Never Let Go (Brothers From Money Book 9)

by Shanade White

  Calvin paused at the door, then turned around and came back to her. Pulling her into his arms, he said, “I’ll miss you too. But I’ll be back, I promise.” Then, just to remind her of his feelings, he kissed her until her knees went weak.

  When he stepped out of the door, he grimaced when he saw his mother in the front seat of the car, which he’d decided to take instead of the truck since the weather had been clear for days and the road was in good shape. Her sitting in the front seat could only mean one thing: a lecture was coming. He hadn’t had to endure one of her lectures in years but could remember all too well how it would go. Taking a deep breath, he got in the car prepared for the worst, but instead of saying anything, she simply watched the passing scenery.

  But when they turned off the snow-packed dirt road onto the highway, her tongue suddenly loosened and he understood she had only been giving him a reprieve until they got out of the mountains. “Brooke seems like a wonderful girl,” she said, not even bothering to try and be subtle.

  “Yes, she is. She’s had some rough times in the last few years, but it seems like she’s found her place in the world,” Calvin said, finding it impossible not to smile when he thought about her.

  “What about you?” his mother asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, are you going to be content in Coldwater Canyon? Because it looks to me like both of my sons are going to be living up there permanently before long,” she said, concern on her face when she looked at Calvin. “I just hope this hasn’t happened too fast.” His father made a sound in his throat from the back seat, but his mother shot him a dirty look and he quieted down.

  “Mother, we’ve know each other for months, and regardless of what it looks like to you, we did take our time,” Calvin said, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. “Besides, it’s not like we’re kids, we’re grown adults.”

  “I know, but I worry about you and you didn’t answer my question. Are you going to be happy in Coldwater Canyon? It’s a different life up there.”

  Calvin had asked himself that question over and over and had come up with only one answer. “As long as Brooke’s there, I’ll be happy. That’s the only answer I have for you,” he finally said.

  “Good, that’s the answer I was looking for. I don’t know why you’re even going to South America. Pay the contract off and get out of it. What good is all that money we have if you can’t use it to your advantage every once in a while,” Veronica said, waving her hand in the air.

  Calvin was shocked at his mother’s attitude. “What? Are you actually suggesting that I use our money to get out of a contract? I’m shocked,” he said, shooting a glance at his mother.

  “Well, there are times when it’s wiser to use what we’ve been blessed with rather than continue on a path that isn’t wise,” she said. “And don’t look at me that way. I know you’ve been less than safe sometimes. I tried to get your brother to tell me just how much, but he refused.”

  Calvin was silent for a second, then said, “I wish I could take your advice on this one, but I’m afraid it’s not that simple. This client isn’t going to take no for an answer and don’t ask me any other questions than that. I’m not going to answer them.”

  He mother looked at him for a long time, then said, “I just hope you’ll be careful.”

  “I will,” he answered in the same tone he’d used when his brother had said the same thing.

  He’d finally confided in his brother about the situation he was in, explaining about the drug lord and his impossible wishes. Trying to down play the trouble he was in, but wanting someone to know, Cooper had seen through him instantly.

  “Calvin, just walk away from this,” Cooper said, then asked, “Has he made threats?” When he saw the look on Calvin’s face. “He has, hasn’t he?”

  “Not specific threats, but he’s made some scary statements. He knows where all of you live,” Calvin finally admitted. “So, I’m going back. I have to.”

  “And if you don’t find his mine?” Cooper asked, voicing the one question Calvin had been avoiding.

  “I honestly don’t know. I told him from the beginning that it was a long shot, but I’m not sure he listened, all he was thinking about was mining his own diamonds,” Calvin said. “I could use some backup just in case, but I don’t want to involve you and Carter in this.”

  Cooper was silent for a long time considering their options, then he suddenly thought of the Terrells. “Let me bring Scott and the Terrells into the loop. If you get in trouble, they will be able to help you out.”

