Chapter 3

Just as she did every day as she left the office, Daphne slipped into her car and immediately locked the door. But today, before she started the engine, she looked up to the second floor, to the window of what was now her private office.

This was it. The start of her new life. With her first pay stub at her new salary tucked into her purse, she now knew how much she would be earning after taxes. After a few months she could either move out on her own, or she could continue to live with her parents until she squirreled away enough money for a down payment on a small condo.

Six months ago she would have called a few friends and gone out to celebrate. Or, she would have gone out with Alex to make plans for their future. Or maybe both.

Now neither was a consideration. Out of fear, she’d turned herself into a hermit. Her only outlet for months had been a post-trauma therapy group. It had helped a lot, but at the same time, listening to the other women’s stories had added a new level of fear.

The one time she’d gone out to a business event without her brother she’d almost had a meltdown, then a man she’d barely known had helped her pull herself together. Cory. She didn’t know what a forest ranger did exactly, but probably calming small and frightened animals was part of Cory’s job. He’d taken over without being pushy or threatening, providing a safe escape while taking her aside to help her get her bearings. He had a gentle way about him. Like a Great Dane, he knew his power, so he had nothing he needed to prove.

As Daphne continued to stare up at the window, her phone sang out.

She had no idea who it could be. This time it couldn’t be her boss because she’d bade him goodbye for the weekend only minutes ago. Her friends had stopped calling months ago.

The display on her phone showed the caller to be Cory.

Her first thought was to let it go to voice mail, but she couldn’t do that. Not after he’d been key to her keeping her promotion—and her dignity. She owed him. Big time.

Her finger shook as she swiped the keypad to answer.

“Hi, Cory. I was just thinking of you.”

Silence hung for a few seconds. “Really? Good things, I hope.”

She doubted that comparing him to a large and somewhat loose-jowled slobbery dog would be taken as a compliment, so she just said, “Yes.”

Another silence hung, then he cleared his throat. “I was just talking to Rick and he said you’d be getting off work about now. I was wondering if you’d like to join me for dinner. Nothing fancy. In fact, I was kind of thinking of going to that restaurant on the second floor of the mall and getting a table on the balcony overlooking all the action.”

She knew the place. It was busy and always crowded, but yet the spot he mentioned was nice, if a person didn’t mind that all the shoppers could see you as they walked by, or all the background noise. It would be a protected spot in the middle of mayhem.

Since Cory had already spoken to Rick, Rick knew where they were going, and a reasonable time that she’d be home. He’d time it to the minute.

But this time, unlike the last time she’d met a man for a dinner engagement, she would have her own car. She wouldn’t need to get into any enclosed spaces with anyone where there were no means of escape.

Daphne sucked in a deep breath and reminded herself that getting the promotion was the start of reclaiming her life. She needed to break out of the fish bowl in which she’d enclosed herself. She’d prayed for God to help her, and maybe this was how it was going to happen. One small step, but still a step. All she had to do was to accept the help He gave her.

“Yes, that sounds nice.” Terrifying, but nice. She checked her watch. “I could be there in fifteen minutes. Would that work for you?”

“Yes. Fifteen minutes would be perfect. I’ll see you there.”

It was done. Tonight would be her night of celebration. At the mall she would be safe in the crowd. Especially if she had a watchdog with her. And with her own car, she didn’t need to fear the watchdog. She only had to feed him.

Inwardly, Daphne cringed at her thoughts. She needed to stop thinking of Cory like a large dog. But then again, not a dog, he was more like a bear.

She tried to stop the mental picture. She had no reason not to trust him, since Rick trusted him. She couldn’t understand why Cory had asked her to join him for dinner. Unless, as repayment for being her escort to the chamber dinner, he wanted her help selecting a gift for his mother for Mother’s Day. Therefore, a restaurant at the mall made sense.

That, she could handle. She also would pick something up for her mother tonight, instead of buying it online and having it shipped as she’d planned.

