Chapter Three
Natalie finished towel drying her hair and smoothed down the soft, old T-shirt and a pair of jeans she’d changed into. She looked at herself in the mirror and wiped away the remnants of mascara from around her eyes. She’d seen way better days, but there was nothing she could do about it now.
She ran a comb through her damp hair, trying to clear her mind. A knock came from the bathroom door.
“You doing okay, darlin’?” It was June, checking on her.
Natalie gave herself one last look and extinguished the lights. She opened the door and emerged. June stood waiting for her with a caring smile.
“Fine, thanks,” Natalie said. June grazed her arm.
“Good, I’m glad.” She led her down the hall of the cool, cozy home and into the kitchen. Vaughn stood at the worn pale yellow counter, sipping from a mug of coffee. Though it was hot outside, the coffee smelled delicious.
Natalie climbed onto a barstool and noted that Vaughn had changed clothes as well. Now she was in a black tee with faded jeans rather than a dirty white tee and dark jeans. She seemed to look fetching regardless of what she was wearing. In a rugged cowgirl sort of way.
She slid Natalie a mug of hot coffee.
“Thank you,” Natalie said, wrapping her hands around the hot cup of joe. “You’ve both been…so kind.”
June waved her off. “Shoot, that’s nothing, sugar. We’re just being hospitable.”
Natalie sipped her coffee. It was divine. “Still, you’ve been kind. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Vaughn said, sipping from her own mug. Her cowboy hat hung by the door, and she appeared to have brushed her hair, combing it away from her face and tucking the sun-streaked brown strands behind her ears, which seemed to accent her angled jaw. But her eyes were what were the most striking. They were a light, piercing blue, and they felt as though they were pinning Natalie to her seat.
Natalie offered a self-conscious smile and broke Vaughn’s gaze by staring into her steaming coffee.
“Oh,” Vaughn said, reaching across the counter for the cordless phone. “I suppose you need to use this.” She slid the phone to her, much like she’d done the mug of coffee.
Natalie stared at the phone, unsure as to what to do. She didn’t exactly have family she could call. And close friends? Well, she’d lost those when she’d married Allen. He’d been sure to run them off and she’d yet to reconnect, trying hard instead to rebuild her financial security. So, who was she going to call? An Uber? Sure, she could. But she’d just end up back at home, where she was sure the man would be waiting in his truck, starting the whole cycle over again. Only now, she had no vehicle, no way to escape, even if she wanted to try.
Fuck.
She lifted the phone and dialed the only person she knew who would halfway give a shit. Gayle, her roommate of less than a year, answered on the third ring.
“I told you, I don’t like dick pics,” she said by way of greeting.
Natalie stammered, confused. “Uh, what?”
“Who is this?”
“Gayle, it’s Nat.”
“Nat?”
“Natalie. Your roommate.”
“Oh, right. Thought you were someone else.”
Apparently.
Gayle bit into something that sounded crunchy and chewed in Natalie’s ear.
“Listen, Gayle, I’ve had a bit of a mishap with my car. I’m okay, but I’m—”
“Mishap? What, did it blow up or something?” More crunching. Natalie winced and realized that calling her was probably a mistake. Gayle didn’t pay much mind to her or take things seriously on a good day, so what made her think she would now?
“Yes, actually, it did.”
“What? No way!” She laughed. “Jesus, Nat.”
“It’s really not funny.” This was a mistake. The last thing she needed was to be laughed at for her misfortune. Fucking Gayle. She could almost picture her, sitting on the couch, munching on a bag of chips after having smoked a fat joint, binge-watching some reality show with the volume up incredibly loud, doing her best to ignore the rest of the planet.
“That’s crazy,” she said. “I mean—it seriously blew up?”
“Crazy or not, it happened,” Natalie said. “And I don’t appreciate the laughter.” Silence. More crunching. Natalie decided to put an end to the torture. “Anyway, just wanted to let you know that I’m okay and that…. I might not be back for a while.” Natalie could’ve elaborated further, Gayle knowing about her recent troubles with Allen, but Natalie didn’t think it wise to share everything with her at the moment, just in case he decided to come around. If Gayle was one thing, it was a blabbermouth. Intentional or not. And Natalie didn’t want her involved in this. It was for Gayle’s own protection as it was hers.
The statement seemed to have got Gayle’s attention.
“What?”
“So, you can have that friend of yours stay temporarily if you want.” Gayle had an on-again, off-again boyfriend she’d really been wanting to come and stay, but Natalie had always refused because the apartment was too small and she didn’t want another human to pick up after. One child was enough.
