Heather stood and dusted off her skirt even though there was nothing to brush away. “Yes, well, we are both on the same side. That Brooke should have been thrown in jail for what she did to you, not heralded as the town hero. If you ask me, you should sue her for everything she has.”
As angry and bitter as Vi felt, she was taken aback by Heather’s comment. Maybe some of that innocent flirting had indeed made its way back to Heather and made her jealous. Vi caught herself before she started to excuse Brooke’s wild behavior. No sense going down that road. “Yes, thank you again, Heather. I really appreciate your and Jesse’s help.”
Heather shot her a strained smile that made her look constipated. She turned to let herself out, but looked over her shoulder at Vi. “Think about what I said.”
“I will,” Vi said, letting out a deep exhale as the door closed with a satisfying thunk.
A moment later her phone buzzed with an incoming text message from a blocked number.
I hope my little gift helped to ease your mind. You’ve already got so much on your plate. They say good friends, who love and want to take care of you, are the gardeners of the soul.
Vi carefully placed her phone down beside her. What kind of message was that?
Vi shot a quick text to Brooke. “I know you care about Joy, but I can take care of her myself.”
Vi dropped her phone down beside her. If it hadn't been Brooke, then who had called the doctor for Joy? Ricky? Of course. He must have heard about Joy’s situation. It pained her to think that he was spending his hard earned money on helping her out when they weren’t even a couple. She needed him to know that this couldn’t go on any longer. He needed to move on. She texted the mystery number back with a quick message.
Ricky, thank you so much for your concern and the help, but I think it would be better if you moved on. We aren’t your responsibility.
She let out a slow breath and laid her head on the back of the sofa until her phone buzzed with a return message.
This isn’t Ricky.
Chapter Sixteen
Brooke
Brooke stared straight ahead at the wet asphalt as she popped her earbuds into place. The upbeat twang of Honkytonk Badonkadonk pounded in her ear drums. Lately she’d been relying on Trace Adkins, Sir Mix-a-Lot and other big booty enthusiasts to make her feel a little better about her spreading midsection, and she would need all the motivation she could get to make it through this race alive.
Jesse had been disappointed when she’d dropped out of the marathon and chose to take the 5K leg instead. But, honestly, she wasn’t even sure she’d be able to finish the 5K in under an hour. Work had been constant, and even with Ligia’s renewed enthusiasm for her pageantry business, Brooke still had tons to do for both companies. Add to that, Brian’s increasingly questioning gaze as he surveyed her body, and she had little choice but to spend all her time on the go, both to get things done and to avoid having to reveal her secret pregnancy before she was ready.
“It’s for charity,” she whispered to herself as she took one last stretch and braced herself for the run ahead. “I can do five measly kilometers. Just gotta keep swimming.”
The runner beside her shot her a dirty look, which made her all the more ready to tear out of there.
The horn blared, and Brooke gave it her all, huffing and chugging to keep the air flowing through her body in a steady stream. Despite her doubts, she finished the first kilometer near the front of the pack, and seeing that she actually had a chance to come out on top, she ground down and ran harder. By the second kilometer, she led the other female runners by a fairly good margin.
One foot in front of the other. It’ll be over before you know it, she told herself as a stitch started to form in her side. She’d hardly gone a mile; how could the pain be surfacing already?
Brooke passed the three-kilometer marker and the little refreshment stand that the race organizers had set up for anyone who needed to rehydrate as they headed into the second half of the race.
“Would you like some water?” a volunteer asked. “Hey, are you okay? Do you need a—?”
Brooke gritted her teeth and ran through the pain, but the same mean girl runner who had sneered at her earlier pulled effortlessly ahead of her.
I don’t think so. Not today.
She needed this victory. Sure, it was just a piddly little race, but if she couldn’t come out on top here, what did that mean for the much bigger challenges that lurked just around the corner?
She needed this, but…
Ouch!
She lifted her hand to her side to massage the growing knot as she continued forward.
By kilometer four, her side hurt so bad she had actually started to limp. Still determined, she continued moving quickly. She just needed a little extra juice to make it the final few paces to the finish line.
Despite her mental willpower, her body refused to perform at the level she knew it could. What ever happened to mind over matter? she wondered as she crossed the finish at a jog. From first place to not even ranking, what a crock.
“Excuse me. Excuse me, miss?” A volunteer wearing a bright yellow windbreaker called to her, but Brooke continued moving forward without so much as a second glance her way.
“Why don’t you come with me to the medical tent and take a breather? You don’t look so hot.”
“Excuse me,” Brooke snarled, turning slowly to face the young woman who had pursued her through the crowd. “That was an incredibly rude thing to say. Apologize now.”
“But…” the girl stuttered. “I’m sorry.”
“Hmmpf.” Brooke continued forward with her head held high. The last thing she needed was anyone’s pity, and since hanging around would likely attract more gawkers, she decided to head straight home. She could come back in a couple hours and wait for Jesse to finish his marathon, then they could go about their victory carbo-loading as planned.
