Cherishing Brianna [Fate Harbor 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Caitlyn O'Leary

  “Am I under arrest?”

  “No, I just wanted to run your license and registration, and you were in no condition to stay on your bike.”

  “I was fine.” God save him from stubborn women. He lifted an eyebrow. She just gave him a calm look. Apparently she had gotten a second wind. He turned back and keyed her information into his computer. He wasn’t surprised when no priors came up. Her driver’s license was last renewed in San Clemente, CA, but the insurance was purchased in Dallas. Seemed that she got around.

  After he was done running her information he called the station. He wanted to get a tow truck out for the motorcycle as quickly as possible. He’d been watching Brianna the entire time he had been talking on the radio. She looked to be fading fast, and before she fell asleep, he wanted a couple of questions answered.

  “You’re a long ways from Billings. What brings you to Fate Harbor?”

  “I’m here for my sister’s wedding.”

  “Olivia Prescott?”

  “You know her?”

  “I know the men she’s marrying. Well, the man she’s marrying. Well, you know what I mean. I’m going to the wedding and commitment ceremony she is having with Ian and Joshua. I’ve worked with both of them for a long time.”

  She gave a big yawn. “Oh yeah, firefighters and cops. Makes sense.” She was back to waif.

  “Look, there is no way you are getting back on that motorcycle tonight. I’m having it impounded, and you are going to have a hell of a ticket for reckless driving. Do you want me to call Olivia for you?” She jerked up in the backseat. “God, no! What time is it?”

  “Almost 2:00 a.m.”

  * * * *

  Just another example of how living life to the fullest wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Or maybe she just wasn’t meant to do it. Maybe she was just meant to live in her cold, calm little box until the inevitable happened. She was tired. She hadn’t meant to burst out when he had suggested calling Olivia. That wasn’t like her. Even with her new “live life to its fullest” philosophy, she always behaved calmly when confronted with surprises. Just because she wanted adventures didn’t mean she was going to allow people to know what she was thinking. That led to people being able to get inside of her brain and manipulate her.

  Brianna took subtle, calming breaths so the cop’s keen eyes wouldn’t notice, and put on her calm expression. “Officer, there’s no need to call Olivia at this hour. I don’t want to bother—I mean worry her.”

  “Where am I going to take you then? Where were you planning on staying tonight?”

  “Well I was planning on staying with Olivia, but I thought I would get here a lot earlier.”

  “Isn’t she going to be worried?”

  “No, I called her from Wilama and told her I’d be here tomorrow.” God, why the hell was he interrogating her? Oh yeah, he was a cop.

  “Isn’t there a motel or something?”

  “Were you planning on just driving around town looking for a motel?” He was making her sound stupid, and she didn’t appreciate it.

  “Is there a motel or not?” she bit out.

  “Yes, there is a motel. I’ll take you there, after George shows up to pick up the Ducati. Isn’t that a lot of bike for you to be riding?” God, he was really beginning to piss her off.

  “Look, officer—”

  “Sheriff. My name is Sheriff Charlie Meade.”

  “Look, Sheriff, can we skip the small talk? I’m tired, can we just wait for George, and you take me to the motel?”

  “Yep.” He turned back to his computer. She leaned her head against the seat. But she couldn’t shut her eyes. She kept replaying her last Skype session with Olivia. It was the whole reason she’d been so upset. She knew Olivia had sensed something was wrong, ever since Brianna had left Dallas and started touring America. Olivia was smart. Too smart.

  But then Olivia had screwed up. On the last Skype session they’d had to talk about the wedding she had let the cat out of the bag, that she wanted Brianna to come and live in Fate Harbor. Damn near all of their foster family had ended up in this little town in Washington, and Olivia thought that Brianna should put down roots here as well. Brianna had been stunned.

  When she was eighteen she had left her foster family as fast as she could and ended up in Dallas. She started a quiet, regimented little life. She had attended community college and gotten a job as a computer support technician. She had a small apartment and made few friends. Having a calm and well-ordered life was important to her. Well, it had been. This was her last hurrah.

