“It’s in the glove box. I know that’s not the correct place to store it, but things were really crazy for a while.”
“No, that’s perfect.” Peter stuffed a few things back in his own suitcase and zipped it up. He was pleased to see Brooke doing the same, and a few minutes later they exited the motel room and were driving away from the motel.
“Where are we going?” she asked as he steered the car onto the freeway and headed west.
“Colorado, eventually. And I did listen to your arguments against going home, but right now, you need someplace safe to rest and recover. I can’t think of a better place to do that than home.”
Home! Brooke closed her eyes, and images of Cathedral Hills ran through her brain. She remembered the good friends she’d left there, and the fun times they’d all shared. Her parents were no longer there, but Tyler was, and she’d really like to see him again. Maybe there was a way she could stop in and see everybody, and then just disappear while she got her life straightened out again.
“No comment?” Peter asked, when she didn’t immediately object.
Brooke shook her head, and then laughed when Peter muttered beneath his breath, “Good. Wasn’t going to do you any good anyway!”
Chapter 6
Seven hours later, outskirts of East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
“How you doing over there?” Peter asked, seeing that Brooke was finally starting to wake up. She’d been sleeping ever since they had jumped on the freeway leaving the city, cuddled up in the blanket and pillow he’d purchased from the motel when they checked out. Peter had paid more than three times what the blanket and pillow were worth, but when he’d really taken a good look at Brooke’s face, he’d seen the dark circles beneath her eyes and known that she was beyond exhausted and sick.
Brooke stretched in the seat as much as possible, and then turned her head to look at Peter, “Thirsty.”
“Hungry?” he asked, signaling to change lanes in preparation for getting off at the next exit. The signage advertised several fast food restaurants, as well as fuel services.
“Not really, but I know I probably need to eat a little something.”
“Good. I’m going to fill up again…”
“Again?” Brooke sat up, and then really looked out her window. “Where are we?” she asked, meeting his eyes.
“Pennsylvania. You’ve been asleep the better part of six hours.”
Six hours? How is it possible that I slept that long without medicinal help? Deciding she wasn’t going to question it any further, she gave him a sheepish grin, “Guess I was tired?”
“You’re asking me or stating a fact?”
“Uhm…can I get back to you on that?”
“Sure.” Peter steered the car off the main road, and stopped in front of a gas pump. “Decide where you want to eat. Burgers or cheap Mexican food.”
Neither one sounded very appetizing to Brooke, but her stomach was already starting to object, and she knew some food would help give her body something else to concentrate on besides the lack of drug therapy. “Burgers,” she answered, deciding that would be better than spicy food.
“Burgers it is,” he smiled, before exiting to fill up the car.
Brooke folded up the blanket, and then set it and the pillow in the backseat before pulling down the visor and grimacing at her reflection. Her eyes looked wounded with the dark bluish staining underneath them. Her skin color was so pale that it almost had a gray pallor to it, causing her to look more ill than she actually felt. The sleep had done her body wonders, and she noticed that her slight headache appeared to be gone for the moment.
“Still doing okay in here?” Peter asked, squatting down next to his open car door and gazing inside.
Brooke nodded, “Yeah, I actually feel a bit better.”
“But?” Peter asked, hearing the unspoken word in her voice.
“I’m know that things will probably get worse again before they get better.”
“What seems to trigger the withdrawals?” he asked, wishing he knew exactly which drugs her awful husband had given her.
Brooke thought for a moment, and then shrugged her shoulders, “Maybe stress or getting anxious. I know after I would take just a half of pill, I would feel calmer and almost serene. Like nothing could really upset me.”
“So maybe he was giving you anxiety pills?” Peter asked.
“Maybe. I know I was still taking the sleeping pills each night, and sometimes I’d wake up in the middle of the night and take another pill so I could get back to sleep.”
“Any other pills you were taking?” Peter queried, making mental notes so that he could relay them to the folks back home the next time they spoke. Maybe one of them could figure out how best to help her through her illness.
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Good. Let me pay for the gas, and then we’ll go grab some food and get back on the road.”
“How far are we going today?”
“Not sure. Be right back,” Peter said, closing the door and jogging towards the payment booth. While waiting for his credit card to be run, he questioned the young man behind the glass about a car dealership that might be willing to trade the Mustang for something with better gas mileage. The kid eagerly told him about his uncle’s place a few miles up the road, and even offered to call and pave the way for Peter’s arrival.
He nodded to the young man, and then headed back to Brooke. After seating himself in the driver’s seat, he asked her, “How attached are you to this car?”
“Are you asking if I plan on keeping it?” When Peter nodded his head, she laughed, “I have absolutely no plans to keep this symbol of everything my life became.”
“Good, because I think we should get rid of it while we’re here in Pittsburgh. If your husband runs…”
“Please don’t call him that.” When Peter didn’t respond, she added, “I know legally he’s considered my husband, but I was drugged up the afternoon we visited his judge friend’s office and I remember signing something, just not what.”
