by Cheryl Wyatt
“She’s with Kate. They’re shopping.”
Bri rolled her eyes. “Oh, brother. I’ve been shopping with the two of them. One day when Kate and Lauren came to pick me up, the last time we had a girls’ night out. Kate and Tia are total shoe-aholics, and if they end up anywhere near a shoe store, they’re liable not to get here until the New Year’s bash is nearly over.”
“You’re probably right.” Ian’s ears perked up as a slow song came on. He peered at Bri. She stared at his plate, cheeks tinged. He reached for her hand. “May I?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. I’ve been so nervous about this evening, I haven’t eaten all day. My blood sugar is so low right now, I’d likely pass out in the middle of our dance.”
He nodded and went to refill a second plate. She laughed when he put it in front of her. Kate texted him to say she and Tia were having so much fun shopping, they might be later than expected. Ian figured Kate was just keeping Tia away because she wanted him and Bri to have some time alone.
That suited him just fine. Not that he didn’t want to see his daughter. He was having fun spending time with Bri.
Two minutes before midnight, another slow song came on. “Come on. This will probably be the last one.”
She settled her hand in his and he led her to the dance floor, totally not caring who saw. She felt good and right in his arms as the music began. They danced respectably and Ian smiled when she rested her cheek on his shoulder. “I like it when you lean on me.”
“I’m thankful God sent you to lean on.”
“I’m beginning to believe it.”
She smiled. “I knew. Tia told me you bought her a Bible and promised to take her to church.”
He nodded, then leaned his head back to peer when Bri drew a shaky breath. “You okay?”
Her eyes flitted away for a moment, then back to his. “Yeah. I made a phone call while Tia was napping today.”
“Yeah? What’s that?” Ian dipped her, causing hair to spill over his arm.
He lifted her back up and wished like crazy to pull her closer. But they were still hovering somewhere between friendship and more. And right now, he couldn’t completely define the more.
“Yeah, I called the nursing home. Spoke to my dad.”
He paused, even though the music continued. “How’d it go?” He resumed their gentle sway.
She drew a breath. “I’m not sure he remembered me.” Pain made her eyes a stormy shade of blue. Yet he saw a peace residing there that hadn’t been before. “But I promised to come see him, anyway. He has memory loss from a brain injury, but I have to try.”
“I’m really proud of you, Bri. I’m happy to go with you, if you want me to.”
“I’d like that. Thank you, Ian.” Disappointment hit him that the song was winding down. Ian swept her beneath a shade tree and held her close. Too soon, she whispered something about needing to find the ladies’ room, so Ian reluctantly let her go.
Once it was about time for Kate and Tia to show, he searched around for them. He wanted to see the fancy dress Tia had called excitedly to tell him about.
Her call had surprised and delighted him. Tia had chattered on and on, seeming to forget for those few moments that she was supposed to be mad at him. He knew he needed to tell her the truth about her mom soon.
Just not tonight. Tonight he’d let her enjoy herself and feel like the princess she believed she was.
Ian looked around for Tia but decided Kate must not have arrived with her yet. Mitch approached with a grin. “Wow. Everyone looks way different out of scrubs and camouflage.”
Ian nodded and went to the punch table, hoping for a sighting of Tia or Bri. He didn’t feel whole without either of them. The truth hit him like a war missile. He met Mitch’s eyes. “Dude, I’m falling hard.”
Mitch looked at him funny. “Not sure what that means, Shupe. No one spiked the punch.”
Ian shook his head. “No, I mean Bri.”
Mitch’s eyes widened, but not as much as Ian would have expected. “No surprise there.” He chinked his cup against Ian’s. “Congrats, man. I’m happy for you.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I need to step back a little.”
Mitch grew serious. “If you’re asking my opinion, I say no. I think you should step forward. She’s a great girl.”
“I think so, too. Seen her lately?”
“No, actually. Not since we first arrived. Maybe she’s with Lauren.” But when Lauren approached with Bri not at her side, Ian started to worry.
