Hope

Chapter Nineteen

Work was slow and I was sitting at the counter chatting with Gerry, "I love Colorado summers. Everything is so green, it reminds me of happy times." I couldn't help but smile, Danny and I were doing fantastic and the nightmares were all but gone. Even Seth couldn't bring me down, "It's like a renewal or recharge of the forest. Everything springs to life, babies are born, even the sun looks happier."

"I never knew you had a poetic side to you," Gerry laughed.

"Not necessarily poetic, I'm just happier than I have been in a long time. I have a man who treats me like a princess, a fantastic job that keeps me in full supply of my favorite spicy chips, and a boss that's totally awesome," I said, laying my hand on his. "The past few months have been the best of my life, Gerry. Everyone treats me like an equal. No one treats me different just because of who I am or what happened to me. It's like I am a normal person when I am here."

"I understand completely, little lady," he looked at me like he was trying to figure out who I used to be. "When I was a young lad, I didn't live here in Hope. I grew up on the streets of New York City and was discriminated against because I wasn't black, Hispanic, or Italian. I was just a normal white kid growing up in a place where you don't want to be white. I had my fair share of trouble, but then I moved to Hope. The moment I set foot in this town, people treated me like I had lived there my whole life. They forgave me immediately for any skepticism I felt towards the way they were treating me, and every time I did something that normal people would abhor, they just took my hand and said it was okay."

He squeezed me hand and stood up as a few people trickled into the diner, "I guess what I am trying to say is that while you are in Hope, you are amongst family. Everyone here will love you and treat you with kindness and respect. The worst thing anyone could ever do here is take advantage of that fact. But don't worry, little Rose, no one thinks bad of you. Everyone knows that you are a good, kind person." He gave me a little wink as I turned to go wait on my tables, "Besides, since you tamed Danny, everyone respects you too much to say a bad word to you or about you."

The next few hours flew by in a blur. Our lunch rush was a bit late in starting, so I ended up staying a little into the dinner shift, trying to close out my tables. The only bad part of my day was when Seth spoke to me. He told me that his cousin was coming to visit him after work to go to the bar. I shuddered inwardly at that, hoping with all my might that it wasn't Trip that was going to be coming to see him. But after he told me, we got busy and I forgot all about it until it was time for me to leave.

I walked out front of the diner, waiting for Danny to come and pick me up. Gerry had a little outdoor bench hidden underneath an overhang off to the side of the entrance for just this purpose. It was there I was sitting when I saw Trip pulling in, driving a seriously expensive sports car. My breath came out fast and rough as the memories of the night of my attack came back to me all at once. I pulled myself tight into the a darkened corner of the overhang, trying to make myself as invisible as I could.

Trip didn't even glance my way, but I didn't let out the breath I was holding until he was safely inside the diner. I think that the months I had spent in Hope had changed me enough that he wouldn't recognize me with just a fleeting glance. I no longer looked like a starved teenager, my body had filled out considerably since Danny started feeding me his homemade meals. My stomach was still mostly flat, but my boobs were two cup sizes larger and my hips were definitely wider than they had been. Daisy had taken me back to Sarah's salon, at my request, and I had gotten my hair dyed back to its natural blonde color and had several inches cut off, so it looked a lot more natural and not like a high class Barbie doll. I think it is safe to say that he wouldn't recognize me unless he studied me for a few minutes, or I had the misfortune of being naked in his arms again.

However, I still couldn't help but shake as I sat there waiting for Danny. He was running late again which was giving me too much time to delve into buried memories. The time had long since passed when I feared the dark because it brought back bad memories. But sitting here on the bench, I could feel Trip's fingers shoving into me roughly, feel his hot breath on my neck, his teeth biting into my nipple. Everything that happened to me was coming back in a blur and I couldn't stop it from overwhelming me.

Tears welled in my eyes so I closed them against the onslaught of emotions I was feeling. I took a deep breath and tried to compose myself as I heard Danny's truck pulling into the parking lot. As he pulled in front of me, I had managed to stop myself from crying, although I was sure that I looked like hell. Putting in a long day at work and then suffering through emotional turmoil is not the best way to keep looking good. I climbed into his truck and tried to smile at him.

He could tell that something was wrong, but waited until we were out of the parking lot to ask me about it, "Babe, what's wrong? Have you been crying?" I started crying again at the worry in his voice, "You can tell me anything babe. Do I need to hurt someone for you?"

He pulled me against him, using his left hand to steer and his right arm around my shoulder, "I had a flashback after work was over." I couldn't tell him the whole truth. The fear was still too real that he might try and kill Trip for doing what he did to me. So I told him a half truth, "It was just such a long day at work, my defenses were down and I saw someone that reminded me of that night. I'll be okay, I just need to get home and take a long hot shower and cuddle with my boyfriend. Then everything will be better."

When we got home, he carried me out of the car and into the house. I laughed, "Danny, I can walk you know." He always seemed to know exactly what to do to make me feel better. "Put me down before you hurt yourself."

Amusement shone bright in his eyes as he looked down at me, "Babe, you are as light as a feather. I still think you are too skinny, so there is no way that you could ever hurt me. Besides, I enjoy carrying you around. It helps remind you that I am a strong capable man who can take care of his woman in any way she needs."

He carried me inside, moving quickly to the bedroom, before setting me down gently. Danny pressed a soft kiss to my forehead, then left me in the room alone. I stared after him, trying to figure out what was going on in his head, but I couldn't. That man was something extraordinary, and I was so lucky to have met him. Sometimes, I wondered what I had ever done to deserve someone as good to me as he was.

I stripped off my clothes and climbed into the shower, wishing that Danny would come and join me. But in the time it took to wash my hair, shave my legs and lather my body with peach smelling soap, I didn't hear a sound from him. Disappointed, I climbed out of the shower and dried off, throwing on a pair of shorts and a tank top, sans underwear. I sat down on the bed and started brushing out my hair, which always took forever because it is so long and thick.

The door to the bedroom opened and Danny walked in, grinning from ear to ear, "Hey babe, feel better now that you got a nice long shower?"

"Well, I would have felt better if you would have joined me, but yeah, I feel a lot better now."

His face looked disappointed for a second but then he shook his head, like he was clearing if from his mind, "Oh babe, I would have been in there in a hot minute, but I was busy out in the kitchen. I have a surprise for you."

My eyes narrowed with suspicion, "Surprise? You know that I don't like surprises, Danny."

"I know, babe. But trust me when I say, you are going to like this surprise. Daisy helped me plan it, so I know that I didn't screw it up to bad."

I just sat on the bed, my mouth hanging open in shock. Daisy had helped him prepare a surprise for me? That couldn't possibly be a good thing. I didn't know what it meant, but I was starting to get scared. From seeing Trip earlier today, now this, I didn't know what to think. My mind was blank as I tried to decipher what everything meant. Danny's eyes fell and I could tell that he was sad and disappointed that I wasn't saying anything. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, so I stood up and moved over to him. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I stood on my toes and placed a gentle kiss on his lips, trying to get rid of the pain that I saw in his eyes, "Alright, show me my surprise."