Visions of Love (Arden's Glen Romance Book 3)

by C. M. Albert

  Everyone in the room clapped and whistled as the intro faded and went to commercial. It was shot beautifully, and Zade couldn’t help but wonder where it had been filmed. Who had done the filming? He wasn’t normally a jealous guy, but suddenly he couldn’t get his mind off who she was spending her time with.

  He pulled out his phone and sent Rosalie a quick text.

  Zade: Congratulations, Crackers! The intro was fantastic. I’m so proud of you!

  Rosalie: *blushes*

  Zade: Where are you watching the show?

  Rosalie: At the studio with the team. They’re throwing some fancy schmancy dinner party in the VIP lounge while we wait for it to start.

  Zade: I miss you. Wish I was watching it with you.

  Rosalie: Me, too. I gotta go, though. They’re starting to seat everyone.

  Zade: FaceTime later?

  Rosalie: Sure! I’ll try to call after the after party.

  Then his screen went blank and the dots that indicated she was replying were gone. Why was it so damn hard? Zade knew he had to do something about this. It was driving him insane to have gone this long without her. He made himself a promise to get on the earliest flight he could to go see the woman who had no idea how much of his heart she’d taken with her.

  THE EVENING WOUND down and ended with the party moving to Del Vecchio’s. Zade spotted Connor at the bar and was grateful for a friend to talk to. He clapped him on the back and lifted his fingers to gesture for a drink. As soon as he had his beer in hand, he relaxed for the first time that night. The show had been a huge success. The combination of hard research and Rosalie’s spot-on psychic abilities was an intriguing mix, and Zade found himself falling even more in love with her. It was so sexy to see Rosalie in her element, doing what she was good at—helping people by showing them there was nothing to be afraid of with the unseen. Hell, she’d done the same for him.

  “How’s it going?” Connor asked, shifting so Zade had a place to stand comfortably. The bar was packed. “Did you catch the show? Everyone’s talking about it. They even had it on over the bar.”

  “Yeah, I caught it at the café. The support for her has been amazing. It’s interesting to hear her talk about her experience here, because she didn’t think she had this kind of support before. It hasn’t always been easy for her.”

  “I can see that. You think people are just latching on to her rising star?” Connor asked, looking distracted.

  Zade followed his friend’s line of sight and realized why. There was a gorgeous brunette with rich brown hair that fell in loose waves down her back and nearly bounced off the round curve of her bottom. And in the jeans she was wearing—it was hard not to notice. She was standing at a high-top table with a friend Zade didn’t recognize, and Brecken of all people.

  “Who’s that talking to Brecken?” Zade asked, curious.

  “Which one?” Connor asked, trying to act nonchalant. But Zade could see the veins in his neck tense.

  “Either of them?” Zade answered, chuckling. “Pick a brunette, any brunette. . . .”

  “The one in the hip-hugging jeans and curves for days is Kinsley,” he said, looking away as if it hurt him to say her name. “The one who looks like she could be Lucy Lui’s little sister is her cousin, Kimmie. I haven’t seen her since we were in middle school. She certainly grew up to be quite the looker.”

  Zade noticed the faraway look in Connor’s eyes as he watched the two women. “Kinsley, as in your ex?” he asked. Connor looked like a deer stuck in the headlights of an oncoming tractor trailer truck.

  “Yeah,” he said, turning his back on the women so he could focus on his beer.

  “You talk to her yet since you’ve been home?”

  “Dude, what is this? A fucking inquisition?”

  Zade lifted his hands in the air in mock surrender, careful not to spill his beer. “Easy, tiger. Just trying to figure out who’s who.”

  “Don’t you have enough girl problems?” Connor asked, snorting.

  “It’s complicated,” Zade said dryly.

  “Isn’t it always with women?”

  He laughed, clinking his beer with Connor’s. They made small talk for the next few minutes, Zade doing everything he could to avoid questions about Rosalie, and Connor doing everything he could to dodge any more questions about Kinsley. They were quite the pair.

