Free Thirty Nights with a Dirty Boy: Part 3: A Heroes and Heartbreakers Serial by Shiloh Walker Page A

here don’t always get the same messages. The reminders help.”
    “I’ll remind you weekly, should you feel it’s necessary.”
    I laughed. “Sure. Put it on the calendar.” Leaning my head on the padded headrest, I drew in a series of calming breaths. “I can stop freaking out if I do this. It will be in my hands. I make the decisions. I’m in control.”
    “The media will go nuts.”
    I lifted a shoulder. “I won’t be here for long.”
    “Have you decided where you want to go?”
    “Scotland.” It was stupid. It was downright foolish, really. But I wanted to go. I had a longing to spend some time in a little cottage somewhere in the Highlands. To lose myself and do nothing but read and be lazy. I thought maybe I’d earned it.
    I’d take some time and try to heal.
    “You’re still wanting to go by the brownstone, Miss Ella?” Paul asked from the front seat.
    “Yes.” I plucked again at the listlessly colored skirt. “After that, we’re going shopping, Paul.”
    “Of course.”
    Tom looked up at the word shopping. For a moment, I’d forgotten about him. “Buy something in a strong color for tomorrow. Not red. I’d go with a vivid green or blue.”
    I met his eyes. “Why not red?”
    “People associate red with power. It’s not necessarily a bad statement to make, but in this instance, you want a different statement. Green or blue are strong colors, but they don’t have as much of a visual impact.”
    “Okay.” I nodded. It didn’t matter, really, what color I wore, as long as it wasn’t pastel.
    “Would you like me to help you prepare a statement?”
    “Yes. I think that might be a wise idea.”
    Tom and I spent the next ninety miles going over what I wanted to cover and the details I wanted to avoid. He thought it was wise to segue into how my history and Nora’s care of me led to my desire to help others, and thus, Nora’s Door was born. “People will want to hug you and help you and support you all at the same time. They’ll look at you and see the damaged girl and the strong woman, all at once.”
    “I’m not…”
    “You don’t like the word damaged. ” Tom nodded. “I don’t blame you. But that child was a victim. You’re not her anymore. You’re stronger now than you were when we last met just a few months ago. People need to see both sides, Ella. It will give hope to those who’ve been where you were.”
    “I don’t want to be a symbol,” I muttered.
    “You already are.” He glanced out the window. “We’re at my stop.”
    As Paul brought the car to an idle, Tom gave me one last, lingering look. “You still have time to back out, Ella. Nobody will think less of you.”
    “ I would.”
    *   *   *
    I had Paul stop.
    While I ran into the chain clothing store, he called both my realtor and Sheila, letting them know I’d been delayed slightly.
    I hadn’t been in a place like this in … well, ever. I occasionally shopped at Saks, but most of my clothing was custom-made. It was actually kind of fun, really, grabbing a pair of jeans and a couple of T-shirts and carrying them into the fitting room.
    The jeans fit me far more snugly than what I usually wore.
    So did the T-shirts.
    I kept them anyway.
    When I peeked out, there was a sales associate. “Would I be able to wear these out?”
    She looked a little puzzled, then shrugged. “If you let me get you rung up right away, I don’t see why not.”
    I nodded and carried my purse with me.
    I also left my clothes behind.
    If anybody wanted them, they were welcome to them.
    After I bought the jeans and both of the T-shirts I’d tried on, I made a quick stop by the shoe department and bought a pair of flip-flops. I’d never worn a pair in my life, and I found myself smiling at the sound they made as I left the store.
    Paul did a double take when he saw me, and then he smiled. “Well, Miss Ella. You don’t look much older than my niece, and she’s just barely started college.”
    “Flattery will get you