Author: Roni Loren
“Dammit, Brynn. How could you leave the governor on hold that long?”
She stared down at her skirt, worrying the hem between her fingers and wishing—not for the first time—that she worked directly for Reid’s uncle and not for the power-happy campaign manager. “I’m so sorry. I… um… I had an emergency call on the other line. I got distracted.”
“What call could possibly be more important? He’s the goddamn governor!” Davis’s face turned the color of the cinnamon gum he incessantly chewed.
Tears brimmed her eyes, but she blinked them back. Explaining to him that her sister had called her in hysterics a minute after she thought she’d transferred the governor’s call would not win her any points. She cleared her throat. “I promise it’ll never happen again.”
“You got that right,” he said, rising from his chair, his hand still clasping a copy of the e-mail the governor had sent to him about sitting on hold so long he’d hung up. “I know Patrick has taken a liking to you, but this kind of thing will not be excused. No more mistakes, Ms. LeBreck.”
She breathed an inner sigh of relief. Thank God. No pink slip today. She nodded and stood. “Yes, sir, I understand. Thank you.”
She yanked open the office door and escaped in such a hurry she didn’t notice Reid until she barreled into him. A stack of papers dropped from his hands. “Whoa, there.”
“Shit,” she said, sinking to her knees to gather the mess. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”
He knelt next to her and laid a hand over hers, stilling her frantic pace. “Hey, chill. It’s okay. What’s wrong?”
She glanced up to meet his gaze and died a little when a hot tear slid down her cheek. No, please, not in front of him. She wiped the moisture from her face and pulled her other hand from beneath his. “I’m fine, just in a rush.”
He glanced at the closed door behind her. “Did Davis upset you?”
She shook her head and straightened the documents into a neat stack before handing them to Reid. “It’s nothing. I made a mistake, and he was talking to me about it.”
Reid stood and set the papers onto a nearby desk, his blue eyes narrowing. “More like yelling. I could hear him from across the office. God, that guy can be such a prick sometimes. He thinks just because he landed a management position at thirty he can piss on everyone else.”
She walked past him and grabbed her purse from underneath the reception desk. “It’s not a big deal. I deserved it. I shouldn’t have messed up.”
“Hold up.” He caught up to her and grasped her shoulder, spinning her to face him. “It doesn’t matter what mistake you made. You never deserve to be yelled at.”
His touch burned through the thin material of her blouse, and the worry in his eyes made her want to cry again. She shrugged out of his reach. She would not let Reid see her shed tears. And she certainly wasn’t going to tell him why Davis yelling was the least of her worries at the moment.
She had managed to maintain her friendship with Reid, even while dodging his repeated invitations for a second date. She refused to ruin it by letting him see who she really was. “I appreciate your concern, really. But I’m fine. And I have to go. I have a bit of a family emergency to deal with.”
She hurried past him and headed for the exit door. Home. She needed to get home. Kelsey had blubbered through most of the conversation. But Brynn had gotten the gist. And she wasn’t looking forward to what she would face when she arrived.
She climbed into her ’88 Chevy and turned the ignition, but the engine didn’t fire. She gritted her teeth and twisted the key again. Nothing. Not even a click. The damn car wasn’t even trying to start. She banged her fists against the steering wheel, the tears finally escaping. “You’re going to die on me now?”
A sharp tap on the window made her jump. Reid peered in and mouthed, “You okay?”
God, couldn’t a girl get a moment alone to wallow? She grabbed a tissue from her purse and dried her face before shoving open the door. She climbed out and forced a smile. “Ever have one of those days where you wish you had just stayed under the covers?”
He grasped her elbow and pulled her into an all-encompassing hug, the sudden contact stunning her into silence.
Her first instinct was to pull back. For the last few weeks, she had carefully avoided touching Reid again, protecting herself from the internal longing she knew his touch would incite. But the warmth of his embrace was too delicious to reject. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had really hugged her. He smoothed her hair, and for a few luxurious seconds, she let her cheek rest against his solid chest.
He sat his chin on top of her head. “Whatever it is, sugar, let me help.”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling his cologne, imprinting the feel of him on her brain so that she could access the memory later. She slipped from his hold and stepped back. “I don’t need help.”
He eyed the powder blue heap behind her. “I could call you a tow truck.”
She shook her head. She couldn’t afford to pay for a tow or for anyone to fix it once it got to the garage anyway. “Um, no, that’s okay. I’ll get a friend to come take a look at it tomorrow.”
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “Well, then I’ll give you a ride home.”
She cringed inwardly. No way was she letting him see where she lived, much less witness what would greet her when she got there. He’d either be appalled or, worse, feel sorry for her. The thought turned her stomach. “I’m just going to take the bus, but thanks.”
He shook his head and crooked a thumb toward the shiny black pickup behind him. “Get in the truck, Brynn. You said you have a family emergency. If that’s the truth, then you don’t need to waste time on the bus. Stop being so hardheaded.”
