The Luck Charm Chapter 4

He glared at her and Anna shook her head. “Rose, if your grandson doesn’t want me here, then I refuse to work here.”

     “You’ll learn that you’ll be working for me, my dear. He isn’t the one who will be paying you. You’ll stay, end of discussion. Jedidiah, carry in her luggage.”

    

     Anna sat in the large room that was now her bedroom and shook her head. Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be his grandmother? She should have been more cautious when she saw the black car in the driveway. If memory served right, that was the car his brother had been driving the night he was killed. She shut her eyes, the painful memories coming back to bite her. It had been a long time, but she still couldn’t get over his words of blame. If he had wanted to kill her with his words and make her live with regret, he’d succeeded. Each day that she saw a black car drive past her, she’d ducked, afraid he was in the car. For so long, she’d looked over her shoulder, always afraid he’d be stalking her, making sure her life was as miserable as he promised her it would be.

     Anna sighed and stared at the luggage sitting on the bed. She’d been surprised when Rose led her straight to the bed upstairs, next to hers. She had thought she would be somewhere on the first level, away from family. But the room she had been introduced to made her knees go weak. It was huge, the biggest bedroom she’d ever had in her life. In fact, this bedroom was the size of the small studio she had rented back east. The bed was a four poster bed with white sheets that looked as if it had never been slept in. The walk-in closet held shelves for shoes that reached ceiling high. She knew she didn’t have enough of clothes or shoes to fill it up. The bathroom had a tub and a shower for her enjoyment along with the toilet to the side and a large full length mirror and a vanity setup. If this was the benefit of working for Rose, she’d take it any day even if she had to face the dark glare of Jedidiah.

     She unpacked and took a moment to run the brush through her hair before she walked out of the room. She found Rose sitting in the den reading a magazine and a cup of steaming tea before her. She smiled when Anna walked in and gestured for her to sit down. She reached over and handed her a thick folder.

     “That is my medical chart. It has everything you’ll need to know about me down to my favorite food,” Rose said with a smile.

     “Thank you. I’ll call your doctor and have a talk with him. I like to get to know you from your doctor’s viewpoint and see if he has any concerns he’d like me to know. I hope you don’t mind.”

     “I’d be insulted if you didn’t. I’ll have Judy show you to my room where you can find all of my medicines, read on it, and if you have questions, I’ll answer them for you.”

     “Thank you.”

     Anna looked through the medicine cabinet that stored Rose’s medicines and she carefully read through each one of them. She listed each one of them in her notebook. As she closed the cabinet and walked out of Rose’s bathroom, Jedidiah stood in the bedroom staring at her. She had to admit that when she first met him 12 years ago, she’d thought he was handsome. But compared to then, he was even better looking in this moment. Gone were the boyish features, especially the long hair, and in its place was a man who carried stronger arms, broader shoulders, and an even more distinguished look of handsome than she’d thought possible. He sported a black and white number shirt and black pants that made his legs look as if they were six feet long. But the anger in his eyes was the same. He hadn’t changed one bit of his dark glare for her.

     “What do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

     “I’m gathering all the information on your grandmother’s medicine. But I’m done.”

     She walked past him and he grabbed her upper arm, shoving her backward until he stood before her. He shoved his hands into his pockets and beat her down with his hot glare of anger.

     “But I’m not done.”

     She sighed. “You’re never done.”

     He laughed. “You’re in my home now, little girl. When I say I am not done, you don’t talk back.”

     She shrugged her shoulders. “If I remember correctly, it’s your grandmother that is paying me, not you. So I don’t have to do as you say.”

     “Oh, is that right? Might I remind you that I am the one making the money that she gives you? When it boils down to it, like it or not, I am the one giving you the dough. You’re living in my home, and you’ll do as you’re told, or else I’ll shove you out the door so fast you won’t know what hit you.”

     When she didn’t answer, he smiled and walked around her, looking her up and down. He came back to stand before her and touched his chin, a smile curving his lips.

