Brynn stood in the room, her feet planted. She was confused about many things, but she wasn’t confused about wanting Adam to leave.
As she stared at Adam in disbelief upon him violating Sophie’s room, Brynn felt something break inside of her and she was furious—beyond furious. Why is he here? What does he want from me?
“GET OUT!” She screamed at Adam lunging at him. “I need you to leave RIGHT NOW!”
She grabbed his shirt and started to drag him out of Sophie’s room. Adam was taken off guard and was stunned by how strong her tiny body was. The anger was resonating from her, palpable and dark. He had never seen her like this before and he struggled against her, trying to stand his ground.
“BRYNN! Stop! Stop and calm down!” He tried to hold her tightly, tried to soothe her, but she refused to let him. She fought violently against him until Adam put his hands in the air, “I’ll leave. God, I’m sorry, I’ll leave.”
Adam hurried down the stairs with her right behind him.
“You never should have gone into Sophie’s room. You never should have come back here. Don’t ever come back here again, Adam!” she hissed. “I don’t need you, and I don’t want you. All you’ve done is hurt me, and I am done with you. I don’t want you in my life anymore!”
Adam was standing outside before he realized it, Maxie staring at him from the other side of the window.
“Brynn, Brynn…” Adam heard the click of the lock and the curtain close on the window.
Adam stared at the front door in disbelief.
It was over. After all of their years together, after he had returned to her only to leave again, after last night, Adam finally knew that his life with Brynn was gone for good. And this time Adam knew that it was forever.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Brynn and John
BRYNN FOUND OUT that Ellie died when a man named John Palmer called and asked if he could meet with her. They met face to face at a little coffee shop, and in spite of herself, Brynn liked him immediately. He felt almost like she imagined family should feel. Though she was usually distrustful, John made it easy for her. She liked that he was direct and to the point, and she trusted that about him. He seemed to have no interest other than protecting the family name and assets, and she admired his loyalty to her grandfather and to the family. John talked about James Harper fondly, and Brynn knew that he had meant a great deal to him.
He wasn’t sure how Brynn would take Ellie’s death, which is why he asked to meet with her in person.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but your birth mother, Elizabeth Harper, overdosed and has died,” John said hesitantly.
He wasn’t sure how Brynn would react, and was intrigued to find that she barely had a reaction at all. She simply sighed, and said, “Is that all you wanted to tell me?”
Brynn knew that she should feel something about Ellie’s death, but she simply felt relief. She never wanted to have a relationship with her. She simply wanted to confront her about why Ellie abandoned her the way she had. Now that Brynn had done that, she realized she didn’t need anything from Ellie anymore, or even had any feelings about or for her, good or bad. And now that Ellie was gone, she was shocked to discover that she hadn’t thought about Ellie much at all anymore.
Ellie had not been one of John’s favorite people, and he was glad to not have to deal with her any longer, even though he struggled with the guilt of feeling that way. He knew that James loved Ellie more than anything, and John felt that he had failed them both by not being able to prevent her death. But he realized there was nothing else he could have done to save her.
He was hoping that Brynn would be very different from her birth mother. He wasn’t sure what to expect when he met her, but had done extensive research on her background. He was prepared to hard sell her on being involved with the Harper Family, but he was taken off guard by how much he liked her. He could see a lot of James in her. James had been his mentor, and had taught him everything he knew. John had admired James’ focus, his ability to get what he wanted easily. He saw the same focus and strength in Brynn, and he was careful not to underestimate her, but he found that he enjoyed their conversation and felt almost paternal toward her right away.
When he told her about the Harper House and that he wanted her to move in, he could tell right away that she didn’t like the idea. She couldn’t imagine that she would ever be comfortable in a home so big.
“I can’t live in that big house!” she protested, her head still spinning about the inheritance. “That’s ridiculous! I’ll just buy a little bungalow by the restaurant and call it a day!”
