Chapter 14
The next day, Bailey went to the doctor to be cleared for work. Her phone was vibrating like crazy the whole time she was there. She knew who it was and she decided to wait to call him back. Two hours later a very impatient Bailey was cleared to go back to work. As she left the doctors office, she checked her phone. "13 missed calls and 6 texts…wow. And they are all from Johnathan!" Bailey sighed as she climbed into her GTO. She cranked the car and let it purr for a few minutes while she checked her messages.
"Where are you?"
"Are you ok?"
"What are you doing?"
"Please call back, I want to talk to you."
"Bailey, pick up the damn phone!"
"I'm sorry, I'm just worried"
Bailey shook her head. "I don't need this. I will wait until I get home. I am way too stressed right now." Bailey said to no one as she pulled out of Hospital Drive and headed towards home.
Ten minutes later, Bailey drives up to her house to see John's truck out in front of her house and him asleep in the cab of his truck. She parked in the garage and got out. She took a slow breath and walked to his truck as her garage door shut behind her. She stopped at his window and watched him sleep for a minute. She smiled at his TB hat set over his eyes and his mouth slightly open. Soft snores were audible through the window of his truck. Bailey smiled a mischievous smile and knocked on the window. John woke with a start, hat flying to the passenger floor of his truck as he sat up straight. Bailey heard a stream of profanity as he finally realized his surroundings. Bailey smiling and chuckling in amusement motioned for him to follow her. John frowned at her and obliged. She could tell he wasn't as amused, but at the moment she just didn't care.
"Bailey, where the hell have you been?" John said as they entered the foyer of her small home.
"I was at the doctors office getting cleared to go back to work. Like I need to be cleared to teach. Because it is a really physically strenuous job." Bailey said oozing with sarcasm.
"Oh" John said, suddenly embarrassed by all of the phone calls and text messages.
"What was with the numerous calls and texts?" Bailey asked.
"This is my last day on dry land. Andy left with the boat already and I have to catch a plane tomorrow to meet him there." John explained. "I wanted to spend the day with you."
"Ok. I'm free now!" Bailey said. She grabbed her purse and turned to look at John. "What do you want to do?"
John grabbed her purse and tossed it to the floor. "This" John said as his lips met hers.
Bailey and John didn't leave the bedroom until an hour before the girls returned from school. They both were exhausted and resting on the couch when the girls came home.
"Hey girls! You all want to go out to eat tonight?"
Cara and Emily looked at each other and seemed to have a private conversation with their eyes. After what seemed like 5 minutes, Cara and Emily both agreed to a night out. The girls went straight to their room and started their homework.
A few hours later, the four of them were in the GTO. Bailey let John drive and regretted it the whole way. With every stop sign from the house to the restaurant, he had the girls squealing and Bailey wide eyed every time he tested the modified 370 hp engine.
"You know, it wouldn't be so bad if I were the one burning rubber and speeding away from every stop sign." Bailey said as she gripped the door handles.
"Oh hush, you are only freaking out because you aren't in control." John chided Bailey.
"Yeah, I know, but I like to let you take control only in certain situations." Bailey chided back as she wagged her eyebrows at John.
John blushed and maxed out Bailey's high-powered engine on a straight part of the spit.
"I love this car!" John exclaimed as he sped down the spit.
"You can pay the speeding ticket too," Bailey stated. She wasn't really worried about the money; she was worried about her car.
The four of them arrived at the Happy Face and parked. "Keys…" Bailey said as she came around the front of her car. John fake pouted and handed her the keys.
"Fine, you win. That was fun though. Thanks for letting me test drive her." John said as he swung his arm around her.
The girls found a seat by the window over looking the bay as John and Bailey ordered. The four of them sat around the table enjoying a nice dinner and conversation. Emily actually spoke more than three words and John had her spilling her short life story. Cara and Bailey sat back and enjoyed their Chinese food and looked out across the bay and talked.
