Pearl Valley Page 5

  Janie shook her head.

  He clasped his hands together and said, “Look I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think your accident is just what I need to help me find peace.”

  She blinked rapidly. “What?”

  “Don’t worry, Mrs. Purvis told me all about the fire, and I think—“

  “How dare you!” She jumped to her feet and tried to walk out, but he reached out for her again.

  “Wait just a minute, darling. There’s no need to get all irate. I’m trying to say I understand—“

  The slap echoed throughout the bottom floor of the house, the sound increased by the bare hardwood floors. He released his grip. Janie breathed heavily, her chest heaving.

  “Get out!”

  “No. I’m not leaving until we talk.”

  “We have nothing to talk about.”

  “Well I think we do.”

  “I think we don’t,” she said, placing her gloved hands on her hips.

  If his cheek hadn’t smarted so he might have laughed at the sight she presented. Hair pulled into a childish ponytail, t-shirt picturing furry animals, large ball shorts hanging to her knees. Trying a different tactic, he said, “I’ll tell you my story if you’ll tell me yours.”

  The offer lingered in the air until Janie plopped down defeated. “Go ahead.”

  He spared none of the gruesome details as he relayed his tale.

  “I was a Navy SEAL, top of my class. I was ordered to travel with a convoy of supplies being escorted to a nearby village.

  “The village had been struck by rockets. They devastated the food and water supply and destroyed most of the homes.” He paused and swallowed. “As we approached, there was an overwhelming scent of rotting bodies. I remember…” He stopped and studied his hands.

  She wept silently and gnawed her lip.

  He continued, “We were about fifty feet from the village’s borders when a rocket struck our convoy. The truck I was in exploded, and I was thrown from the wreckage.”

  He cringed as she moved closer to him and covered his hand with her own. Sighing, he said, “A lot of things happened that I don’t remember, but I know I was rescued and taken to an emergency medical unit.” Gently, he squeezed her gloved fingers, trying not to hurt the tender skin underneath.

  “Is that how you lost your leg?” she asked.

  “Word travels fast, I see.”

  “In fairness, you did show the prosthesis to Old Jim. The grocery store is a hotbed of gossip, worse than any bar ever thought about being.”

  “Now you tell me,” he said. He smiled and used his knuckle to wipe a tear from her cheek.

  Red rushed to her face, and she drew her hands into her lap. When she didn’t speak he finished, “Losing my leg was hard. I felt like half a person. Here I had been running through the desert, toting a gun, protecting people, and now I couldn’t even walk.” He gazed into her eyes. “But God put some good people before me. I had a wonderful nurse who introduced me to local men in my same situation. Then I joined a support group for wounded soldiers and it changed my life.”

  “If you have all that, why do you need me?” she whispered, her voice strained.

  He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “Rory Chance — he is my support leader — had a similar experience to my own, and he seems to think I need extra help. He says I have anger issues.”

  “Do you?”

  “I only punched one guy. One. Admittedly he had to go into the hospital for a few days, but…” He didn’t explain further.

  “You punched someone that hard? But why?”

  “Why? I’ll tell you why. I punched him because he kept staring at me.”

  “Did he say anything?”

  Fresh waves of fury welled up and he balled his fists. He needed to get out of there before he did something he would regret.

  ****

  It felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked from the room. Trevor trembled, and Janie’s fear escalated. She didn’t know whether to move or stay put.

  The phone trilled, and Trevor rose to his feet. Janie waited to see what would happen next. Three rings went by.

  “Answer it, will ya?” said Trevor, his tone gruff.

  His posture relaxed, his jaw unlocked, and Janie felt safe to move. She turned to pick up the phone and was surprised to hear the slam of the screen door echo behind her.

  “Hello?” she said. The line was silent in her hand as she walked to the bay window in the front of the house. Trevor stalked the length of the porch, his lips moving rapidly. Janie blushed as she recognized some of the words.

  “Janie, Mrs. Hawkins here. I thought I should tell you about the next project for the guild.”

  “Mrs. Hawkins, could I call you back?”

  “Oh dear, but this won’t take but a minute. The group wants to participate in the Linus Project.” Janie lifted her sheer curtains as Mrs. Hawkins described the project. “We’ll make quilts and send them out of the county.”

  “Oh,” said Janie, dropping the curtain back in place.

  “Now you see my dilemma.”

  “And you need me to—“

  “To sell the idea to the local people, of course.”

  “I don’t think—“

  “Janie dear, you would be perfect. Other communities from other states pulled together and helped during your family’s tragedy. If you explain our plan, then the locals will understand and offer full support. The guild discussed it and we’re all in agreement. If you’ll just…”

  Janie listened to Mrs. Hawkins continue to explain. When she finished, Janie said, “I’ll think about it and get back with you.”

  The leader kept talking as Janie dropped the phone on the cradle and walked onto the porch. Her father would probably call later and berate her for her rudeness, but Janie didn’t have time to worry about it. Right now she had a hulk of a man stalking back and forth on her porch like an angry animal.

  “Trevor?” At her timid voice, he stopped pacing.

  “Sorry about that.”

