The Brookfield Series Volume One

by Lacey Wolfe

  Looking away, she quietly told him goodnight then rolled over so her back was facing him. Her eyes closed. She had expected to stay awake a lot longer but, instead, she drifted right off to sleep.

  Hours later, she woke in a sweat. Mark’s body was firmly pressed against hers, and it was tense. His head shook slightly. Julie pulled away from him and sat up. Her bladder was once again calling. Slowly, she pulled the covers back and started to rise.

  “Don’t go, Annabelle. Don’t leave me again. I need you and Greg,” Mark said as his hand gripped her wrist.

  Julie’s eyes widened, and she looked back at him, but he was sound asleep. With her free hand, she pried his fingers off and started to leave again.

  “Annabelle,” he whispered.

  “Sssh,” she said. “I’m just using the bathroom.”

  As she tiptoed toward the bathroom, she wondered who Annabelle and Greg were. Where had they gone? Was Annabelle his wife and she left him? But that seemed silly if they had a child together. Mark didn’t seem like the kind of man you would keep a child from. He didn’t strike her as someone who could hurt anyone. Annabelle and Greg had to be something else to him.

  She climbed back into their cot. Mark was on his back, looking peaceful now. Once again, she turned so her back was to him. Right as she closed her eyes, Mark’s arm wrapped around her, tugging her against him, pressing an erection right against her butt. Her eyes shot open.

  “It feels so good to touch you again,” he said.

  She didn’t know what to say. He still had to be dreaming of this Annabelle and thought she was her.

  Julie pulled at his arm, but he just tightened it around her.

  “You’re not leaving me again.”

  She was about to protest but having his arm wrapped around her was so comforting and strangely felt right. She snuggled up and decided to just go with it. Surely, by morning, they would no longer be spooning. She and Jeremy never had.

  Chapter Seven

  A shiver swept through Julie, waking her with a jolt. The sun shone brightly through the window. Rolling over to her back, she noticed the fire had almost died down. That must have been why she was so chilly. And the fact that Mark was gone.

  She had slept so peacefully in his arms. Now she yearned for him to come back.

  “Shit!” The voice echoed from the kitchen.

  Throwing the covers away, Julie sat up, stretching her back. Wow, she was getting way too old to sleep on the floor. She was awfully stiff this morning.

  In the kitchen, she found Mark with his hand under running water.

  “Everything okay?” she asked.

  With his back still to her, he said, “Fine. Cut my finger.”

  “Ouch.” She really wasn’t sure if she should rush over to help or if she should keep her distance. Men were weird, and you just never knew how they would react to pain.

  Julie decided to go ahead, get a towel, and set it beside him. After placing the towel down, she saw he was cutting up some fresh fruit.

  “Need help?” she asked.

  “I didn’t, but I guess I do now. I was making you toast and was going to put some diced fruit on the side.” Mark turned the water off and wrapped his finger in the towel she had laid out for him.

  “Aw, that’s sweet.”

  “I figured it would be easier on your stomach.”

  She nodded. He was probably right. “What can I do?”

  “The toast is done. Actually, everything is done. I was getting ready to start on the strawberries.”

  She squinted. “I don’t like strawberries.”

  “You’re kidding me. I almost cut my finger off for nothing?”

  She laughed. She couldn’t help it. He was just so darn cute. “If you want some, I can slice them for you.”

  “Nah, I’m beginning to think I don’t like them either.”

  Julie’s heart warmed. The more she got to know Mark, the more she liked him. She grabbed both their plates and took them over to the table. Taking a seat, she saw he’d already gotten her juice and a cup of steaming hot coffee was at his place. Inhaling, her mouth watered for a taste of his drink.

  “Once we can get out this place, I’ll get you some decaf.” Mark took the seat in front of her.

  She didn’t say anything, unsure of what she was going to do once she could leave. Her time with Mark had been great, but she couldn’t just stay living with him. Maybe she just needed to go back to New York. Return to her life and do what she had to do for the baby.

  For the most part, they ate in silence. Mark chatted a little and mentioned that, with the sun coming out, hopefully temperatures would rise and snow would melt. But then, that would be a whole other type of mess he wasn’t looking forward to.

  Once she finished eating, she was glad her stomach didn’t feel queasy. Perhaps he was onto the right idea.

  “Can I ask you a question?” she asked.

  “I’ll do my best to answer it.”

  “Last night I had to get up and use the restroom, and you called me Annabelle. Who is that?”

  His expression changed and hardened. “No one.”

  She couldn’t help but feel disappointed he wouldn’t open up. She reached across the table and took his hand. First, he looked down at her hand, and then his gaze went to her face.

  “You can tell me,” she said.

  Jerking his hand away, he said, “There is nothing to tell.”

  “There has to be. You thought I was her, and you told me you missed her and Greg.”

  Mark stood, shoving away from the table.

  “Mark,” she called after him as he left the kitchen without a word.

