Chapter Eight
I ’m smiling down at the spider robot on my lap when my phone rings and I answer it, thinking it’s likely Ashley. “Hello.”
“You sound happy,” Braxton says with a smile in his voice. “I like it.”
My face warms. “Everyone needs a vacation now and then.”
“I hope I’m not interrupting time with your—”
“Braxton, is there a reason for this call?”
He laughs. “Ireland is beautiful but surprisingly lonely.”
For just a moment I imagine how this conversation would make me feel if I believed him, and it leaves me uneasy. Wealthy, handsome, and respected by both his peers and those he greets for the first time with a handshake and a smile. I doubt he’s been lonely once in his life.
Who is this man?
My gaze flies to meet Pete’s, and I realize my hand is still on his thigh. His response to Braxton is a mixture of curiosity and territorial mental posturing. He’s someone I work with through the hospital. No one important.
Show me.
There’s nothing to show.
Then don’t close me out.
Realizing how instinctively I’d instantly done that, I let Pete in. I show him the day Braxton came to the hospital for the first time and asked me to join a meeting he was having with the administration. I let him see how our entire relationship is nothing more than a casual extension of my role as a hospital liaison.
Pete pushes for more and I almost shut him out, but I can feel how much my happiness matters to him. So I let him deeper. He wanders around memories I have of Braxton cheering me on through every major life event. Ashley and Ryan graduating from high school and then college. My promotions. Birthdays. Holidays. He’s never forgotten to reach out with a call, a card, or a small gift.
He’s in love with you.
I tense and whip my hand off Pete’s leg. The spider robots jump away from me, scurrying to the safety of their hiding places. “You’re wrong,” I say firmly as I rise to my feet.
Pete stands as well. “I wish I were.”
“Is someone there with you?” Braxton asks.
My emotions are in a jumble. If I had to choose one word to describe how I feel, it would be—cornered. Pete is towering over me, holding my gaze. “Yes. Friends of Ashley’s are staying with me while I help them sort a few things out.”
Pete’s eyebrows rise. Is that all I am to you?
Get out of my head! I don’t like that I can hear him without physically touching him. It’s all we can be to each other.
Instant concern fills Braxton’s voice. “How can I help?”
I let out a slightly hysterical laugh. With which part? The robots and how I’m beginning to think my daughter is right and that they’re alive? Or that I am insanely attracted to a man half my age, or is twice my age... I don’t know. “No need. I have everything under control.”
Pete frowns. You’re as bonded to me as I am to you?
It’s taking everything in me not to throw myself into Pete’s arms and admit that I am. I fist my free hand at my side. I shouldn’t have slept in your arms last night. It confused both of us.
His smile is sad. I understand.
You do?
You’re scared.
I was. When I first saw the blood samples from the others and realized what had been done to you but now that I’ve had time to—
Talk to Braxton. If we do end up together I want it to be because you chose me and not because you never let yourself choose him.
I don’t understand .
Yes, you do. Instead of hanging up on him this time, tell him what you’re struggling with.
I shake my head. That I’m fighting feelings for you?
Maybe leave that part out. The corners of his eyes crinkle. Without another word, Pete leaves the living room and I’m left with a curious but quiet audience of robots. When I point and tip my head in the direction Pete took, they follow him—John in the lead, the little ones in a rush, and George reluctantly wheeling himself out backward.
I sit heavily on the edge of the couch. “Braxton?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t tell you the details, but I’m working on something that has me more confused than I thought it would.”
“Helping Ashley’s friends?”
“Yes.”
“Are they in legal trouble?”
“No... they’re coming out of a situation that wasn’t healthy for them. I probably shouldn’t have gotten involved, but now that I am, I want to solve every part of this for them.”
“Financially?”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
“I can fly back and—”
“That would probably make things worse.”
He coughs on a laugh. “You’re a difficult person to help.”
