Julia's Journey (A Coming Home Again Novel Book 2) (10 page)

In all of
one horrific night, Evan stripped away my innocence and left behind a sharp
stinging pain. And no matter what I do, I cannot get rid of it. So I focus on
other pains to cope. Being around Greyson has always taken away some of my
surface pains and leaves me raw and exposed to the deeper darker pains. I don’t
know how to handle that so I always lash out at him in defense and push him
away.

I need Greyson and miss him terribly. He’s my only friend
and I feel so alone. The void he fills is consuming me again. I know he’s okay
so that makes me feel a bit better. I snuck his phone one night and sent his
mom’s contact information to my phone. It was a night he wasn’t looking too
good and I had toyed with the idea of calling Barbara. I’m glad I swiped her
contact now because I’m able to call and keep a check on Greyson. She’s
reassured me he’s doing great and is about to eat her out of house and home. It
sounded like that made her so happy. I called back last week and begged her to
tell me what he had been through while he had disappeared.

“Sweetheart, that is a question only Greyson can answer,”
she said sadly.

Now that I’m at a distance, things are clicking into place
and making more sense. I’ve pretty much figured out where he went and, more
importantly, why. And it doesn’t make me feel any better about the situation.

Chapter
Thirteen

Greyson

Life is
good! Today I officially became a fly fisherman. Man, did it feel incredible
too. I even had the full-on fisherman’s uniform with hip waders, a fishing
vest, and
boonie
brimmed hat. I paid the guide for
the fishing license and a day’s worth of fishing excursion. And it was
prosperous.

This
fishing spot in itself was simply amazing. We waded through this crystal clear
stream that was lined on the bottom as well as surrounded with smooth river
stones. We were cocooned in a canopy of ancient trees and the day’s peaceful
silence was only interrupted with the hushed rushing of the water and the
occasional bird calling out. I felt like I was dropped in the middle of a
forest in heaven. The guide and I fished at a respectable distance for several
hours with me catching twenty-three good-sized trout. As per the fisherman’s
rule, I only kept six that I planned on eating and released the rest back to
their water home.

I dropped
off three trout to this guy named Eric who’s down on his luck at the moment.
He’s living at this campground in West Virginia for the time being. The poor
guy admitted over a hike a few days back that he made some bad choices and lost
his home, but more importantly, his wife left him and took the children. He’s
not seen them in over a year. Man that really bums me out. He says he regrets
it all and I doubt him none. Eric seems to need someone to talk to without
judgment so that’s what I’ve done. I always pray with him before we part ways
though. It’s the most important thing I can do for him right now.

I spend a
lot of time meditating and in prayer. My Bible verse for the day is John 16:33
-
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have
peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the
world.

I
wrote this and left it with the trout in Eric’s fridge before I came back to my
camper. It’s a great verse and I know a certain girl that could learn a thing
or two from it.
If she wasn’t so stubborn…

I put away my journal and check on my
tinfoil packets of trout that are sitting beside packets of vegetables on the
fire pit grate. The heat of the day is starting to subside as the sun sets. I
stack a packet of each on my blue enamel plate and sit back to enjoy. I moan
with the first bite of the flaky fish. Everything tastes so good nowadays. My
taste buds have reawakened in the last few weeks with a vengeance and I plan to
not take this simple pleasure for granted ever again. I finish one round and go
for the second while thinking back over the last little bit.

The visit with my parents ended up
being stretched more than two weeks, because I was enjoying the company of my
parents and church family too much. I came close to ditching the rest of this
trip and just staying put. But my old man reminded me that we don’t know what
the next day may hold and I would regret not following through with the rest of
my trip. He’s right. Now that I’m back on course, there’s no doubt that I’m
right where I need to be. No doubt about it either, West Virginia is a great state.
I think I must have some mountain man in my blood.

More good news—I’ve packed on a
whopping twenty pounds since I started this trip over two months ago and it
feels great. I don’t feel like a puny punk any longer. I’m feeling more like a
strong man again. This is something else I never plan on taking for granted
ever again.