  He was about to call it a night when he felt a strong hand clap his shoulder in greeting. He turned to find Brecken staring down at him, his eyes glassy. Zade looked past Brecken to see if the women had followed, but they were nowhere to be seen. Thank God. That would’ve been really awkward for Connor.

  Seeing the room clear of his ex, Connor stood, throwing a twenty onto the bar. “You working out in the morning?” he asked Zade, pretty much ignoring Brecken.

  “Yeah, but it’s gotta be early.”

  “Five too early?” Connor asked.

  “Nope. See ya then,” Zade said, turning his attention to Brecken after Connor took off. “What’s up?”

  “Just wanted to see how my sister’s ‘boyfriend’ is doing,” he said all chummy. He signaled the bartender and asked for a beer and a shot of Fireball to go with it. Zade winced as Brecken threw back the shot as soon as Journey set it in front of him. “Woo-wee,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

  Something was off with Brecken tonight, and Zade couldn’t put his finger on it. “Hey, man, thanks for inviting me to the premier of Rosalie’s show. She did great, didn’t she?”

  Brecken grinned, the first glimpse of his genuine self coming through since walking over. “I’m really proud of her. She was always smarter than I was in school. Knew all that book smart was gonna pay off someday.”

  “Have you talked to her?” Zade asked. “She mention coming home any time soon?”

  “Nah. As a matter of fact, I think she just found an apartment and signed a yearlong lease.”

  The beer in Zade’s stomach soured, and he set the bottle down on the bar. Fuck. It’s not like he didn’t know she was staying, but suddenly shit just got real.

  Real difficult.

  For the first time since she’d left, he started to worry. He’d been so sure they could work everything out, but now the reality of that happening seemed farther and farther away. “Good for Rosalie,” he said. “I gotta run. Tomorrow morning’s gonna get here fast.”

  He turned to leave but was stopped when Brecken’s hand wrapped around his arm. “Can you wait a sec? Maybe have a shot with me?”

  Zade squinted at Brecken. Where was this coming from? It was one thing to tell Zade he was “all right” but something altogether different to want to hang out and do shots.

  “Everything okay, Brecken?”

  He noticed the dark bags under Brecken’s eyes as the man flagged down Journey again and ordered two more shots.

  “Actually, it’s not,” he said, handing Zade one of the light amber shots of whiskey. “Toast? To new partnerships?”

  Zade eyed him warily.

  Brecken threw back the liquid and chased it with his beer. “Bottoms up, dude,” he said when he noticed Zade still holding his shot.

  Zade debated whether to drink with Brecken or not, but then decided the fastest way between him and the door was to have the shot and find out what Brecken was really after.

  “So look,” he said, “I’m embarrassed to come to you with this, but you being Rosalie’s boyfriend and all . . .”

  Zade lifted an eyebrow but said nothing. How convenient of Brecken to be okay with that fact now that he apparently needed something. Zade downed the shot and winced, chasing it with his beer. It had been a long time since he’d done shots, and his mistake with Dez was a burning reminder of why he’d stopped.

  “The truth is the café is struggling a bit. I’m trying my hardest, but we keep losing staff, and with Rosalie gone, everything’s falling on me now. I don’t want to burden her, but I lost some of our normal business, too, now that she’s gone. She was a big
draw for locals and tourists who wanted to come listen to the talk show and maybe get in a few questions with her. Now that she’s gone, it’s been drying up a bit.”

  “What are you asking, Brecken?”

  “For a loan, maybe? I could sign over part of the business to you, and we could be equal partners with me running it day to day as I do now. But if I don’t get help soon, I’m gonna lose it,” he said, looking away. “I don’t know what the fuck I’d do without that place. It’s the only thing that’s holding me together since our parents died, and now with Rosalie gone . . .”

  Damn. The kid sure knew where to punch to hurt. Still, even if he was Rosalie’s brother, he couldn’t just hand over money to him without a sound business plan. “How come you don’t go see the manager over at Carolina’s Regional? I’m sure he’d set you up with a loan.”

