Finding Pride (Pride Series) (7 page)

“Well, everything was going just fine, until my dad came running out of the house screaming. The horse took one look at him, and bucked me right off. I flew over the fence and landed backside down in the blackberry bushes. I still can remember my dad’s face as I went flying.” He chuckled a little but continued to rub slowly. “He tore those bushes out the next day.” He laughed to himself again. Even after all that, his back hadn’t looked as bad as hers did now. His smile faded.

Working his way up and down her battered back he wondered what had happened to her. Had Matt know anything about this? No! He was sure he hadn’t. Matt was a lot like himself, he would have wanted blood before seeing this done to someone he cared about, or for that mater someone he hardly knew.

Todd felt some responsibility where Megan was concerned, because Matt wasn’t here to do it. After all, Matt had been his best friend for the last four years. It was Matt who had helped him after his own father’s death. Helping him deal with the loss and the responsibilities that came along with a younger brother and sister that relied on him. Sure, both Iian and Lacey had been older, Iian had been just eighteen at the time, and Lacey two years older. But, there had been plenty of responsibilities he’d had to deal with when he’d taken over the families businesses.

“Tell me about Boston,” he said trying to get her to relax under his hands. She was small, the muscles in her back were knotted and twisted. The bruises ran further down her back to below her pants, but he stayed well above that line.

She was starting to feel more comfortable, the ointment was warm and his hands were warmer. She could feel her muscles relaxing one at a time. She started telling him about Boston, where she and Matt had grown up.

Matt had been born here in Oregon, but she’d been born in Maine almost fifteen years later. When she was two, their parents had moved to Boston. Their dad had started his own law firm there; he’d always been very strict with both children.

She felt like it was her lot in life to be bruised and abused. But, here in this town, with these people, she felt like she could really start a new life.

His hands were slowly soothing away all the aches. She could feel herself melting into them. Electrified, was the best word to describe how she felt around him. She felt connected from the first glance, and had just chalked it up as attraction. Good, wholesome dose of lust, nothing wrong with that, right?

She was beginning to mumble as she told him further about her old job in Boston. Her words were starting to slur together, so she said. “Tell me about yourself, your family. Lacey said you own a restaurant.”

“Yes, The Golden Oar, has been in our family for several generations. Lacey and Iian really run the place now. I run our other business Jordan Shipping. Actually, your brother was my business partner,” he said stroking her neck. “We have a small fleet of ships that go to every continent.” As he continued to tell her the details of his company, he heard her breathing slowing down and becoming shallower. Then, she was asleep.

Shifting lightly he grabbed the quilt off the back of the couch and covered her from neck to toe. Banking the fire, he went and made sure the front door was locked and walked out the back one. Locking the dead bolt with his set of keys Matt had given him.

On his drive home, he couldn’t get the bruises and marks on her back out of his mind.

“What am I suppose to do with your sister?” he asked as he drove home. He hadn’t expected Matt to answer, but felt better for trying.

Tomorrow he would just have to call an old buddy, a Private Investigator; that lived in New York. Todd needed some answers and he knew Mark was the one who could get them for him.

S
he settled in to a schedule over the next few days, usually waking up early to work around the house. Or out in the yard whenever the weather permitted, since she was trying to clear a patch of yard so she could plant a small garden. At least once a day there happened to be a Jordan over at the house. Yesterday, Lacey had brought another batch of her cinnamon rolls. She had stayed around to chat for over an hour. Megan was becoming accustomed to the company dropping by and felt, really felt, like part of something bigger.

She found the little grocery store in town quite enchanting; the plump owner Patty O’Neil, whom she’d met at Matt’s funeral, had talked her ear off about the town and everyone in it.

Currently, she was standing at the check-stand with all her items bagged and paid for. But, trapped there listening to the woman with no real polite way out. She could just imagine her double chocolate macadamia nut ice cream melting by the second. She even thought about dropping the groceries and just running. There really wasn’t a lot of food in her bags, since her and cooking didn’t really mix.

But, she really did want some of that ice cream. But, the way it was going, she was thinking she’d have to drink it instead of savoring it slowly like she’d dreamed.

“So that’s how Robert became Sheriff, quite the young gun he was back then…” Megan had actually phased out during most of that conversation. “That’s Betty; poor dear, lost her Henry last year.” She said nodding out the window to a small older woman walking towards the store. Megan recognized her as one of the ladies who’d stopped by the day after her brother’s funeral.

“Hi Betty,” Patty said, as the woman walked in the double doors. “How are you feeling today?”

“Oh, my arthritis is acting up again, but I’m doing fine. Hello Megan, we really weren’t introduced the other day. I’m Betty Thomas. I help out at all church events, kind of the coordinator, if you will.”

