A Fresh Start for Two (11 page)

She sighed as she remembered their love-making. Never had she imagined it could be that good. He had made her climax multiple times, which she had never before realized was possible. Sex with Jake was a sweet adventure, and she’d loved every minute of it.

Lucia came up behind her and linked arms with her. “That sounds like one satisfied woman.”

“You have no idea, Lucia. No idea. Back to reality today.”

Lucia laughed as they picked up their pads and arranged their pencils, glancing into the dining room to see if it was full yet. “He’ll take good care of you, amiga. Trust me. You’ll see.”

The night was uneventful, though busy, so they both made plenty in tips. Toward the end of the evening, Julia was assigned to a table of eight people.

“What? I still have three tables and a four-top just came in. Another eight?”

Mrs. Brooks tilted her head toward the door. “They requested you. Do you know them?”

Eight people waited at the door—they were dressed to the nines, but they were all strangers. “No, I’ve never seen them before.” One older dark-haired man continued to stare at her, making her extremely uncomfortable.

“Well, they’re yours. I’ll switch the four-top to someone else’s section.”

Lucia came over. “I’m getting your table of four. What’s going on? I don’t like the looks of that guy staring at you.”

“They requested me, so I have to take care of them,” Julia whispered.

“Be careful. I don’t trust him.”

Julia sucked in a deep breath and marched over to the table once they were seated. There were six men and two women.

“Good evening, my name is Julia, and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Can I get a drink for anyone?”

She took the drink orders, mostly wine, but one Chivas Regal on the rocks. She went to the bar and returned a few minutes later with the drinks. Once she delivered them, she said, “I’ll give you a few more minutes to look over the menu.”

As soon as she walked away, her boss pointed behind her to direct her back to the table. The gentleman who liked to stare had raised his hand to summon her, so she strode up next to him. As soon as she stopped, his hand came up and rubbed her bottom. Shocked, she wasn’t quite sure what to do, but she stepped back automatically.

“No spanx. Nice.” He gave her a wise-ass smile and dropped his hand. “Julia, you brought me the wrong drink.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I asked for a Chivas. It isn’t?”

“Yes, but I asked for a Dewar’s. Please get the right drink.”

One of the women started to speak up, but he held his hand up to stop her.

Julia’s mouth fell open. She was certain the man had ordered a Chivas. What was his game? “A Dewar’s? Are you sure?”

His voice grew a touch louder. “Are you questioning me? I said I asked for a Dewar’s, and that’s what I want. Or do I need to speak to the manager?”

The other guests at the table had grown quiet as they listened to the man’s rant. “No, sir. I’ll get your Dewar’s for you right away.” She spun on her heel and headed for the bar. He was lying, she was sure of it.

Mrs. Brooks came up behind her. “Problem, Julia?”

She turned to speak to the woman. “No, I made a mistake. I’ll fix it. Sorry.”

“I know it’s a large party, but you’re a good server. You should be able to handle it. Why are you so shaken up?”

Her instinct was to explain about the harassment, but Mrs. Brooks often insisted the customer was right, even when it was questionable. Not wanting to start any trouble, she whispered, “I’m fine. I’ll take this to him and get their order.” She navigated around the owner and returned to the table. The man on the end ordered a strip steak cooked medium-well. Certain she knew his game, she repeated his order to him, “One strip steak, medium-well, with French fries.”

“That’s correct.”

She had just turned the orders in to the chef when Lucia came up behind her. “What’s going on? I heard his voice, a little too loud.”

“I’m not sure why, but he’s playing games with me. There’s nothing I can do but finish serving them and get them out of here.” She dropped her pen on the floor and ducked to retrieve it.

“What is he doing, besides making you nervous?”

“Accusing me of getting the wrong thing. He ordered a Chivas, but he said he ordered a Dewar’s, and he rubbed my ass.” She noticed everyone in the kitchen was staring at them. “Of course Mrs. Brooks heard all about the drink error. I can’t talk. I’m busy.” She whirled around and headed back into the dining room with the salads.

