A Fresh Start (42 page)

Damn.
He shouldn’t have left Paige and Mr. Seymour behind. He sprinted back the direction he came from, emerging from the woods and returning onto the road where the car was.

“Are you all right?” Paige got out of the car and ran toward him.
 

He wrapped his arm over her shoulders but kept his eyes on their surroundings. “You need to get back inside. He’s coming for you.”

“Are you hurt? I heard the gunshots.”

Justin turned her back toward the car. “I’m fine. Stay inside.”

“Justin!”

He instinctively ducked, pulling Paige along with him, when he heard Mr. Seymour’s voice.

He pushed Paige in the car and pressed her down against the floor. “Stay down!”

Paige’s hands covered over her ears as another few shots fired toward their direction. Each time he tried to get up and catch a glimpse of Daniel’s position, shots would be directed toward them.

He heard a loud, explosive shot. Without even looking, he knew it was Mr. Seymour’s rifle.

“It’s okay.” He took his hand off Paige’s back and ran his hand through his hair.

“Damn. The gun jammed,” Mr. Seymour complained, his hand quickly dismantling the gun.

“Stay down,” Justin instructed Mr. Seymour, right before another bullet went flying into the car. This time, it went past the broken windshield and breaking the rear windshield.

The glass flew, most of it spilling out.

Justin placed his hand over Paige’s hair and tried to shield her from any of the flying glass. “It’s okay, just stay down,” he repeated.

They couldn’t sit around waiting for Daniel to ran out of bullets.

Since Justin couldn’t get up, he dropped to the ground, pressing himself to the concrete road. Between the tires and the narrow width of vision, he couldn’t see much.

He pushed his body back and again peered through the gap under the car.

This time, he finally saw Daniel’s slow, jerky movement toward them.

Wherever Daniel’s wound was, it was pretty bad. The blood stain had stretched down to his ankles, nearly touching the rim of his pants.

It was difficult to get into a good shooting position, but Daniel was getting closer.

He had to take a chance.

Releasing the safety catch, his index finger moved over the trigger and squeezed.

The first bullet missed.

Justin quickly adjusted his aim and fired a second shot before Daniel had time to retaliate.

The second shot hit Daniel in his left ankle. He collapsed onto his side, his pale face now clear to Justin.
 

Daniel stared back at him with deadpan eyes; the life fading out from his eyes. Despite that, the gun in Daniel’s hand twitched. He was determined to take someone along.

Justin shifted the gun, his finger placed right beside the trigger, ready to give it another squeeze if necessary.

He didn’t want to, but if he had to put one bullet through Daniel’s head to end this whole thing, he would.

Before he had to pull the trigger, a pair of legs moved over to Daniel and kicked the gun away.
 

Justin got to his feet and glowered at Mr. Seymour. “He could’ve shot you.”

“I’ve seen enough to recognize when a man is dying.”

Justin sighed softly and knelt back down, rubbing his hand on Paige’s back. “It’s all right, Paige. It’s over.”

She sat up and looked over at him, her hands still cupped tightly over her ears.

He reached over and gently pulled her hands down. “It’s over. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

She wrapped her hands behind him and buried her face in his chest.

“He can’t hurt you anymore,” he repeated, pulling her tighter against him and running his hand through her hair. “Come.” He helped Paige out of the car and pushed her hair away from her face. “Are you all right?”

They both turned their heads when they heard the sirens.

“Paige,” Justin whispered, getting her attention. “Did he hurt you?”

“No.” The word came out almost like a sigh.
 

He frowned and leaned his face closer. “Are you all right?”

She nodded and stepped closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’ll go with you.”

“Hmm?”

“When the time comes that you have to leave Pine Bluffs, I’ll go with you.”

Justin lifted her off his chest and scrutinized her face. “And your job?”

“I’m not taking it. When I was in college, I used to work on accounts for people. They’d email or mail me their receipts and I’ll settle the accounts for them. It was good money, I can do that again.”

“Do you want to?”

“I want to be with you.”
 

Justin bent down and kissed her. “I love you.”

She beamed at him. “I love you, too.”

He gave her a peck on her nose and looked over to Mr. Seymour who was still standing over Daniel’s body.
 

“He’s gone,” Mr. Seymour said.

“You shot him?” Paige asked.

“No.” He shook his head. “The police did.” He glanced down at her feet and took his shoes off. Bending down, he slipped her feet into his shoes. They were way too big for her, but it was better than having to walk barefooted. “I know where the police officers are, should we join them?”

Mr. Seymour took another look at Daniel’s body and nodded. “You bought her something,” he said nonchalantly.

“Right.” He went over to the back seat and took out the brown paper bag, shaking the bag of any remnant glass pieces. “I’m sure you’ll like these.”

“You got my note,” she said the moment she saw the bag.

“Yeah.”

Paige looked around and asked, “Where is Andrew?”

Justin turned to her. “Don’t freak out. Daniel reversed into him and ran over his prosthetics when he tried going after you.”

Her eyes widened, and she immediately stopped.

“He’s fine,” Mr. Seymour assured. “We tried getting it back in shape, but it wasn’t too successful.” He laughed.

“We should give him a call.” Justin gave Paige his phone. “Let’s get this over with and go home.”

Paige looked out at the runway of JFK airport and returned her attention to the photos on her phone. She grinned at the photo of Jane and herself, taken at the entrance of the American Museum of Natural History.

It had been nearly a year since her kidnap by Daniel. Turned out his name was Daniel, just not Daniel Mansell.

Daniel Shaw had two previous conviction on harassment. He’d stalked two women before her and twice, he was only made to go through psychiatric treatment.