Once in a while through out the dinner, Bailey felt some one watching her. It felt familiar, but not friendly. She couldn't quite explain it. Her senses were trying to reach out and fine-tune to the darkness that had crept up during the dinner. Some one was out there watching her and the girls. The hair on the back of her neck and arms stood on end. She didn't like that feeling. She started to feel very uncomfortable when John reached over and ran a hand over her arm startling her.
"You cold?" John asked. One look at her face and he could tell she was worried about something. "You ok?"
"Yeah, I thought I felt some one watching me out there." Bailey said as she stared out the window.
"It's Alaska. If you feel like some one or something is watching you, then it or they probably are. I wouldn't worry about it. They are probably staring at me. I get that a lot these days." John said trying to ease Bailey's mind, but at the same time feeling uneasy himself.
"Let's go. We can rent a movie and I will stay as long as you want me to tonight." John smiled and shook her lightly.
"Ok. Would you mind staying the night?" Bailey asked.
"Sure." John said and winked. "Any time."
The girls bowed out of the movie watching when they got home and went to Cara's room still chatting. Bailey sat back in John's arms and sighed. "I like this. Thanks for getting Emily to talk. I think she really misses her dad. I don't think she knows that he was going to really hurt her. I can't bring myself to tell her. I think he was here for them, but they got in the way. I am so glad Cara only came out with some bruises."
John held Bailey a little tighter and kissed the top of her head. "I'm so sorry y'all had to go through that."
"Me too." Bailey said as she snuggled closer.
The movie started and halfway through the movie, Bailey fell asleep. John turned the TV off and stood to pick Bailey up. She woke just enough to wrap her arms around his neck. He stopped for a second as completely new feelings rushed through him. He was confused and stricken by them at the same time. He shook his head and regained his composure and carried her to bed. He took her shoes off and covered her with her blanket. John walked to the other side of her bed and settled in under the covers and pulled her to him. They slept until early the next morning.
Bailey woke to John's arms around her. She moved his arm and got up. She wanted to take a shower before he went to the airport. She was going to miss him, but was going to be glad to have some time to think about their relationship and maybe think about how she was going to deal with her new feelings. She knew she loved him, but was afraid to admit it. What if he didn't love her? That would devastate her. What if her hurt her like everyone else did? She jumped as John joined her in the shower and chased her thoughts away. He traced the tattoo on her upper back and kissed it.
"What is the meaning of this tattoo?" John asked. Tracing the words "The ties that bind no more…"
"I got that tattoo the day Paul asked for a divorce. I went straight to Oxford tattoo and asked the artist to draw it out and put it on me. The chains represent the relationship and the broken link represents the end of our marriage. The phrase is just that. The ties that no longer bind, the chains were broken the day he asked me for a divorce. It all represents my freedom. He always said if I get a tattoo that there would be problems in our marriage. When I had no more marriage, I got a tattoo. No one stopping me now…and the tattoo on my lower back, that is the girls nicknames and their birthdates." Bailey explained.
"Nice way to record an event in your life. Let me guess, you weren't broken up about leaving him."
"Not really, no. But I did feel sadness for the loss of everything I tried to work for, only to realize I had failed at that." Bailey said as sadness showed in her voice. "I really feel bad for the girls and everything they have been through with him and how he died. Remind me to tell you all about that when you return from fishing."
Surprised, John agreed to remind her. "Are you sure you want to tell me?"
"That's the easy part. He was emotionally abusive. Unlike my father who physically abused me, and my brother…" Bailey breathed in a shaky breath and John wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Shhh…you don't have to tell me yet. Take your time. I know it must be hard." John whispered in Bailey's ear.
"Thanks, John. I really appreciate your understanding." Bailey turned around and kissed John. "Now are we going to do this or not."
Bailey gave John a farewell to remember in the shower. As John left and boarded the plane, he never wanted to stay on dry land more than he wanted to now. He made up his mind on the way to Dutch Harbor to find and stay on the crab so he can be home quickly.
My plans are almost complete! I have been watching her for weeks now! My only problem is her boyfriend. He has seen me. I just know it. The day she left for the doctor, I know he had to have seen me come out of her house when he parked. I have to take him down too. There is no way I am going to let him identify me. I can't go to prison for killing her because of loose ends.