Read other chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Epilogue

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Chapter 11

It was well after dark when Jack pulled into the parking lot of his apartment complex. He had made record time driving from Morgan City, only stopping in Lake Charles for gas, and again when he got pulled over for speeding in Westlake. He was out of the truck as soon as it stopped, leaving everything behind except for his keys to open the apartment door.

It was dark when he stepped inside, but he knew exactly where to go. His found his laptop case with both his laptop and phone right beside the couch where he had accidentally left them two weeks earlier.

"Please, please, please," he whispered as he fumbled the case open and pulled out his phone. The battery was completely dead and would not even power on.

He dumped the entire bag out on the floor, scrambling to find the phone charger and cable, his hands moving frantically as he searched. It took two attempts to plug the charger all into the wall outlet near the couch, his hands shaking so bad he couldn't connect the cable at first. When the phone turned on and displayed the boot screen he sighed heavily in frustration and began to mutter, "Hurry up, hurry up!"

The phone didn't display missed calls if they came in while it was turned off, but he was excited to see four voice mail messages waiting for him. The first one let him know he was still in the running for one of the sales position he had interviewed for. He saved it quickly to move to the next one.

The second message asked him to call back to schedule a meeting with Human Resources to discuss an offer. He saved it quickly, then pressed the wrong key and accidently went back to the main menu. "Damn it! Come on!"

"Jack, this is Julie." He sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall, taking deep shuddering breaths as he listened to her voice, rocking his head back and forth. "I don't want to bother you at work, but I did want to apologize for my behavior. Something has happened, but I don't want you to worry about it now. If you want to speak to me when you get back, I'll be waiting for your call. If not, I completely understand. I miss you."

"Oh, Baby, I miss you, too," he whispered, pressing the button to save and go the next message, hoping it was another one from her.

"This call is for Mr. Jack Brousard. I'm Detective Frank Adams from the Houston Police Department. There has been an incident involving your wife Sophia. I would prefer to speak to you in person about this matter, so please call me as soon as you get this message to schedule something, anytime day or night. My cell phone number is 713-555-2820."

Jack was curious about what Sophie had done, but wanted to talk to Julie first, so he saved the voice mail and left the phone to charge while he ran to the bathroom to pee. When he was washing his hands he heard the phone ring.

"Julie?"

"Mr. Brousard? This is Detective Frank Adams calling again. There has been an incident involving your wife Sophia. I was hoping I could catch you. Can you tell me your location, please?"

"I've just gotten back into town from work and I'm at my apartment. What has Sophie done? Are the girls okay?"

"Your children are fine, Mr. Brousard. This is a delicate, personal matter and I'd really prefer to speak to you in person if you don't mind coming into my office."

Jack made arrangements to meet, giving himself enough time to shower quickly and change out of his dirty work clothes. He got gas and drove to the address the Detective had given him. After introducing himself was directed to a small room to wait.

The door opened and a large man with thinning hair came in. "Thank you for coming in, Mr. Brousard. I'm Detective Adams. Can I get you something to drink?"

"Coffee would be nice."

The detective nodded to a man in the doorway, who presumably went for coffee.

"Mr. Brousard, when was the last time you spoke to your wife Sophia?"

"Don't call her that or she'll snap," Jack said with a frown. "Sophie and I last spoke at court a few weeks ago. I've called her a number of times since then, but she never answered the phone or called me back. I finally had to involve my attorney two weeks ago, but I forgot my phone and laptop in the apartment and haven't spoken to anyone for two full weeks at this point. I've been working on a rig in the gulf and only got back to shore about 4:30 this afternoon."

"You've had no contact with anyone here in Houston for that whole period of time?"

"No, I've had no contact with anyone outside the rig for that whole time. A trawler accidentally cut the communications line just before I arrived and we had to use the satellite link the whole time I was out there. It's expensive, so the company only allowed critical operations and monitoring to go over the sat link. We had no Internet, no personal phone calls, nothing."

"That seems to trouble you. May I ask why?"