“You serious?”
“He can cover my rent for a while.” She wasn’t totally sure about this, but she was sure about one thing. She did not want to go home. And with Gayle’s boyfriend paying half the rent, Natalie could now spend her money on somewhere else to stay.
“Great, Nat, thanks. Er, when will you be back?”
“I don’t know. But I’ll give you as much of a heads-up as I can.”
“Okay.”
“Good-bye, Gayle.”
“Bye.”
Natalie handed the phone back to Vaughn, who seemed surprised that the call had ended so soon.
“Roommate,” Natalie said.
Vaughn eyed the phone. “Did you want to call someone else for a ride?”
Natalie shook her head, as the realization that she had no one and nowhere to go struck again. Tears brimmed as she searched her mind for a plan. And they threatened to fall as she thought of Allen and his threats.
“Would you like for me to give you a ride?” Vaughn asked.
“No, you don’t have to do that—” Vaughn was being so kind.
These people—they were so nice. Why couldn’t she have good people like these in her life? After all, she was a good person, wasn’t she?
June touched her arm again and Natalie turned to face her, her chest now burning with the pent-up pain. The older woman with the wild white hair was looking at her with the kindest, sweetest face she’d ever seen.
“You okay, darlin’?”
Natalie tried to speak, but instead she fell into her gaze and fell into sobs. June drew her to her and held her tight, quietly soothing her as she patted her back. Natalie clung to her, feeling secure in her wiry frame, wishing she’d had someone to embrace her like this all those many years ago when she’d lost her father. And then again as she’d gone from foster home to foster home.
“Shh, there, there,” June whispered. Natalie withdrew and wiped her eyes. June tried to help, using her rough-feeling fingers to smooth away the tears. “Why don’t you tell us what’s going on with you?”
Natalie gulped a breath of air, caught on the tail end of a sob, and settled once again onto the barstool. Her heart raced like a tiny bird’s in her rib cage, but something told her she could trust these people. Perhaps it was their kindness, or maybe their vibrant, caring eyes. She wasn’t sure. She just knew that she felt…safe.
“I don’t know where to start,” she said.
“At the beginning,” June said with an encouraging smile.
“If I did that, we’d be here all day.”
“That’s okay,” June said.
Natalie calmed her breathing. “I’ll share with you what’s going on now. I’m recently divorced,” she said. “It’s been less than a year and my husband, er, my ex-husband, doesn’t want to let me go.”
“Uh-oh,” June said, giving a knowing look to Vaughn.
Natalie waited to see if they were going to share what they were thinking, but when they didn’t, she continued. “He’s been harassing me, stalking me even. Calling me at all hours of the day and night. And he…” She stroked her neck. “Did this. I reported him, but a friend of his lied and provided an alibi for him, so the best I could do was get a restraining order against him. Now he’s having other people follow me and harass me and I just can’t take it anymore. I’m going nuts. So, earlier today when I saw that I was once again being followed, I lost my tail and drove out here, just to get away for a little while. Only, my car decided to implode on me and well, here I am. Thankfully, I’d already packed an emergency bag full of necessities.”
June looked to Vaughn again. They exchanged a long glance. June spoke to Natalie once again. “Sounds like you’ve been through a lot, sugar. I’m so sorry.”
“Me, too,” Vaughn said. “No one deserves that.”
Natalie stifled a cry. “Thanks, but I feel bad. I shouldn’t be burdening you all with this. It’s just that, I feel like I’m losing it. Ever since I started crying in the car, I can’t seem to stop. I’m just totally breaking down.”
“That’s understandable,” Vaughn said. “When you’ve been traumatized like you have.”
“What are you going to do now?” June asked. “Do you have a plan?”
Natalie snorted. “Disappear?”
June squeezed her arm. “I wish you could, sugar. I wish you could.”
There was a brief silence. Then Vaughn pulled June aside and they whispered together off in the corner. Natalie stared at the counter, feeling exposed and vulnerable. She’d just shared some of her deepest troubles with these people and now they were discussing her. She couldn’t help it, but she felt ashamed. She shouldn’t be in this position. But this was how her life had seemed to always go. She’d just always had to deal with the worst of circumstances, including her time with Allen. God, why had she ever bought into his bullshit?
Because he promised me a life beyond all the bullshit I’d been through.
Vaughn and June returned with June placing a hand on her shoulder, as if to reassure her, but it did little to calm her nerves.
“You do believe me, don’t you?” The last thing she wanted was for these two nice people to worry about her lying. “I can show you the copy of the restraining order. I have it.”
