Road to Recovery

by Ann, Natalie

“Sure, why not? If you have the ingredients.”

  “I bought everything this week, actually. Hoping I could convince you. But guess I don’t need to do that now.” He gave her a quick kiss on the mouth, then pulled her into the kitchen to show her where everything was. He reached over and gave her ponytail a quick tug. “I’m going to take a shower. Be back in a few.”

  ***

  Later that night, Brooke rested comfortably on the chaise lounge, her ankles crossed in front of her and her head laid back to stare at the stars on the deck. It was a beautiful night. Cool enough to sit out under the stars with a light sweater and enjoy the peace and quiet. Let her thoughts settle in her mind a bit.

  It had been a great day. After breakfast and a quick shower of her own, they headed for Lake George. Once they were in the car she turned to him. “So what are our plans for the day?”

  “No plans. That’s the beauty of today. Just what we feel like.” Then he amended. “Well, I do have to stop at a local brewery and pick up some beer for tomorrow. But other than that, whatever we’re in the mood for.”

  That was the start of their day. No plans. And it was the most carefree day Brooke had ever had. She couldn’t remember ever waking up and just going. Doing whatever she wanted for the moment. She always had an agenda. But not today. And it was fun.

  He had caught her gazing at a miniature golf course along the road, enough so that she turned her head to look a bit more as they passed by. Before she knew it, he had turned the Range Rover around and pulled into the parking lot. “Let’s go. Loser buys lunch,” he announced.

  The boyish grin of his didn’t last long when she beat him by four strokes. Good-natured as always, he conceded the defeat. But not before he gave her a big kiss right on the eighteenth hole when she scored a hole in one.

  When they were back in the car, he suggested they could either go to the outdoor outlets or to the little boardwalk by the water. On impulse she said, “Outlets first, then boardwalk.”

  So he indulged her with a little bit of shopping. Much to his disgust there hadn’t been a single lingerie shop. But she only laughed at him when he voiced his frustration. She thought it was sweet that he bought her a yoga mat at one of the sporting stores. “No excuses now. I get to see how flexible you really are,” he said, which caused an immediate blush to spread across her face. She was starting to think he said those things to see how fast she could blush.

  The weather had been perfect for an outdoor lunch at the brewery when he stopped for beer. But the best part of the entire day was the stroll on the boardwalk. The small quaint shops, filled with tourists walking in and out carrying their souvenirs, the children laughing and running around. Stopping for an ice cream cone. Lucas holding her hand while they walked in and out of the shops browsing. It was like a day out of a romance novel—one of her guilty pleasures she enjoyed alone.

  Earlier that morning, when Lucas leaned in for that kiss and said he could never grow tired of it, it had scared her. She hoped he didn’t notice her stiffen—it was a gut reaction—but she was sure he felt it.

  She was trying to relax, trying to enjoy her time with him, trying not to look too far ahead. It was exhausting to fight so hard. She enjoyed him so much. But there was a lot he didn’t know. So much he didn’t know about her and her past. And she was afraid he wouldn’t feel the same way about her if he did.

  She was startled out of her thoughts when Lucas stood next to her and handed her a glass of wine. “Sorry about that. I didn’t think I would be on the phone so long.”

  Accepting the glass from him, she sat up a bit more. “No problem. I’m enjoying the calm.”

  He looked at her a few seconds with a frown, but in the end accepted her answer. “Good. I’m glad.”

  Noticing he didn’t have his usual smile in place, she asked, “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Just looking at you. I like looking at you sometimes.” She tilted her head at him, caused him to laugh. “Sometimes I can hear your brain working. It’s good to know you are at least trying to relax.”

  A grimace crossed her face at his statement, but he ignored her. “What, you think I can’t figure out you’re sitting here thinking? The question is what were you thinking about?”

  Pushing her earlier fears aside, she reached over and laid her hand on his. “Thinking about how much fun I had today. That’s it. It probably doesn’t say much about me, or my exciting existence, but this was one of the best days I’ve had in a long time.”