Jack felt his stomach grumble as he looked down at his hands and clenched his teeth. The same man who had left brought back a black coffee, handed it to Jack, and sat down next to the larger Detective without introducing himself.

"Thanks. My girlfriend and I had a fight the night I left. I've been worried sick about her."

"What is your girlfriend's name."

"I don't see how this is relevant to whatever trouble Sophie is in." Jack was feeling frustrated at having to wait to speak to Julie.

"Is your girlfriend's name Julie Polk?"

"How did you know..." A horrible thought occurred to him. "Did Sophie do something to Julie?!"

"Mr. Brousard, I need to ascertain if you are involved in this matter before I can answer any questions. Is there anyone I can speak to who can verify your statement about being out of town with no means of communication?"

"Absolutely! Let me give you a list." Jack pulled out his phone, and after plugging it in to get power he provided the detectives with six different phone numbers to the men and supervisors on the rig, including the main company number where they could confirm the situation officially.

They left him alone with his coffee. Jack chewed on his fingernails. He hated biting his nails, but couldn't seem to stop himself. After about thirty minutes Detective Adams came back in looking much more relaxed.

"Thank you for cooperating with the investigation, Mr. Brousard. I can speak to you now and answer some of your questions."

"What happened?! Is Julie okay? What about the baby?"

"It appears that last evening at approximately 8:00 PM, Sophia Brousard attempted to run down Julie Polk and Cathy Thomas with her black Suburban in the parking lot of the girl's employer, Bigger Bounce, Inc. She has been charged with attempted murder, along with some lesser charges. I don't have any information about a baby being involved in the incident, but I do have a note in my file that says Julie Polk is currently at the Ben Taub Trauma Center."

Jack felt lightheaded and gripped the edge of the table. "Where are my girls?"

"Right now, Lisa and Jennifer are safe with a foster family until we complete our initial investigation. A judge will have to rule on custody in light of your pending divorce. I can tell you personally, Jack, that I know the family they are with and they're in very good hands."

"When can I see them?"

"I don't know, but in most cases they will be released to the parent or guardian within twenty-four hours. That would probably be tomorrow morning at the earliest."

"I need to make some calls; my mom first. I need to find out if Julie is alright. Oh God, what the fuck Sophie?!"

"You don't seem interested in speaking to Sophia."

"I plead the fifth."

"She's asked to speak to you."

"What, she's here?"

"Yes. She is waiting for transport to the county jail. She had to go to the hospital after the incident for minor injuries. The airbag blew up in her face. She just got back a couple of hours ago."

Jack sighed and put his head in his hands. "I'll talk to her, but I want to make a phone call first. Can I stay here to let my phone charge or do you need the room?"

"You can stay here. I'll give you some privacy." Detective Adams left the room.

Jack called his mother. His hands shook as he dialed the number.

"Hello?"

"Mère, can you sit down for me please."

"Aïe, Jackie, what is it?"

"Sophie went crazy and tried to kill my new friend Julie. The one I told you about. The one you called my lumière, remember?"

"Mon Dieu, how is she? What happen?"

"I don't know how she is, but Sophie is in jail. The police have the girls in with some kind of foster family, but I may get them back tomorrow. I hate to ask, but can you come stay here with me for a while? I really need someone to help me." Jack stumbled over the last few words as he fought back his tears.

"Of course, Sha, I come tonight. I gots to get your father to print me out the Google maps or I get lost when I get to Houston, like I always do. Ne t'en fais pas mon sha, tout va bien aller."

"Thank you, Mama. I am going to talk to Sophie now. Wish me luck."

"Elle est le diable, you be careful. Je prierai pour vous."

"Thank you for the prayers. I will be careful."

Jack turned off his phone to save the little bit of charge it had, then walked out of the room. He saw Detective Adams at his desk and walked over.

"I'm ready to see her."

"Ok, we really aren't set up for visitors, so you'll just have to talk to her through the bars. Let me take you over. You'll only have until the transport to county shows up."

"I doubt I want to hear her speak that long anyway."

