A Sky Full of Stars

by Samantha Chase

  Brooke took Owen by the hand and led him back to the kitchen. “It’s almost lunchtime. Do you want to go and grab something?” She looked in the refrigerator and didn’t see anything she could put together for a decent meal, and she made a mental note to go food shopping that afternoon. “There’s a good deli around the corner. We can grab some sandwiches and come back here if that works for you.”

  Owen nodded, but she could tell he was distracted. “Hey,” she said softly, touching his arm. “You okay?”

  “Something’s off,” he said cryptically. “Howard is as sharp as a tack. I find it rather odd that he said he’d be home and then isn’t.”

  Brooke waved him off with a soft chuckle. “You’ve never been around him when he’s relaxing at home. He’s easily distracted. Like I said, it was a little late when I called him with our travel plans, and he was probably half-asleep.” She looked down at herself briefly and then back to Owen. “I’m going up to change. I feel like I’ve been in the same clothes for days, and even though everything’s clean, I would love to put on something different. I’ll be down in five minutes.” She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then stepped around him to go up the stairs.

  There was a spring in her step, and Brooke realized that even with the negative way their trip to North Carolina ended—and even though Owen still wouldn’t tell her what he fought with Riley about—she was happy. Genuinely happy.

  Owen was like a breath of fresh air for her. For so long, she’d dated men who were just…wrong for her. They were dating her for the wrong reasons. Back in high school, it was because she was popular and pretty and a pageant queen. As she had grown older, her relationships still seemed to be pretty superficial. Men didn’t take her seriously. She was arm candy—expected to look pretty but not have too much to say and certainly not have an opinion. Especially those men who were encouraged by her parents.

  How archaic was that?

  She slipped into her bedroom, quickly stripped off her capris and T-shirt, and found a pair of jeans and a light sweater to put on. The temperature outside was quite a bit cooler than what they’d left back on the Carolina coast, but the day was still beautiful and mild. Looking in the full-length mirror, she smiled. Casual and comfortable was such a blessing, and living with her uncle meant she could dress this way without any snarky comments from her mother about her unfortunate appearance.

  Just thinking about it made her giggle, and she decided to complete her look with a pair of tennis shoes.

  Just because she could.

  A quick glance around the room showed that everything was in its place. She threw her dirty clothes into the laundry hamper and then left the room. Howard’s bedroom door was slightly ajar, she noticed. She paused and realized he always left the door wide open. Maybe he had been in a hurry. Stepping closer she went to push it open and froze.

  And then screamed.

  * * *

  Everything in Owen froze for a second at the sound of Brooke’s scream. Then he sprang into action and dashed up the stairs. There were half a dozen doorways, and he quickly found her—hovering over Howard.

  “Holy shit,” he hissed as he came into the room and dropped to his knees beside her, pulling his phone out and calling 911. Beside him, Brooke was administering CPR and talking to Howard to try to wake him. Owen wasn’t a doctor, but he knew his friend did not look well. If they hadn’t come home now…

  Brooke started to cry. “You need to wake up,” she was sobbing. “Please, Uncle Howard! Wake up for me!”

  As gently as he could, Owen moved her aside and took over the CPR. “Go downstairs and open the door for the paramedics. They should be here any minute.”

  “I don’t want to leave him,” she cried. “Owen, I can’t… I can’t lose him!”

  He knew she needed comforting, and he also knew he wasn’t the best at that. Right now they needed to be calm and in control—he’d console her after the paramedics arrived. Until then… “I’m here with him, and I need to keep this going. Please open the front door and direct them when they get here.” His tone was firm, and Brooke seemed to sober up. With a quick nod, she ran down the stairs.

  Owen knew the basics of what he was doing, but without knowing why Howard was unconscious, he was afraid of doing more harm than good. He looked around the room distractedly and didn’t see anything out of place. Once they had his friend stabilized, Owen knew he should call the university and see the last time anyone had seen Howard. He only wished he knew that information now.

  A few minutes later, there was a loud ruckus downstairs, and he knew the paramedics had arrived. As soon as they entered the room to take over, Owen jumped out of their way. Brooke had come back up and answered as many questions as she could while Owen held her close. He could feel her trembling, and he had no idea how to make her feel better.

  They followed the paramedics down the stairs, and Brooke asked if she could ride in the ambulance. They explained why she couldn’t, and Owen assured her that he’d get her there as fast as possible. As soon as the ambulance pulled away, they locked up the house and ran to Brooke’s car. Owen was a little more familiar with driving in the city, and although they couldn’t keep up with the emergency vehicle, he knew they’d arrive not far behind.

  Brooke was silent for the entire drive, and when he pulled up in front of the hospital, he let her out before parking the car. When he joined her several minutes later, she was pacing in the waiting room.

  “Any news?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “It’s too soon. They said someone would come out and talk to us when they knew something.” She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. “I should have been here. How long was he lying there like that? Oh God…what am I going to do?” Then she pulled back. “I need to call my parents. They have to know.”