  “Can’t man,” he said, running his hand over the stubble on his jaw. “After our parents left, everything was on me. Rosalie was still in high school, and I couldn’t ask her to help. I used my entire inheritance to open the café and take care of her. Other than the business, I have nothing of value to secure a loan with.”

  Zade looked at Brecken skeptically. “What about the house? Or your fancy bike?”

  Brecken cringed and looked around the restaurant before answering. “Promise not to say anything to Rosalie?”

  “No,” Zade answered truthfully.

  “Shit,” Brecken said, finishing his beer and signaling for another.

  “Don’t you think you might want to slow down?” Zade asked.

  “What’s it to you, doctor?”

  Zade narrowed his eyes at Brecken. Something was definitely wrong. He was hot one minute, cold the next. It was all black and white with him tonight, nothing in between. “What it is to me is Rosalie. She’d be crushed if, after losing her parents, she lost the only family she had left. Don’t be such a selfish prick. Either slow down on the drinks or give me your car keys. The last thing we need around here is another DUI with casualties.”

  “Fuck you,” Brecken said, pushing back from the bar. “You may be older than me, but you’re not my goddamn father. I can take care of myself.”

  “Then why’d you come to me?”

  “Because, asshole, the truth is I lost a little bit of money and had to borrow some from someone I’d rather not deal with to pay it back. Okay? That guy you saw me with—he’s pretty pissed that my payments are late. I had to reverse mortgage our home already, and the interest on that is a fucking nightmare. On top of that, I missed a few payments on my bike, and the bank’s not too happy with me about that. They already told me they won’t lend me any more money till I’m caught up.”

  “So let me get this straight. You lost a ‘little’ money. Enough that you had to reverse mortgage your family home. You’re behind on your bike payments. And you’re in danger of losing the café? Exactly how much do you owe?” Zade asked, his eyes wide. He wondered if Rosalie knew how serious things were with Brecken. Probably not since he’d asked Zade not to say anything.

  “Rosalie doesn’t know, does she?” Zade growled.

  “Of course she doesn’t know. I didn’t want her to feel bad and not follow her dreams because she has to bail me out again.”

  “Bail you out again? What do you mean? The way she tells things, she feels like she owes you for everything you gave up to take care of her after your parents died.”

  “Yeah, but what she didn’t tell you is that I had a little problem come up once before, too. I fucking hated myself for asking her for money, but I had no other choice if I wanted to keep both my legs. I knew better this time than to go back to Murphey. But I’m in trouble, man.”

  Zade noticed the look of panic in Brecken’s eyes. “What kind of trouble you into? I can’t get tangled up in anything illegal. I’m a doctor for Christ’s sake.”

  “This won’t come anywhere near you, I promise.”

  “What about Rosalie?”

  “I can’t go to her for money again. The cost of living in California’s a beast. She needs to focus on her career and not worry about what’s going on back here.”

  “I disagree. She’s stronger and smarter than you think. You don’t have to do this alone, Brecken.”

  “That’s why I’m coming to you, Einstein. I’ve already figured out I can’t do this on my own.”

  “Call me when you’re sober. All I’m getting is half-truths and lies. I’m not giving you anything until you’re ready to be honest with me about what got you into this mess, exactly how much you owe, and what you plan to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

  Zade turned to leave when Brecken grabbed his arm again. Zade narrowed his eyes, gazing from where Brecken’s fingers had the audacity to grip his forearm to the desperation that was staring back at him.

  “Forget it, Zade. I don’t owe you shit, and I don’t have to explain anything to you. I was just hoping that since you have more money than God, you could help your girlfriend’s brother out. Guess I misunderstood what she meant to you.”

  Zade pulled his arm away, disgust darkening his eyes as he stared Brecken down. “Call me when you grow up and want to get real with your demons. Until then, leave Rosalie and me out of the disaster you’ve created.”

