A Rocky Path Page 6

  Emily started dressing at about 5:30. She wanted to give herself plenty of time to make herself look as good as possible. She put her hair up, which she usually wore down, and allowed soft curly tendrils to escape. She wore darker eye shadow and she was pleased to see that the effect was rather dramatic. Then came the dress. When she and Rebecca had gone shopping, she almost didn’t get this dress. At the time, she had no idea where she would wear it. Rebecca had talked her into it, and now she was glad, because it was beautiful. The dress was lined with garnet red satin and was overlaid with black lace, which let the red show through. The top had wide straps of the same material and a black lace sash tied at the waist that came down the side. The skirt was long and flowing. She felt beautiful. She picked up the picture of her that Patrick had drawn and saw that she looked more like this now. Her heart ached as she thought of him. Then she lifted up her head.

  ‘I’m not going to let him ruin this night,’ she thought. ‘Tonight I’m going to have the time of my life!’

  * * *

  Everything was ready. The food was displayed beautifully in every room. There was caviar, deviled crab bites, mini quiches…all the best food for the guests. The bar was set up with every type of alcohol one could think of. Even Casper and Jake were in a good mood, prancing around and wagging their tails.

  “Do you let the dogs run around among the guests?” asked Emily.

  “Sure I do,” said Rebecca. “If a person doesn’t like my dogs, they don’t need to be in my house.’

  Emily smiled. “I think I agree with you. The dogs are family.”

  The guests came pouring in a little after seven o’clock. Everyone was dressed to the nines. Emily met so many different people. Doctors, attorneys, store owners, housewives, every type of person you could imagine. There were many interesting, good-looking men there and she had conversations with several of them. But she had no interest in any of them. She just wished Patrick were here.

  There was one person she was especially interested in. She met an elderly gentleman who was the town’s historian. His name was Jarrod Connelly. They talked briefly about the house, and when he saw how interested she was, he gave her his card and told her to call him sometime and they would get together to talk. She readily agreed. This man might be able to tell her some of the things she was trying to find out!

  At one point, Sam came up to her and said, “Emily, you look beautiful tonight. If I thought you were the least bit interested, I would take you out to the garden and have my way with you.”

  “You would come back in the house limping, too,” she said.

  Sam grinned at her. “You can’t blame a guy for trying. We could have a good time together without getting all tangled up in a relationship. What do you say?”

  Emily punched him in the arm. “Be serious, Sam.”

  “I am serious. But I also know I’m wasting my time, so I’m just playing with you.”

  He punched her back lightly and sauntered off in search of fun. Emily wondered if she should warn all the women in the room.

  After about two hours, Emily was starting to feel a little claustrophobic. She had never really been that good with crowds and she was beginning to wish the party would be over soon. After checking around to see if Rebecca was watching her, she casually walked over to the doors leading out to the garden. Then she went outside and breathed in the fresh air. It was chilly and she didn’t have any protection on her arms, but it was worth it to be out of the house.

  She walked over to the bench, which was hidden from the house. She didn’t want anyone to figure out where she was and make her feel obligated to go back in. When she got there, she saw that someone was sitting there already. It was Jamie.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone was out here. I’ll just go away and leave you alone,” she said.

  “Now, now Emily, don’t be anti-social. Come over here and sit by me and let’s make up. Let’s not be mad at each other anymore, ok, Love?”

  He was acting very strange. That was when she noticed that he had a drink in his hand. What was he doing?

  “Jamie, you’re drinking!”

  “I certainly am, my dear, and I am enjoying every minute of it. I don’t know why I ever gave it up.”

  “You gave it up because it was the right thing to do!” she cried. “Please, Jamie, don’t drink any more of it.”

  “Oh, you are way too late for that. I’ve been drinking for a couple of hours now. I’m quite wasted and it feels soooooo good!”

  Tears sprang to Emily’s eyes. “Why, Jamie? Why do you want to ruin everything you’ve worked so hard for? Your mother will be devastated. Rebecca will be so disappointed. Please don’t do this anymore!”

  “Why do you care? What possible difference could it make to you? You’ve made it very clear that you have no interest in me. So if you aren’t going to sit here beside me and enjoy the night with me, then bug off!”

  “No, I’m not going to leave you out here like this. You have to give me the drink, Jamie. Please.”

  “I don’t have to do anything. You don’t care a thing for me, so stop trying to tell me what to do.”

  “Jamie, I do care about you.”

  “Then come over here and prove it to me.”

  “Not when you’re drunk. Right now I just want you to stop it. I don’t want you to ruin your life.”

  “My life isn’t worth anything. I don’t have anything to care about. I live with guilt every day for what I did. Then you came along and I thought I would have a chance to care about someone. A chance for life to have some kind of meaning again. But, no, you led me on, made me think that there was a chance for us, then you shot me down without a thought. You are a cruel bitch.”

  “No, Jamie, that’s not how it is. I really and truly didn’t want to hurt you. I tried so hard to have those feelings for you. You’re everything that a woman could want. You’re smart, hard-working, and extremely handsome. And you really do have a heart of gold. I just couldn’t feel the way I wanted to feel about you. I didn’t mean to lead you on!”