* * *
“Let. Me. Go.” Bri seethed words through her teeth and Eric’s skin-crushing grip.
He leaned in, the smell of whiskey strong on his breath. “This is an open party. You can’t stop me from being here.” He stumbled precariously. Bri tried again to jerk her arm free. She nearly lost her balance.
His face hardened to the point of scaring her. “I’ve been keeping up with your little lodge-saving party through the Four Dogs blog.”
Bri fought annoyance. And fear. She looked around for Ian. Mitch. Kate. Anyone who’d see she might be in trouble. She’d gone to the restroom to check her makeup, and he’d lunged out of the shadows between two of Eagle Point’s buildings. “Four Guys, a Dog and a Blog,” Bri corrected.
His gaze narrowed. “I don’t appreciate being corrected.” He increased the pressure of his hand, causing her to cry out. “And I don’t appreciate being dumped by a half-wit who didn’t appreciate how good she had it.”
“Let her go.”
Bri whirled. Eric’s head whipped around.
Ian moved like a freight train to put himself between her and Eric. He didn’t bother asking Bri if this guy was giving her trouble. Rather, Ian gripped Eric’s arm much the same way he did Bri. Ian squeezed until Eric’s face contorted in pain. He let go of Bri’s arm as though it were a venomous snake. Eric tried to stumble backward, but Ian held fast, still gripping his arm. Hard. Harder.
“You like that? How’s it feel to be bullied by someone bigger than you?” Ian towered over Eric, and Bri could see the combat-trained military man he must have learned to hide well in a civilian setting.
Eric crumbled to his knees, gave Bri a helpless look, then anger flashed in his eyes. “Call your boyfriend off.”
“He’s not my—” Bri’s mouth clamped shut at the question in Ian’s eyes. She faced Eric. “It’s none of your concern who he is to me. You need to leave now or I’ll have you arrested.” She rubbed her arm, causing Ian’s gaze to fall there.
Ian picked up his phone, and Bri knew without a doubt he was calling the sheriff. The rage forming in Ian’s eyes as he watched the bruise erupt on Bri’s arm made her realize the level of self-control Ian must have used not to punch Eric in the nose.
Because Ian sure looked like he wanted to.
“Yeah, Sheriff? Bri Landis has been assaulted in an alley between Sully’s and Golden Terrace. She’s okay, but her arm is bruised pretty good. No, I got the guy. Her ex-boyfriend decided to crash the party.”
Eric tried to twist out of Ian’s grasp. He spat at the ground when he couldn’t. Bri almost laughed that Ian didn’t even appear to be straining or winded. His strength surpassed what she could have imagined. And Eric was no wimp. She rubbed her arm as a testament.
“She won’t press charges,” Eric bit out and smirked at Bri. “She never did.”
“You never hurt me like this before. Only with words.”
Eric’s answer was a sneer. “You don’t have the guts to have me arrested. Call your dog of a boyfriend off. Or I’ll have my attorney arrest both of you.”
Ian snorted laughter. “You must be tanked. Tell me, did you drive here? Because if you did, I have a feeling the sheriff is going to find open alcohol in your car.”
The sheriff and several
Refuge and Eagle Point officers ran over on foot with handcuffs drawn. Bri looked Eric squarely in the eyes and said, “He bruised my arm and shoved me against the building. He pulled my hair, then wouldn’t let me leave willingly. I’d like to have him arrested for assault and battery.”
Eric squealed like a girl as the cops hauled him to his feet. He tried to get away from the police, who then ended up dragging him across the alley toward their blinking car.
Now, suddenly alone in Ian’s presence, Bri felt complete and utter shame. He’d seen her weak. She put her head down. “I need a moment alone.”
His hand came up to cup her face. “He hurt you.”
“I’ll be fine.”
He swallowed. “Bri, please don’t shut me out.”
She shook her head. “I said, I want to be alone.”