They passed through a reinforced door into a bare concrete room split into cells separated by steel bars. The rooms only had a few occupants, but one prisoner was alone in her cell.

Sophie didn't look like her normal self wearing an orange, one-piece coverall. Her hair was a mess, the back sticking up like she had slept on it without brushing it out. She had the remnants of makeup, but her two black eyes and the red abrasions on her face ruined the effect. She was sitting on a steel bench leaning back against the cinderblock wall with her eyes shut as Jack came to stand at the bars. Detective Adams nodded towards her with his eyebrows raised, then turned and left.

"Hello Sophie."

She opened her eyes as much as she could, but when she saw Jack she recoiled, turning away like she wanted to avoid a blow. Her face crumpled and she started crying. Not the contrived cry that Jack had learned to recognize as one of her tricks, but the soul aching cry of someone who had lost everything. He remembered crying like that alone in their house after she left. He had to admit that a mean part of himself felt satisfaction watching her suffer.

"I... I..." She couldn't get words out past her emotions, her breathing was short and shallow, making her gasp between sounds.

"The Detective said you are being charged with attempted murder."

"Puh... Puh..." She got up and stumbled to the bars and gripped them hard.

"Pathetic? Puzzling?"

She tried to get it out in a rush. "Jack, I just wanted..."

Jack interrupted her with a tense whisper. "You just wanted what, you vicious bitch. You just wanted to kill the woman I love and our unborn child to keep me from being happier without you? Is that it? Is that what you just wanted?"

"Please, Jack, just listen. It's not too late for us. I can change, you'll see. Mike was inhuman. He raped me, Jack, he hurt me and he liked it. Please, for the girls, you have to get me out of here..."

Jack just shook his head and turned around. She began to speak louder, becoming more incoherent until she was shrieking at him, calling him vile names for walking away from her.

Detective Adams met Jack outside the holding cells with a concerned look on his face. "What the hell?"

"Sophie doesn't like being ignored. Would you please let the prosecutor know that I'll be happy to provide whatever testimony I can to help them establish her guilt."

"Uh... sure. Actually, you could help by answering some background questions if you want to talk over at my desk. As you can tell Mrs. Brousard isn't exactly cooperating right now."

"I'll be happy to another time, but right now I have to find out what happened to Julie and our baby."

"Sure, I understand. I hope everything is alright. Give me a call in the next day or two if you don't mind. It won't take long, I promise."

Jack drove to the hospital using the GPS on his phone after he plugged it into the car charger. It was impossible to think, every thought tumbled into the next, driven by his fear and exhaustion. It was well after midnight by the time he arrived at the front desk.

"Welcome to Ben Taub Hospital, how may I help you?" The receptionist was alone at the large front desk. The lights in the lobby were muted and the hospital was quiet.

"I'm looking for a patient named Julie Polk. The police say she is supposed to be here in the Trauma Center."

"Let me check," she said. "Are you related to her?"

"Not yet," Jack whispered. "But I intend to fix that as soon as I can."

The receptionist smiled at his comment, then frowned at her screen. "I'm sorry, we have no one by that exact name admitted at this time. Was that her full name?"

"Yes, as far as I know. I mean, she may have had a middle name or something, but that was the name she used on everything I ever saw." Jack turned pale and gripped the counter as something occurred to him. "Could she have... passed away?"

The receptionist saw his face and reached up to pat his hand. "No, don't worry, no one under that name has been admitted here, dead or alive, in the last month. I can't tell you anything about the patients we have here because of the HIPPA laws, but I'd not let you go on thinking that. Perhaps a different name." She emphasized the last two words, trying to tell him something, but Jack didn't know what she meant.

"I'm sorry, I only know her name as Julie Polk. I don't even know her middle name, but we live in Texas so the safe bet is it's Ann." He laughed despite the tension he felt, earning another smile from the receptionist.

She sighed and shook her head, placing a visitor badge on the counter, then spoke slowly and clearly. "I'm going to the rest room now. I'm sure the Trauma Center doesn't have anyone named Polk registered as a patient right now, so don't bother going to check." She raised her eyebrows at him and looked significantly at the badge, then turned to go.

