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Sunny looked at the window that she knew wasn’t there before.Sitting up on the bed, she also realized that she was no longer in the hospital but a home.With beautiful colored curtains that matched the spread she was lying on perfectly.The yellow in the room, along with the other warm colors, made the room a perfect place to take a nice nap and—
Getting out of the bed before she started acting like an idiot and taking a long nap, she realized that she wasn’t the only person in the room, but Mr.Sheppard was there with her.Poking him in the shoulder had him coming awake quickly and pulling her body flush to his.Neither of them moved, Sunny waiting for whatever dream she’d woke the man from was fogging up his head.
“Did I hurt you?”She said that he’d not, but he still held her.“I was having a terrible dream, and when I jumped up, I have a cramp in my back.I must have slept in the chair oddly, and now I can’t move.Just…will you please not scream or anything and give me a minute to let it stretch out?”
“Of course.”She would never admit this to anyone, but it was nice having someone holding her like this.Not allowing herself to think about him having a bad dream that had brought him to holding her.When the muscles in his arm, the one that was holding her under her breasts, started to relax, Sunny stayed right where she was until he was ready.“I don’t know where I am.It’s lovely, but I haven’t any idea how I got here or where…I’m babbling.I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right.You’re at my mother’s home.Once I figured out what had happened in the woods behind the diner, I realized how unsafe it was for you to be at the homeless center.The man that hurt you knew where you were before I did.Did he visit you?”She asked him who that might be.“I’m sorry.The dishwasher, Peter Burk.It didn’t occur to me that he was the one until you mentioned that I hurt you in the forest.I did…I did take you.But I didn’t hurt you the first time.When I came upon you, like I said, you were already bleeding and half naked.I think his intentions were to rape and then kill you.”
“Peter is an old man.”He removed his arms from her, but she could tell, almost feel he was still in pain.“I didn’t even know he was a cat until…what is it you’re saying to me?That Peter was going to rape me?That can’t be right.”
The door to the bedroom opened, and she felt Nash’s sadness.There was anger there as well, but not like his sadness.When his mother stepped into the room, Nash walked to the furthest wall and leaned against it.For some reason, Sunny’s heart broke for the man.
“My son is right, I’m afraid.Peter was arrested this morning, just after my son brought you here so you’d be safe.He was arrested for murder, rape, and a long list of other things.Some are only just coming to light, I’m afraid.”Mrs.Sheppard, whom she had met the day she’d been found, sat down in the large wingback chair and asked her to do the same.She noticed that Nash stayed where he’d moved to and didn’t acknowledge him at all.Sunny noticed, too, that she was referring to him only as hersonand not by his name.“I have some information for you, Sunny.However, until the trial, you can’t tell anyone what it is you already know about the other man.If not for you speaking to him about his cat, Sunshine, there is no telling how much longer this man would have gone on his spree of raping and killing young women such as yourself.He’s been working at the diner for two decades.And in that time, eleven waitresses have come up missing as well as eight more have been linked to the same man.The police had no idea that the man they were looking for was right under their noses.”
“He’s a cat too then.”Even though she’d been looking at Nash for answers, it was his mother that answered her.“What’s going on here?”
“I told you, I had some information for you.I do have more if you would allow me to speak.It’s only through you that this is all coming to light, and the police wish to speak to you about it.”She asked about Nash.“What about him?”
“Why are you not speaking to him too?”She looked at Nash, who still hadn’t said a word, even to his mother, in the way of greeting.The sadness was still there, but she could also feel a twinge of anger.“Without his help, I would have gone on thinking that he’s the one who tried to kill me out there by knocking me around.It wasn’t him.Not all of it, anyway.Yet you’re acting as if he’s not standing right there.”
“I’m mad at him.”She asked her what she had to be mad at him about.“Well, he had his way with you, or did you forget about that.Then there was the way that he treated you afterwards too.He’s not been to see you once.”
“Yes, he has.Several times.”She didn’t know how many other than the night before he’d shown up.The nurse had hinted that someone special was coming to see her, but she didn’t give her his name.“Also, he brought me here to keep me safe.I don’t know how you think that would have worked out if he’d not been there talking to me.Then there is the fact that, as I said, he’s standing right there.”
“That is none of your concern.”Sunny glared at the woman, and when she stood up, so did Sunny.“Look here, young lady.I’m trying to save you from yourself.He abused you and hurt you badly.”
