Learning to Breathe Again Read Online Free PDF Page A

to
concentrate on his eyes and his words, but he was touching her. The panic
was rising up inside and overtaking her. It didn’t matter that he
was only trying to help. She was cornered, trapped. She couldn’t
run away this time. Her breaths were short and choppy and her chest
was tight. She could feel the blood pounding in her
head.
    “ Can’t…breathe…” she wheezed
out, her hands pushing on his chest, as her vision blurred from
either the lack of oxygen or the tears running down her cheeks, she
wasn’t sure which.
    Please don’t let me pass out. I can’t
protect myself if I pass out.
    “ Shit.” Jack’s own eyes went
wide and then he shifted her higher in his arms and quickened his
pace. He hurried to get her into the house, heading for kitchen and
settled her onto of the chairs before turning to the cabinets,
muttering under his breath.
    Bayleigh leaned forward, hands on her
thighs.
    “ Here.” Jack shoved a brown
paper bag in her face. “You’re hyperventilating. Breathe into the
bag.” He shook the bag to get her attention.
    Keeping her eyes on him as
he retreated back to the other side of the kitchen, she opened the
bag. It took a few minutes but the rock that had taken residence in
her chest eased off of her and she was able to take a more
comfortable breath. Her skin was cold and clammy and her hands were
still shaking. The tremors would linger
for a while, she knew, but the claws of anxiety were loosening
their hold on her.
    “ So how
often do you get panic attacks?”    Jack leaned against the
counter, keeping his distance.
    Bayleigh pulled the bag
away from her face long enough to answer. “It’s just the
exhaustion.” Deny and
sidestep .
    Jack shot her a dubious
look but didn’t refute her. “Well, I can help you solve that problem, then. Your
bedroom is just down the hall. I’ll help you to it,” he
straightened up from the counter.
    “ I can make it…” She
lowered the bag, raised her chin and stood. Her thigh muscles
tightened into a knot as soon as she attempted to put her weight on
her leg and her knee gave out.
    Shit. Shit. Shit. She collapsed back into the chair, shoulders
slumped. Breathe. Just breathe.
    “ As I was
saying, I can help you…and while you are resting, I can fix us
something to eat.” He gave a hard look, crossing his arms over his
chest, daring her to contradict him
again.
    Bayleigh swallowed hard and
studied Jack from across the room. She couldn’t make it down the hall on her own, not unless she
crawled. Worse, he knew it, too. He was
just waiting for her to try it.
    “ Instead
of carrying me, could you just, maybe, let me lean on you or
something?” The rough whisper of his denim jeans and the ‘click’ of his boot heels on
the tiles alerted her that he was on the
move , but she wasn’t expecting him to be
right in front of her when she raised her head. She gasped, drawing
back. Too close. He’s too
close!
    His eyebrows drew together
and he took a step away from her. “Sorry.” He held his hand out, palm up.
    She looked between his
outstretched hand and his face. He had such beautiful eyes, full of
concern for her. Jason had said she could trust him, and she
trusted her brother.
    “ It’s ok,
Bayleigh.    Believe it or not, I get it,”
his hand didn’t waiver.
    With her heart pounding so
hard and fast in her chest she was sure he could hear it, Bayleigh
wiped her hand on her thigh. A slight tremble was still evident in
her fingers and she pressed her lips together as she placed her
hand in his, allowing him to ease her out of her chair. She wobbled
a bit as she stood and his hands dropped to her waist, causing her
body to tense.
    “ Sweetheart, you are hell
on my ego,” a wry smile crossed his face as he stood
there.
    She breathed in deep, her
senses overwhelmed with the subtle scent of his spicy cologne, the
warmth of his hands on her waist holding her. She couldn’t deny if
they’d met before , she’d have been all for the