The Rescuer's MC Bk 4

A/N: Long chapter

After everyone had finished dinner, as had become Kelly’s habit after a meal, she went to Thor to carry her to bed and Natalie nodded to Leon that she would take care of the kids and Joey went to her.

Leon asked Tasha if she wanted to go to the bar for a drink and while she was curious about it, she told him “I think we need to keep clear heads and since we have so little time, we need to talk. Maybe we can come back later?”

“Okay. You’re right.” Leon said and he took her hand as Jess came to clean their table.

“Hey, do you know if they take the paper here? I need to start looking for a place.” Tasha said.

“Are you looking for a place to stay?” Jess asked.

“Tasha, this is Jess. Jess, my lady, Tasha.” Leon introduced them.

“Nice to meet you, Jess. Yes, I am. Leon and his brother and sister are leaving to go stay with their foster parents tomorrow and I can’t stay here for long so I need to find an apartment or a small house to rent for a while. Do you know of a place?” Tasha asked.

“Yeah. The house I grew up in is sitting empty and I’ve been thinking about either renting or selling it. Both of my parents are dead now and I live here so it’s just sitting.” Jess told them.

“Where is it?” Tasha asked.

“When you turn on the road to come up to the club house, it’s on the left about 2 miles after you leave the main road. I can take you guys down to go see it in the morning, if you like?” Jess offered.

“Actually I was hoping to find something closer to Leon and the kids. I understand that the Allen’s live on the other side of town?” Tasha said. “But if I can’t find anything else, I’d appreciate taking a look at it at least.”

“No worries. Just let me know.” Jess said and picked up the dishtray he had put their dishes in and moved on to the next table.

Leon and Tasha went back to Tasha’s room and took turns in the bathroom then sat down and talked. They both expressed what they wanted to do about work, since they agreed that going to college would be a waste of time and money.

“We have the money to start just about any kind of businesses we want. You can find out what kinds of businesses and new construction are proposed for the area from the town and county councils. What the requirements will be, then create your designs and submit them for consideration. You said that the MC has a construction company? Who draws their designs?” Tasha asked.

“Man, I’m so glad you are here. I’ve been so consumed with worrying about the kids and what was going to happen to them and thinking about you, that I felt like I had no focus. Thank you!” Leon said and leaned over and kissed her.

He was rather surprised when she pulled back but didn’t push when she said, “How about we go and ask some questions? Maybe I can find a newspaper or find out from Wizard if there is an online listing for apartments and houses here. Everyone seems nice enough but I don’t want to stay here if you are not here.” Tasha admitted.

“The Allen’s are really nice people but I’m not sure how they are going to react if I tell them on the very first day I’m there that I want to bring my girlfriend to live with me.” Leon said with a grin.

“Oh, so I’m your girlfriend now?” Tasha teased.

“I guess I should have asked you first but I’m hoping you agree?” Leon asked.

“Hmmm. Let me see. The boy I’ve been dreaming about since I was 13 years old wants me to be his girlfriend. I need to think about this. Okay, I thought about it and I say, “YES!” Tasha laughed as she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

It wasn’t long before things got hot and heavy and while Leon had dreamed of this many times in the past, he regretfully pulled back and put his forehead to hers. “Tasha, I love you and I really want to be with you, but not like this. I want our first time together to be special and not rushed. I can’t stay the whole night tonight because Kelly has night terrors and no one seems to be able to calm her but me. I’m sorry.”

“I love you too, Leon and I understand. I’m frustrated because I’ve been wanting you for so long but I do understand. Kelly is just a baby and she’s going to need you.” Tasha said.

“Tasha, can I ask you something personal?” Leon asked as he held her close again.

“Of course.” she replied.

Leon took a deep breath and closed his eyes then whispered “Are you on birth control?”

Tasha pulled back and looked at him and couldn’t believe he had asked her that, at first thinking that he was asking if she was a virgin but then realized that it was actually a smart thing to know beforehand and something she should have thought of herself.

“Yes, my grandmother took me to the doctor when I was 16 because of severe cramps and he put me on the shot.” She told him and then took a big breath before she asked, “Leon, I promise not to get mad but have you ever..........?”

“NO! But the guys here talk about it.......A LOT! One of them gave me some condoms but................oh man, this is embarrassing......... I don’t carry them with me. I want to have children with you someday, but it’s too soon. Legally, I’m not even considered to be an adult yet. But more importantly, I want us to be ready for it. Not dealing with it because we were not careful.

