But he didn’t deserve her help. He’d screwed up and he knew it. “I’m in contact with a couple of buddies in Afghanistan. They’ll get the pictures back and get the one on Facebook taken down, if they haven’t already.”
“Pictures?” Aaron’s expression hardened. “As in plural? Damn it, Brooke. How many?”
“Four,” she answered quietly, looking down at her feet.
Aaron threw his arms up in the air and shouted, “How could you be so careless?”
“She wasn’t careless,” Shane said.
“No,” Aaron agreed loudly. “You,” he pointed at Shane, “were the careless one. Now she and her father will pay the price.”
“Stop it.” Brooke stepped between them “This isn’t helping.” Into the silence that followed she asked Aaron, “How did you find me?”
“GPS tracker in your phone.”
“But I got—” She stopped. “You had Nate enable a tracker on my new phone.”
For some reason she didn’t seem surprised by that.
Aaron nodded. “And he called to inform me of today’s plans. He worries about you, just like your father and I do.”
So Nate had done more than check Shane out when he’d gone to his squad car.
“I was already on my way down when he called. We agreed I’d catch up with you en route so we could work this out away from the press. Your dad’s pretty sure Graham’s campaign manager is behind your story getting such broad attention. No doubt he’ll find a way to fuel the media frenzy to divert attention from his incompetent candidate.” He pushed his hands into the pockets of his coat. “It’s likely to get worse before it’s over. Another reason your dad wants you home, to keep you safe.”
“What about my mother?” Brooke asked. “Does she want me home?”
Aaron let out a breath. “Your mother is a…difficult woman. She can hold a grudge longer than anyone I know. But your dad put his foot down.”
“After all these years?”
“He loves you,” Aaron said.
“He used to love me. He used to show more than a cursory interest in my life. He used to seem interested in me as a person. Not anymore. He’s too busy.” Her words oozed hurt.
Were her parents insane? The Brooke he knew was sweet and kind, so easy to love. Yet she obviously didn’t feel loved by the two people who should love her the most. Unconditionally. Shane put his hand on her shoulder to offer his support.
The gesture didn’t go unnoticed by Aaron. “You know you’re always welcome to stay with me—”
“No,” Shane snapped. It slipped out. He had no control over it.
“And Hannah, who is my wife,” Aaron clarified with a glare. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“Oh, how is Hannah feeling?” Brooke asked.
“Much better. She finished chemo last week and is home waiting for my call.” Aaron smiled. “Hoping she’ll get to spend some quality girl time with one of her favorite people.”
Oh, Aaron played dirty.
With mention of Hannah, Brooke seemed to be warming to the idea of leaving with Aaron. Even though it was probably best for all concerned, Shane couldn’t shake the feeling he’d be making the biggest mistake of his life if he let her go right now.
Did that make him a selfish bastard? Definitely. He went on the offensive anyway, turning to her and lowering his voice so only she could hear. “Please, Brooke. I know I’ve been a grouchy pain in the ass. But let me make this right. You’re safe with me, I promise.”
“You may think you know him, but you don’t,” Aaron cautioned, his voice on the cusp of a yell. “You only know the parts of him he let you see. Did you know he dropped out of high school at the beginning of his senior year?”
“My dad hurt his back and couldn’t work,” Shane explained. “I needed to take on a full-time job to support my family. As soon as I could, I got my GED.”
“You’ve got it all wrong,” Brooke said to Aaron, so calm, so composed. “I know him, precisely because of the parts of him he let me see in his letters and e-mails. His love for his family, his country, and his fellow soldiers. His vulnerability. His true nature. He rescued a young woman…a young woman who—” She put her fingers to her mouth and looked stricken.
“I never should have shared that with you,” Shane said. But the abject horror of it would have permanently damaged his soul had he not had Brooke as an outlet, had she not provided the understanding and support he’d needed. How he’d gotten through his three prior tours of combat duty without her, he had no idea.
He’d found the woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, during a raid on an insurgent camp, in a locked, windowless room at the end of dark hallway, chained to a filthy bed. Bloody and bruised. Naked. The scent of sex so pungent he still smelled it every time he relived the memory.
She could have been one of his sisters. Or Brooke. A physical pain speared his gut at the thought.
After freeing the woman, he’d wrapped her battered body in a tattered blanket, and with the firefight still raging around them, he’d gotten them both out safely. So weak, and yet she’d still tried to fight him. The enemy.
And though he’d been unable to verbalize his outrage, his disgust and complete hatred for those responsible, he’d found the courage to write it all down. For Brooke. Because he trusted her. Because he knew her reply would contain exactly what he needed. And it had.
She looked up at him with understanding in her eyes. “I wanted you to share your experiences with me. I wanted to be there for you, to do what little I could to help you.”
“Just like I want to help you now,” he said quietly.
She turned to Aaron. “The emotion he shared in that letter was so raw, so real, he couldn’t have faked it. I know the kind of man he is in here.” She placed her hand on his breastbone, over his heart. “And that’s all I need to know.”
Shane covered her hand with his. So easy to love. Damn he was in trouble. Because he had nothing to offer her, didn’t deserve her, couldn’t keep her.
