Reflecting Love's Charms (Bellingwood Book 14) (22 page)

She sat down across from them and leaned forward, her hands on her knees. "We left the hotel after he finally talked to Stephanie. I knew that was going to be my last chance to get away from him. He hadn't done anything to me yet, but he kept talking about how pretty I was and how much he couldn't wait to be able to see his Kayla again." She grimaced. "Before we got to the hotel, he stopped and picked up something brown in a bottle. He got pretty drunk. I thought maybe that would help me when I wanted to get away. Mom used to have some boyfriends that got drunk." She took a breath. "Anyway, he got really mad when he kept having to leave messages on Stephanie's phone. I didn't know how to tell him that she had left town. He kind of knew that she wasn't around, but then he quit making sense about it. When I heard him tell her that she had to call by nine o'clock, I started to get worried, though."

"I'll bet you did," Polly said.

"I was never so glad to hear that phone ring. He'd tied me to the bed." Rebecca sneered. "Using my own new scarf. He did some weird loop-di-loo with my hands and then he tied it around my neck so I couldn't move. I was pretty freaked out."

Polly forced herself to breathe.

"When Stephanie called, he sat down on the bed beside me and I thought it was all over." Tears squirted out of Rebecca's eyes, but she put her hands up to stop Polly from moving toward her. "I'm fine. He didn't do anything. In fact, he lay down and put his hand on my leg and then," she looked up, "he fell asleep. I couldn't believe it. He totally passed out right there. I knew what time we were supposed to meet Stephanie, so I kicked him and woke him up."

Rebecca looked at Polly. "I couldn't reach his balls." She clasped her hand over her mouth and grinned. "Sorry. But I couldn't, even though I wanted to. I just kicked him in the leg. He didn't even notice. He asked me what time it was and when I told him, he untied me from the bed, but tied my hands behind my back and took me out to the car again."

Jeff reached over and took Polly's hand. It felt good just to have someone else with her while she heard this. Polly's mind reeled as she tried to figure out a good way to tell all of this to Henry so he didn't fall apart. Emphasizing Rebecca's strength would be a start.

"We drove to the park," Rebecca said, "and he stopped right where he said he would."

"He was driving drunk?"

Rebecca shrugged. "It wasn't that far and he did okay." She scowled at Polly. "And really? After all this, you're worried about him being drunk in the car?"

"Whatever. Go on. But this is the last time I want to hear about you in a car with a drunk driver. Got it?"

Rebecca looked at Jeff with mock frustration. "Will you talk to her, please?"

He smiled. "Go on."

"I turned around to watch for the cars and when I saw one pull in, I didn't know whether I hoped it was Stephanie and Kayla or not. I didn't want Kayla to go through that." Rebecca furrowed her brow. "There weren't any lights on in the park. I didn't realize that until now, so I couldn't tell that it wasn't Kayla. They parked a ways away from us and Stephanie got out. Her dad opened his door and then opened my door. I was in the back seat right behind him. He pulled me out by my hair and he did it so fast, I fell down." She put her hands on her knees and Polly realized they'd been bandaged. "He pulled me back up and I had to figure out how to get my feet under me so I didn't do that again. He was pissed and yanked me around."

Polly turned to Jeff. "Were you there? Did you see all of this happening?"

He blew air out through his nose. "Yes. We were back in a covered shelter. And Aaron had all of the lights inside the park turned off so this guy couldn't see anyone."

"That was it," Rebecca said. "Stephanie parked so she had to come around her car. Kayla was in the back seat behind her and she got out of the car, too. He was so gross, Polly. He kept telling them that he loved his girls and they were the only people in the world who understood him and the only reason he let their mother live so long was because she took care of them and made them ready for him. He didn't like old ladies, just pretty young girls who could be trained to make him happy."

"Oh ick," Polly said. "I'm so sorry you had to hear that."

"That wasn’t the worst of it, trust me." Rebecca shook her head. "All I could think was how bad it was that Stephanie had to grow up like that and she'd better not let Kayla ever have to go through it. I was going to do anything I could to make sure that never happened. I didn't know that it wasn't Kayla right away. They came around the car and walked toward us. He was dragging me." Rebecca rubbed the back of her head. "It really hurt but I knew you wouldn't cry or scream about it. You told me that those kinds of hurts don't last long and I kept trying to remember that."

