Statler was still talking. “Do we tell the guys, or not? They already know the basics, but for this, they’ll need a few more details.”
Julian was watching Petula carefully, as she mulled over all she’d been told.
“We’ll definitely need help, no matter if you don’t want them to know,” Statler went on. “If you’d rather call the police…”
Petula squared her body, and Julian could see the moment her resolve hardened.
Damn.He’d known she was strong, but this new look on her face was nothing short of powerful.
“We’ll tell the crew,” she stated definitively with a terse dip of her chin. She turned to address Julian. “We’ll also tell your brothers.”
When his brows went up, she clarified.
“Yeah. They’re all bad-ass. Not just the ones who are police,” she informed him.. “Allyour brothers. I’ve come to know Spence, Buck, and Trask pretty well at Diver Downeast, and Tabitha has told me her story, as well as Bobbie’s. With what your brothers were able to do to save them… Well, they’re the kind of people I want to have at my back.”
Petula didn’t know the half of it. Most of the women his brothers had ended up with had been in some kind of jeopardy or another. Once he sat them down and told them Petula was in trouble, they’d all go on the alert. Protectiveness was in their DNA, and in the way they were raised.
“They’ll be anxious to help as soon as they hear your story,” Julian assured her.
Petula gave a long sigh. “And speaking of stories, before we go any further,youneed to hear a few details regarding my past before we move on,” she told Julian.
He sat up straighter in his chair. “Not if you don’t want to,” he affirmed. “It won’t have any bearing on me wanting to help you, nor will it deter me from continuing to see you.”
A half smile quirked her lips upward. “I already knew that,” she told him. “You’ve been nothing if not transparent in how you feel. Which is why you deserve to hear about my past from me, instead of hearing bits and pieces and concocting a narrative that may or may not be true. At least once you find out, you’ll know what you’re getting yourself into, and why certain things…freak me out.”
“Like water?” Julian broached tentatively.
Petula blinked. “You… You already caught onto that?”
“It wasn’t very hard.” He shrugged. “Every time something was mentioned about a body of water, you had a visceral reaction.”
Statler growled. “Because that asshole?—”
“Uh.” Petula shook her head at her brother. “My story to tell,” she admonished him, but her tone turned gentle. “Why don’t you leave me and Julian alone for a while, Stat, and you can go fill in the crew.” She sucked in a breath. “I’m good with whatever you want to tell them.”
Statler stood, then hauled Petula out of her chair and wrapped her in a huge, brotherly hug. “No matter what, we’ve got this, Pet. I promise you.”
He kissed the top of her head, then turned and walked out of the room.
Petula eased down into her chair again.
“So. Water…” she began.
Julian wanted to go to her and wrap her in the same kind of embrace her brother had just given, but they weren’t quite there yet, and he didn’t want to scare her.
He settled for scooting his chair closer, where he took her cold hands between his, and tried to give her some of his heat.
She didn’t pull away, but looked him dead in the eye.
She prepared, Julian knew, to tell him things that would make him lose his mind.
He marveled at her strength.
CHAPTER 15
Petula wasn’tsure exactly how to start. It was nice simply sitting here, looking into Julian’s compassionate face, drowning in the warmth of his brown eyes. But she knew, in order to make him fully understand what he was getting if he stuck with her, she needed to tell him everything.
“Let me start with Jefferson,” she finally managed, her voice sounding oddly firm for what she was about to disclose.
