Chapter 15
Fifteen
Present Day
Mo walked Meredith and Bronwyn to Bronwyn’s car, then followed them back to her home.
When they arrived, he climbed from the Jeep, flashlight and laptop in hand. “Stay put. I’m going to make sure everything’s clear inside.”
Neither of them argued, which was good because there was no way he would stand by and watch them go inside until he was sure this hadn’t been an elaborate scheme to lure Bronwyn out of her home.
He set his laptop on the entryway table and scanned each room with his flashlight. The generators were running almost everything else on the property, but Bronwyn had told them her home was on a separate system and she’d wait to see if they needed to turn it on.
He did his best not to snoop, but when his light landed on the magnetic Chinese checkers board on Bronwyn’s home office wall, he did a double take. It was all he could do to keep himself moving.
The rock on her mantel had surprised him. But this? He pulled his mind away from rainy days and nights by the fire and a game he’d played many times as a kid but never since she left.
He kept moving and checked in the bathrooms, behind shower curtains, and in closets. He was quick but thorough.
Five minutes later, he held the door for Meredith and Bronwyn to enter. “It’s clear.”
They walked inside, and he followed them in and locked the door.
“Um, Mo?”
He tilted the light to where the two women stood. They wore matching confused expressions.
“Yes.”
“Whatcha doing, bro?”
Mo pointed to Bronwyn’s sofa. “I’m staying right here until the power comes on.”
Meredith narrowed her eyes at him. “Is Gray behind this?”
“No, but he agreed with me. I didn’t like that whole situation with William.
And the timing of that text Bronwyn received the other night with this outage?
I don’t believe in coincidences. It’s unlikely that anyone would attempt to do anything now, but it’s not worth the risk.
I’ll stay here and make sure you both make it to where you need to be in the morning.
Assuming the power is back on and everything is working, Bronwyn and Landry should be safe in a public space with security cameras.
And you”—he pointed to Meredith—“will be as safe as you ever are in town.”
He held up a hand as both women tried to talk. “As much as I would love to hear your objections, I think if you went to bed now instead of arguing with me, you’d get a solid ninety minutes in before the day begins.”
Bronwyn turned to Meredith. “Huh, I wasn’t going to object. I was going to say thank you.”
Meredith laced her arm through Bronwyn’s and turned them toward the hallway.
“I say we leave him out here without blankets as penance for assuming the worst.” She lowered her voice.
“Although, to be fair, I was going to share that I have a gun and don’t need any protection, so I don’t have an excuse for righteous indignation. ”
Mo couldn’t help it. He laughed. Then yelled down the hall, “I knew it. Go to bed. Sleep.”
He waited to retrieve his laptop until he heard both bedroom doors close. Then he settled on the sofa. He hadn’t mentioned his own weapon, but it was in easy reach. Three minutes later, a door opened, and the sound of footsteps coming down the hall reached his ears.
He didn’t look up from his screen. “Mer, seriously, get some sleep.”
A fleece blanket dropped onto the sofa beside him, and he looked up in time to catch Bronwyn’s smile before she all but ran from the room.
He didn’t need a blanket. It was July. It wasn’t cold. But he picked it up and draped it over his lap anyway. It would have been rude not to. That was all.
Bronwyn slipped back into her room and forced her heart to slow down.
Mo Quinn was in her house, sitting in her living room and staying awake to protect her.
No big deal. Right?
She lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. Her room was too dark. The house was too quiet. And . . . was that Mo tapping away at a keyboard?
How was she supposed to fall asleep?
But as she lay there, she found something soothing in the rhythmic sounds coming from her living room. Little reminders that she wasn’t alone.
That for tonight anyway, she was safe.
And she slept.
When her phone alarm went off at 7:00 a.m., Bronwyn lay in bed for a full minute, mentally reviewing her bank balance and investments. If she bought a ticket and moved to Spain, would anyone miss her? How long would it take to find work?
She spoke minimal Spanish, so that was a potential flaw in the plan. But the temptation was real.
How many days did she go through this ritual? The country changed. Sometimes it was Italy. Sometimes Chile. The British Isles were top contenders. But what would it be like to run away?
Her eyes filled with tears because she’d done that once.
And it had ruined everything.
Her running days were over. She was here. Was she trapped? Maybe. But was she making the best of it? In some ways, yes. In others? So much no.
With that warm and fuzzy thought, she climbed from bed and walked into her bathroom. It was only when she flipped the switch and nothing happened that memories from the night flooded back through her.
The cameras and listening devices in her office. The power outage. Meredith.
Mo.
Was he still here? Had he left when the sun came up?
She used her phone flashlight to see as she brushed her teeth, dressed, put her hair up in a messy bun, and slapped on some mascara and lip gloss. Mostly au naturel was the name of the game today.
She took several deep breaths and walked out of her room.
Meredith sat on the sofa beside Mo. Her hair stuck out in a million directions, she still had her pajamas on, and she was sipping coffee with her eyes closed.
“Morning,” she mumbled. “When did I get too old to pull an all-nighter?” She spoke without opening her eyes. “I think my eyelids are broken.”
