The week after Christmas, Travis let Jake know he had a hunch with Harrison's phone records.

"I see one Tennessee number pop up a handful of times in the months leading up to Riley bein' followed. Asked for a trace and got squat".

"It's a burner phone", Jake guessed.

"It's a burner", Travis confirmed.

"My gut tells me that's all the proof I needed", Jake said in a gruff voice.

"Mine, also, son, but ya know we gotta have evidence".

"Ideas?"

"Not yet".

Travis cleared his throat. Jake braced himself for whatever he was about to say.

"I know ya don't let the little gal outta your sight much, but have ya considered teachin' her some self-defense?"

"We did work on awareness and shootin', but I think it might be time to bump up the trainin'. Glad ya mentioned it, Sheriff".

"Yessir. I'm awfully fond of her, too. We all are. Hate to see somethin' happen".

"Much obliged".

"Talk soon".

Jake hung up feeling slightly lightheaded and a lot nauseous. If Travis felt it was necessary to bring up self-defense, that meant he was really worried. Jake's opinion was that Travis' instincts were as on-point as his own, and that meant Riley was definitely in danger.

...........................................................................

"Baby?", Jake called out as he strode through my front door.

"Bathroom!", I replied.

Jake had been at his cabin. He barely spent any time there anymore.

I opened the bathroom door and watched him shrug his heavy duty Carhartt jacket from his broad shoulders. My stomach gave a little flutter. I wondered if I would ever get over the novelty of having that gorgeous man in my home.

He turned around, saw me, and smiled, extending his massive arms so I could step into them.

More flutters as I rested my cheek against his chest.

How can he possibly like me? How is it even possible that he finds me attractive?

"How ya feelin'?", he asked.

"I'm fine".

"Ya still cold?"

"Well...yes, but it's fine".

He chuckled lightly. "It ain't fine but ya might not be warm again 'till spring. I'll do my best to warm ya up, though".

One of his large hands trailed down my back and gave my bottom a little squeeze. I felt myself blushing furiously.

"Ya blushin'?", he guessed, sounding amused.

I simply sighed and he started laughing.

"Got somethin' to discuss", he said, suddenly serious.

"All right".

I reluctantly released him. He did seem serious, his blue-gray eyes peering down at me underneath a black knit stocking hat.

"I'm real proud of ya for learnin' to shoot, and that makes me feel better, but ya don't always have it on ya. I'd like to show ya some self-defense, too. Are ya up for it?"

I felt a little nagging fear pop up in my belly and pushed it away.

"If you think it's necessary", I replied.

"I'd feel better", Jake repeated.

"All right then".

I wasn't sure exactly what this meant, but I trusted Jake and his judgment. I didn't mind learning from him. He was patient and gave really thorough instructions with dancing and shooting. I imagined this would be the same.

...........................................................................

This is not going well.

Jake was getting discouraged and frustrated with his girl, and he didn't want to feel like that, so he decided they needed a break.

She had sheepishly walked into the kitchen to get some water. He was staring at her narrow back now, contemplating. She surely knew he was frustrated and was probably feeling guilty.

Jake had assumed she would be able to learn this as well as she had the dancing and shooting, but for some reason it was different.

She either couldn't, or wouldn't, hit him, kick him, or anything else. Not even halfheartedly to mock fight. How on earth could he train her how to fight back if she didn't participate?

It made Jake terrified to think about her not doing anything to resist someone grabbing her. Of course that meant his fear came out as frustration. He thought back to when he had grabbed her to get her away from the would-be kidnappers. She had not fought back when she hadn't known it was him.

He ground his teeth together.

How'm I gonna get through to her?

Riley chose that moment to turn around.

"Jake, I'm sorry", she started, sounding abashed.

Jake took a deep breath and focused on smoothing out his face.

"Baby, I ain't mad atcha. It makes me terrified to think of someone nabbin' ya and ya ain't even gonna try an' fight back".

"I don't...I don't want to...hurt you...anyone".

"Sweetheart, if someone's grabbin' ya they's gonna hurt you. If it comes to you or them, it's gotta be them. I gotta know yer gonna fight for yerself if I ain't there to do it for ya".