“You can’t just go off and live in a bungalow and ignore everything else.” John said, and Brynn got the sense that he was a little annoyed. “There’s more than the inheritance to consider.”
“More?” Brynn’s mind was already reeling. He had just told her that Ellie was dead. Then he told Brynn that she was inheriting the Harper fortune, which reached numbers that she had never imagined in her wildest dreams. “How is there possibly more?”
He explained about Noah, and Brynn fought the initial urge to run. Ellie had told her about Noah, but Brynn didn’t anticipate that she was ever going to have to be his guardian and take care of him for the rest of his life. She didn’t know if she would be able to do what John was asking of her, or even if she wanted to. She wasn’t ready to take care of a younger brother she didn’t know. Especially not one who needed so much. “Just meet him,” John urged. “You’ll fall in love with him, I promise.”
Reluctantly, Brynn allowed John to set up a meeting between them a week later.
John had started hiring staff for the Harper House, and had the driver, Tony, take them to the home where Noah had spent most of his life. The drive up was pleasant, and John told Brynn a little bit about her family history. He was evasive when she asked about her grandmother, but she was so distracted with the thought of meeting Noah that she hadn’t noticed. Brynn was impressed when they drove up. It didn’t look like anything she had expected. It looked like an expensive resort, but Brynn was still saddened by the fact that Noah had to live here.
Noah had been waiting for them, and had started jumping up and down when he saw the car pull up. He came bounding up to the car, army men in hand, ready to introduce himself to his new sister. He introduced her to Kelly, telling Brynn that she was his “best girl.” Kelly smiled graciously, and Brynn decided that she liked her immediately. Noah was clearly excited as he took her hand and showed her around his home, introducing her to all of his friends, except for his new best friend, Carly, who was in for her morning nap.
“I can’t wait for you to meet Carly,” he said, talking so quickly she had to concentrate to keep up. “She’s great at checkers!”
Despite herself, Brynn did fall in love with Noah—at first sight, actually. He was sweet, vivacious, and energetic, and his adventurous spirit caught her off guard. She knew that she would never be able to leave him behind now, which is what she figured John was banking on. She realized that in Noah, she now had family. When Sophie died and Adam left her, she felt as though her chance at ever having a family were gone forever. Brynn was overwhelmed with the feeling that now she had a brother, and she knew that there would be no going back. She would now have a brother—forever.
A few days after she met Noah, John asked to meet with her again at the coffee shop where she met him the first time. Brynn was suspicious that he was inviting her to have coffee for the second time in a week.
“What do you mean, I have a grandmother?” Brynn was shocked and almost spit coffee out all over him. The look in her eyes told him that she wasn’t up for any more surprises, and he almost felt guilty for keeping Amy from her. But he couldn’t take the chance that Brynn would reject her. He wanted her to be hooked on Noah first. He knew that if she were, there would be no problem with introducing her to Amy. He also didn’t want to overwhelm Brynn with too much at once.
When she got over her ini
tial surprise, and John assured her that there wasn’t anything else he was keeping from her, Brynn responded exactly how he hoped she would.
“I want to meet her as soon as possible!” she exclaimed, her eyes glistening with excitement. “I just don’t understand how she could be alive this long, and how nobody knew about her.”
John explained what he had gotten from Petey and Lily, before they had gone to prison. He knew the whole story now, and went through it with Brynn. Brynn cried as she imagined her grandmother alone, losing her memory, her past, her husband, and her life. She wanted to meet the woman who had adored her so much as a child. John showed her pictures of the two of them together, and the love in Amy’s eyes was obvious.
But Brynn agreed to wait until John could bring her home, and the months felt like years.
John finally convinced her that moving into the Harper Home was the best thing for everyone. Brynn was in awe of the beauty of the old house, and she busied herself by setting up rooms and suites and updating the big house so that it didn’t feel so empty and lonely.
She planned each room carefully and meticulously based on their needs and the feedback that John gave her. She called Kelly for advice on Noah’s room, and since she was also coming to live with them, she talked to her about how she would like her room set up, as well.
