Chapter 14:

Sometime later Cody helped Jen into the Cabin. She was exhausted. Cody showed her to his room. Jen and Hailey will take the master bedroom downstairs as it has a bigger bed and Cody will move up to his old bedroom.

Since Hailey and Jen did not have any of their stuff. Cody got Jen some of his clothes for her to wear. They might be a bit big on her but should work.

"Tomorrow we can go back to the Lodge and get your stuff. Take a nap and when you wake up, I will heat you up something to eat," Cody said.

Jen slept for about five hours. Cody had already fed the kids their dinner, and it was getting late. Cody heated Jen up some soup. While Jen ate the soup, Hailey told her all about the things she and Alex did that day. And how Cody gave her first lesson on how to ride a horse.

"That is wonderful honey, but I think it is now time for you to get some sleep. You're going to have another busy day tomorrow," Jen went with her daughter to the bedroom to get her settled in and kiss her goodnight. Alex was also turning in.

When Jen came back, she knew it was time to have the conversation. She was dreading it. It has been a long time since she trusted anyone enough. The last person she trusted was killed by her husband, so she was bit apprehensive. Both her and Cody sat on opposite side of the couch in front of the fire.

"I want you and Hailey to feel at home here," Cody said sincerely.

Cody, thank you, I really don't know what we would have done," Jen paused at bit. She was trying to figure out how to start. "About your condition."

"We don't have to do this tonight; you have been thru a lot today" Cody said.

"If I don't start now, I don't know if I ever will have the courage to do so. I've had no one in my life I could trust in a long time," Jen said swallowing hard.

"Jen, you can trust me," Cody said.

"I think I can. My life has not been an easy one. You know I went off to college and my grandpa passed away during my sophomore year," Cody just nodded. "After his death I just concentrated on my studies, and I graduated with a degree in Business. Once I was done with college, I had nothing to focus on. It was just hitting me that I was alone in the world. I had few friends, no one close. I worked all day in a meaningless job and partied all night at the bars and clubs. I drank my sorrows away," Jen paused a bit and started to look down at the fire ashamed of what she was going to say next. "Too many mornings I woke up not knowing where I was or who I was lying next to. I was looking for love in all the wrong ways. I did not recognize the person I had become. My parents and my grandfather would have been disappointed in me. I hit rock bottom and I just could not crawl my way out." She looked back at Cody, "I decided it was for the best to move out of California and get a fresh start in Florida. I got a job at a shipping company in Miami. There I had met this handsome slightly older man. He treated me so special. I don't know if I have ever been treated like that before. I found out later he was an undercover cop that was investigating the owner of the company for some illegal activity. I did not know anything about that side of the business. When the owner was arrested and charged, the shipping company was shut down and I lost my job. Not a job you really could put on your resume anymore. The cop, Roy McGovern showed up at my door one night with flowers. He asked me out and apologized that he had to lie to me about who he was and what he was doing there. Roy helped me get a job with the Miami police department," Jen looked up at Cody and took a deep breath. "I fell in love with Roy, and we got married. I could not have been happier. I was no longer alone; someone cared for me. I was so in love with him, and I did not see it coming. He knew my vulnerabilities and fears, he manipulated me and took advantage of me, he knew what he was doing. Just has the trial started for the owner of the shipping company, the evidence against the owner of the company disappeared, he got off. Roy set me up and made it look like I stole the evidence and that I was in on it. He told me he covered up the evidence to protect me. I did not do anything, Cody, he set me up. He stole the evidence using my access to the systems and evidence locker. Then covered it up. At first, he acted like he was doing it because he loved me, but he began to change. He was controlling me. I cut people out of my life. He controlled everything, finances, who I saw, who I could speak to, what I did. He took all the money from the trust fund I got from my parents. He made me quit my job. If I did not do what he wanted, he would hurt me in ways no one would see or suspect. He told me I was nothing without him. A little over a year before I had Hailey, I found out I was pregnant. I thought maybe it would change him. Maybe he would become the man I fell in love with again. Maybe he would ease up on me," Jen said. "I was wrong. He was even more upset. He could not believe I would get pregnant without his permission. We were at the top of the stairs arguing about it, and he just pushed me down. I lost the baby and broke my arm. He told the people at the hospital that I did not want the baby and that I fell on purpose to hurt him," Jen just started to cry. "I would have never hurt my baby."

Jen just cried and Cody wrapped her in his arms. He rocked her and told her she would be okay, that he believed her.

