because if it did, it would completely destroy him.
He picked up his latest crime novel from next to his chair and leaned back to read.
He could hear her breathing. The faint rhythmic sound mingled with the familiar outdoor noise that drifted in through his back screen door.
There was the occasional bird call coupled with the bushes rustling as small animals hurried on their way to forage for food.
Occasionally the sound of a fish jumping could be heard from the nearby water.
For Jacque these sounds soothed his soul.
A faint breeze drifted through the open kitchen window, making the room temperature quite pleasant. One of the first things he did in the mornings was open up all the windows in the shanty. At bedtime he would close all of them except the one in his bedroom.
Monique slept for a little over an hour. She released a small moan as her eyes fluttered open. The sound cut through him. He hated that she was in such pain.
Still, she slowly sat up and offered him a smile. “Did I snore?”
“No, but it wouldn’t have mattered if you had. I probably snore as well.”
“My sisters always teased me and said the minute I fell asleep I’d snore like a bullfrog, but I never knew if it was really true or not.”
“Did they tease you a lot when you were growing up?” he asked.
“Constantly, but to be perfectly honest we all teased each other.” She swung her legs around so she was sitting on the sofa and gazed at him curiously. “Do you have brothers or sisters, Jacque?”
“No, I’m an only child.”
“Where are your parents?”
“My father passed away five years ago from prostate cancer, and my mother passed seven years ago from a heart attack.” Thank God they had both been gone before the event that had destroyed Jacque’s life.
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that,” she replied, her gaze soft and sympathetic.
“Thanks, but it was a long time ago.”
“Does it get easier?” She gazed at him intently. “Because right now for me the heartache of missing my mother hasn’t lessened at all. It lives inside me with such pain, and even after all these months it hasn’t gotten any better.”
“Time does help,” he replied.
“I still feel like I won’t even begin healing until her killer is caught. My life is at a standstill because I need to have the closure of him being thrown into jail.” She released a sigh. “I wanted to catch him so badly.”
“I don’t even want to talk about you trying to catch the killer anymore,” Jacque said.
“We won’t talk about it right now,” she agreed. “To be honest, right now, I couldn’t fight my way out of a wet paper bag.”
“Good to know. So if you misbehave, I could put a wet paper bag over your head and stop you in your tracks.”
Her eyebrows raised slightly. “Oh my gosh, Jacque, did you just make a joke?” She released a small laugh and then groaned and grabbed her ribs. “I was beginning to wonder if you had a sense of humor.”
“I only pull it out for special occasions,” he replied with an unfamiliar grin.
“A joke and a smile. Wow, it’s a stellar day.”
He considered himself a loner, but he had to admit he was enjoying the conversation with her. “It’s going to be time for lunch soon. Are ham sandwiches okay?”
“That’s fine. I’ll pay you for the extra groceries you’re using to feed me.”
“I’ve got it, Monique. I don’t need your money.”
“I pay my own way, Jacque.”
“We’ll argue about it on another day,” he replied. “Don’t make me get out the wet paper bag.”
She laughed once again. “Okay, no more arguing.”
There was no way he intended to take any money from her. He had plenty of his own, and he knew how hard she worked at her job.
The day passed pleasantly. They ate lunch and continued to talk. She shared with him her experiences growing up in the swamp and told funny stories about her and her sisters. In turn, he told her some stories of his childhood as an only child with a doting father and mother.
Daniel showed up just after lunch and asked Monique again about the attack, but she had nothing new to add.
She couldn’t give any kind of an identification and had no other information.
He told them that he and his men had searched all around her porch and the surrounding area, but they had found nothing that could be used as evidence.
“What can you tell me about the note that was in the box on your porch? I asked Jacque about it last night, but he said I’d need to talk to you,” Daniel said.
She looked down at her lap and then back at the lawman. “I can’t tell you anything about it,” she replied. “I have no idea what it means or who could have left it.” Her cheeks flushed lightly with the lie.
Minutes later Daniel left after promising to stay in touch. The fact that she hadn’t come clean to Daniel concerned Jacque. What was the point in keeping it all a secret now? Unless at some point she thought she might go back to investigating again. Over my dead body, he thought.
At three Jacque gave her another pain pill, and after that she napped off and on. It was just after six when he went into the kitchen to fix dinner. He decided to fry up some fish and make some cheesy rice and corn to go with it.
She was napping, and as he thought of the day, he was pleased it had gone as smoothly as it had. He had a feeling she was going to be a very easy houseguest.
The only difficulty he might have was fighting against the simmering sexual tension she evoked in him.
There was something about her that made him think of hot kisses and tangled bed sheets during lovemaking.
But he told himself he was a strong man and the last thing he wanted was a relationship of any kind.
His sole job right now was to keep her safe from a killer and that was it.
She awoke again as he was ready to plate the food. She went into the bathroom and then came to sit at the table. “It looks great,” she said as he placed her plate before her.
“It’s nothing special,” he replied.
“It’s special because you cooked it,” she replied with one of her generous smiles that warmed him up inside.
“Oh, you’re really on your best behavior,” he replied dryly.
“Don’t make me laugh.” Her eyes sparkled merrily. “And of course I’m on my best behavior. I don’t want you to kick me out of here just yet.”
“Yet? Are you expecting a time will come when I will kick you out?” he asked.
“Maybe, but hopefully I won’t be here long enough for that time to come. I intend to be out of here before I wear out my welcome.” She took a bite of her fish. “Realistically, I can’t impose on you until Daniel and his men make an arrest.”
“Right now, we’ll just take things day by day,” he replied.
He didn’t want to argue with her about how long he intended her to stay with him.
He wanted…he absolutely needed to keep her safe.
Any other option was completely abhorrent and wasn’t to be considered.
He didn’t care how long she had to stay here.
They fell into a comfortable silence as they ate. He welcomed the quiet. He had talked more today than he had in the past few months.
Once they were finished with the meal, he sent her back to the sofa and then he cleaned up the kitchen. He then went outside to shut off his generator and lit the lanterns. After, he returned to his chair across from her.
“It feels like I slept half the day away. I’m surprised I feel a little sleepy now,” she said.
“That’s your body trying to heal itself,” he replied.
“When I’m sleeping, it’s the only time I’m not in pain.”
“Monique, I’m so damned sorry this happened to you,” he said intently.
“It wasn’t your fault,” she replied. “I was the stupid person who stepped out on my porch in the dark.” She released a small sigh. “Even though I got that note of warning, for some reason I just never dreamed the killer would actually come after me.”