Authors: Nancy Hopper
She wrinkled her brow. It was coming back. The pieces of information kind of filtered in, one at a time. He hadn’t married Marietta; he was just marrying her to someone else. He expected her to go to Alaska, but he’d forgotten to tell her. And he loved her.
She looked up at him hazily. “Yeah. I think I remember the gist of it, now.” she said tiredly.
He touched her arm gently. “Tasha, are you all right? Have you seen a doctor?” he asked worriedly.
“
No. I’m okay.” she said doggedly. “How did you find me, anyway?”
Gary shrugged. “Deb figured the Idaho lodge was the nearest home base. We talked to a very frightened runaway girl there, who told us what had happened to you. From there, you left a trail a mile wide. Everyone who saw you remembered you.”
"You were unfortunate enough to get a traffic citation in the outskirts of Denver. Since you were reported missing, they told us about it. Then, we had the Lord on our side. Coming into town, your car was the first thing we saw. We just waited until you came out of the mall.”
She rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe it.” she said wearily.
Gary took her hand resolutely. “Tasha, honey; I don’t want to presume too much, but I’m really concerned about what your father did to you. Will you please let me take you to a doctor? I just want you checked over, to be sure you’re all right. Please let me do this.”
She shrugged. “Maybe after work today.” she said doubtfully. “What time is it?”
Gary looked at her uneasily. “It’s time for dinner.” he said.
She looked disoriented. “Dinner.” she repeated dully. “How long have I been asleep, then? Just a few minutes?”
“
No. About twenty-four hours.” Gary answered hesitantly. “One of the reasons I think you should see a doctor.”
“
Twenty-four ... oh, my God! My job! Hank’ll kill me!” she cried.
“
Who is Hank?” Gary asked calmly.
“
My boss! He’ll be livid. I’ll lose my job.” she gasped.
He held her hand tightly. “Honey, stop. Come on, now. You don’t need that job.”
“
Yes! Yes, I do! It’s all I’ve got!” she insisted tearfully.
“
Why? Don’t you think I can take care of you?” he asked softly.
“
Tasha, I want to take you home with me. Honey, come on, now. Look at me. Think.” he begged her gently.
She looked at him with suspicion. “You?” she asked tightly.
“
Me.” he insisted.
She was quiet. Then, the tears began to flow, again. Gary just pulled her into his arms, and let her go for it one more time. There was nothing else to do, though she was breaking his heart.
By the time Deb got back, Tasha had settled down enough for Gary to get some soup in her. That’s all she would eat. Deb called an Emergency Clinic and got an appointment for her, in an hour’s time.
It was a bit delicate, but they got her there. She wasn’t happy, but she didn’t have the strength to object. When she came out of the exam area to meet Gary, she had a taped nose.
“
It’s broken.” she said, sheepishly.
Gary looked at the floor. He didn’t trust himself to say anything. He took her arm, and got her out to the van. When he went back to pay the bill, the receptionist detained him.
“
The doctor would like to have a word with you.” she said, smiling at him sweetly.
What a gorgeous man,
her eyes said plainly.
Gary simply nodded, feeling too out of sorts to even care about being polite.
The physician saw him in an empty room, five minutes later. “She’s got a pretty bad concussion, but at this point there’s not much you can do. Who beat the hell out of her?” he asked bluntly.
“
Her father.” Gary answered tersely.
The doctor gave him a direct look. “It’s my job to report such things, Mister.” he said clinically.
Gary shrugged his shoulders. “It happened in Idaho, I understand, more than a week ago. Her father is probably rich enough to buy off whoever will try to hold him accountable. His name is Brent Charles. Go for it, if you have to.” he said tiredly.
“
Where are you taking her?” the doctor asked hesitantly.
“
My home, in Oregon.”
“
He won’t reach her, there?” the doctor asked pointedly.
“
No. He’s disowned her, and he doesn’t know anything about me.” Gary confirmed.
The doctor sighed. “Okay. Watch her for disorientation. If it doesn’t go away pretty soon, get her to a hospital.”
“
How long is
soon
?” Gary asked calmly.
“
Two more days, or so. Three at most.” the doctor clarified.
Gary gave him a listless smile. “Thanks.” he said, and walked out.
It was a pleasant ride back to Oregon, for Tasha. She didn’t have to think, she didn’t have to drive, she didn’t have to go to work and put up with Hank’s leering eyes on her. It had made her feel so dirty when he looked at her that way.
Deb was driving her Corvette, which didn’t make her all that happy, yet she recognized that she wasn’t in any shape to drive. Gary wanted her in the van, where she could lay on the couch, or recline in a Captain’s chair, and he could keep an eye on her.
Between the hum and vibration of the van and her pain medication, she found it quite easy to sleep a good portion of the way.
Gary was abnormally quiet and solicitous on the trip, it seemed to Tasha. She knew he was very upset by all that had happened, and felt responsible in good measure because he hadn’t made sure she understood everything clearly.