He watched her bite the inside of her cheek as her peridot eyes scanned his.

"It makes me feel...sick...".

Jake had a thought.

"What made ya stand up to Will? Ya got in his face, right? Yanked yer arm away an' yelled?"

"I did".

She appeared thoughtful as she bit the inside of her cheek again.

"I got angry", she explained. "Really angry".

"Good!"

Jake chuckled as she shook her head.

"Look, I know ya don't wanna feel anger. And I know ya sure as hell ain't an angry person so I ain't gonna try an' turn ya into one...but if that's what it takes then that's whatcha do. Get angry".

"I have no idea how to do that".

"I got an idea", Jake mused.

He walked behind her, wrapped his arms around her small frame, took each of her delicate wrists in his hands, and effectively restrained her with zero resistance on her end.

"Yer gonna stay here till ya actually try to get away", he explained.

She laughed lightly.

"Oh, Jake. That won't work. I enjoy being in your arms".

"Indefinitely? When ya gotta pee? When yer legs get tired? Or ya hungry?"

He pressed, "Baby, I'm a helluva lot stronger and I got more endurance. Ya better try somethin' I taught ya or we're gonna have a long night".

...........................................................................

I stood in Jake's arms trying to problem solve. He was disappointed in me, and frustrated- I knew he was. I read it in his face and heard it in his tone. That wounded me terribly but I simply couldn't hurt him, or even pretend to! I loved him!

His arms tightened around me.

"If I'm a bad guy, I ain't standin' here holding ya", he said in a gruff voice. "I'm takin' ya somewhere".

At that he started walking toward the front door.

"No! Not outside! Jake, seriously!"

It was freezing out there, probably thirty degrees. Not that it didn't get that cold where I came from, but back then I only was in it long enough to get from a warm car to a warm building. Here it seemed to constantly sneak in the cracks of the cabin and permeate my very bones.

I planted my feet, which happened to only be in socks, and resisted. It made no difference whatsoever.

He let go of me with one arm to open the front door with the other.

He's serious!

I squirmed against his single arm and loosened his grip only momentarily. He had the other back around me in a moment.

Jake was strong. There was no way I was getting away.

The cold air came rushing in a gust through the front door and I immediately shivered.

"Jake, do not make me go out there!", I pleaded, squirming as he took a step toward the door.

"Sorry, babe. Try harder", was his blunt reply.

"Nooooo", I whined, struggling futilely against his arms. He stepped through the front door onto the porch. Though it was a covered porch, there was a light dusting of snow on it as there was everywhere else.

I cringed as my socks hit the snow and struggled harder against Jake, hurting my wrists as I tried to yank them free.

"Ain't gonna work, sweetheart", Jake explained as he descended the porch steps with me in his arms. "I'm too strong for ya to break away by squirmin'. Try somethin' we talked about".

I stopped struggling at the bottom of the steps and thought for a moment. The snow was soaking through my socks and my feet were already getting cold. The entirety of my body was already cold. I did not want to be out here. I began to feel moderately panicked.

Jake wouldn't hurt me. I knew that.

I also knew that the cold didn't bother him one bit and I believed he would keep me out here until I did what he said.

Tears of helpless frustration welled up in my eyes. A little gust of wind blew across the driveway and set me off shivering.

I nearly burst into tears, but instead of crying, I focused my frustration into one strong movement. I slammed my body back into his instead of trying to squirm away from him, angling myself as he had said to position my elbow into his diaphragm. I heard a slight woosh of air leave his lungs and he took a half step back. As he did, his grasp loosened the tiniest bit, enough for me to yank one arm free and hit him in the throat.

He started chuckling and tightened his grasp again, grabbing that wrist, pinning my arm back down.

"Good job", he said, "though ya didn't hit me like ya meant it".

"Jake, I'm cold", I complained, shivering. "My feet are wet. Let me go".

"Try. Harder", he said firmly.

I started crying. I couldn't help it. I was so cold and frustrated, I was actually starting to get mad at him.