Mmm, bread sounds divine right about now. Maybe the extra fluff could somehow help mask the throbbing pain that still plagued her side. Besides if she was already getting fat anyway, she might as well enjoy it. Could she sneak by Mitsy’s Muffins without running into Mitsy herself? That place really needed a drive-thru.
While she waited for the light to change on main, the pain still niggling her side, she tried to think about the yummy muffin that would soon be in her tummy. Ouch! Was it actually getting worse? How was this possible? Had she pulled something?
I don’t have an appendix, so what else could this be? I’m not that out of shape, am I?
The muffin would have to wait. She needed to get home or to the hospital, whichever was closest. Home, definitely home. She could call an ambulance, and…
No. Don’t want the press getting wind of that.
The way they still watched her every move meant news of whatever this was plus news of the baby would certainly get out. And if Brian was on edge before, she could only imagine how angry he’d be when he found out she’d been keeping this from him.
Oh no, the baby! She couldn’t do this herself, but Jesse was still at the race, Brian was on business, and Ligia… who knew? For someone who was always on her phone, she never answered any of Brooke’s calls or texts.
That left Vi. Would Vi be willing to help in a crisis despite her anger? If Brooke had ever meant anything at all to her, then yes. She drove the short distance to Vi’s side of the neighborhood and left the car idling in the driveway. She had to cling to the door of the car to avoid falling to the ground from the intense pain.
“Ow,” she gasped.
Just a few more steps to the front door. I can make it.
“Brooke, is that you?” A cloud of red frizz floated over from next door. Brooke tried to focus her vision on Annabeth, but things had started to get blurry. And then…
Down she went, straight into the dewy, uncut grass on Vi’s front lawn.
“Brooke!” Annabeth ran to her side and stooped down to help bring Brooke into a sitting position. “Wh
at’s going on? Are you okay?”
“I…” Much as she tried, she couldn’t get any more words out, so she just moaned in pain instead.
Annabeth gasped and pointed toward Brooke’s leg. “You’re bleeding! I need to get you to the hospital. Can you stand up?”
Brooke shook her head, an action which took every last drop of strength, then fell back on the lawn.
“Hang on!” Annabeth grabbed Brooke under the armpits. “Don’t worry, Brooke. I’m going to get you to the hospital. It’s going to be okay.”
If Annabeth’s voice didn’t have a tremor to it, Brooke might have believed her—but still, despite their differences, Anna had been here to rescue her when no one else cared to try. Brooke walked as best she could, leaning on Anna for support. Together, they managed to get her into the passenger seat of her own car and buckled into place. Annabeth kept talking the whole way, periodically forcing Brooke to make some kind of sound to prove she was still conscious.
“You were bleeding pretty badly,” Anna mumbled. Did you know that? It’s all over your legs, and… Brooke, are you pregnant?”
Brooke rested her head against the cool glass of the window. The car was an icebox, something about her neighbor not being able to withstand the Texas heat after so many years in the Midwest. Anna would never be a proper Texan, just as Brooke would never… Oh, no.
“Was,” she said at last, realizing then exactly what was happening to her. “I was pregnant, but I don’t think I am anymore.”
She hadn’t cherished this baby for the gift that it was, and now God had taken it from her.
Chapter Seventeen
Annabeth
The rain continued to fall in sheets. Annabeth could hear the drops pelting against the roof of the small town hospital, even from the waiting area. Annabeth’s arm—the one she’d hurt in the mugging—ached even though she had been cleared by the doctor a couple of weeks ago. She tried to focus on something, anything, to keep her mind off what was happening with Brooke. When she’d first moved to Herald Springs, she’d never imaged that she would ever be sitting in a hospital waiting room, praying for Brooke to live. Yet here she was, praying to a God she didn’t believe in that her crazy neighbor would be okay.
In fact, she still vividly recalled the harsh slap the Queen B had bestowed upon on her during the gala. Since then, a more likable Brooke had taken her place. Almost like a Stepford Brooke had taken control. Annabeth was sure that the change had everything to do with her fall from Vi’s good graces.
She couldn’t help but feel bad for the two of them. They so clearly didn’t do well apart. How would Vi handle it if Brooke didn’t pull through? It was one thing to be angry at a friend—give them the silent treatment—it was whole other thing to have them gone forever. At least with Brooke alive, there was hope that they might reconcile. If she died she would leave a Texas-sized hole in all their lives—one that would be hard to fill. But surely, she’ll pull through...right? It had been two hours since Brooke disappeared behind the double doors.
In the movies, doctors and nurses would talk to the patient's family and friends and give them constant updates. But no one thought to come out and give her any information. Then again, she wasn’t family, so maybe no one would. She debated whether or not to ask one of the friendly looking nurses, but a large part of her didn't actually want to know. After all, the not knowing let her go on hoping for the best.
Someone sat down beside her but she continued to flip through her emails. In her experience, the less attention she gave strangers the more likely they would be to leave her alone.
“Hey, gorgeous.” The familiar chilly voice made her shiver. The little laugh that followed only added to her unease.
She inhaled deeply and turned her head casually to the side. Her mother's words echoed in her mind. Don't let them know they got to you.
“Fin.”
“Mmm…. I love it when you say my name.” He leaned in closer. She could feel the heat emanating from his body. “Say it again, but more slowly this time.”
