Understood (Unspoken #1)(18)

Jake eased her upward, wrapping a strong arm around her as he guided her down the steps.

“We’ll get through this, Ellie. Promise me you won’t let this ass**le ruin what we have.”

She slipped an arm around his waist, leaning into him. “I don’t know that I’ve ever told you, Jake, but thank you.”

He stopped as they reached the bottom and looked curiously at her.

“For what?” he asked gruffly.

“For saving me that night,” she said quietly.

He pulled her into his arms and squeezed so tight she gasped for air. He tensed as though he’d say something, but no words ever came. He shook slightly against her, and then he relaxed his hold.

“Let’s go home,” he said.

eee

Later, after Jake cooked lunch, he built a fire in the fireplace, and now he and Ellie lay on the couch watching the flames.

She lay across Jake’s body, and he rubbed one hand absently up and down her back. There was so much she wanted to say, but she didn’t want to get into it right now. She was mentally exhausted after her emotional outburst before, and she didn’t want to do anything to ruin the intimate moment they were enjoying.

More than anything she wanted Jake to take her to bed and make her forget. When he held her, nothing else mattered. And he loved her.

Her chest swelled, and she physically ached with the emotion his admission had wrung from her. What would happen now? Was she strong enough to hold her head high in the face of what she knew was coming?

She hadn’t been out since Ray’s interview. She hadn’t yet been to work, fielded phone calls from people she’d known all her life. She hadn’t gone to eat in the local café where Ray’s picture hung, where the locals liked to brag on the hometown boy.

When she did venture out, she knew she would be greeted differently, if at all. And it bothered her more than she liked to admit. She was only human, and the idea of being a pariah in the town she’d grown up in hurt.

“Why don’t you take the rest of the week off?” Jake murmured close to her ear.

She sighed. “I can’t, Jake. No matter how long I put it off, I’m going to have to eventually face people. I’d love nothing better than to hide, but I can’t allow myself to do it.”

He squeezed her in a hug. “At least take tomorrow. I have to run to the job site, but what do you say we do something fun. Maybe go to Houston to do some Christmas shopping.”

She smiled. He went to such great lengths to protect her. “What’s with you and shopping lately? The only kind of shopping I’ve ever known you to like is grocery shopping and only because it involves food.”

He tweaked her ass with his fingers. “I’m trying to be sensitive. Isn’t that what you women want? A man who’ll go shopping with them, listen intently to their every complaint and be all sympathetic?”

She laughed. “You’re starting to sound like a pu**y, Jake.”

He twisted his hand in her hair and gave it a yank. “Smart-mouthed heifer. So are you saying you don’t want to go shopping with me?”

“No, not at all. We can go. I need to clean up the mess in my bedroom. I can do that while you’re at the jobsite. You going to buy me lunch in Houston?”

“No,” he said. “I thought I’d let you starve.”

“Now who’s the smartass?”

“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go,” he said solemnly.

“Galleria and The Cheesecake Factory?” she asked hopefully.

He sighed heavily. “As long as you don’t plan to make my ass go ice skating, I’ll take you to the Galleria.”

She grinned and leaned up to kiss him. “I have one more request.”

He gave another exaggerated sigh. “And that is?”

She stared intently at him. “Take me to bed and make love to me.”

His green eyes glittered brightly. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Chapter Ten

Ellie swept the last of the glass up from the floor into the dust bin then dumped it into the nearby trash can. With a rueful smile, she examined the broken TV for any more loose pieces of glass before returning the broom to the kitchen.Though she wasn’t prone to fits of rage, that one had felt good. She’d been much to quiet and withdrawn until then. Maybe she should cut loose more often and allow the bottled emotions to burst out.

Jake would be here soon, and she still had to finish doing her hair and brush her teeth. The afternoon away with him was a source of relief. She was being a coward, locked away ever since Ray’s interview more than twenty-four hours ago, but she wasn’t ready to face the open speculation of the small town populace.

As she ran the brush through her hair for the last time, the doorbell rang. She smiled at her reflection in the mirror, amused by the pink that had rushed to her cheeks.

She hurried to the door, stopping only to collect her purse. She opened the door, a welcoming smile on her face.

“Are you ready to…”

The smiled died as quickly as the words broke off. Her purse hit the floor beside her. A bolt of terror blew through her body with the speed of a bullet. Ray Hatcher stood on her doorstep, a bleak expression on his face.

“Ellie, I need to talk to you,” he said.

His voice shook her from the paralysis that had taken over her. She slammed the door, fumbling for the lock she couldn’t make work.