“Please,” Julian had agreed while frustration ate at him.
This was all so fucked up, and down deep he knew he was going to attempt to find a way to pry things out of Petula without scaring her away.
“You’ve given me a lot to think about,” he’d eventually told Tex. “Which means I now have to decide how to move forward.”
“You want my thoughts?” Tex asked.
“Of course.” Julian hadn’t hesitated. Tex was brilliant and thoughtful. If he had an idea, Julian one-hundred percent wanted to hear it.
“Have a talk with Statler before you spook Petula. He’s older. He’s been in the Army. For all intents and purposes, he’s a great guy who obviously has her best interests at heart. He and Petula nowowna house together on the outskirts of town.”
Tex had rattled off the address, which Julian immediately committed to memory.
“He runs his own company, and from what I can find, he’s well respected as an industrial contractor. If there’s anything he thinks you need to know about Petula or her past, he won’t be shy telling you about it.”
“Sound advice.” Julian had been relieved to be given a course of action, because his brain had been in complete turmoil. “Thanks Tex.”
“Any time, Julian. I’ll be in touch the minute I uncover anything else.”
They’d said their goodbyes and hung up, after which Julian had sat, pondering his strategy.
He was still doing it now, hours later.
How the hell could Julian get Petula to introduce him to Statler? She barely trusted to meet for breakfast, so she probably wouldn’t be all that keen on Julian wanting a convo with her brother.
This was going to be tricky.
Julian finally closed his eyes and found some sleep, no closer to having any answers.
Julian knewit was only a dream, but it was so…disturbing. He was reaching for Petula who was falling into a black void, and had just managed to grab hold of her fingers when his frigging alarm went off.
He sprung upright, panting, seeing the last of the dream in his mind’s eye. His grip had failed, and Petula had slipped away into nothingness.
Julian felt completely drained.
Not only had he been awake half the night, worrying over the things Tex had imparted, but his horrifying dream had made sure that even his sleep had been compromised.
Fuck this.
Julian groggily arose and donned his running clothes, stretching a little before heading out into the cool, early morning air. He hoped that some physical activity would clear his head.
Off he went.
Just over an hour later, after completing an eight-mile loop, Julian’s mind, unfortunately, was still in a muddle. He didn’t have a clue if, or how he was going to protect Petula, or what it would take to be granted a meeting withher brother.
Julian arrivedat the Moose and Muffin fifteen minutes early, sitting in his truck, because…he’d run out of ways to waste time. He was anxious to see Petula. Not just because of the intel he’d received, but because of the dream, and the way the confounding woman wouldn’t leave his head.
He was now consumed with recalling every detail of her from the previous day. The way her bright copper hair glinted as it picked up the sun’s rays; the way her vibrant blue eyes reflected her emotions—even the ones she wanted to hide. Every bit of her was etched into Julian’s mind’s eye. And that wasn’t all.
Equally as appealing was the manner in which Petula held herself; confident, yet vulnerable. Independent, but with a longing in her eyes that said she wanted to expand her self-imposed boundaries. That alone, even without potential danger rearing its ugly head, had every one of Julian’s empathetic instincts springing to life. He’d felt as she had, once—the helplessness of not fitting in—and he wouldn’t wish it on anyone.
Add to that, the intel Tex had fed him, and Julian’s protective instincts where Petula was concerned didn’t seem so farfetched.
The big question was, however, how did he move forward from here?
That thought would have to wait.
Petula pulled up in her little silver car, and he let out a breath as she emerged.