She put her hands on her hips, ready to tell him to shove off, but then remembered the frantic edge in her sister’s voice. Her shoulders sagged as she said a silent good-bye to the friendship she and Reid shared. Once he saw who she really was, he’d bail like all her other friends always did. She gave him a dejected nod and followed him to his truck.
When she told him her address, she expected a raised eyebrow, but his face remained stoic. “I know where that is.”
They rode in silence, the muscles in Reid’s forearms flexing as he gripped the steering wheel. Clearly, she had done something to annoy him, but she didn’t have the energy for conversation. Instead, she stared out the window, watching the state of the neighborhoods decline as they passed each exit—from upper class to barely getting by in a mere fifteen miles.
By the time Reid pulled into the driveway of her family’s shoddy rental, she was burning with embarrassment. She grabbed the cool metal of door handle and didn’t dare look at him. “Thanks for the ride.”
The automatic locks clicked, preventing her from escaping.
“I’m not leaving until I know everything’s all right.” His tone brooked no argument.
She bit her lip, not knowing what to think of this version of Reid. The power that radiated off him made her insides twist with an emotion she couldn’t pinpoint. She took a steadying breath. “Okay, stay out here. I’ll come back out and let you know if I need you or not.”
He stretched an arm across the back of the seat, as if settling in for the wait, and nodded.
After disengaging the lock, she scooted out of the truck and said a silent prayer as she pushed open the front door. The small puddle of blood on the vinyl tile of the entryway and the sound of soft sobbing sent panic through her. She dropped her purse and ran for the kitchen. Her fourteen-year-old sister’s tear-stained face lit with relief when she saw Brynn. “Ohmigod, what took you so long? She wouldn’t let me call 911.”
Brynn turned toward the kitchen table. Her mother sat slumped in one of the chairs, her head resting against the back wall, one eye swollen shut.
“Holy crap, Ma, what the hell happened?”
“Hmm?” She lifted her head and peered at Brynn with her good eye. “Is that you, baby?”
Brynn groaned at the slurred words and knelt in front of her mom to check her over. Her low-cut top had been torn slightly at the vee and finger-shaped bruises marked her upper arms. The puffiness around her eye was already turning a sickly shade of purple. “Jesus.”
“Is she going to be okay?” her sister asked, wrapping her arms around herself.
Brynn frowned. Kelsey was a tough kid, but no one should have to see their own mother like this. “She’ll be okay, Kels. Thanks for calling. I’m sorry I got stuck late at work.”
“S’okay,” she said, shifting from one flip-flop to the other. “I was supposed to sleep at Becca’s tonight ’cause we have a school project to work on, but I didn’t want to leave until you got here. I can stay and help if you want.”
“Is her mom going to be home?”
“Yeah. And she said she’d drive us both to school in the morning.”
Brynn cocked her head toward the back door. “Go ahead. Just ring the phone when you get there so I know you arrived safe.”
She nodded, her shoulders noticeably relaxing. “Okay, are you sure?”
“You’ll only be three doors down. I’ll come get you if I need you, all right? Go get your stuff.”
Kelsey turned to head to her room, then yelped.
Reid put his hands up as he filled the doorway. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” He looked at Brynn. “I was getting worried out there.”
Brynn glanced from Reid to her mother to the stack of empty liquor bottles on top of the counter.
Now he knew. She wanted to fold in on herself and disappear.
Reid tried to keep his expression flat as he took in the scene. He didn’t know what he had expected to find when he’d barged into Brynn’s place, but finding her with a bloodied and bruised woman had not been it.
Brynn turned her back to him but not quick enough for him to miss the horrified expression on her face. She grabbed a cloth off the table and patted beneath the woman’s nose. “I’m sorry, I forgot you were waiting. We’re fine. You can go now.”
Reid moved out of the way as the younger blonde, Brynn’s little sister he presumed, hurried past him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and took a breath. “What I can do to help?”
Her shoulders dipped as if she were carrying sandbags on them, but she didn’t turn to look at him. “Just leave. Please.”
Yeah, like that was going to happen. For the last few weeks, he had let Brynn get away with her casual rebuffs and subtle distancing. He had deserved it after the way he’d lost control on their first date. But he’d be damned if he was going to let her push him away from something like this. “I’m not going anywhere.”
She swung her head around, her eyes filling with tears and her face red with shame. “Can’t you take a hint? You’re making this worse. I don’t want you to be here to see this.”
He closed the distance between them and put a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t be embarrassed. I just want to help you.”
She winced. “I don’t need your help. I’ve been handling my mother for years, I’m a pro. So why don’t you leave, pretend you never saw this, and I’ll see you at work. Okay?”
Ignoring her request, Reid turned and walked to the refrigerator, then pulled open the freezer door. Except for the three cheap bottles of vodka, the contents were slim, but he found what he was looking for. He brought a bag of frozen corn back to Brynn. “Put this on her eye, it will help with the swelling. Does it seem like anything’s broken?”
Brynn took the bag and stared at him for a long moment before standing up and placing it on her mother’s black eye. “I don’t think so.”
