Open Eyes (Open Skies) (6 page)

‘On paper’, Phil was someone she should run from screaming. And if she’d met him twenty years ago, she had no doubt that she would have and should have. But not now. Now, she knew better. She had seen Phil’s genuine kindness and gentleness, and she understood just how hard he must have worked to change his life. And why shouldn’t she support him in that change? After all,
she
wanted to change her life, and she needed people to believe in her and give her a chance.

“Well, good morning.”

She jumped a bit and looked up.

Phil was standing there, tall and broad and handsome, holding his plate and a coffee.

“Hi,” Vicky said. She glanced down and saw her doodle. She quickly covered it with her hand.

He was looking at her with a twinkle in those astounding eyes. “Your hair is down today.”

Her hand shot up to touch her head. “Oh. Yes. I need a haircut, though.”

Phil thought that the difference to her face was amazing: the golden-red was fiery and warm in the morning sun and she just glowed. He wanted to run his fingers through that hair, wrap strands of it in his hands, pull those curved lips to his own mouth. He’d slowly pull that black dress down over her shoulders, kiss her breasts. Vicky had gained some weight since being at Open Skies, and her body was now more rounded and healthy-looking. Phil longed to see those curves with his own eyes, he wanted to run his hands over them.

Shaking off his thoughts, he smiled. “I think you look great.”

“You do?”

“Yes.” He gestured at the seat across from her. “Is it OK if I join you?”

“Of course.”

He nodded at her notebook. “Ideas for the pitch?”

“Yes.”

“How’s it going?”

“OK, I guess. A few ideas worth expanding on, I think.” She tried not to look at his muscular forearm with the tattoo. “Umm. So what are you doing for Thanksgiving this weekend?”

“I’m spending it with Kimana and a few other people from AA. What about you? Will you be going back to Kansas to see your mother?”

“I’m working this weekend,” she said.

“You drew the short straw, huh?”

“Oh, no. I volunteered. I mean, I have no family here so I don’t mind. I’ll go see a friend of mine after work and have Thanksgiving dinner with her.”

“Well, that was nice of you.”

“It’s really OK. I like it here at the ranch. It’s so gorgeous, I feel so happy every single time I look out the window.”

“I know what you mean,” Phil said. “Something about the mountains… they’re almost alive in so many ways.”

“I know,” she said. “They’re strong and stable and safe.”
All the things I want so badly.

She got to her feet now. “I’m sorry, but I need to get to work. See you later?”

“Yep.” Phil grinned. “Have a good day, now.”

“You too.”

He watched her go and his brow furrowed as he contemplated her choice of words about the mountains. He was no psychologist, but Phil knew plenty about how animals and people could say books of words without uttering a single syllable, or by saying very little. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that Vicky had been without strength and stability and safety for a long time. And she was longing and looking for those things now.

Good Lord, Vicky. What’s your real story?

Chapter Four

“OK, baby. Close your eyes.”

“Are you going to give me a surprise? Another one?”

Jake grinned down at Julie. She was naked in his bed, her eyes glowing up at him.

“I am,” he said. “Now, close ‘em.”

Julie shut her eyes and waited. Jake’s rough hands brushed the back of her neck and she felt something cool on her throat. A necklace.

Jake fumbled a bit with the clasp – one of the hassles of having such large hands – then he got it. “Open up, Julie. Take a look.”

Julie glanced down at the slim gold chain. A small piece of amber, almost the exact golden color of her hair, was dangling just above her full breasts.

“Oh, Jake. It’s beautiful.” She touched the amber pendant with a fingertip. “I love it.”

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah.” She looked up at his face, so handsome and sweet in the firelight. “Thank you.”

“Happy anniversary, Julie.”

She smiled. “One year this Thanksgiving weekend since we first made love.”

“Well, technically, we didn’t make love for the first time until one year ago
tomorrow
. As you may recall, what we did that first night was a bit more… ummm… about you.”

Julie’s breath deepened at the memory of Jake’s head buried between her legs that night. He had laid her down on her living room floor and kissed and tongued and sucked her pussy until she had exploded under his mouth.

Their eyes met.

Jake grinned. “You want to do a re-enactment?”

“Oh.” Julie’s sex slicked up immediately. “Oh, yes.”

**

Kimana Beck sat down next to Phil and handed him a cup of tea. He took it absently, his eyes unfocused.

She looked at him, worried. It wasn’t like him to be so distant and not in the moment. In the eight-plus years that she had been his AA sponsor, the one thing she had always admired about Phil was him being grounded and present. Even in those early days when he was just out of prison and had just moved from Detroit, she still sensed his steadiness. It was hidden deep inside then, and was his dominant characteristic now. But tonight, it was missing.

“Hey, Phil?”

“Yeah?”

“You OK? You’re really vacant tonight. You having any trouble with it being Thanksgiving? You need to talk?”

Phil blinked at Kimana as he registered what she was thinking.

“No, hon. I’m OK. I’m just – well. I’m just thinking.”

