Free Me (A Love & Found Prequel)
Copyright © 2022 by Corilyn Holloway
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
The death toll is rising in Vietnam even as the Beatles introduce Sargent Pepper to the US, but global troubles are a world away when one shady character meets one innocent hitchhiker who will derail all his plans…
Julie Broadmore is a young woman with her mother’s spirit of adventure and she’s ready to go out and explore the world. Her parents have always wanted to keep their youngest child protected, but that only makes her drive to get out even stronger… so strong she’ll even stick out her thumb to get going.
Jay Fitzroy knows better than to let anything sideline him when he’s off to do a job. The people he works for are too dangerous to cross, so he knows he has to keep their schedule or else… but one sweet young face is about to change everything.
One chance encounter for two very different people marks the crossroads for a place where love can always be found.
June – 1967
She was hitchhiking. Jay Fitzroy tightened his hands on the steering wheel as he studied the woman on the shoulder of the highway. She wasn’t another one of those girls thumbing their way to San Francisco for the Summer of Love. No, the thumb sticking out to passers-by didn’t belong to a flower-child.
The waves of blonde hair were clean and fashionably cut. She had on a very chic green colored dress with wide pleats that showed red underneath. The hem barely reached mid-thigh and as his eyes took her all in he couldn’t help but appreciate how long and lean those legs were. When he slowed down she flashed him a huge smile and picked up an expensive-looking leather bag to hurry forward on red patent pumps.
Yeah she was no ordinary hitchhiker.
And he had seen his share. He’d even picked a few of them up along the way. Only the prettiest variety of course. And she was certainly that. But even so, she was way out of his league. So, so far out of his league, he should have just kept on going. Just passed her by without a second thought.
Especially since he was in a hurry. The people he worked for wouldn’t stand for delay. And it wasn’t just a matter of payment. These kinds of people didn’t take kindly to getting screwed over which meant he didn’t have time to get off track.
And yet there he was, foot easing off the gas as he pulled close to the shoulder. He told himself there was only one reason to stop. The girl needed protection from the not-so-nice men who might happen to pick her up on the road. The ones who would ply her with drugs and booze and turn her into something she certainly wasn’t.
“You want get on in, sha,” he told her through the open window as he reached across to unlock the doors. She gave him a quizzical smile and he figured she’d never heard a Cajun accent like his.
“Oh, well… where are you going?” Her query wasn’t suspicious, but more as one might ask about the weather.
“Das a good question. Where you wanna go?” One corner of his mouth up ticked in a half-smile.
She grinned back, and he knew immediately he was making a mistake.
She tossed her fine case onto the floor and hopped into the van. “I’m Julie.” She extended her hand. “I don’t know where I want to go. That’s why I asked.”
“Name’s Jay.” He pulled back onto the highway, then took her offered hand and shook it. He’d never felt hands that soft, that delicate in his life.
What in da good Lord’s name you doin’ on the road? he asked himself. After a moment, he turned to her and blurted the question aloud.
Julie side-eyed him, and he felt a bit mesmerized by her dark gaze. “I just want to get away. Out on my own. See the world.”
She seemed to think that would be explanation enough.
I shrugged, but said, “From what, sha? What you gettin’ away from?”
Shaking her head, she peered out the window. “I talk too much.”
Jay laughed. “Ain’t no gettin’ away from dat.”
“That wasn’t an answer. That was a statement. I talk too much. It’s probably more of a vice than a habit.”
He nodded. “Naïve a bit, if you ask me.”
She flashed an affronted glare. “You don’t even know me.”
“Yeah, dat’s true. And you don’t know me, sha. Yet you still be gettin’ in dis big blue van with me. Don’t read da news much?”
She snorted, a sound he figured most of her family and friends would find horrifying. “I’ll be fine. I know how to protect myself.”
“What’s dat last name, Julie?”
“Broadmore,” she answered without thinking, “So where are we going to go?”
“Right’ere,” he answered as he pulled into a truck stop. “Dis belly ain’t had a bit to eat all day. I’s starvin’.”
