Authors: Kim McMahill
“I figured if I waited long enough you’d be sneaking into that little whore’s room,” Phillip hissed.
The blow Jack took to the chin hurt, but did nothing to enrage him as much as hearing Phillip refer to Jessica that way.
“If that’s what you think of her, you obviously don’t know her at all.” Jack rubbed his chin, wiping the blood off his lip as he pushed himself up from the floor and faced Phillip. Fire burned in him. As he stared at Phillip, he could see the man’s confidence start to wane. He watched Phillip ball and un-ball his fists. The motion was so slow and deliberate that Jack had to suppress the urge to laugh at him.
Phillip eyed the smaller man and began to circle. He knew Jack was former military, but his ego had convinced him his size advantage would even the odds. Phillip pumped weights at the gym religiously and had been in plenty of bar fights
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he wasn’t a pleasant drunk. But as he stood there absorbing the rage in Jack’s glare, he suspected the bars he frequented probably weren’t filled with experienced fighters such as the kind Jack had come into contact with during his time in the military.
Jack strode confidently within Phillip’s reach and kept his arms to his sides. Phillip threw his fist toward Jack’s head. Jack ducked to the side and the force behind the unconnected punch sent Phillip stumbling forward. Before Phillip could regain his balance, Jack slammed a fist into his gut. When Phillip doubled over, it took only three left hooks to send the big man crashing to the floor.
The thud outside her door set Jessica’s pulse racing. She had a feeling she knew exactly what was going on and was thankful there were few other guests close by. She threw the hotel robe on and raced out into the hall to find Jack pounding on Phillip. As each fist connected with Phillip’s jaw, blood splattered on the beautifully painted wall.
Phillip was clearly already past the point of fighting back, but she saw no hesitation in Jack. He was so focused on punishing Phillip that she didn’t even think he realized she was standing there. She ran back into her room and grabbed the Secret Service pager her father had given her, pressed the button and raced back into the hall.
“Stop, Jack. You’ll kill him.”
Jack paused at the sound of her voice and then landed another punch to the side of Phillip’s face.
“Please, Jack. It’s got to stop here! I know you don’t want to kill him.”
His fist raised for another blow, but he made the mistake of looking up and he saw Jessica’s violet-blue eyes filled to the brim with tears. Her beautiful eyes were pleading and understanding, not frightened or judgmental. He stood up and took her in his arms.
Two Secret Service Agents raced around the corner, weapons drawn. “What happened? Are you hurt, Ms. Hughes?” They holstered their guns, realizing the situation had been diffused.
“Earlier tonight Phillip shoved me to the ground, bruising my cheek. Daddy told him to stay away from me and then Jack found him stalking outside my door. Please get him out of here before any guests are disturbed and call someone to clean up this mess. And please don’t release him until Senator Hughes authorizes it, but don’t wake Daddy. It’s been a long day. We’ll deal with this in the morning.”
The agents hoisted Phillip to his feet and he groaned in agony as they drug him away. Jack couldn’t help but smile as he noticed the agents’ lack of finesse in handling Phillip’s bruised and beaten body. He suspected they were enjoying the opportunity to be less than polite to the arrogant man.
Jessica led Jack to her room and filled a towel full of ice for his jaw and lip while he sat on the corner of her bed. She placed the ice to his wound and he winced.
“Does it hurt badly?”
“He throws a decent punch for a pretty boy, but I’ve had much worse. I think my fist hurts more than my face. I can’t believe he waited in the hall all this time, just in case I walked by.”
“I can believe it. He has a huge ego. He knew he couldn’t touch me again or my father would destroy him and his father, so you were the next best target.”
Jack took the ice from Jessica’s hand and placed the pack on his left knuckles. He scooted back until his shoulders rested against the pillow propped up in front of the headboard and his legs stretched out on the bed. He patted the other side of the bed for Jessica to sit next to him.
As she crawled onto the bed, her bulky, white terrycloth robe slid off her shoulder, exposing a silky lavender-colored spaghetti strap and a low-cut lacy neckline.
“Thank goodness my gut instincts were correct.” He smiled at her.
It took Jessica a moment to figure out what he was talking about, but then she remembered Isabel’s loaned night gown and what she and Megan had claimed to Jack as they sat on the delightful woman’s porch sipping coffee. She laughed and snuggled up closer to him, allowing the robe to fall further off her shoulder.
Jack slid his palm over her smooth skin as he put his arm around her. Rubbing his hand up and down her bare arm, he took in her beauty along with all the bruises and cuts, reminding him how much they had endured. He turned his eyes upward in order to reel in his emotions and tamp down his desire. Laying his chin on her head and inhaling the floral scent of her hair took him back to the day she chose him on the bus. The scent had made him uncomfortable at the time, but now it made him feel at peace.
“You know, we have a pretty big problem here if neither one of us can sleep without you cutting off my circulation.”
“We’re going to get awfully tired really quick if we can’t find a solution to this dilemma.” She pushed away from him enough so she could look up into his dark eyes.
The glint of mischief in his eyes that she had grown to enjoy held her attention as she waited for him to speak.
“The way I see it, there is only one logical thing we can do.”
“Oh, and what might that be?”
“You have to move to Colorado and marry me so you can crush my arm for the rest of our lives.”
Jessica couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He had never even said he loved her, though she had hoped he did. He wasn’t a man for many words and even less free with his emotions, so it was enough.
“That’s the best plan I’ve heard in a very long time. And, I love you too.”
He smiled and pulled her closer. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and in a matter of minutes she had drifted off to sleep.
Working for the National Park Service has given Kim and her husband the opportunity to work and live in Grand Teton, Hawaii Volcanoes, Guadalupe Mountains, Carlsbad Caverns, and Wind Cave national parks, and on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi. Residing amid some of America’s most stunning landscapes and extensive travels to remote parts of the world have provided inspiration for many of her stories and articles. Marked in Mexico is Kim’s fifth book. She has also published over eighty travel and geographic articles, and contributed to a travel anthology. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography from the University of Wyoming, and currently resides along the unpredictable banks of the Missouri River. Read more about Kim at www.kimmcmahill.com or kimmcmahill.blogspot.com
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