"Oh, honey."

"No," Rebecca said. "You were right. It helped me keep focused. I just had to ignore it and wait for the right moment."

"You shouldn't have had to wait for any right moment. It shouldn’t have happened at all," Henry said from behind her.

Polly looked up in shock. She hadn't heard him come in either.

"I brought a crowd." He pushed the door back open and people came flooding into the room.

One by one and in small groups, they all rushed to Rebecca to hug her and tell her how worried they were.

Heath picked Rebecca up so her feet dangled and buried his face in her shoulder. From her vantage point, Polly saw tears streaming down his face. He didn't say a word, just held onto Rebecca as he cried. His brother put his hand on Heath's shoulder, rubbing it back and forth.

Andrew and Kayla held back. When Rebecca was finished hugging Heath, she turned and looked for them and ran to Kayla. "I've missed you all week long," she said. "You can't ever go away like that again. Not ever."

"I missed you, too," Kayla said. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

Rebecca shook her head. "I'm okay."

"What about Stephanie? No one will tell me anything. What happened?"

Jeff stood up and walked across the room. "Come with me, Kayla. I'll tell you what happened with your sister. You should be very proud of her." He turned and nodded at Polly, then walked the girl out of the room.

Rebecca stood awkwardly beside Andrew, unsure as to what to say or do.

"I'm glad you're okay," he finally said. "I was scared something bad would happen."

"You didn't know that I'd take care of myself?" she asked and gave a sly grin to Polly.

"No?" His worried face brought laughs from everyone.

"It's okay, son," Henry said, putting his hand on Andrew's back. "She's going to be a lifetime of trouble for men who love her. I can tell that right now. Just like Polly."

Andrew looked back and forth between Rebecca and Henry. "That can't be true. She can't be like Polly. I can't take it."

Henry guided him to the chair next to where Rebecca had been sitting. "I'm with you. Come on. I have plenty of sandwiches. Have a burger while Rebecca finishes telling us her story."

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

"Hmmm..." Rebecca said, dragging out the word. She looked around the room to make sure everyone was paying attention to her. "Where was I? Oh yeah. He had me by my hair and was dragging me across the parking lot."

Andrew put his burger into his lap and braced his hands on the arms of his chair before turning to stare at Rebecca. Since no one else had been party to the earlier details of her story, shock rippled through the room.

"But he wasn't done with me yet," she said quietly. "He pulled me up so I was standing in front of him and then all of a sudden he had that big knife in his hands again. He held it right here." She touched her neck. "Then he told Stephanie that he didn't want her and he didn't want me. All he wanted was Kayla. That she hadn't been spoiled by the bitch who raised her and he hoped Stephanie hadn't been telling her a bunch of lies. He told Kayla to come to him, but he wasn't letting me go until she got in the car."

Rebecca looked around. "I couldn’t even tell that wasn't Kayla. That woman looked just like her. But he made some nasty comment about how she'd let herself go, just like the bitch he married. He was going to fix that, though. If he had to starve her until she was little again, he'd do it. Stephanie didn't say a word and Kayla started across the parking lot to us."

Rebecca took a deep breath and put the burger she'd been given back in Andrew's lap, as if the thought of food suddenly repulsed her. "Something gave it away then. I don't know what he saw, because it was really dark in that parking lot." She drew in a halting breath. "He tensed up and that lady saw something too. He was going to kill me. He yelled at her to stop and she threw her hoodie back and had a gun in her hand, yelling at him. He yelled that he was going to kill me and he screamed at Stephanie. He called her a bitch and a traitor and said that it was her fault and she'd have to explain why I was dead."

Polly felt her stomach lurch and grabbed the hand of the person next to her, while watching Rebecca's face turn red. She glanced up and saw that it was Heath. He gripped her hand back with so much strength, she finally pulled away and then put her hand back on top of his. Henry was standing behind Rebecca and reached out to touch her shoulder, making her jump. She looked up and relaxed, then nodded.

"That's when Stephanie screeched like a maniac," Rebecca said. "She rushed her dad. I don't know what she thought she was going to do, but he dropped me to the ground and went right for her. I..." Rebecca looked at Polly. "What's the word? I was on the ground and tried to get away. Scrambled?"