We have a lot to deal with right now and while I won’t say that getting you pregnant would be a mistake, it would create a lot of problems for us that we really don’t need right now just because we were careless. Understand?”

“Yes, I do. I really want to be with you too, Leon, but you are right. We are too young and unprepared to have a child now. Besides, we have Joey and Kelly to worry about. You and Cami may have always been my best friends but Joey and Kelly are like siblings I’ve never had at home. I love them like my own brother and sister. Once we have them settled, then there will be time for us, I hope.” Tasha said.

Knowing that they needed to slow things down but if they stayed in this room much longer, that was going to be nearly impossible, at least for him. “Want to go to the bar for a little while? I’m going to have to go to bed soon and while I wish I could be in here with you, I know Kelly is going to be afraid if I’m not there and she has night terrors.” Leon said.

“What is it that is scaring her? I don’t remember her ever having bad dreams before.” Tasha asked.

“We’re not 100% sure but we think that Joey and Kelly may have seen at least part of what happened to Cami. We know that they heard it. She wakes up crying and her heart is racing but neither one of them will talk about it. Joey has changed too. You know he’s always been older than his years but it’s like he’s become an old man, especially around women.” Leon told her.

“Oh how awful. Poor kids. Of course you need to be there for them.” Tasha said.

They left Tasha’s room and went over to the bar. They walked hand in hand into the bar and Leon almost immediately regretted bringing her since the club whores were there and showing off why they are called whores.

Sassy and Geraldine were dancing together while Pepper was rubbing herself all over Digger, trying to get him to dance but he just seemed to be getting irritated with her.

“Oh, Leon, I don’t know about this.” Tasha said, nervous about going into the bar where there were so many men and the whores were getting everyone wound up.

Leon looked over and made sure that Thor and Natalie were there and he pointed them out to Tasha as Natalie waved them over.

“Hey you two. Want a beer?” Thor offered.

Tasha wrinkled her nose. She had tried beer once before and hadn’t cared for it. “No, thanks. What are you drinking, Nat?”

“Jack and coke. Here, take a sip. If you don’t like it, you can just have a soda if you want.” Nat told her. Tasha took a sip and found she liked it and her eyes got bigger.

“That’s pretty good. A little bit of a burn going down but at least it’s not bitter.” Tasha said.

Thor lifted his hand up and called over Edmond, who was working in the bar tonight. “Edmond, a light weight Jack and Coke for Tasha and Leon, what are you having?”

“I’ll try that too.” Leon replied.

Edmond nodded and walked back over to the bar. “Never order an open drink from the club whores. They are supposed to be waiting tables tonight but they’ve been dancing almost ever since they got here.

I don’t know how much longer Prez is going to let them stay if they don’t get their jobs done. All of the prospects have been complaining that they are not doing their share of the cleaning either.” Thor said.

Leon and Tasha only stayed for one drink and then Leon walked Tasha back to her room. He warned her to make sure she locked her door and not to come out until he came back for her.

“I’ve been told the men won’t hurt you and I don’t think they will but alcohol can change a man. We saw that first hand with Uncle Craig. I wish I could stay with you but I’m worried about Kelly. I’m not usually away from them this long. At least Joey is with her.” Leon told her as they walked down the hall to her room.

“What time are you guys supposed to go to the Allen’s tomorrow?” Tasha asked.

“They were asking us to come right after breakfast but I asked if they could wait until just before lunch time. I wish we had more time but at least once I get Joey and Kelly settled and now that I have my own car again, I can come and see you without having to worry about them. Maybe you could come with us tomorrow and at least see where they live? Maybe Dr. Allen takes the Sunday newspaper and they can help us with locations of things that we might find in the paper.” Leon said as they stopped outside of her door.

“I wonder if Jess would let me rent his place on a short term basis if I can’t find something right away?” Tasha asked.

“Maybe, but hopefully we can find something closer to the Allen’s. I don’t really know the town but at least I’ll have my own car now so once I’m settled in at the Allen’s, we’ll get out and ride around and see what we can find and hopefully learn our way around. Okay?” Leon said.

Tasha put her key in the door to her room and unlocked it. She had been really hoping that Leon would stay with her tonight but she knew he had to get back to Joey and Kelly. They were just about to kiss good night when they heard a loud moan come from a room one over from Tasha’s across the hall.

Leon grinned at her and whispered “Sean, the guy who got his patch earlier, must be with one of the club whores. Most of the prospects have talked about doing that once they get their patch.”