  There was definitely something there—something he didn’t want to share. It had to be eating away at him to get as angry as he did. Annabelle had to have been his wife, and maybe she left him, taking their son for selfish reasons. And he left wherever he came from because of the memories. She couldn’t believe someone might do that. If Jeremy wanted anything to do with their child, she wouldn’t keep it from him. She, however, was in a whole different boat. Jeremy wanted their baby dead.

  * * *

  The day seemed to be dragging. She was going through some of the postcards her mother had sent as Mark cleaned up the kitchen from lunch. For the most part, he had avoided her as much as possible. Anytime she entered a room, he left it. Most of the day he had been down in the basement doing God knows what.

  She flipped through the postcards and felt a twinge of happiness. Her mother had to be having the time of her life. All Julie’s life growing up, her mother and father had talked about traveling. Once her old man retired, they were going to set their sights across the USA and see what kind of trouble they could get into. Ten years ago, when Julie’s father died, she’d thought her mother was never going to leave this house. She’d grieved for a long time.

  Julie’s emotions took over, and a few tears leaked from her eyes. She really was just so happy for her mom. Surely she was laughing with the windows down and the wind blowing through her hair. Her father would be watching from Heaven and smiling.

  Mark cleared his throat. Julie dropped the postcards and looked up at him.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, fine. I was just thinking about my dad. That’s all.”

  “Okay.” He nodded.

  “Listen, I’m sorry for earlier.”

  He put his hand up to stop her. “I’m going to try to dig out some more. Do you mind putting the kettle on, so I can have a hot drink when I come in?”

  “Uh, yeah, sure.” She glanced toward the window. “Has it warmed up at all out there?”

  “A little.”

  “Good.”

  Mark didn’t say anything else but just headed down to the basement again to get whatever he needed.

  Putting the lid back on the box, she laid it on the table before heading into the kitchen. A nice cup of cocoa sounded good to her and maybe a chat with Claire also. Once the water was finished bo
iling, she poured it into a mug and stirred. As she took a sip, the chocolaty goodness hit just the right spot.

  She picked up the phone off the wall and called Honeycreek Bed and Breakfast. Claire answered right away.

  “Hey, Claire,” Julie said.

  “Julie! Hi! Crazy storm. How are you holding up?”

  “Decent. A tree fell through the power line. Thank God Mom had a generator.”

  “Yikes. Well, I heard the crews are starting to clear the roads, and the power company is working around the clock.”

  “Good.” She was ready for things to get back to normal.

  “So how’s it going with that hunk?”

  Julie giggled. “It’s going. There is definitely a story to be told though.”

  “Any ideas?” Claire asked.

  Julie listened for Mark but didn’t hear anything. Quietly, she spoke into the phone. “I’m working on it. Last night we decided to sleep next to each other for warmth, and he called me Annabelle.”

  “Hmm, any ideas who it is?”

  “I asked, and he got on the defense real fast and closed himself off. Maybe an ex-wife. I think a child is somehow involved, too. This man knows a lot about pregnancy.”

  Julie covered her mouth. Shit.

  “Why would you guys be talking about pregnancy?” Claire asked.

  “I have a friend back home who is pregnant,” she said quickly.

  “Are you sure it’s a friend?”

  Darn, what was she to say? She didn’t want to lie to her friend, but was she ready to start telling people? Hell, she hadn’t even told her mother yet.

  “I’m not ready to talk about it.”

  “I understand.” She could hear the pause from Claire. “Just know I’m here with a shoulder to lean on if you need it.”

  “Thanks.”

  “So did you and that hunk every woman in town wants happen to cuddle?”

  Julie smiled. She was so relieved Claire had dropped the subject of her pregnancy without pushing her.

  “He wasn’t cuddling with me. He thought I was Annabelle.”

  “Maybe she isn’t an ex then. Typically, men don’t dream and miss their ex-wives, especially if they did them wrong.”

  “I didn’t think about that. I wonder who she is then.”

  “Maybe he’ll tell you.” Claire started to talk to someone in the background. “I got to go, girl. Come see me when you get un-snowed in. My lips are sealed, girl. Bye.”

  Julie placed the phone back onto the wall. What was she to do now? Getting dinner started was always an option. Since there was no power, it got dark fast, and they had to eat earlier. She needed to make something warm and filling.

  In the freezer, she found some ground meat then checked the cabinets. Spaghetti and meatballs was perfect. She filled the sink up with water and placed the meat in to defrost. Now to find something to do while she waited.

  Just as she was able to settle in for a game of Solitaire, there was a knock on the front door. Who the hell could that be? When she opened it, she saw Mark standing there with her luggage in hand.

  “Oh my gosh! You’ve been busy.” She grabbed the bags from him. “Let me get you some cocoa.”

  When she returned to the living room, with a mug in hand for him, he was warming up by the fire.

  “You really shouldn’t have.”

  “It’s not a problem. I know how much you wanted your things.”

  She set his mug down on the table then reached out for his hand and pulled him into a hug.

  “It was also my way of saying sorry for earlier,” he said. He wrapped his arms around her waist.

  Julie gazed up at him and, before she knew what she was doing, she was pressing her lips against his. She brushed her hand through his hair and pushed herself up on her tiptoes to deepen the kiss. It was magical and better than she’d expected it to be. When his tongue met hers, fireworks burst behind her eyelids.