Before she started the car, she sent a quick text to Rick telling him she’d agreed to meet Cory at the mall for dinner and a little shopping.

She made her way there in good time and even found a good parking spot close to the main door.

Venturing through the mall wasn’t as bad as she’d feared. Rather than feel terrified by all the strangers, instead she felt safe buried in the crowd. Confidence buoyed, she rode up the escalator to the second level and entered the restaurant Cory had chosen. He was easy to find. Even sitting, his head towered above everyone else already seated, making her realize he never slouched, standing or sitting.

She would never have to worry about losing him.

Not that she planned to spend any more time with him once she helped him with his shopping.

He smiled and waved as soon as he saw her. Her stomach made a crazy flutter and she couldn’t tell if it was fear or something else.

Fortunately he didn’t stand as she weaved through the people waiting for a table.

She quickly slipped into the chair across from him. “Have you been waiting long?” She leaned to tuck her purse between her feet. “They’re starting a waiting list.”

He shook his head. “I’ve only been here a few minutes.”

Looking at the half-empty coffee cup in front of him, apparently he either drank his coffee very fast or the restaurant served it lukewarm. “Today will be a good day for shopping for Mother’s Day. I saw lots of sale signs.”

He turned to look past the crowd, past the balcony that overlooked the mall. “That’s good.”

“Do you have something specific that you’re thinking of, or are you going to browse for ideas? My mom likes to knit, so this year I want to buy her a pattern and some yarn to make a sweater for Missy. It will keep her busy over the summer.”

Cory raised his cup and swirled his coffee. “I’ve already bought my mom a gift card from the gas station, all I have to do is buy a stamp and put it in the mailbox.” He raised the cup to his lips and began to sip the lukewarm brew.

“You give your mother gas?”

His eyes widened and he choked. He pressed his fist to his mouth as he coughed and then clunked the cup down onto the table so fast some coffee splashed out.

As soon as she realized what she’d said, Daphne covered her mouth with her hands. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it came out.”

He laughed then began to cough again. “Actually she’s said worse about me. Don’t worry about it.”

Watching him recover, she wondered if he was serious or kidding about what worse things his mother would say, which then made her wonder what kind of relationship he had with his mother. Her own mother had cautioned her to look at the way a man treated his mother before she got into a serious relationship, because the way a man treated his mother would be similar to the way he treated his wife—with love and respect or not.

From what she’d seen Alex had a good relationship with his mother, but now that she thought about it, his mother had made jokes about always giving Alex whatever he wanted, and being so glad Daphne was doing the same. Maybe that was why the first time Daphne had said no to him, it had thrown him over the edge.

Cory turned to focus his attention on calling a waitress for more napkins, so Daphne focused her attention on him. At his size and obvious strength, she couldn’t imagine what Cory could do if his temper flared or if he didn’t get what he thought he deserved.

She cleared her throat. “Tell me about your mother. Why would you give your mother a gas card for Mother’s Day?”

“Because my mother isn’t very good with money,” he muttered as he caught the waitress’s attention. “She needs practical things.”

At his words a million thoughts ran through her mind, the foremost was his relationship with his mother in general.

But really, it didn’t matter. She’d planned to pay back his kindness by helping him select a gift and then they would go their separate ways.

Except, he wasn’t buying a gift. He’d selected what he was going to give his mother already. She would have to repay him some other way.

She already knew he lived in an apartment. She didn’t know if he was alone or with a friend, but she did know he was single.

Maybe she could bake him some cookies.

She cleared her throat. “Do you like chocolate?”

He broke out into a big grin. “I do. Why?”

Before she could answer, the server appeared with a handful of new napkins. “Are you folks ready to order?” The young woman stood above her, pencil poised above the order pad.

Daphne hadn’t even picked up the menu. But she didn’t want to spend the whole evening with Cory at the restaurant. “I’ll have what he’s having.”

Cory’s eyebrows quirked. “But you don’t know what I’m having. We never talked about it.”

