Page 33 of Sunny Skies Ahead (Watford Sweethearts #2)

Chapter twenty-three

Imogen

T he best place for a girl to get some peace and quiet was at Forest Grove Books.

Mari always welcomed me with open arms, and today was no different.

I strolled through the doors after the conversation with my mother, inhaling the deep and grounding scent of faded paperback pages and the new summer candles on display.

I waved hello to Mari, who was working behind the check-out desk, before making a beeline for the thriller section.

I had been so stuck on romance for the last couple of months and had barely ventured outside the genre, but after everything that had gone down with my parents and Kameron I needed an escape.

Reading a domestic thriller about other people’s screwed up lives seemed like a great way to get out of my head for a bit.

I settled for a romantic suspense novel, because I was still a romance girl at heart, and took a seat on one of the green velvet loveseats at the front of the store. Greystone, Mari’s cat and the unofficial mascot for the bookstore, came to sit at her perch beneath my feet.

A few minutes later, Mari came by to give me some tea.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” I said. Mari just gave me a smile.

“For one of my best customers, it’s only fair. How are you doing, Imogen?”

I turned to look at the older woman and just shrugged my shoulders.

“Same old, same old.”

“Have you heard from your family recently?”

I pressed my lips into a thin line. Of course Mari would know that my mother was back in town.

I honestly didn’t know if my mother had come in loud and obnoxious, wanting everyone to know that the great Carmen Phillips was back in town so that she could shove her so-called success in everybody’s face, or if she had kept a mostly low profile.

People definitely saw us that day at Blackbeard’s Coffee, but other than that, I didn’t know much about what my mother was up to now that she was back in town. But I knew how people in Watford talked.

“Has she been by to speak with you?” I asked.

Mari shook her head. “Good Lord, no, she wouldn’t put herself in the line of fire like that.”

I let out a surprised laugh. “You two didn’t end things on good terms?”

Mari frowned.

“It’s safe to say that many women have found solace in the aisles of Forest Grove over the years, including your mother. ”

My jaw dropped open. Out of all the stories I’d heard about my mother over the years, I never imagined that she came here often.

“I’ve had a lot of wonderful conversations with girls like you and Abbie, sitting where you are right now. Your mother, however, is a reminder that no matter how much you talk to someone, try to make them see reason. Sometimes they’re not able to see anything beyond themselves.”

I swallowed tightly.

“Yeah,” I whispered. “My mother is a complicated woman.”

Mari chuckled. “That’s putting things lightly. I’ve made my peace with not knowing everything about her and the decisions she’s made. But enough about her. How are you doing?”

Just as I opened my mouth to tell her about Kameron, because Mari was probably the only person in my life right now that I could confide in about our weird “situationship” and trust that it wouldn’t leave this room, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I pulled it out to check the notification, surprised to find I had a missed call from Abbie. I glanced back to Mari, who had retreated back to the checkout counter. I looked back down at my phone, frowning as I hit the redial button.

“Where are you?” Abbie asked quickly, picking up after the first ring.

“I’m at Mari’s place, reading.”

“You need to get to the Roadhouse.”

I sat forward, closing my book, using my thumb as a placeholder. “What, why?”

Abbie swallowed audibly. “Just get here, please. ”

Abbie broke off the call. My skin was clammy as my nerves kicked in. Abbie and I didn’t call each other often. We much preferred text and sending podcast-style voice memos. I grabbed one of the free bookmarks from the side table and slid it into place.

“Leaving so soon?” Mari asked.

“I just got a weird call from Abbie,” I said, frowning. “Could you hold this for me? I’ll come by to pick it up tomorrow.”

Mari took the book from my outstretched hands and nodded.

“Of course. Hope everything’s alright.”

“Me too,” I said, giving the older woman a tight smile before I retrieved my bag and opened the door, stepping out into the crisp mountain afternoon.

The Roadhouse was just across the street, and I was surprised to see Abbie hovering in the doorway with her arms crossed, talking heatedly to Connor.

“Hey,” I said. “What’s wrong?”

Connor’s expression was unreadable, but Abbie was fired up.