  Howard and Brooke’s mother were siblings, and from what little Owen knew about the family, they weren’t overly close. At least that was what he had come to understand from his relationship with Howard, not directly from Brooke. Now that he thought about it, she hadn’t shared a whole lot about her family. How was that possible?

  When he looked up, she was sitting in the corner on one of the sofas, with the phone to her ear, and he hated that she had to be the one to call her family with bad news. He remembered when he had to do that when he’d found Aubrey unconscious a few years back. It had terrified him—not just finding her, but being the one to have to make the call. Luckily he had a strong family; he had no idea what Brooke was dealing with on the other end of the phone.

  Was he supposed to go over and sit with her? Should he give her privacy? He cursed his own awkwardness. His gut was telling him to go and sit with her, but somehow he wasn’t sure if she wanted an audience.

  His own phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out and saw his father’s name on the screen.

  “Hi, Dad.”

  “I take it you made it home all right,” Ian Shaughnessy said as a greeting.

  Owen gave him a quick run-down of what was going on. “So now we’re just waiting and…and I don’t know what it is I’m supposed to do.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Brooke’s on the phone with her parents. Should I be sitting with her? Giving her space? Should I have made the call? I already know I’m going to take care of calling the university and seeing what I can find out there, but…this is her family, and I’m not her family.”

  Ian was silent for a moment. That wasn’t unusual, especially when the two of them talked. Out of his entire family, Owen had always felt he was the most like his father. They were both quiet and kept to themselves. Ian had finally broken out of that in the past several years, but Owen was just learning how. And as much as Owen would say it was his mother who understood him, he and his father shared the same temperament.

  “I think you should be nearby,” Ian finally said. “She
’s going to need you.”

  “I know,” Owen replied softly.

  “How about you? Are you okay? I know you and Howard are very close.”

  “I honestly don’t know, Dad. I didn’t have time to think. I just sprang into action. And then I had to focus on getting us here to the hospital. It hasn’t sunk in yet that something could go terribly wrong.”

  “Try not to think like that.”

  “What if he’d been lying there for days?” Owen asked as he became slightly overwhelmed at the thought. “What if—”

  “What if it had just happened and you got there in time?” Ian countered.

  “I hope so, Dad. I do.” He looked over at Brooke and saw she was still talking.

  “I have to admit, I was calling to make sure you were all right. We didn’t get a chance to talk after you left Quinn and Anna’s yesterday. I wanted to give you some space, but—”

  “And I appreciate it. I…I don’t think I’ve ever felt like that before.”

  “You kind of took us all by surprise,” Ian said with a low chuckle. “You’re the most mild-mannered out of the bunch. Riley didn’t get into it—and I didn’t ask—but for you to storm off like that, I know you were upset.”

  “Dad—”

  “But now’s not the time. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I had no idea you were dealing with this emergency with Howard.” He paused. “Go and be with Brooke, and call me later if you can, okay?”

  “Thanks.”

  Owen disconnected the call and looked at Brooke again, and rather than join her, he called the department head at the university. When he got the information he needed, he tucked his phone away with the ringer off and walked over to sit beside Brooke.

  “I’ll call you as soon as I know something,” she was saying softly. “Okay. Bye.”

  She looked…sad. Defeated.

  Without a word, he took the phone from her hand, placed it on the seat beside him, wrapped his arms around her, and held her.

  * * *

  Two hours later, Brooke was holding her uncle’s hand.

  “I’m sorry to worry you like that,” he said, squeezing her hand.

  “I’m so relieved we came home when we did. When I think about what could have happened—”

  “Don’t,” he said, interrupting her. “I’m thankful to you. To you both.” Looking over at Owen, he smiled. “So tell me about your trip.”

  Brooke chuckled. “We don’t need to talk about that right now. You need to rest. The doctor said he was going to come in and check on you, and I don’t want to get in trouble for keeping you up.”

  Howard waved her off. “Nonsense. It will be a good distraction. Did you take a lot of pictures?”

  For the next several minutes, Brooke told her uncle all about the helicopter tour and her impressions of the Grand Canyon and then how they camped out at Red Rock. “I did a little bit of painting there—we bought some supplies—and really, it was wonderful.”

  Owen chimed in and told Howard about his meeting with Tom Donnelly and the astronomical society.

  “So does this mean you’re definitely going to do the trip?” Howard asked and then smiled when Owen nodded. “I’m glad, Owen. I am. I think you’re going to do an amazing job.”

  “I’m not so sure about that. But I’m willing to try.” He reached out, grabbed Brooke’s free hand, and gently squeezed it. “And as long as Brooke is with me, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

  She couldn’t help the small gasp that came out at his words. “Really?”

  Owen smiled and nodded. “I probably could have picked a better time to ask you, but—”

  “Of course I want to go!” she said softly but excitedly, squeezing his hand back. But her excitement quickly faded as she turned back toward her uncle. “Maybe I shouldn’t go. You’re going to need someone here to—”

  Howard waved her off. “Nonsense. I have plenty of friends who can come and stay with me.”

  “I don’t know,” she began hesitantly.

  “I promise that I won’t be alone,” Howard said firmly. “I’m perfectly capable of finding someone to stay at the house to help out.”

