That Beautiful Orange Gown Read online

  She nodded and went to stand next to it.

  He could easily see her shaking, and spoke softly again, hoping to calm her. "Emily, it's okay now. Are you sure you're okay?" She nodded, but didn't respond. "Do you have a phone with you?"

  She looked in his direction, but appeared to be in a trance. He tried a different tactic, and used a much more authoritative voice. "Emily, look at me." He watched as she jumped slightly, but then appeared much more alert as she looked at him, and this time he could tell she was seeing him. He softened his voice again. "Thank you. Do you have a phone on you?"

  "Yes." She reached in her purse and took out her phone.

  Nick was glad she'd found her voice. "Can you call 9-1-1, please, and tell them we need help at the Anderson Park off of Lee Street. Tell them to follow the northern walking path." He kept his eyes on the man he was holding down while he listened as Emily did as he asked. As he expected, the dispatcher kept her on the phone, talking to her while officers were dispatched.

  It wasn't long before they heard sirens approaching. They heard two car doors slam shut, followed shortly by a man's voice. "Police. Hello?"

  "Over here," Nick yelled. "Keep following the path."

  Less than a minute later two officers appeared, guns drawn. Seeing the man being held on the ground, an officer asked, "Everyone okay?"

  Nick nodded. "We are. I've got him, but he's doing his best to change that. Emily's the one who called you. I knocked his gun loose, and it's on the ground beside Emily. She's been watching it to be sure no one gets to it. No one's touched it."

  The officer who appeared to be in charge put his gun back in the holster. "Thank you. Are you police, or military?"

  "I was a Navy SEAL."

  "Officer Troy Tipton, and this is Officer Matt Crawford. Let me get this guy for you." He took his handcuffs out. Officer Crawford kept his gun trained on the man while Officer Tipton took Nick's place holding him down, put the cuffs on him, and pulled him up. "Do you know him?"

  Nick looked at Emily. "I don't, but he seems to know you."

  The man sneered and looked at Nick. "She's my woman, and this bastard's trying to steal her."

  Nick's eyebrows rose as he looked from him back to Emily, who looked scared, but angry. "I am not, Don. I told you that!"

  Emily was trembling, and Nick moved closer to her and opened his arms. She flew into them, and the minute his arms went around her tears started flowing. He didn't ask her any questions; just held her tight. He kept an eye on Don, too, knowing he wouldn't like seeing her in his arms.

  As he feared, as soon as Emily went into his arms, Don tried pulling loose. Officer Tipton was ready, though, and pulled him around toward the cruiser. Officer Crawford helped and they wrestled him into the back seat of the cruiser and closed the door. Officer Crawford watched him while Officer Tipton went back to talk to Nick and Emily. "Okay, I need to know who this is and what he's talking about."

  Emily looked up at Nick, strengthening her resolve. "His name is Don Matheny, but I don't know a whole lot more about him. Some of my friends and I were at The Screaming Eagle one night. He and some friends of his came in and one of the girls in our group knew one of the guys in their group, so they sat down and we all talked. He kept talking to me all night, moving to sit next to me."

  Officer Tipton was taking notes. "Did you encourage him in any way?"

  "Not at all. When we were getting ready to leave, he offered to drive me home, but I said I had my own car. He asked me out for dinner the next evening and I said no. He asked about the next night, and I told him I was sorry, but I just didn't think things would work out between us. Somehow he got my phone number and called me. The first time he called, I told him again that I just didn't want to go out with him and I didn't see a relationship ever working out. We just were too different."

  Nick was struggling to remain calm. He'd totally enjoyed his day with Emily, and he couldn't even allow himself to think about what this monster may have done to her. He pushed that out of his mind and concentrated again on the questions the officer was asking Emily.

  "Did he call again?"

  "He kept calling. Like I said, the first time, I explained again that it just wouldn't work between us. The next time he called, I told him I wouldn't change my mind and asked him to please stop calling me. After that, I let the phone ring. I never answered it again when he called."

  "Did he do anything else; did he call you at work or anything of that nature?"

  "As far as I know he didn't know where I work. I never told him. I never saw him there, either."

  Nick's head jerked up at those words. "Did he know where you live?" He glanced over at the expression on Officer Tipton's face. "Sorry, Officer."

  "Actually, I was about to ask the same question. Does he know where you live?"

  "Yes. I don't know how he found out, but I saw him parked across the street once. He knocked on the door, but I didn't answer it. I stayed away from the windows and didn't turn any lights on. He waited there an hour or so, but then left."

  Nick was beside himself. He had a protective nature to begin with, and he always felt a man should protect a woman. But that feeling had kicked into overdrive with Emily. He wondered about it briefly, but didn't take time to contemplate it. "Why didn't you call the police?"

  Again Officer Tipton looked at him and smiled. "Another good question." It was obvious Nick cared for this little lady, and hadn't been aware of Don.

  They both focused on Emily, waiting for her response. "I didn't know he'd ever do anything like this. I mean, I didn't even really know him. I assumed that as soon as he saw I was serious, he'd forget about me."