“I need you to know that we’re here for you, and we’re not going to let anything bad happen to you.”

Alarms blared in my mind as I turned to Connor.

“What is she talking about?”

“Jacob is here, Imogen.”

I couldn’t help it. I laughed. I laughed for what felt like several minutes before it finally passed. Abbie and Connor were still looking at me with twin grim expressions, and I threw my hands up in the air .

“That’s a sick joke, but a good one,” I said.

Abbie ran a hand down her face.

Deflection is good. If I continued to deflect with humor, then maybe, just maybe, I could ignore the growing dread forming in my stomach.

“He’s really here, Imogen,” Abbie said. “Connor and I just saw him go inside. At first I thought I was mistaken, but. . .”

“It’s him,” Connor confirmed, and my gaze switched to him.

“But he’s in California,” I said, and Abbie took my hands in hers.

“You don’t need to go in there,” she said. “I called you because I was freaking out, but Connor pointed out that the last place you need to be is here.”

I looked to the entrance to the Roadhouse, focusing on the bubbling vinyl dictating the hours and the faded rug that covered the steps.

“Who else is in there?”

“Lucas. And. . . Kameron.”

The alarm bells rang louder.

I pushed through the two of them.

“Wait,” Abbie said, pulling me back behind Connor. “Let him go first, okay?”

I nodded my head as the buzzing in my ears grew louder. Connor and Abbie descended the steps first.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Connor yelled, throwing a hand out in front of Abbie defensively.

I came around Abbie’s side just in time to see Kameron lunged for Jacob .

The shock of seeing Kameron’s face contorted into anger quickly overran the shock of seeing Jacob.

Jacob let out a laugh.

“You think this is a fucking game?” Kameron shouted, shaking Jacob harder. Jacob let out a low laugh that had every cell in my body screaming that we needed to get away.

Kameron leaned in closer, sneering as he tightened his fists in Jacob’s shirt. “You think hitting women is funny, huh?”

“Oh God,” I whispered, my breaths coming short and fast. I was going to be sick.

“Nah,” Jacob said, looking Kameron in the eyes. “It just makes what comes after more fun.”

Abbie inhaled sharply, but the words barely cut me. Jacob had said so much worse over the course of our relationship.

The next five seconds happened in slow motion, like my brain was trying to force my eyes to look away and failing miserably.

Kameron raised his fist.

“Kameron!” Abbie shouted, and it was the sound of her voice, angry and desperate, that made time speed back up.

Kameron whipped his head towards us, fist still posed to strike, and something in me broke.

It was the image of Kameron with his fist raised, eyes blazing with anger, combined with Jacob’s awful laugh, that made me shut down. I gripped Abbie’s arms, silently begging her to get me out.

I need your help .

Memories of the night I left my husband slammed into me. Me, cradling my broken arm, stumbling up the stairs to Abbie’s condo, barely coherent as I begged her to let me in.

I didn’t know where else to go.

It was all falling apart.

Connor immediately stepped into action. Abbie guided me towards the exit, my chest rising and falling rapidly with the bone-deep panic that threatened to take over.

“I’ve got you, Im,” Abbie whispered. “I’m here. You’re safe.”

You’re safe.

The room spun around me.

I was never safe.

I would never be safe again. Jacob made sure of that.

Kameron —

I lurched forward, feeling like I was going to be sick.

“Imogen!”

I distantly heard Kameron’s voice calling out to me over the cacophony of the bar, but I was barely cognizant of walking. I couldn’t find the words to make him understand. To make him understand, I couldn’t handle seeing him like that—brutal and fierce in the most threatening kind of way.

Only Abbie’s tight grip on my arm, her whispered promises of getting back to her place safely, kept me upright.

I was never safe.

It had all been a lie. I had constructed this new life on unstable ground. I would never truly be free of the death grip Jacob held on my life. He would always find his way back.

This is why you promised .

I willed that voice to be silent and focused on Abbie’s floral perfume and the rustling of distant wildflowers.

I wasn’t there anymore. I was home. I was safe .

I repeated it over and over to myself as I focused on what I could feel and see.

Anything to forget the look in Kameron’s eyes when he raised his fist.