He’s not wrong, so I don’t deny it. I blurt, “I thought I understood not only myself but how the world works. I don’t know what to think about anything anymore. Up is down. Wrong feels right. I make life and death decisions on a regular basis and I don’t second guess myself—but this. I don’t know what to do with this.” My voice trails away.
He clears his throat. “Without details, it’s difficult to suggest much, but I know you, and there is no one I would trust more to help me if I were in crisis.”
“You mean that.” It wasn’t a question. I can feel the sincerity in his voice, feel it in a way I haven’t been able to before. It’s like when a phone signal is choppy from poor service, then suddenly becomes clear.
“I do. Whatever these friends of Ashley have been through, they’re lucky to have you on their side.”
“Thank you.”
“And if there is anything I can do...”
He means that too. Those aren’t just platitudes. Pete misread that as love, but he’s young and he would. Braxton and I have known each other for a long time. Maybe trusting him, even if it’s only with a little of this, wouldn’t be such a large risk.
I decide to move the conversation to somewhere more private and slip into Ryan’s old bedroom. My apartment will soon be chaotic when the two other soldiers wake. Everyone will want to gather. We’ll need significant time in a lab. I imagined using Cheryl’s place, but that would mean leaving three confused men and four robots unsupervised. Or would I take them all with me? Neither seems like a good idea. “If I ask you for something, would you be okay with me not explaining why I need it?”
“Although that does sound like a lead-in to requesting I drive the getaway car, I’m in.”
A confusing warmth spreads through me. “It’s not quite as dramatic as that. I’d like to temporarily relocate to a larger place with a lab.”
“What kind of equipment would you need?”
I list off a few things as a mental checklist for myself rather than for him. “I’d like to play geneticist for a few weeks.”
“We all have hobbies, I suppose.”
“Ideally, the place would be somewhere private and big enough so Ashley and her friends could stay with me. Just for a few weeks. Close, but outside the city. Could you help me find somewhere like that?” I know it’s a long shot, but he has a lot of medical connections. He might know of a vacant facility.
“You’re in luck. I own what you’re looking for.”
“You do?”
“Forty minutes west of Providence. It was a campground, but I built a large house on it. Thirty or so acres. Several outbuildings. One could easily be modified into a lab. Private beach access to Bowdish Lake.”
“And it’s empty?”
“Yes. My family uses it in the summer, but it sits empty from late fall to spring.”
“Your family,” I say the words slowly.
He laughs. “I do have one. Two brothers, both married with kids.”
I realize in that moment that I’ve never asked him about his life. “You’re an uncle.”
“Five times over.” The smile returns to his voice. “Also, shamelessly in competition for the title of coolest uncle. The campground should have cemented that, but my brother Teddy restores sailboats, so he’s taken them all snorkeling since they were old enough to swim.”
“Damn him,” I joke.
“Exactly. I taught them to canoe, fish, and build stick forts. Do you know how many s’mores I’ve burned my fingers making for them? But Teddy has the lure of the ocean, clambakes, and sandcastles.”
“Sounds rough.” I chuckle, then add, “Does everyone go to both?”
“Oh, yes. Even my parents. They’re getting older now, but they’re happiest when they’re separating sibling squabbles... from the grandkids to their grown ones.”
“That sounds really nice and not how I imagined your life.”
“Disappointingly normal?”
“No, not at all. I love that you’re close to your family.”
“They’re what matters most. We’ve faced some tough times and have come out on the other side together and stronger.” He clears his throat. “I bet you don’t remember it, but you’ve met Teddy.”
My mouth rounds. “When?”
“A long time ago. You were an EMT called to a fire in Cranston. Teddy dislocated his shoulder and asked you to put it back in its socket without telling anyone. He’d just come back from being put on light duty after twisting his knee, showing off at a party by doing a flip. He was afraid it would make him look bad to the chief. You helped him out and never said a word. He was impressed and talked about you so much his girlfriend nearly broke up with him, which would have been a shame because they’ve made two of my favorite nephews.”