“Betty bakes some of the finest cakes in all of Oregon.” Patty said, “She brought her angel food cake with the chocolate frosting to your place last week.”

“Yes, it was very nice. I think I had two pieces.” Megan said.

“We’re so glad you’ll be staying on. You know, we have weekly prayer meetings at my house. I do hope to see you there.” Betty said.

“Well, the thing is, I’m not catholic.” Megan said with a weak smile. She didn’t want to get into the fact that she hadn’t yet made up her mind to stay.

“Oh,” They both said in unison, sounding rather put down. “Well,” Betty said recovering. “That’s alright, you could come anyway. It must be hard moving in with that hurt arm, how did you say you broke it?” There was an unusually silence that filled the room and both women leaned ever so slightly forward.

Megan looked around the large store and saw four other women standing behind her in line. Their buggies stacked with forgotten melting items, and no one seemed to mind. Everyone was all ears; she could imagine them holding their breaths waiting for the scoop.

“We had a bad ice storm in Boston a few weeks back, I fell outside my apartment. The Jordan’s helped me move in. They’ve been very helpful the last few days.” The statement flew from her lips faster than she had wanted. She was sure that the false news of how she broke her arm would spread around town before night fall.

“Well now, Matt said that you were married. Is your husband still in Boston?” She was getting the feeling that Betty was not only the best baker in town, but the best gossip as well.

She looked from woman to woman not wanting to take this conversation any further; feeling trapped and started to feel light headed from hunger. She’d gone to the store in the first place because her house was empty of food.

Just when she felt like she would pass out from hunger, she looked outside the large windows and saw Lacey walking towards the building. Her small form traveling remarkable fast.

“There you are!” Lacey said after swinging the door wide, “I’ve been looking all over for you.” She looked at the two women, and the other women in line. All of whom quickly looked away and went about their business. “We better get going or you’re going to be late.”

She was saved! She could have kissed Lacey for rescuing her. Lacey started to push her full cart out the door without even so much as a “Hello” to the other women.

“I really need to learn how to do that,” she said starting to load her bags into the car.

Lacey chuckled and grabbed the bags from her, then began putting them in the car herself and said, “It’s easy. You’ll get used to everyone around here. For the most part you just need to ignore the gossiping bunch. If you don’t know by now, Betty Thomas is one of the biggest in town.”

“After what just happened in there, I can believe it,” she said. They were both laughing as they finished loading her groceries into the car.

“You know, maybe you can clear something up for me?”

“Shoot.” Lacey said moving one bag around to fit another one in.

“Miss gossip in there had mentioned the bed and breakfast, and it got me thinking about Matt. I know my brother, and I just couldn’t see it. Do you know why he was wanting to do something like that?”

Lacey straightened up, and looked questionably at her.

“Megan, your brother was not only really excited about opening the bed and breakfast, he had major plans to convince you to move out here and help him. Maybe this is something we can talk about when your ice cream isn’t running out of your bag.” She said holding up a small paper bag with chocolate running out the sides. “How about I swing by after my dinner shift? I’ll bring dessert since it appears your ice cream is now soup.”

Lacey arrived just before dark. True to her word, she carried a large plate of different desserts they served at the restaurant. The triple chocolate cheese cake was Megan’s favorite. She felt guilty that she’d eaten both pieces that Lacey had brought.

“
Maybe you can clear something else up for me.” She said chewing her lip with worry. “Betty had also mentioned something that I didn’t quite understand, about Todd’s first wife.” Megan left the question open, waiting.

Lacey looked up from her cake. “Sara,” she set down her fork. “They were married for almost two years when she became pregnant. Almost a month into the pregnancy the doctor noticed something wrong with her blood test. They had a choice; treat the cancer and lose the baby, or try to go full term and treat the cancer after. In the beginning of her third term, she went in for a check up and they put her in the hospital where she stayed for almost two weeks before we lost them both.” Lacey looked up into Megan’s eyes.

“Losing like that, it does something to you. I’ll be the first to tell you that if it hadn’t been for your brother, Todd wouldn’t be the man you see today. Matt saved my brother. No, Matt saved my whole family. Less than a year later, we lost our dad and Iian lost his hearing. It was Matt that helped us get back, it was your brother who helped us see that we could go on. I think, no, I know that if he was here, he would say the same to you.”

Megan started to stiffen. “No,” Lacey said reaching over and taking her hand. “Please don’t pull away. I won’t pry, but I will say this. Your brother saved us, all three of us feel the same way about you that we did for him. You’re our family now, part of us.”

Wiping a tear from her cheek. Megan took a deep breath.

“
Tell me your thoughts about Matt’s bed and breakfast idea.” She’d been going over it in her head all day. The business plan sounded solid, but she had never run her own business before, just marketed others.