The hardest room for Brynn to set up was the nursery. She had set it up with Adam in the Victorian, but she never wanted to do it alone. Sadly, now she was realizing that she had no choice. She was going to have to do it by herself, whether she wanted to or not.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Brynn’s Discovery
THE MEMORY OF THAT DAY, and discovering that she was pregnant was hard for Brynn to revisit. It had been a hard day for her, and a hard moment for her to make it through. Brynn had sat in the yellow bathroom of the Victorian with Maxie lying loyally by her side on the cool tile. Brynn prayed.
She stared at the stick that sat on the edge of the bathroom sink as though it were a snake, and then stared at her watch. One minute.
She couldn’t understand why time moved so slowly during the most painful or crucial moments of her life, yet the good ones flew by.
Two minutes.
She took a deep breath and looked at the stick. There was a plus. Plus? Plus? What is a plus? Pregnant? Not pregnant? Pregnant? Oh no! Pregnant!
Brynn sat down on the toilet, nearly falling in. She swore and flipped the cover down, and then sank to the floor hugging Maxie tight. I can’t be pregnant! This can’t be!
After Sophie’s death, she realized that she wanted to be a mother. But she had never thought that she would do it alone. She thought about Adam, and she thought about Nick, and she realized that either of them could be the father. But neither of them were father material now. Adam, with his drinking and constant abandonment of her, and Nick with his wife. Brynn was disgusted with herself and disgusted with both of them. It had been a few months since she had last spoken to either of them, and she had no desire to have them in her life.
She desperately wanted to cry, but couldn’t find the tears.
But now that she had come to terms with it, she was nervous and excited at the same time. She had lived through a lot of horrible things in her life, but bringing life into the world was beautiful, and Brynn felt thankful that she would have another chance to be a mother. Even if it meant she wouldn’t get to share it with the man she loved.
Brynn enjoyed watching her belly grow little by little. She looked at herself in the mirror every day, dismayed that the scars from her early years of cutting to escape Thomas’ abuse were still visible. She wished that they would fade away so that she never had to see them again, but they remained like the scars that resurfaced in her dreams. She decided that she was happy about being pregnant, and she pushed aside the feelings that Nick or Adam wouldn’t be so happy.
Setting up the nursery in the Harper House was turning out to be fun. Jane was helping her, and had convinced Brynn to indulge a little since she now had the resources to do so. Brynn wasn’t used to having an unlimited amount of money, and it made her uncomfortable. But Jane kept telling her that it was okay, and that spending money on the baby was a wonderful thing.
Brynn was thankful she had Jane, even though Jane asked her the hard questions that she sometimes didn’t want to answer.
“So you are definitely going to do this alone? No Nick, No Adam?” Jane asked her while they shopped.
“No, I’m not alone,” Brynn smiled weakly, “I have you.”
Jane shook her head and hugged her friend. She wondered when Brynn was ever going to allow herself to be happy, to let go and allow someone to love her. Even if she didn’t know who the father of her baby was, Jane had hoped she would figure it out so that everyone would be happy. From what Brynn had told her, she knew that both Adam and Nick would be thrilled with the prospect of being a father again. But Brynn was stubborn, and she knew that it would be difficult to change her mind. She just wanted her friend to be happy. Right now, Brynn’s happiness was wrapped up in finishing the house and having it ready for her new family.
The nursery was the last room to be renovated, and then the Harper House was complete.
Moving day for Amy and Noah had finally come. John Palmer had wished for it to happen much sooner, but there were many details to wrap up. Finally, he could breathe a sigh of relief knowing that his plans were coming to fruition.
Noah was sad to leave his friends, and the only home he had ever really known. He was happy that Kelly was going to be coming with him. It was the only consolation that he had. Noah had met Brynn a few times. She seemed nice enough, but they weren’t quite friends yet. She was pretty, but Noah saw her make sad faces a lot and that made him sad, too. Brynn reminded him of Mommy, and that made him really sad.