  “Are you better now?” she asked.

  He nodded and took a seat on the porch swing. “I wouldn’t have hurt you, you know.”

  Janie held back, her hands clasped nervously before her.

  “Will you sit with me?”

  “Perhaps I should stand.” His posture stiffened and hurriedly she added, “If I’m going to share my story, I need to move around.”

  Visibly he relaxed, and she promised herself she would discover why he’d become so angry.

  “Ten years ago, when I was fifteen, my parents inherited this house. My father was running for mayor, and since this place was in shambles, we moved into a modular home.”

  She backed against the porch railing. “It was a nice place with a big open yard and lots of flowers.” She smiled at the memories. “Mother spent hours hunched over the plants.” A tear rolled down her cheek, and she swiped it away. “The night of the fire, I was visiting a friend. We heard the fire trucks, and I ran home. By the time I arrived, the house was engulfed in flames. The fire trucks directed water at the front. No one saw me as I snuck around to the back door.

  “I–I opened it. The knob seared my hands, but I kept going. I fell to my knees and covered my mouth with my arm as I crawled to my parents’ bedroom. My dad was on his knees by what used to be his bed. I–I wrapped my arms around him a-and—“

  Her words faltered, and Trevor appeared before her. He placed his hands on either side of her face. “You can stop.”

  She nodded and tried to turn away, but he kept her still. “Do people stare at you?” he whispered.

  “They used to.”

  “Why don’t they now?”

  “Because I never leave Pearl Valley.”

  Chapter Ten

  Janie’s admission shocked him, and he released his hold and took a step backward.

  “It’s not as bad as it seems. I never traveled that much before the accident. A-and Pearl Valley has everything I need.�
� He didn’t respond, and she continued to prattle. “Everyone in town has gotten used to my gloves, so they ignore them. And believe it or not, since the freshwater pearl pond dried up, we don’t get many outsiders.

  “Did you know that this area is unusual? Most freshwater pearls are cultivated in Japan or China, but we have a rare river here that creates, or rather created the perfect habitat for the oysters. Unfortunately, like I said, it dried up and the town kind of lost some of its tourist appeal.”

  “When did that happen?”

  “What?”

  “The pearl pond, as you called it, when did it dry up?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, maybe seven years ago.”

  He tapped his forehead as a memory skirted the edges of his mind. She watched him expectantly.

  Finally she said, “Now do you understand? How can I possibly help you?”

  True, how could she help him when she couldn’t even help herself? Avoidance was hardly a solution. He may be an ex-SEAL, but he was also a business owner. The company he’d purchased required him to travel frequently and meet new people, curious people. He had to learn to cope. He couldn’t just live in a bubble. Rory had obviously been wrong about Jane Dossett’s ability to help him.

  “I’m sorry for wasting your time, Miss Dossett.” He turned and limped toward the porch steps.

  “So that’s it, huh? You blow into town, force me to share my most painful memories, and then you just blow back out?” He stopped, and she stepped in front of him. “You’re too chicken to find out the truth, so instead you’re going to tuck tail and run?”

  Blinded by rage, Trevor’s heart rate increased. She poked him in the chest.

  “Navy SEAL, huh? I don’t know if I believe it. Don’t you have a motto or something? Like, a few good men?”

  Between clenched teeth, he said, “That’s the marines.”

  “Be all you can be?”

  “Army.”

  “The few. The proud, the something.”

  “Still the marines.”

  “Semper Fi?”

  He lifted one brow. She gnawed her lip, and he fought the urge to laugh out loud. For all her posturing about being incapable of helping him, she’d calmed his anger fairly quickly, even if she had been the one who instigated it.

  “So if I stay, what happens?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe we help each other.”

  Trevor stared at her. Even though she was a foot shorter and about half his weight, she’d stood up to him like David facing Goliath. Now the question became what to do? Stay and fight, or run?

  ****

  What drove her into goading Trevor? Honestly, she didn’t know. She just knew she didn’t want him to leave yet.

  Their infirmities and the feelings they felt when people stared at them gave them a natural bond.

  “How about you go back to your hotel and pray about staying, and I’ll go inside and plan to make us dinner? You can come over later, and we’ll discuss your plans then.”

  He nodded, and she moved out of the way. He bounded down the stairs, only looking over his shoulder once before climbing in his truck and speeding down the road.

  Weak-kneed, Janie collapsed into a wicker chair. The vinyl cushion molded to her body, and she started sweating. She peeled off the seat, headed to the kitchen, and poked through the cabinets, pulling out food she planned to cook. She was missing one ingredient, so she hoisted her purse onto her shoulder and headed for Jim’s grocery.

  Today Old Jim ran the cash register. Busily, he drew items across the scanner only yelling “Hey” as regulars entered the store.

  In aisle five, Janie found the spice she sought. Distracted, she made her way toward the register. Someone snickered.

  “See, I told you. This town is a veritable freak show. A mayor with no face, and a woman who thinks she’s a mime.”

  Janie tried to hurry past the two young men, but one of them grabbed her. He pinned her arms to her sides.

