Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32725 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
She felt wonderful. Everything in this moment was perfect. She'd never felt so safe and secure in her life. Until Jack's next words brought reality crashing back down on her.
"Let's go home."
She nodded sadly. If that's what he wanted, she would do it. If she had to face her folks, just to get her stuff, she would. Then she would find a place to crash.
If that’s what Jack wanted, then it was the right thing.
She'd do anything for him at this point. The last thing she wanted was to leave this beautiful place… The place where she'd finally had Jack all to herself.
It wasn't just that she didn't want to go home.
She didn't have one.
Chapter Forty-One
Jack
“It’s okay, Red.”
Jack pulled up to Janet's parents house. Her bedroom window was boarded over. Good. He hoped everyone knew why. Then the neighbors would know what sick people were living there.
"I don't want to go in there."
He turned to look at Janet. She looked so small all the sudden. Like a lost little girl. He tried to smile reassuringly.
"So don't. I'm just going to get some clothes for you. Though you do look pretty cute in my shirts."
"Oh."
"Did you think I would take you back here? After what they did?"
"I- I don't know what to think. Or expect."
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead.
"You can stay with me for as long as you want."
“I can?”
“You can stay forever, Red.”
When he pulled back she was staring up at him with an odd look. He never seen that look in anyone's eyes before. It told him that he was the most important person in the world to her. He inhaled sharply. He felt important suddenly.
He felt like he mattered.
Then she blinked and it was gone.
Jack got out of the car and walked up to the front door, pounding it with his fist. It was early, just after dawn. He didn't care what time in the morning it was.
After a minute Janet's father opened the door. He was bleary eyed. Clearly he'd just been woken up.
Jack shouldered him out of the way and walked straight to Janet's bedroom. He found a duffle bag in the closet and started shoving clothes into it. He opened a drawer and grinned at all the frilly lady items inside. He emptied the entire drawer into the bag and then moved to the next drawer.
Then he looked at the hanging clothes. Janet sure had a lot of fancy stuff.
He was rummaging around for something else to put her clothes in when he saw her father standing hesitantly in the door.
"Is she alright?"
"I need another bag."
"I'll get one. Is she?"
He nodded brusquely and the man disappeared, coming back with a garment bag and another large suitcase. He helped Jack as he packed Janet's things.
In the end, Mr. Mahoney ended up carrying half of her stuff out to the car with Jack. He teared up when he saw Janet in the passenger seat.
"Thank God you are alright."
Janet didn't say anything as they loaded the car. She stared straight ahead until Jack was in the drivers seat. She glanced at him for reassurance. He nodded. Janet turned to her father.
"Goodbye, dad."
That was it. She turned away from the open window and Jack pulled away from the curb.
He’d never been so proud of anyone in his life.
Chapter Forty-Two
Janet
Janet stared out the window of the SUV at the huge metal sign that read 'JH Bikes.' It turned out that Jack owned his own custom bike shop. He'd said he was good at fixing things. How had she not known about that?
From the looks of it, business was booming.
"I live on the top floor. There's a couple of empty floors up there too. It's not much but-"
"Are you kidding? It's awesome."
He looked relieved. She was coming to realize that he did care what she thought. Very much so. She smiled and got out of the car.
"Jack!"
A couple of guys were in the shop working. They raised their hands in greeting, looking at Janet curiously. Jack scowled and grabbed her stuff. All of it.
She looked at his hand gripping her luggage. He could carry a lot with those huge hands.
That wasn't the only huge thing he had… she blushed, remembering making love with him that third and fourth time on the deck in the open air. He'd laid a blanket down on the hard wood and then he'd taken her twice.
Fast the first time and then slow the second. That was four times they'd done it in one night. She was a little bit sore to tell the truth. But she didn't care.
Not one bit.
She followed him through a large metal door to an industrial elevator. He pulled the gate down behind them and threw the lever, watching carefully as they rose three stories. There were a lot of empty floors.