"Scrabbled," Polly said.

"Yeah. That's it. I knew I had to get out of there, but I couldn't take my eyes off what was happening. He rushed back at Stephanie and..." Rebecca began to shake, her voice quavering. Andrew dropped what he had in his hands and put his arm around her, then with his other hand, took hers to calm her. Henry's hand was still on her shoulder, but he bent forward and laid his head on top of hers.

"He stuck the knife right in Stephanie's stomach. There was so much blood everywhere. The lady, I think her name is Miss Hart. Anyway, she shot him."

"Oh, Rebecca," Polly said. She went down on her knees and crossed over to Rebecca, then held on to her waist. "I'm so sorry."

"He let go of the knife and fell down. The lady kicked the knife away. It came over toward me and I just stared at it. Then all of a sudden there were a million people around me and I started crying when Sheriff Merritt picked me up just like I was a little girl. I didn't think I was going to cry, but I did. One of the other deputies untied my hands." Rebecca touched Polly's arm. "I told him I didn't want to see that scarf again. Is that okay?"

Polly chuckled through her tears. "They can burn it or do whatever they want to it. I'll never let it back in the house again. I promise."

"I saw Jeff with Stephanie. I couldn't believe he was there and you weren't." Rebecca tilted her head back to Henry. "Aaron told me he wouldn't let you guys come. Were you really scared?"

"You have no idea, baby," Polly said. "We were out of our minds."

"It's a good thing we didn't know what was happening," Henry said.

Hayden, who had taken the seat on the other side of Rebecca, stood up, gesturing for Henry to take it instead. Polly was glad Henry didn't protest. He came around and sat down beside Rebecca, putting his arm around her so she was completely encompassed.

"I've never been so upset in my entire life," he said.

"Can Kayla stay with us tonight?" Rebecca asked.

"If she wants to." Polly turned to Marie, who got up and stepped out of the room, coming back in a few moments later with Kayla and Jeff.

Kayla was pale and her face pinched and tight. She came around the chairs and stood in front of Rebecca. "I'm really sorry he did that to you. Jeff told me what happened."

"Stephanie is a hero," Rebecca said. "And I'm sorry your dad is dead."

"I'm not." Kayla clenched her jaw and her fists. Her eyes flashed with fury. "He deserved to die after what he did to you and then to Stephanie. I hate him so much. I just wish he would have died a long time ago."

"Don't say that," Rebecca said, taking her hand back from Andrew. She reached over and took Kayla's hand. "He's your dad. He was really messed up, but you don't want to hate him."

"Don't you?"

Rebecca shook her head. "No. He scared me, but if I hate him, Mom always said that was on me. It eats me up instead of him. He's dead and doesn't care. Mom always told me that I shouldn't let hate and anger take over my life, especially when the other person doesn't even know I'm mad."

"I still hate him."

"Okay," Rebecca said. "You can tonight. But tomorrow you gotta be over it, okay?"

Polly took Kayla's other hand. "We'll give you until Monday if you need it," she said with a smile.

Rebecca maneuvered herself around Polly and slowly let Andrew and Henry's arms drift away as she stood to hug Kayla. "You're back in time for my birthday party. You can stay with me tonight, okay? I kept Silver with me all week because I missed you so much. He’s waiting for you."

"Jeff said I could stay with him," Kayla said softly. "He thought you guys might want to be just a family tonight."

Rebecca spread her hands out. "Look at all of these people. This is our family. But you can stay with him. It's okay."

"You wouldn't care? He said we'd wait here until Stephanie was out of surgery and then we'd sleep in late tomorrow before coming back here and then up to your party."

"You can do whatever you like," Polly said, standing up. She backed up to sit down beside Heath and took his hand again.

The door to the waiting room opened and a young man in scrubs beckoned to Jeff, who stepped out. The room went silent. A few minutes later he returned.

"She's going to be fine. It wasn't as bad as they feared. No organs were touched by the knife. In fact, he said that it was fairly superficial, given the size of the knife. They did a CT scan to make sure they hadn't missed anything, then stitched her up. She'll have a nice scar on her belly and she's got some scrapes and bruises on her arms and a bump on her head where she hit the pavement. They're keeping her tonight at least and as long as she takes it easy, she might be able to go home tomorrow."

