Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
The clothes were perfect, but she felt bad taking them. She screwed up her lips to the side. “Are you sure?” Her gaze swung from Willa to Pen.
“Absolutely,” Pen said.
Willa nodded. “Yes. They weren’t that expensive. You need casual shirts, shorts, and jeans.”
“It’s so weird having clothes like this. When I bought clothes before, I had no idea what I was doing. I ended up at a thrift store and bought what I thought was good, but I stood out, and not in a good way.”
“How so?”
Heat rushed up her neck to her face. “It’s embarrassing.”
“Don’t be embarrassed,” Willa said.
“Yeah, don’t be. Honestly, you’re safe with us.”
She clasped her hands then dropped them to her sides. Her father had hated when she held her hands together in front of her body.
“Growing up in the cult was weird. Like we never watched new movies. Everything we watched was from the fifties or earlier. So when I went to a thrift shop, I bought a lot of stuff that didn’t fit in.”
Willa’s lips screwed up to one side. “Well, fitting in can be overrated.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, but there is already so much about me that doesn’t fit.”
Pen reached out and took her hand. “We accept you no matter what. You don’t have to fit to be our friend.”
“I don’t know what to say. I’ve never really had friends.”
Pen squeezed her fingers. “You have friends now.”
Willa hugged her first, then Pen. She was surprised by how nice these women were. She’d spent two years trying to fit in, wishing she had friends but failing on both accounts. Now with Jump helping her, she had friends, and they were incredibly nice. She couldn’t believe her luck.
Jump was thankful Willa and Pen were good people. Of course he wouldn’t have told them about Blakely or invited them over if he hadn’t known they were nice. Both Cy and Foster had lucked out when they found their women. He only hoped he was half as lucky as they were.
Blakely didn’t look so worried now. Her smiles came faster, and her eyes were bright with happiness as she talked to Willa and Pen.
He liked seeing her smile, which surprised him a little. He’d never gotten as much pleasure watching any woman he’d ever dated. What was it about Blakely that made him so happy? He didn’t really know her. Maybe he needed to get to know her.
She’d told him some stuff about her family which sounded horrible. How could a parent force their children to have sex with strangers? He understood that money was tight for some families, but having kids sell their bodies for money was awful.
“Do you all want to do lunch?”
Cy checked his watch. “We have to head out.”
“Sure, maybe next time,” Jump said. He wished his buddies could spend more time here just so he could watch Blakely with the other women. She seemed happier now after visiting with them.
They said goodbye to his buddies and their women. He shut the door then turned to face Blakely. She looked happy.
“Thank you for arranging that. I’ve been free for almost two years, and I haven’t experienced anything close to friendship. That was nice.”
“I’m glad you got along with them. Cy and Foster are some of my best friends.”
“They seem nice.”
“They are.” He moved to the kitchen, finding some beef patties Wave had told him about made up in the freezer. “We have some beef for hamburgers. Would you like a hamburger for lunch?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
Her answer wasn’t exactly what he expected. She didn’t seem enthused to be eating burgers. It took about ten minutes for the burgers to thaw enough he could get them separated. He cut some vegetables and set them up so he could roast them on the grill.
Grilling meat was an enjoyable task for him. Cooking on the stove wasn’t his favorite way to cook, and he really didn’t like making casseroles, so he rarely ate them. But making a burger or hotdog was fun.
He washed his hands and checked to make sure he had everything out that he needed. After grabbing slices of cheese, he opened the door to his backyard and then turned to Blakely.
“Want to sit outside with me?”
She nodded. “Yes, that would be nice.”
He liked that she helped him carry the food outside. He motioned to one of the two Adirondack chairs on the patio that were miraculously in the shade.
“You can sit there.”
“Are you sure you don’t need me to help?”
“No way. You’re my guest for one, and I love grilling.”
She turned and moved to the chair but didn’t sit. “Are you positive?”
“Absolutely. I can cook for us, and you can rest.”
“Okay, but if you need something.”
“I’ll ask you to help. But I’m fine cooking.”
She dropped into the chair and blew out a breath. “I’m not used to being given time to rest.”
“Get used to it. You are my guest, well, we’re both Wave’s guest. He’s such a good friend. I feel for him.”
“Why? That was rude. Sorry, I don’t need to know.”
He shook his head. “It’s okay to ask.” Jump put the burgers on the hot grill, loving how the meat sizzled. His mouth watered thinking about how good these would taste. “His mother has cancer, and it doesn’t look good.”
“Oh no. That’s awful. One of the women died of cancer. it was terrible.”
Jump smiled, thinking she was very compassionate for someone who had lived through such hell. “His sister is coming here to live with him. She’s eighteen.”
“Is she married?”
Jump opened his mouth to say something but pressed his lips together. “No, she’s not.”
“I was the odd one out in the cult since I wasn’t living with the man my father chose by the time I was sixteen.
I think the only reason why my father kept me with him was because of the money stuff.
He wasn’t looking out for me or thinking that it would be better for me not to have a husband and kid by seventeen years old. ”
Jump couldn’t imagine the world she’d grown up in. He would have been a bad fit for that type of family. Though he was Navy, and knew how to take orders, he was a little too opinionated to go with whatever other people wanted. “I’m sorry that was how you grew up. It was absolutely wrong.”
She stood and moved closer to him. “The thing about all of it, I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t know how to get out.
The day I found my escape, I took it. Before my dad and the kids died, I’d thought about running, but I wasn’t sure how.
With no one alive who could legally complain about me taking the money, I knew it was my time.
If I’d taken off when my father had been alive, he would have accused me of stealing the money. ”
“How many siblings did you lose in the crash?”
“Eight. We weren’t close. The time I spent with them we were watched like a hawk. I had to measure my words carefully.”
“That is so wrong.”
She nodded. “I just didn’t know how wrong it was until I left. Then I started reading. I also took classes at the community college, but just basics. I don’t know what I want to do.”
“You’re smart. I’m sure there’s something out there for you.”
He didn’t want to push too hard, but he hoped she found something she liked doing.
If she could find something she was passionate about, she would like it better than just having a random job.
He loved his job in the Navy. He considered it an honor to be a part of a SEAL team.
Not everyone could find a job they loved as much as he loved being a SEAL, and not everyone should.
But he wanted Blakely to have something special that she believed in.