Chapter 29 Brady #2
I draw in a slow breath. “Your sister is happily married. Though how that’s possible with Todd, I don’t know.
” I make a face. “She’s active with her kids.
You heard her talking about the upcoming school year.
That woman was made to be a teacher. You didn’t ruin her life.
And I’d bet she’d be pretty offended if she knew you thought her life was less than in any category. ”
Elizabeth flinches.
“And if she knew you’ve been driving yourself this hard all these years—punishing yourself because of something that happened when you were a kid—she would be devastated.”
Her lips part, but no sound comes out.
I can see her mind working, turning it over, maybe for the first time. She doesn’t like what she’s hearing, but she’s listening.
I keep going because she needs to hear it. “I understand the guilt of being the older sibling. I raised my sister while my mom worked. I know what it’s like to feel responsible for someone smaller, someone who trusts you to keep the world from touching them. And I let her down, too.”
Elizabeth frowns. “But that wasn’t your fault.”
I lean closer, holding her gaze. “Neither was your sister not becoming a dancer. Things happen. Nothing in life is guaranteed.”
For a second, she just stares at me, caught between defiance and something else, her lip caught between her teeth.
I see her fighting it, the instinct to reject everything I’m saying because it doesn’t fit with the story she’s told herself since she was thirteen. The story where she’s the villain, where her punishment is to never let herself off the hook.
But I also see a crack in her armor. The tiniest shift.
The rain is slowing to a drizzle, but all I can focus on is her, and how badly I want to take that weight from her shoulders.
The sound of a text notification breaks through our intense stare down. The emotion clouding her eyes is almost painful, but she finally drags her eyes away and looks at her phone.
“It’s my mom,” she murmurs. “No one’s home. Feel free to look around. The owners don’t mind.”
Elizabeth snorts under her breath, tucking the phone away. “They fixed it up.” She stares at the house easily visible now that the rain has stopped. “Ready?”
Once we are out of the car, Elizabeth points across the wide, muddy field, blue eyes sparkling as the wind whips her hair.
“The tree’s about a quarter of a mile that way. Across the field and through a stand of trees, and then down the hill to the pond.”
I follow her finger. The ground is slick, sucking at my boots even here at the edge. “My boots will make it. Your canvas tennis shoes?” I let my gaze drop to her shoes, one brow arched. “Not a chance.”
She makes a face. “You’re right.”
“I volunteer as tribute.” I shrug.
“What?”
“You’re not making it that far in those shoes.”
Her eyes light with a challenge. She’s about to argue—I can see it building—so I cut her off. “Okay, let me rephrase. I’m not going to let you walk that far in those shoes.”
Her mouth opens, outrage simmering. “‘You’re not going to let me?’” Her tone is pure threat.
I grin, slow and deliberate, feeding off her glare. “You’ll slow us down. No way we’re back before dark if you try to keep pace.”
“I can keep up just fine,” she snaps, chin high.
I fold my arms across my chest, and let the silence stretch until it’s almost unbearable. “Two options. Over my shoulder or piggyback.”
She gapes. “Excuse me?”
Before she can launch the tirade I see forming, I step in close, grip her waist, and sling her over my shoulder, making sure her weight is on her uninjured side. She yelps, twisting, but I’ve got her.
“Put me down!” she growls, fists beating at my back.
I slap her ass, and then keep my palm there, squeezing for good measure just because I can. “Just keeping you safe. All part of the job.”
Her entire body stiffens. “You absolute—ugh!” She writhes, but when she realizes it’s useless, she goes limp with a dramatic, surrendering sigh. “Fine. But I’m going to throw up all over your back this way.”
“Sexy.”
“Seriously, put me down. I’ve chosen option two.”
I chuckle and set her back on her feet. She gives me a look so imperious I half expect a crown to appear on her damp hair.
She arches her brows high and points down at the muddy grass. “If you’re going to be of service,” she declares, “you need to get on your knees so I can climb on.”
Her words fire through my veins, and my blood rushes to my cock so fast I’m light headed. Fuck not now! I command my body to behave. “I’m more than happy to service you on my knees, baby, if that’s what you need right now, but I really think we should see if there is anything in the tree.”
My grin widens when her cheeks flush bright pink.
“Just crouch down,” she growls.
I smirk and her cheeks turn even more red.
“So, I can climb on your back.”