He gestured for Kayla to join him. "They've assigned her a room and we're going up to be there when she arrives. You can all go home, I guess."

Polly grabbed Henry's hand as she stood and walked over to Jeff. "Tell her that she can have anything she needs to make this easier for her. We're so grateful for what she did tonight."

"I don't think she would have done it any other way," Jeff said. "She had to confront this man."

Kayla reached up to hug Polly. "I can't believe it's over. We get to go home again." She turned to Jeff. "Do you think I can go to school on Monday?"

"I'm sure of it," he said. "Let's go wait for your sister."

As she watched them walk down the empty hallway, Polly took a deep breath and forced her muscles to go slack, trying to relax. "I don't know what to feel right now," she said.

"Me either." Henry replied.

"You take your family home," Bill Sturtz said, standing up. "You don't need to be worrying about any of the rest of us tonight. We're just glad this little girl is safe and out of harm's way. Tomorrow we'll have a birthday party and celebrate all thirteen years of her life. Right, folks?"

A murmur of assent went through the room as people gathered their things.

Andrew stepped in front of Rebecca and gave her an awkward hug, looking around to make sure no one would chastise him. "I'm glad you're okay. I can't wait for things to get back to normal."

"Me either," she said, then leaned forward and kissed his lips.

Both of the kids hurriedly looked at Polly and Henry to see if there would be any repercussions. Polly just grinned up at her husband.

He sighed deeply and shook his head. "I have no control, do I?"

Andrew's face flushed bright red and he nearly leapt out of his skin when his mother put her hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Andrew. You have a lot to think about tonight. Maybe some warm milk so you can go to sleep."

"I can't believe you got a kiss before me," Jason said.

Andrew looked at him with a sly grin and then quickly looked away. He shyly waved goodbye to Rebecca as they left.

"Boys, do you want to ride with me?" Eliseo asked Hayden and Heath. "Or go back with Henry and Polly."

"They go with us," Henry said. He stepped forward to take Eliseo's hand. "Thanks for bringing them down. And thanks for being there tonight."

Lydia took Polly into a hug. "I love you," she whispered. "I'm so glad your family is okay. They are as important to me as my own. Aaron and I will be at Rebecca's party tomorrow. I'm thankful this all turned out so well."

"Thanks, Lydia." As she did every time Lydia hugged her, tears filled Polly's eyes. For as much as they were friends, this woman was the mother she'd been missing in the last few years since Mary's death. When she needed to be taken care of, Lydia was always there.

"We'll see you all tomorrow," Marie said. "If you need anything, just call."

"I'm sorry dinner didn't work out tonight," Polly said.

Marie scowled. "Who was thinking about dinner? You have your girl back and that's all that matters." She hugged Polly, then bent down to hug Rebecca and then stopped in front of her son. "I'm proud of you, you know."

"Because I turned into a feckless fool?"

"That's exactly right," she said, patting his hand. "That, and the fact that you found ways to get through the worst life could hand you and you hung in there. Fear causes people to react in a million different ways and sometimes we don't know what we'll do. Being angry and frustrated doesn't make you any less. Managing through it and being here; that's what makes a mother proud." She reached up and hugged his neck.

"Ditto," Bill said, clapping his son on the back. "We're proud of you."

When all that was left in the waiting room was their family, Henry took Polly's hand. "I'm both wrung out and wired up. I don't know whether to run a marathon or drop in a heap."

"I'm starving," Rebecca said, picking up an unopened bag. "Can I eat one of these?"

"You can eat whatever you want," he replied. "Let's pick up our leftovers so we don't leave a mess."

Heath and Hayden swooped around the room; tossed trash into receptacles and gathered the last few burgers into a bag.

"People weren't all that hungry, I guess," Polly said. "What do you want to do with this?"

Hayden chuckled and draped his arm around his brother's shoulders. "We'll manage it. I promise."

~~~

Henry took hold of Polly's hand when they got in the truck. He looked up into the rear view mirror and then gestured with his head for her to turn and see.

Rebecca was tucked under Heath's arm, her eyes closed while leaning against him, and Hayden had her hand in his lap. She looked peaceful enough, safe between the two boys.

"Polly?" Rebecca asked.

"Yes, honey."

"Am I supposed to be upset because I saw someone die tonight?"