“I trust you.” At her words her heart skipped a beat. She trusted him to choose a meal. After that she would work on trusting him for other things, too. She needed to do that. After all, if her brother trusted him, then she could trust him, too.

Cory cleared his throat. “I’ll have the double burger with mushrooms. Super-size the fries with a side of gravy. This comes with coleslaw, too, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does.” The server turned to Daphne. “Are you sure you want what he’s having?”

She felt her cheeks turn warm. “I’ll take the same burger platter, but the regular portions. I only want a single burger and no gravy on my fries.”

The server bit her lower lip, very unsuccessful at hiding her grin. “Would you also like coffee, the same as him? That only comes in one size.”

Daphne nodded. “Sure.”

When the server left, Cory turned to Daphne. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I eat a lot, especially on Friday at the end of the week. I don’t know why that is, I’m just more hungry on Fridays.”

All she could do was look at him. Even though he wasn’t fat, he was probably double her weight. It would only be natural that he would eat twice as much as she did, even on a normal day when he wasn’t hungry. With the small portions they’d been served last weekend at the chamber of commerce dinner, he must have picked up something to eat on the way home.

She wondered if Cory’s mother seemed to have difficulty with money because she still hadn’t recovered from the cost of feeding him in his teenaged years.

“It’s okay. I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting that, but I should have. I can’t imagine feeding you as a child. Do you have brothers and sisters as big as you?”

A look of regret showed in his expression before he turned away so she couldn’t see his face. “No. I was an only child.”

She waited to hear more, but a silence hung between them until he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Why did you ask earlier if I like chocolate?”

It had made sense at the time, but now she felt silly. “Since I’m obviously not helping you with buying any gifts today, I thought maybe I might make you some chocolate-chip cookies to say thank you for sacrificing your weekend and going with me to the chamber of commerce dinner.”

“As much as I like home-made cookies, you don’t have to do that. It was good going out with you.” He paused. “In fact, I’d like to go out with you again.”

The world turned to ice and her vision began to narrow into a tunnel. So she wouldn’t have a repeat of what happened at the chamber banquet, she forced herself to take in a long, deep breath and then another until the dizziness abated. Fortunately she was sitting, so she didn’t have to worry as much about making a fool of herself again until that happened.

Earlier today she’d promised herself, and God, that she was going to get on with her life. Apparently, God was calling her to step up to the plate.

Daphne cleared her throat and hoped her words sounded more sincere than she felt. “Sure. I’d like that.”

Cory smiled, oblivious to how she was feeling. “Great. How about tomorrow? I can pick you up for lunch and we can go do something in the afternoon.”

She tried not to let her head swim. She told herself that Cory wasn’t Alex. It was time to do what her therapist said, and to stop letting the fear control her.

“Sure. That sounds…” She couldn’t say fun. “Good. That sounds good.”

At that moment the server appeared with their meals.

Hunger had deserted her. She wondered if Cory might want to eat most of her meal, since he was already digging into his own with fervor.

But then, watching him eat with such enjoyment did make her wonder what she was missing. As well, she wasn’t going to do herself any favors by letting herself get weak with hunger.

Slowly she dipped a fry into the ketchup and nibbled it.

“Aren’t they great?” Cory said between bites. “They use some kind of seasoning I’ve never tasted in any other place.”

“Yes, they are good.” As she ate more, her appetite returned and before she knew it she’d eaten her entire meal.

They’d barely had time to start a conversation when the server appeared with the bill.

Cory immediately gave the server a credit card. “We should go. There’s a line. Are you ready to do that shopping?”

This time her world remained stable. She actually felt herself starting to smile. “Yes. I am. Thank you for dinner. First we can buy a stamp so you can mail that card to your mother, then we can shop till we drop.”

* * *

Cory truly hated to shop. He really didn’t understand the alleged joy of spending time in a store without having something specific to buy. When he went to the mall he followed his plan, and the only browsing he did was go to different stores for the same product to check the pricing.

Except for Christmas shopping when he got stuck in line, the longest he’d ever been inside a mall was twenty minutes.

