Chapter 19 #2
No, he multiplied money without thinking.
Forest had taken the cash their foster father had collected while stealing their innocence, and with a computer, the Internet, and a self-education in day trading, he’d doubled it, then doubled that, and done it several more times.
It wasn’t long before he’d added several zeros to their net worth.
While she had gone to college and earned her degree, Forest had turned thousands into millions. He’d invested in companies and soon added a ninth zero to their net worth.
“Says the man who bought an airline we don’t need,” she mumbled.
“I bought the corporation that owns the airline, not the airline. If you had bothered to read the memo, you’d know that. They have a charitable track record with battered and abused women and fund children’s cancer research. I thought you’d be interested in that. Now, are you coming or not?”
She counted to three. He wasn’t the only one who knew how to count. Well, one thing was certain. Within moments of being around Forest, she wasn’t worried about Ash anymore.
Forest led her through the concourse until they came to their gate.
A young woman in her early twenties, dressed in a pencil skirt with a blue silk blouse, greeted them with a smile. “Mr. Summers, the pilots told me they’re ready when you are.”
Forest flashed a smile at the girl, and her cheeks turned a deep shade of pink. “Sara, let me introduce my sister, Skye Summers.”
Sara thrust out her hand. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Summers.”
Skye tilted her head toward Forest, wondering why this woman looked familiar. Forest never did anything without purpose. “Nice to meet you.”
Forest cleared his throat. “Sara is interning over winter break and next semester. She’s a senior at Rice University, studying aeronautical engineering.”
He guided Skye down the jetway, leaving Sara at the gate. When they were out of earshot, he lowered his rumbly voice. “You might not remember Sara, but we placed her with our first foster family. She was fourteen.”
That made Sara’s placement seven years ago. She was their first?
Skye turned around, widening her eyes. Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Her name wasn’t Sara, Bean.”
“No. She changed it. Like us.”
“Does she remember me?”
He shook his head. “She doesn’t remember much about that night. Only that the people who saved her were good. Jake and Allison Brenerkie adopted her after having her for a year in their foster care, and they rescued three more. She’s had a good life. We did that.”
Forest guided Skye onto the plane where an efficient staff seated them in two thick leather seats facing each other. As the crew prepared for takeoff, she settled in, pulling out her computer from her backpack.
Sara enplaned a few minutes later. She grinned at Forest and then went back to sit with the other staff for takeoff.
Skye laughed. “Sara has a crush on her boss.”
Forest leaned back in his leather recliner. “She’ll get over it.”
As they were taking off, Forest’s eyes narrowed. “So, you not only went off and married a rock star, but you had to pick Blaze? My fucking rock idol? Seriously, my summer Skye, that’s wrong on so many levels. You’re going to tell me everything.”
The story of Ash began with Spencer, and she wasn’t quite ready to broach that tangled web.
She crossed her arms. “I want to hear about you and your great white whale. How did you ever persuade anyone to get on a boat with you and travel across the Pacific?”
He huffed a laugh and kicked an ankle over his knee. “Now, that is an interesting story.”
Forest’s story took him on a two-hour tangent. He loved to tell a good story, but it came at a price. Never in her wildest imagination did she realize how creative two men could get on a boat.
After he showed her a particularly interesting photo, she leaned back. “I see you no longer have issues with rope.”
He grinned. “Daniels has been helping me. I hope you get a chance to meet him.”
She’d always imagined, if Forest ever delved back into the darker aspects of his sexuality, he would take the dominant role.
It came as quite a surprise to see him submit.
She flipped through that series of photos and tried to focus on the smiling pictures of the two men catching fish and collecting rainwater.
Part of her hoped Daniels figured out whatever test Forest had left for him.
“What does Daniels do? You said it was his yacht…”
“He’s in investment banking, properties and such. More old money than new, living off his inheritance, I think.” He frowned at that comment. Forest hated wasting money.
“Does he know what you do?”
Forest pulled out the leather tie holding back his hair and finger-combed his shoulder-length locks. “He knows I have money but not who I am. I’m hoping he figures out my clues.”
Sara hovered at the back of the plane. Forest waved her over and asked for water.
“Now, you’ve distracted me long enough.” He took a water from Sara with a smile and leaned back.
“First, you send this crazy prenup from that asshole boyfriend. Next, you text, saying you’re taking a stranger with you on a trip.
Then, you get hitched to none other than the lead singer of Angel Fire. What the hell are you doing?”
She didn’t have a clue.
“Have you met the band, too?” He leaned forward, his eyes sparking with excitement.
She nodded. “It didn’t go well.”
He wanted to know all about Spike’s piercings and if she’d noticed if they were gold or silver studs.
He claimed they had some significance. He asked all kinds of questions about the drummer, but she didn’t know which of the men played drums, and she didn’t want to get into an Angel Fire one-oh-one with Forest.
They launched into a discussion about the tribal tattoos Noodles sported. Then, he asked about Bash, wanting to know if his eyes really were as electric blue in person as they were on the album covers.
“I have no idea, considering I had to take him out.”
“You what?”
The explanation of subduing Bash led to another round of questions. She didn’t mind the barrage; it kept her from discussing the one person who made her heart ache.
Forest leaned forward. “My summer Skye, why are you so sad?”
“I miss him.”
She moved the conversation away from Ash to Spencer and how he’d trampled her heart. “I didn’t have the strength to give him back his ring, and when Ash didn’t show up, I figured it was better to have someone in my life rather than no one.”
“I’m in your life.”
She stretched out a hand and dared to touch his knee.
He flinched, and she withdrew her fingers.
“What matters is, I realized why I needed Spencer. Then, Ash walked into my life and turned it upside down. He believes it’s fate.”
“Those bitches suck.”
That was their go-to line.
“Yeah, but Ash believes we were destined to meet. As crazy as it sounds, and I don’t even know why I agreed, but he convinced me to let him join me on my trip.
” She breathed out a sigh and remembered the joy that was Ash.
“I don’t know if it was because I was so emotionally raw after catching Spencer with that woman or if I’m crazy, but taking a chance on Ash was the best decision I ever made. ”
“I’m not sure about the best decision. You wound up married without realizing it. And you claim I’m the one who needs a babysitter.”
He was right on that point.
“It doesn’t really matter. I ended it, and I have to work in the morning. I guess we’ll meet with the lawyers after my shift to figure out the next step?”
Forest sipped on his water. “You’re evading the question. I’m asking, what do you want to do about your husband?”
She scrunched her face. “You said I could get it annulled.”
“You don’t sound like someone who wants to end things.”
She lifted her hands in the air, palms up. “I left him, Forest. I’m not sure I can be any clearer in what I want.”
“I’ll do whatever you want. I’m your shoulder to cry on. Just tell me what you need.” He stared out the window at the sun setting over the clouds.
She needed a shoulder she could lean on and arms that would lock her in tight. She needed Ash. His intensity. His laughter. Ash’s touch. Hell, something as simple as his smell would do.
She needed to know she’d made the right choice. But, if she was leaving him, why did every thought begin and end with him?
Unfortunately, her little beanpole couldn’t give the physical comfort she needed. He would give everything else, but he couldn’t give a basic hug.
She stared out into the sunset as the sky deepened toward night.