"You are being unreasonable", I protested.

He sighed but didn't budge.

"Jake, let go!", I insisted, squirming again.

I continued crying and shivering, trying not to do either while trying to remember what else he had told me.

I made a decision.

I lifted both feet off the ground. The unexpected sudden full weight of my body in his arms threw him off balance and he pitched forward, mostly dropping me in the snow. I very quickly, with a moderate amount of force, punched him directly in the testicles, dove underneath his legs, and scrambled away on my knees a couple paces. I got to my feet and ran the few steps to the porch. I didn't turn around until I was inside.

I peeked at him through the screen door to make sure he was all right.

Jake was limping slowly to the house with his hand on his crotch. However, he was grinning.

"Fanfuckintastic, baby", he said.

I didn't reply. I was too traumatized by the whole event. I simply turned around, directly to a hot shower, locking the bathroom door behind me.

...........................................................................

Jake felt bad about pushing Riley as he had, and his balls hurt somethin' fierce, but it had definitely been worth it for him to get her to fight back.

As bad as he was feelin', though, he could bet she felt worse. The way her face looked before she fled to the bathroom pierced his heart. She seemed hurt, betrayed, accusatory.

He closed the front door behind him and slid the crossbar into place. Neither of them would need to head out again today.

He heard the shower running and figured she needed to warm up. Poor thing was awfully affected by the cold. Jake felt another pang of hurt in his chest for forcing her to stand out there in the snow, but he didn't regret it. She needed to learn. She had to be able to do this. Harrison had hired people to kidnap her, at the very least, if not to actually kill her. Jake had to give her all the tools he could to protect herself if the worst happened.

He approached the bathroom door and turned the handle. It didn't turn. It was locked. She never did that.

Jake felt an uncomfortable sad icky feeling creeping up. She was definitely mad and probably hurt. Or perhaps the other way around.

"Baby, you okay?", he called through the door.

No reply.

He felt a little nagging fear which instantaneously caused him to overreact and shout. He gave the door two quick hits with his fist and called out aggressively, "Woman, ya tell me if yer okay or I'm bustin' this door down!"

"I'm fine!", was the reply.

He decided to let her alone. Jake grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and lay on the couch, carefully tucking it around his throbbing balls as he listened to her shower running.

Eventually it stopped and eventually she emerged.

...........................................................................

I attempted to compose myself before exiting the bathroom, which took some time. I was more upset than even I thought I should be, which meant Jake likely wouldn't understand at all.

I took a deep breath and opened the bathroom door. He was laying on the couch across from the bathroom with an ice pack on his privates. I felt a pang of guilt as he silently motioned me over to him.

I started to sit on the coffee table next to him but he looped one large arm around my waist, pulling me to sitting against his torso, arm seatbelted across my lap.

"Ya mad at me?", he guessed.

I avoided his gaze nodding slightly.

"I ain't sorry", he said quietly. "I need ya to get real good an' angry. That's the only way yer gonna fight back".

When I didn't reply, he continued, "I know this stuff upsets ya because of how you was treated growin' up. I know ya don't wanna be like yer ma and Harrison, but you ain't. This is different, kid. This is important. This is yer life we're talkin' bout, not lashin' out 'cause ya don't like how someone dressed".

My eyes snapped to his.

How could I have thought he wouldn't understand. He verbalized exactly what I'm feeling and I couldn't even put it into coherent thoughts in my own head.

I teared up and laid my pitiful self across his chest.

"Oh, Jake. I'm so sorry. I thought you didn't understand...that you couldn't possibly...".

"It's all right, darlin'", he said kindly. "Ain't nothin' to cry over".

"I always underestimate you", I sniffed.

He laughed lightly. "Yeah, babe. Ditto".

"Do we have to keep doing this?", I asked hesitantly.

"Sorry, darlin'. It's important we do".

...........................................................................

New Years Eve passed uneventfully on the couch in front of Riley's fireplace, a whiskey in his hand with her head on his shoulder after an hour or two in the bedroom. It was the best New Years Jake could remember since before Liv died.

