She opened the door and froze. Fear and a desperate need to run rushed through her system. Two weeks working with a grief counselor and even longer with a psychiatrist went out the door along with her breath. She couldn’t remember a single thing the doctors told her about living in the moment and trying to avoid triggers that sent her into quiet depressions that smothered her ability to see the joy in anything.
The suffocating darkness opened up under her feet and swallowed her whole.
“You aren’t welcome here,” her mom snapped, rushing up beside her. “Leave. Leave now before you cause any more harm to my daughter.” Her mom wrapped a protective arm around Brooke’s waist to draw her away from the door.
Brooke’s whole body trembled with fear and anger and a misery so deep it hurt her heart to beat.
Why did Cody have to work late tonight? She needed him desperately to hold the world at bay and keep her safe. She needed him so she could breathe through the pain and find the peace that he gave her.
“We’ve only come to talk,” Mrs. Harris said, stepping forward. “Please, Brooke. Give us just a few minutes of your time.”
“She doesn’t owe you anything.” Her mother seethed. “Can’t you see you’ve upset her?”
“We aren’t here to hurt her, only to talk. Please,” the governor pleaded.
Her mom glared daggers at him. “Your being here hurts her. Seeing you brings it all back when she’s done so well these last weeks to put it behind her.”
Brooke snapped back into herself with her mother’s fierce words. The truth was, she’d never put what happened behind her. She’d been hiding on the ranch, biding her time, waiting for something that would never come.
She’d never magically erase what happened.
She’d made some strides out of spending her whole day and night wallowing in pain and misery. She’d found enough focus and drive to slowly get her bookstore and café ready to open, with a lot of help from her mom and Cody. She’d even settled into her relationship with Cody and loved that they’d found their way back to each other.
But none of that meant that she’d fully dealt with and healed from the attack and the loss of her daughter.
Focused and driven in everything she did, she used to know exactly what she wanted and who she was. Now she was finding her way through her new normal, allowing herself to still sit in those dark moments knowing there were good things in her life waiting for her. But there were still some mornings that Cody had to remind her to eat, that even a kiss from him didn’t bring a smile.
So maybe she did need to stop putting this off and face it. Them.
If they wanted to talk, then she was going to finally have her say.
She reached out and touched her mom’s hand. “Mom, it’s okay.”
“Brooke.” Her mom pleaded with her eyes.
She needed to do this. “Governor, Mrs. Harris, please come into the study. We can talk there.” She didn’t wait for them to come in, simply turned on her heel and headed for Cody’s office. If they wanted to talk to her, they’d follow.
She walked into the study, saw the rug by the couch, and stopped short. Poor choice for this discussion. Her daughter could very well have been conceived in this room.
Instinct backed her out of the room and straight into the governor’s chest. He gripped her arms to steady her. She stifled a scream and tore herself away from his grasp, taking several steps away. “We can’t use this room. I’m sorry. The living room will have to do.”
She rushed past the wide-eyed and curious couple and crossed the room to the fireplace, not giving them an explanation about her seemingly irrational reaction. They had to know it was because of their son.
She paced back and forth a few times, trying to compose her swirling thoughts. She wrapped her arms around her middle, holding herself tight, trying to pull herself together.
She didn’t care if she looked unhinged. She felt that way.
They’d opened up her festering wound.
Mrs. Harris took a seat on the sofa and the governor stood beside his wife, giving Brooke space.
The governor took the lead this time. “Brooke, we’re so sorry to barge in on you like this. We’ve tried to reach you through Cody and your lawyer, Mr. Wagner. They’ve made it clear you aren’t ready to talk to us about this situation, but we simply wanted to tell you face-to-face how sorry we are for what happened.”
The sharp retort that flashed through her mind caught in her throat.
Cody ran through the front door and slammed it in the governor’s security guard’s face with a resounding thud. He stopped for a second in the foyer and stared at everyone in the living room. Her mother stood sentry just behind Mrs. Harris. Brooke suspected she was ready to pounce like a mama lion if her cub was in any danger. Cody stood rigid, his hands fisted at his sides. He looked ready to kill.
Cody’s gaze swept over her, a moment of relief in his eyes before his much sharper gaze fell on the governor. “I told you not to come here. I told you she wasn’t ready to talk. Get out of my house.”