  “Hurry, get the camera ready and pull one off.”

  Janie struggled but his grip was too tight. She prepared to scream, and the other guy stuffed a rag in her mouth. Tears welled in her eyes as she tried not to gag against the dry cloth.

  The man with the camera pulled her glove free. His face morphed into an expression of disgust, and she froze.

  “That’s hideous,” he said, as he snapped picture after picture.

  The flash of the camera woke her from her stupor, and she used her tongue to push out the rag. She screamed at the top of her lungs. The men released her, and she kept screaming.

  “Come on, let’s get out of here.” Together they turned, ran past gaping spectators, and exited the door.

  Janie couldn’t stop. People called her name, but she still couldn’t stop. Someone stepped in front of her. Their voice cut through the fog.

  “Janie, what are you doing? I leave you for five minutes, and you’re off causing trouble.”

  She stopped screaming, blinked, and gazed at Trevor. Her heart rate returned to normal. The rise and fall of her chest grew steady. She placed her hands on her hips in a haughty manner. “I’ll have you know I came in here to buy something for our dinner. It’s not my fault some punk kids were bored and assaulted me.”

  “That’s better,” he said.

  Not sure what had just happened, she dropped her jaw. That’s when she noticed them. Shoppers, police officers, and medical personal gathered around her. A paramedic had a blood pressure cuff wrapped around her upper arm. A cop held a notebook, his pen working furiously as he noted the perpetrators descriptions from the spectators.

  “They was young and short.”

  “No, they was teenagers and real tall.”

  “Tina Fey, you didn’t see them because you was still in the bathroom. You need to be quiet and let others tell what they seen.”

  “I did too see. That one ran past me and ‘bout knocked me down.”

  The cop slapped his forehead. “Doesn’t anyone know what these guys looked like?”

  Janie said, “I do.”

  ****

  Janie’s monotone voice scared him. Matter-of-factly, like it hadn’t happened to her, Janie recounted the event. She described the individuals in vivid detail, down to the cameraman’s uneven sideburns.

  Doc Robinson lingered on the fringes of the crowd. When Janie finished, he slipped away and out the front door. Trevor thought about following him but was stopped when the officer in charge called, “Sir?”

  “Yes?”

  “I don’t know you, but Janie seems to. She wanted to know if you would mind driving her home.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  Local women who had been inside the store during the incident surrounded Janie and escorted her to her truck. Trevor followed. Settled in the driver’s seat, Trevor waited for Janie to hand over the keys. Once they started driving, it took no time to reach her house. She didn’t move when they stopped, and he feared she had gone into shock.

  “I can’t believe it! I just can’t believe it!” Trevor twisted to face her, and she blurted, “I forgot the spice.”

  He coughed to cover his laughter. She frowned and faced him. “I have to know something. Where did you come from?”

  “Well, I was born in west Texas, but my family moved to—“

  “No, not that far back, I mean today. How did you just happen to show up at the moment I needed you?”

  Trevor reviewed the events leading up to finding her...

  He had gone to his hotel, prayed, and decided he needed a walk. He only walked a few blocks when the wail of sirens pierced the air. He rounded the corner hardware store and saw rapidly blinking lights. Amongst the noise, he heard a single note – a scream.

  He took off at a run, ignoring the increased pressure on his leg. He found Janie in the middle of the aisle, her face red from screaming.

  A paramedic asked, “What happened?”

  A police officer raised his voice in answer. “I
reckon some boys accosted her and pulled off one of her gloves. We’ve tried to get her attention but she won’t stop screaming.”

  Trevor stepped forward. He stifled his inclination to touch her in a comforting manner and instead talked to her in a harsh way. Fortunately it worked…

  “Well are you going to answer me?” she asked, bringing him back to the present.

  He answered, “I needed shampoo.”

  “Oh,” she said, studying her hands.

  The lie tasted bitter on his tongue, but he didn’t want to increase her embarrassment by letting her know just how long and loud she had screamed.

  “I guess dinner is ruined,” she said.

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t have all the ingredients.”

  “Do you know what I’m really in the mood for?”

  “What?”

  He would have said Chinese food, but that would have required they leave Pearl Valley. Ignoring his pangs of hunger, he said, “A sandwich. Just give me two slices of bread, a couple of slabs of meat and cheese, and a little mayo, and I’ll be good to go.”

  “That hardly seems like enough.”

  “I had a big lunch.”

  She drew her brows together as his belly growled. She reached for her door handle but stopped as a wave of trucks with rotating lights rushed by. Trevor stepped out of the vehicle and studied the skyline. In the distance he saw a trail of black smoke arching upward. Janie climbed out and stood next to him. She shielded her eyes.

  “What do you think it is?” she asked with a tremble to her voice.

  Trevor answered, “A house fire.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The truck shuddered to a halt behind the fire trucks, and Janie’s nerves drew taut like bow strings. Trevor placed a restraining hand on her arm.

  “Let me investigate and I’ll come back and get you.”

  Grudgingly, she nodded in agreement. Trevor climbed from the idling truck. He hung back and she muttered, “Jump in. Ask someone, don’t just stand there!”