"It's getting late, you need your rest. We can pick this up another time," Cody said with some concern.

"Cody, I like to continue. I want to tell you everything so I can move past it," Jen said.

Cody asked with some concern, "did things get any better after you lost the baby?"

"No, things went from bad to worse. I don't know if he was tiring of me or what. One day I ran into an old college friend. He was in Miami on business. He convinced me to have lunch with him, so we could catch up. That night when I got home Roy already knew about it. He was so upset. I was not sure if he was jealous or afraid that Joseph would help me leave him," Jen took a deep breath. "That night he went off the deep end, he told me if he ever caught me talking to another man, he would kill him. I tried to explain that we were just friends, and we were catching up. Roy started to choke me. I tried to get away from him, he grabbed me by my hair and threw me on the ground and kicked me a few times in the stomach. I ended up in the hospital with a few cracked ribs."

Jen starting to shake a bit and tears started. She could see that Cody was concerned for her. "When I was in the hospital, I was watching the news and a story came up of an out-of-town businessman that was found dead from a hit and run. It was my friend Joseph. He killed him. I could not prove it. But he did it. He was smug about it. He told me that is what happens to men I talk to. He got away with it. There was nothing I could do to stop him."

Cody said out of concern, "Could you report him?"

"I tried, but he was a cop. People would just believe him. He made them think I was hurting myself. Doctors would subscribe drugs that just made me numb to everything. I was trapped, afraid to go out or talk to anyone. One day he had a bad day at work. I was not feeling well and I…." Jen sniffled and wiped the tears away she just looked at the fire "I told him no, I told him I did not want to, that he was hurting me. He wrapped his hand around my throat. He said I was his wife and he owned me. He would have me when and where ever he wanted me. He was so rough I thought he was going to kill me," Cody just closed his eyes. He could not believe the horror that she went thru. "It continued for a while; I could not fight him anymore I just let him. I felt pretty much dead inside. I had nothing, he had everything. One day I realized I was late; I knew I was pregnant. I had to get out of there. I was afraid if he found out I was pregnant again that he would hurt this baby too. When he was gone to work, I would search the house for anything, I found a hidden safe. In there was about ten thousand dollars in cash and the missing evidence from the shipping company. Roy had taken the evidence. I made a plan for my escape. Took the ten thousand dollars and the evidence. I made my way to Nebraska. I found a lawyer who would serve him divorce papers, I don't know if he ever signed it or not. He showed up in Nebraska and I had to run again. I was about 4 months pregnant at the time. I made my way to Utah and changed my name. I gave birth to Hailey there. I had a midwife that took some compassion on me. I told her part of my story that I had an abusive husband I was running from; we delayed the birth date on the certificate three months after she was born. So, it looked like she was conceived after I left my husband.

"So, you did not name Roy as the father?" Cody asked.

"No, I did not want him to know that he was the father" Jen answered.

"Did you leave the father's name blank?" Cody asked.

"No, I was afraid he would think that the baby was his," Jen answered.

"So, whose name did you put?" Cody asked. Jen's eyes of big as Cody asked. Jen got a bit more frantic.

"Jen, calm down. Whose name did you put on the birth certificate?"

"Cody…. Cody I…. I put your name down on the birth certificate. Legally you are Hailey's father. I am so sorry Cody, yours was the first name I thought of. I never thought I would see you again or come back here."

Jen jumped up and started frantically trying to figure out what to do, crying. Cody got up and put his hand on her arms. "Cody…. Hailey and I need to leave. If Roy found out we were here with you, the man on Hailey's birth certificate he would kill you, if he got the chance. We need to get out of here before he has any idea we were ever here. I don't want him to hurt you or Alex."

"It's okay Jen, you are safe here. No one is going to hurt you," Cody lowered Jen down onto the coach. Cody held Jen in his arms until she fell asleep. Cody had never thought her story would have been as bad as it was. He was surprised that she had listed him as Hailey's father, but more he thought about it, less he minded. He had begun to love that little girl as his own. Imagining what life would have been like with his daughter. Hailey was filling the gap he had for that little girl he lost.

Sometime in the early morning hours Jen woke up. Realizing where she was. She lifted her head up and kissed Cody on the forward and said thank you. She got up and put a blanket over him. She went into the room with her daughter and fell asleep.

Cody woke up sometime later with a stiff neck. He peaked into the room with Jen and Hailey and saw them both sleeping so peacefully. He headed up to bed.