  She was getting a headache just thinking about having to confront all of her family tomorrow, knowing their plan to get her to stay, hurt her head.

  “Are you okay?” Her head jerked up to look at the sheriff.

  “Awww,” she cried out in pain. “Damn it!” she let go of her hair. She’d been twisting her curls. No wonder she was getting a headache. She probably would have pulled the hair right out of her head. She untangled her fingers and looked back up at concerned blue eyes. Kind. His eyes were kind.

  “What did you ask?”

  “I asked if you were all right. I saw that you were trying to pull your hair out.” He wasn’t smiling, just looking at her, seeing too much.

  “I’m tired, it’s a childhood habit. It’s been a long day.” His concerned look morphed into displeasure. It was a struggle but she was able to smooth out her features back into a calm mask, so that her fatigue and worry were no longer showing. It wasn’t working, he was still frowning at her, but she didn’t shrink back. She knew that showing any kind of fear made things worse.

  “I know it’s been a long day.” His voice was cold. “Ms. Spencer.” He paused. “Brianna, do you realize just how dangerous it was for you to be riding that long? You needed to take breaks. You could have easily crashed. You could have died.” She had heard that tone before. It was anger and concern. Her foster father Butch had sometimes had that tone when she would come back to their house after she had spent time with her real parents. But Butch hadn’t directed it at her.

  “I didn’t think it through.” She was so tired, and it was so difficult to keep her expression bland, to make sure that he didn’t strike out in anger. But maybe he wouldn’t. Maybe he really was like Butch Hutchins, her foster father. God, she couldn’t think. She blinked, and suddenly she was seeing kind and compassionate blue eyes.

  “Rest, Brianna. George should be here in less than twenty minutes. I’ll get you to the motel.” Nothing made sense, so she closed her eyes.

  Chapter 2

  She woke up when the door to the Sheriff’s car opened.

  “What? Are we at the motel?” She looked around and realized they were still at the side of the road.

  “George is here to pick up your motorcycle.”

  “Oh, let me get my saddlebags.” Brianna went to let herself out, and realized she couldn’t. “Sheriff?” He opened the door for her, and they went to get her belongings out of the saddlebags.

  “This is all you brought?”

  “I had other things shipped to Olivia’s house.” When she went to pick up her belongings, he easily plucked them out of her hands.

  “You’re tired, and I’m bigger.” She’d forgotten. It had been like that growing up with her two brothers. Even when they had been in grade school, they always insisted on carrying things for her. They had all watched how their foster father had done things for Betty, their foster mother, and the boys had automatically mirrored his behavior.

  Brianna followed him back to the car. After he put her stuff into the trunk he ushered her around to the front seat. She lifted an eyebrow.

  “Can’t have the maid-of-honor looking like she’s a criminal, now can I?”

  Charlie pulled out after the tow truck.

  “How far into town?” It seemed so quiet and dark, and the road was surrounded by evergreen trees.

  “About twenty miles. The Edgewater motel is right at the marina. I called ahead while you were
asleep. They have a room and are expecting us.” She looked over at him. He was a nice man. She hadn’t really noticed him before, but he was a really good-looking man. All gruff and ruddy. He made her feel safe. She laughed.

  “What?” Damn, how did you tell someone you felt safe, when you knew there was nothing that was ever going to keep you safe?

  “Just thinking about ending the day in a cop car. It wasn’t what I was expecting.” He looked over and gave her a quick glance. She could tell he didn’t believe her. She squirmed. Time to deflect. “So how well do you know Olivia?”

  “I’ve known Ian and Joshua since they moved to Fate Harbor. I didn’t meet Olivia until she moved here from Boston. I got to help her and Chance Reynolds on a project to find affordable and safe housing around a fruit-processing plant in Snoqualt for newly hired employees.”

  “You got to help her, or you were strong armed into helping her?”

  “Oh, I definitely wanted to help her. This was a something I felt passionate about, and I intended to insert myself into the process one way or the other. I agree your sister, and your brother for that matter, are forces of nature, but I don’t do things I don’t want to do. Chance is your brother, right?”