  Nick kept his arm firmly around her waist. "You said he was with a group of friends. Do they know where you live, too?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned to the officer. "Do we need to worry about any of them?"

  Officer Tipton noticed his question was do we have to worry, and was glad. Apparently this man intended to protect the young lady, which might be a good idea for the next little while. "I'll want their names if you have them, and we'll check them out."

  "I don't know their names. I only met them the one evening, and it was just a casual acquaintance. No one was seeing anyone from either group, or left together or anything like that. It was all just a very casual chance meeting, except apparently he was trying to turn it into something more."

  The officer nodded his understanding. "You said one of your friends knew one of them. Could I get her name? If we can get the name of the man she knew, he may be able to fill us in on the rest of them. I'd like to talk to him, and the others in the group, as well. I'm wondering how well they knew this man, and if they heard him mention you. Then I'll be able to answer your question better, Nick."

  "Thank you. Will you keep us informed as to what you find out?"

  "Of course. In the meantime, Emily, if any of the other men contact you in any way, or you see any of them watching you around your house or place of employment, call us right away. Don't wait this time, okay?"

  "Okay."

  The officer had each of them write out a report as to what happened, and after a few more questions, they took Don away, and Nick and Emily were alone again.

  He steered her down the path toward his car, keeping his arm around her waist. Neither said anything as they made their way back to the parking lot. At his car, he opened the door for her. Before she got in, she stopped with a hand on his arm, and looked into his eyes. "Nick, I don't know how to thank you. But I also feel I owe you an apology. I'm not really thinking clearly right now, but I do know I owe you a huge thank you."

  He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad I was there with you. We'll talk more when we get to my house." She nodded and got in his car.

  As he was driving to his house, he kept watching her. She was visibly shaken, which wasn't hard to understand. He kept reaching over to pat her leg, or give it a squeeze. They had a lot of talking to do, but he had some thinking to do, as
well. She wasn't the only one who'd been shaken by this incident. He felt like he was being shredded to pieces. He had very strong feelings for this very pretty little lady, even though he'd just met her.

  He wasn't sure why his feelings were so strong, and he wasn't sure how to handle those feelings. He'd like to wrap her in his arms at his house and keep her there until Officer Tipton assured him none of the other men were interested in her as Don obviously was, and then maybe, just maybe, he would allow her to step outside his house.

  As much as that was what he'd like to do, he knew he couldn't. But what could he do? He knew he couldn't ignore his feelings for her, and he had to keep her safe. But he didn't want to come on too strongly and scare her off before she even had a chance to get to know him.

  It was a quiet ride to his house as both were deep in their own thoughts.

  Reality was starting to sink in to Emily, and it was frightening. She didn't argue, or even question Nick when he said he was taking her to his house. Right now, she was sure she'd feel safer there than at home.

  They pulled into a lane just outside of Hopewell. It was a nice neighborhood. The houses all appeared to be family homes and were nicely maintained. The house she found herself looking up at was very nice. It appeared to be a little larger than some, but very pretty. All the homes in the area had good-sized yards, and this one was no exception. The first thing that got her attention was the pretty white picket fence that surrounded the entire perimeter.

  The lane went around behind the house and into a garage. Once inside, Nick helped her out of the car and led her into the house. They went through a small entryway of sorts, with hooks for coats and a bench with a shelf below for shoes or boots.

  He continued through and into a large kitchen which was what she would consider to be her dream kitchen. She barely had time to notice it though, as they continued to his living room. He sat down on the couch, pulling her down beside him. Finally, he spoke. "Are you okay, Emily?"

  Still in a bit of a daze, she nodded. "Yeah."

  "No, you're not," he said after watching her expression for a few moments. "I'm sure you have a lot of things going through you mind right now, and we can talk about any of them you want, but first I want you to listen to me for a second. Can you do that, please?"

  She looked up at him and nodded.

  She was surprised when he frowned and got a stern look on his face. "No, not good enough. I want you to listen to and absorb what I'm about to say, not just hear it. You're in a daze right now, and that's not what I want. Look at me." She glanced up in his direction, but he still wasn't getting her attention, he knew. Remembering how well it worked at the park, he barked out another order. "Emily, I said to look at me." Immediately her eyes looked up at him and focused on him. Now he had her attention.

  "Good girl. Thank you. You're safe here. Don's in jail, he won't be getting out, and you're here. He doesn't know me or where I live, so you don't have to worry about him. You can talk to me here without having to worry about him."

  He knew for sure she'd heard him when she flung her arms around his neck and clung to him. "Thank you, Nick. I was so scared."

  "I know, baby, I know. But it's all over now and you're safe." He rubbed her back while he held her. He felt her trembling, and kept talking softly and rubbing her back while she calmed. This was good. He knew she needed to release those fears. Once she'd stopped trembling he asked, "Feel better?"

  "Much," she assured him. Still cocooned in his arms, she asked, "So you were a Navy SEAL, huh?"

  "For seven years."

  "Did you like it? What made you quit?"

  "I did like it for the first six years. I quit because of an injury."

  She turned to look at him. "You don't look injured, and you sure didn't act like you have an injury."

