Page 30 of Jasper

Unless you’d gone through it, you couldn’t understand it. Not really. You could sympathize, but you were always thinking…How did she let that happen to her? She’s a bright, intelligent young woman. How could she not see what he was doing to her until it was too late?

None of that mattered. All it took was one moment of vulnerability for the devil to slip through the cracks and embed himself into your psyche. To sow the seeds that would allow him to strip you down and make you susceptible to his terror.

Brad came into her life right before her mother died. He used the vulnerability, the grief, and the pain she was suffering from to beat her down and revolve her world around his. He never physically hit her, but he didn’t have to. He waged psychological warfare instead. Once she got away from him, she saw it clearly.

And she countered herself as lucky.

After months of therapy.

She was able to go on with her life and realize she was worthwhile, that she could be more than the broken person she’d been.

Most days, anyway.

She was still working on some things, like gathering up the courage to go to New York and try her hand at the big leagues.

Shaking her head, she stopped at the barn and said hello to the horses. They had always been her favorite animals on the farm. Not only could you ride them, but they were as affectionate as a dog or a cat. They remembered you. These didn’t because they weren’t the same ones that had been here the last time she was. Still, they nickered softly when she came in and spoke to them.

Jarrod still kept sugar cubes for them in the old cabinet at the end of the stalls, and she fed them each one, earning her a little bit of trust and friendship. She loved animals. They were more loyal than most humans. She considered getting a dog once, but her landlord forbade animals. He never really inspected the apartment, so Sloane was tempted to get a puppy anyway. The only thing that stopped her was the thought he’d hear the puppy barking while she was at work and then toss her out on her ass. She couldn’t afford to lose her apartment. Rent in Miami wasn’t cheap.

She heard a vehicle, and her muscles tensed. She peeked out the barn doors and relaxed. Jasper was getting out of the truck. No one had found her. She was still safe.

“I’ll see you guys later when I help Jasper feed everyone.” She stroked the dark horse’s forehead. “Maybe I’ll even throw in another sugar cube if you bite Jasper’s fingers.”

She laughed softly to herself and started walking back to the house. He was a bossy man who had an inflated image of himself. Thankfully, she also understood that while he was an alpha male, he wasn’t a thing like her ex. Jarrod assured her of that. Even if she didn’t trust Jasper, she trusted her cousin.

“Hey,” she called as she got closer, her hand clutched around her camera.

Jasper looked up, and the biggest smile she’d ever seen spread across his face. He seemed genuinely happy to see her. It had been a while since any man looked at her like that. Then again, she’d sworn off dating after the Brad fiasco.

“Hey, pretty girl, what’ve you been up to?” He dropped whatever he’d been unloading back into the bed of the truck.

Sloane held up her camera. “Taking pictures.”

His smile softened. “You’re going to have to show me some of your work.”

She nodded, her fingers tightening around her camera.

Jasper cleared his throat. “About last night, I wanted to apologize. I normally don’t walk into women’s bedrooms unannounced. I was in a hurry, and your door was ajar, so I assumed…”

“You know what they say about people who assume things.” Some of her own embarrassment fled in the wake of his apology.

“I’m definitely an ass,” he agreed, “but one who tries not to make the same mistake twice. From now on, even if the door is slightly ajar, I’ll knock.”

“That would be appreciated, and apology accepted. Need help unloading whatever you brought back?”

“About that…”

Sloane frowned at his wary tone. What was he up to?

“I had a long conversation with Jarrod last night, and he told me about your situation.”

Jasper just put it out there. He’d debated about revealing he knew the truth, especially since she didn’t seem inclined to tell him. In the end, he’d decided to go for broke. He’d be better able to protect her if there were no secrets between them.

Her face closed off faster than a room clearing from an epic bout of ass farting. He suspected she’d react like this, but he’d deal with her anger.

“I get you didn’t want to tell me because you don’t know me, which means you don’t trust me, but Jarrod does. He asked me to protect you, and I’m going to do that, with or without your help. He’s saved my life more than once, and when he asked this of me, I wasn’t about to tell him no just to save your feelings.”

He probably could have said it with a little more tact, but he wasn’t in a good mood. He’d had blue balls most of the night, thanks to seeing her nearly naked. Sleep had escaped him, and even coffee couldn’t make up for his surly mood.

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