CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

ZAC

Chris said Brook should be all right. She could have some trauma from the kidnapping, and there may be residual effects from the knockout drug they gave her. Time will tell.

He said he’d come by tomorrow to check on her again. “Just put her to bed when you get home. No funny stuff. She needs to rest. And get some food in her. Looks like she could use it.”

“Okay, Chris. Thanks.”

We stop by a fast-food joint on the way home.

“Thanks,” Brook says. “I’m starving.”

She finishes eating by the time we get home. I want to carry her inside, but she won’t think of it. She needs to do it on her own. I understand and don’t argue.

“I’ve never been so scared,” she says to me.

“I bet,” I reply and open the condo door.

She goes in first.

I close and lock the door behind us.

“Let’s get you to bed.” I put my hand on the small of her back.

She faces me, throwing her arms around my neck, and kisses me.

I kiss her back and then stop.

“We can’t. Chris said no funny stuff, and this is what he was talking about.”

“But I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too, but we can’t. Doctor’s orders.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

I guide her into the bedroom and turn my back as she sheds what she is wearing in exchange for one of my T-shirts and a fresh pair of underwear.

“You didn’t need to turn your back,” she says as she’s crawling under the covers.

“Oh believe me, I did.”

She pats a spot on the bed beside her. “Lay down with me.”

“No.”

“But . . .”

“Good night.” I flick the light off. “Get some sleep.”

“Zac?”

“Good night.” I turn and leave. I can’t take any more temptation.

I change my mind five minutes later and go back to the bedroom. She’s already asleep. I leave her alone.

* * *

Chris stops by the next morning, and Brook is feeling better. No aftereffects from the kidnapping or whatever it was they shot her up with.

“See any problem with us leaving town?” I ask.

“Where’re you going?”

“Tennessee, to see her parents’ lawyer. She needs to get this all straightened out.”

“Have a pleasant trip.”

“Thanks.”

Jake and I drive Brook back up to Maryville and meet up with her family’s lawyer, Fred Larson.

“I’m very sorry about all of this,” Larson says. “Nothing like this has ever happened to one of my clients.”

Karen and Ted had coerced one of the secretaries in the lawyer’s office to make duplicates of everything in the Mathews estate, then cancel Brook’s appointment.

“She’ll be traveling abroad for the next few months. She’ll set up another appointment when she returns,” the lawyer had been told.

Fred Larson never gave it a second thought.

Brook signs some paperwork. “This is it?”

“Yes,” Fred says. “Everything should be good now.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. And again, I’m terribly sorry about all of this.”

“That’s all right, it wasn’t your fault.”

We leave from there and go to the Mathews family home. The “For Sale” sign is still up and I rip it down.

“Thank you,” Brook says.

“You’re welcome,” I answer. “Shall we go inside?”

“Yes.”

Jake says he’ll wait in the car, so we go into the house without him. The locks haven’t been changed and Brook has a key.

Every room is empty. Karen got rid of everything. Probably pawned it all.

Brook says, “It’s all so different now.” A slight echo bounces off the bare walls.

She goes to her parents’ bedroom, sits down on the floor, and cries. “I miss them so much.”

“I know you do.” I sit beside her and hold her.

We stay that way for twenty minutes, and she pulls away and wipes her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Zac.”

“That’s all right.”

She stands up and I follow suit. “I need some fresh air,” she says. “Shall we go outside?”

Brook leads me to the backyard. There’s a patio there with some outdoor furniture.

“Guess Karen didn’t get it all,” I say.

Brook forces a smile.

“You want to sit?” I ask.

“Sure.”

We take a seat and I notice the garage, which reminds me.

“I had a couple guys bring your car back in case you decided to stay awhile. It’s in the garage. They left the keys on top of the left rear tire.”

“That was nice of you.”

She closes her eyes. This is hard on her.

I’d like to take the pain away. I want to be with her permanently. There’s one problem with that, though. I’ll have to tell her I’m a shifter. There’s no way around it.

Just as well pull the Band-Aid. “Got any plans?”

She looks up at the sky. “I’m going to stay here for a while. Have a lot of thinking to do.”

I feel like someone kneed me in the gut.

She must have seen me wince. “You understand, don’t you?”

“Of course.”

We both grow quiet and five minutes of silence passes.

Brook pushes out of her chair. “Thanks for bringing me back here and for all you’ve done for me.”

It sounds so final.

“No problem.” I think my voice cracked.

She kisses my cheek. “Thank you, Zac.”

I’ve seen the movie, and this is her polite way of telling me to leave.

“You’ll call if you need anything? Even if it’s just to talk.”

“I will.”

I breathe to gather her scent. I’ll never forget what she smells like. I’ll never forget her.

“Goodbye, Brook.”

“Goodbye, Zac.”

She sits back down and I walk away. By the time I reach the corner of the house, she’s crying. I want to turn back, but I don’t. I need to respect her wishes.

I’ll just have to leave my heart with her and hope someday she’ll return it.

Goodbye, my love.