  He stood up and moved toward her. “Why don’t we give it another try? You and me together. It could be really good. We could be happy. Just give me a chance, ok?”

  “No, Jamie. I would just hurt you again. And I don’t want to do that. I want you to be happy, but that happiness can’t be with me.”

  He moved closer. “Maybe I should just take what I want. Maybe you’re one of those women that like it that way.”

  Emily was beginning to get a little frightened now. Jamie kept moving closer to her and she could see the anger and frustration in his eyes. He smelled strongly of liquor and she knew he was very drunk.

  “Jamie, please don’t do something you’ll regret later. Please don’t.”

  Suddenly he grabbed her and pulled her against him. His hands were gripping her arms tightly enough to hurt.

  She started sobbing. “Please, Jamie.”

  “Go ahead and beg. I don’t care. I’m going to do exactly what I want to do and you know you aren’t strong enough to stop me.”

  He kissed her roughly and his hands were all over her body, hurting her. She was fighting to get away, but Jamie was a very strong man and she would never be able to resist him.

  “Stop it! Jamie, you’re hurting me! Please let go,” she sobbed.

  He laughed and kept kissing her. She fought as hard as she could. She was strong and in good shape, but he was much stronger. She tried to kick him, but he just laughed and dodged her easily. She tried to scream, but his mouth was crushing hers in a bruising kiss that prevented her from getting out anything but a small whimper.

  Suddenly, Jamie was gone. She watched in fascination as she saw him sail across the garden into the rose bushes. Then Patrick was upon him, growling in rage, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and throwing him down again. Once again, he picked Jamie up and was about to punch him in the face. Emily knew that if she didn’t do something, Patrick would kill him. S
he ran over to them.

  “Patrick, no! Please don’t hit him. He’s drunk and didn’t know what he was doing!”

  “I know what he was doing!” Patrick roared. “He was hurting you. How can you be such a bleeding heart about this when he could have hurt you badly, even raped you?”

  He was still holding Jamie by the front of his shirt. Jamie was barely conscious, being both drunk and dazed from hitting his head on the ground twice. Patrick looked at him with disgust and threw him back down on the ground. Then he looked at Emily and his face softened. He gathered her into his arms and she laid her head on his chest.

  “All I could see was this man hurting you. I couldn’t let that happen. I would have killed him if I had to. If he ever touches you that way again, so help me, I will kill him!”

  It felt so warm and safe being in Patrick’s arms. Even though she had just been through the scariest experience of her life, all she could think about was how good it felt being up against Patrick’s lean, hard body. She could feel the unreleased tension in every muscle. He was like a tiger stalking prey, waiting to strike. She could sense the power that he was holding inside. This was a dangerous man. And she wanted him. Forever.

  Just then she heard voices at the French doors. Some of the guests had probably heard the commotion and were coming out to see what was going on.

  “Emily, I have to go. I don’t want to leave you with this to explain, but…..I can’t help it. Meet me in the usual place tomorrow night.”

  “Wait…Patrick!”

  “I’m sorry. You don’t understand! We will talk later.”

  And then he was gone.

  Chapter Twelve

  Several people burst out of the French doors, including Rebecca and Sam. They all looked at Jamie lying in the rose garden, then at Emily. Then one man bent down next to Jamie, examined him briefly, and yelled for someone to call an ambulance.

  “Is he hurt badly?” asked Rebecca.

  “His head is bleeding and he’s not conscious. He needs to go to the hospital to be checked out.”

  “What happened here?” asked Sam.

  “H-he was drunk a-and he tripped and fell. He went down hard and hit his head on the ground,” Emily stammered.

  The man who was kneeling next to Jamie said, “He must have hit his head on this rock. Hmmm, that’s odd. He actually has another knot on his head. It looks like he hit his head twice.”

  “Maybe he bounced,” suggested Emily. Maybe he bounced? She sounded like an idiot!

  Rebecca looked at her oddly. “Are you sure that’s all that happened? There seemed to be quite a commotion out here. I’m almost sure I heard another man’s voice.”

  “No, it was just Jamie and me. He was being a little bit belligerent and I was telling him to stop yelling and I tried to take his drink from him.”

  The ambulance was there in five minutes, and the EMTs checked him out. They said he might have a concussion and they took him on to the hospital to be checked out more thoroughly.

  The incident wrapped the party up early, so the guests were gone by ten o’clock. Rebecca took Sally to the hospital to see about Jamie, and Emily and Sam waited at the house. Emily was glad that Sam suggested that because she really didn’t feel like she should be at the hospital with Jamie right now.

  “Ok, let’s cut the crap. What really happened tonight? Don’t give me the same line you gave Rebecca. I know better.”

  Emily burst into tears. “Oh, Sam, I didn’t want anyone to know what happened. It was so awful.”

  Sam took her in his arms. “Emily, you can tell me what happened. I won’t say anything to anybody. But you need to get this off your chest.”

  “I went outside for some fresh air. I was going to sit on the bench, but I saw that Jamie was already there. I was going to just turn around and leave, but he told me to stay. And then he started accusing me of leading him on, and he called me a bitch, and-and…” She started crying again.

