“I agree,” Mel answered. “You want to know something?”
“What?”
“Alex used to worry about you. He could never understand how you ended up with your fiancé, either.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “I wish I would’ve listened to him at the time. I look back and I kind of wonder if maybe I attached myself to Jim too because of my insecurities growing up.”
Mel nodded her understanding.
But then Sarah was distracted looking through the car window as Mel turned onto a road lined with pines. Soon, Mel was pulling into a space in the parking lot.
Sarah stepped out from the car, staring at the inn in awe. The white-sided structure was four stories tall, and its huge supportive pillars framed the edge of the wraparound porch. “It’s beautiful. Not just the inn but the setting. It reminds a little of the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, but more modern and elegant.”
“I love this place,” Mel said, guiding Sarah onto the sidewalk leading toward the entrance. “Wait until you see inside.”
And it was impressive, Sarah thought as they made their way through the lobby and down an open breezeway leading toward the shops. There’d obviously been renovations made, and Mel explained that the inn had been abandoned for several years before Jake and Danielle Loughlin had purchased the property, and had restored the entire inn. Changes had been continuous through the years to meet tourists’ growing needs.
“The way they’ve integrated the old with the new is kind of amazing,” Sarah said, looking down at the wooden floors that were obviously original. Or maybe they were recycled since this extension appeared to be an addition.
Mel grinned, glancing at Sarah. “I’ve got something lined up that we’re going to do first.” She tugged Sarah past a couple of clothing and jewelry stores, and dragged her into a smaller shop that sold makeup and perfume, among other things.
Sarah rarely wore makeup, so she groaned when she saw where Mel was headed. “A makeover? I don’t think…”
“You know, you’re going to be working with the public in an office now, and you look great with the new hair. I’m glad that you’re letting me take you shopping for new clothes. But why not enhance your look just a little more?” Mel must’ve noticed Sarah’s scowl because she laughed. “It’s those pretty brown eyes of your Sarah. I can’t wait to see what they look like with a little bit of highlighting.” Mel kept walking through the store toward the rear, where a couple of well-lit mirrors were set up. “Besides, I made you an appointment and you’re a couple minutes late.”
Sarah rolled her eyes, but sat down in the chair that the smiling salesperson pointed out.
A half an hour later they were walking from the store and Mel was looking at Sarah with obvious approval. “Geez, Sarah. You’re a knockout, you know.”
Sarah snorted. “I remember the impression I got the first time I met you.”
Mel looked curious, and Sarah grinned. “You wore an awful lot of makeup and had on some bright red lipstick, and you reminded me of a Barbie doll.”
Mel blinked, and then burst out laughing.
Sarah continued, “But once our family got to know you? It really didn’t register at all. I mean it matched your personality.”
“Gaudy and overbearing? Steve, the physical therapist over at the wounded warrior home, said something kind of similar about that to me once.”
“Nooo.” Sarah bumped Mel’s shoulder with hers as they walked into a clothing store. “More like quirky and not afraid to be yourself.”
Mel immediately got to work after shoving Sarah into the dressing room, and by the time they were walking out from the store an hour later, Sarah was satisfied with the wardrobe she had to choose from. She hadn’t bought much thankfully, because she shouldn’t have much spending money until she received her first check, but Mel had given her choices for mixing and matching with a selection of casual pants and tops, and Sarah had even broken down and purchased something she hated to waste her money on: a dress. But it was sexy and black, and she looked pretty darn good in it, she had to admit.
The inn was massive, yet somehow felt cozy as the scent of apples and cinnamon drifted through the air, and wow was Sarah impressed as they walked through the restaurant behind the hostess toward their table after leaving the shopping wing.
She looked around the room. The ceiling was vaulted and opened to the upper level, and a fire was burning in the enormous stone fireplace centered in the room.
“I’m glad you’re already wearing some of your new clothes,” Mel said as they glanced at their menus.
Sarah wrinkled her nose, looking down at what she was wearing. “These tights are really warm and comfortable, even though they’re lined with fleece. But I like how they disguise my prosthetic just as well as jeans. I didn’t know it could be done.”
“And don’t you feel better, wearing something new and having your hair done?”
Sarah nodded her head firmly up and down. “It makes me feel more confident.”
At that moment, the waitress appeared, and Mel and Sarah ordered their food.
They talked a little more about the inn and its history before their soup and sandwiches arrived, and a half an hour later, they were sipping their coffee.
“Seriously, Mel, thanks for helping me today. I knew I could count on you, because you always look great in whatever you wear.”
“Hawk used to say that all the time,” Mel said wistfully.
Hawk. “It’s funny how we never got used to that nickname for Alex. You’d think that at least I would, since I was serving and all.”
Mel pursed her lips. “That’s right. Hawk said everyone was pretty much given a nickname, but they didn’t always catch on. What was yours?”
Sarah grimaced.
Mel laughed. “It can’t be that bad. Come on—out with it.”
Sarah muttered under her breath.
“What’s that?” Mel was grinning. “I didn’t hear you.”