“He’s not what your parents want for you,” Aaron said quietly.
Even though Shane knew it, hearing the words out loud pissed him off.
“I’ve met a few of their choices,” Brooke said with a shudder, wrapping both arms around her middle and holding herself tightly. “I’ll die an old maid before I comply.”
Shane made a mental note to explore her reaction further when he had her alone.
“They’ll never approve,” Aaron added.
With him in his present state, what parent would?
“I’m not running off to get married,” Brooke replied. “I’m simply taking a break from my life for a few days while the investigation runs its course. The press will be looking for me at home. They won’t expect me to be elsewhere.”
“Does that mean what I think it means?” Shane took her hands in his, stupidly hopeful.
“Yes.” She smiled, then looked at Aaron. “I’m going with Shane, as planned.” Aaron started to say something, but Brooke silenced him with a raised hand. “I’m twenty-five years old. I’ve been making my own decisions since I turned seventeen.”
After a short silence, Aaron gave a begrudging, “Fine. But I’ll be close by until everything calms down. A phone call away if you need me.”
“Is there any specific threat I should be aware of?” Shane asked, ready to be on his way.
“No,” Aaron answered. “Keep her out of trouble and out of the public eye and she should be fine.”
“If anything changes, I’m assuming you know how to reach me?” Compliments of Nate, no doubt.
“I do. Take my numbers in case you need me.”
Shane had no intention of ever calling the man, but he programmed the numbers into his phone rather than start an argument. “Feel free to head on home to your wife. Brooke won’t need you as long as she’s with me.”
Together they watched Aaron get back into his car and drive off.
Shane turned to face Brooke. “Tha
nk you.” For staying. For trusting him.
She gifted him with a small smile.
And at that precise moment there was nothing in the world he wanted more than to kiss the lips smiling up at him. So he did, staring into her eyes, cupping the back of her head, lowering his mouth until it met hers. Soft and yielding…opening. He slid his tongue inside, plunged into her slippery sweetness, needing her more than air. He clamped his other hand around her low back and pulled her close. It wasn’t enough. He wanted her naked, needed her naked, beneath him, on top of him; however the hell she wanted it.
He’d dreamed of her so many times, but nothing compared to the actual feel of her body pressed to his, to the feel of her melting against him, giving herself over to him. His body responded, ready.
In the distance a car honked, pulling him back to reality.
What the hell had he been thinking? He pulled away, hopping back on his good leg. He could not—should not—be doing this. “I’m sorry.”
She looked up at him, her eyes dazed with lust. “I’m not.”
God help him. “Don’t let me do that again.” He took a step, then remembered he needed his cane, which lay on the ground by his feet. He stared at it, trying to figure out the best way to get it.
Without a word, Brooke bent, picked it up, and handed it to him. “Why?”
“Because I know how you feel about having sex outside of a committed relationship. Kissing will lead to sex. And I am all wrong for you.”
“Spoken like a true male chauvinist,” she said, “who thinks he knows what’s best for the little woman. Well, you’re wrong.” She turned and started to walk away. “I’ve decided to use the restroom after all. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Chapter Nine
It didn’t take long into the second leg of their journey for Brooke to realize Shane wasn’t much of a talker when it came to talking about himself.
He’d met an inquiry into the extent of his injuries with “Not serious enough to kill me.”
When she’d attempted a follow up, he’d shut her down with “Don’t you worry, all the important parts are working just fine.”
Not one to give up easily, she tried, “What are your plans for after you’re fully recovered?” Even with his injuries, could there still be a position for him in the military?
He responded with “I’m considering my options. Next topic.”
Brooke took a few minutes to decide how to proceed and settled on “Where do you see yourself in five years?”
His eye focused on the road, he answered, “The psych doc said to take things one day at a time, and that’s what I’m doing.”
Fair enough.
While waging an internal debate on the merits of potential conversation starters unrelated to the military, his injuries, or his future versus staying quiet for the remaining hour and a half of their journey, Shane surprised her by actually speaking without her prompting.
“You’re so eager to talk, why don’t you do some talking about yourself? How about you start by explaining why a future governor’s daughter was interested in an enlisted sergeant in the U.S. Army?” He glanced over. “Staging a rebellion? Trying to piss off your parents?”
“Not ‘was’ interested, ‘is’ interested.” His injury had no impact on the way she felt about him. “And no to both.” Since meeting Shane, since starting to care for him as more than a friend, she’d decided to take a stand, to finally go after what she wanted.
“Then explain the little shimmy shake you did or your comment about dying an old maid when Aaron brought up the guys your parents want you to date. And what’s with you avoiding spending time with the men your mother tries to set you up with? Wealthy men from good families. They sound perfect for you.”
Her internal debate came to an abrupt end, and staying quiet for the remaining hour and a half of their journey won. “Sorry.” She leaned back in the passenger’s seat. “I worked so hard to engage you in some dialogue I’m feeling all talked out.” She contented herself with staring out the window, which is what she happened to be doing when they passed a sign advertising a mall up ahead. “We have to stop!”