Annabeth closed her eyes and mentally counted to four before speaking again. “What do you want?”
He wrapped his arm around the back of her chair and pulled her to him. “What...I can’t see my favorite girl?” He stretched out each word like a piece of taffy, then drew closer until his curried breath tickled the fine hairs on her neck and he inhaled her like a decanted glass of wine. “Mmm... you smell good.”
Could he smell her fear? The room started to spin a little and her arms and legs went ice cold. She kept her face turned away so that he wouldn’t get the satisfaction of seeing how frightened she was of him. Even though Annabeth prided herself on her scrappiness, he could easily overpower her if it came to that.
“Did you like my gift, Anna?” He crossed his legs and wiped away a bit of fuzz from his black trousers with his free hand. “I did it all by myself. For you.”
The emotionless way in which he spoke of Amy’s demise frightened her, but it also told her he had done this before. How many times? She wasn’t so sure she wanted to know.
“The cops are just a phone call away, Fin.” She tried to sound confident and unafraid, but she feared that she was failing on that front.
Of course, it was an empty threat and he knew it. All the same, he released his hold on her and sat back on the hard plastic waiting room chair. For a moment they sat this way, side by side, watching the throngs of people walking past.
Her heart beat hard against her bruised breast bone. “They don’t have a clue. No one here knows what you really are.”
“But you know, huh?” His smile deepened “You think you have me all figured out don’t you?”
Her instincts told her to run or at the very least call the cops, but she had forgotten her phone at home. Not that she or the police had any hard evidence that would warrant an arrest. Heck, the police couldn’t even hold him for questioning at this point.
“I know enough.”
Fin laughed—a mirthless one that set her on edge. “What you don’t know could fill this whole hospital, love. You know nothing but what I’ve let you know.”
Her impotent rage rippled through her, bringing tears to her eyes. She dug her nails into her palm to keep from crying. She’d rather die than let him see her weep.
He placed his warm hand on her knee—causing her stomach to roil. “You’re a stupid girl, and stupid girls are only good for one thing.” He licked his lips and eyed her up and down. “We both know I’m going to win this, Anna. If you come with me today though, it can all be over now.”
She jerked away from his touch. Making her look like the frightened little girl that she felt like on the inside. She swallowed hard and gritted her teeth. “The only way I’d leave here with you is if you were in the back of a police cruiser.”
A frightening smile snaked across his otherwise handsome features. “That’s never going to happen, my love.” He returned his hand to her knee, this time with a firmer grip and she prayed he didn’t feel her tremble. “Anna, if anything happens to me, my men are under orders to do some very unpleasant things to you and your friends.” He released his hold on her and patted his suit jacket pocket. Not one for following rules, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, lit the cigarette, and inhaled slowly. His phone beeped and he pulled it out to glance at the new message. “We can finish this...conversation later.”
“Sir, this is a hospital. No smoking!” a nurse snapped at him.
“I’m on my way out.” A chuckle escaped his full lips as he returned his attention to Annabeth, who sat there frozen in place.
Fin bent and leaned in toward her so they were nose to nose. “Until later, my dear.” His warm lips brushed hers, sending crackling electricity shooting through her.
Annabeth flinched a moment later, and that delay seemed to amuse him.
A trail of smoke followed behind him as he rose to his feet and sauntered through the automated doors.
A moment l
ater, Jesse walked in through the same doors. “Anna! What happened? Is Brooke okay?” His eyes were wide as he ran his fingers through his mussed hair. Not for the first time, she wondered if there wasn’t something more between him and the Queen B of Herald Springs.
“I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything since they took her back.”
“But what happened? Did she get hurt on the run? I was worried when I didn’t see her at the finish line. We were supposed to go have lunch, but she didn’t show...” His disheveled hair hung over his steely blue eyes, but he didn’t bother to brush it aside. He looked like one of those adorable shaggy dogs. Poor guy. She suppressed the urge to hug him, or brush his hair aside.
Instead she patted the chair next to her. “Sit down.” She tried to meet his gaze but he was too out of it to notice. Might as well be direct. “She's losing the baby.”
Jesse paled and looked away from her. “What? She was pregnant…?”
How was it possible that the town gossip didn't know that their beloved hero was going to have a baby? For a moment, she thought about calling him on it, but something about the way he looked stopped her. Now was not the time to unleash her signature sarcasm. She laid her hand on top of his knee and leaned in close. “I'm sure she will be just fine.”
She couldn't help but wonder about the truth in her statement. Of course Brooke would be fine… Right? Yes, yes. She was like a cockroach and would most likely outlive them all.
Jesse leaned back in the plastic chair, making it creak in protest. “She’s pregnant….”
Annabeth got the feeling that her response wasn't necessary, so she sat beside him offering her silent support.
“She's been so sick and pale…. how didn't I see that?”
“To be honest, I get the feeling that no one knew. I didn’t know until today.”
Jesse didn’t seem to hear a word she said. “Where is her husband? Why isn’t Brian here?”
Texas and Tiaras (The Book Cellar Mysteries 2) Page 10