“You were drugged up when you got married?” Peter asked, developing a whole new reason to hate her husband. Sure, he knew he wasn’t supposed to hate anyone, but some people did things that made them immensely unlikable. Zachary Grayson fit into that category.
“I don’t remember much about that day. I remember we went to lunch and I felt fine. But during lunch, my head started to hurt. Zachary gave me a couple of aspirin, and then I don’t remember much. Just bits and pieces.”
“That might be important when you try to file for a divorce.” Peter wished he wasn’t having this discussion with her. Brooke was supposed to have married him!
“Maybe. You know, there’s a lot about the last four months I don’t really remember. At least, not until I found out I was being drugged and started taking steps to correct that.”
“I’m proud of you for being brave enough to fight back. That took a lot of courage.”
“Desperate people do desperate things,” she offered back.
“Well, your days of being desperate are over. For good! Now, tell me what you want to eat so we can get back on the road and find this car dealership the fine young man at the gas station gave me directions to.”
Brooke gave him her order, and then listened as Peter ordered twice as much food for himself. She looked at his physique, and wondered what kind of metabolism he must have if he ate like this at every meal. He was definitely not overweight, and he seemed to have great muscle tone.
His arms were deeply tanned, and the muscles bulged beneath his t-shirt when he flexed them. “Quit showing off,” she told him, thinking how much his body had filled out since they’d been in high school. Peter had always been in great shape, as had her brother and all of the other young men. Working ranches, horses, and playing high school sports made staying in shape easy!
Peter laughingly flexed a bicep and winked at her, “Showing off? As if you’d be impressed. I’m sure you’ve mode
lled next to muscles much bigger than mine.”
Brooke shook her head, “Not really. Most of my work before I came to New York was for magazine ads. Boats. Cars. Motorcycles. I was usually the only animate object in the picture.”
“I thought you originally went out to California to model clothing,” Peter commented, as he paid the drive-thru attendant and took the bags containing their food.
“Yeah, but I’m a little tall for most normal clothing. That became problematic at first. It seems that my long legs filmed better when I was wearing shorts or a swimsuit. I did a few ads for vacation spots and tourism campaigns, but mostly it was for large ticket items like speedboats and flashy cars.”
“So, how’d you end up in New York City?” Peter asked, pulling away from the fast food restaurant and leaving it to Brooke to sort out their food order. He took the directions the fuel station attendant had given him, and headed towards the car dealership.
“Long story,” Brooke said, popping a few fries into her mouth so she wouldn’t have to expound upon that story right now.
Peter looked at her and then nodded, “Fine. But after we take care of the vehicle situation, there’s not going to be anything but miles and miles of road ahead of us. I need to know exactly what’s been going on with you so I can help you find a solution.”
Brooke sighed and then reluctantly nodded her head, “I understand that, but I really made some poor decisions and…”
“…and what? You think I’m going to hold them against you?” Peter wanted to ask, hurt that she wasn’t giving him more credit. Always before, they had been able to speak honestly with one another without fear of judgment.
“Maybe,” she hedged.
“Well, I may have put on some weight and filled out in the muscle department these last six years, but I’m still the same guy I was before. And I meant what I said earlier. I’ve been carrying a torch for you since you left Cathedral Hills, and don’t think that you’re going to douse that flame by confessing that you made a few mistakes.”
More than a few! How about several years’ worth all rolled into a few months!
When Brooke didn’t respond, he reached over and touched her arm gently, “I mean it, Brooke. I’m not here to judge you. That’s God’s department, and I have enough to deal with trying to manage my own life. I don’t need to go around trying to tell others how they should have done things differently. I may not like the situations you were involved in, but that has no bearing on who I think you are as a person. If you’ve made a few mistakes, then that is between you and God, and I trust you’ll take care of the details when the time is right.
“I’m just here as a friend and someone who happens to care about you and would like to see you smiling and happy once again.” He glanced over at her, and decided his short term mission was to put a smile upon Miss Brooke Jameson’s pretty face. The long term would take care of itself all in due time.
Chapter 7
Taking care of the switching out of her new model Mustang for an older SUV had been fairly easy, even though Peter was sure the dealership had made out like bandits. He and Brooke had driven away in a five-year old Honda Pilot with five thousand dollars cash in their pockets. Considering everything, Brooke was very pleased with the bargain that Peter had made. Since she’d had the title with her, the dealership had been able to process all of the paperwork right there, and the SUV now sported a temporary tag good for forty-five days.
“So, now what?” she asked him, as he headed back towards the interstate. She had her arms wrapped around her middle again as she struggled to keep her tremors concealed from her very watchful driver.
“Well, I think we should probably keep going for a few more hours. The weather report said there’s a storm coming down from Canada in the next couple of days, and I for one have no desire to be stuck on the highway in the middle of a blizzard.”
“Me either.” She grew quiet for a moment and then asked, “Have you spoken with Tyler again?”
Peter shook his head, “He’s been trying to call my cellphone for the last few hours, but I wasn’t sure what to tell him. I also would prefer not to talk while I’m driving.”It’s not that safe, and what kind of rescuer would I be if I saved her from her snake of a husband and then got her killed because I was on my phone instead of paying attention to the highway?!