  “That seems like a lot to ask,” Calvin said, but knew that the Terrells had some major connections all around the world. “But I’m willing to take help anywhere I can get it, there’s more at stake here than just my life.”

  Brooke knew that she’d miss Calvin while he was gone, but she had so much work to do. The furniture was due to arrive in the morning and the house was far from ready for it. Tom was on his way over and together they would scrub and wax all the floors before it arrived. For the first time since she’d moved to Coldwater Canyon, she missed a modern tool. What was going to take them all day would have been quickly completed with a buffer, but that wasn’t in their future so they were going to do it the hard way on their hands and knees.

  It took the entire day and a good part of the night to get the floors done, but the finished floors were beautiful, the final product much better than any machine could have created. She sent Tom home well after midnight and climbed into bed exhausted, her throat was sore but she just assumed it was the chemicals they’d been using on the floors, not even considering the possibility that she might be getting sick.

  When she got out of bed the next morning, her throat was still sore, but it went away as soon as she took some medication and she forgot about it in the excitement of the delivery truck arriving. The process of unloading the furniture would be a long and tedious one. Each piece had been carefully wrapped for transport, some pieces from all the way across the country. Each would have to be carried inside, unwrapped, then placed in the room where it belonged.

  They had only gotten the smallest pieces unwrapped and in place when the weather took an unexpected turn. Dark heavy clouds began to move in and the temperature dropped. Within an hour, the snow was coming down, soaking them to the skin every time they went to the truck to get another piece for furniture. No matter how much wood she put on the fire, the house was freezing and all of them along with it.

  By the time the delivery truck pulled out of her yard, she was frozen and shivering, her sore throat worse than before. Feeling hot and clammy at the same time, she felt her forehead and knew that she had a fever, but was sure that she’d be better in the morning. Building up the fire first, she took a hot shower to warm up, then collapsed into bed and fell asleep. She slept fitfully, dreaming over and over about a cool glass of water that she wanted desperately but couldn’t quite reach.

  Chapter 9

  When she opened her eyes in the morning, feeling achy all over, she stumbled to the kitchen and drank a full glass of water and took some painkillers, then went back to bed thinking that all she needed was some more sleep. The next time she tried to get out of bed, she fell to the floor when the room began to spin, so weak she could barely make it back into bed. Her throat was on fire, so inflamed that she could barely swallow, and she was so hot she’d soaked the bed in sweat.

  Trying to remember what day it was, her heart sank when she realized that Tom had gone to visit his family and wouldn’t be coming by that day, but then she remembered that Calvin was supposed to be home that night. Reassured that help was on the way, she sank back down into the pillows and drifted off to sleep, dreaming fevered dreams of ice cold water and cooling breezes.

  Calvin cursed when he saw the weather on the mountain; an unexpected front had socked the mountains in, leaving the road unpassable even for a truck with chains. He wasn’t sure why, but he had an overwh
elming feeling that he needed to get back to Coldwater Canyon and fast. It didn’t help that even the satellite phones weren’t working because of the storm. He’d tried to get a hold of Marissa and Cooper with no luck. Now he was pacing around his apartment on edge because of a feeling he couldn’t name.

  It was late in the day before the storm blew out, leaving two feet of snow in the Sierras and the road to Coldwater Canyon treacherous. He’d finally been able to get a hold of Marissa, but she and Scott were snowed in. That two feet of snow had come with ground blizzards that had piled six feet of snow up against the house. Desperate to get up to Brooke, his sense of dread growing, he called his brother Carter to see if he could find him a truck and some chains for the tires.

  When Carter showed up, he handed Calvin the keys and asked, “What’s so important that you need to risk your life?”

  “I don’t know, it’s just a feeling I have,” Calvin said, gathering his winter gear and some emergency supplies. “I have to get up there.”

  “Well, I’m not letting you go alone. I guess this is the perfect time for me to see what all the fuss is about. Mom has been going on and on for days about the park and its charm. She even made Dad buy her a snowmobile, it’s purple with pink lightning bolts on it,” Carter said, trying to distract Calvin.