Once the dinners were brought out, Julia breathed a sigh of relief and wiped her sweaty palms on her black pants. They’d be gone soon. She had left to check on her other tables when she noticed the owner pointing back to the table of eight.

She said a quick prayer and returned to the table. It was the same man again—of course it was.

He had cut his steak in half and was looking at it with an expression of contempt. “I ordered medium, and this is cooked medium-well. I want another steak. I can’t eat an overcooked piece of meat.”

What the hell was he doing to her? She stared at him. One of the others at his table said, “No, Dave, I thought you said medium-well.”

Dave glared at him. “No, I didn’t, I ordered medium and she needs to fix it.” He turned his attention back to her. “You need to fix this.”

She lost it. His own companion knew he was lying. “Why are you doing this? You ordered medium-well, I’m sure of it.”

He shot out of his chair. “Are you arguing with me? How dare you question me? I think I know what I ordered.”

Her boss was at the table in an instant. “No problem, sir. We’ll get that taken care of right away. Is there anything else you need?” She glared at Julia and handed the plate to her to return to the chef.

“No. Well, maybe. I don’t like this waitress. She’s made two errors with my order and she’s arrogant besides. I’d like another one. I bring customers here often, and I expect to be treated well. In fact—” he stood and motioned to the owner, “—I’d like to speak to you privately.”

“Absolutely, sir,” her boss said. “Let me send another server over, and I’ll be right with you. John will take excellent care of you and your guests.”

“Thank you. I’d appreciate that,” he said with a sneer.

Julia returned the plate to the kitchen and explained the problem to the chef. She waited to speak to her boss. As soon as she came through the door, Mrs. Brooks asked, “What is wrong with you? You know the customer is always right. I’ve never seen you act like this before. What is it?”

“He’s lying, that’s why. Both times he lied. Even one of the other guys at the table said he was wrong. The guy hates me.”

“As a matter of fact, I’m not very happy with something else he told me. We are trying to become the best restaurant on Orenda Lake. You know how I feel about flirting with the customers.”

“What? I didn’t flirt…”

“Silence. The customer who made the complaints has accused you of touching him inappropriately. Is that true?”

Julia’s eyes widened. “What? No? He’s angry with me for some reason, and he’s trying to get back at me. And he grabbed
my
butt.”

“Julia!” she barked. “Give me the orders you have. I’m sending you home tonight. If you hadn’t worked here so long, I’d fire you. Something’s going on with you, so I want you to get out of here before you cause more problems. The entire dining room has witnessed this escapade.”

Julia was stunned. She always did as she was told, and she’d never been in trouble before.

And this was no different. She handed over her pad, apologized, explained where she was in the order, grabbed her things, texted Jake, and walked out the back door with her head held high. In a way, she wasn’t surprised. Things had seemed too good to be true.

As soon as she stepped outside, she saw him.

Vincent was leaning against the hood of his car with his arms crossed, a smile on his face. “I see you met my friend. That’s only the beginning of the trouble I can cause for you. Did you think it was really over, Julia? Because it’s not. Come here.”

He pointed to the spot in front of him, and she found herself edging toward him, just as he expected. In an instant, she had lost her spunk and reverted back to the agreeable girl who always did what she was supposed to do. He’d won this round.

She didn’t speak, just stood in front of him, all energy drained from her. She stared at her ex-boyfriend as chills ran down her spine. Yes, he was good-looking and had a nice build. Yes, he had money. But the rest of him—his soul, his black heart—were disgusting. How could she have read him so poorly for so long?

“Now, we’re going to have a little talk. I have tried to be patient with you, but it ends here. You have one week to come back to me. You are making a laughing stock out of me by backing out of our engagement, and I simply can’t tolerate that. So you have until Saturday. If you don’t break up with him, I’ll take care of him.”

