by Gun Brooke
“First of all, Stephanie, call me Giselle. All this ma’am business is getting on my nerves.” Giselle smiled to show she was joking. Half-joking, at least. She had been teetering on the verge of a panic attack since the kids entered the car and the cops and CPS officials surrounded the vehicle. If she focused on Stephanie, perhaps she could disregard her anxiety. She thanked unnamed deities that it was still dark. She could pretend the darkness was a surrounding wall.
“Okay, Giselle. But still.”
“Second,” Giselle said, “I rarely do anything I don’t want to. Not counting your friend Tierney here. She talked her way into her job as my assistant. Now, what I want you to understand, Stephanie, is that if they let you come with us, it is temporary. Tierney will eventually move on, and I’m pretty sure you won’t want to stay after she’s gone.” Giselle’s heart skipped several beats and then contracted painfully before it beat normally again.
“Yeah, I know.” Stephanie let go of the now-sleeping girl and scooted forward. “It’s really generous of you. I’d never dream of asking for something more permanent than that.”
Giselle’s heart did the stop-and-go trick again, making her fear she might go into a panic merely from sympathizing with Stephanie.
Sergeant Connor tapped on the window, and Tierney rolled it down. “Okay, folks. CPS can’t get ahold of anyone at the Belmont Foundation, so I’m afraid Stephanie—”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Pulling out her cellphone, Giselle found Manon’s private number in her contacts. Though it was the middle of the night, she didn’t hesitate to make the call. Four rings went through, and Giselle thought she would get Manon’s voicemail, but then she heard a sleepy voice.
“Giselle?” Manon cleared her throat. “What’s happened? Are you all right?”
“I’m sorry to call you like this, Manon. I’m all right, but I need your help.” Giselle described the situation to the woman who was admired and respected throughout the state for her charity work and loved worldwide for being part of Chicory Ariose. “Can you talk to Child Protective Services and let them know it’s safe for them to let this girl come home with us?”
“Sure. Absolutely. Wait. Who is us? Your new assistant and you?” Manon sounded less sleepy now.
“Yes. Tierney and I.” Giselle cringed but refused to let her reaction show.
“Okay. Put CPS on. I know most of those folks,” Manon said.
Giselle handed the phone over to Connor, who took it to the group of social workers. It took less than a minute, and then Connor returned and gave the phone back. “That did it.” She smiled. “You are free to drive home as soon as my officer has collected the girl’s belongings.”
Tierney wiped at her now-wet cheeks and then flung her arms around Giselle. “Oh, thank you! Thank you, thank you! You can’t imagine how much this means. You’re just so amazing and sweet that I’m at a loss for words.”
Her cheeks warming, Giselle could hardly breathe as Tierney hugged her closer. The embrace was firm, but not hard, and Tierney smelled of soap and something resembling lilacs. Giselle trembled and couldn’t stop no matter how she tried.
“You’re welcome. And here comes an officer with a bag. That yours, Stephanie?” Giselle pointed when Tierney slowly let go of her. Oddly enough, this absence made Giselle shudder, mainly because she was cold and missed the warmth emanating from Tierney.
“Yes, it’s mine.” From the backseat, Stephanie sounded rather shell-shocked.
The CPS staff came to fetch the younger children, and Giselle’s heart broke as she watched them cry and cling to Stephanie. The children relented only when Giselle raised her voice and firmly promised that they would get to see Stephanie again at some point.
“Don’t make a promise you can’t keep,” Stephanie said after she pulled the door next to her closed. “We have trust issues as it is.”
“I fully intend to take you to see the other children before they’re permanently placed. I don’t make promises I can’t keep.” She glanced back at the pale girl as Tierney started the car. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep, Stephanie? The seat you’re in folds back, and I believe you have enough pillows and blankets.”
Stephanie studied Giselle in the faint light from the dashboard. Then she nodded firmly. “I believe you. Mostly because Tierney wouldn’t have brought you unless she thought the world of you. I’ll try to get some rest.”
“Good.” Giselle blinked at the young girl’s words. So, Tierney thought the world of her? Perhaps her talent as a composer, but personally? How could that possibly be? Tierney didn’t really know her.