  "I've recovered now. My upper leg was injured fairly badly, but with time and lots of physical therapy it's good again."

  "But you decided not to go back?"

  He hesitated a moment before answering. "Three of our team didn't make it out alive, and two are alive, but lost their legs. That left three of us to get all of them out. My leg was banged up pretty badly, and one of the other guys had a seriously injured arm."

  He was quiet again, which ironically, helped Emily focus. "I'm sorry. It seems I brought up something you'd rather not talk about."

  "No, that's okay. Like with you, I often put those times out of my mind, but it's good for me to think about it once in a while. It makes any problems I may be having now, seem not quite as bad."

  "It seems to me you must have healed completely, the way you handled yourself out there today."

  "I did." He could tell she wanted to ask something else, but was hesitant. "If you want to ask me something else about my injury or those times, go ahead. I'm okay. It's actually good for me to talk about it once in a while."

  "Are you sure?" When he nodded she ventured forward. "Was the day you got injured the last day you worked as a SEAL?"

  He chuckled a bit at her wording, but answered her truthfully. "That was the last mission I went on as a SEAL, yes. Our team was shattered. Three would never be coming back, two would never be a SEAL again, and at that point, we weren't sure about myself or Ned, the one who injured his arm. So once I went through months and months of surgeries and rehab, I gave it serious thought. I decided I just didn't think I should be out there anymore. I would have been assigned a new team, and it wouldn't have been fair to them. I didn't want a new team; I wanted my old team. That wasn't going to happen, so I decided it would be best for everyone if I became a civilian and left the SEALs."

  "So physically you made a full recovery?"

  He studied her several seconds. "You're exactly right. Physically I made a full recovery. Emotionally, I wasn't there yet."

  "And now?"

  "I'm getting closer all the time. I've been out for almost three years now, and I'm getting there."

  "Maybe I shouldn't say this because I know it makes me sound very selfish, but it's from the heart, so I'm going to say it anyway. I'm glad you left the SEALs. I'm glad we met at that restaurant and again at the wedding. And I'm very glad you were with me today when Don showed up."

  He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. "I'm glad, too. Days like today make me realize that even though I'm no longer a SEAL, that doesn't mean I can't still do things to help people, and my training wasn't for nothing. It was my training that kicked in automatically when he emerged out of nowhere today."

  "Then I'm very glad you had that training. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if you hadn't been there and able to take control of the situation."

  He felt her stiffen, and rubbed her arm. "There's no need to even think about that because it didn't happen. I was there and you're fine. Now we just need to have a little talk about how to keep you fine."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I'm a protective person by nature, and being a former SEAL just adds to that, but my protective instincts are going crazy around you. It's not just because of this incident, either. I know we're just getting to know each other, but I already care about you, and that means I'm going to do whatever I can to keep you safe. Now, I don't know how you feel about me, or my protectiveness, but it might be something we should talk about."

  He could tell she was giving it some serious thought, and he watched as she nibbled at her bottom lip before answering in a voice barely above a whisper. "I like it, and I care about you, too."

  He used a single finger under her chin to bring those eyes up so he could see them. "I would like very much to explore a relationship with you, but I have to warn you about something first. I can be very adamant about safety and what is necessary to ensure it. If you say you don't want to see me anymore, now or ever, you can rest assured; I'm not like Don. I will honor that request. But the closer we get, the more painful it would be to hear you say that. So I need to warn you about that up front and make sure you're aware that I wi
ll do what I need to keep you safe. I also need to know you're okay with it."

  She took her time answering him. "I'm going to be totally honest with you."

  "Good. If we are to have a relationship, that's one thing you'll learn about me real quick. I will always be honest with you. If I tell you something, I mean it. But I will expect that same total honesty from you."

  Again she nodded and took her time before answering. "Okay. I have to admit that I've noticed things you do, like opening doors for me, helping me into your car, little things that tell me you care. And I like feeling cared for. How you protected me today was way beyond what I ever expected, or ever thought I would need. So the idea of you watching out for me and protecting me is very appealing to me."

  His big smile told her a lot. "Good, I'm very glad to hear that. But I have a feeling there's something else that worries you?"

  "I'm not sure exactly what you mean by you'll do what is necessary to ensure my safety. What do you mean by that?"

  "It means that if I tell you to do something for safety's sake, I expect you to do as I ask."

  "Such as?"

  "Let me give you a couple of quick examples. If I find out you got a speeding ticket, I would ask you about it. If I found out you've gotten stopped on more than that one occasion for speeding, we would have a talk about the dangers that fast driving poses, and I would tell you I don't want to see you getting any more speeding tickets. Or, if I went to your house and found the door unlocked, we would have a little talk about the dangers of that, and I would tell you I want you to keep the door locked. I would expect you to do that."

  She squinted her eyes. "Or else what?"

  "Or else I would do whatever I thought was necessary to be sure it didn't happen again. More than likely, that would mean putting you over my knee and spanking your cute little bare bottom."

  Chapter Three

  Emily's eyes were huge as she stared at Nick. "You'd what?"

  "I didn't stutter when I said it, and I'm sure you heard me. I would more than likely give you a spanking."