“Ewww!” Tasha said and just grinned at him.

“Well, I’ll get going and let you get some sleep. Are you going to come with us to the Allen’s tomorrow?” Leon asked as he put his arms around her.

“I’d like to. I’m looking forward to meeting them. Hopefully they won’t be upset if I go with you. I’d like to see where you will be living.” Tasha said.

They were kissing goodnight when Natalie and Thor came down the hall. They jumped apart when they heard Natalie giggle when they were spotted.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt.” Nat said, feeling slightly guilty for breaking up what she thought was probably their first kiss.

“Just saying goodnight, Nat. I’ve got to get back to Joey and Kelly.” Leon said, wishing they hadn’t been interrupted but it was probably a good thing they did because the more he and Tasha kissed, the more he was tempted to stay with her tonight.

He told them all good night and as soon as Tasha was in her room and the door was locked, he left them to go back to his room.

Thor and Natalie heard Sean and Taylor and Natalie giggled then looked at Thor. He was looking at her with a look that told her he wanted her too and she smiled at him and then blushed.

“I hate it and I’m sorry, but I got my cycle this morning. It normally only lasts for about 3 days.” Natalie told him then had to almost bite her tongue to keep from laughing at the priceless look on his face.

“Oh man! That’s not what I was hoping for tonight and mother nature is a bitch! But I guess there’s nothing we can do about it so I’ll tell you sweet dreams and sleep well and see you in the morning and go take another cold shower.” Thor said, then bent down for a good night kiss.

When he lifted his head, Natalie wished it could be different but she finally let him go and unlocked her door. They said goodnight and Thor went upstairs to his room.

Back in the bar..................

Digger was getting sick of Pepper bugging him to fuck her and was about to give up and go to bed. He was just finishing his beer when the outside door to the bar opened and in walked a hang around named Gayle that hadn’t been around in a while.

Gayle was a pretty woman who had been coming around for a while but wasn’t a regular. She normally just came to drink and dance and have a good time. Digger had never seen her go to any of the guys rooms with them.

She also had two women that hadn’t been here before with her. One was tall with a decent body but nothing to get excited about, dark hair and brown eyes, nice lips. Some of the other men took notice but when Digger saw the second woman it was like someone reached into him and stopped his heart from beating for a minute and then it felt like he had been running fast and hard for a long distance as his heart began to pound hard against his ribs.

She was shorter than the other two women and slightly heavier, especially through her hips. She was a golden blonde, blue eyes and very pretty. She wasn’t what Digger was normally attracted to but something in him seemed to jump to life when he looked at her.

She also acted like she was slightly nervous to be there and was constantly glancing around. When her eyes finally landed on him, it was as if they couldn’t look away from each other.

The three women walked up to the bar next to where Digger was standing and Gayle said “Hey Digger. Long time no see. How are you?”

“I’m good, Gayle. How about you?” Digger replied, never taking his eyes off of her friend. “Who are your friends?”

“I’m good. Digger, this is Nancy and Stephanie.” Nancy was the taller, dark haired woman so that meant Stephanie was the blonde. “Girls, this is Digger.”

Both women nodded and smiled. They stood at the bar and visited until a good dance song came on. Bullet came over and asked Nancy to dance, then Fist came for Gayle. Stephanie seemed to be a bit nervous as she watched her friends go with the men.

Digger could tell she was nervous about being left alone and was trying to avoid staring at him, just peeking at him through the side of her eye or through her lashes, which were long and dark, making him wonder if the color of her hair was natural, so he asked her to dance too.

Several fast songs played and even a line dance song and everyone was having a good time. The women were good dancers and Digger was really enjoying himself but Pepper started getting jealous as well as very drunk.

When a slow song came on, Digger pulled Stephanie into his arms and they began to dance. They both seemed to fit together so well. Unfortunately, Pepper finally lost it. She stumbled over to them and grabbed Stephanie’s arm and pulled hard enough to make her stumble and nearly fall.

Thankfully Digger had his arms around her or she would have fallen over and he was not happy with Pepper. “What the hell, Pepper?” He yelled at her over the music.

“You said you don’t want company tonight but yet you’ve been dancing with her since she walked in. What the hell, Digger?” Pepper questioned.

“I didn’t want YOUR company, Pepper. I’m trying to get to know Stephanie, so will you please go away?” Digger said.

Without warning, Pepper drew back her hand and slapped Stephanie right in the face. Gayle and Nancy saw what was happening and rushed over to help their friend but as soon as she had her balance again, Stephanie returned the attack and punched a surprised Pepper right in the face, knocking her off her feet and the fight was on.