Tierney drove back toward the main road and toward home. It was such a relief to think she’d be in her own house in mere hours. With a little luck, they’d be back in East Quay before the sun came up.
“I bet it weirds you out when I gush about stuff, but I’m so grateful that you stood up for Steph. It’s odd, but it’s as if someone had stood up for me when I was that age, like Steph’s relief is rubbing off on me.” Tierney shrugged. “I probably sound totally nuts.”
“What you say is entirely plausible.” Giselle tried to put her thoughts into words. “You were in the same situation at that age. Knowing exactly what Stephanie has been going through, not just tonight, but for years, you empathize—perhaps you even relive it some?”
“And then some.”
“So, when I’m able to do something about it, with Manon’s help, mind you, you’re bound to feel some of the same relief. If we’d had to leave Stephanie behind to go to a group home, you would have felt that as well—only so much sadder.” Letting herself act intuitively, she placed her hand on Tierney’s knee. “Your heart is so big, it’s as if you absorb the feelings from those around you. It goes beyond empathy. You wear their skin, and you respond like you’ve been there for their entire life. That’s how I felt when you wrote those lyrics about me. It wasn’t just a lucky guess on your part. You wrapped yourself in my persona and put it on paper. That’s why I was so adamant that Vivian and Mike should hear it.” Removing her hand, Giselle inhaled deeply and let the deep breath cleanse her.
They drove on in silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. Instead it was calm and safe, a homey feeling that soothed Giselle’s frayed nerves. Her inner panic-attack gauge lowered from red to green, which was such relief.
As they drove just outside East Quay, heading for Giselle’s house, Tierney started to fidget. She let her fingers travel up and down the rim of the wheel, pulled at her sleeves, and pushed her hair from her face. Something was clearly wrong.
“Why don’t you tell me what’s bothering you? Preferably before we end up in a ditch.” Giselle laced her fingers hard, bracing for impact.
“I—well, I mean—I…” Tierney rubbed her temple. “Okay. Listen. The cottage is amazing. But it’ll be cramped with both Stephanie and me in there. She—can she stay in the main house?” Tierney glanced quickly at Giselle.
“You both should.” Damn. She’d done it again. Giselle’s words had come as if she was shooting from the hip, with little, if any, editing and certainly without consideration. “I have two spare rooms farther down the corridor from my bedroom. You will have to share a bath, but you’ll still have your respective privacy.” And she would have none whatsoever.
Giselle groaned inwardly. This would never have come to pass before Tierney showed up on her doorstep. Her safety, her hard-won control of her anxiety and panic attacks, had been at the forefront of her priorities. They came before even her music. She would never have been able to compose if she’d felt unsafe and about to spin out of control. And here she sat in her car, just before sunrise, with Tierney and a virtually unknown girl, offering them her guest rooms—in her house. And she couldn’t take her words back. Human decency combined with determination kept her from changing her mind. And, yes, she would hate to read the disappointment on Tierney’s face.
“You’re sure? You’re okay with that?” Slowing down, probably as not to have a last-
minute accident, Tierney looked over at Giselle, her lips trembling. “I won’t be offended if you decide to let just Steph stay in your house. Though, I can’t lie, it’d be awesome if we could all be together.” Tierney gripped the wheel harder. “Now, that sounded way too presumptuous. Sorry.”
Tenderness erupted in Giselle, which took her by complete surprise, and she hid a smile at Tierney’s obvious attempt to cover up her reaction to her own words. “It would be best for Stephanie.”
“Yes. Of course.” Tierney kept her eyes firmly on the road. “Perhaps we should wake the sleeping beauty in the back. We’ll be at the house in less than five minutes.”
Understanding that she was meant to perform the task, Giselle turned and gently nudged Stephanie. “Hey there. We’re almost at the house. You all right?”
Slowly, Stephanie opened her dark-blue eyes. “I’m fine. Better than fine.” She smiled faintly. “Exhausted though.”
“I suppose we all are. We should get some sleep first thing.” Giselle found it increasingly easier to communicate with the girl, perhaps because she could imagine a very young Tierney in Stephanie.