     “You grew up pretty nice. You know, if I hadn’t known you back then, I might, I just might take you to bed. But I wonder, a girl like you who won’t ever admit to killing someone, will she even be worth the ten minutes in bed? Tell me, how have you lived your life knowing you’ve taken someone’s life? How does it feel to know that you’re walking around these walls, knowing once that my brother lived here?”

     Anna swallowed and she lifted her head up. “Your brother will live through you and your grandmother. If you continue to live in anger, then you’ll slowly lose his goodness. How do you live, knowing you’ve condemned him to evil with your own thoughts of not being able to forgive? Do you honestly think if he was alive, he’d be proud of you?”

     He snatched her arm and pinched her flesh. Although it hurt, she bit down the pain. He jerked her toward her roughly that the notebook in her hand dropped to the ground.

     “What makes you think you have any right to tell me how he is to feel? If it hadn’t been for you that night he’d be alive and well today, probably married with kids. But because you were careless, he lies six feet under with his future snatched away from you. You have no right to tell talk about him. It was because of you that cut his life span short.”

     She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “I’d think twice if I were you. If memory serves correct, you were arguing with me the moment your brother stepped out of the car. If anything, you’re just as responsible as me.”

     He shoved her down to the ground and her back hit the sharp corner of the dresser. She felt the poke cut into her flesh and yet she remained silent. When she felt the wet seeping down her back, she knew her skin had torn. Jedidiah walked to her and knelt down, grabbing her chin, and yanking her to look up at him.

     “Now that I think about it, I’m glad you’re here. I’ll make you feel what I felt the last 12 years. I’ll make you know how much it hurts when you can’t do anything about it. By the time I am through with you, you’ll be begging my grandmother to resign. And if you don’t, I’ll make sure you know the feeling of loss.”

     Anna smiled. “I’ve known nothing but loss all my life. It’s nothing new to me. Go ahead and try to break me if you want, but you’ll be trying to break a steel wall.”

     He let out an angry breath and shoved her away from him. Then he stood up and walked out of the room. Once he was gone, she finally winced and allowed the tears to fall down her cheeks. She slowly pushed herself up and reached behind her to touch her wound. When she brought her hand back, sure enough, there was blood on her fingers. She bent down and picked up her notebook. She walked out, closed the door, and walked to her bedroom. She dropped the notebook on the bed and walked to the bathroom where she removed her blouse. Pinning her hair up, she looked in the mirror and saw a small cut with some bruising around the wound. She shook her head and turned the water on. She dipped the cloth in the warm water and tried to reach back, but it was too far for her. She sighed and decided she’d have to get help. She put the same shirt back on and walked out to look for Judy.

     The house was silent as Anna descended down the stairs. She knew that Rose was in the den because that was where she was when Anna had gone to her room. The kitchen was empty and she turned to enter the living room when Jedidiah walked in from the other side. She glared at him and let out an angry breath. She turned and headed back up the stairs when he called out to her.

     “What?” she asked.

     He took her by the shoulders and turned her around. “What did you do?”

     Forgetting her hair was up he’d seen the wound on her back where the blood had seeped through her shirt. She freed herself from his hold and turned around to face him.

     “Nothing you need to know,” she said.

     “If you hurt yourself, don’t think I’m going to pay for your hospital bills.”

     Anna laughed. “Don’t worry, Jedidiah, I’m not going to die that easily. It’s just a little flesh wound.”

     “You’re so careless. First day on the job and already you’re making a mess of yourself. Proves again how careless you really are.”

     Anger shot through her. “You should thank yourself. It was you who pushed me and caused me this wound.”

     He frowned and then thought for a moment. “I did not.”

     “Of course, right to denial, why am I surprised?”

     She turned to go, but he grabbed her arm. “When did I supposedly do this?”

     She jerked her arm free. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I am alive and you haven’t bruised my pride. I’m a lot stronger than that.”

     He sighed. “I…,”

     “Are you trying to apologize? If you are, you suck at it.”

     She turned and found Judy coming in from the garden. “Judy, I need you to come with me for a moment.”