  Sam held her for a minute, and then he took her face in his hands and looked at her. “What did he do, Emily?”

  “He attacked me, Sam! He was kissing me and hurting me, and I was trying to get away…” she stopped, not sure how much to tell him.

  “Then what, Emily?”

  “Patrick pulled him off of me,” she whispered.

  “Patrick? Who’s Patrick?” he asked, puzzled.

  “This guy…I’ve been meeting him down the path on the rocks. We just talk and spend time together. Nothing has ever happened between us. But when Jamie started hurting me and I was struggling to get away, the next thing I knew, he was gone. Patrick pulled him off of me and threw him over into the rose garden. Then he picked him up and threw him again. He was going to hit Jamie, but I made him stop. Then we heard voices and everyone started coming out. Patrick ran away.”

  “And left you to explain everything! Who is this guy, anyway?”

  “He’s just a friend. I like him a lot. He was just trying to protect me.”

  “And I appreciate him for it. But I’m a little curious about him. Where does he live?”

  “He lives somewhere down the shore. He likes to sit on the rocks and draw,” Emily said.

  “Why doesn’t he draw down by his own house?”

  “I think he just likes the scenery better here.”

  Sam grinned. “I bet he does.”

  Emily smiled at him. “Very funny.”

  “Seriously, just how much do you know about this guy?”

  “All I need to know. He’s my friend and he rescued me from possible rape.”

  Sam looked and her and raised his eyebrows. “Do you really think Jamie is capable of something like that?”

  “Sam, you didn’t see what he was like. I’ve never been so scared in my life. Jamie is a nice guy and I care a lot about him, but when he’s drunk, he turns into something much different than the man we know.”

  Sam looked thoughtful for a minute. “I wonder why, after all this time, he decided to start drinking tonight.”

  “I think I know a little about that. It may be because I rejected him. He thinks I led him on and I guess maybe I did. I didn’t mean to, Sam, I really thought maybe I could learn to care about Jamie, but the feelings just weren’t there.”

  “And what about this Patrick fellow? Do you have feelings for him?”

  Emily looked down at her hands. “I guess I do. I don’t think he feels the same way, though.”

  “Then why did he rescue you tonight? If he didn’t care about you, why did he get angry enough to throw Jamie hard enough to give him a concussion?”

  “I don’t know. I guess he saw a female in distress…”

  Sam cut her off. “And why did he just happen to be here at the right time?”

  Emily thought about that a minute. Was Patrick watching her? That thought sent a little thrill through her.

  Just then the phone rang. It was Rebecca. Jamie had a mild concussion and they were keeping him overnight at the hospital. He would be able to come home the next evening. Emily decided that would give her enough time to go see him tomorrow. They needed to clear the air.

  * * *

  That night Emily couldn’t sleep, once again. She roamed the house, restless and nervous. She finally went downstairs to look at more of the paintings she had found. She was delighted with the different scenes that she found. There were a lot of different views of the ocean and of the rocky shore. Some were painted with the sun just coming up over the water. Some were on a sunny day with white fluffy clouds in the sky. And others were painted at dusk, when the shadows were getting long and everything was so beautiful it took her breath away. She knew what that scene looked like, and it was painted perfectly. Who was this artist? Was he or she part of the mystery? She thought the painter had to be a man because only a man’s eye would see the blond woman the way that picture was painted. The woman was beautiful. But it was more than that. It seemed that the painter must have known her intimately. She twisted the silver ring on her finger
. She still couldn’t believe that this ring belonged to the woman in the picture!

  She was getting to the end of the paintings. There was one left. When she took the covering off of that one, she gasped and turned pale at the sight. There on the canvas was Patrick! Well, of course it couldn’t be Patrick, but this man was identical to him, even down to the shoulder length hair and the sapphire eyes. In the right hand corner of the painting was the title….’Self Portrait’.

  He was dressed in a black coat and vest, with a white shirt underneath. There was a white silk cravat around his neck.

  Patrick had lied to her! He had said that he was no relation to the McCullochs that had lived here for two centuries. It had to be a lie! He was the very image of this man in the painting. Patrick had to be a descendant of the McCulloch family that had once lived here. Why would he lie to her? Did he have some kind of ulterior motive? Did he want the house back? If he wanted the house, why didn’t he just buy it from the family that had lived here last? Unless he wasn’t really rich, like he had said. Maybe he was the black sheep of the family and had been cut off without a penny. That certainly was an old story. She studied the painting for a long time. This face was the face of the man she loved and longed for. Now she wasn’t sure she could trust him.

  Emily went to bed that night troubled and weary. But instead of tossing and turning like she thought she would do, she went to sleep almost as soon as her eyes were closed.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next day was Saturday, so there was no work for her to do. The rest of the family had already gone to the hospital to see Jamie. She had begged off, saying that she had a headache and would come to the hospital later. Only Sam would understand that she needed to see Jamie alone. True to his word, Sam hadn’t said anything about what he knew. Emily was grateful to him, because she had needed to tell someone, and she was glad that Sam had been there. She didn’t think she could tell Rebecca what happened.