The week after New Years, Trey called, but only to report that there was nothing interesting to report. Harrison was currently in Hawaii from what Trey could tell. Jake ground his teeth in frustration but told him he appreciated the contact.

"You get anythin' on the numbers I gave ya?", Trey asked.

"A dead end. A burner phone in Tennessee".

"I'd be goin' back on through and matching names to numbers, see if anyone in there got a history, shit like that", Trey advised.

"Good call, man. I will".

Jake hung up feeling disgruntled with himself. He should have already asked Travis to do that. Either he was losing his edge or his worry about Riley was taking his mind off the game. Either way, it was a problem.

He called Travis immediately to ask him to do what Trey brought up.

"Already been workin' on it", Travis assured him. "Or, rather, Dawn is. I'll letcha know what we figure out".

Thanks, man. I owe ya".

.....................................................................

After a couple weeks of consistent practicing with self-defense, Jake was feeling positive about Riley's knowledge and demonstration. He still had his doubts about her following through in a real-life situation, though, and his doubts were confirmed one evening when he arrived to bring her home from work. Jake was driving her SUV as it had been snowing. He didn't allow her to drive herself anymore. It wasn't necessary when he was always available.

Jake swung into a snow-covered spot in front of Deb's cafe. He could see directly in through the glass door as his boots squelched through the snow, and what he saw put him on edge.

Riley was standing at a table of three men with a handful of soiled plates. He could see her face and the faces of two of the men. She had a crease between her eyebrows, her cheeks were flushed bright pink, and she seemed uncomfortable, shaking her head no. The two men whose faces he could see were laughing, their attention swiveling between Riley and their friend.

As Jake was reaching for the entrance door handle, Riley turned to leave, but the man whose face he couldn't see snagged her back pocket to restrain her.

Nearly blinded by rage, Jake yanked the door open and strode through it. He barely had time to take in Riley's wide eyes before he grabbed a fistful of the man's hair and smashed his face against the table so hard it rocked up off two legs, then dropped down again as he yanked his head back up. Blood was pouring out of his nose and forehead.

"No one touches that ass 'cept me", Jake snarled at him.

The two friends had stood but were simply staring at him, bewildered. He shoved the man toward the door.

"Get him outta here!", he snapped at the friends.

They scuttled off, each snagging an arm on their staggering friend as Deb entered the dining room.

"Jake, what happened?", Deb gasped.

Riley was still standing where she had stopped walking, staring at him, wide-eyed and pale, expression unreadable.

As he peered back into her eyes he began to wonder if he hadn't overreacted.

"Sorry, babe", he muttered to Riley.

"I'll get the blood", he told Deb, then walked to the back to find some cleaning products as the other two customers beelined for the door.

...........................................................................

"Darlin', what on earth happened?", Deb asked after Jake left for the kitchen.

I felt nauseous and lightheaded. Of course I had seen Jake do much worse to Will, but this was different. I was expecting that fight to happen. Right now Jake came out of nowhere and attacked the man before I could even say anything to him about grabbing me.

"That man was asking me out, trying to get my phone number. I kept saying no and that I had a boyfriend, but he wouldn't stop. When I turned to leave, he grabbed my back pocket, and Jake smashed his head into the table. I didn't even know Jake was here!"

I looked at the blood on the table and the trail of drips heading to the door, and the lightheaded feeling increased.

"He probably saw it happening as he walked in", she said, taking me by the elbow and steering me toward the kitchen as Jake re-emerged.

He barely made eye contact. I quickly cleaned up the kitchen, bundled up, then walked into the dining area to find Jake. Deb was sweeping but Jake wasn't there.

"He's in the vehicle", Deb replied to my unanswered question.

I could see the lights on my new Terrain outside the door. I quickly patted Eddie on the head (he hadn't moved from his dog bed during all the commotion) and braced myself for the mood Jake would probably be in.