  He looked touched by her declaration, then pulled her onto his lounge chair and arranged her next to him, tucking her under his arm, her head against his heart. He kissed her forehead. “Let’s relax together then.”

  Party Time

  “I never asked where your parents live,” Brooke said the next morning as she leaned down to apply lotion to her legs. They had just gotten out of the shower, together.

  Peeking at her bent over in a bra and matching silk panties, running her hands up and down her legs was giving him ideas. Ideas that had nothing to do with their plans for the day. He suddenly had a hard time focusing on her question. “What?”

  Smirking at him, indicating that she knew exactly where his mind had drifted to, she grabbed her blue and white striped shirt, pulled it over her head, then pulled on her slim fit khaki shorts. Once she was fully covered, she asked again, “Where do your parents live?”

  Sighing with disappointment, he reluctantly pulled his own shorts on over the boxer briefs he had been standing in. Might as well get dressed too, then, since she seemed to not be as affected as he was.

  Picking up his razor, he began to shave while he looked at her through the mirror. “Just down the road a few miles.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, I didn’t know they lived on the lake, too.”

  “Yeah. We all do. My brother, Ryan, is on the opposite side of the lake from my parents. I’m in the middle.”

  “That has to be rough,” she said, her eyes slowly watching him shave. His fingers held his chin, while he tilted his head to the side, the other hand slowly gliding the razor down through the white cream, leaving soft smooth skin behind.

  The razor stopped abruptly mid stroke, and he asked, “What do you mean?”

  She looked confused. Her eyebrows rose, and her lips pursed. “It doesn’t bother you living so close to your family?”

  “Not at all. Why would it? I wouldn’t have built my house here if it did.” Then he remembered all she’d said so far about her own parents, causing him to soften his tone. “We’re all really close, not only location-wise. But we also give each other plenty of space.”

  He finished up that side of his face and continued to watch her through the mirror as he started to run the razor down the other cheek. She seemed to enjoy watching him as much as he did her earlier when she moistened her legs.

  When she didn’t comment, he asked, “Doesn’t Mac live close to your parents? You and he are pretty close, right?”

  “Yes. To both. He lives close to my parents. And we’re close.” At the mention of her brother, her face softened, her eyes lit up. “I miss him. I don’t know how he does it, lives so close to them. I couldn’t anymore. But I still miss him a lot.”

  “I thought you talked every week.” He grabbed the towel and dried off his face.

  “We do, if not talk, at least text. He likes to check up on me. But we’ve always been close, relying on each other. The constant in our dysfunction,” she replied, chuckling.

  Seeing her laugh, and wanting to keep her happy, he indulged her memories of Mac. “Protective of his baby sister, huh?”

  She cleared her throat. “Something like that.” Then she walked out of the bathroom.

  Lucas watched her retreating form while he rinsed out the sink. He couldn’t figure out what caused her mood to change that quickly.

  ***

  The drive to the Mathews’ house took less than five minutes. Pulling up to the big brick home, Brooke could easily see Lucas growi
ng up here. The land was neatly manicured, yet didn’t seem professionally maintained. Everything looked homey. Like someone had a gardening hobby and enjoyed every bit of the time planting and nurturing.

  There was a wide assortment of colors and sizes of flowerbeds haphazardly placed along the property. It shouldn’t have worked, yet it did. It looked happy and welcoming. The complete opposite of the carefully manicured property she grew up on. The one maintained by a service. It had never experienced any children running around on it, only adults strolling through admiring the landscaping.

  “Can I leave my purse here?” She gestured toward the front seat when she climbed out.

  “Sure, it’ll be fine. Want to close the back for me, please?” he asked after grabbing both cases of beer.

  Following him around the side of the house, Brooke took notice of even more flowers and flowering shrubs lining the length of the house. She assumed the other side of the house looked the same and marveled at the amount of time and energy it must’ve taken. “Does your mother like to garden?”

  He laughed. “How’d you guess?”

  “It must take a huge amount of time. How does she manage it all by herself?”

