Page 64 of Love Unbound
“Yes,” Jodi murmured, her eyes searching his. “Among other things. I can tell you about it.”
Free raised one hand to cup the side of her cheek. “I think there’s a lot that we need to talk about.”
Jodi nodded, a million butterflies taking flight and dive bombing her stomach. He swept his thumb over her bottom lip once before pulling away.
“First, I would like to take a shower. And charge my phone since it died sometime over the weekend. That’s why I didn’t call you myself,” he said and smiled. Jodi led him into the house, stopping at the living room. He leaned down and kissed her once, twice. “I’ll be out in a few.”
Jodi nodded, heading into the kitchen. She was terrified of the conversation that was coming. She’d been brave the other night but was quaking with fear now.
She figured he had to be starving, her own stomach rumbling. She set about making a quick dinner, simple sandwiches. When he didn’t return, she padded down the hallway and into the bedroom.
He hadn’t made it to the shower. Instead, he lay on the pillows, snoring softly. His boots lay on the floor beside him, one leg still draped over the edge of the bed. Jodi smiled before reaching for a throw blanket on the nearby chair and spreading it over him gently. Jodi went back to the kitchen, wrapping the sandwiches for later before joining him in the bedroom.
Curling up beside him, she herself was asleep in minutes.
They must have slept for several hours, because when Jodi woke, the sky outside of her window was shadowed. The sun had set and dusk was settling across the skyline. When she looked over, Free was gone.
She sat up, searching the room. His boots still lay on the floor where he’d left them. Then she heard the shower running in thebathroom through the closed door and let out a sigh of relief.
Jodi climbed out of bed, pulling the clothes she’d worn to work off and leaving them in the basket by the door. She pulled on a pair of black leggings, and then found a comfy gray top that hung off one shoulder. She let her hair down from the confines of the topknot she’d had it in, massaging her scalp with her fingertips.
She left the bedroom, returning to the kitchen, pulling the sandwiches out of the refrigerator. She plated the sandwiches, along with potato chips, and a hefty spoonful of macaroni salad.
She had just closed the fridge after grabbing two beers when she heard a timid knock on the door.
Puzzled, she set the bottles on the counter, then rounded the corner of the kitchen, walking through the living room. It was well after nine at night, who would be here this late?
Trepidation slowed her footsteps. Was Josh still in custody, or had he been released? Would it be the police waiting on the other side of the door?
She reached the door and called through, “Who is it?”
A pause, and then a soft voice called back through the still closed door. “My name is Roxy. I’m looking for Free.”
Chapter 48
Jodi opened the door, reaching for the porch light out of habit before she remembered it was damaged. The porch was deeply shadowed, making it difficult to make out the woman’s features in the dark.
The woman shifted from one foot to the other nervously. “I’m so sorry it’s late. I’m trying to find Free. Shane said I could find him here?”
“Uhh,” Jodi stuttered, thrown off guard. “Yeah, he’s here. He’s taking a shower,” she uttered lamely, pulling the door open slightly wider and taking a half step aside. When she did, the light from the lamp in the living room that Jodi had turned on earlier illuminated the woman’s hair first, which Jodi noted was a vivid red, the same from her nightmare. Then, the light hit her face, and Jodi’s hand flew to her mouth to stifle the gasp of shock that escaped her. Her mouth worked, but nothing came out, and a half a heartbeat later she heard Free round the corner from the hallway. She could smell his bodywash as he got closer.
“I didn’t think we were expecting company,” Free said as he walked toward her.
She half turned toward him as he reached her, words still stuck in her throat. Her eyes followed him as he rounded the door, his gaze falling upon the woman still standing in the doorway. A broad, genuine smile lit his face a half second before a deep V formed on his brow.
“What the hell happened!” he snapped, stepping around Jodi and pulling the woman through the door into the living room,and as they did, the light revealed more of the woman’s face, which made Jodi queasy. “Did Neal do this?”
Dark bruises covered the left side of her face, obscuring her eye and cheekbone, and her lip was split. The eye that was blackened was swollen nearly shut. Stunned, Jodi moved on autopilot, closing the door as Free led the woman to the couch, sitting her down and lowering himself to the seat directly next to her. His hands moved over her, tipping her chin up so he could look at her face more fully, then over her shoulders and arms that were also covered in angry dark purple and blue bruises. Jodi stood awkwardly by the door, wringing the hem of her shirt between her fingers. Tears ran down the woman’s cheeks, which Free swiped away with his thumbs, all the while talking to her gently.
“I tried to call,” the woman was saying, “but it kept going to voicemail—”
“I know, I’ve been… busy,” Free murmured, taking her hands in his. Jodi’s throat closed as anxiety clawed at her. The familiarity between them, the way they sat together, the way Free touched her, left Jodi with a knot in her stomach that made her feel ill. It was the same way he touchedher, comfortedher. Jodi knew, without a doubt, she was Free’s lover. Jodi felt sick to her stomach, felt like her heart was going to claw its way out of her throat. She felt like an intruder in her own home as she stood by watching them together.
Neither Free nor the woman, Roxy, she had said her name was, looked up when Jodi stepped outside onto the porch, closing the door behind her. She walked over and sat down on the hanging porch swing, the one that Free had helped install. Jodi stared out over the field. There was only a sliver of moon visible in the night sky, and it cast just a hint of silvery light upon the tops of the trees across the field. Occasionally, she could hear a car pass on the road in the distance beyond the tree line. Thetall field grass swayed in the breeze as she sat in the darkness.
Her heart was breaking, and she hated herself for it. For how incredibly stupid she’d been the last few weeks.
After what felt like an eternity, Jodi heard the front door open and then heavy footsteps on the wooden planks of the porch. He had put on his boots.