  Brianna grinned. “So you got the one-two punch, huh?”

  “Oh yeah. Actually I’ve known Chance longer than Ian and Joshua. Damn, you’re surrounded by family here, aren’t you? Olivia’s your sister, that means Sam and Chance are your brothers, and Betty and Butch Hutchins have to be your foster parents, right?”

  It felt disconcerting to have a stranger know so much about her personal life. She didn’t like it. “Do you know all of them?”

  “I’m the Sheriff, I know pretty much everyone in town. I especially know the ones who make a difference, and all of your people are really active in the community. You come from great stock.” Brianna was shaking her head before she could stop herself.

  She saw that Charlie saw her before she stopped herself. He was pulling into the motel parking lot, and then stopped the car. “So Brianna, why are you shaking your head?”

  “Stock indicates breeding. I agree, I was pretty lucky with the folks I got to live with sometimes, but they weren’t the family that I was born into.”

  “What do you mean, got to live with sometimes?” Damn, nothing seemed to get by this man. She was normally more conscious of the words that she said. She was so tired.

  “Sometimes my parents would take me back, and then sometimes CPS would take me out of my home again and send me back to the Hutchins.”

  “How often did that happen?”

  “I don’t remember.” She rubbed her forehead. He pulled up under the little awning in front of the small lobby.

  “I don’t believe that for a second, Brianna,” he said as he turned off the ignition. “How many times?”

  “Seven, maybe eight.” She rubbed harder. Her head was beginning to pound.

  “Maybe nine or ten?” She glared at him. She didn’t know why she thought he was good-looking. He looked hard, like granite.

  “It could have been that many. I really don’t remember.” And she didn’t. She’d worked hard to just shut out certain memories. They didn’t serve her.

  “You don’t remember, or you don’t want to remember?” Before she had a chance to evade the question, his cell phone rang. She heard him start to talk to someone name Amy.

  “Good job, Amy. Definitely let him make the calls to his lawyer and his union rep. I don’t want him to say that we did anything that hindered his rights.” He hadn’t turned away from her to take the call, so as he listened to what Amy said she could see all of his expressions. Apparently Amy was amusing him. Sheriff Charlie Meade had a wicked smile.

  “Amy, you and Doug can play it any way you want to.” He paused and then let out a huge laugh.

  “Okay, you’re right. I can’t see anyone taking sides with that weasel, either. I could see how neither of you could stomach playing good cop. He just doesn’t get what it’s like in a small town, does he? That man has just burned all of his bridges.” There was another pause.

  “Amy, I know you and Doug, I trust you. I know you both kept it professional, and didn’t hurt the case we’re building against Arnie. You two are just too good to do otherwise.” Hell, Brianna felt warmed by the man’s praise, and it wasn’t even directed at her.

  The Sheriff put down his phone and smiled at her.

  “I see Jerry in there waiting for us. Let’s go get you checked in. I’ve got to get back to the station.” Brianna was relieved that the game of twenty questions was over. Charlie walked in with her, and after she got the paperwork filled out, he insisted on carrying her saddlebags to her room.

  “I’m sorry about the circumstances, but I’m happy to have met you.” He pulled the old-fashioned key from Brianna’s hand and stepped into the room first, turning on the light and looking it over, including going through and opening the bathroom door and scanning the room. He smiled at her as he set the saddlebags down on the second bed.

  “I’ll be seeing you at the wedding.” Brianna looked at the big man and soaked up the sensations of feeling safe and cared for.

  “Good night, sheriff.”

  “Charlie.”

  “Charlie?”

  “The correct phrase is good night, Charlie.”

  “Good night, Charlie.” He gave a satisfied nod, and pulled the door shut behind him. She heard him from outside.

  “I’m not leaving until I hear you lock the door, Brianna.” She locked the door.