“Legs.” Sarah answered abruptly and frowned. “When you’re the only female in a squadron, you don’t have a hell of a lot of privacy.”
Glancing at Mel, who’d failed to respond, Sarah rolled her eyes. Mel was holding her hand over her mouth obviously attempting to contain her laughter.
“It’s not that funny,” Sarah muttered.
“It’s just that you’ve always been such a tomboy since I’ve known you, and I can see you with that super short hair of yours, moving in on someone with that deadly switchblade that Hawk used to tell me about.”
All at once, Sarah’s mind went blank as a scene flashed back from the past. Closing her eyes, she was feeling the pain, seeing the darkness descend hauntingly as she’d been stripped of both pride and dignity.
She was surrounded by three men. “Are you a man or a wo-man?” one of them asked with a sneer.
Chapter Five
Brand entered the lobby of the Dragonfly Pointe Inn, gazing around him in awe. When his mom had mentioned their cousin was living here in Crystal Rock and had asked him to look her up, he’d had no idea that the Danielle Reardon, a former model and Grammy winning vocalist, was in any way related to them. In fact, he’d had a little bit of a crush on Danielle when he’d been growing up, as had just about every guy he’d ever known.
Brand approached the desk in the lobby. “Hi, I’m Brand Reardon. I’m supposed to meet Danielle Loughlin for lunch.”
“Brand?”
He turned at the sound of the slightly familiar voice. Brand knew she was at least ten years older than him, but she looked closer to his age of thirty.
“Danielle? It’s great to meet you,” he answered, smiling.
And then Danielle blinked. “God, you look so much like my dad when you smile. And hey, we’ve actually met once before.”
This time Brand blinked. “Really?”
Danielle snorted. “Yep. It was the first time I’d ever changed diapers while I was babysitting.” She added dryly, “It’s definitely something
I’ll never forget.”
Just the idea that this beautiful woman and former pop rock superstar had babysat for him made Brand laugh loudly. “I’d have been bragging about it big time to my friends if I would’ve even had a clue that I was related to you.” He continued wryly, “Minus the part about the diapers of course.”
Danielle laughed.
Brand was puzzled. “I’m not sure why Mom never mentioned that you were my cousin, growing up.” He grimaced. “Not only was I a huge fan, I had every CD you came out with.”
Danielle’s expression became shuttered. “There were some terrible things going on back then, Brand. My parents purposely distanced themselves from your mom and dad and everyone else they knew—I guess, for everyone’s safety. It’s a long story, but we can talk about all of that some other time.”
Although he was curious, Brand nodded his agreement. His mom had seemed kind of vague when he’d asked her the same questions.
“I wish my husband Jake could have been here to meet you today, but he’s out of town on business for another week. So, what are you doing here in Crystal Rock?” Danielle asked, guiding Brand through the lobby past a massive fireplace and into a huge restaurant.
“I’m going to be working at the wounded warrior facility here in town for a while. I spent a little time in one the last time I came back from a tour, so I figure I can be some help setting up a new program.”
Danielle halted and turned to look him over. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you’d been injured.”
Brand cleared his throat. “I was...shot. But I’m okay now.”
She searched his eyes. “But not quite yet though, huh?”
He smiled wryly. “Sometimes the only way to feel alright is to accept the fact that you might never really feel that way.”
She nodded thoughtfully, motioning for him to take a seat at a corner table, which was obviously reserved for the family’s personal use.
At mid-afternoon, the view through the window overlooking the icy lake was incredible, Brand thought, while taking a seat. Despite frigid seasonal temperatures outdoors, a warm purply glow lit up the horizon.
While studying the menu a few minutes later, he was surprised to see how busy the restaurant was becoming since it was only a couple of days after New Year’s.
Danielle smiled. “Lunch is on me. Have whatever you’d like.”
When the waitress appeared, Danielle frowned when all Brand tried to order was a hamburger. “C’mon. You’re a pretty big guy,” she said, turning to look at Brand. “He’ll have a steak,” she told the waitress.
Brand grinned. He was six-foot four and weighed over two-hundred pounds. “Okay. How about I just have prime rib?”
“Bring him the works, Marlene. Salad, potato and veggies,” Danielle ordered, wearing a smile. “And I’ll have my usual.”
The waitress grinned. “Drinks?”
“Just coffee for me,” Brand answered.
“Same here,” Danielle said, handing over the menus and turning back to Brand.
Their food was served shortly, and while they ate they talked for a while about living in Chicago, where they’d both grown up in the south suburbs. Coincidentally, Brand had had a summer job loading trucks and doing landscape work at Danielle’s former family nursery when he’d been in high school. Danielle and her husband Jake had three kids, and she talked a little about their oldest daughter, who would be graduating soon from college, and also about her two younger sons.
They were finished eating and sipping on coffee when Danielle looked him over thoughtfully. “Okay. Fess up. Tell me what you’re really doing here in Crystal Rock? Your mom gave me a call earlier today and she said you were planning on staying in Virginia and working in the east, but the next time she talked to you, you were on your way to visit them before driving here to Wisconsin.”
