It made her feel independent back then. But now, she was tiring of the mundane routine. She’d never imagined doing this for so long. At the least, she’d expected to be in a long-term relationship by now, for crying out loud.
He put his fork down. “You don’t have to stay there. If there’s something else you want to pursue, we can make that happen. You could even go back to school.”
That was about the last thing she’d expected Chess to say. She blinked at him.
Apparently, he took her pause as a sign something was wrong. “What?”
Brooke shook her head. “It’s sad because I don’t even know what I’d go back to school for.”
“Don’t you have vacation saved up? Maybe you need to use it. Get away from the salon for a while.”
Brooke shrugged. “I don’t simply need a break. I guess I always thought my job would be temporary until…” Heat started at the base of her neck and traveled to her face. This was something she could probably talk to Joel about. Maybe Anna. But Chess? She had his full attention, though, and she knew he wouldn’t let it go now. “I only wanted to work until I got married and started a family. Then I hoped to be at home with my kids. I guess I always thought working at the salon would be a short-term gig.” Now her face was flaming, and she wished they weren’t sitting so close to a window that highlighted the blush. Too bad they weren’t over there in the shadows on the other side of the room.
When she and Joel first met Chess, he had a full-time job. It wasn’t anything flashy and often involved shift work, but he could support the two of them while they got themselves together and found jobs of their own. That last part was something he insisted they do, too. He’d told them it taught responsibility and would be the first step toward providing for themselves. In fact, Chess had made that point many times the first six months until Brooke had tired of hearing it.
But he’d been right. By the end of that first year, they were back on their feet. Joel and Brooke expected Chess to ask them to leave and find their own place to live. He never did and slowly the relationships became less like tenants and more like family.
Chess had put such an emphasis on the importance of working, what did he think of her admitting she wanted to stay home when she had kids? Did he consider her lack of dedication to her job a weakness? She kept her eyes on the window and then the bubbles of carbonation rising in her glass.
Chess reached across the table and lightly tapped her hand. “There’s nothing wrong with that, Brooke. I think we all wish we’d grown up in households where we came home from school to a parent waiting for us with snacks, hugs, and help with homework.” His voice sounded husky, and he cleared his throat. “You’ll be an amazing mom one day.”
His words brought tears to her eyes. She fought to blink them away.
She got the sense he might have said more if it hadn’t been for their surroundings. Brooke was just as happy to end the conversation there herself. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of him, which is exactly what his support made her want to do. She swallowed and then forced a smile. “Don’t mind me. You know I get emotional when I have to pay to get my car out of jail.”
Whether Chess believed her or chose to let the moment pass, Brooke wasn’t sure. But she appreciated he accepted the change in topic.
“If you need a loan, let me know.”
“I should be good, but thanks.” Brooke offered another smile and then went back to her lunch.
A half hour later, they arrived at the auto body shop. Brooke had enough money to pay for the work, but it made a dent in her savings. She wasn’t overly thrilled with that, but she needed her vehicle to get around so it had to be done. The damage could have been a lot worse.
She was standing outside her car with Chess. “Thanks again for lunch and for arranging everything with my car. I appreciate it.”
Chess gave a short nod. “You’re welcome. Don’t let work get to you this afternoon, okay? Are you going anywhere tonight?”
Brooke shook her head while simultaneously wishing she could go over to Chess’s house. “No. I have another date with Larry tomorrow night, though.”
Something passed over Chess’s face and was gone again before Brooke could fully interpret it. “Text me when you get home tonight and tomorrow, okay? Maybe we can eat dinner together Friday night.”
She grinned. “I will, and that sounds great. See you later, yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Brooke turned the key in the ignition, thankful when the engine started. She backed out of the parking space and made her way through the parking lot. Chess remained where she left him until he was no longer in sight.
Could she actually make a change in her career now? It might take forever for her Prince Charming to finally show up. Correction: She’d driven away from him. But she could spend the rest of her life waiting for him to see her as more than an annoying little sister he had to keep tabs on.
Annoyance boiled until she thought it would spill over. She’d already tortured herself for a decade. Why did she allow herself to keep her life in limbo like this?
~
Brooke gripped the arms of the passenger seat the moment Larry pulled into The Broken Dawn’s parking lot Thursday night. She didn’t drink and had no personal experience with it or any other bar. But she’d heard this one had a reputation for being busy and a little rough. “Why are we here? I thought we were going to the drive-in to see a movie?”
Larry put his truck in park and turned off the engine. “A friend of mine asked if I’d meet him here for a few minutes first.” He jumped down and went around to open her door. “You’re welcome to wait out here if you want to.” His expression was guarded, and she wasn’t sure whether he wanted her to stay or go with him.
All kinds of warning bells were going off and Brooke wanted to protest. But Larry was walking toward the building. It was late, the sun was setting fast, and she wasn’t sure sitting outside in a dark parking lot was any safer. She picked up the pace and hurried after him.
The moment she stepped inside, the combination of alcohol, greasy food, and faint cigarette smoke assaulted her senses. Brooke took in the surrounding scene, thankful the bar limited smoking to one section. But from the smell of it, that didn’t mean the smoke adhered to the rules. She resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose against the combination.