She was, too, he assumed by the light that came into her eyes at the mention of food. He was lying, of course, about being hungry. He’d just eaten lunch not an hour ago. When she was seated at a table, he told her what to order, then he headed toward the bathrooms.
He slipped out of the back door of the truck stop and found a pay phone. Unfortunately, the phone book had long since been torn off its holder, so he had to call information instead. He got three listings for Broadmores in the general area and scribbled each number down on what was left of the phone book cover. One by one he called each one, asking for Julie. Someone at the second told him she wasn’t in.
Jackpot. His last call was to information again for the address to go along with that number.
He thought Julie would notice how long he’d gone, but she was busy eating a chicken fried steak that should have been entirely too big for her to manage. As it was, she was about a third of the way finished by the time he even started chowing down on his own.
“What does that word mean?” she asked just before bringing her fork back to her mouth.
“What word dat be, sha?”
“That one. Sha. What’s that mean?”
He laughed as he sopped up gravy with his toast. “You ain’t met no Cajun before eh?”
“Oh, is that your accent? I’ve never been to Louisiana. My parents had a second honeymoon in New Orleans when I was fifteen or so. Mom didn’t care much for it as I remember.”
Raising an eyebrow he studied her while he chewed. Did she look like her mother? Or was her father responsible for those piercing dark eyes and that ready smile? She was way too pretty by far to be sitting in a greasy truck stop with the likes of him.
“What kind of work your Daddy do, sha?”
He still hadn’t told her what that word meant, but she didn’t seem to mind, just took a drink of her tea and smiled, “Mom would be so offended by the way you asked that. As if she didn’t do work. They’re both in insurance.”
“Wow, das different. She work for your Daddy?”
Her burst of laughter made him want to laugh too. He just smiled wider.
“Mom would say she let him work for her. It was her business first. Or more correctly my granddad’s. Mom is headstrong.”
“Dat makes sense. You get dat from her, then?”
She bristled a little, then shrugged, “Funny, it’s a trait she doesn’t appreciate much from me. Says it will only lead to trouble.”
She’s right at dat, sha, I thought but didn’t say it.
It was after dark when they left the restaurant and Julie didn’t even notice later when he headed back the way they’d come. When she yawned, he reached behind him for a pillow and handed it over to her so she could doze against the window.
About twenty miles later Jay found the address. Julie woke the moment he pulled into the driveway. She gave the place a long look-over, then shot him an accusing frown. Jay felt like he had stabbed her in the back when tears welled in her eyes.
“Why?”
“Your momma is right, sha. You gonna get into trouble I think. It’s dangerous on da streets…”
“Maybe I’m dangerous too.” Finally, she reached for her satchel and began digging around. “I’ll pay you to take me away from here. I have money…”
“I don’t need dat. Get on back in your house, sha. Da street ain’t no place for a girl like you.”
About that time, a couple came out of the house. They looked nothing like Julie, but it was clear they knew her. Their eyes widened in shock, and they approached warily.
“Julie, what’s going on? Who is this?”
“This is Kayla’s friend, Jay. He’s in town for the night, and he needs a place to stay. Kayla’s out of town remember,” she responded quickly, her tone indifferent now, her back straight and stiff.
She certainly thought up that tale quick enough, Jay mused as the husband and wife gave each other worried glances. The couple didn’t look happy with her announcement about him staying the night.
“Jay, this is my Aunt Jill and Uncle Armand.” She plastered a forced smile on her face to him, her eyes begging not to be given her away.
“Nice to meet y’all.” He nodded, wondering where her parents were.
“I’m not sure we can…” the aunt stuttered.
“Dat’s all right. I don’t need nothin’. I just park here for da night, if dat’s okay. I be gone in the day morning.”
The woman smiled nervously, and her husband nodded.
They all went inside, and Jay watched, a bit amused, as they coerced Julie into another room, clearly eager to question her. He grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter in the kitchen, then strolled out to look at the place.
He hadn’t been wrong about her; she was rich, all right. The house was three stories tall, and he knew there was plenty of room for him to stay, but the couple didn’t think he was good enough to be in their home overnight. They thought he might steal the silver or something.
