Page 29 of Wrapped in Hope
She hits the bag again and again. I don’t stop her or correct her anymore. I’m more worried about getting some of the rage out of her rather than correcting her form. With each hit, I see a little more anger fall away.
She throws at least fifty punches before she falls to her knees, breathless.
“Feel better?” I ask as I step from behind the bag.
Her shoulders are rising and falling, the room is so quiet I can hear her labored breathing. It causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand on end. God how I’d love to hear that sound coming from underneath me.
“A little,” she replies.
“Come on. I think that’s enough for today.” I hold out my hand to help her to her feet. When she’s standing, I pull the velcro holding her glove closed and remove it for her. I repeat the process with the other.
When I have taken off both her gloves, our gaze locks on one another. Her dark eyes are full of unanswered questions that I wish I could answer for her. But unfortunately, I don’t have the answers she’s seeking. Nobody does. They are questions that can’t be answered, only accepted.
“Are you hungry?” I ask as we’re leaving the gym.
“Starving. I haven’t worked that hard in a long time.”
“Let’s grab some dinner before I take you home. I’d hate for you to pass out. Are you feeling okay?”
We take our seat in my Jeep before she looks at me and shrugs. “I’m tired, and hungry, and sore. I feel like my head is swimming.”
“Sounds like your blood sugar is a little low. Have you eaten today?” I start the Jeep and head in the direction of food.
“No,” she answers.
I shake my head, annoyance and anger escaping me. “You have to take care of yourself, Hope. If we’re going to do this, you will eat at least three meals a day. A workout that hard isn’t good if you haven’t put anything in your body. If you want to be healthy and strong, you’re going to have to make some life changes.”
“Like what?” Her voice is loud and shrill.
“Eating complete meals, drinking plenty of water, laying off the booze, and getting plenty of rest for one.”
“All of those things are one?” I can hear the alarm in her voice and it makes me want to laugh, but I don’t.
I nod. “Going to regular meetings where you actually talk for two.”
I see her roll her eyes and it’s like a slap in the face. “Respect what I tell you without an eye roll for three.” My voice has become hard and I know she notices.
“Okay, I’m sorry. This is something I want to do. I think it could be good for me. It’s something that I wouldn’t ever do on my own, but if I have you to guide me, I know I can do it.”
Her open submission makes my dick twitch, but I don’t let it go any further than that. I don’t respond because if I did, I’m sure it would be with something completely inappropriate.
Neither of us talk while we drive across town to the restaurant. When we’re seated at the table, I order a beer and order her a water.
“Hey, why do you get a drink if I don’t?”
“I’m not the one making changes here. You are. You’ve taken a lot out of your body today, you need to put it back in and alcohol won’t help with that,” I tell her.
She crosses her arms and leans back in her chair.
My eyes begin to wander her body on their own and I know I have to do something to stop it. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”
She shrugs. “Not really. Is there anything you want to talk about?” It sounds like a challenge.
I lean back, thinking it over. “There is, actually. I want to know more about that weekend.” I don’t know if there is more to tell, but she needs to open up about it, about Dean.
She quickly looks up at me. “I’ve already told you everything.”
“Okay, just talk about him then.” It’s not that I really want to hear her talk about my dead son, but she needs to. She’s avoided even saying his name all these years.