Free Her Adoring SEAL (Midnight Delta Book 3) by Caitlyn O'Leary Page B

even take classes at a university.
    “I can see you don’t agree with me, but let me finish my story.  Burt came home that night and he pushed me down and kicked me.  He kept kicking me.  Jack ran to the neighbor’s house and got help, and they called the police.  I was passed out on the floor by the time they arrived.  Someone told me Burt was calmly sitting at the table eating his supper.”
    Beth could picture it.  Her family lived in a very bad neighborhood when she was young, and there had been a lot of violence.  Domestic violence had not been uncommon.  “What happened next?”
    “Burt was sent to prison, and I was hospitalized.  Jack was sent to foster care for three months while I recovered, since I had no family to take him.  When I got out, we had to live in a shelter.  It was over two years before I could really talk to anyone, let alone a man.  That’s why I’m so impressed with you.”
    “You’re kidding, right?  Our stories are nothing alike.  You went through so much more than I ever have.”
    “Really, Beth?  My gut tells me you’ve been scared longer than you’ve let on.  I think it’s remarkable that you’ve come so far so fast.  I want you to take it a little further.  Trust my son.  He’s a good man.”
    Now it was Beth’s turn to twist the fabric on the quilt.  How could this woman see things so much more clearly than even her family?
    “I can’t really talk about it.”
    “Eventually you’ll need to talk to someone.  You can’t carry these types of burdens alone.  Trust me, I know.  In the meantime, I wanted you to know how much I admire you, and believe in you.”
    That was it.  Beth burst into tears.
    “Oh honey.”
    Grace cradled her close to her heart.  Not even with her mother, had she felt so understood and cared for.  Too often she needed to be the caretaker.
    “Just let it out.”
    Beth thought about what was said at the shack where they’d been held prisoner, and the visits at her father’s office when she’d helped out.  She was scared.  It’d been fine when they didn’t know where she was, when she’d been under an assumed name, but now...  She pushed out of Grace’s arms.
    “When are you leaving?”
    “Tomorrow.  Richard and I are going to a friend’s house in Florida.”
    Beth wiped her eyes.
    “Leave today.”  Grace must have seen something in her face.
    “All right, we will.  But Beth, I’m serious, you need to trust my son.  He’s good at what he does.  He can help you, but only if he knows everything that’s going on.  I’ve been in your shoes.  Keeping secrets will get you hurt, maybe even killed.”
    “I’ll think about what you said.  But I’m probably making this all up in my head.  I overreact to things.  My parents say I need to be more like Lydia.”
    “I’ve never met your sister.  But I stand by what I said.  Don’t doubt yourself, Beth.  Tell Jack what you’re thinking.  Trust your instincts.”
    “Maybe I will.”
    Grace rubbed her hip.  “Can you go over to my dresser and get that blue box?” 
    Beth saw a small jeweler’s box.  “This one?”
    “Yes.  Bring it to me.”  Beth handed it to her. 
    “No, no.  It’s for you. Open it.”
    Beth frowned.  But at Grace’s insistent expression, she opened the box and saw a beautiful heart shaped opal necklace.  Grace pulled out a similar one from beneath her blouse.
    “Richard gave me this soon after we met.  It was his grandmother’s.  She was from Australia.  It’s supposed to help the wearer reach their highest potential.  I don’t know if I believe that, but Edna managed the family cattle ranch after her husband died.  I know after I started wearing it I believed in myself more.  It could just be the power of suggestion.  But I wanted you to have one too.”
    Beth stared at the beautiful blue stone flashing with hints of green and red.  She’d never seen anything so pretty.
    “Here, let me help you put it