Geraldine and Sassy rushed at Stephanie while Gayle and Nancy stood on either side of her but Digger jumped in front of them. Other brothers started grabbing the club whores, keeping them restrained as they broke up the fight.

Prez rubbed his hand across his face, then stood up and sat Amanda back on his chair before he went over to talk to Gayle and her friends. “Sorry about this Gayle. Ladies.” he said, watching as Digger stood with his arm around Stephanie, checking if she was alright.

“I’m not hurt. She just surprised me. I didn’t expect her to attack me like that. I didn’t do anything to her.” Stephanie said.

“I know. I was watching. Pepper just sealed all of their fates. I’ve been considering kicking them all out for a while now but so long as they kept themselves under control I’ve let them stay but this is too much.

First Geraldine attacked a brother and now Pepper has attacked a guest. I’m done putting up with this bullshit. Pepper, Sassy, Geraldine, pack your shit. I want you out of here! I’m tired of this crap. You three are just not worth the hassles you create.” Prez said.

“But Prez............” Sassy started to beg.

“But Prez nothing. I’ve warned all of you and you just keep making trouble. Plus, you aren’t earning your keep anymore. Tonight is Saturday and all three of you are supposed to be waiting tables, not getting drunk and causing trouble.

From now on, if one of the brothers needs to fuck, they can just find you in town but I’m not going to keep paying you to hang around the bar, not waiting tables like you are supposed to be doing, and making trouble with guests that come in here.

All of the prospects have been complaining that you three are not doing your share of the cleaning either so you are worthless to keep paying. Now pack your shit and get out. MOVE!!!!” Prez yelled at them.

The three club whores began to whimper but did as they were told. Prez turned and apologized to Gayle and her friends. “Sorry about that ladies. Go ahead and have a drink on the house.”

“Thanks. Prez, I’d like to introduce my friends, Nancy and Stephanie. Ladies, this is the club’s president. They call him Prez.” Gayle said.

“Nice to meet you ladies. I’m sorry about Pepper. Those three have been pushing my buttons for a while now. I’m glad to see them go. Please don’t let them spoil your good time.” Prez said then returned to Amanda.

Stephanie felt bad that she had gotten the 3 women fired but the stinging of her cheek helped over ride her guilt. “Was she your girlfriend at any time?” Stephanie asked as she and Digger went back to the bar.

“What? No way! Pepper is a club whore. She’s fucked every man in here with the exception of a few.” Digger said.

“Including you?” Stephanie asked.

“I’m not going to lie to you, Stephanie. Yes, I’ve been with all of them but it’s only ever been for physical relief but I haven’t been with her or any of them for a while. That’s why she was after me. I’m glad that Prez finally kicked them out. He’s been threatening to do it for a while now.” Digger said.

“So no steady woman in your life?” Stephanie asked. She knew in her head that she should walk away from this, from him but there was something about Digger that was drawing her in. “He’s so handsome and so far he’s been really nice to me. But then Peter was too at first.” Stephanie thought to herself.

“No. What about you? No man waiting at home for you to go back to after your ladies night out?” Digger asked.

“No. I just moved to Winchester. I work with Gayle and she’s been showing me around town.” Stephanie said.

“Where did you move from?” Digger asked.

“Columbus Ohio.” Stephanie said.

“Why did you come to Winchester of all places?” Digger asked, curiously.

“This is where my car broke down and I don’t have the money to fix it yet.” Stephanie replied honestly.

“You running from someone or something?” Digger asked outright, following a feeling he was picking up from her short replies.

Stephanie just looked at him for a full minute, surprised that he had guessed. She searched his eyes, trying to determine if she could trust him or not.

“You can tell me Stephanie. Maybe I can help?” Digger said.

Stephanie nodded and then looked down at her almost empty drink as she blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay.

“Care to tell me about it?” Digger asked.

“I ....um..... I was supposed to get married about a month ago. The guy is the son of my father’s boss and my parents pushed me into going out with him. My parents seem to think Peter hung the moon or something.

I told my mom I didn’t want to have anything to do with him and she yelled at me that I’m not getting any younger and that I need to find a man and settle down. She said I was lucky that Peter was even interested in me “because of my figure” so I’d better show some appreciation and just accept, since I would be landing a rich man.

She wants grandbabies to spoil and according to them, the money is just a bonus but I think that’s the whole reason behind it is because he has money.” Stephanie said as the tears filled her eyes. She had felt like her parents were trying to sell her off.