  He hated walking out on Brecken in this condition, but the man clearly didn’t want real help. He wanted a quick fix and to shift money around like a clamshell game, hoping not to get caught. He saw Sal at the front talking to guests and tapped him on the way out. “Hey, don’t serve Brecken any more, okay? And you may want to call him a cab. He’s had too many to drive home.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Sal said, heading back to the bar.

  There was a fine line between getting Brecken’s acceptance in Rosalie’s life and being manipulated into enabling his problems. And, clearly, he had far more problems than Rosalie knew about. It really sucked to have to tell her.

  ROSALIE WALKED AROUND the studio apartment and sighed. It was ugly and barren, and the energy was horrible. She’d told Brecken she’d probably have to take it because her options were running out and real estate was expensive in California. But this was ridiculous. She scooted a cockroach with her foot to get it out of the doorway of the bathroom. There was black mold clinging to the caulk in the tile. She tried not to vomit as she backtracked to the living room, bypassing her tour of the bedroom all together. There was no way she could live here.

  Damn it! She wanted so badly to make it on her own and prove she could do it. But she was lonely, and despite the sunshine, she was getting a little down. The energy was so different here. It was so loud all the time. She had to shut off her gift all day long or she’d be immobilized by so many people’s problems.

  The work in the studio was fun, and she loved visiting the towns where she was filming, but there was something missing. On her way back to the hotel, Rosalie pulled into an In-N-Out Burger and grabbed some dinner. She heard the burgers were insanely delicious. She hadn’t had meat in years, but the stress was getting to her and the grease and salt soothed her.

  Momentarily.

  She pulled her loaner car into an abandoned parking lot, threw open the door, and lost her dinner. Damn. And this is why I don’t eat meat, Rosalie thought. She grabbed some napkins and wiped her mouth, groaning. Never. Again.

  She looked at her clock. It was only eight, which meant it would be eleven in Arden’s Glen. She pulled up her favorite picture of Zade and grinned. God, she missed him. She missed his silly sense of humor. The way he doted on her like a gentleman and made her feel beautiful—and not just to get laid. She’d never had anything like that before. He was the perfect blend of sexy, smart, and charismatic. With Zade, for the first time ever, she’d felt safe. Looking around at the abandoned gas station, graffitied pavement, and weeds growing through the cracks, she suddenly felt homesick.

  Never in a million years did she think she would physically ache for Arden’s Glen. She knew she would miss Zade—damn him!
But she thought about all her other ties to her hometown. She once thought they were holding her back, but the truth was, they were more like anchors grounding her.

  For the first time, she had real friends. She had a home without cockroaches in it. She had a community of kids she was able to help. And most of all—she had a handsome doctor waiting for her, who wanted nothing more than the opportunity to love her.

  What the fuck am I thinking?

  On her drive back to the hotel, Rosalie couldn’t help but rehash her life—the things that shaped who she was, the things she could control, and the choices she’d made that got her to where she was today. She suddenly realized it felt more like running away and trying to prove something to others than truly living her dream. She looked around the small hotel room. This was definitely not her dream.

  Rosalie pulled out her journal and a deck of “Work Your Light” oracle cards that she’d bought herself as a gift. Arden’s Glen had no spiritual stores that sold some of the tools she liked to use to connect with the other side when she wasn’t praying or channeling. Sure, she could do it without the cards. But she liked the idea of listening to what God had to share with her.

  She drew the first card—Break the Chain. Rosalie sat in reverence as she read the meaning behind breaking ancestral patterns, healing, and rewriting her future. She wished she knew more about her ancestors. That might help her break her patterns better. Arden Bisette’s face flashed before her eyes then, and something niggled her gut. She would go through the letters and box again when she was done. There were answers there that she was missing.

  The second card she drew was Trust Your Path. That was the problem. Rosalie didn’t trust her path at the moment. She was far from home, having trouble forming friendships in her new city, wondering if the TV show truly was her calling, and questioning a thousand times over why the hell she’d left Zade behind. She read the card’s primary message and took heart: If you knew you would be supported, what would you do?