From Here to Hidden

CHAPTER 31 - BETH

"Well, it sounds like you weren't with the right man, then. I'm sorry that happened to you and your little girl. Real men don't leave their wives. Especially for another woman. You're too beautiful and too kind to be by yourself. You deserve much better."

With that, they pulled up in front of an Assisted Living Facility, Twin Pines, and Jason put the car in park. "Give me just a few minutes, okay? I need to make sure that she gets to her room."

He jumped out of the truck and went around to the passenger side door and opened it for his mom. She swung her legs around to climb out. She turned and reached her hand out to place it on Beth's. "I mean what I said, honey. Even if it's not my Jason, you and your daughter deserve to be with someone who treats you the way you should be treated. Don't ever forget who you are, sugar." She slid out of the passenger seat in one swift motion, Jason wrapping his arm around her waist to make sure she didn't fall.

Beth watched as they walked to the door together. She could tell Doris was still talking, maybe even lecturing, Jason on the way to the door. As they got to the front, a middle-aged man wearing aqua scrubs opened the front door for them. Jason leaned down to give his mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek before she turned back once more and waved at Beth. Beth smiled and waved back. She found herself wondering what Doris had been like when Jason was growing up, or even before. She seemed like she'd have been hell on wheels and a force to be reckoned with when she was growing up. She hoped that she'd get the chance to find out.

Jason approached her door and pulled it open. "You gonna make me drive you around like a chauffeur or do you want to come sit in the front seat?" She laughed and swung her legs toward the open door, holding the length of her dress in her hand. As she placed a foot on the step bar of the truck, her foot slipped and she tumbled out. Jason, obviously recognizing her clumsiness before it ever went into play, caught her in one swift motion. His strong arms wrapping around her waist without ever faltering.

"You okay?" He asked, holding onto her as she tried to gain her footing.

Standing up, feet on solid ground again, she found her open hands pressed against his chest for balance. The top button of his shirt was still gaping open and his partially bare chest was firm beneath her palms. She felt her knees begin to wobble. But, this time had nothing to do with his clumsiness. She tilted her head up to look at him, breathless in his arms as the breeze blew and whipped her dressed around her legs. His heart was pounding beneath her hand and she could feel his breathing grow unsteady. She wasn't sure how long she stood there looking up at him before she finally broke the silence between them.

"Yes, yes. I'm fine. Thank you." She cleared her throat and slowly removed her hand from his chest. "I'm really clumsy, in case you didn't know. This isn't the first time I've shown you just how uncoordinated I am." She laughed, attempting to mask her humiliation and embarrassment.

"That's okay. It's not every day a beautiful woman just falls into my arms, you know." He smiled awkwardly as he opened the passenger side door. He kept a hand on her waist as she climbed up into the seat and got herself situated. When she was buckled up settled, he closed her door and the backseat door she'd fallen out of before jogging around to the driver's side of the truck and climbing in himself.

Beth brushed her hair out of her face and turned to look out the window before looking back at him. He cupped his hands around his mouth and blew hot air into his hands, attempting to warm them back up. She hesitated briefly before reaching over and taking his right hand in hers. His fingers were like ice. "Geez, Jason. Your fingers are freezing." She wrapped his hand between both of hers and rubbed them back and forth, attempting to stimulate blood flow back to his hands.

Jason watched her intently. His hands never moving and his eyes never leaving her face. She felt him watching her, but she didn't care. She thought about what Stacey had said earlier and wondered why he'd never dated anyone else. Why, for three years, he'd remained alone. Surely the man knew he was attractive. And, from what she'd knew and from what everyone had told her, he had a good heart and a kind soul. He cared about people and seemed to put everyone, especially his children, above himself. She was sure that he had flaws; everyone did. But, she couldn't fathom a flaw big enough to cause her—or anyone else—to run away.