  Calvin barely even registered Carter’s words, but then he realized that the snowmobile might just be their saving grace. “Where is it?” he asked, heading for the door.

  “It’s sitting in the shed on its trailer until Dad takes her up there in the spring, although I have a feeling she won’t wait that long,” Carter said, following Calvin out the door.

  “Well, we’re going to borrow it. If we get stuck, we can ride that up the canyon,” Calvin said, getting behind the wheel and waiting until Carter got in then speeding away.

  When they hit the bottom of the canyon, they pulled off the road and put the chains on the tires, hoping it would be enough to get them up the steep winding road. It was slow going, but they managed to make it all the way to the top of the canyon before the truck got stuck. When they got out, it was clear that the road became even worse up ahead, and unhitching the snowmobile wouldn’t give them the power they’d need to make it all the way.

  Instead of risking getting stuck without the snowmobile, they unloaded it and some emergency supplies from the truck. When Carter pulled his medical bag out from behind the seat, Calvin shot him a questioning look. “I never go anywhere without it,” he said with no further explanation.

  Darkness had fallen long ago, but the snowmobile had a powerful headlight. Still, they had to go slow to keep on the road. The forest was covered in a blanket of snow that blurred the edges of everything including the road, and several times they almost went off the road but managed to right themselves. Calvin’s feeling of dread began to grow stronger the closer they got to the three homes along the road in the canyon. His first instinct was to head for Brooke’s. She was the only one not in contact and he knew for certain that the batteries in the emergency radio were working.

  Not for the first time, he cursed himself for not giving her the satellite radio he’d bought for her on his last trip to the city. He’d bought it to give to her when he left for South America so they wouldn’t have to rely on emails. He’d worried about her being out there all alone, but she had Tom to look after her plus all her neighbors, he told himself over and over as the miles crawled by.

  A trip that should have only taken an hour had taken them nearly three and it was the middle of the night when they pulled into Brooke’s yard. Calvin looked around, instantly knowing that something was wrong but not sure what. There were no lights on in the house, but it was late, Brooke was probably in bed sound asleep. Then he realized what was wrong, there was no smoke coming out of the chimney.

  Taking the steps two at a time, he barged into the house, knowing that something was wrong. Carter was right on his heels but stopped when they got in the door and he felt how cold the house was. Calvin kept going down the hall to the living room, calling out to Brooke as he went.

  “Hey, Brooke, I’m home and I brought Carter with me so you could meet him,” he said, holding his breath when he walked around the corner.

  The first thing he noticed was that there was no fire in the fireplace and it was stone cold as if there hadn’t been one in a long time. Then he saw the lump in the bed through the darkness and rushed over his heart pounding in his chest. When he tried to wake Brooke, she was unresponsive, but it only took one touch for him to feel how hot she was.

  “Carter,” he bellowed. “Get in here. Brooke’s sick. She’s burning up with fever and I can’t wake her up.”

  Calvin panicked for a second then put his hand on her chest feeling her heart beating steadily. Her body was so hot it felt like it was burning the palm of his hand, but she must have felt him there because she opened her eyes and tried to focus on his face. “Calvin, you’re here,” she croaked through cracked lips.

  “Oh, sweetheart, tell me what’s wrong,” Calvin said, pushing her hair back from her face.

  “My throat hurts and I’m hot. I think I have a fever,” she said, then her eyes drifted closed and he couldn’t wake her again.

  After what felt like hours, but was only minutes, Carter came rushing into the room with his medical bag. He pushed Calvin out of the way and said, “Go get the fire started and warm this house up, it’s freezing in here.” When Calvin didn’t move, he added, “I can’t help her if you don’t get out of the way, Calvin. I’ve got her. You go get those fires started.”

  By the time Calvin got both of the fires going, Carter had given Brooke a quick exam. “Well, what’s wrong with her?” Calvin said, sitting back down on the bed and taking her clammy hand in his, grimacing when he felt how hot it was.