Brooke nodded her head and then sighed, “I guess I probably need to talk to him myself, huh?” She shivered a little bit, glad that the worst of the nausea and tremors seemed to have passed. This time. She’d toyed with the idea of taking another half of a sleeping pill, but then she remembered the horrible nightmare she’d had the night before, and pushed that idea from her mind. Feeling awful was much better than waking up screaming in terror! Every day of the week!
“That might be a good idea,” he agreed, knowing that Tyler was probably going crazy back in Colorado, not knowing what was going on.
“Tell you what; let’s drive for a couple more hours, and then we’ll stop for the night. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have it in me to drive all night long.” When she nodded her agreement, he asked, “You feeling okay?”
She relaxed her arms around her middle, and pasted a fake smile upon her face. “A little bit. I figure it might take a week or more before I feel completely better.” I hope it doesn’t take any longer than that. While she was feeling slightly better than say – two hours ago, she knew it was only a matter of time before her body let her know it was going without whatever chemical substance it had come to rely on to feel good. She’d managed to hide her feelings of nausea from him for the most part, and the only reason he hadn’t seen her shaking was because she was sitting down.
“I figure that we can stop in Columbus for the night, and then we’ll get started again first thing in the morning.”
“All right,” she agreed, wrapping up the rest of her burger and tossing it back into the bag. Her appetite was still very minimal, although the soft drink was just what she needed. She sank back into the leather seat, and let her mind wander as she listened to the radio and watched the scenery go by.
She kept replaying Peter’s words over again in her mind, all the while trying to believe that they were true. He’d said that he hadn’t changed, and that there was nothing she could tell him that would make him stop caring for her. As much as she longed to believe in that type of unconditional affection, that wasn’t the way her world had worked. Not in a very long time, and she doubted that when the truth was finally revealed, Peter would be able to stand behind his word. Not because he didn’t want to, but because he wouldn’t be able to look at her and not think about all of the things she’d done and allowed to unfold in her life.
Before long, she’d let the passing of the miles lull her into a semi-sleep state, and she finally gave into her exhaustion and let her eyes close. Sleep meant that she didn’t have to worry about giving away how lousy she was starting to feel once again, and sleep meant that for a brief moment, she didn’t have to try and come up with answers that just couldn’t be seen!
Peter knew when she finally stopped thinking and went back to sleep, her body slumping forward in the seat and her head lolling towards the window. He reached over and adjusted her head so she wouldn’t wake up with a crick in her neck, and then he turned the radio down.
The miles rolled by, and Peter’s mind was taking all sorts of crazy turns in regards to Brooke and the people in her life who had been abusing her trust. So far, the list included her husband, her New York agent, and her California agent. He couldn’t believe that there weren’t others who had known how she was being treated and yet, did nothing to stop it. In his book, that was just inexcusable. This world would be a much better place if people simply opened their eyes and stood up for injustice wherever it occurred, instead of turning their backs and minding their own business.
He knew that when things finally came out, there would be several people coming forward who would express thankfulness that her ordea
l was over, because they had watched it unfold and yet done nothing. They would assuage their guilt over not acting by making sure they expressed an over-abundance of gratitude for her rescue. Peter had no need for people like that, and he only hoped that she could be shielded from any more leeches in their small town. He already knew how he saw this playing out, and he also knew that Tyler would be of the same opinion he was – someone needed to pay!
Three hours later, the lights of downtown Columbus showed up and he took the highway past the metropolis area and headed west. “Hey, Brooke. I’m getting ready to find us a place to settle in for the night. Do you have a preference?”
Brooke stirred in her seat, and then arched her back a bit and stretched. “Not really. Maybe someplace that has room service. I don’t really feel up to going anywhere.”
Peter looked at her in the waning light, and noticed that her skin had taken on a greyish tone once again, “You feeling sick again, darlin’?”
She nodded her head, and he hated the fact that he couldn’t do anything for her. Not that she would let him do anything anyway. Maybe after she talks to Tyler he can come up with a way to help her that I haven’t thought of.
Peter pulled off the highway, and then into the parking lot of a well-known hotel chain. He didn’t mind spending a little more on their room tonight, as he was going to suggest that they take it a little slower tomorrow if she was still feeling poorly. She would be easier to convince if she had someplace comfortable to hang out.
“Hang tight and I’ll go grab us a room,” he smiled at her as he exited the vehicle. He entered the hotel and smiled at how clean and new everything looked – a far cry from where they’d spent the night before!
“Can I help you sir?” the young male attendant asked.
“Sure can. I need a room with two beds.”
“Just for tonight?”
“Maybe two nights, I really won’t know until morning. Is that going to be a problem?”
“No, sir. That should be no problem at all. Check out is at 11 o’clock, so if you could just let someone down here at the front desk know if you will be staying beyond that we would appreciate it.”
Romance: Brooke and Peter - A Christian Romance as a Love Story: (Romance, Christian Romance, Romance Novel, Romance Book) (Cathedral Hills Book 3) Page 5