“But that’s not true either, is it?He didn’t hurt me at all.Other than…he didn’t rape me.I enjoyed it as much as he did.”The slap to her face startled her.When the woman looked as if she was going to hit her again, Sunny found herself behind Nash and him standing toe to toe with his mother.“As you can see, Mrs.Sheppard, he has better manners than you do right now.Why the hell did you hit me?”
“You’ll learn your place, Sunshine.”She said that her name was Sunny.“It’s not, really.Is it?I despise shortened versions of names.The only reason that I have allowed Archie to get by with his is because his father had the same name as Archibald, and it was too much confusion.Nashville, go back over there and let Sunshine and I work this out.”
“No.”She had a feeling that Nash had never stood up to his mom before.And if he had, he’d paid for it dearly.“I’m going to take my mate, Sunny, home with me.It was a mistake to bring her here.”
She didn’t fight with him when he asked her if she could please get her shoes.Nor did she say a word when he took her hand into his much larger one to guide her out of the room.As soon as they were in the hall, several men stood at the bottom of the flight of stairs, all of them with their hands on their guns that were strapped to their sides.
Something was off here.While she could see some of the anger that was coming from Mrs.Sheppard, she couldn’t understand her demanding things of her son.Her either, for that matter.
“My son is taking this woman against her will, and I want you to stop them.”Sunny moved so that she was going down the stairs first, in front of Nash.“Make sure that you don’t hurt her, please.She’s my daughter-in-law.”
“I’m not being taken anywhere I don’t want to go.”Mrs.Sheppard told the men that Nash had talked her into saying that.“All right then, we’ll have to settle this the old-fashioned way.I’m going to call the police if you detain me for any reason as I move out of this house.Mrs.Sheppard is the one who is holding me against my will, and if you assist her, I will press charges against the lot of you and own everything you have by the end of the day.I might only be a waitress, but I’m a smart one who is working her way through college to become the best attorney in the land.Either part ways so that we can leave or face the consequences of the police.”
The one that seemed to be in charge laughed.She might well have, too, facing a man and a woman with a very wealthy woman behind them spewing lies.Looking at Nash when he said her name, she took the cell phone from him.Her first priority was to get them out of the house.Then she’d be calling the police if that didn’t work.Dialing the only number that she’d ever used, Sunny called her father’s mom.
“Hello, Jackson.It’s Sunshine Nettles.I was wondering if I could speak to the lady of the house, please?I know it’s been a while, but—” Jackson told her that her grandmother was in the garden and he’d tell her that she had a call.“Don’t bother her if she has company.I can call her later.”
“Nonsense.I have her right here.”Closing her eyes, Sunny tried to think when it was the last time that she’d actually spoken to Antebellum Nettles and realized that it had been since her parents had died.Eight years ago.After a short exchange of Jackson telling Belle that she had a call, she heard her laughing before she said her greetings.
“It’s Sunny, Belle.I’m sorry to bother you, but I have a slight problem here, and I need someone to come and get myself and my mate.”The scream was loud and piercing.Even Nash backed away from the phone when she did that.“You don’t have to come yourself, but if you could send Jackson to—”
“And allow him to have all the fun.I think not.Tell me where you are.”She handed the phone to Nash so that he could tell her.While she couldn’t hear what Belle was saying, she knew that someone would come there soon.Handing her back the phone, Nash was smiling for the first time since she’d met him.“The Sheppard’s, huh?Well, that’s not what I expected to find out today.Jackson is getting the car revved up, and we’ll be there soon.It’s been a while, Sunny.I hate that you’ve decided to call me because you’re in trouble.We’ll have to remedy that soon, don’t you think?”
“I’ll do whatever you wish if you get me out of this house all in one piece.”Laughter again, and then the line went dead.Handing the phone back to Nash, she told him that they were to wait for her to arrive.
It occurred to her then that she’d not told her grandmother why she needed out of the house.Nor did she ask.While she didn’t know her grandmother all that well, very little, as a matter of fact, she was grateful for her help in this.There was more going on here than just a simple family being mad at another family member.
~*~
Nash only spoke when someone asked him a question.He was focusing all his energy on keeping an eye on Sunny.While they’d not moved off the stairs, still between the standoff, he had to admit that she was much more beautiful than he had remembered.When he’d met her, hurt her, she’d already been bruised up and bleeding.Someone was going to pay for that, too, he told himself.