Mo closed his eyes. “Do you need me to drive you home?”
“You’re going to have to. I don’t have a car.”
“You don’t?”
“No. Landry took it last night.”
“How were you planning to get to work this morning?”
Meredith yawned. “Landry was going to drive it in on her way to work, but Cal texted and said he’s driving her in today and he’s going to hang out with her. We’re supposed to make sure Bronwyn makes it to Landry’s studio safely, then you can take me home.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Meredith dropped her head to Mo’s shoulder. “Wake me up when it’s time to go.”
He shoved her off of him. “Go get ready. Bronwyn’s ready. You’re the holdup here.”
She grumbled unintelligibly as she staggered to her feet. But she held out her coffee cup in a toast. “Thank you for the coffee.”
He reached for the cup as he got off the couch. “I’ll pour you some more. You’re going to need it.”
He made the barest hint of eye contact with Bronwyn, but she was sure she saw a smile before he escaped to the kitchen.
“Is it ridiculous that I’m already dreaming about going to bed tonight?” Meredith asked as she walked past Bronwyn. “You know what, I don’t even care. My bed is calling me, and I must go.” She paused in the hallway and turned back. “Are you really ready to go?”
“I’m as ready as I can be with no power.” She turned to the kitchen. “Wait. How did he make coffee? We still don’t have power.”
Before she could say more, a cup of coffee was placed in her hand. The coffee was the exact shade of brown she preferred.
Meredith made grabby hands as Mo handed her a fresh cup as well. “Mo can do anything when he sets his mind to it.”
Bronwyn took a sip. The coffee was piping hot. Lightly sweetened. How?
“Mo,” Mo said, “had the good sense to have the room service staff bring him several carafes of coffee as soon as they had generator power in the kitchen.”
“Like I said.” Meredith yawned so big it almost split her face. “You can do anything. Give me five minutes.”
Mo went to the sofa and packed his computer.
Bronwyn had no idea how long she stood there, staring at him.
When she realized what she was doing, she followed Meredith down the hall.
But instead of going to her room, she escaped into her office.
Once she was in there, she took a seat at her desk and sipped her coffee.
The sun was coming up, and she could see around her office a little bit.
Enough to see that something had changed.
There, across from her desk, on the magnetic Chinese checkers board she looked at every single day, someone had moved a blue marble.
No. Not someone.
Mo.
She stood and walked to the board. Her free hand hovered over the red. Should she do it?
“Beep?” Meredith’s voice came from the hallway.
“Coming.” Bronwyn clutched her coffee and studied the board a few seconds longer before she hurried from the room and ran into Mo.
Literally.
His arms braced her and kept her from falling, but in the process, he twisted around, slammed his back into the wall, and pulled her against him.
The hallway was too dark to make out anything but the rise and fall of his chest and the sound of his breathing.
And the racing of her heart.
“What’s going on?” Meredith yelled.
“Nothing,” Bronwyn called out.
“Bronwyn’s trying to kill me.” Mo’s voice came over the top of hers.
A light shone down the hall. “Huh.” Her light disappeared. “I hate to be disagreeable, but from the looks of things, I’d say you’re both lying.”
At her words, Bronwyn took a step back, but Mo didn’t release her arms.
“Flirt later.” Meredith sounded exasperated and delighted at the same time. “I have patients. Let’s move.”
Mo’s hands dropped away, and Bronwyn could swear she still felt their warmth the entire way out of the house, as she’d settled into the back seat of Mo’s Jeep, and when she climbed out of the vehicle at Landry’s studio.
Cal stood at the door and looked them all over. “I’m jealous you didn’t invite me to the slumber party.” Landry stepped outside and leaned against him.
Mo’s humorless smile sent a chill down Bronwyn’s spine. “You can come tonight if you want. I wouldn’t mind the company.”
“What?” Cal, Landry, and Meredith spoke in unison.
Bronwyn was too stunned to say anything.
“We can discuss it later.” Mo was all business, and his tone brooked no argument. “I have to take Meredith to her office. Cal, you’ve got Bronwyn?”
“You know I do.” The response was more serious than Bronwyn had expected.
“Thank you.” Mo nodded at Cal, then nudged Meredith. “You’re the one in a hurry.”
He stepped forward and kissed Landry’s cheek. “Sorry we can’t stay to chat.”
She smiled at him and placed a hand on his heart. “Do what you need to do. We’ve got her.”
Bronwyn looked between Mo, Landry, and Cal, and the pain that slid through her didn’t have a name. Was she jealous? Or was it that she felt left out of their relationship?
She considered her reaction as Meredith and Mo drove away and she followed Cal and Landry inside The Haven’s art studio.
Landry had told her, more than once, how much she adored Mo. She’d always wanted a brother and loved how he treated her much like he treated Meredith.
Bronwyn didn’t think she was jealous of that. She was happy for Landry and for Mo. For all his efforts to appear taciturn and aloof, Mo had a deep well of love and affection, and he needed people to love.
But maybe she was jealous of the ease, the tenderness, the certainty that all was well between them.
She’d felt that way once. And what did it mean that she wanted to feel that way again?