Noah did like Maxie a lot. He always wanted a dog, but Mommy wouldn’t let him have one. Brynn told him that Maxie could be his dog, too, and that made Noah very happy. He liked throwing Maxie the ball because he liked to fetch, and Maxie liked to give kisses, which made Noah laugh.
He didn’t have a lot to take with him from the home. Just some army men, some clothes, and a few pictures. One of the pictures was of him and Ellie. He could hardly remember her now, but he missed her and it made him upset to think of her. So he didn’t.
He was happy that his friend Carly was moving with him, too. But he didn’t understand that John kept calling her ‘Amy’. Noah tried calling her by the ‘Amy’ name, but he kept forgetting and it came out as ‘C-amy’. Carly said he could call her whatever he wanted to. Everyone seemed happy that Noah and Amy were such good friends. Noah didn’t understand why everyone cared so much, he just wanted to keep seeing his friend and playing checkers with her.
But Carly seemed sad, too. Carly and Brynn were sad women, and it made Noah sad sometimes to look at them. He tried to do funny things to make them laugh, and it did. But then they would look sad again. It didn’t make sense to Noah.
Kelly was the only woman in his life who seemed really happy. Noah thought she was so pretty, and he thought he might want to marry her one day. But Kelly said, even though she was flattered, that she had a boyfriend. Noah said that he would keep asking, but Kelly said that he should find a nice girl his own age. He knew he wouldn’t. He thought Kelly was the prettiest woman he had ever met, with her pretty blonde hair and blue eyes.
Noah was excited about going to the “Big House,” like everyone was calling it. John said he was going to have a big room where he could fit all of his army guys. John said that he would get him a lot more army guys to play with. John said that he could have anything he wanted, but he didn’t want much. He just wanted his army guys and a soft bed. He didn’t really like his bed at the home, but John said he would love his bed at the new house.
Kelly helped him pack his stuff, and then they went over to Carly’s room to see how she was doing.
“C-Amy, are you ready yet?” Noah asked, bouncing on her bed.
“Not yet,” Amy said shaking her head. “I don’t know where I put my suitcase.”
“I packed it for you already,” Kelly said putting her hand on Amy’s shoulder. “You’re all ready to go now.”
Amy looked around the room sadly. “I don’t know where I’m going.”
“You’re going to the house you lived in a long time ago,” Kelly said gently. “Your old house. The ‘Harper House’. Do you remember?”
“No. I don’t remember. I only remember living with Lily and Petey. I miss Lily and Petey. They loved me. They were my friends.” Amy looked at Kelly, tears brimming in her beautiful brown eyes. “I don’t know where I’m going.”
Kelly smiled patiently. She had been having this conversation with Amy for weeks, and she hoped that when Amy got to the house it would be different and that she would remember. Kelly hoped that she would at least feel at home there.
“It’ll be okay, Amy. Don’t worry.” Kelly gave her a quick hug. “I’ll be there with you. Don’t worry.”
Amy nodded, trying to smile.
“Do you know what happened to Petey? Do you know what happened to my husband?” Amy was wringing her hands together faster and faster, her voice worried. “Nobody will tell me where my husband is. When he comes back to get me, I won’t be here. How will he find me? How will he know where I am?”
Kelly frowned. She hated lying to Amy, but knew that she couldn’t tell her the truth. She would never understand that Petey and Lily were gone, to prison, for a long time. She knew that it would only break Amy’s fragile heart to know the truth. She grabbed Amy’s hands to stop her from wringing them together, and she held onto them tight. “Amy, Petey has gone away, and he’s not coming for back for a long time. He said to leave, and he will find you. He said not to worry, and that he wants you to go to the Big House. He said that you would be safe and happy there. Now, we have to get ready to go. The car is coming to get us very soon.”
Losing Eva (The Eva Series Book 2) Page 19