I’m sitting here by the fire
contemplating eating the last fish when a cab pulls up to my site. The most
gorgeous girl I have ever laid eyes on exits in a short skimpy dress and high heels
that make those mile long legs look even more endless. My mouth goes dry at the
sight of her.

She lugs a huge suitcase and tote bag
over and stands before me as though I should be expecting her. And I didn’t
realize until this very moment that it’s exactly what I’ve been expecting for
the last month. I might have prayed for it a few times in a moment of weakness,
if I’m going to be completely honest.

“Hey,” Julia whispers, looking a bit
unsure.

“Hi,” I say back as I continue to check
her out. All of that lovely blonde hair is dancing around in the breeze. Man I
hate to admit how much I missed this chick. She’s going to be my undoing, if
I’m not careful.

“Nice hat.”

I tip the edge of it. “I’m a fly
fisherman.” I nod towards my plate. “I caught my own supper.”

She smirks. “That’s manly, Stone.”

“Yep,” I agree as I continue to watch
her. She’s fidgeting and those hands have a slight tremble.

“Look… I know you didn’t plan on me
crashing your road trip, but…” Julia pauses nervously. “Honey, I feel like I’ve
just got to be here. Like it’s a trip we both need to see to the end.”

I glance at her shoes and raise my
eyebrow skeptically.
“In stilettos no less.”

“I came straight here after a meeting
with
Leeza
. I told her I needed the rest of the year
off. I didn’t want to chance missing you. Your mom wasn’t sure how long you
planned on staying in West Virginia.”

“I see.” I look over at the parked cab.
“What’s with that?” I nod towards it.

“I asked him to wait in case you
wouldn’t let me stay.”

A chuckle slips out of me at this
statement. I’ve never seen Miss Princess not sure of herself. “You can tell him
it’s okay to leave.”

“Are you sure?” Julia’s looking at me
hopefully.

“Yep,” I agree reluctantly.

Julia heads over and dismisses the
driver. I set down my plate and go retrieve her camping chair from the side
compartment and set it up beside mine. She kicks her heels off and joins me.
After she is settled in her chair, I lay the law down to her.

“I can’t go through another repeat of
Pennsylvania—” I begin, but she cuts me off.

“I’m so sorry for that. I promise.
Never again,” she agrees too quickly, nodding her head adamantly.

“If it even seems that might happen
again, I’m going to have to ask you to head back to New York.” Julia keeps
nodding her head in agreement. “I’m serious,” I tell her sternly.

“I know. That was unacceptable,
Greyson. You have no idea how much I’ve beat myself up for letting that happen
to you.”

“No. I’m talking about the part with
you. You can’t spiral on me like that again. You have a bad
day,
you have to agree to talk to me about it and not run away from it or drown it
in a bottle of liquor.” Julia bows her head and all that lovely hair falls
forward. I reach over and brush it back so I can look at her.

“Next order of business is you’re
eating supper with me. Can you handle that?”

“I don’t want to swipe your supper,”
Julia says hesitantly. She’s not getting out of this. It’s a test to see if she
is truly game on doing things my way from here on out.

I toss the empty packets in the trash
and slide the last packet of trout and vegetables on my plate. “No worries.
I’ve already eaten two fish and a pile of vegetables. I’m stuffed,” I lie. I
could totally eat that third fish, but I need to know she’s serious. I hand it
over to her and she surprises me by taking it and actually eating a bite of
fish.

“It’s good,” she says before taking
another small bite.

As she nibbles, I lay down the next
rule.

“No more running on this trip.” I
thought she was going to appease me and agree to everything, but I was dead
wrong. The Julia I know flares up at this rule.

She nearly spits the fish out. “What?
Now that’s just ridiculous. I need to exercise.” She’s waving those prissy
hands around as though to swat away my request. Well, I’m not relenting.