And they were right to be worried about that. He was nothing but a two-bit criminal. Except thieving wasn’t his line of work necessarily so at least there was that. No, he was more into the arson racket, and that might have been worse in some eyes.
If he was here he decided he might as well enjoy taking a look at things, and a while later Julie found him out on the landing near a small lake behind the home. She tucked the back hem of her dress down as she plopped down beside him and smiled.
“I’m sorry about them.” She sighed and shook her head. “They don’t mean to be that way… they just don’t know any other way to be. They’re snobs even by my parents’ standards.”
“What you doing livin’ with dem and not your momma and daddy?”
“My parents are overseas for work and won’t be back for a few months. They consider me to be willful.” She laughed as she stressed the word, but there wasn’t a lot of humor in the sound. “I wanted to stay home. In Tyler you know. I have a sister there, but they know I can wrap Joanie around my little finger. They thought I needed a stronger hand so here I am. With my dad’s brother.”
“How old you be, sha?”
“Nineteen.”
He cocked his head, an incredulous expression. “Don’t you be lyin’ to Jay, girl. How old?”
“Really. I’m nineteen,” she answered again. “I’m an adult, Jay. I want to go out and see things, do things, find myself. I can’t do that here with Uncle Armand. I love them, and all, but I’m leaving. With you or without you, I’m leaving either way.”
He studied her a moment, waiting for her to continue. Instead, she stared out at the water in silence.
Before long, a call came from the house, and Julie stood quickly, dutifully. “Where will you go? I could sneak you up to my room.”
“Dat be a good way to get ol’ Jay shot for sure,” he chuckled.
“Oh, Uncle Armand isn’t a very good shot. I’m much better, you know. My parents made sure I could use a gun.”
He wrinkled his brow as he considered that. How had her parents managed to keep her so isolated and innocent, yet taught her to use a firearm?
“Good nigh’, sha.”
The next morning, Julie woke up early. It was chilly outside, especially with the cold February wind blowing in her face. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, and she smiled. She loved this time of day.
The van was still parked in the driveway and she was a little surprised by that. Part of her expected Jay to drive off in the night and leave her. She’d stayed up well into the morning listening for the sound of his engine.
Now she peeked inside one of the back windows. Jay was sleeping on a cushion, surrounded by blankets. His brown hair was long, almost to his shoulders, and she thought the look suited him. The feathery locks were curled around his ears, and she wanted to reach out and touch them. Her dad would complain he looked like a hippie.
Fear gnawed at her insides. Jay was right about her. She didn’t know what she was doing. She didn’t even know how to drive. At sixteen her dad had tried to teach her, but she was too easily distracted. The first time she bumped into another car, she swore off trying to learn again. Until her sister, Joanie had gotten married last year she hadn’t needed wheels. But then things changed and she was the baby of the family alone at home with two parents who loved her but wanted to keep her their “little girl” for as long as they could.
A knot formed in her throat as her eyes filled with tears.
Shaking, she raised a hand and knocked on the door. Jay stretched, opened his eyes, then peered out at her. He must have registered the fearful look she must had on her face because without saying a word, he patted the spot beside him to indicate she could jump in.
Julie pulled open the door, kicked off her shoes, then crawled up next to him. She had no idea what to say or do, but she was glad when he grabbed an extra blanket and rolled it over her legs. When he put an arm around her and drew her towards him, she snuggled in close and gripped his T-shirt in a fisted hand.
“I dreamed about you,” she blurted.
He chuckled, “Dat right, sha?”
“Yes,” she nodded, bumping his chin. “I dreamed you took me away from here.”
Jay drew back and looked down at her. Julie licked her lips, uncertainty in her expression. When his head dipped down and his lips touched hers, she melted into him.
She’d never been kissed before. Jay could tell that instantly. He didn’t think there were really any women that innocent in the world until that moment. He liked how she sighed against his mouth and even though he wanted to kiss her deeper he didn’t. Just pulled back and used his palm to brush her blonde hair back from her face.