  “I think its strep throat. It’s easy enough to diagnose. I just need to do a snap test. But first I think I better get her some fluids, she’s really dehydrated, plus then I can give her something to bring the fever down and some antibiotics. If its strep, it won’t take long to knock it out. I’m more concerned about how dehydrated she is. It worries me that she’s not conscious,” Carter said, laying it all out for Calvin.

  “She woke up for a minute or so before you came into the room. She recognized me and said her throat hurt. Do we need to get her to the hospital?” Calvin asked, thinking about how difficult it had been to get up the canyon to begin with.

  “No, I have everything I need to treat her right here, but she’s going to need some care. Are you up to that?” Carter asked, rolling up the sleeves on his shirt and setting supplies out on the bed.

  “I love this woman, I’ll do whatever it takes,” Calvin said, desperation in his voice.

  “The first thing I want you to do is go call Cooper and let him know the situation. I want someone to be prepared just in case we do need to get her out of here,” Carter said, then gave Calvin a gentle push to get him going.

  Paige and Cooper insisted on coming over regardless of the time. By the time they got there, Carter had placed the IV and given Brooke a huge dose of antibiotics since it was strep throat. He also gave her something to bring her fever down. When Paige got there, she took one look at the situation and sent Cooper out for firewood while she went into the kitchen to make coffee and put together some food. It was going to be a long night.

  Calvin was sitting next to the bed in a kitchen chair, his whole body rigid, as he repeatedly dipped a washcloth into a bowl of water and applied it to Brooke’s forehead. Paige pulled a table close to him and set down a cup of coffee, then took Brooke’s hand in hers. Feeling how hot Brooke’s skin was, she shook her head.

  “I’m sorry, Calvin. We should have made more of an effort to get over here and check on her, but I know she’d going to be okay, she’s a strong woman,” Paige said, patting him on the back on the way out of the room. “I’ll be right back, let’s get her in some clean sheets and pajamas.”

  Together, they changed the
sheets and put a clean pair of flannel pajamas on Brooke. Her fever had finally dropped although it was still well above normal. The fluids had also begun to do their magic and she was sleeping much more soundly than she had been. Calvin set aside the bowl of water, sure that the crisis was over, and climbed into bed next to Brooke, whispering endearments in her ear until Carter came and sent him to the kitchen for a break.

  When Calvin came into the kitchen, Paige sat him down at the table and put a bowl of chicken noodle soup down in front of him. “It’s not a traditional breakfast, but it’s nourishing, eat it,” she said, setting a roll down next to the bowl.

  Calvin didn’t have much of an appetite, but he managed to eat a few bites of the soup before he pushed the bowl away. “Thanks, Paige. I’m sorry, I’m just not that hungry,” he said, the exhaustion clear on his face.

  Paige sat down across from him and took his hand in hers. “Calvin, I need you to listen to me,” she said, waiting until he looked up at her. “Brooke is going to be fine, but if you don’t take care of yourself, you won’t be. Eat that soup, then go get some sleep. Brooke needs you to stay strong and I bet you haven’t slept all night.”

  Calvin knew that she was right, but he was so worried about Brooke that he couldn’t calm himself down. When Paige pushed the bowl of soup over to him, he picked up the spoon and made himself finish the bowl, surprised to find that he did feel better. As he was eating the roll, Carter came into the kitchen looking pleased.

  “The fever’s broken and she’s sleeping soundly. I’d like to keep her on the fluids for a while longer though,” Carter said, accepting a bowl of soup from Paige. “Calvin, you and I should both try to get some sleep.”

  “I was just saying that myself. I put clean sheets on one of the new beds upstairs for you, Carter, and Cooper put one of the heaters in there, so it won’t be cold,” Paige said, then they all heard a truck in the yard.

  Only a few minutes later, Marissa and Scott came through the front door and into the kitchen. “How is she?” Marissa asked, without even a greeting. “We had to dig out or we would have been here sooner.”