Ian’s hands trembled as it gently encircled her wrist, then her arm. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner to protect you. You need to follow through with pressing charg—”
“I intend to,” she snapped. But she was on the verge of tears and shame that she’d never known before.
Why had Eric come back? Doubtful he’d have nerve to return again. That wasn’t what scared her.
What scared her was that she’d stupidly opened her heart to another man. Especially one prone to beastly moods.
She eyed Ian. Knew that wasn’t completely fair.
But right now, it was the only thing that felt safe.
“Goodbye, Ian.” She turned and ran to find someone to drive her home. She could not face Ian. Moreover, she could not face her feelings for him.
She’d made a tremendous mistake.
One that could hurt Tia.
No way could Bri forgive herself for that. She obviously wasn’t ready to take things to another level. Hot tears streamed down Bri’s cheeks as she tried to figure out how to get home.
She saw Brock up ahead, getting into his car. She ran up, swiped her raccoon eyes away.
He leaned out, looking on high alert at her rapid approach. “Brock, I need a favor. I’m not feeling well. Can you give me a ride home?”
“Hop in.” He noticed her hair was a mess from her encounter with Eric. “What happened to you? Where’s Ian?”
She shook her head, feeling on the verge of a breakdown over the mention of Ian’s name. Of the hurt displayed in his eyes with her words. “Please, don’t ask questions. Just drive.”
* * *
“Just drive,” Ian told Mitch. Lauren had found out about the incident and had told Kate that Ian went to look for Bri.
“Someone said she left with Brock.”
“She needs to go to the cop shop and put the jerk away.”
“I agree. But I’ve never seen her so vulnerable and broken. It was like all the verbal abuse came back full force, washing away her common sense. Her ability to think clearly.”
“Be patient, Ian. Like you, she’ll come around.”
“I don’t intend to give up or stop reaching out to her until she does.”
Bri’s lights were off in her cabin by the time they made it there. Ian passed Brock’s truck in the driveway. He nodded a greeting and gave Ian a thumbs-up as they passed on the road.
“Wait here. Let me talk sense into her.”
* * *
Bri curled up on the couch and wiped her streaked makeup off with a cloth. A light tapping at her door nearly caused her to shriek.
Eric had scared her. More than anyone would ever know.
She’d had Brock run her by the police station and she’d filled out a formal report. The officers assured her Eric would not be bothering her tonight or any other night, and they’d keep her place heavily patrolled.
Plus Bri had no doubt once Caleb heard, he’d have the Guard monitoring every inch of her property. She smiled ruefully and tried to ignore whoever was at the door.
They were persistent enough she dragged herself off the couch and poked her head between the crack.
Ian. While one part of her wanted to slam the door on him and everything he’d come to mean to her, another part of her wanted to unlatch the chain lock and fall into the strength and safety of his arms.
“Are you gonna let me in?”
“Are you gonna leave the second I ask you to?”
His jaw tensed. “If that’s the only way you’ll let me in.”
She flipped the chain and swung open the door. He stepped in gingerly, his cologne reminding her of how he’d held her in the dance. Carefully. Respectfully. Same way his eyes held her now.
Nothing like Eric.
“May I sit?”
She indicated the couch. “Suit yourself.”
Rather than react to her with harsh words, he looked as if he could scoop her close and kiss the world out from under her feet.
Her brain fogged up as his hands came up to cup her shoulders. Bri swayed into him as he bent to brush a kiss as soft as velvet across her lips. Then stopped short as sense returned. Their eyes widened in an unexpected, electric moment. They both skittered backward like startled forest squirrels. “I should—”
“Go get Tia—”
Ian turned and took off so fast she’d have thought the trauma sirens were going off. The ones inside her head were.
It took a few deep breaths for Bri to fully recover and figure out exactly what had just happened.
Because truth was, she really liked kissing Ian.
Why did she feel so powerfully drawn to him? This attraction seemed a force all its own.
Perhaps their mutual concern for Tia and her emotional plight created a powerfully swift and unexpected bond. But what if it was more? Was God up to it? Was it stupid to hope so?
