Newman hadn’t meant to hurt her. Hadn’t meant for his teasing to make her cry, but it had. This, he knew, was not about clothing, it was about the stuff she’d told Buster. The stuff he’d heard. Just thinking about what she went through made him angry enough to want to hunt this Jay down and beat the shit out of him. Which he knew was a possibility, as the man and Hope’s old colleagues were nearby. But for now, he needed to get to Hope.
She was quicker than he’d thought, and he only caught a glimpse of her as she sprinted into the trails. Stopping, he listened, and heard the thud of her feet. He followed. Stopping again, he heard her cries. He moved as quietly as he could until he found her. She was hugging a tree. Later, he’d smile over that. Only Hope would hug a tree when she was in pain.
“I’m sorry, Hope, I never meant to hurt you.”
She wore a hideous rainbow-striped shirt and worn jeans. Her hair was damp, and a loose, tangled mess.
Newman had seen many women cry in his lifetime. His mother was the loud, demonstrative type, as were several of his friends. But he had to say that the soft, heart-wrenching sobs coming from Hope were making his chest hurt.
Closing the distance between them, he stopped at her back, then placed his hand on her shoulder. She didn’t flinch or move, just kept crying.
“Come on, sweetheart.”
“G-go away.”
“You know I can’t do that, Hope. The gentleman in me would never leave a woman in distress.”
Newman eased her off the tree when her cries slowed to sniffles. Turning her, he pulled her into his chest, then wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. She didn’t fight him, just let him hold her. Her hands went around his waist and they stood that way, there among the mighty redwoods, for some time. Light dappled around them, and he inhaled the earth and scents of this place he called home.
“I was thinking of hiring someone to take Jay out. We could make it look like an accident. I’m sure Tex and Brad would have the contacts.”
She snuffled.
“But seriously, Hope. You can’t let him get away with what he did.”
“There’s nothing I can do, Newman.”
She sounded defeated, and the fact that she was still in his arms told him she was. His heart ached for her, and not in the way he would if she were just a friend. He felt something more for this woman, and while that was scary, it was also in a weird way compelling.
“So what, you’re just going to let that limp dick get away with what he did to you? Destroy your reputation and take your place? Come on, Hope, surely your rep means more to you than that. And let’s not mention the fact he’s on your turf now too.”
“We are not gangsters, Newman.” She sighed, then levered herself away from him. Her eyes were bloodshot, face pale. She looked beaten. He wasn’t having that.
“I never took you as chickenshit, Hope Lawrence. I had you pegged as a fighter.”
“Don’t speak to me like that. I’m… I’m upset.”
“Wah, wah,” Newman said in a soft whiny voice, that he knew would piss her off.
She hit him hard in the chest. He grunted obligingly.
“You don’t know what it was like that day! To walk into a place where even if the people didn’t like you, they at least respected you. They all looked at me like I was something they’d scraped off the bottom of their shoes.”
“Cry me a river.” Newman yawned, which earned him another thump. “Okay, that’s enough of the hitting.” He grabbed her wrists.
“I worked hard for that position, damn you! H-he took it all from me, and simply because I allowed him to. I didn’t see what he was doing until it was too late!”
She was angry now, color riding high on her cheeks.Excellent, Newman thought. A much better look on her than the last one.
“So how are you going to turn the tables on him? Because from where I’m standing, you just let him screw you over without much of a fight. Those photos had dates.” Newman ticked the points off on his fingers. “Your colleagues know your style and surely someone would have seen you taking some of those photos. There also have to be people in your community who respect you and can attest to your excellent reputation.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I really don’t,” he added. “You could go for a wrongful termination suit against Wildlife, and there’s also defamation of character, and yet you did nothing but run.”
She looked at him, her eyes focused on his. Intent, as if she could read the answer to the next step to take in his eyes. He felt it again, that little zing of awareness he’d been getting since they’d reconnected again.
“A colleague from Wildlife called me today, Newman.”