  “I told you she’s a teacher, right? So she has the summer to spend all the time she wants. And she does. But don’t be fooled.” He turned his head and smiled at her longing gaze at the landscaping. “My father gets roped into helping on the weekends. And Ryan and I have put in our fair share of time. But what you’re seeing right now is mainly perennials and shrubbery. Just wait a few more weeks. That’s when everything seems to come to life.”

  “What?” he continued indignantly when she gave him a surprised look. “I told you we put in our fair share of time out here. She’s a teacher—don’t you think she’d want to teach us all about it? Hands on learning,” he mocked in what Brooke assumed was his mother’s tone.

  Brooke didn’t have a chance to reply before the teacher in question came hurrying over to Lucas. He set the beer on the table close by, reached up and hugged his mother tight enough to lift her off the ground. “Hey, beautiful. How is my favorite girl doing?”

  Laughing and swatting his arm, Lucas’s mother turned toward Brooke while Lucas continued to hold her. “Oh, you charmer, stop showing off and introduce me.”

  Releasing his mother, he slid his arm around Brooke’s waist and pulled her close. “Mom, this is Brooke. Brooke, my mother, Michele Mathews.”

  Brooke extended her right hand out, which Michele bypassed and leaned in to give her a quick hug. “It’s so nice to finally meet. I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”

  Taken back by the hug, but recovering fast, Brooke replied, “Lucas tells me you are responsible for the gardens. They’re lovely.”

  “Why, thank you,” she said sweetly, obviously pleased by the statement. “My boys do the grunt work for me, so I can’t take all the credit. They do love to indulge me though,” Michele said, shifting her eyes and looking warmly at her son.

  If only Brooke’s mother had ever looked at her that way. Just once would have been nice. Nice to know that you could actually feel like your mother loved and cared for you. Not because she had to, but because she wanted to.

  Depression was a new emotion for Brooke, and watching Lucas and his mother definitely depressed her. So did wishing for something she and Mac never saw or even experienced.

  Brooke didn’t have a chance to brood too long. She was quickly pulled along to meet Lucas’s father. Thomas Mathews was a bear of a man, taller than Lucas by easily three inches, and close to fifty pounds heavier. His presence alone dominated the space. She could see where he would be a force to reckon with in the courtroom. It was also easy to see whom Lucas got his looks from.

  Thomas was a more mature version of Lucas, with the same blond hair and blue eyes. Eyes that were surrounded by laugh lines and age. Those eyes were crinkling up when pulling Lucas in for a quick half man hug.

  Before Brooke could brace herself, she was engulfed in a hug similar to the one Michele had given her a few minutes ago. “You must be Brooke. Glad to finally meet the girl who put stars in my boy’s eyes.”

  Hesitantly, if a bit awkward, Brooke returned the quick hug. She was stunned by the affection Lucas’s parents seemed to hand out like candy. Though, if she was honest with herself, she shouldn’t have been. Lucas had always been very affectionate. Always reaching for her hand, either to hold, or caress, always touching her face, or putting his arm around her. It was obviously the norm in his family.

  “Hey, hands off my girl, Dad,” Lucas joked, then slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. Looking over at her, he silently laughed at her discomfort with his family. “Dad, this is Brooke. Brooke, my father, Thomas,” he said, making the formal introduction.

  Not even bothering to extend her hand now, since it seemed crazy after she was just hugged, she said politely, if a bit awkwardly, “Nice to meet you.”

  Thomas looked on in amusement while she discretely tried to slip out from under Lucas’s arm. He took pity on her and chimed in. “Lucas, why don’t you give me a hand with this beer. We’ll put it in the coolers.”

  Lucas leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek first, then grabbed one of the cases of beer and followed his father to the other side of the lawn.

  Trying to compose herself from the flood of emotions she was feeling, she decided to look over the blooming flowers. She was leaning over to gently touch a tulip when Michele asked, “Do you do any gardening?”