“Your wish is my command.” I bend down, and she clambers onto my back, legs hooking at my sides. I lock my hands around her thighs, her warmth searing through my T-shirt.
She tugs on my hair like reins. “Mush.”
“That’s for dogs.”
“Whatever.” She waves her hand in front of us. “Beast of burden—get going.”
Laughter rips out of me, and she shakes with her own amusement against me, her breath hot on the back of my neck.
Warmth spreads through my chest and my lungs expand.
Despite the heavy mud splattering my jeans, the storm, and the danger always lurking, I don’t give a damn—because I’d carry her anywhere if it meant I got to hear that beautiful free sound again.
It takes longer than it normally would to reach the tree, and while we walk, Elizabeth points at different landmarks on the way, regaling me with stories of her childhood. She sounds happy and relaxed as she describes how she and her cousins ran wild here as small children.
The tree appears below us as we crest the small rise—a towering oak, its branches wide and casting shadows in the overcast light. From a distance, it looks solid, but as we draw closer, I see the warping in its trunk.
I lower her to her feet again, so she can walk the last hundred feet or so to the tree at the water’s edge.
The air is humid after the storm, and the insects are chittering all around us in a light breeze.
Elizabeth’s steps slow, her gaze fixed on the tree.
She comes to a stop, arms wrapped loosely across her stomach.
“You good?”
She nods. “I just didn’t expect it to look so… peaceful. Considering…”
It is peaceful, and it’s easy to understand why this is one of her favorite places. Too peaceful for the reason we’re here.
I reach for her hand and thread my fingers through hers, brushing my thumb over the soft skin between her knuckles.
Elizabeth drags her eyes from the tree and looks up at me. “I thought it would be harder, I feel guilty that it isn’t.” The breath she lets out is almost a laugh. “The girl who stood in this exact spot and said yes to Keith—She’s gone. Or maybe she’s just…” She tilts her head, and grimaces.
My hand slides to her waist. “You don’t have to pretend it didn’t matter. Or that you’re not sad he’s dead...”
She holds my gaze. “I’m not. But I’m also not the same young girl who loved him once.
Honestly? I’m sad Keith died afraid, the same as I would for anyone.
But it was of his own making. The choices he made and probably would have continued making.
” Her shoulders lift in a helpless shrug.
“That sounds awful, but it’s how I feel. ”
“I think you’re entitled to conflicting feelings, Firefly.
He dragged you into this mess. Put your life at risk.
” I pull her into my side, nestling the top of her head under my chin, and try to keep my anger in check.
It’s understandable that this is a complicated situation for her emotionally, but my feelings toward her ex-husband are much more clear cut. And if he weren’t already dead…
The breeze picks up around us. The leaves in the oak rustle loudly, and the faint sounds of thunder reach us again.
I hold her for another few seconds before stepping back and reaching for her hand again. “We need to hurry if another storm is coming. Don’t love the idea of standing next to a lightning rod in the open.”
Elizabeth gives her head a little shake and drops my hand, stepping closer to the tree.
A long, thin, blackened scar coils from the base upward toward the wide branches.
Running her hand up the groove in the rough bark, her fingers curl, and then she is on tip toes, fingers disappearing into a hidden hole and reaching inside.
A moment later her hand emerges, clutching a bundle. She stares down at it wide-eyed before peeling back what appears to be dirty oilcloth, revealing a sealed plastic bag. Inside is a long, white, velvet box.
“Can it really be this easy?” she whispers.
“Sometimes we just need luck,” I offer, even as my gut pulls at the knowledge that this isn’t over yet.
Elizabeth pulls the box from the bag, and without hesitation, she flips up the hinged lid. “It's a pity something so beautiful is hiding something so ugly.” Even in the dim light the stones sparkle.
Thunder sounds again, closer this time. Snapping the box closed, she slides it back into the plastic bag. “Let’s go.”
I consider her. “You aren’t even tempted to try it on?”
Her lip curls. “Not even a little bit.” She gives me a mischievous grin. “I’ve always been more of an emerald girl in case you’re shopping.”
Elizabeth hands me the box, and I stick it into my waistband, pulling my shirt over it.
“Can’t hold it and you. I’m more stallion than beast of burden.”
Her eyes sparkle. “I don’t know… I’m getting definite jackass vibes—” She squeals when I scoop her up and cut her off with a kiss.