Arms of a Cowboy

Finally she had gotten out of it for she was one of the lucky ones. The beatings had gotten so bad that she thought she would die. Every time he grabbed her it got worse but each time he would say that he was sorry and how it wouldn't happen again but he always lied.
As she tied her hair back, preparing for her morning run on the first day of her new life, Dani wondered what had taken her so long to leave Michael. Did she think he would be better for her? Did she think she could change him? How exactly would that have worked? Stretching her back, she moaned as a small snap sound caught her attention and relieved pleasure flowed through her. With a small smile, she took off dragging down Main Street.
All the time she was with Michael, she had thought he was truthful when he had said how much he loved her. Sometimes, Dani had wanted to leave but convinced herself that without her he would die. She convinced herself that him hurting her was his way of loving her and that was logic in her mind until the last beating left her in a coma for two weeks. While she was under, her best friend literally had to stand guard over her bed with a shot gun hidden in her purse to keep Michael from turning off life support.
There's love for you, she had thought when Jenna had told her what Michael wanted.
It had dawned on Dani that night after she woke up from her coma that Michael didn't want her. All Michael wanted was what was in her bank account and her business. The coma, to Dani, had been a blessing for if it hadn’t been for it, Dani would still be spending sleepless nights beside Michael, and cleaning her wounds even before the first sunlight shone through the windows of her home.
As she jogged she wondered where she would end up if she turned off onto another road, but she did not know Cougar Bay that well to make any detours. That caused her to decide against turning and when she was winded, she was in the centre of the small town with voices buzzing around her.
For a Saturday morning, the town square was extremely busy. Everything was on the business end of Main Street. A convenient store, a bar, a hardware store, a diner that everyone seemed to be flocking to. Rolling her eyes she rested her hands on her hips and paced in place to calm down her racing heart before she started back home. She was turning around when she saw him.
Tilting her head to one side, she watched him, took him in. He was beautiful with black hair that barely grazed his shoulders; dancing lightly in the wind in large curls. His blue jeans were clean but clung to his lean, muscular legs and worn out at the knees. Dani bit down on her lower lip as her eyes moved up his legs, over his groin area, his belt buckle his stomach then up to broad shoulders. Lifting her eyes slowly, it passed his sensual lips that had a smirk on them and upward...When her eyes finally met his, she blushed, turned and took off back towards her home.
“What in the hell were you thinking?” she snapped angrily at herself as she all be sped back to her house. When she was far enough from the centre of town, she stopped to lean heavily against a tree to pant for air and to try and stopped the tears that threatened to fall down her face. When she was younger, before Michael, she could have admired a man without reservation, now she was a bloody mess.
Rubbing a hand over her sweaty face, she pushed from the tree and walked the rest of the way home to find a red sports car parked in the driveway. With a smile on her face she shrieked happily and tore into the house. “Jenna!” she screamed and flew into her best friend’s arms.
“Eeew you’re all sweaty!” Jenna laughed but returned the hug.
“I’m so happy you’re here!” Dina admitted. “I’m a mess. I don’t know if I can do this.” Dina walked around the island in the centre of the elegant kitchen that she rarely used since she moved there and yanked the fridge open. She pulled out two bottles of water and handed one to her friend.
“Thanks. Now explain,” Jenna wrung her bottle cover off and sipped from the bottle.
“I saw this rather fine looking Japanese cowboy just now on my run, and I froze and took off like a naive little virgin,” Dani frowned. “Can you believe that?”
“Well that’s normal, sweetie. I mean you have been hurt really bad by Michael.”
With a sigh, Dani leant heavily against the counter, “but to freak out when a man just looks at me? The logical thing to do was to go and say hello, shake his hand before leaving for home. But no! I stood there, undressed him with my eyes then when got caught I ran. How am I going to show my face in town again?”
“Calm down, Dani. You’re over-reacting.”
Dani slammed her open palm against the island and winced in pain before growling, “damn it Jenna! Don’t tell me that I’m overacting. Is it normal for a woman to see a man that she turns her on and run away? You’re the shrink, tell me something that’ll justify that behaviour!”
Dani hopped from her chair and began pacing. She was terrified and a walking mess and she knew it. As sweat dripped down her forehead she stopped and faced Jenna with her eyes welling up, “Jenna what have I done to myself? Why did I stick around until he broke me so bad?”
That was when Jenna hugged Dani and Dani welcomed the comfort of her best friend’s arms. She buried her face against Jenna’s neck as Jenna rubbed her back. “Shh it’s not you love. You just need time, that’s all.”
Together they stood in the middle of the kitchen with Dani wallowing in her best friend’s comfort.
“A Japanese cowboy eh?” Jenna questioned and Dani found the strength to smile.