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.Whatever it was had come from near the road.“I’ll choke the livin’ shit out of you, woman.”Tage froze at the sound of a gruff male voice, and pulled Jilly even nearer to the ground.His lips were right against her ear.“I’ve got to go see,” he whispered.“Stay here.I’m going to circle around to the front of the cemetery.”“No!” she hissed.“Stay here.You don’t know—”“I’ll be careful.You stay here.” He darted off in a half-crouch, ducking behind the larger headstones.The hell she would! She moved forward, ignoring Tage’s pattern of approach, following as straight a line as she could toward the increasing noise.“Don’t!”Jilly heard a woman’s rasping voice.Vividly, she could imagine that whoever had been squeezing the woman’s throat had released her.She heard the sound of a fist hitting flesh, and the gasp of fear and pain that followed it.Tage had disappeared; Jilly had no idea where he was, and she was close enough now to see a man and a woman standing near the gates of the cemetery.The woman tried to kick the man.“Don’t you do me that way,” she hissed.The man neatly side-stepped the kick and launched his fist out, carelessly catching the woman on the side of the face.She dropped to the ground, but looked up.There was something fierce in her upturned face.“I told you if you ever hit me again, I was going.” She was crying now.“This is the last time—”The man laughed.“You ain’t got nowhere to go, woman.Now get up from there.We’re going home.”In response, the woman curled into a fetal position, gripped her hands above her neck, and buried her face into the ground.The man bent down and slugged the woman in the ribs as hard as he could.Jilly heard her shocked exhale.Rage blinded her.“Hey!” she screamed, jumping out from behind a headstone.“Leave her alone, you bastard!” She had the satisfaction of seeing the man jump and look wildly toward her as though he thought she might be a ghost.Jilly ran toward him, trying desperately to quell her shaking knees.Even in the dim light she could see he was the most beautiful black man she’d ever seen, his form perfect.He wore a tight pair of blue jeans, a soft red shirt, and his eyes were coal black.“This ain’t none of your business, girly,” he said.“Now get the hell outta here before I give you a taste.” He reached down, grabbed the woman’s hair, and hauled her halfway to her feet.Jilly didn’t hesitate.She launched herself at the man.She took him by surprise and he let out a little woof! of air as he let go of the woman and fell to the ground, Jilly on his back like a wild beast.Ridiculously, she wrapped her skinny arms around his throat, attempting to get a choke-hold.He flicked her off like a bug.“You crazy little bitch,” he said, jumping to his feet and spitting on the ground at her feet.Jilly pulled herself to her feet and faced him.“I said leave her alone!”He took a step toward her, his intent clear, and out of nowhere Tage appeared.He swung the grocery bag with the flour in it in a wide arc and took the man right beside the head.Flour exploded outward, covering Jilly’s face with a dusty film, and the man dropped to his knees and fell forward with a theatrical thump.The flour floated downward to land on the woman who had lifted her head out of the dirt and was staring up at the two of them with a dazed look.She blinked.Then she turned around and sat up.Jilly saw gravel imbedded in the woman’s knees.“Are you okay?” she asked.She felt kind of weak herself and went to sit beside the woman who was crying without making a noise.Tears slid down her cheeks like a crack had opened in riverbank.There seemed no end to them.Jilly awkwardly patted her hand.“Do you need to go the hospital?” She looked at Tage, but he only shrugged helplessly.A burst of laughter escaped from the woman, and she tried to cover her mouth, but giggles filtered through.The tears still streamed from her eyes, bubbling over her fingers like fountain water.“Shock,” Tage said.“I’m sorry,” the woman said.“I really am.”Now that she wasn’t screaming in fear Jilly noticed the musical quality to her voice.She sounded like a guitar string thrumming with perfect pitch.“When Reuben wakes up, he’s going to be one mad man.” The laughter cut itself off abruptly.“You two better get outta here.”Jilly shook her head.“We’re not leaving you here.”The woman smiled at her, a sad smile that barely creased her face.“He was right,” she said, nodding toward Reuben.“I don’t have anyplace to run to.” She sighed.“But that’s neither here nor there.” She stood up and swayed.“He’s liable to kill all three of us if wakes up and sees you two still here.” She reached up and with a tender touch felt her cheekbone.“Then we’ll all go,” Jilly said.She stood up and faced the woman.“I’m Jilly Sanders and this is Tage Oakes.My grandfather is Otto Beckinhide and he—”The woman interrupted her.“I know Otto.I didn’t know he had a granddaughter, though.”“How do you know Otto?” Jilly asked, amazed.“Child, when you live in a small town, there isn’t a person within two hundred miles you don’t know.In fact, when you live in a town like Briar Rose you’re probably related to half the people you set your eyes on.”“Well, then you know Otto’d never turn you away,” Jilly said bluntly, hoping to hell she was right.“You can come and stay with us until you get on your feet.”The woman hesitated.“She’s right, you know,” Tage said, and Jilly smiled at him with gratitude.“Otto will let you stay.His house is big enough.”The woman stared down at Reuben who let out a thick groan.She shivered and looked first at Tage and then at Jilly.“I—I’d appreciate it,” she said softly.“My name’s Cat.Cat Catella.”Jilly smiled at her and took hold of her arm.Gently, she guided the woman away from the cemetery.Tage walked on the other side of her.Jilly wondered if Cat had the strength to make it all the way to Otto’s house, but she figured between herself and Tage, they’d get her there one way or another.“Is that guy your husband?” Tage asked her.“His name is Reuben Payne,” she answered.“He’s not my husband.” She hobbled forward.“We’ve been living together for a couple years.” She sighed, and looked over at Jilly.“Don’t you ever let a man take control of you, you hear? Sometimes you give a man your heart and he thinks he can cut it up and eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.And ‘for you know it, you’re the one spoon-feedin’ him your own self ‘cause you don’t know what else to do to save yourself.” She straightened her back a little, grunting with pain.“He don’t know it, yet,” she said,“but I’m all through feedin’ him.I’m taking my heart back right now.”Jilly darted a glance at Tage.The thought of giving him her heart dashed through her mind, and to her surprise the thought didn’t frighten her at all, not the way it would have in the past.Was she changing then? Out here with Otto and Gwen and Tage, was she learning that loving other people wasn’t that hard at all?Chapter XII.The walk home was excruciatingly slow.When they were almost there, and could see the glow of the house lights in the distance, Cat moved to the side of the road and was quietly and violently sick.“I’m sorry,” she mumbled over and over.“I think Reuben did me some real damage this time
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IndexCidney Swanson [Saving Mars Saving Mars (epub)
Christine Wood [Life Plan 01] A Life Plan Without You (epub)
Cheryl McIntyre [Infinitely Infinitely (epub)
Clair Delaney [Coral 01] Coral (epub)
Christine Cody [Bloodlands 01 Bloodlands (epub)
Christina Ross [Unleash Me, A Unleash Me, Vol 3 (epub)
Christine Flynn [The Hunt for Once Upon a Christmas Eve (epub
Christian Fletcher [The Left Left on the Brink (epub)
Christopher G Nuttall [Royal The Royal Sorceress (epub)
Zbigniew Chądzyński Wspomnienia powstańca z lat 1861 1863