Tainted Love: contemporary womens fiction love story and family saga (Behind Closed Doors Book 1) (22 page)

"You can't guarantee that. I'm his. A possession. To do whatever he wants with, whenever he wants to do it. Running is the only choice I have."

"If you stay, you and I, we can take that power away from him." John said. "You and I, we can have the future you dream of. The one I want to give you. If you stay, you can divorce him and you're no longer his.” John hands were trembling. “Stop running."

"Faith!"

I shuddered at the sound of Cal's voice outside my house.

“Stay here and marry me," John said.

“Faith!” Cal shouted again. "I know you're in there."

John was absolutely right. I needed to take the power away from Cal. I pushed past John. I ran down the stairs and out onto the porch. “Calvin McKenzie!” I halted as I took in the sight of him leaning against on old battered bronze sedan. “You bastard!” I didn’t believe it. “That’s my car!”

“I got fed up chasing your tail around this goddamn country.” His biceps bulged as he folded his arms across his chest. “We need to talk.”

“I'd have thought you'd get the message by now, but it doesn't seem to be getting through. So let me spell it out for you. I'm done talking to you. Speak to Robert in the future."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

I met those hawk-like orange eyes as I demanded, "I want a divorce."

"‘Til death do us part, Fay, remember that?"

The screen door swung open behind me. "Well, buddy…” John laughed as he walked up behind me. “That can easily be arranged."

"Hi." Cal sneered. "You must be John, also known as the guy who's banging my wife."

"Actually, Dr. McKenzie," John wrapped his arm around me and pulled me closer. “I’m known as the lucky son of a bitch who’s going to spend the rest of my life showing Faith a real man treats his wife like a queen.” He kissed me on the cheek. “So your cooperation with a quick divorce would be appreciated.”

“Over my dead body.”

“Like I said, it can be arranged.”

“I’ve had enough of this!” Cal stepped forward. “I’ve put up with this nonsense for over three years. You and the girls are coming home with me right now, Faith McKenzie.”

“Hawthorne,” I said.

Cal looked at me.

“Ms. Faith. Hawthorne. This is my home, Cal, this is my life, and
you
are not part of it anymore.”

“Faith!” He stepped forward again. “You will not speak to me like that again.”

“Try it!” John stepped in front of me as he snarled through his teeth. “If you think you’re big enough to take on a man.”

Tires skidded to a halt at the bottom of the garden and Drew climbed from the squad car. “Everything okay here?”

“Officer, this woman is my wife, and that man is refusing to allow her and my children to leave.”

“We take abduction very seriously these days,” Drew replied. “Maybe the lady should make her own decisions.”

“He’s also threatened to kill me twice,” Cal added.

“Did he now?” Drew asked, turning to Cal and looking at the car. “Threatening... that just won’t do.” He looked at me and then back at the car. “You’re in the country. It will take years to find your body.”

“W-w-what?” Cal stammered.

“Nothing. Dr. McKenzie I presume?” Drew grinned as he looked back at Cal “Sheriff Drew Dixon, I’ve heard all about your work and it’s an honor to finally meet you.” He held out his hand and Cal’s palm slipped into Drew’s. The sheriff twisted Cal’s arm up and flipped Cal face first into the hood of my sedan. “Calvin McKenzie, you’re under arrest.”

“What for?!”

“Possession of a stolen vehicle.”

“But it’s my wife’s car.”

“This vehicle belongs to Kimberly Frances and was reported stolen over a year ago.” Drew winked at me as he guided Cal into the back of the squad car. “And when I’m done with you, I’ve got a long line of people waiting to talk to you.”

Chapter Forty-Nine

From: [email protected]

To: [email protected]

Date: 05/06/2005 12:18:00 PM

Subject: I beat you up the aisle, Little Brother!

Drew took him away that day and he hasn’t been seen in town since. He agreed to a divorce. Yes, we have a few cross words when he sees the girls. He hated having supervised visits but incarceration meant he had no other choice for quite some time. The evidence Robert gathered from the photographs and the letters I’ve sent to you, and Caleb, my sweet little man, giving a statement was enough to convince the judge we needed a protection order when he was released. He’s not supposed to come near Hawthorne Creek. I stand by my convictions though, D, it’s only a piece of paper.

I don’t mind. We’ll continue to bring the girls up to New York to visit him once a month. I’m enjoying our weekend visits with you, Caleb, and even Georgia. I know she’s still furious with me. How can I do this to him? I walked away after twenty-five years, and just when he needed me the most, I left her father with nothing. No job. No home. No money... um, sorry, but he’s not my problem. I’m sure she’ll come around.

I’ve had another detective contact me. Remember the redhead from thirteen years ago? Well, apparently, I was wrong. A wife
doesn’t
always know when her husband is playing away from home. He just wasn’t hiding during that time. And she wasn’t the only one. Why am I not surprised?

They’ve asked me to testify in court. They can assassinate his character all they want, but I have my girls to think about. Georgia and I need to move on from this, and we wouldn’t. Caitlyn is no longer having nightmares about her dad, and I’m not dragging it all back up for her again. Zoe and Lisa have so far been unaffected by any of this, and I intend to keep it that way. So instead, I’m done with this - and I’m opening a new chapter in my life.

I love having Bree and Carol back in my life. Sure, they’re in Washington, and I don’t see them often but we email all the time. Carol didn’t waste any time in telling Bree who Cal was. Apparently, she called Bree into her office after I left, but Bree didn’t believe her. When she told Cal that night, he lost it with her, and then came after me. So, I wasn’t paranoid. He
was
watching us. He tailed us all the way to Hawthorne Creek and then he forced us to stay there. Of all the mistakes he’s made, I hope that’s the one he regrets the most!