Brand began to laugh. “She doesn’t miss a thing, does she?”
“Well, she didn’t tell me about your injuries, but I have a feeling that you try to downplay these things for her as much as you can. Although she did mention a little something about your PTSD.”
“Yeah. Both Mom and Dad were there for me when I was flown back to the states a little over a year ago.”
“But I suppose they weren’t allowed to know the extent of your injuries until after the fact?”
Brand heaved a sigh. “Yeah. It was a special mission.”
Danielle nodded her understanding. “Ah, I get it. You’ve probably been training as an agent and that’s why you’re remaining in the states?”
Brand was taken aback. Had he been so easy to read?
Danielle lifted a brow. “That’s why Darla didn’t say too much to me about what was going on, I suppose?”
Although Danielle seemed to have great intuition, Brand managed to remain silent.
“Jake’s indirectly involved in that line of work, you know.”
Brand started. “Really?”
Danielle nodded. “I do an awful lot of worrying sometimes when he’s gone on business.”
Brand grimaced.
“It’s not really a secret that he’s FBI, but he tries to stay low key when he’s here in town,” Danielle murmured.
“I had no idea. I’m sure that someone was planning on disclosing that to me. But I haven’t been privy to a whole lot of information as of yet. In fact, I didn’t know I was coming to Crystal Rock until the day before yesterday.”
Danielle gave him a rueful smile. “Well, I won’t make you feel uncomfortable by asking you anything else.”
“That’ll work,” Brand answered, and smiled.
Although he didn’t know Danielle very well, he had a feeling she might be someone who would understand why he felt like he needed to be here for other reasons as well, with as forthright as she was being with him.
Even though he wasn’t certain why he felt that way himself, all Brand knew was that once he’d heard Sarah Benton was going to be part of this pilot program for retraining wounded warriors, he’d needed to make sure she was alright. It’d been gnawing away at him for the last two years since he’d watched her being flown away in the chopper in Iraq.
At that moment, his salad was delivered to the table, and the rest of their food was served shortly, and as Brand polished off the last bite of his prime rib, he could understand how this restaurant had maintained a five-star rating since the time it had opened.
“I can honestly say, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anything as good as that prime rib,” he said to Danielle as he dropped his napkin onto the table and reached for his coffee. “Well, except for maybe a protein bar I got a hold of in Iraq when we were rationing food.”
“Oh, wow. I can’t even pretend to comprehend what you guys go through when you’re over there.” Danielle grimaced.
Brand frowned. “I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Nah. People take our military for granted,” Danielle answered. “But you’d better not get me started on the subject. I tend to rant about the mistreatment of wounded warriors especially. Anyway, back to the food. Everything we serve here is pretty darned good. If I didn’t maintain a regular workout schedule, I’d probably weigh a ton by now. It used to be so much easier when I was younger.”
Brand groaned. “Tell me about it. I’ve been spending a lot of time behind a desk these last few months.”
Just then, Brand spotted someone who looked familiar walking through the restaurant with another woman. They were taken to a table not too far away, and Brand watched as she pulled off the down purple parka she was wearing.
When they were seated on the other side of the aisle, Brand couldn’t believe his eyes, because it was Sarah Benton alright.
But not at all the Sarah that he remembered. Instead of the short pixie haircut that’d brought out the chocolate brown color of her eyes, her dark hair was long, loose and silky, feathered away from her face. Even when he’d seen her out of uniform, she’d been wearing jeans with a tank or a t-shirt.
>
Today she was wearing some kind of clingy tights, and geez, she sure filled them out nicely. In fact, he wouldn’t have even known she was wearing a prosthetic under them, if he hadn’t been aware of it already.
He turned his attention back on Danielle, who was smiling quizzically.
Clearing his throat, he said, “It’s someone I used to know.”
“You’re not going to say hello?”
“I will. Let’s finish our coffee first.”
Danielle laughed softly. “Sounds good.”
“I’m going to be working with her,” he added.
“On the retraining of wounded warriors?”
“Yeah.” Brand focused suddenly on Danielle. “How’d you know about that?”
“Jake and I originally came up with the funding for the home.”
“Well, shoot, I wasn’t even aware of that,” Brand answered, rolling his eyes. “I guess I’d better get up to speed on everything to do with the project.”
“You’ll be taking a tour of the home tomorrow after your meeting,” Danielle murmured.
Brand laughed. “You’re more informed on my agenda than I am.”
Danielle grinned. “Only because I had to make arrangements for the tour, and come up with accommodations for some of you, and set up a place for all of you to meet. It actually didn’t occur to me that that’s why you were here until a few minutes ago. We weren’t given names for the reservations. I guess you’re staying here?”
Brand nodded. “Yeah. My stuff is still in the truck, because I haven’t checked in yet. I called you from the airport.”
“I see. The first thing you’ll need to do tomorrow is start narrowing down locations for the facility. That will be the most difficult choice, and then there’ll be permits to take out and plans to come up with. Jake and I’ve come up with a few possibilities for your team to consider, since Josh and he have become pretty close.”
Two Hearts Unbroken Page 4