The expression she wore when they came apart told him she would probably dream about that kiss. She opened her eyes and stared at him a moment, then smiled. “That was beautiful.”
So simple, so lovely. Jay grunted in satisfaction, then drew her to him. Somehow, he enjoyed holding her close almost as much as the kiss itself. They said nothing, just laid there in silence.
Finally, he wormed his arm out from under her and glanced at the watch on his wrist. He had a long way to go and needed to get on the road if he was going to make it to Kansas City to get things ready for the job he was supposed to pull tonight.
“I gots to get goin’, sha. I got a job to do and I gots to be a long way from here by this afternoon.”
“You’re leaving?”
“I gots to.”
She sat there a moment, serene, though in her eyes he could see she wanted to crumple again. “I still want to go with you.”
His mind said no. Absolutely no. His life, the life of a criminal was not for someone as sweet and untouched as she was. Even if he could protect her from the work he did, the people he worked for were dangerous. A constant cat-and-mouse game between sides kept him square in the middle. And a girl, a girl like her, would make him lose his wits. And it could make him lose more than that if he wasn’t careful.
“Go get your things, sha.”
“You won’t leave me?”
He touched her cheek with one finger, marveling at how soft her skin felt, “I ain’t gone leave you, Julie. I should, but I ain’t.”
He was crazy and he knew it. This girl was not the kind of girl you just picked up and ran off with. She was a good girl. She was the marrying kind of girl.
I could marry her, he thought. Could she make an honest man of him if he did that? It wouldn’t be easy to walk away from a life of mobsters and union bosses and the criminal underworld. But maybe with Julie, he could manage that. She had the kind of idealized vision of life that almost made a man like him believe that was possible.
She was gone a long while. He tried to tell himself that she must have an awful lot to pack, but somewhere in his mind he knew she wouldn’t be taking much of her old life with her. Just a single leather suitcase.
Finally, he got out of the van and marched into the house. He could hear her uncle screaming even before he got to the door.
“You father will kill me if I let you leave with some man from the streets. Your mother would do worse than that.”
“You’re hurting me, Uncle Armand.”
When Jay heard her pained exclamation, he bounded into the kitchen. He found the big man squeezing Julie’s arm, trying to keep her in the house. He curled his fingers over Broadmore’s wrist even as he pierced the man with a deadly glare. “Let. Her. Go.”
He complied, but then turned his anger on Jay. “She is my niece and…”
“She’s done nineteen years old and old enough to make her choices. She’s coming with me.”
“You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” the man told him. “Her parents will find you. Find you both. And if you hurt her… heaven help you.”
She slipped her hand in his and pulled him to the door. “I’m sorry, Uncle Armand. I love you, Aunt Jill, and I’m sorry. Tell Mom and Dad I’ll call them.”
Once outside he opened the van door for her and she smiled at him as she hopped up inside. When he got into the driver’s seat Jay sat a moment, letting his breathing calm. This was the craziest thing he’d ever done. For a minute he thought about going back around to the passenger side and pulling her out of the vehicle so he could drive away without her.
Then before he could think to stop himself, he reached over, slipped his hand behind Julie’s neck, and pulled her to him so that he could devour her lips with an intense kiss. “Darlin’… sweetheart…” he whispered softly.
“What?”
“Das what it means when I say sha…”
“Oh… I like that,” she murmured on a sigh.
“Dis a big mistake, sha. You should go back in dat house and forget me.”
Shaking her head, “Where will we go?”
Her eyes were wide with excitement. It amazed him that she could put the confrontation with her uncle out of her mind so quickly, but she was so ready for an adventure.
“First, I gots to do a job in Kansas City. Then we gonna talk about us. About what future dis ol’ guy can give a girl like you.”
“I’m ready. I can’t wait.”
He believed her. And for that moment at least, he thought they could make a real, honest go of it. The world was stacked against him, but this girl made him believe in better things.
Twists and turns of life will bring the heart of this story to the shores of a place called Simoneaux Bayou. There the warm sands and wild waves of the Gulf Coast can carry the soul to a place where love can always be found…
