Protector - Laurel Dewey [157]
The wheels of revenge spun in Heather’s head. Her pouty mouth twisted into a phony grin. “Congratulations! You’ve got moves I’ve never seen before. Maybe we can get together and you can show me what you know! I’ve got the new Tim McGraw CD.”
“Really?” Emily said, enthusiastically.
“Well, girls, you’ll have to make a play date with each other!” Kathy said.
“How about a sleepover?” Heather asked Emily, ignoring Kathy.
Emily could hardly contain herself. “Yeah! Sure!”
Jane bristled, dubious of Heather’s intentions. “We should discuss that—”
“Mom!” Emily whined to Jane. “She’s inviting me to a sleep over!”
Jane felt backed into a corner. “You know what happened the last time you went to a sleepover. You couldn’t sleep. I had to come get you—”
“That’s okay, Mrs. Calver!” Heather said, her evil mind running marathons. “We can have the sleep over at your house. That way, Emily won’t be afraid!”
“Sure!” Emily said, overwhelmed.
Jane knew something was fishy. As much as she wanted to grab Heather by the throat and choke the truth out of her, Jane could only fumble her way through a poor excuse. “Let’s table this discussion for now. We still want to catch a few rides and eat some popcorn. If you’ll excuse us . . .” Jane lit a cigarette the second they cleared the tent. The bright, colorful lights of the carnival and accompanying pipe organ music washed over the trio as they walked toward the center of the festivities.
“Isn’t that cool about the sleepover, Mom?” Emily said joyfully to Jane.
“We need to talk about that later,” Jane said, effectively ending the subject.
Emily noticed a woman perched atop a stage, swallowing fire and spitting it out into waves of red and blue flames. “Can I stand over there and watch her?”
“Sure.” Jane took Emily’s trophy and watched her skip toward the group of onlookers.
“Look at her,” Dan said with a smile. “She’s ten feet tall and bulletproof! Where’d you learn how to dance like that?”
“Oh, it’s just one of the better habits I picked up along the way.”
“Better habits?”
“Yeah, you know. Before life got real.”
Dan wasn’t sure he understood but nodded just the same. “The way you dance, you need a full-time partner. Someone to blow off steam on Saturday night?” Jane realized the hidden message Dan was sending. But she figured if she ignored his comments, he’d give up his pursuit. She was wrong. “What you gotta do,” Dan continued, “is find somebody who’s got a honest heart and who would never beat on you and Patty. I don’t mean to pry but I know that when you’re used to gettin’ beat on, you tend to pick those kind of men. You may not even know you’re doin’ it. But I bet a dime to a donut that that’s the kind of fellow you lean toward. I know you probably think I’m totally out of line sayin’ that but—”
“No, actually,” Jane paused, thinking about what Dan said. “you’re right.” Her mind briefly focused on Chris and his verbally abusive tactics, not to mention his fondness for rough sex. “You’re absolutely right.”
“It’s understandable if you couldn’t see that. It’d be like if you were an alcoholic. You can’t tell a drunk they’re a drunk. They just tell you to ‘screw off ’ and then they take another drink.”
Jane shook her head, chuckling at the irony. “I feel like I’m in therapy.”
“I shouldn’t have opened my big mouth. It’s just that . . .” Dan struggled with his words. “I have some personal experience in what you’ve been through. My sister, Becky, married a guy who looked like Prince Charming on the outside but inside he was more like that Marquis de Sade. I can’t tell you how many times I had to go over to her house and pull him off of her.”
“Why didn’t you guys call the cops?”
“The cops,” Dan snickered. “What the hell good are cops? You should know! You’ve been dealin’ with the cops regardin’ your husband and you’re still on the run! Cops just write a report and walk away.”
“Not