Today they’d already been in the mall for half an hour, and he didn’t feel like screaming and running for the door. He wouldn’t call it fun, but he didn’t mind Daphne’s explorations of her shopping list. In fact, it was quite amusing. If he could control himself and not start laughing, the afternoon would be successful.

“What do you think of this one? Does it look too sissy?” She held up another tiny T-shirt. But it wasn’t for a child.

The Missy that Daphne had mentioned earlier wasn’t a little girl. Missy was a little dog.

“You really are asking the wrong person. I think they all look ridiculous. Dogs have fur coats. They don’t need clothing.”

“That’s not the point,” she grumbled, folding the pink dog shirt, complete with lace collar and sparkly stones glued onto it, and tucked it into her shopping basket.

Cory shook his head. He really didn’t see any point to dressing dogs in people clothing. “I fail to see how a shirt for a dog is an appropriate Mother’s Day gift.”

“It’s not. The pattern and the yarn are the present, because that’s something fun for my mother to do. The shirt is just because it’s cute.”

When she’d mentioned buying yarn and a pattern, he hadn’t thought anything of it. When he found out Missy was a dog he thought she was kidding, that it was some kind of knitting joke he didn’t get. Obviously it was no joke; she really had picked out yarn and a pattern to knit a sweater for a dog. Since he’d already voiced his opinion on the T-shirt, Cory thought it best not to share his thoughts on knitting a sweater for an animal. Especially in the summer.

“Is that it for your list? If so, I need to go to the hardware store for some duct tape.”

She looked up at him and grinned. She actually grinned. He felt his heart start to beat faster. “Duct tape? The handyman’s secret weapon? All a man needs to fix anything is duct tape and WD-40. If it shouldn’t move, and it does, use duct tape. If it needs to move and it doesn’t, spray it.”

Cory shook his head. “That’s not true.” He let his voice trail off. She’d been joking. “I just need duct tape.” Although, at the moment he couldn’t remember what exactly he needed it for, only that he did.

She was still smiling. This smiling Daphne was the woman who had captured his heart when she’d seen him out at a party with Rick, her brother, a year ago.

She was everything he’d dreamed of in the perfect woman. Well, not really perfect, but perfect for him. Kind. Generous. A sense of humor. Always willing to help others… As a fellow believer, she had a gentle way about her that had won him over the first time he’d met her. She was a little timid, but she looked small and delicate. And any reasons for her timidity were explained ten-fold by what happened with her ex-boyfriend.

Cory wanted to help protect her, but he didn’t know what to do. He had no idea what it would feel like to have someone overpower him. One person tried that, once, unsuccessfully, and it had been a life-changing event for both of them—one he could never allow to happen again.

Mentally, Cory shook his head. He refused to let his past mistakes haunt him when his future now had the potential to be promising—both personally and professionally.

“Cory? Are you okay? Is something wrong?”

Daphne’s words brought Cory’s mind back to where it should have been. He shook his head to clear it and then turned to her. “Sorry. I was thinking about something else for a minute.” He almost asked they could to go the hardware store now, but stopped before the words came out. Once they were done shopping she would want to go home, and that would be the end of their time together. “I can get the duct tape later. Was there something else you wanted to look at?”

Her cheeks turned the most adorable shade of pink. “I need to buy some new jeans. I’ve lost weight and everything I own is too loose.”

“No,” he said, speaking before he thought fully of what he was saying. “You don’t need new clothes. You’ve gotten too skinny. You need to put the weight back on.” If in a month they went to the beach, he would probably be able to count her ribs when she wore her bathing suit.

For a second her mouth dropped open. But instead of speaking, the light went out of her eyes and her head lowered so he couldn’t see her face.

He wanted to kick himself. Not only were his words not uplifting or encouraging, they could have been taken as critical. It probably wasn’t even politically correct to tell a woman she was too skinny, even if she was. But that wasn’t the point. He needed to lift her up, not say something that could be taken as critical.

