“I can’t stay here indefinitely.” It still baffled me that a stranger would want to help me without asking for anything in return.
I wasn’t used to people being nice to me.
After the mess my mother left behind when she died, not one person offered to help. Not even after I lost the house. My mother had had quite a reputation, drinking herself into oblivion, owing people money, sleeping with married men. Living in a small town certainly had its drawbacks and they bit me in the butt big time.
What Jude had done for me in just a few days was more than anyone had done for me in years.
“I’m not asking you to stay indefinitely. Just until I can assure you once and for all that you’re completely in the clear. We have to exercise caution right now. One mistake and the handcuffs will click. You don’t want that. I certainly don’t want that.”
I rubbed my wrists, imagining handcuffs there. “How long? How long until it’s safe for me to move on?”
“Give it a month. Maybe a bit longer.”
I closed my eyes, and exhaustion washed over me. I was tired of crying, tired of being scared, tired from gazing into my bleak future. I forced them open again. “But I have a life to get back to, things to take care of.”
“All you have in your life are mountains of bills.” He paused. “I did a little digging.”
My stomach turned over with anger. “You invaded my privacy?”
“Before I could help you, I needed to know I could trust you.”
“Well I have to get out of here and find work. I have to pay those bills.”
“No need. Your bills are all paid off. Your debts are cleared. And the lease on your apartment has been canceled. When you walk out of here, you will have to start a new life. You can’t afford to look back, Haley.”
Heat rose up my neck and spread to my cheeks. I was stuck between being grateful for his generosity and furious for his invasion of my privacy. How did he even get hold of my private information?
“A few phone calls. That was all it took.”
I raised my chin and fixed him with a cool stare. “What you did could be illegal.”
“You needed help, I offered it to you. Are you really going to sit there and accuse me of doing something illegal?”
“You don’t even know me. I still don’t understand why you’re doing this.” He must have shelled out thousands of dollars to clear my debts. Debts I would never have been capable of paying off.
“I know enough to see you need someone on your side. As I told you when you arrived here, I’m a good person. The money was a drop in the bucket for me. I don’t expect repayment.” He shrugged. “If you really want to know, I’m paying it forward. A long time ago, I needed help and someone I didn’t know helped me. I’m offering you a new life here. All you have to do is take it.”
My anger toward him subsided. “Okay. Thank you.” Why he did it, how he did it, really wasn’t important. The important thing was that he had rescued me from some impossible situations. I couldn’t believe I no longer had to worry about my debts.
One the other hand, financial problems would have been good problems to have, compared to what I had to live with now. The guilt.
CHAPTER FIVE
A black and blue butterfly flew into my line of sight. As I swayed on the porch swing, I watched it flutter to the marbled edge of the fountain. The gardener was fussing around the lush foliage of the pink peonies near the edge of the man-made stream that cut Jude’s huge garden in half. The stream was still, as he had switched off the fountain to clean it.
The butterfly rested there for a while, flapping its wings back and forth¸ enjoying the peace and quiet that was only disturbed by the chirping of birds in the trees.
Memories of my father came to me accompanied by an ache. He used to call me his butterfly. I had no idea then that along with the beauty of a butterfly also came fragility. My father’s butterfly had not been prepared for the bends in the road ahead.
The butterfly spread its wings again and allowed the balmy breeze to carry it away.
I tipped my face toward the sun and closed my eyes, the mid-June heat warming my face. Thoughts of Jude entered my mind.
A few minutes ago, he had appeared on TV, being interviewed about how he came to be one of the richest men in America. While eating my breakfast, I’d listened attentively to his responses. I lived under his roof and didn’t know him. His answers were short and to the point, saying his success all boiled down to hard work, knowing what he wanted, and going out to get it.
I did learn though that he had a rocky childhood, that he’d dropped out of school after his parents died suddenly. After that he blocked any more questions connected to his personal life, simply stating that his struggles as a child had been a great motivator that led him to where he was.