More than anything else, it was the sheer noise of all the people that gave Brooke an instant headache. With loud music playing and people talking over each other, how did anyone hold a conversation?
Larry didn’t even check behind him to make sure Brooke was following. Instead, he charged ahead, parting groups of people until he’d led the way to the game area. There were two pool tables, a variety of game consoles along one wall, and several dartboards. Gobs of people were everywhere. Brooke fought against the waves of claustrophobia.
They approached a group of guys on the other side of a pool table. The moment they recognized Larry, there were whoops and high fives. “Hey, what’s up?” He took a mug of beer someone offered him and chugged half of it down.
All Brooke could do was stare. She didn’t even try to parse out what each person was saying. She only wanted Larry to say hi so they could be on their way.
One of the guys playing pool noticed Brooke and frowned. He gave Larry a pointed look. Brooke could’ve sworn Larry cringed. He tipped his head toward her. “Hey, all. This is my girl. We were going to go see a movie tonight but thought we’d stop by for a while.”
His girl? He wasn’t even going to tell them her name? And from what she could see, the others couldn’t care less Larry had brought her along. If Brooke hadn’t had enough of this experience already, that solidified her impression. She turned to Larry and raised her voice enough to be heard over all the noise. “Hey, I’d like to get going. It’s getting late.”
He barely glanced at her, took a pool cue from one of the other guys, and added some blue chalk to the tip. “We’ll go see a movie ano
ther night. Do you play pool?”
“No.” Brooke planted her hands on her hips. She was tired after not sleeping much last night and being on her feet all day. Then they’d waited forever for a table at one of the local restaurants and it took forty minutes to get their food. Not going to see the movie was fine with her. But if that were the case, she wanted to call it a night. “Please take me home, Larry? I’m not feeling well.”
Larry kept his eyes on the pool table. “In a while. Why don’t you go get a drink while I play this game?”
Nice to know I’m invisible. Brooke crossed her arms in front of her. She wasn’t sure if she felt more like crying or screaming. Well, she wasn’t getting something to drink here. She took several steps back and tried to feign interest in the game.
Larry downed two mugs of beer that Brooke counted as the game continued. She had no idea a game of pool could last so blasted long. Finally, he took the last shot. As he did, she stepped away from the wall. He hollered, lifting his hands and pool stick into the air. Apparently, he’d won.
“Can we leave now, please?”
Larry turned to face her and stumbled forward. The pool stick he still held came down and around, striking Brooke across her left cheekbone.
She gasped as the skin stung and grew warm. With one hand on her face, she watched in disbelief as the rest of the guys chortled.
Larry seemed shocked. “I didn’t mean to.” He looked at his so-called friends who were still cackling over the incident and straightened his spine. “You shouldn’t sneak up on your man like that. Go ask for some ice up at the bar. I’m going to play another game, and then I’ll take you home.”
His lack of concern hit her harder than the stick had. None of his friends even gave her a second thought. Fighting back tears of infuriation and humiliation, she whirled and pushed her way through the crowd to the door.
How had she been this stupid? Sure, Larry wasn’t the greatest guy around. And she’d pretty much decided to call an end to their dating after dinner, anyway. But how could she not know he was such a world class jerk? Why did she keep finding these guys?
What’s wrong with me?
Once that first tear escaped, it was like the tip of a tidal wave. More raced each other down her face. She leaned against the brick wall, half illuminated by the bright lights at the front of the bar, and half hidden in the darkness. She drew in a ragged breath, sank to the concrete beneath her, and dug the cell phone out of her bag.
Chapter Four
Chess rolled his head to relieve the stiffness in his neck causing Epic to shift positions at his feet. Chess glanced at the time. Brooke was probably out on her date with Larry about now. She’d texted him when she got home from work, and he asked her to text him again when Larry took her home no matter how late it was. There was no way he was going to bed until he knew she’d returned safely.
He certainly had plenty of work to keep him busy until then. He’d be glad when he finished this project and they could push the new software out to their customers. There would always be something else on the horizon, but usually it meant a week or two of normalcy before the next one kicked in.
Even still, he had to force his attention back on his work and not think too hard about whether Brooke was doing okay or not. He opened private messaging and read through the conversation he and Nathan had over the last few days. Nathan apologized for not being online much and when they chatted, it was mostly about jobs and the cities where they lived. Nothing much more personal than that. Chess was tempted to write out his side of what happened, but something kept stopping him. If Nathan didn’t want to talk about it yet, Chess would wait. He didn’t want to risk losing this connection because he was getting impatient.
Not for the first time, Brooke came to mind. There was something off about her at lunch the other day. He’d originally thought it had to do with work, but he had a feeling there was another factor in play. If Joel were here, Chess would mention it to him. And then, either Joel or Anna might bring it up with Brooke. Assuming she hadn’t spoken to them.
But Chess and Brooke? They tried to steer clear of discussions that got too personal or emotional. He knew it was because he had made a point of distancing himself from them back in the beginning.