“Wow. That sucks! So why did you have to run?” Digger asked.

“Because Peter wouldn’t take no for an answer either. Between him calling and texting me constantly and my parents pushing me to go out with him, I finally gave in and went. BIG MISTAKE! He was very controlling from the very beginning.

His tastes were very different from mine in almost everything. We couldn’t agree on anything but I wasn’t allowed to disagree with him. If I tried, he’d get mean. At first he would just fly into a rage and get up in my face, yelling and threatening me.

If he was driving, he’d get horrendous road rage and start driving like a maniac. Edging people off the road, always putting them on my side of the car or cutting in front of them. Running lights. Slamming on the brakes. Making sharp turns so that I would be slammed up against the door. I tried telling him I wouldn’t ride with him anymore and that’s when he started getting really mean.

He nearly dislocated my shoulder one night when he insisted that I ride in his car instead of the Uber I had ordered. He’d had too much to drink and was being mean so I had slipped out of the club we had gone to and was going to go home by myself but he caught me while I was waiting for the car to arrive.

He would do things that showed me that he didn’t give a damn about me and to exhibit his domination over me. I always felt like I was not safe with him. Like when we’d be walking somewhere. He’d always walk on the inside of the sidewalk so that I was on the curbside and then he’d slowly edge me closer and closer to the curb.

One night I had worn flats with the outfit I had on and he didn’t like it. Told me to change into some heels and since I was tired of arguing with him, I changed.

Then he parked two blocks away from where we were going even though there had been plenty of parking spaces open before then. He said I needed the practice walking in heels then he walked so close to the curb I was afraid of falling. I can’t prove it but I swear he bumped into me and made me fall into oncoming traffic. Thankfully the man in the first car saw me fall and stopped in time.

Peter got into the habit of putting his hand on my knee when he was driving, usually way over the speed limit, and if I wasn’t practically fawning all over him or showed any fear of how he was driving he’d squeeze my leg so hard I’d have bruises the next morning and he had an uncanny knack for finding that same exact spot every time.

He would also put his hand on the back of my neck, making sure to tangle some of the strands of my hair at the base of my neck with his fingers. If he got upset about anything, he’d either pull my hair or would squeeze the back of my neck until he left marks.

One night he whispered in my ear about how easy it would be for him to snap my neck and I got so scared that he was actually planning on doing it.”

“Did you ever tell your parents how he was treating you?” Digger asked.

“Yeah, just once. I even showed my mom the bruises he’d left on my knee, neck and my upper arm from where he’d grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me when I refused to kiss him goodnight one night. He had been eating something that had made his breath smell really bad and it made me want to gag when he would breathe in my face. Then he said I didn’t know how to kiss because I would never react to him and always tried to keep my mouth closed.

My mom thought the ones on my neck were “passion marks” she called them and said she thought it was romantic. She claimed the others were probably me just being clumsy. I had bruises UNDER my arms that there was no doubt they were fingerprint bruises!

She said that it meant he would be a passionate lover and I nearly threw up. I told her that I would never lay down with him. That’s when she started yelling at me about wanting grand babies!

All of my life they had been telling me that only whores lay with a man outside of the marriage bed and now she wants me to get knocked up by a man I don’t love. Hell, I detest Peter and there was no way I was jumping into the sack with him.”

“Why didn’t you just break it off with him and tell him you didn’t want to see him anymore?” Digger asked, not catching on to her hint.

“I tried, believe me I tried. He’d show up at my apartment without calling and then would say he had been calling my phone but I hadn’t answered so he’d gotten concerned and came to check on me, which was a total lie because there were no missed calls on my phone. One night I just didn’t answer the door when he came and he banged on my door for a full half hour.

He knew I was home because my car was in the parking lot. When I didn’t answer the door, he went to my landlord’s unit and told him that he thought I was sick or hurt and couldn’t get to the door and had him use his pass key to let him in.

I was furious with both of them. I told my landlord that if he ever did it again I would call the police since my lease stated that he had to give me 24 hour notice prior to entering my apartment for any reason other than a fire.

When I refused to go out with him anymore, Peter started stalking me. Everywhere I went he would either show up and act like I wanted him there or would sit and watch me the whole time. If another man came anywhere near me, he would create a scene. I swear he had someone watching me because there was no way he could have known where I was going every time I left my apartment.

One night he showed up at my apartment with two big bottles of sparkling wine saying he wanted us to celebrate. I hate the taste of sparkling wine and he knew it but didn’t care.