“I remember him. He was convinced his life would be over if anyone found out, so I wasn’t about to say a word.”
“Trust me, he appreciated that. So much so that he talked me into seeking you out. Apparently, he didn’t approve of my prior taste in women and thought you would make a great addition to our clan.”
“That’s crazy.”
“I thought so until I saw you in person. You were working the Pumpkin Festival for North Smithfield and teaching children to apply bandages to stuffed animals. The way you made the kids comfortable and spoke to them like they were little adults... I was impressed.”
“Did you introduce yourself?”
“No. You were with a man that day, and, honestly, you looked happy together.”
“We were,” I whisper as my chest tightens. That’s probably one of the last good memories I have of Kevin before I found out I was pregnant.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up a bad memory.”
“Don’t be.” A flash of crying in Pete’s arms washes over me and oddly leaves me feeling better. “It was a different lifetime.”
“Is he Ashley and Ryan’s father?”
“Yes.”
“What happened? If you’re not okay with talking about it, don’t tell me.”
I inhale deeply and find the truth is no longer as painful. “He fell in love with who he thought I was. When the twins were born, he thought I should stay home and be content with that. I disagreed.”
“Do Ashley and Ryan have a relationship with him?”
“He’s never wanted one. He built a new life without us.”
“What a fool.”
“I use harsher words to describe him in my head, but yes.”
“I’m sorry you went through that, but I’m glad he didn’t stick around. You achieved your dreams without him.”
“Yes, I did.” I blink a few times quickly. “It took me a long time and a few detours, but I love what I do.” Neither of us speaks for a moment, then I spontaneously ask, “What do you do? ”
“Philanthropy, mostly. I didn’t set out to become rich, but I invented something that happened to be what many people were looking for. It’s a case of being in the right place with the right product. I partnered with someone who was already wealthy and looking to become more so. He works the contracts side and I’m more or less the face of our company.”
“Is that a humble way of saying you’re a self-made millionaire?”
“Add a few zeros, and yeah, you could say that.”
He’s not joking. “That’s amazing.”
“Not really. It’s just a little sensor that I thought might save the life of fellow firefighters but ended up with a wider spectrum of usages. It picks up fluctuations in oxygen levels at a distance and through physical barriers. My goal was to predict flashovers but turns out it can be used in everything from aerospace engineering to waste management facilities.”
“ Fellow firefighters? Were you a firefighter?”
His voice lowers. “In a different lifetime.” I have so many questions I don’t know where to start, but before I choose which one to lead with, he adds, “I’ll send you directions to the campground as well as the code to the house. Give me a few hours and I’ll have it freshened up and stocked with food for your stay.”
I open and close my mouth a few times before I finally say, “Thank you, Braxton.”
“You’re welcome. Text me tonight when you’ve settled in. ”
“I will.” The memories Pete brought to the surface plague me as I prepare to end the call with Braxton. “Hey.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry I never asked you about your family. I don’t know when your birthday is and you always remember mine. You must think I’m a horrible person.”
“Quite the opposite. I don’t believe that caring for someone is transactional. You’re a good person, Lauren, and I selfishly like to see you smile.”
I almost ask why, then stop before I do.
“March sixteenth,” he says gently.
Emotions swirl up in me, too many to face at once. “I’ll remember. Thanks again.”
He chuckles and ends the call.
I drop the phone beside me and collapse backward onto the bed.
Could this get any more complicated?
There’s a knock on the bedroom door. I sit up quickly and my jaw drops open. There in the doorway is one of the most stunningly beautiful men I’ve ever seen. Tall. Mesmerizing dark eyes. Muscles for days. The smile he flashes me damn near robs me of my breath. The way he fills out his uniform, stretching in all the right places, is sinful.
“Hey, beautiful,” he says. “My name’s Franklin. Pete said you needed a moment alone, but I could feel you yearning for me.”
It wasn’t him I’d been yearning for.
And— oh, shit.