She looked up at him and her lips trembled as she gulped, “Th-thank you, Jace. He was going to… I don’t know if I could have fought him much longer. It was terrible.” She shuddered and folded her arms across her chest, holding herself tightly and rocking back and forth.
“God, Katherine, I can’t even imagine how horrifying it was for you. When I went through that door and saw—”
“What were you doing there?” it suddenly occurred to her to ask.
He didn’t meet her eyes as he answered in a mutter, “I… uh… ever since I met that… him at the dance, I’ve felt like something wasn’t right. Intuition. The way he looked at you bothered me. I’ve been keeping my eye on him. When the building got dark and everyone left but the two of you, I got suspicious. I tried the door and found it locked. That’s when you screamed.”
“Thank you,” she whispered and shyly reached for his hand. He grasped her small one in his and stared deeply into her eyes as his thumb traced a hypnotizing circle in her palm. The combination of his caress and his penetrating stare made Katherine uncomfortably warm and she forced herself to pull her hand from his. He released it immediately.
“I would like to take a bath,” Katherine said.
“All right. You do that while I make some telephone calls.” He went out and shut the door behind him.
The warm water stung the fresh scratches, but she felt cleansed of Ronald’s smell and touch by the time she left the bathroom. She put on a cotton nightgown and climbed into the bed beside the crib.
“Coming through,” Jace called before he eased into the room backward, using his bottom to open the door. He was carrying a tray with both hands. “Room service,” he said cheerfully. Katherine laughed to see a tea towel tucked into the waistband of his jeans. He gingerly placed the tray on her lap and stood up, proudly inspecting his labors.
“I thought you might like some tea and toast. If you want an omelet or anything else, I’ll fix it for you. I didn’t think you’d want a heavy meal.”
“This is perfect,” she said taking a sip of the scalding tea.
Casually and without any hesitation, he sat down on the end of the bed and leaned back over her feet, supporting himself on his elbows.
“For your information, Mr. Ronald Welsh is no longer employed at Van Buren College. I called the president, interrupted a barbecue supper at his house, and told him the whole story. I threatened newspaper headlines and petitions against sexual harassment on the job if he didn’t cooperate. He was easily convinced.” He smiled at Katherine, but there was no humor lighting the blue eyes.
“Mr. Welsh?” she asked timidly, remembering his crumpled body on the office floor.
“I called an ambulance for him,” Jace said grudgingly.
Katherine nodded absently. “He has a family. I wonder what will happen to them when he loses his job,” she mused.
“They’ll be taken care of along with the hospital bill.”
Katherine looked at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”
He picked up one of Allison’s stuffed animals and studied its ears. “Never mind,” he answered vaguely, then said quickly, “Someone from the college will bring your car home.”
Before Katherine could question him any further, they heard Happy’s cheerful call as she came through the front door in the living room. “Katherine, Jace, are you in here? Allison and I had an errand to run and I…” Her voice trailed off as her huge bulk filled the doorway.
Jace made no attempt to get up off the bed, and Happy’s eyes opened in shock when she saw the two of them on the small bed and Katherine tucked in for the night.
“What—”
Jace didn’t let her finish but stood up and relieved her of Allison.
“Katherine’s tummy got a little upset at work. She called and asked me to come drive her home. I insisted that she get right into bed and get a good night’s sleep.”
He lied so glibly, Katherine thought.
“Oh, my dear, are you feeling all right? Maybe we should call a doctor,” suggested Happy, and Katherine reacted instantly.
“No. No, I’m fine. I think I ate something at lunch that didn’t agree with me.”
“Jace is right. You stay right in that bed and don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take Allison back to my house for the night.”
“No, Happy. I want her here with me,” Katherine said. Some
how Allison’s small body provided a sense of security and stability to her shattered nerves.