We say goodbye and I head home. Presumably to sit around and wait for Brady to show up.
My mind wanders as I drive, and I hate where it goes.
What if something bad happened to him? What if he’s trapped somewhere, with nobody to help him? He doesn’t know the area very well. He could be lost.
There are a million ways he could be hurt or in danger. He could be taken from me in an instant. It’s a cold, harsh truth with which I’m too well-acquainted.
A sliver of hope flashes through me as I round the bend for Sweet Escape. Maybe his truck will be parked in the guest parking. It wasn’t there when I left, but hopefully he’s returned from wherever he went.
My hope deflates as I pull into the driveway. He’s not here. I park the Jeep in the garage and lift all the grocery bags from the back. I trudge across the yard and to the stairs, my arms shaking because I utterly refuse to make an additional trip. When I hear an engine behind me, I swing my gaze around. Brady’s truck turns into the driveway. All the bags I was holding fall to the ground and I run for the truck.
I didn’t know I was this upset. It’s the relief. The amount of relief I feel belies the fear I hid even from myself.
“Brady,” I say his name through tears.
He grinds to a stop and hops out, his eyebrows drawn. He takes me into his arms and strokes my hair. “What happened?” he asks.
“You… you were gone,” I wail. “I was so scared.”
“Hey, hey,” Brady croons, his hand rubbing circles on my back. “I’m fine. I’m right here. I didn’t want to run so I went for a hike instead, and my phone died.”
He holds me until my tears subside.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, feeling silly now.
He looks into my eyes. “Never be sorry about something that affects you this strongly, okay?”
I nod and take a breath.
“Why were you so upset?” he asks, guiding me toward the house with his arm around my shoulder.
“I thought something bad had happened to you. I took breakfast down to your cabin today, but you weren’t there. I went to town for groceries and noticed your car was gone. And I… I didn’t know.”
Taking a deep breath, I decide to be brave and tell him how I really feel. “I had no way to save Warren. I wasn’t there for him at all. If something like that happened a second time, I don’t know what I would do.”
Brady groans. “Addison, that’s an awful way to feel. You can’t run around saving everyone all the time. It wasn’t your responsibility to keep anything bad from happening to Warren. That’s too much responsibility for any one person to ever take on.”
I know his words are right, but that’s completely different from believing them.
“Come on, let’s get this stuff inside.” Brady bends down and gathers my groceries in his hands. We walk in the house together and he helps me put them away.
“You bought a lot of stuff,” he comments, eyeing the tremendous amount of butter.
“It’s everything I need for two rounds. I’m going to do a trial run before I bake everything for real.”
Brady, sitting on a chair at the island, pulls me to him so that I’m standing between his legs. “Can we have a little fun this afternoon before you embark on a baking frenzy?”
I think I know what he’s asking, so I press my breasts against him and whisper, “Yes.”
I feel his chuckle on my skin. “We’ll definitely leave time for that, too. But I was thinking of a waterfall I found about thirty minutes away.”
“That sounds perfect.” I need a change of scenery and some alone time with Brady. I kiss him swiftly, and even though I’m longing to let it turn into more, I control myself. “I need to change into my suit.”
I start to step back, but Brady stops me, gripping my face between his hands. “I’m not going anywhere, Addison. Understand?” He kisses me, crushing his lips to mine. He takes from me every last ounce of fear, erasing all my concerns, swallowing my guilt.
He leaves to grab his bathing suit, and I run my fingers along my lips. Nobody has ever made my body, my soul, my heart come alive the way Brady does. Not even the man I was prepared to marry.
22