  * * * *

  The next morning Charlie was in court for Arnold Lesman’s arraignment. Arnie’s lawyer was not impressive. He had come over on the ferry from Snoqualt, and he didn’t look happy about having to be here on such short notice. He did nothing to try to negate the charges. He just concentrated on getting bail set. Even then, he didn’t counter the amount until Arnie leaned over and damn near shouted in his ear. Charlie couldn’t help but smile when he heard the amount that Arnie was going to have to pony up. It wasn’t so much that it would keep him from taking off—his ego was never going to let him back down from this fight—it was just the fact that he was squeezed so tight. Charlie wished he was still in a cell, considering that Jack wouldn’t be able to fly for at least two more weeks because of the concussion, but considering how cheap Arnie was this would chap his hide more than lock-up.

  When he got back to the station, he was surprised to find Ian Ransom waiting in his office.

  “I hear you impounded my wife’s sister’s motorcycle last night.”

  “Did you and Olivia already get married?” Charlie asked mildly. Yanking Ian’s chain was one of life’s little treats.

  “Don’t give me shit, Meade. Did you or did you not have to pull over Brianna Spencer for going almost twice the speed limit last night? Did you or did you not have to impound her motorcycle because she was too impaired to continue riding it? Did you, or did you not, have to personally escort her to her room at the Edgewater last night?” Charlie had forgotten just what a damn good hacker Ian was. Apparently the Edgewater had installed cameras, because God knew Jerry hadn’t paid attention to whether or not Charlie had escorted Brianna to her room or not. Seemed like everyone in this town was installing cameras these days. Fate Harbor was growing up. He wasn’t sure that he liked it. He turned his attention back to Ian.

  “So what’s got your panties in a twist, Ian?”

  “I want to know just how big of a problem we have on our hands.” Ian was as big as he was. They were both redheads, but Ian’s hair was a darker red. They’d been compared often enough that sometimes Charlie did think they were alike, and then times like these came around and he realized just how different they really were. Ian had no idea what made people tick.

  “What the fuck are you talking about, Ransom?” Charlie kept his voice mild, knowing it would piss Ian off, and because he was getting angry and he was trying to keep it together.

  “The Brianna Spencer tha
t Olivia first described to Joshua and me is not the one that’s been travelling the country for the last four months. She sure as shit wouldn’t have quit her job, moved out of her apartment, bought a motorcycle and lived like a nomad. I want to know if she was drunk or high when you picked her up. I want to know just how big of a problem Joshua and I have on our hands.”

  There was no give in the man’s voice. He was in total protective mode, and he didn’t want to hear anything good coming out of Charlie’s mouth about Brianna. He had his mind made up. Charlie wished that Joshua was here with his friend.

  “Ian, she’s just here to be the maid-of-honor. She wasn’t drunk, she wasn’t high. She was overtired. She had ridden from Billings, Montana straight through to here. Not great judgment, that’s the reason I had her motorcycle towed. She can have it back. You’re not going to have some raving drunk or addict at the ceremony on Sunday, so you can calm your ass down.” Charlie watched and realized his speech did not have the desired effect.

  “You don’t understand. Olivia wants Brianna to move here.”

  “In with you?” Charlie winced. Yeah, that would definitely put a kink in the lives of the newlyweds. Charlie figured crazy three-way sex, especially newly married people who had crazy three-way sex, needed some privacy.

  “Nah, she’s another one of the foster kids that Chance set up with money. She’s probably got at least a million in the bank. But just having her here in Fate Harbor, causing Olivia pain because she’s all fucked up on drink or drugs, is unacceptable.” Charlie quickly lifted his coffee mug to his mouth so Ian couldn’t see his grin. God, Ian was a caveman when it came to protecting his woman.

  “If it makes you feel any better, Ian, she was adamant that she doesn’t drink or do drugs, and I believed her.” Charlie replayed that part of their conversation. Hell, he had been replaying the whole evening over and over again. It was part of the reason he had been up at dawn chopping firewood.

  “That’s what Olivia swears as well. But just because she used to be like that, doesn’t mean she is now. Look, she’s totally changed. She’s gone off the deep end. You saw her last night, she was vulnerable. You’re a cop. I want your honest assessment,” Ian demanded. Charlie carefully set down his coffee mug and squinted at Ian.