Free Rescuing Lilly by Hallie Miller

to work right now?" Lilly asked as they walked down the stairs to the living room.
    "Yeah. I think I need a day off to rest anyway," he answered, grinning down at her.
    Lilly climbed onto the couch while Jake turned on the giant flat-screen over the fire place. He plopped down next to her and slid her back onto his lap. "I like you right here, where I can keep an eye on you," he said, kissing her on the forehead. She snuggled up next to him, where she stayed for the next two hours.
     
    ---oOo---
     
    Over the few weeks, Lilly did her best not to make Jake angry. After the last spanking, she didn't think she could handle another one anytime soon. As it turned out, Jake was actually an easy person to talk to and she found herself becoming more and more honest with him as the days passed. She explained to him why she left Nathan and gave him a little background information about her parents and life back on the east coast. She wasn't about to tell him how much debt she was actually in, but she was hoping that it would either just go away on its own, or she would be able to get a job and move out of his house to pay it off sooner rather than later. For some reason, she figured Jake wouldn't hesitate to lecture her about spending habits and debt control.
    When her phone started to ring continuously a week later, Lilly could only figure it was debt collectors trying their best to reach her and determine why the bills were not being paid. She did her best to hide the phone calls from Jake. However, Jake had a rule that no calls were to be answered during dinner and these bill collectors didn't seem to care what time of day they dialed her number. He let the first call slide when she offered the suggestion of the wrong number. By the third call, she hopped out of her seat to turn the phone to silent.
    "Hold it," he said as he grabbed her arm pulling her back to sit down. He got up and walked over to where the phone was lying on the coffee table. "Why are you getting all of these calls at seven o'clock at night? Is there something going on?"
    Lilly sank into her chair, hoping he wouldn't jump to anymore conclusions and doing her best to fabricate a believable lie in her head. "No, of course not. I keep getting these calls from the wrong number. I figure if I just ignore them they will stop calling."
    "Have you answered and told them it was the wrong number?" he asked casually.
    Lilly stilled, wondering what to say. She thought for a split second, and then turned back to him, "You know you're right. The next time they call I'll do just that."
    Thankfully, Jake had a satisfied look on his face after her explanation and walked back to the dinner table. He just nodded and they went back to eating. Lilly prayed the phone wouldn't ring again before she scarfed down the rest of her food. She ran to grab her phone and started up the stairs.
    "Going to bed early tonight?" Jake asked when she got halfway up the stairs.
    "Yeah, I'm just exhausted. Probably going to take a bath and try to get some extra sleep," Lilly lied coolly as she smiled at him. "Good night."
    "Okay," he said wearily. Lilly saw the look on his face like he knew something was going on with her. "I'll be in my office doing some paperwork if you need anything."
    "Cool, thanks," she sputtered quickly and ran up the stairs. She turned on her phone and stared at the missed calls, thinking that there was nothing Jake could do about it, and there was no reason he had to know. Her mind raced, wondering why she was feeling so guilty about keeping this from him. He hadn't judged her about anything else she told him. He simply listened and tried to give some good advice. On the contrary, none of those other things would give him a reason to be angry. Something in the back of her mind said he wouldn't be too happy to know she owed various credit card companies almost ten thousand dollars. She decided a hot shower would help clear her head. Lilly let the steam and hot water surround her