I swear he drugged the wine or put something in my glass because after just a few sips of it, I started to feel strange. I asked him what we were celebrating and I nearly threw up when he said we were celebrating getting engaged and informed me that we were going to have sex that night.

Thank God my friend Debbie came over before he could do anything. Peter was furious that she had interrupted us but when she saw how I was acting, she got up in his face and told him he had better leave and that her boyfriend was on his way over and would kick his ass for having drugged me. Peter was pissed but he left, saying that he would be back.

Debbie’s boyfriend, Kyle, is a cop and she had him have my glass of wine tested and sure enough Peter had put Rohypnol in my glass. Kyle filed a police report and everything and I had a restraining order but Peter totally ignored it.

My parents were furious with me for making trouble for him because he had threatened to get my dad fired if they didn’t get me to agree to marry him. I got to the point that I was afraid to leave my apartment but I had to go to work.

I bought several cans of pepper spray and a burglar bar for my front door. But because my apartment building doesn’t have a washer and dryer in the apartment, I had to go down to the basement to wash my clothes. One day Peter cornered me there.

He actually had a printed copy of our wedding invitation and said that they had all been mailed over two weeks before. He said that my mother had taken care of all of the arrangements, my dress had been chosen and that she would be bringing it along with a seamstress over to fit it to me the next day.

He forced the most horrific engagement ring on my finger and then forced me to kiss him and he started groping me and I nearly threw up in his mouth. Thankfully a neighbor came in and interrupted us and Peter said “I’ll see you later, honey.” and then he left.

When I opened the invitation it said we were due to get married the next Saturday! When I called my mother to find out if what he had said was true, she was so happy and gushed over how beautiful my gown was and told me what kind of flowers she had ordered for my bouquet.

I told her that I had never and would never agree to marry Peter and then I hung up. I was bruised from where Peter had been groping me and scared out of my mind! I called Debbie and she came over and helped me to pack up some of my stuff, then I got in my car and hit the road. I called my parents and told them that because of them, I was now on the run for my life and all they did was order me to come back and to marry Peter, claiming I had promised myself to him.

I was so hurt by their response that I didn’t care where I went, I just started driving. That was 6 weeks ago. I was going to try to get farther away but then my car decided to act up. Lights that I had no idea what they meant started coming on on the dashboard and I pulled into the first station I could find which just happened to be here in Winchester.

The man at the garage across the street from the service station helped me push my car to his shop and gave me a quote on my car which is way more than I can afford to fix for a while, so I’ve been walking most of the time.

I was sitting in the diner called Blue’s, crying in my coffee when Gayle noticed. She and another woman were there having lunch and came over to ask what was wrong. I told her my story and she basically took me under her wing. She offered to let me stay with her for a few nights, helped me get hired on where she and Nancy work and I just recently found an apartment that I can afford on my own. It’s a real dump but at least I’m not freeloading off of Gayle anymore.

She and Nancy brought me out tonight to celebrate being free of him but to tell the truth, I can’t stop looking over my shoulder. I just feel like if I let my guard down, one of these days I’m going to turn around and there he’ll be.” Stephanie finished her story.

“Wow. That’s intense. Why were your parents so willing to let you get tied down to someone like that?” Digger asked.

“Probably because my father is a narcissistic asshole too. He controls my mother to the point that she doesn’t dare have her own thoughts anymore.” Stephanie replied.

“Well, then it’s good that you got away. So what are you planning on doing now?” Digger wanted to know.

“Well my plan so far is to work, save as much money as I can, hopefully get my car fixed and then move far enough away from Peter and my parents that none of them can ever find me. I just need time.” Stephanie said.

“Well, I can see why he wants you and I can’t say I blame him but no man should ever lift his hand to a woman or leave marks on her body that were not made in passion. Why would he want to mark up something so pretty?” Digger complimented her and when she blushed, he wanted to compliment her some more so that she would do it again because it caused her cheeks to turn rose pink.

“Your parents should have named you Rose.” Digger said.

“Why do you say that?” Stephanie asked.

“Because your cheeks turn to the prettiest shade of pink when you blush. It reminds me of the color of roses that bride’s carry in their bouquets when they get married.” Digger said. “Your lips are a darker shade and just as lovely.” Stephanie’s cheeks turned a deeper shade of pink and Digger moaned low in his throat.

Just then Digger’s favorite slow song came on and he put his hand out to her. “Come dance with me again?”