  Straightening up, she looked at Michele. “No. I never seem to have the time, or the touch. But looking at your gardens, I think I will get a few books and do a bit of research. Maybe I could start with something small and easy when I get a house of my own.”

  “Oh that’s silly. Don’t waste your time with a book. The best way to learn is hands on. Have Lucas bring you back when we have more time and I’ll show you around more. It’ll be fun,” Michele assured her.

  Brooke was genuinely touched by the offer. “Thank you, so much. That’s very kind of you.”

  Thankfully they were interrupted by more guests arriving and Michele excused herself to welcome them.

  Brooke was feeling completely out of her comfort zone. She needed a few minutes alone, finding she was ridiculously close to tears watching Lucas with his parents. She was seeing everything that she and Mac secretly wanted from their parents growing up. Taking a deep breath, she started to walk along the edge of the property towards the dock.

  She had been standing on the little beach overlooking the water when she heard Lucas behind her. “Enjoying the view?”

  With her hands in her pockets, she continued to look out at the water. “Yes. It’s very pretty here. I’m watching that boat in the distance. It looks to be moving pretty fast jumping the waves. Someone is having fun.”

  Pulling one of her hands out of her pocket, Lucas laced his fingers through hers. Looking out over the water, he said, “That would be Ryan. He usually comes over by boat. It’s actually faster.” He tugged her toward the dock as the boat approached. “Come on. Let’s help bring him in.”

  They were just reaching the edge of the dock when the boat expertly slid alongside of them. Lucas let go of her hand, reached over the side of the boat, and grabbed the rope that a bleached blonde was handing him. Deftly tying off one end of the boat, he helped the blonde step onto the dock.

  Before Lucas could reach the front of the boat though, an equally handsome blond haired blue-eyed man jumped down with the rope in his hand and looped it off. Brooke watched as Lucas shook his hand and gave a half man hug to his brother.

  Pulling Brooke closer to him, he introduced her. “Ryan, this is Brooke.”

  She expected the hug at this point, but she definitely didn’t expect to be lifted off the ground with it. Or the quick kiss on her cheek. “Finally. So this is the girl that has you staring off into space, eh? Not bad.” Ryan elbowed his brother in the side.

  Lucas watch
ed Brooke with amused eyes as she tried not to stiffen too much with his brother’s hug. She was so out of her element but was hanging in there like a trooper, or hoped she was. She better get points for going with the flow.

  Once the hugs were done, Lucas laced his fingers through hers. “Brooke, my brother, as I’m sure you’ve figured out. And his friend, Mandi.”

  Brooke watched Mandi’s face form a pout, not thinking it was possible for a grown woman to stick her bottom lip out and pout like a toddler, but Mandi seemed to manage it perfectly. Then the pout turned to a glare just as fast. “Girlfriend,” she corrected Lucas.

  That only caused Lucas to smirk at Mandi. Then Brooke watched as Mandi tried to make a point of adjusting the deep plunge of her bright orange halter-top around a chest that was equally as false as her hair. When that failed to get a response out of Lucas, Mandi ran her bright red manicured nails down her waist to her hips, which were showcased in a pair of extremely small jean shorts. A clearly practiced move.

  Lucas ignored Mandi, shook his head, turned to his brother and slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Now that you’re here, it’s party time.”

  ***

  Brooke could safely say she had never been to a party quite like this one. Her family get-togethers consisted of stuffy people exchanging pleasantries. Talk consisted of work, or the stock market. Once in a while you would hear a personal conversation, but it was quickly hushed up if any children were near. It just wasn’t done. Everyone and everything had to have the appearance of perfection. Gossip was done, but behind closed doors.

  As children, she and Mac were never allowed to run around in the yard. Or play a game of hide-and-seek through the house. There were designated areas they were allowed to play in and rules to be followed.

  Though thinking back, she realized there were never any punishments for not following the rules. It was what was expected of them. It had been drilled into their heads from the moment they could walk and talk what the expectations were. Mac was to become a doctor. Brooke was to become the perfect trophy wife. Just like her mother worked so hard to become.