Jack stood confused for a moment before he smiled and shook his head, realizing what she had meant. He grabbed the visitor's badge on his way to the elevators. The path to the trauma center required following a colored line on the floor halfway around the building. There was a single nurse at the nurses station when he arrived.

"Hello, I'm looking for a patient named Polk?"

The nurse checked her roster and shook her head. "She was released from here earlier today and was moved down to a regular room." She wrote some information on a yellow sticky note and handed it to him.

Jack read the note and said, "Yes, Lily Polk, exactly." He turned with a spring in his step and dashed back to the elevators. He had to ask two more nurses before he got to the right wing, his heart pounding as he approached the open door to the dim room.

Julie was sleeping in a reclining chair, her feet pulled up underneath the blanket. Her mother was in the bed with a bandage around her head, but other than being a little thinner, she looked fine. Julie must have sensed his presence in the room, because she yawned and opened her eyes. Her hands flew up to cover her open mouth as she realized who it was.

"I missed you, too," Jack whispered as he stepped quietly into the room to kneel beside her chair and slip his arms around her. She hugged him tight and sobbed softly against his shoulder as he smoothed her hair with his hands and kissed her forehead.

They stayed close and quiet until Lily broke the spell. "Are you going to kiss him or just cry about it some more?"

Julie laughed and wiped her eyes, then put her arms around his neck to kiss him properly. He felt her relax into his arms, her soft mouth opening to his lips as he pulled her up. They stood with the blanked puddled at their feet, kissing with such heat that Jack finally had to reach into his pants to reposition himself more comfortably.

"Having a little trouble there?" Lily said with a chuckle.

Jack got himself adjusted with a smile. "Nothing we can't handle."

"There is so much I need to tell you," Julie said, touching his arms and chest, as if needing to prove he was really there.

"I know some of it. I was called in by the police as soon as I arrived because of what Sophie did. My girls will be in foster care until I can see a judge about custody, hopefully tomorrow. My Mom is driving in tonight to help me with the girls, but I couldn't put off coming to find you any longer. The police only knew you were here and had no other details. I was so scared you'd been hurt. What happened?"

"Well it's a long story, but the short version is that Mom got shot at work when the pawn shop got robbed. I was here all week, but had to start going back to work or we'd be evicted after the first. Sophie came out of nowhere Sunday night and damn near killed me and Cathy. If she hadn't pushed me out of the way..."

"So we're naming the baby Cathy, then?" Jack said with a light laugh, touching her stomach with a bright look of love on his face.

"You can't name a boy Cathy!" Lily insisted.

"Mom, stop it, lots of women have early morning sickness and deliver girls."

"No one I've ever met. Every woman I've know who got morning sickness by the fourth or fifth week had a boy."

Jack just kept running his hands over her stomach with a dopey grin. "Stop revving my motor unless you're going to do something about it," Julie said, pushing his hand away playfully. She whispered to him, "No one ever told me being pregnant makes you so horny."

"I owe you both an apology," Jack said. "I admit I was shocked, but it wasn't until I got to the rig that I realized what a dick I'd been. And by then it was too late. A boat accidentally cut the communications line to the rig, so I had no way to call or email the entire two weeks I was there. Believe me, by day two I was ready to quit the job if I could have found a way home. I was miserable, and I'm so sorry for the way I acted."

"Well, while we're on the subject, I'm sorry for springing it on you like that," Julie said. "I've had a lot of time to think about things, plus Father Williams has been helping me get some much needed perspective on my life."

"My Father Williams? From my church?" Jack wrinkled his brow, looking sharply at Julie.

"He is on our side, by the way. He was afraid that Sophie went off because he was asking questions about the mural on Sunday."

"How did he find out about the mural?"

"Remember what I said about a long story?" Julie wrinkled her nose at Jack and shrugged her shoulders.