She didn’t want to talk about it, so she said very little at all. She was feeling strangely ambivalent about everything at that point, and so she just sat back, and let it go.
It seemed no time at all, and they were home again, at Gary’s cabin. Gary and Deb were very concerned about Tasha’s continued lethargy and lack of appetite.
Ruth was beside herself when she saw Tasha’s swollen face and still visible, green lines where her face had been bruised. She held Tasha in her arms and rocked her as she would have done Deb.
“
I’m all right, Ruth.” she comforted gently when she felt sobs shake Ruth’s frame.
“
I’m so glad you’re back. Honey, you’ve given us such a scare.”
“
I’m sorry.” Tasha apologized sincerely.
“
Everything will be fine now. You come on up to bed, and...”
“
Really, Ruth, I’m fine.”
Gary grinned and turned away, when he saw Ruth frown and bodily push Tasha toward the stairs. There was no arguing with his aunt when she went into the bulldozer mode.
She was still in that frame of mind when she came downstairs again and confronted her nephew, arms folded and eyebrows furrowed.
“
So. She does not look good at all, Gary.”
“
I know, Ruth. I tried to prepare you, but ... she’s in pretty bad shape.”
“
What are you going to do? Are we going to press charges against Brent Charles?”
Gary raised one eyebrow doubtfully. “Well, Ruth, I think that’ll be up to Tasha, and I don’t think it’s a question she’s terribly prepared to face just yet. I think we should just let her get her feet back under her, don’t you?”
Ruth sighed, and looked at the ceiling. “I think ... I think we ought to go to Idaho, and hang him.”
Gary chuckled. “Well, I had a hard time not going after him when I talked to this baby runaway girl he’d left there, when she told me what he’d done to Tasha. Luckily for him, he was in New York at the time.”
“
And, it was especially tough when I saw her face. It’s really much better now, than the face Deb and I first saw. And it had been a whole week, then. I think the most horrible part was hearing about what had happened, from the runaway girl -- and not knowing what she looked like, if she was all right. Or if I’d ever find her.”
Ruth backed off. “Yes. I suppose.” she admitted. “What did you do about this young girl?”
Gary smiled. “We took her to the nearest homeless shelter. She was pretty grateful, after seeing what Brent is capable of. She was quite shocked to discover that her sugar daddy has quite a mean streak.”
Aunt Ruth snorted and went back upstairs to check on Tasha.
After getting her home, Gary had to work pretty hard to get in to see Tasha. Ruth was hovering like a mother hen, and left precious little room for Gary to be with her; especially alone.
The doctor felt that she was going to be all right; she just needed some time to pull out of her slump, and get over the pain in her face and head.
Gary finally felt that the time had come to start moving closer to Tasha. He had to deal a bit with Ruth, but she eventually moved aside to make room for Gary to spend time with Tasha.
She was asleep when he went in. He just sat in the chair beside her bed, and stared at her. So many emotions went through his heart, so many thoughts went through his mind as he sat there looking at her now almost normal face. He let his head drop into his hands, and he prayed hard, for a long time.
When he opened his eyes again, he looked at Tasha and found her eyes on him. He smiled and covered her hand with his. “Hi.” he said lightly.
“
Hi.” she answered quietly.
“
You okay?” he asked, letting his eyes tell her how concerned he was.
“
Yeah. I’m okay.” she answered. There was something missing in her eyes; there was a lack-luster, almost blank look. Like there was no soul. Gary could see in her eyes that she had been deeply wounded by the series of events that had taken place.
Not just one, but all of them, in such short succession. He sighed heavily as he realized he had a long road ahead of him. He was going to have to start over, at a point much more distant than the place he’d begun with Tasha the first time. He was willing, and he had no choice. He’d promised total commitment to her. But, he was scared.
“
Would you like to go for a walk on the beach?” he asked hopefully.
She blinked at him. “Ruth probably won’t let me.” she said listlessly. “She keeps insisting that I have to rest.”
“
Yeah, I know. But if you’d like to walk on the beach, I’ll take you. I think the fresh air and sunshine will do you good.”
“
Okay.” she agreed dully.
Gary looked at her for a long moment and squeezed her hand, before he went to deal with Ruth.
Gary gave her no pressure of any kind, for weeks. He never mentioned getting married, or being in love, or the church. No one was permitted to visit until she was ready to go out in the world, again. Gary felt that when she started taking an interest in people again, then she’d be ready to interact with others outside the family.
They went for a daily walk on the beach, and he just held her hand, or walked with an arm around her shoulders. Sometimes not one word was said. He let her set the pace.
On the fourth day, she shot him a wary look. “You don’t talk much, anymore.” she accused.
He grinned. “Neither do you. I figured you’d start talking when you were ready to.”
She shrugged. “What’s to say?”
He looked at her steadily, and weighed his words carefully. “I think you’ve just needed some time to think about everything and consider what you want to do, now. I’ve felt it’s important for you to take your time, put everything in it’s place. A lot happened to you, in a very short period of time.”