  “If you’re sure…”

  “I am.”

  She relaxed again and smiled. “Okay. Good.”

  “I’m so glad the two of you are going to do this,” Howard said. “I think it’s going to be a wonderful experience. And being that you’ve already camped out at Red Rock, you’ll be a little bit more prepared.”

  “I had never gone camping before,” Brooke said with a chuckle, “but this was kind of fun. Not that I’m looking to do it a whole lot, but now that I know what to expect, it will make the trip more pleasurable.”

  Howard chuckled. “Your mother would have a fit if she knew you went camping. Somehow I doubt she’s ever considered taking a camping trip.”

  Brooke shook her head. “Never. You know she doesn’t like to get messed up, and she enjoys modern conveniences far too much.”

  “Her loss,” Howard said. “Maybe we’ll leave that part out when you tell her about the trip. Both of the trips.”

  She nodded and smiled sadly. “I know we’re going for distraction here, but…I’m worried about you. Your doctor wouldn’t tell us anything. Do they… Do you know why you passed out? What caused you to stop breathing?”

  Raising her hand to his lips, Howard kissed it. “I’m a little tired now, Brookie. Would you be terribly upset if I just rested my eyes for a bit?”

  Sighing, she took her hand from his and forced herself to smile. “Of course not. It’s important for you to take it easy. Do you want us to leave?”

  “Why don’t the two of you go and grab something to eat?” he suggested. “We’ll talk after the doctor comes back. Okay?”

  It felt like he was avoiding the issue, but she let him.

  For now.

  Standing, she placed a gentle kiss on his head. “We’ll be back soon.”

  * * *

  Later that afternoon, Owen stood quietly beside Howard’s bed. Brooke had stepped out to talk to the doctor, to get a better understanding of the news they’d just received.

  “How long have you known?” Owen finally asked.

  “I found out about six months ago.”

  Nodding, he pulled up a chair closer to the bed and sat down. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  Howard sighed softly as he looked over at Owen. “Denial mainly. After all, I don’t know many people who would be anxious to share the news that they have cancer.”

  “Did they know then that it was this advanced?”

  He nodded. “You may not believe this, but…the opportunity to extend my life by a couple of months with treatment wasn’t appealing.”

  Owen looked at him with confusion. “I…I don’t understand.”

  “The quality of life I would have isn’t what I want. I’ve watched several people take that route, and the pain and the sickness from the treatment are sometimes worse than the illness itself.” He paused. “I’ve lived a good life. I’ve experienced great love—the kind that only comes around once in a lifetime—and I’m ready to see her again.”

  It took a moment for Howard’s words to sink in. Owen swallowed the lump of emotion in his throat. “What about your family? Brooke—”

  And then Howard surprised him by smiling. “All of my affairs are in order. I’ve taken care of everything, so no one will be burdened when I’m gone. But Brooke? Well, I have to admit I was torn about asking her to come and stay with me for these few months. It was a little selfish on my part. I’ve always had a soft spot for her. After she lost her brother five years ago, I’ve watched my sister and brother-in-law put a lot of pressure on her. I guess I wanted to step in and give her a reprieve for a bit while I still could.”

  “Lost her brother?” Owe
n forced the question out. Why hadn’t Brooke told him about that? After all the things they’d shared, why would she leave something that important out?

  Howard’s smile turned sad as he gave a small nod. “Neal. He was three years older than her. Brilliant young man, like you, but his specialty was math. The way his mind worked was amazing.”

  “How did he die?” Owen asked quietly.

  “Suicide.”

  “I…I didn’t know. She never—”

  “She doesn’t talk about it. It’s too hard. Time doesn’t make it any easier. Sometimes I wish she would. I think it would be good for her. Give her some closure.”

  Everything in him ached for Brooke. For her family. For Howard. Owen couldn’t even imagine what a loss like that would feel like. Losing his own mother had been beyond devastating. It had been quick and senseless and not of her own doing. He knew, given the chance, Lillian Shaughnessy would still be here with her family. To know that someone decided to end his own life was beyond comprehension.

  “Needless to say,” Howard went on after Owen’s silence, “we were all devastated. How had we missed the signs?”

  “Was he living at home?” Owen asked. “Was he in constant contact with his parents?”

  Howard shook his head. “He had been going to MIT, but he had just come home for the summer break. Looking back, we all said he seemed quiet and a little withdrawn, but he was always that way. Neal wasn’t social and outgoing like Brooke, and I guess it was hard for any of us to notice a difference. I thought it was the extra pressure of going for his PhD. But Neal always put more pressure on himself than he should have.” He gave Owen a pointed look. “I blame his father for that one.”

  “You don’t like your brother-in-law?”

  “Never cared for the man. And I never cared for the way they raised their children. Over the years, I brought it up to my sister, but…it was too late. The damage was done.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Brooke and Neal were never allowed to be close. Neal was the brain; Brooke was the beauty. That’s what they were groomed for.” He sighed. “I was so relieved when Brooke finally spoke up and started to take control of her life. Although she’s still searching for what she wants, at least I know she’s doing it for herself and not to please her parents.”