Detective Linden had told them that if he hadn’t died, there would be someone else. People like Daniel only escalated in their obsessive behavior.

Every detail of that day was vividly etched in her mind. She remembered the paramedics arriving and pronouncing Daniel dead.

She remembered stopping by Sandra’s shop on the way back to Pine Bluffs, hugging her and thanking her for everything.

She remembered how Mrs. Seymour and her mom had paced on the porch, then running over to the car once it was within sight. And she definitely remember how the sheriff came by to apologize.

The few months after that passed in a breeze. She returned to some of the routine she’d kept; jogging every morning, having breakfast with the Seymours, and spending time with Justin whenever the both of them were free.

Andrew stayed on in Pine, and along with Travis, helped Justin complete the new houses in Cheyenne while she worked on her new accounting business. Justin taught Andrew and Travis everything he knew about flipping houses. With a little financial help from Paige, Andrew kick-started his new business.
 

Taking her eyes from the whole new Jane in the picture, Paige wriggled her finger and watch the sparkles of her engagement ring and wedding ring as they caught the rays streaming in from the window. She switched off the phone, pulled down the window shade, and leaned over to give Justin a kiss.

Justin had been there for her throughout her relief and procrastination.

Though Daniel’s death had put a definite end to years of looking over her shoulders, it still took her months before she could step back into her house in New York. Justin never pushed her, he never even brought up that topic until she voiced out thoughts of selling the house.

Then, he dropped everything he was working on and went back to New York with her.

Her house being sold was the best wedding gift she received. They had gone back to New York signed the documents and paid Jane a visit.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome on board our flight to Italy.”

Justin leaned over, tightened her seatbelt, and kissed her, his hand weaving into her hair and bringing her closer as he deepened his kiss. “I love you,” he whispered as he broke the kiss.

“I love you, too.”

Hi there!

Thanks for giving my book a chance! I hope you enjoyed reading it.
 

I’ve been blessed to find a wonderful church that preaches the good news of Jesus. In recent years, I’ve been thinking of a way to do my part and forward the good news.

I understand my inadequacies in presenting God’s words, but I do hope that the message of God’s love spoke to you in this book. If I didn’t present it clear enough in my book, here is the message behind the story:
 

Jesus loves you and He has a great and bright future planned for you.

No matter what situation you are in, God is there with you.

And like Joseph in the bible, when God is with you, so is success.

I may not know you personally, but one thing I know is that Jesus loves you and He is there with you.
 

I’d love to hear what you think about this book. Feel free to drop me an email at the address below.

With love,

Trisha Grace

[email protected]

P.S.
Honest reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.com are always appreciated.

About Author…

Trisha Grace graduated from Bradford University with an Accounting and Finance degree. She has always been an avid reader and has a passion for writing. After being a tutor for over six years, she finally sat down and penned her own novels.

Now available:

A Fresh Start

Ghost of the Past Series (Book 1) - Moving On

Ghost of the Past Series (Book 2) - Closing Books

Coming Soon:

Done Being Friends

Ghost of the Past Book 3 - Growing Up

Moving On

©
2012 Trisha Grace

For twenty years, Tyler Hayes had been ripped from his childhood home. After the horrific accident that took away his parents’ life, Tyler’s grandfather removed him from the mansion and sent him away.
 

Now, after twenty years, his grandfather had passed away and he could finally go home. However, even in his death, Tyler’s grandfather had betrayed him once again, leaving the mansion to a woman he had never met.
 

Even though Kate Mitchell had never met Tyler, she knew all about the accident that changed the Hayes’s family. What she didn’t know was how she would end up getting caught in the middle of a long estranged relationship between two different generations.
 

Two complete different personalities would have to learn to get along and play nice in order to survive a will that would change their lives.

Enjoy the following excerpt from Moving On (Ghost of the Past Book 1):

Chapter 1

“After what you’ve been through with your parents and grandmother, you shouldn’t have to be here,” William Hayes said through his oxygen mask. His voice weak, soft, and wispy.

Along with a private doctor and two nurses, Kate sat in Mr. Hayes’s bedroom, watching over him.
 

The king-size bed that used to be in the room had been replaced by a hospital bed. Medical equipment, measuring every aspect of his status, stood all around them.
 

Holding his hand, she said softly, “Are you sure you don’t want me to call Tyler?”

William Hayes closed his eyes. A drop of tear slipped down the corner of his eye and onto the white pillow case. “It was my fault, I abandoned him.”

Kate pulled a piece of tissue and dabbed away his tears. “It isn’t important now, don’t worry about it. Someday, someday he’ll understand.”

A series of coughs reverberated through William Hayes’s fragile frame, and his wrinkled hand flew to his chest, clutching it. Kate quickly moved aside as the doctor and nurses rushed forward to attend to him. When his coughing fit ceased, his trembling hand reached between them. Everyone immediately stepped aside for Kate.

Kate cupped her hands over his. “I’m here.”

He pulled down his oxygen mask as she leaned in. “Help me to…to help him.” His weak voice was barely audible, but Kate knew who he was referring to.
 

The one regret that he couldn’t mend in time.
 

She didn’t know how she could help him, but nodded anyway.
 

Mr. Hayes was a good man, he deserved to go in peace.
 

Her lips curled as she remembered the first time she met him at the elderly home where her grandmother was staying. The elderly home where she visited at least three times a week.

She was surprised to walk into the ward and find her grandmother dancing away with Mr. Hayes. A much healthier Mr. Hayes.

His white hair was combed back and he wore a checkered button-down shirt, tugged neatly into his black pants. His cheeks were slightly flushed and he wore polite smile as he held her grandmother and swayed along with the music.