“You’re overdoing it. It’s time you
give your body a rest. I promise you will get plenty of natural exercise.”

“Natural exercise?” she asks harshly.
This rule is rubbing her wrong.

“Yes.
Hiking,
canoeing, white water rafting and some other fun stuff.
And you’ll be
happy to know that I booked campgrounds with swimming pools from here on out so
you can swim to your little heart’s desire.” She’s still shaking her head. “It
won’t hurt you to change things up a bit. Just give it a try. Okay?” I let her
be for a few minutes before I continue. “It’s either you agree to do this my
way or you can’t come along. I really can’t deal with all the drama we had back
at the beginning of this trip. It wasn’t healthy for either one of us.”

“Okay,” she finally agrees.

This chick has been back not even ten
minutes and I’m already full of anxiety. I take my hat off and rub my head in
frustration.

“Honey!
Your hair has grown back,” Julia
squeals out, startling me.

She sits her plate down and hops in my
lap. She’s got that beautiful smile on her face as she runs her fingers through
my hair that’s barely long enough. It’s coming back in but it’s still severely
short. My brain turns to mush as she works those dainty fingers along my scalp.
And I think I accidently drool.

“It’s come back in darker,” she
comments as she keeps massaging through my hair.

“The sun just hasn’t gotten ahold of it
yet,” I slur out on a moan. It’s all I can do to hold my eyes open. I allow
myself to enjoy this for a little while longer, but come to my senses. I ease
her off my lap and stand up before I start enjoying this too much. Clearing my
throat, I ask, “You want a water to go with your supper?”

Julia takes the hint and picks up her
plate and pops a broccoli spear in her mouth. “Sure. Thanks.”

I come back out of the RV and hand it
over to her. Then I grab her bags. “You can have the bedroom,” I call out over
my shoulder. I thought this would make her happy, but she surprises me again.

“No. You’re legs are too long for my bed.
Besides, I’ve gotten attached to it.” I don’t know why, but it makes me happy
that she referred to the bed as hers.

I look back over to her.
“If you’re sure?”

“Absolutely.
And Greyson...
Thank you. I really need this.” Julia’s eyes glisten with emotion and I can see
how much she really does need this.

I swallow the lump in my throat and
carry Julia’s luggage into the RV. As I stow her belongings in the bathroom and
some in the bedroom drawers I emptied out for her, all I can think about is
those big blue eyes rimmed with tears. She’s a beautifully fragile woman and
she’s so lost. I want nothing more than to find her.

Julia surprises me again later in the
night. When I retire for the evening around ten, she does as well. It’s the
first time we both go to bed at the same time. I notice through the night her
staring at me as though she was trying to work through talking to me about
something. I guess she will in her time.

~~~~

I’m awakened with something… No…
Someone pressing her fingers to my chest.
I pretend to sleep
because I know those touches are searching for answers that I have no desire to
address. Julia continues to run her fingers along the pucker of the scar on my
chest, and then she moves to the smaller scar on the side of my neck. Goose
bumps rise along my skin from her touch. Her silky hair falls near my nose and
I inhale deeply to capture the sweet subtle scent she always carries with her.
It’s a very faint floral smell and I know I could pick her out of a crowd by
that fragrant scent alone. My hand weaves into those locks before I can stop
myself and I start threading my fingers through—from her scalp on towards her
waist. My breath catches when she presses her warm lips to the scar. I’m about
to push her away when I hear faint sniffles.
Great.
So
she’s already figured it out.

“What’s with you and sleep stalking
me?” I grumble out, trying to defuse her.

She ignores my comment and gets right
to it. “You’re sick,” she whispers.

“Nah.
I’m good,” I say, hoping to brush her
off. I still haven’t opened my eyes, but a rustling of papers do the trick. I
pop them open and see her studying my latest bloodwork.

“You’re sick,” she repeats.

I grab the papers from her and sit up.
“If you knew how to read this, you’d know it states that I have a clean bill of
health.” I rub my hand over my face.