Free A Rocky Path by Lauralynn Elliott

against Patrick’s lean, hard body. She could feel the unreleased
tension in every muscle. He was like a tiger stalking prey, waiting
to strike. She could sense the power that he was holding inside.
This was a dangerous man. And she wanted him. Forever.
    Just then she heard voices at the French
doors. Some of the guests had probably heard the commotion and were
coming out to see what was going on.
    “Emily, I have to go. I don’t want to leave
you with this to explain, but…..I can’t help it. Meet me in the
usual place tomorrow night.”
    “Wait…Patrick!”
    “I’m sorry. You don’t understand! We will
talk later.”
    And then he was gone.
     
     

Chapter Twelve
     
    Several people burst out of the French doors,
including Rebecca and Sam. They all looked at Jamie lying in the
rose garden, then at Emily. Then one man bent down next to Jamie,
examined him briefly, and yelled for someone to call an
ambulance.
    “Is he hurt badly?” asked Rebecca.
    “His head is bleeding and he’s not conscious.
He needs to go to the hospital to be checked out.”
    “What happened here?” asked Sam.
    “H-he was drunk a-and he tripped and fell. He
went down hard and hit his head on the ground,” Emily
stammered.
    The man who was kneeling next to Jamie said,
“He must have hit his head on this rock. Hmmm, that’s odd. He
actually has another knot on his head. It looks like he hit his
head twice.”
    “Maybe he bounced,” suggested Emily. Maybe he
bounced? She sounded like an idiot!
    Rebecca looked at her oddly. “Are you sure
that’s all that happened? There seemed to be quite a commotion out
here. I’m almost sure I heard another man’s voice.”
    “No, it was just Jamie and me. He was being a
little bit belligerent and I was telling him to stop yelling and I
tried to take his drink from him.”
    The ambulance was there in five minutes, and
the EMTs checked him out. They said he might have a concussion and
they took him on to the hospital to be checked out more
thoroughly.
    The incident wrapped the party up early, so
the guests were gone by ten o’clock. Rebecca took Sally to the
hospital to see about Jamie, and Emily and Sam waited at the house.
Emily was glad that Sam suggested that because she really didn’t
feel like she should be at the hospital with Jamie right now.
    “Ok, let’s cut the crap. What really happened
tonight? Don’t give me the same line you gave Rebecca. I know
better.”
    Emily burst into tears. “Oh, Sam, I didn’t
want anyone to know what happened. It was so awful.”
    Sam took her in his arms. “Emily, you can
tell me what happened. I won’t say anything to anybody. But you
need to get this off your chest.”
    “I went outside for some fresh air. I was
going to sit on the bench, but I saw that Jamie was already there.
I was going to just turn around and leave, but he told me to stay.
And then he started accusing me of leading him on, and he called me
a bitch, and-and…” She started crying again.
    Sam held her for a minute, and then he took
her face in his hands and looked at her. “What did he do,
Emily?”
    “He attacked me, Sam! He was kissing me and
hurting me, and I was trying to get away…” she stopped, not sure
how much to tell him.
    “Then what, Emily?”
    “Patrick pulled him off of me,” she
whispered.
    “Patrick? Who’s Patrick?” he asked,
puzzled.
    “This guy…I’ve been meeting him down the path
on the rocks. We just talk and spend time together. Nothing has
ever happened between us. But when Jamie started hurting me and I
was struggling to get away, the next thing I knew, he was gone.
Patrick pulled him off of me and threw him over into the rose
garden. Then he picked him up and threw him again. He was going to
hit Jamie, but I made him stop. Then we heard voices and everyone
started coming out. Patrick ran away.”
    “And left you to explain everything! Who is
this guy, anyway?”
    “He’s just a friend. I like him a lot. He was
just trying to