“You’re telling me. I think I was going through withdrawals,” Giana said with a laugh.
“Wait until I tell you about the call we got yesterday.” She launched into a long story about a cat stuck up in a tree and a random dog walker who’d allowed the four dogs he was exercising to wrap around the fireman’s ladder. Of course, they’d yanked the bottom of the ladder out, making the would-be rescuer grab onto the tree to keep from tumbling. The visual image of the fireman left dangling from the limb while the cat nimbly walked over his hands to shimmy back down the trunk had Brooklyn almost rolling from her chair.
“I’m glad your job has some entertaining times as well,” Brooklyn told her. “I’m sure it’s stressful.”
“It is. We see people on their worst days. Not just for fires, but for many medical emergencies as well.”
“Mark did an amazing job, taking care of me. You have to be a special kind of person to reassure people in trouble. Would it be weird if I wrote him a thank-you letter?” Brooklyn asked.
“Not at all. Most of us have a file of special notes we’ve received over the years. Remembering how I made a difference for someone always makes me work harder at the drills to stay in top shape.”
“I bet. I’ll do it and bring it to the next gathering if you’d take it to Mark.”
“Of course. You’ll make his day. Like you made mine by coming out with me. How are you doing?”
“I’ve enjoyed this.” Brooklyn sucked the last of her iced coffee up the straw. She glanced around the coffee shop, making sure no one was paying any attention to them. She’d had fun with Giana, but now wanted to retreat to the safety of Caden’s house.
“Ready to go?” Giana guessed before Brooklyn could ask.
“If you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. Let’s go.”
In minutes, Brooklyn let herself back into Caden’s house. She leaned against the door and stared around the interior. It seemed different somehow. Like the space had changed from a sanctuary to a home. Hugging her arms around her waist, Brooklyn celebrated. The threat of Brent hadn’t ruled her life today.
After returning the key, she skipped down the hallway to return Caden’s things. He’d be home in an hour or so. Brooklyn retrieved Fluffikins from the couch where she’d left him and went to her nursery to play.
Brooklyn had finished putting together the border of a gigantic puzzle when she heard the garage door open. She smiled at her daddy as he walked into the nursery. “Hi!”
“You had a good day today,” he guessed, setting a heavy sack on the table before kneeling by her side to kiss her.
She stiffened when he pulled back to look at her. She’d forgotten to brush her teeth. “Can you taste the chocolate milk I drank?” she lied.
His gaze narrowed further, making her feel like a pinned butterfly in front of a scientist. “No, but I can taste the coffee. Where did you get coffee?”
Crap!What could she say? Some truth was better than none. “Giana came over and brought a treat.”
“Oh, so I’ll find two cups in the trash?”
Crap, crap, crap!She hadn’t thought of that.Think fast, Brooklyn!“No… She took them with her, because… Because they recycle at her house. Giana is very dedicated to the environment.”
Her already panicked heart rate exploded when Caden reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone. Seconds later, he said, “Koa. Do you recycle?”
Caden kept his gaze focused on her and acknowledged Koa’s response, “Thank you. I’ll explain tomorrow.”
“Want to try a different story?” he asked as he watched her squirm.
Her mind went blank. Caught, she couldn’t think of anything else to say but, “Sorry.”
“Tell me the truth.”
“Giana wanted to go for coffee. Koa won’t let her go alone because people flirt with her at the coffee shop.”
“Including himself,” Caden agreed. “Keep going. Giana wanted to get coffee.”
“She convinced me to go with her. I was scared to go, but Brent hasn’t been around for so long, and I wanted to have fun with Giana. Brent robbed me of so much.” She held her breath, hoping he would understand.
“He has,” Caden agreed. “Did anything concerning happen? Did you see Brent or his car?”