“I’m sorry. That didn’t come out the way I meant. I meant that you’ve been under a lot of stress and it’s taken a toll on you. Even before this happened you could have had five or ten pounds more on you, but now you’re even—” he caught himself just in time before he said worse “—thinner. When you didn’t have anything to spare to begin with.”

She didn’t raise her head, so he reached out to rest his hands on her shoulders. Her bony shoulders. “I—”

Before he could finish his sentence she gasped, jerked away from his touch and stared up at him with big, wide eyes, like a deer just before he hit it with his truck on the highway in the middle of the night.

Too late, he realized what he’d done. He’d scared her.

Quickly he hid his hands behind his back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I would never hurt you or force you to do something against your will.”

Daphne sucked in a deep breath then stared at him. “I know that. I’m the one who should be sorry. I don’t know why I did that. I’ve been going to counseling. I thought I was supposed to be over this by now. I didn’t mean to spoil the evening. I think I should go home.”

“No, don’t go. How about if we just go sit on one of the benches in the mall and talk? And relax.” Cory forced himself to breathe while she considered his request.

Finally the stiffness left her. “You’re right. I have to stop running and face these moments and prove that nothing is going to happen. Let’s pay for this stuff and we can go sit down.”

They didn’t talk much as they made their way to the cashier and then found a bench. But as they walked side by side, being in the crowd made him aware of just how tiny she was in comparison to the average person.

When they were finally sitting, he turned to Daphne, being very careful not to touch her, not even to let his leg brush her knee. “I have an idea. I can’t blame you for being cautious, so how about if we do something about that. When I do information sessions at the campgrounds in the summer I warn people about the wild animals, and what to do if they come face to face with one. I usually start off with a joke about what if I and someone else came face to face with a bear. The joke is that I don’t have to outrun the bear, I only have to outrun the other person. Get it?”

He waited for her to process his joke. When her eyes widened, he knew she got it. “I understand what you’re saying about a bear, but this isn’t the same situation.”

“Not really, but the concept is that you don’t have to overcome an attacker. You only have to know how to escape.”

“I suppose that makes sense. But that’s easier said than done.”

Cory nodded. “I know. So let’s start with the most basic. Just like the bear joke, running is really the best defense. Usually all that means is to build stamina. We can start with some good brisk walks, work up to jogging, and then work on running for speed for short distances. Then we can work on agility.”

She gave him a small smile, which was a great sight. “I guess I can do that. Already I have to nearly jog just to keep up to you when you’re walking.”

He smiled back. “There you go. We can start with that. We won’t jog or run until you can do a fast walk and not get out of breath, and we can do that at the park. I hear tomorrow is going to be good weather.”

She nodded. “Okay. That sounds good.” She inhaled deeply and then checked her watch. “Let’s get that duct tape you need and then I need to call it a day.”

“I can get the tape another time. Let’s just go.”

He tried to walk slowly through the mall so they could spend more time together, but too soon, they reached the door.

Since she was obviously still nervous about being alone, Cory turned with her instead of going to his pickup truck, which was on the other side of the lot.

“What are you doing?” she asked when he stepped off the curb beside her.

“I’m going to walk you to your car.”

“You don’t need to do that.”

He shook his head. “Probably not, but I just want to make sure everything is okay.” He’d barely finished his words and they were already at her car. “How did you get a parking spot so close to the door?”

“Just lucky I guess. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll text when I’m ready. Probably around ten?”

“Sure.”

He stood, watching as she slipped into the car, started it and drove away so quickly he didn’t know how she had time to do up her seat belt.

She hadn’t even really said goodbye. Come to think of it, she’d obviously been nervous. Since she couldn’t be nervous of a potential attack when he was with her, it hit him like a baseball bat between the eyes that she was probably still a little afraid of him.

That wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted her to be comfortable with him. He wanted a relationship, which couldn’t happen if she was scared or nervous in any way.

He turned and headed to his truck.

He didn’t know if it would be the right thing, but he had an idea about what he could do.

Tomorrow, he’d find out if it would work.