  His hand caressed her lower back, slightly dipping toward her bottom. His other hand rubbed her side and gently slid inside her T-shirt. Instinctively, she sighed. His kiss was doing all kinds of amazing things to her body. She didn’t want it to end.

  Mark gently pushed her back until she sat on the couch. She leaned against the pillows and enjoyed the feel of his masculine body above hers. She explored his chest and arms, and was in awe of the rock-hard muscles this man had.

  Just as she was about to tug his shirt off to get a look at him, a strange beep echoed from her luggage through the quiet living room. Mark pulled away and gazed down at her. His hand caressed her cheek, and then he stood up and headed for the basement. Julie sat there, wondering what had just happened. If her stupid cell phone hadn’t beeped, letting her know of its low battery, how far would their make-out session have gone?

  * * *

  Mark paced back and forth across the cold cement floor. He wished now his shoes and socks were on, but he’d stripped them off after coming in from the snow.

  It had been a long time since he had kissed a woman. Julie was as soft as he’d thought she would be. She tasted sweet, and she enjoyed the touch of his hand. She was all female, and he wanted to go back up there and have more of her.

  Julie was beautiful, even in her mother’s clothes. She was kind, and he knew if he told her about Annabelle and Greg, she wouldn’t look at him differently like other people did. Once anyone knew what had happened, they always treated him differently. But there was something about Julie that made him think she just might open her heart to him and maybe love him. She wasn’t like all these other women. He couldn’t yet pinpoint what it was about Julie. Just that she was special, and he wanted to get to know her more.

  But he wouldn’t be getting involved with just Julie. There was a child growing inside of her. A child that belonged to some other man, who wanted nothing to do with either of them. But it was still a child, and he didn’t know if he could take that on again.

  He grunted and decided to chop some firewood. What better way to pass the time?

  After all the wood was chopped, he loaded some into a basket and headed back upstairs to place it by the fireplace. The temperatures were dropping and, even though they’d reached temperatures above freezing, tonight they would surely drop, and there would be a nasty, icy mess.

  Once he got the fire going again, he noticed the cup of cocoa he’d left. It was cold now, but the microwave could warm it for him. When he entered the kitchen, he froze. While he had been away, Julie had changed and was now in her own clothes. She was gorgeous before, but now she was a drop-dead beauty. She wore blue jeans that hugged her curves perfectly, and a pink turtleneck that also was form-fitting. On her feet, she wore a pair of black boots with several inches on the heels.

  His erection pressed against his zipper, and he took a seat at the table, pulling himself as close to the edge as he could before she noticed the bulge.

  When she looked at him, he noticed she now wore make-up like she had the morning he’d met her. She didn’t wear a lot but just enough to accent her eyes and make her beautiful browns stand out.

  “Hope spaghetti and meatballs is okay,” she said. He nodded. Yes, she was that pretty, and he was speechless. Julie set a big plate of food and a beer in front of him. “You’ve been working so hard today. I figured you might want one to relax.”

  He smiled. A massive pile of meatballs awaited him with a cold beer. This woman was after his heart—at least he hoped.

  Julie sat also and started to eat. For the most part, they ate quietly like usual. He wasn’t too sure of what to say. A kiss between two adults could make any situation awkward. She seemed happy though, so that was all that really mattered.

  Once they finished eating and cleaned up the kitchen, he grabbed another beer and took a seat on the couch in the living room. Julie joined him with a glass of water.

  She set her glass down then turned so her body faced him. “I’d like to apologize again for earlier. I shouldn’t have been so pushy. It’s obvio
usly something you don’t want to talk about.”

  Taking a sip of his beer, he said, “It’s fine. It’s just a touchy subject. I didn’t handle it very maturely.”

  “Well, just know I’m here if you want to talk. You were so kind to me when you learned of my pregnancy.”

  Should he tell her? He already knew she was someone he could trust, and she wouldn’t say anything to anyone if he asked her not to.

  Staring up at the ceiling, he began. “Annabelle was my wife. We had only been married a short while. When I learned she was pregnant with my son, Greg, I married her right away. I knew I had to do right by her.” He stopped and took another big gulp of beer. “When Greg was born, I knew my life was complete. I had a beautiful, smart, and wonderful wife, and she had given me a son, who was the spitting image of me. Or so everyone said. They brought so much joy to me.”

  Julie took his hand. “Where are they now?”

  Could he say it? Could he tell her? He’d always had a hard time saying the next few words. It was torture, and he had to relive it over and over.

  “Did she leave you and take your son?” Julie asked.

  “Kind of.” He looked away from Julie. He didn’t want her to see the tears in his eyes. “When it was time for Annabelle’s six-week appointment, she was heartbroken I couldn’t go with her. But I couldn’t get off work. Believe me, I tried though. So she and Greg went to her appointment. Only they never made it there.”

  “What happened?” He could hear the concern in her voice, and he knew just what expression she was making.

  “Someone ran a red light and hit Annabelle and Greg.” He paused for the lump to pass in his throat. “They died instantly.”