“So much for feeling all talked out.”
“I need to run into the mall. It’ll only take a few minutes.”
“No.” He grimaced then repositioned himself in the driver’s seat, clearly uncomfortable.
“Please.” She had two miles to convince him. “You can get out and stretch while I make a quick dash in to buy a hostess gift for your mom.”
“A what?”
“A hostess gift. To thank her for having me.” At the thought of shopping Brooke’s spirits took an immediate upturn. “What does she like?”
“She doesn’t need a gift. She loves company. It gives her a reason to bake.”
“That’s good. She likes to bake.” Brooke tapped her chin. “A nice platter maybe. Or a cake plate.”
“She has a bunch of plates already.”
“So I’ll have to make sure the one I get for her is extra special. How about one on a pedestal? Or one with a clear glass dome to display her goodies?”
“Ma’s desserts don’t sit around long enough to need displaying.” He put on his signal, but instead of merging onto the exit ramp he steered into the passing lane.
“Hey!”
“We are not stopping at the mall.” He sped up to pass a tractor trailer.
Brooke clasped her fingers together, settled both hands in her lap, and looked down at them, prepared to respond as she usually did when someone ignored what she wanted in favor of what they wanted—with quiet acquiescence.
Only once again, while in Shane’s presence, anger started to build.
Through no fault of her own, her life was spiraling out of control. People were saying horrible things about her and she wasn’t allowed to respond. She’d been suspended from the job she loved. The intrusive press had made it necessary for her to be secreted away from her closest friends and everything familiar to be taken in by strangers.
She needed one thing, one thing, to give her the illusion she had some control over her life right now. And that one thing turned out to be the ability to purchase a gift for Shane’s mom. “I think you’re rotten for not stopping when I asked you to. Buying a hostess gift for your mom may seem meaningless and unnecessary to you, but it’s very important to me.”
“Rotten?” he asked, glancing over. “That’s the best you can do? Tell me what you’re really thinking. Let me have it. Get mad.” He signaled and merged back into the right lane of traffic.
She refused to get into an argument. But there was no reason she couldn’t be honest. “Male chauvinist or not, I don’t care for men who make decisions for me, especially when they don’t take my wants and needs into account when they make them.”
His posture went stiff. His expression turned into a scowl. Two motorcycles sped by. A commercial for a local carpet cleaning service played on the radio.
Then, finally, Shane graced her with a quiet response. “Ask me why I didn’t stop.”
She looked at his profile and noticed his skin had taken on a slight reddish hue. “Why didn’t you stop?”
“Because Aaron said to keep you out of the public eye, and I agree that’s the best plan for the time being. Because malls are crowded and about as public as you can get.” His voice got a little louder. “Because I haven’t been on the Internet in hours, I have no updated information from Nate and no idea how far your picture and news of the police investigation has spread.”
Okay. So the allure of shopping may have clouded her judgment. Kudos to him for staying focused on her safety. But, “You said I’d be safe with you.”
“You are.” His voice softened. “I didn’t say we couldn’t stop at all. Just not at a mall. Let me think on it. I’m sure I can come up with someplace where I know the people and have control over who you come in contact with.”
Brooke looked down at her hands still in her lap, feeling like a fool. “Y
ou’re right. I’m sorry.”
He reached for her hand and squeezed.
She sandwiched his hand between both of hers and held it there, noting the rough texture somehow softened by his warmth and the gentleness of his touch, needing this kindness from him.
A little while later he said, “So you’re not going to answer my questions when I answered all of yours?”
Looking out the window seemed a preferable option. “It’s not easy to talk about.”
“After all I’ve shared with you, you can tell me anything. For chrissakes, I wrote you about how I pissed myself during my first firefight. And how I cried like a baby thinking I was going to die after the first time I got shot.”
“You were only nineteen.”
“Still. Neither is something I wanted anyone back home to know about, but I told you.”
He’d also shared how he’d thrown up when he’d seen his first dead body, the pain he endured when his friends were killed, and his frustration with the war. Brooke thought about how candid he’d been, how open and honest, and about sharing the truth with him. A famous line from a movie rang in her head: “You can’t handle the truth!” Although she had no doubt Shane could.
If they were to have any type of future together, he deserved to find out from her, not someone else. She released his hand, not wanting any contact with him while she talked. Still looking out the window, she took a deep breath and began. “Rich, powerful men, and the sons of rich, powerful men, aren’t used to being told no, and they’ll do anything to get what they want.”
Maybe it was her imagination, but she sensed an immediate tension in the car. “When I was seventeen my mother strongly encouraged me to be more welcoming to the attentions of a certain twenty-year-old college student from a very wealthy, very powerful family who was prominent on the New York political scene.”
When she’d refused to go upstairs with him, he casually and calculatingly spoke of how horrible it would be if rumors meant to tarnish her stellar reputation or ruin her father’s good name and political aspirations started to circulate. He never raised his voice or made any overtly threatening physical gestures. So confident in his manipulation. The perfect politician, who just happened to be running for New York State Assembly.
Loving You Is Easy Page 9