Chess remembered how Brooke, especially, would ask him about his past and how he entered the foster care system and later got a place of his own. He’d told them about working his way to an associate’s degree in computer programming and how he’d lucked into an internship that eventually led to the job he had now. But about what happened prior to that? Chess never said a word.
Brooke had been inquisitive back then. He’d had to tell her to quit asking him and to mind her own business. He could still picture the flash of pain in her eyes. In true Brooke fashion, she’d moved on from that. She never asked him about his past again.
When Chess thought about how much closer she was to Joel, his heart ached. Truthfully? He was a little jealous of it. In hindsight, he regretted not opening himself up to Brooke more. But after everything with his biological family…
When his phone rang a few minutes later, he lifted it from the desk. The moment he saw Brooke’s name on the caller ID, his chest tightened. “Hey, Brooke.” Why was she calling instead of simply texting? Had she locked herself out of the apartment? She’d brought over a spare key just in case that happened. Chess stood, prepared to retrieve it from a drawer in the kitchen.
A muffled sniff stopped him dead in his tracks. “What’s wrong?”
“I need you to come pick me up. Please.”
If Chess suspected she was crying before, he was certain of it now. Brooke was trying to hide the fact, but he detected the wobble in her voice. “Absolutely. Where are you?” He shoved his keys into a pocket and automatically tapped a hand to the forty-five he wore concealed at his hip.
“The Broken Dawn.”
Chess faltered in his trek to the front door. A bar? What was she doing there? She’d never been one to drink alcohol or go to a place like that before. But now wasn’t the time to question her about anything. Whatever happened, Larry must have left her stranded. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Thanks, Chess.” She ended the call.
He would have preferred to keep her on the line until he arrived.
It wasn’t hard to spot her when he pulled up. She was sitting on the ground, her back to the brick outer wall of the bar. Bright lights outside kept the place well-lit, and for that he was grateful. The moment she saw him, she stood and hurried to the passenger side. She pulled the door open, the overhead light illuminating the cab.
Brooke buckled her seatbelt as the interior light faded, shadowing her expression. She rested her elbow on the door and kept her profile to him.
Chess wanted to ask her for details with everything he had in him, but he’d learned long ago that Brooke would share when she was good and ready. Instead, he drove her home.
With a hand on her lower back, he escorted her up the steps to her apartment and waited for her to unlock the door. Chess followed her in and secured the door behind them. They walked into the living room. When Brooke turned to face him, his gaze zeroed in on the purple bruise forming on her right cheekbone.
He took three long strides in her direction until he was close enough to touch the skin around the mark with a finger. Rage boiled inside and it took everything Chess had to keep his voice at a normal level. “Did Larry do this? I swear, I’ll hunt him down…”
“It wasn’t on purpose.” Brooke rubbed her forehead and took a steadying breath. “He was drunk and goofing off. He turned and hit me with a pool cue.”
That did little to take away the anger Chess was swimming in right now. So, what, the guy got drunk. He also hit his date by accident and left her in front of a bar at eleven o’clock at night. That didn’t sit well with him.
Brooke finally moved to the couch and sank into the cushions. She wrapped her arms around her torso, and her silence was as alarming a
s the bruise on her face.
Chess sat down next to her, more than willing to wait her out. A tear made it halfway down Brooke’s cheek before she swiped it away. The sight broke Chess’s heart. This is when Joel or Anna would sit down with her and find out what happened. Then Chess would fix the problem. That’s what he did; he was the problem solver. He had every intention of locating Larry and conducting a lesson or two on how to be a gentleman.
Trying to maneuver his way through a woman’s emotions had never been his strong point. But he had the urge to pull her into his arms and try to comfort her somehow. He couldn’t even remember the last time he gave Brooke a hug. Seeing as she was one of the most important people in Chess’s life, the realization hit him like a punch to the stomach. He should hold her, or ask if there was someone she wanted to talk to. Or even better, he should be pummeling Larry right now. Why was he hesitating?
There were few times in his adult life he felt this helpless, and he despised it.
~
Brooke wiped away another tear. Why did she have to cry in front of Chess? She could sense his discomfort, but the tears refused to disappear and so here she was, a complete mess as usual. She’d gone through one of the most embarrassing nights in a long, long time. Something she’d rather no one find out about, most of all Chess.
He wasn’t going anywhere though. She might as well spill it. Then maybe she could curl up on the couch and have a good, ugly cry by herself.
Brooke sat up straight and brushed some hair out of her face. In doing so, she touched the sore spot and winced, the pain in her cheek a cruel reminder of the horrible night she’d had.
“I know I screwed up. He said it would be one game and then he’d take me home. I should’ve called a cab when we first got to the bar instead of waiting for him. I don’t know what—”
Chess’s voice interrupted. “This is not your fault. Larry’s no better than a…” He stopped with a growl, swallowing back what he’d been about to say. He clenched his fist in aggravation. “I’d like to get a hold of him right now.”
Someone to Trust (Life Unexpected Book 2) Page 3