“Are you threatening to hurt him?” Her face turned ashen, and her hand came up to her mouth.

“That’s right. I’ll hurt him. Well, actually, I won’t, but I have friends who will. Just like I have friends who will make sure you are fired from this job. And your little friend, Lucia? I’ll break one of her legs for encouraging you to break up with me. After I’ve taken care of both of them, you and I will still get married, just as we planned. So get your things in order. And if you tell the cop? I’ll hurt him even worse.”

He put his hands in his pants pockets and climbed back into his car, whistling. Before he left, he rolled his window down. “One week. I have other things to do this week, so I’ll pick you up at your house next Saturday. If you’re not there, my fun begins.”

Chapter Eleven

Jake pulled into the inn on Monday evening, and was glad to see a few cars here. He had mentioned on Saturday that he might stop for dinner this week, so was happy to see some of his family there.

Something was not right. He knew all about Julia’s problem at her job, and she had come home from work really upset the previous night, but he also knew she was holding something back. She had arranged to take a week off from work to see if she could get things straightened out, or so she said. All Lucia had been able to tell him was how awful Sunday had been at the restaurant. Well, hopefully this would give her something else to think about for the moment.

He had finally talked Julia into filing for a restraining order against Vincent, and they had started that process, but as far as he knew, she hadn’t seen Vincent. Unfortunately, the courts took a while.

He grasped Julia’s hand in his as they walked up to the front door.

“Jake, this house is beautiful. And right on the lake, too. Nice, very nice.”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder before they stepped inside. “It’ll be a bit overwhelming at first, but there’s no need for you to remember names right away.”

As soon as they stepped inside, a cacophony of voices met their ears, and his family rushed out to greet them. They were obviously excited to meet Julia because there usually weren’t this many people at the inn on a weeknight. Jake held her hand and said, “You ready?”

She smiled and nodded.

“This is my stepmother, Lorraine, and my father, Ryan.”

Both came up to greet her and Lorraine gave her a big hug. “Welcome to our home, Julia. We’re delighted to have you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“This is Ryan and his wife, Cait; Mallory; Lauren; Spencer; Paige; and Daniel. That’s enough for now. The rest are either off at college or in the military.”

Julia greeted each one, and then they were ushered out back onto the indoor porch facing the lake.

Jake noticed his grandparents were already seated there. “Oh, and this is Gramps and Gram.”

She spoke to them and sheepishly said, “What should I call you?”

Gramps chuckled and waved his hand at her. “Just call us Gramps and Gram. Everyone does. You don’t have to be blood to get us to answer.”

Gram smiled and grasped her hand. “At least you’ll remember our names that way. You won’t remember the rest of them at first. Lovely to meet you, my dear.”

Since it was such a beautiful day, Jake tugged her out the door that led to the lake. “We’ll be right back. I want to show her the view.”

The others waved them off, Gramps making some comment about young love, and soon they were down by the water. “See?” Jake said. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

“You’re so lucky to have such a large family.” She placed her hand on his chest. “I have to admit I’m jealous. It’s hard to imagine growing up with so many other young kids. It was always just the two of us. Who were you closest to when you were young? Was it always Ryan?”

Jake stared out over the water, gripped by the same sadness that closed in around him whenever he thought of his older brother. “Yeah, Ryan. He always felt like my twin.”

She rubbed his arm. “Why the despondence? You still get along, don’t you?”

He kissed her cheek. “Yeah, we get along, but it’s not the same. Ryan got a raw deal when he lost part of his leg, and he’s never been the same…at least not with me.”

“How long have he and Cait been married?”

“Not long. And Cait is the best thing that ever happened to Ryan. He’s better, but still. Our relationship isn’t like it used to be.”

Julia squeezed his hand. “You work together, don’t you? You’ve mentioned that before.”

“Yes, but we rarely ride together.”

“Being an adult sucks sometimes. How I wish I could go backwards, to when things were less complicated.”