“About what?”

Phil was silent.

“Phil, whatever it is, it’s weighing heavy on your mind. Tell me, OK?”

“OK.” Phil sighed. “You remember when we were talking about Tammy and Rob a while ago, and I was joking that I wished I were ten years younger?”

“Sure.”

“You said that I still had love to give, and I said that my romantic days were over.”

“Right. And I said that was crap.”

“You did. And I said that it was too bad I’d never had a really healthy or loving relationship in my life – not ever.”

“OK, yeah. I remember all of this. So, what’s all this got to do with what’s going on with you now?”

“Ummm.”

“Wait. Are you
blushing?
”

“Maybe.”

Her black eyes were almost popping out of her head. “Oh, my God. Are you telling me that you’ve – you’ve found someone? Someone you’re interested in? Like, romantically?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I have. An amazing woman.”

“But that’s great!”

“Yeah.”

“So, I don’t get the issue.”

“Well, I haven’t said anything to her about how I feel.”

“That doesn’t sound like you.”

“I know. But it’s – it’s complicated.”

“Come on, Phil. You know that alcoholics make things complicated when they don’t have to be. Are you just creating drama for the hell of it?”

Phil shook his head. “No. Things with
me
are clear. But Vicky…”

“What?”

“I don’t know, Kimana. Something. She’s been hurt. Badly, I think. I just feel like – like she’s not ready to hear how I feel. Not yet.”

“And when you think she
is
ready?”

“Then I’ll make my move. No words, no preamble, no messing around. I’ll just kiss her, kiss her like I mean it.”

**

“Now. You are going to tell me
all about
Phil. Everything. Leave no detail out. I’ll know if you do.”

Vicky laughed.

“Come on, now,” Opal said, spooning green beans and potatoes with gravy on to Vicky’s plate. “Spill.”

“Oh, come on, Opal. What makes you think there’s even anything to spill?”

“Because I can tell that you like him.”

“Opal. I am still married, may I remind you.”

“Yeah. To a wife-beating, child-abusing dickhead. I’d say you’re free and clear.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Vicky took a sip of her wine. “I’m pretty sure any guy I was interested in would be unimpressed about me kidnapping my kid and running over state lines.”

“She’s your kid and you
saved
her.” Opal frowned, her light gray eyes troubled. “I don’t understand any of this: the bastard was hurting both of you, and what? You were supposed to stay there and take it?”

“No. I was supposed to get a lawyer and go through the court system and wait. Do things the legal way.”

“Oh, sure. With all that money of your own that you had, right?” Opal snorted.

“Well, yeah. That was part of the problem, but only part.”

“What was the rest?”

Vicky toyed with the turkey on her plate. “I – I did lots of research in to abusive situations and how to leave them.” She stopped.

“Yeah? And?”

Vicky sighed. “And I found out that the most dangerous time for a woman and her children is right
after
she’s left the abusive situation. When she’s moved outside of his control – out of the house, away from him.”

“What?”

“Yeah. If a guy is going to lose it – like,
really
lose it, and kill the wife and kids – it happens when he feels like he has nothing at all left to get taken away from him. When she’s left him and started a new life, and when he can’t see the kids alone and unsupervised, or even at all, in some very dangerous cases.”

Opal stared at Vicky. “Wait. You mean to tell me that you really thought he’d
kill
you and Sonia if you left him and went to a shelter? Or your Mom’s? If he knew where you both were?”

“I did. He always said he would, and I believed him.” Her eyes were hard. “No way was I going to put us all at risk like that. Sonia and I couldn’t stay, that much was clear. But he also couldn’t know where we were, and I couldn’t wait for the police and courts to drag things out, all of us stuck in the same town while it was going on. I just – I just knew that Carl would hurt us. I was deathly afraid that he’d kill Sonia. To punish me for leaving him, to make sure that I would blame myself for the rest of my life. After all, his reasoning would be that if I’d stayed with him, he’d have had no reason to kill my daughter.”

Opal was silent. “That is fucking sick.”

“I know, Opal. And that’s why I ran. I’m not saying that what I did was right, and it sure as hell wasn’t legal. But it was what had to be done.” She shook her head. “I hope that Carl will give up looking for us, after a while. I just need to lay low and keep Sonia safe until then.”

Both women were quiet for a minute, thinking about Vicky’s decision, what she had done to get away from the one man who should have protected her and Sonia from harm and hurt. The one man who should have kept them both safe.

“Opal? Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Do you remember that day when you offered me the cleaning job?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, you said something that I’ve wanted to ask you about for a while.”

Opal leaned back.
Yeah, I knew it was just a matter of time before she brought this up. The girl is hurting but she ain’t dumb.

“OK, shoot.”

“OK.” Vicky hesitated. “Ummm. You said that you knew an abused woman when you saw one. And, something about the way you said it… I don’t know. It just felt like – you knew about it up-close. Personally.”

“You are asking if I was ever abused myself. Right?”

Vicky’s face flamed. “I’m sorry, Opal. It’s none of my business and I –”

“I was.”