As I approached the passenger door, Jake leaned over and popped it open for me. I climbed in, buckling my seatbelt as he shifted into reverse. As he began driving toward home, he dropped one of his massive hands on my knee. Typically I felt protected when he did that. Currently I felt...like it was a possessive gesture rather than protective. His comment had also seemed that way. In addition, it had been almost crude in nature. Jake didn't feel like Jake to me. Everything felt off. I felt tears well up in my eyes and blinked them back.

We didn't speak the whole way home.

...........................................................................

Jake was pretty certain he'd scared Riley. He felt badly about that but he didn't know how to proceed, especially when he couldn't tell her why his nerves were on edge. The explanation for why he reacted the way he had was because he was scared someone was going to take her from him- the only thing that mattered to him, the person who had brought him back from the ruins of a shattered soul. He couldn't tell her that her ex was plotting to have her kidnapped or worse. So, he had to allow her to think he was violent and unstable. It was the lesser of the evils and not that far off of reality anyway.

It still stung to have her sit silent and rigid next to him the whole way home.

"Can I make you a chicken sandwich and some squash?", she asked politely as she removed her jacket.

"Hold up", he said, taking the back of her jacket and helping her out of it.

She turned to face him.

"Kid, I'm real sorry I scared ya", he began. "I ain't mad atcha but this is the shit I'm talkin' 'bout why we gotta work on self-defense. Yer too damn polite. Ya didn't do a damn thing about him puttin' his hands on ya!"

He watched her face change from ivory to scarlet.

"That is not fair", she said quietly. "You didn't give me a chance to respond. I did not know you were even in the building. Suddenly you appeared out of nowhere and...attacked him. I didn't have any time".

She sounded mildly insulted...which made him defensive.

"What about all the time ya had before I got there?", he snapped. "What was he sayin' to ya then? Why didn'tcha do somethin' 'bout it then?"

"He was asking me out. I told him I had a boyfriend. I told him no. He wanted my number. I told him no. He asked if I was happy with you and I said yes. He asked if you satisfied me and I told him that was none of his business. I was standing up for myself. I was walking away".

Jake felt his pulse increase hearing how those low-lifes had talked to her.

"Liv would have smacked him across the face for sayin' shit like that", he muttered, "not walked away".

He regretted it as soon as it left his mouth.

Riley teared up and replied in a shaking voice, "I'm sure she would have. I'm sorry I'm such a disappointing replacement".

"Woah, Riley, that's not-".

She ducked around him, scooting off to the bathroom, assumedly to cry.

Fuck.

...........................................................................

My fears were confirmed. I didn't measure up to Liv. I knew I didn't but Jake actually came right out and said it. I thought my heart would break right then and there, it hurt so badly. I was an empty-headed idiot to think that he might ever be able to love me. At best, I was a companion helping him to get rid of his loneliness.

Ugh, I was so pathetic I made myself sick!

After a few minutes of suppressed sobbing there was a light tap at the bathroom door.

"Babe, open the door", Jake's deep voice commanded from the other side.

"Go away", I replied.

"Riley!", he said, sounding shocked. "Ya know I ain't doin' that. I shouldn'ta said what I did. I'm sorry".

I blew my nose. I didn't know how to respond.

He opened the door and walked in. He seemed genuinely concerned as he squatted next to me seated on the toilet lid.

"I'm an asshole", he said. "Ya know that".

I shook my head no.

"Yeah, ya do", he said gently. "I lose my temper and I do an' say stupid shit. I told ya I was gonna protect ya and I told ya I wasn't gonna let no one put their hands on ya ever again, and there it happened right in front of me".

"He didn't touch me", I corrected him. "Only my pocket".

Jake snorted and gave me a little knee-jerk half-smile. "Yeah, okay, kid. That was enough. Imagine if he had touched yer body".

I internally shuddered to consider it.

"I ain't disappointed in ya", he added. "You make me very happy and I don't wantcha to be someone ya ain't. I just wantcha to be safe. That's all".

I nodded though I didn't fully believe him. I knew I'd never measure up to Liv.

He wrapped his arms around me and I laid my head onto his sturdy shoulder.

...........................................................................

* Rocky waters for Riley and Jake. Please vote and keep reading! I appreciate you all! *