Her face turned melancholy now—an expression he’d seen on her face often in the last few days. He had very strong feelings for her, and he thought she felt the same way, but maybe he was wrong. It was hard to tell given everything that was going on in her life, and he knew it was no time to push her. “Come on. Let’s go eat. Lorraine is a great cook.”

Since the number was smaller, five of the siblings missing, they actually decided to eat at the dining room table. Lorraine had made ham and scalloped potatoes, corn pudding, salad, and rolls. It was a veritable feast.

Once they sat down, Gramps said, “If I may, I’d like to say a blessing.”

Julia bowed her head as the others did. Gramps’ voice echoed strong, “Bless, Oh Lord,
these gifts which we are about to receive, through Christ, Our Lord. And thank you for bringing Julia to our table to share our bounty. Amen.”

A chorus of “Amen” echoed throughout the room before the food started its trip around the table.

“Lorraine, this looks wonderful,” Julia said. “Thank you for inviting me.” And the honest gratitude in her eyes gave the words even more weight.

Spencer spoke first. “Julia, where did you two meet?”

“We met at Summerhill College. We’re taking an accounting class together.”

Not strictly true, but they didn't need to know the whole story just yet.

“And we’re doing a project together with her friend, Lucia,” Jake said. “Julia and Lucia would like to open an accessories shop for women on Main Street.”

Paige bounced in her chair. “Ooh, I would love to see that. What would you carry?”

“Oh, shoes, purses, jewelry, things for the beach. We’ve planned quite an inventory.”

Julia pushed the food around on her plate.

“Will you really open one? That would be amazing,” Paige said. “There’s really a need.”

“Well, we don’t have the funding to do it, but it has been fun to see how it would go.”

“There are lots of websites where you can describe your venture and receive funding, no strings attached,” Spencer said. “In fact, I think I heard something about a contest in the Finger Lakes. Something about funding a start-up business. I’ll check into it.”

“Really?” Julia glanced at Jake. “Wow. I couldn’t imagine being so fortunate.”

Spencer chuckled. “There are many people in the world who don’t know what to do with their money, and this helps them give some validation to their existence. That’s my personal opinion, anyway.”

“Spencer, where did you hear about that contest?” He turned to Julia. “Spencer is attending the University of Rochester. He gets out of town more than the rest of us.”

“It may have been at a community meeting at the U. of R. I try to stay active in a variety of things.”

Jake hid his grin. Spencer Grant was the eldest of the group, and often came across as years older, though he was only a year older than Ryan.

Paige said, “I think they do it ‘cause it’s fun. Can you imagine how fun it would be to see someone create a successful business with your money?” Paige was still in high school, but the family loved to hear her point of view.

Mallory added, “And some consider investing the American way.”

Jake glanced around the table. He loved his large, boisterous family. Being here set a spotlight on how fortunate they all were compared to Julia. It made him sick to think about how her mother had treated her all these years. Julia conversed without hesitation, but he noticed she hardly touched her food, evidence of the continued stress she was dealing with every day. She’d eaten barely a bite since the issue with her job. But even though her situation would have made anyone sick, he sensed that something else was wrong.

After dinner, Lauren asked Julia if she could show her something in her room, so Julia followed her upstairs.

As soon as she left, his dad said, “I like her, Jake. But she seems upset.”

“She was really nervous about coming here, Dad. She lost her father when she was young. It’s just Julia and her mom and her sister, Tiffany.”

Cait whispered, “There’s still something wrong. I like her too, Jake, but she’s very anxious. Is she normally like that?”

Jake had to admit that Cait and his dad were right. Had something happened with Vincent that he didn’t know about? There was more she wasn’t telling him, he was sure of it.

***

As soon as Julia stepped inside Lauren’s room, Lauren said, “I’m sorry, Julia. I didn’t really have anything to show you. I just wanted to talk to you in private.”

Julia’s internal alarms went off right away. What was she about?