"Look, kids, I'm glad you've found each other again, but I need my sleep. With Julie asking me if I need something every thirty minutes, I'm not going to get any if she stays here. Her car was totaled, Jack, so would you please take her home and find some way to make her sleepy? I'm sure I can manage for a while without you both."

Julie looked worried. "Mom, are you sure? I really don't mind staying."

"Go, sweetie, you've been super this whole time, but I'm really feeling better now. Seriously, go."

Julie gathered her things and kissed her mom goodbye. "Call me if you need anything, OK?"

"You could swing by the apartment and pick up some of my romance stories if you want. The headache is going away and I'm getting bored without the pain pills. Take care of our girl, Jack."

"I will, Lilly. I promise."

The ride back to Jack's apartment was spent catching up on the details while sitting close and holding hands like kids. Julie spoke about her Mom and their strained relationship. She gave him a summary of the kinds of things she and Father Williams had talked about, but still held some things back for another time. Jack described his encounter with Sophie and her deteriorating mental state, which made Julie quiet for a while.

As they got close to his apartment Jack asked, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about how lucky I've been lately."

"What do you mean?"

"I nearly lost Mom. I see now I tried to sabotage things with you. Sophie nearly killed me for reasons I still don't quite understand. But as soon as I saw you standing there in the doorway, I suddenly knew that somehow everything was going to be OK."

Jack squeezed her hand. "I felt it when I heard your voice mail. I was so scared you'd still be angry with me for leaving and never contacting you. Once I heard your voice, I knew things would work out."

"I was never really angry, just scared. Father Williams helped me see how some things in my past have made me afraid of getting close to you, and made it hard for me with Mom over the years. He has really helped me see the connections in my own mind, so I can try to stop doing things like that. It's still hard sometimes with Mom."

He pulled into his parking space and turned off the truck. "Julie, this is going to get rough. You've got to help your Mom recover. My Mom will be here in the morning, which will complicate things more than you know. I hope I'm finally going to finally get my girls, but who knows what is going to happen with the divorce at this point."

He took her hands in both of his. "I'm not free to ask you what I want to ask you right now. But I want you to know that I want our child to have my name. And when I am able to, I want to give it to you as well. Please, be patient, and trust me, Julie. I intend to spend my life with you."

Julie had to pull one hand away to wipe her eyes. "I'll wait. I've told you before, the only thing I want is you. Just you." She touched his face with her palm and smiled, looking between his eyes and lips. "Let's go inside before we fog up the windows. I swear I've never been this horny in my life."

Julie begged to go shower before bed, so Jack fired up his laptop and checked his mail. After he cleared out the spam, he skimmed the emails until he found the one with his offer letter. He knew the company was a competitor to his old company, so he hoped his professional reputation would help get him in the door.

When he opened the offer letter his heart skipped a few beats. Salaries for sales people don't appear all that good on the surface, but the commission details that go with them can make the difference between average and amazing. Jack made a low whistle as he mentally calculated what his old sales would have generated with this commission structure. The second page of the offer letter was a scan of a hand-written note from the owner of the company giving Jack a personal invitation to join the company. The P.S. mentioned the figure for the signing bonus.

"Mother Fucker!"

Julie came out wearing a towel and drying her hair. "What's wrong?"

Jack just looked at her and pointed to the screen with his mouth open. Julie came to sit next to him and looked over his shoulder. "What does that mean? Is that your salary?"

"No, that is the check they are going to write me if I agree to start working there."

"Companies do that?" Julie seemed incredulous.

"It certainly seems like this one does."

She kept drying her hair. "If you take that job you can stop going out on the rigs, right?" Jack nodded. Julie kissed his cheek. "Good, I hope you take it then. Now come to bed." She took his hand and pulled him to the bedroom.

Jack climbed into his bed as Julie went to hang her towels over the shower curtain rod. When she came back, Jack was laying on his side watching her entrance and noticed something new. "Holy boob-fairy, Batman!" Jack said excitedly, sitting up to examine her more closely. Julie had always had a lovely figure, but now her breasts seemed to be pressing against her skin in a most appealing way.