“Lord, times like this make me really miss Mama. I know You will sustain me. Like You, Lord, she was the best listener in the world.” Bri paced, fighting sadness inside her chest. Then Bri stopped, realizing she’d picked up that quirk from Ian.
Her heart softened at the thought of his name. How deeply she’d come to care for him hit her with the force of a tsunami wave. There was a knock on her door. Two guesses who it was.
“Ian, I’m really tired. Can we please talk about this tomorrow?”
Clearly he wasn’t keen on leaving her alone. “I started to leave but couldn’t. I just want to be sure you’re okay. That you don’t need to be seen by a doctor.”
“You’re a doctor. It’s just a tiny bruise.”
“No, it’s five bruises from his hand nearly crushing your arm.”
“It won’t happen again.”
“How can I be sure?”
She opened her front door. “Because I’m never letting him, or any man, get close enough to hurt me again. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I just want to sleep.”
He stared at her for several moments with such determination and intensity, Bri was surprised when surrender weighed his shoulders down.
Wordless, he sauntered out, turning back to cast a tender but still determined look. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Will Tia be over?”
He paused on the landing, fingers shoved into his pockets. “No. She’s staying the night with Kate.”
Bri nodded. “I’ll still be able to watch her, though, right?”
Ian’s jaw tensed. “Possibly for now, but she’s getting too attached to you.”
Tears flooded Bri’s eyes, because she knew. She knew with her whole mind, soul and heart that he was right.
“Good night, Ian.” Bri closed the door feeling as if she’d just set into motion two more wretchedly painful goodbyes.
Chapter Sixteen
“Daddy, I miss her.” Tia said to Ian on the drive back from his mom’s three weeks into the New Year.
“I miss her, too.” In f
act, Ian had not been able to stop thinking of Bri for two solid weeks. Before that, he’d endured a week of utter misery when Bri all but avoided him the first week of the New Year, except for impersonal nods and a monotone report of Tia’s behavior for the day.
Ian hated the shadows Eric’s attack had etched into Bri’s eyes when he’d dropped off or picked up Tia. Finally, after a solid week of anguish and uncertainty, he’d turned the reins over to Dr. Lockhart and taken a much-needed two weeks off.
“Did you have fun on the Disney cruise?” Ian pulled onto the road leading to his home.
“Yeah. I’m glad Grandma and Grandpa went with us. And my aunts and uncles. But, I wish Miss Bri coulda gone.”
Ian hadn’t bothered asking her, because he knew she’d say no. She’d thwarted every effort to build on what they’d started.
On the upside, Kate had texted him that Bri had started going to counseling two days after he’d gone on vacation. Ian dragged his suitcase out of the back of his truck, then Tia’s.
“Can we go get Mistletoe and see Miss Bri now?”
“He’s right here.”
Ian looked up. Bri sat on his doorstep, waiting with the dog. He froze, not knowing what to make of it. Was she resigning as his sitter? Handing over the dog? Disappearing from their lives for good?
Bri held her arms out to Tia, who rushed her on first sight. “Briiii!”
Ian couldn’t help but smile, yet it felt bittersweet.
He approached cautiously and realized under his porch light that Bri’s eyes were red and blotchy.
He leaned in. “Are you having an allergic reaction?”
Her chin wobbled and she shook her head. Handed the squirmy dog to Tia and stepped close. “No. I—I just missed you and Tia. So, I decided to come sit on your porch.”
Ian didn’t hide his grin. “Like, today?”
A shy look came across her face. “No, every day since you left, actually. Let’s walk.”
Ian took Tia’s hand as they started down the street. “I’ve been going to see a counselor about stuff with Eric.”
“So I heard.”
“Well, I realize now how irrational I’ve been. How silly it was to compare the two of you. I also have been seeing you and Tia leaving the early church service when I’m driving in for the later one. I’d like us to...to go together from now on.” A vulnerability shone in her true-blue eyes.
