Chapter 18
Acouple of days later, Caden’s refrigerator still groaned with the leftovers of the food their friends had brought over for the gathering.
Brooklyn checked out each of the yummy dishes inside and tried to decide what she wanted to eat.
Popping open the container of wings Koa had brought, Brooklyn chose one to munch on as she decided what else sounded good.
Everyone had laughed as Koa had pulled the foil off his dish, except for Giana, who’d rolled her eyes so hard they almost made a noise.
“Do not encourage him or you’ll be eating wings for the next ten years,” Giana had warned.
Brooklyn didn’t really understand why it was so funny, but figured there was a backstory she’d missed out on. The team worked and played so closely together they had a lot of history together. All she knew was that Koa’s wings were yummy.
Grabbing a few cold boiled shrimp and some cocktail sauce, Brooklyn rounded out her feast with some cut-up apples and caramel dip.
She carried everything carefully over to the table before grabbing one of the sippy cups Caden had already filled for her in the refrigerator.
She took a small testing sip and grinned.
Chocolate milk. Finding the treat on her first try was amazing.
She’d just sat down to eat when her phone buzzed. Giana’s name flashed on the screen. “Hi!” Brooklyn said after accepting the call.
“Hi! Whatcha doing?”
“I’m eating lunch. How about you?”
“I finished about fifteen minutes ago. Want me to call you back later?” Giana asked.
“As long as you don’t mind if I’m chewing, I’d love to have company.”
“I hoped you might like even more company.”
“You’re coming over to play?” Brooklyn asked as she wiggled with excitement.
“If you’re interested, I’ll come over to pick you up. I wanted to go get coffee, but Daddy doesn’t like me to go to the coffee shop alone.” She lowered her voice to match Koa’s growly tone and said, “Those guys are just hanging out there to pick up women.”
“That’s hilarious. You sound like him,” Brooklyn said and giggled.
“I have a two-for-one coupon, Brooklyn, so I can treat you to some java. Take pity on me. I have a bunch of reports to work on, and I need the caffeine.”
“I don’t know, Giana. I don’t think I should go anywhere. Brent could be out there somewhere. It would be my luck to run into him at the coffee shop.” Brooklyn wrung her hands, automatically scared by the thought of being out in public.
“How long has it been since you saw him? Surely, he’s moved on.”
Giana’s words made her stop and think for a minute.
But after hiding for so long, she couldn’t imagine that he’d suddenly decide to stop pursuing her.
Brooklyn shook her head to remind herself that she never took risks, and still he found her repeatedly.
“Brent has followed me for a couple of years now, Giana. I don’t think he’ll give up now. ”
“That jerk saw Caden in action. He had to notice that your car was packed. Won’t he think you left town while he was in jail?” Giana asked.
When Brooklyn stayed quiet, Giana quickly apologized.
“I’m sorry, Brooklyn. I’m pressuring you to do something you don’t want to do.
My coffee addiction is not that important.
I hate to see a jerk win and for you to lose the fun in your life.
Tom scared me, just like Brent frightens you.
You should have Caden teach you some self-defense moves. Then you could take your power back.”
That last statement repeated in Brooklyn’s mind. Take your power back. Giana was right. For too long Brent had threatened and harassed her. Who gave up everything in their life to follow someone out of spite? Maybe it was possible to live without fear. Swallowing hard, she decided.
“Is there a coffee shop far from our old apartment complex?” Brooklyn asked. “It was on the east side of town.”
“Of course. There’s one about five blocks from Caden’s house. A small independent shop. I like those better than the big chains. Are you thinking we could zip in and out?” Giana asked with a hopeful tone.
“Yes, but Caden and Zale say no driving until next week.”
“I’ll come get you. That’s better anyway. We’ll be together.”
Brooklyn exhaled with relief. She’d feel better with Giana. “Okay. Let’s do it.”
“I’ll be at your door in ten minutes.”
Brooklyn ran into the bedroom and raided Caden’s closet.
Grabbing an oversized sweatshirt and a hat, Brooklyn tried to camouflage herself as much as possible.
Daring was one thing, reckless was another.
She’d secured her hair in a ponytail and hid it under the baseball cap after pulling on the bulky top.
She looked at her phone for a few seconds as she debated whether to tell her daddy. He’d worry, and she’d distracted him enough. Her head ached slightly as her thoughts whirled around in her brain. Brooklyn took several deep breaths to relax, and the pain decreased.
A car horn tooted in her driveway, speeding her out the door. Brooklyn didn’t have a key. She hadn’t ever needed to leave alone. An image flashed into her brain of a single key hanging next to the garage. She darted to the keyholder, borrowed it, and secured the front door behind her.
“Caffeine, here we come!” Giana greeted her cheerfully. “Before we go, are you sure you’re ready for this? We don’t have to go. I could come in, and we could splurge on chocolate milk.”
“Can we return if I get scared?”
“Immediately. Tell me and we’re out of there,” Giana reassured her.
Several minutes later, Brooklyn sat focused on the door as she sipped on a sinfully sweet, caffeinated beverage with whipped cream on top. She moaned with delight at the delicious taste. “This is heaven.”
“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?”