"Please be careful, they are so sore right now, even the skin hurts." Jack kissed each nipple carefully and ran his hands lightly along her skin. "That feels very nice. Would you mind putting some lotion on them while you're playing? Polly says it will help keep me from getting stretch marks."

"Oh, yes, I would love to do that." Julie got the lotion from her overnight bag and brought it back to the bed. She handed the bottle to him and lay down on her back with a smile.

Jack spread the thick cream in his palms and rubbed them together to warm it up. He spread the lotion across both breasts, then carefully worked it into her skin using his fingers. Her nipples stood up, looking a little darker than he remembered. He bent down and tenderly kissed each one as Julie cooed and sighed.

He kissed down from her breasts until he got to her stomach. He ran his hand around trying to feel where his baby was growing. "Here," she said, moving his hand to the little bump. "There he is." Julie had wet eyes as she looked down at him.

Jack smiled and said, "You think it's a boy, too."

"I only tell Mom I don't so I can tease her if it's not, but I really do."

Jack bent down and kissed the spot. "I hope so, too."

When he kissed her lower, Julie began to run her fingers through his hair. She whispered, "I would love for you to pleasure me with your mouth, but I have to tell you I've really been looking forward to having you without a condom again."

Jack looked up with an excited expression on his face. "Good idea." He slid up next to her and kissed her deeply, running his hand over her stomach. She moved her hips restlessly as his fingers slid down to her slippery mons, making her suck air through her teeth.

She began to pull at him to climb on top, making a cute whining moan when he didn't move fast enough to please her. He finally slid between her legs, careful not to press his weight against her stomach or breasts. When his head touched her slit she reached down and put her hands on his butt to pull at him.

"Now, I need you now," she whispered.

Jack needed her too, but was afraid it would be over too fast for her. It had been a long two weeks and he'd been too depressed to take care of himself. He began to mentally sing the alphabet as he slipped himself inside of her, biting the inside of his cheeks until they stung to keep from losing it as she squeezed his butt and massaged his back.

He bit down harder, trying to delay his release while his body responded to her movements and gasps of pleasure. He tried to distract himself by naming boring equipment parts. The industrial oil field pumping jack is composed of a counter weight attached using a pitman arm to the walking beam. The walking beam moves the horse head and bridle, which moves the polished rod in and out of the stuffing box. "Oh Baby, I can't hold it..."

Julie was oblivious, her hair was all over her face and pillow, rocking her hips with the rhythm he set. He bent down next to her face, pushing himself fully into her and just let it all go. He shuddered as the release thundered through him, drawing a deep cry out of his throat. Her nails gripped him low, then she dragged them up his back, crying out with her full voice as she held on to his shoulders.

Just when he thought the frantic pulses were slowing, she would squeeze or shift which slid him back into it again. At last he felt her begin to slow, her movements going from excited to exhausted as she clung to him, kissing his face and neck. Jack rolled off to keep from collapsing on her, laying next to her and running his fingertips along her stomach and thighs.

"Oh, Jack, I missed you." She reached over and patted him on his chest with closed eyes and a wide smile.

"Me, too," he said with a grin. "Before you go to sleep, can I ask for a favor?"

"Sure."

"Can I loan you a shirt and some shorts?"

She turned her head and opened her eyes. "Why? Oh, your Mom will be here soon."

"Yeah, she's really old fashioned."

Julie sat up and got a panicked look on her face. "Oh my god, it's like a swimming pool inside me." She kept her knees together and stepped carefully into the bathroom. "How long has it been for you?"

"Um, two full weeks. That's actually the longest I've gone since I was twelve. I was a little depressed."

"Damn, Jack, this is insane!" Julie said from the bathroom with a laugh.

"Yeah, sorry I was also a little quick."

"It was perfect for me, but seriously this is like a gooey waterfall. I'm going to have to shower again. Can you get me a pair of panties from my bag and the clothes you want me to wear?"

By the time Julie got out of the shower, Jack had laid out her clothes, gotten dressed in his shorts and familiar white undershirt, and fallen fast asleep.

Continued in chapter 12