“Come, sit down on the bed.” Once they were both seated, Lauren said, “Jake shared with me that you were recently involved in an abusive relationship.”

Julia started, not really wanting to discuss the situation with Vincent with a stranger. She stood up and said, “I’ve got to…”

But Lauren cut her off. “I know how it feels, Julia, because I was in a relationship like that, too. Please hear me out.”

Julia stared down into the most compassionate eyes she had ever seen. Lauren’s eyes were a sky blue, but she saw so many things reflected in her gaze—pain, sadness, strength, and compassion.

“Please? Give me a few minutes, then you can leave, and if you don’t want me to, I’ll never say another word.”

Julia nodded and sat back down next to her.

“I was abused in college, and it has taken me a long time to get over it. In fact, it happened almost five years ago, and it still bothers me. Abuse takes many forms: physical, emotional, verbal, and the list goes on. No matter what type, it has a profound effect on you, and it affects everyone differently. I’m doing graduate work in history at Cornell University, but I also run a group at the college for abused women. I was wondering if you would like to join me sometime?”

Julia stared at her, shocked that she would suggest such a thing. The idea had never occurred to her. “No, I don’t need…I don’t think so.”

“Well, if you change your mind, I will always be here for you, even if you and Jake don’t stay together. But I do want to remind you of one thing—
it’s not your fault
. Experience has shown me that most women think they are being abused for making mistakes, or some fault in their personalities or their housekeeping or their thinking. It’s just not true. There’s nothing that gives someone a license to beat or demean you. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to react so adamantly.”

“Julia, you’ve done nothing wrong—to me or your abuser.” Lauren leaned over and clasped Julia’s hands in hers. “I’m here to help, even if you just want a friend sometime. That’s all I wanted to say. When it happened to me, I was about your age and I felt so alone. I want you to know that you’re never alone. I would like to be there for you if you ever need me.”

Julia swiped at the tears threatening to spill over onto her cheeks. “Thank you, Lauren. I appreciate it.”

“Here, let me write that number down for you, in case you change your mind.”

Julia took the piece of paper with Lauren’s number on it. Maybe she would call and talk to her sometime. Jake was wonderful, but it might be nice to talk to another woman. “Thank you. I think I’ll go back downstairs now.” She turned and found her way to and down the staircase, and then walked straight out the front door.

Oh, how she wished it were true. How she wished she could confide everything to Lauren, to Lorraine, to Gramps. They were the warm, wonderful family she’d always dreamed of having. But they wouldn’t think much of her if Vincent hurt Jake because of her.

Jake came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You okay?” he whispered in her ear. “You disappeared out the front door without saying goodbye.”

She squeezed his hands on her waist, wanting to keep him behind her so he wouldn’t see how upset she felt. “Jake, can we just go? Do you mind?”

“Not at all. I said my goodbyes for you. Lauren will understand.” He grabbed her hand and led her to his car. “I’m sorry if Lauren upset you,” he said as he opened the door for her, “but when I told her about you, she was pretty insistent that she speak to you alone for a few minutes—woman to woman. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything to her, but I’m just trying to help you. Honestly, I don’t know what I can do.”

“Jake,” she cupped his cheek. “You’ve done more than anyone else has ever done for me. You don’t need to do anything else, except continue to be you.”

She waited until he climbed in the car, swiping covertly at her tears, before she got in. “Lauren was wonderful. She didn’t upset me.” How could she explain what was going on with her? Thus far, she had been able to keep the secret of Vincent’s threat buried inside, but her emotions were bursting at the seams.

“Do you want to stop for ice cream on the way?”

“No, it’ll be dark soon. Let’s just go home.”

She’d gone through the various possibilities in her mind thousands of times, but she still didn’t know what to do. Tell him? No, she would risk him getting hurt, and now that she had fallen in love with the man, she would do anything to keep him from getting hurt.

Go to the police direct? Again, no. She would not endanger Lucia or Jake.