Vaughn spoke. “You can show it to us if you’d like. But it’s not necessary. We believe you. We’ve had some experience in this area, unfortunately, with a close family member. We remember what it’s like. The pain, the anguish, the constant looking over your shoulder. And we don’t want you to have to do that. So, we’ve talked it over and we think you should stay with us, in our guesthouse. We’re not using it and it would give you a safe place to hide for a while…”
Natalie spoke up, her need to reassure them now instant and overwhelming. “I could pay rent. I mean, not much, but I’d give you what I could, and I’d be glad to help out around the ranch. I know I don’t know much, but I’m a fast learner.”
Vaughn smiled.
June chuckled. “Well, Vaughn’s a heck of a teacher and we could use an extra hand. And you deserve to feel safe in the place where you lay your head. Everyone does.”
Natalie held back more tears, ones of gratitude. She felt hopeful for the first time in ages. “I really appreciate this,” she said. “You have no idea.”
“Do you need to get anything else from your place?” Vaughn asked.
“No. And even if I did, I wouldn’t go back. I wouldn’t risk it. Besides, I don’t need much.”
“She can get whatever else she may need here,” June said. “Or we can pick it up for her.”
“That work for you?” Vaughn asked.
Vaughn and June were going out on a limb for her. They didn’t even know her, yet they were willing to help. Her luck was finally changing. “If it works for you.”
June patted her shoulder. “It’s a deal.” She headed for the front door. “I’ll let you and Vaughn work out the rest while I go hunt down Hazel.”
“I can do that, Gram,” Vaughn said, making a move for the door.
“No, no. You stay and work things out with Natalie. I’ll be just fine.” She shrugged into a light raincoat and tamed her unruly hair beneath a black cowboy hat. Then, with one last smile and a wink toward Vaughn, she was out the door and back into the stormy night.
“She’s very nice,” Natalie said. “You both are.”
“Like she said,” Vaughn said. “We’re just being hospitable.”
Natalie laughed. “You mean you’re always this nice to strange women you pick up off the side of the road?”
“Mm, you seem to be the exception.”
“Guess I’m just lucky.”
“Guess so.” A grin lifted the corner of her mouth just before she sipped more coffee.
They began to discuss rent and the particulars of Natalie’s stay. Though embarrassing, Natalie told her of limited finances, explaining that she’d been laid off from her job at the credit card company, but that she was still able to support herself with her side hustle. She wrote blogs for a few companies, promoting their products, and now that she was able to do that mostly full time, she was pulling in a livable salary. She still had to live by a strict budget, which she explained to Vaughn, so that meant only a certain amount could be spent on rent. Vaughn, thankfully, understood and offered her an affordable amount.
Vaughn led her out to the guesthouse, which was nestled behind the main house. It was a small Spanish-style cottage with a matching color scheme to the bigger house. She could see that the front was once rich with vegetation and some wildflowers, but had since given way to mostly dead plants and weeds, no doubt due to the relentless summer heat. Nevertheless, it looked like a nice place and the inside looked cozy and comfortable, though stifling hot. Vaughn showed her around, turning on the AC, flipping on lights and fans, and removing furniture covers. The floor was covered in dark tile and the furniture was older and worn. An arched wood burning fireplace adorned the wall of the small living room, flanked by a heavy-looking armchair and a small sofa. Natalie immediately pictured herself there, curled up with a hot cup of coffee and a good book, fire or not.
The bedroom was equally as cozy with a full-sized bed, a chair, and a night table. A beautiful painting of a dark-haired woman in a red Mexican-style dress hung on the wall.
“And here’s the bathroom,” Vaughn said. “Extra toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, and soap, are all in the cabinet here, along with the towels.”
Natalie peered inside just before Vaughn switched off the light.
“And that should do it. We’ll get you stocked up with groceries tomorrow. And your cheeses? They weren’t kept cool enough I’m afraid. I wouldn’t eat them if I were you.”
Natalie laughed. “Those were kind of a silly buy anyway.” She’d only hung on to them for fear they’d be her only means of food for a while. She just couldn’t afford to throw away money.
Vaughn sank her hands into her pockets. “You sure? Because we have some Monterey Jack in our fridge if you’d like some?”
“Really?” She realized just how hungry she was, and she still had her crackers. “I think I’ll take you up on that.”
“Come on,” Vaughn said with a wave as they once again headed for the door. “We’ll get you all taken care of.”
Natalie smiled as she followed her out into the stormy night.
You don’t have to ask me twice, Vaughn Ruger.