“You – you were?”

“Yeah. My first husband.” She sighed deeply. “I was so young when we got married, you know. Barely seventeen. But I was pregnant and so that was that. He beat the crap out of me at least twice a week for almost eight years.”

“How did you get away?”

“I didn’t. He ran out on me. Left me with three mouths to feed when he did, but we were all grateful.”

Vicky nodded.

“My second husband hit me once – once only. He came home drunk and hauled back and backhanded me and I thought,
Oh, no. No
way
is this all starting again.
So I waited until he was sitting down watching TV and I hit him over the head with a frying pan.”

Vicky choked on her wine. “You
what
? Really?”

“Damn right. Anyway, I gathered up the boys – I had four of ‘em by then – and we marched on out of there. The bastard begged and pleaded but I said no. I’d seen where that all goes, see, where it all ends up. I wasn’t staying and hanging around, waiting to end up flat on my back dead on the living room floor.”

“And then?”

“Then I raised my boys as a single mother, and got them through mostly intact. Twenty-five years ago, I married number three and we started this place. He never laid a finger on me, but he was a womanizing hound, and couldn’t keep it in his pants. I got tired of the promises and I was fixing to leave him when he dropped dead of a heart attack. Of course, he was screwing a hotel guest at the time, so I didn’t shed too many tears.”

“My God, Opal.” Vicky know whether to laugh or cry.

“So, here’s my advice for you, girl. If a man ever lays a hand on you again? Wait ‘til his back is turned and hit him with a frying pan and walk out.”

Vicky laughed.

“You promise me?”

“I promise. But I hope that I never get hit, ever again. It’s – it’s totally dehumanizing. It just steals something, you know. Something deep inside.”

Opal saw the haunted look in her eyes and took her hand. Vicky looked up and smiled.

“OK, enough about all of
that
,” Opal said. “This is
Thanksgiving
, girl, and you have got plenty to give thanks for this year.” She gestured at the food on their plates. “Food, freedom – and quite possibly Phil.”

“Oh, Lord, here we go again. Opal. For the last time, Phil and I will
not
be getting together.”

“I want to know why on earth not.” Opal drank some wine and glared at Vicky over the rim of the glass.

Vicky paused. Well, actually. Why not? He was interested, that much she knew; she was interested. They were both adults. OK, so she wasn’t technically single, but she considered herself one hundred percent separated from Carl. Would Phil see it that way? He probably would, if she told him everything – and
there
was the problem, as far as Vicky was concerned.

She wasn’t about to start up anything with anyone without telling them everything about Carl and Sonia… and she simply couldn’t imagine telling any man the whole story. What man would want to be with her after she told them about her years of abuse and showed them the scars on her back? Who would want her after they found out that she kidnapped her own child and hid her from the father? Who would have any respect for a woman who ran to another state and lied to everyone in her new life?

No. Not now. Maybe in a few months, when she had saved up some money and solidified her position at Open Skies, she could go to Julie and tell her the truth. If she didn’t get fired for knowingly making Julie an accessory to a crime – for harboring a kidnapper, even if Julie had no idea – then she could find a small apartment around Clarity and ask her Mom to bring Sonia to her in Colorado. They could start again. And then –
only
then, when everything was out in the open – would she even consider a relationship with a man.

And if Julie
did
let Vicky go for lying to her face in the job interview? Well, she’d have some savings and she had Opal. She could always come back here to the motel and start looking for a new job. She could start again. She had done it once, and she wouldn’t be so scared the second time around.

Opal was still waiting for an answer. She looked at Vicky and her heart actually ached for the younger woman. So much pain, so much fear. So much courage and strength. Opal was in awe of her, and wanted so desperately for her to be happy. Maybe this man, Phil, could bring some joy to Vicky. In time.

“Well. I’ll see, OK?” Vicky smiled. “It’s early days, Opal. I don’t feel the need to rush in to anything. And besides, I have a few things I want to do first.”

“What things?”

Vicky smiled, a real smile, one that changed her whole face. When Vicky smiled like this, she just looked so gorgeous, it took Opal’s breath away every single time. She hoped that she’d see that smile more and more often now.

“Well, let’s just say that it involves a trip to the hair dresser, and a full day of shopping.”

“Oooh.” Opal was delighted. “A make-over!” She was an avid ‘What Not To Wear’ watcher and dreamed of being given an unlimited budget to go to New York and shop ‘til she dropped.

“Damn right.” Vicky turned her attention at last to her dinner. “I need some help, though. And I know just the people to ask.”

**

Tammy sobbed as Rob thrust between her thighs, deeper now. Her hands grasped the tumbled bedsheets as her climax approached. Her long legs tightened around his hips as she raised herself to meet him, over and over.

Rob stared down at her with glazed eyes. She was writhing beneath him, her head pressed in to the pillow as she arched against him. He lowered his chest on to her perfect breasts and kissed her, licking her lips and the inside of her mouth.

She moaned and opened her mouth against his.