I never thought I’d get married again, never trust another man. If it wasn’t for Cal, perpetually chasing me and then stealing my car, I wouldn’t have found John. Now I know what I had with Cal was never real. Not because of what he did to me, but because there’s no smoke screen with John, no castle in the sky, no need to be perfect. It’s just John, just our girls, just happy ever after.

Epilogue

Dear Little Brother,

This is the only letter I hoped you’d never read. I gave it to Robert the day after I married John, with the new revisions to my will. We put the money you gave us in a trust for our girls. We’re both in agreement you are the person we turn to now, we put their lives in your hands.

The white roses I received on my wedding day, you were right, they were from Cal. He chose to remind me of my vows to him. John doesn’t think he’ll do anything but I was married to him for twenty-five years. When Cal says “‘til death do us part”, I knew it was only a matter of time.

So if you’re reading this letter, then it means time ran out for me. I told you a silly bit of paper wouldn’t stop him. Even vanishing acts didn’t help, but they did give me the best few years of my life, and I’ve been loved like I deserved to be loved.

I worry for John. If Cal doesn’t inflict revenge on the man who took me away from him before you read this, then he will. And my love, my John, will not rest until Cal’s neck snaps in his bare hands. Please Darryl, help me? Do everything you can to save John from himself.

I need you to think of Georgia, this is going to be so hard on her. She’s never believed a word I’ve said. This is going to shatter her world. She’s not going to know the truths from lies. Oh, my baby girl’s going to fall so fast, and you won’t know what to say. So tell her I’ve always known she loves me, no matter what she’s said. I’ve always tried to protect and never used her, not the way Cal did. Tell her, if I could protect her from this too, I would. I want her to skate again, D. Promise me you’ll do what I couldn’t? Promise me you take her to the ice rink at the Rockefeller Center at Christmas?

And my little man Caleb… he’s going to be furious, you know. He’s going to want to murder Cal himself. You need to keep his temper in check. He is the reason I realized what had happened to us. Without him, I may never have left Cal at all. I need you to keep him focused on what he wants to achieve. He saved my life, Darryl. It may not seem like that right now, but he did. There are so many more lives like mine and they all need a shoulder and support, someone to heal their heart, their mind, and their soul. So promise me you’ll remind him every day that for every one life he couldn’t save, there are hundreds more he can.

Kitty-Cat-Caitlyn, she’s going to be a star. She doesn’t sing when she’s sad. So you have to tell her to keep singing. Tell her Mommy wants her to. She has to learn a new song every week until her sadness goes away.

Zoe, my little silver lining, she has a wicked sense of humor. You need to remember she’s an actress to get her to cooperate. She’s a little diva when she wants to be. She’s going to tell you that she’s fine, and she’ll look it on the outside. She isn’t. It’s all in her eyes. They’re the gateway to her soul. You’ll have to watch her performances, which of course she’ll love.

And my little Bunny Rabbit, she’s gotten so good at putting on a brave face. She’ll take a deep breath and tell you she can do that but I’d suggest to her you don’t know how. She’s still so fragile, not at all like the others, but she won’t break when she falls. She’s as resilient as the rest of you. Don’t tell her I told you this, D, but she reads me the most wonderful stories. I think they’re her own. I wish I’d had more time with her.

These are my children, my world, my everything, and it all began with an intelligent little boy on a beach who I swore I’d protect until… until… well, um, I guess until you read this.

You’re more than a brother to me. You’ll always be part of my soul, and it did begin with you all those years ago, because family is more than flesh and blood. What I want for you, now more than anything, is someone who will love you, support you, be there for you, and help you through today. Eventually, the difficult days will stop being so hard, and they’ll turn into the best years of your life, and you’ll realize you’ve been loved like you deserved to be loved.

Don’t make Izzy wait for you, D. Don’t cancel the wedding. Don’t put your life on hold. Don’t grieve for me. Okay, maybe just a little bit, but promise me you’ll live. And you’ll love. And you’ll give me nieces and nephews. Lots of them, and teach them all how to make Mom’s apple pie and Dad’s s’mores because they’re Hawthorne legacies.

Don’t blame yourself. I protected you from this until I had nowhere else to turn. There is nothing you could have done. Nothing I would let you do. I don’t want revenge. So please just let your red mist go. Remember my babies, all of them, they need you just as much as you need them.

I only have one regret, and it’s not that I married Cal. I’ve been given so many chances and I’ve always done what was right, always put my family first, but you have to promise me something... if anyone asks…

…You’ll tell.

Love always,

Faith xx

THE END

#

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Keep reading for a sneak peek at:

Blurred Lines

Also by Erin Cawood

~

BLURRED LINES

Behind Closed Doors (Book Two)

Sometimes, you won’t see the lines.

After surviving a serial killer
’
s attack Julia Swift has spent the last seven years married to the man who promised he
’
d never to let anything bad happen to her again. But even while living under Wayne
’
s protection bad things happen to Julia all the time. Most recently the charge for her husband
’
s attempted murder. The former fashion designer turned celebrity stylist is clumsy, talentless, can
’
t get anything right and only working because her best friend, Ashleigh, took pity on her. Julia knows this because Wayne tells her all the time.

But what Julia sees as caring protection, in Ashleigh’s honest opinion, goes far beyond the line of jealous possessiveness and she’s out to prove Wayne is behind Julia’s obscure accidents. Can Julia convince Ashleigh that her injuries are never at Wayne’s hands before Ashleigh goes too far? Or will Wayne finally force Julia to cut all ties with the one person who can destroy their lives completely?

Blurred Lines
is Book Two in the Behind Closed Doors series.