What that thought implied, she’d rather not dwell on in her fatigued state.
Chapter Sixteen
When Tierney came back from the guesthouse after fetching the bare necessities, she found Stephanie sitting on the floor in the foyer, her arms around one ecstatic Charley. The retriever wasn’t just wagging her tail, but her entire backside, while trying to lick under Stephanie’s chin. Stephanie giggled as Charley woofed softly in her ear and then plopped down on her back, hoping for a belly rub.
“I see Charley found you.”
“I know you’ve mentioned your employer having a dog, but I had no idea it was so cool. I was just standing here, waiting for you, and—bam!—there she was, launching at me. At first, I was afraid she thought I was a burglar, but she just wanted me to cuddle her. She’s awesome!”
“Don’t let her fool you into giving her too many treats,” Giselle said kindly as she returned from the corridor leading to her bedroom and the guest rooms. “She clearly likes you, Stephanie. Now, let me show you where you’re staying.” Giselle motioned for them both to follow her. “This way.”
The guest rooms were large, almost the size of the guesthouse. Giselle assigned the farthest one to Stephanie. The color scheme ranged from soft, dusty pink to white and dark mauve. It could have been girly and too saccharine, but instead it was, like everything else about Giselle and her home, classy and sophisticated.
Stephanie took a deep breath but didn’t move, and Tierney regarded her cautiously. “Steph?”
“I’m, eh, I’m okay. Really. Just a bit…you know…” Stephanie waved her hand in the air.
“Overwhelmed?” Carefully, Tierney put an arm around the girl. “I can imagine. Going from the Brodys’ house to this in a few hours.”
“Yeah. And escaping Dylan. And knowing the kids are out of there as well. It’s been a lot lately, protecting them.” Shuddering, Stephanie grabbed Tierney’s hand that lay on her shoulder. “Thank you.”
“No thanks needed, Steph. If you insist on thanking anyone, thank Giselle. It’s her house. Her decision.” Tierney’s heart picked up speed when she thought about how Giselle had stepped in and taken command of the situation. This wasn’t a side of Giselle Tierney had known about—not until now. When it came to so many other things, Giselle seemed frail and afraid. With an eerie feeling of having sold Giselle short, Tierney vowed to not make the same mistake again.
“Wow.” Stephanie now said and stopped just inside the threshold. “This room really is amazing. And it’s huge!”
“It’s a decent size,” Giselle said with a nod. “You’ll share a bathroom with Tierney. It’s located between your rooms.”
“Sharing a bath with just one person is—I’ve never had that. At the Brodys’ house, we were six people with one bathroom. Dylan had first dibs, always.” She made a face but then scanned the room again, which made a new smile appear on her face. “I’ll never forget that I got to stay in a room like this. Thank you.”
Giselle blinked hard a few times but then motioned for Tierney to follow her. “This one’s for you.” Giselle opened the door to the second guest room, on the other side of the wall of Giselle’s en suite bathroom. Here, the colors were off-white and forest green, with dark-maroon accents.
“This is just as beautiful. And I second Steph. It’s an amazing room that I’ll always remember staying in.” Perhaps not so much for the room, but for the one offering it to her. Tierney closed her eyes for a moment. “And considering how many times I’ve had to share bathrooms, or even use the gymnasium showers to clean up in, this is a pretty cool deal.” Placing her toiletries, sleepwear, and a change of clothes on the bed, she winked at Giselle, trying to lighten the mood.
“I’m glad you like it.” Giselle stood there fidgeting for a moment but then turned around. “I’m going to set the alarm. Can you tell Stephanie how it works as soon as you can? I’d rather we didn’t have a random visit from the security firm.”
“No problem. I doubt she’ll wake up before we do, so tomorrow should be fine. I’ll just pop in and say good night—or good morning, as it were—before she goes to bed.”
“All right.” Giselle hesitated. “Do you think Charley will need to go out?”
“Yes, probably, or she may wake us up in an hour or two for her morning walk. Why don’t I set the alarm after I walk her? That way you can just hit the sack.”
Nodding, Giselle did look exhausted. It had been a long night and with enough emotional roller-coaster riding to last them a while.
“Thank you. See you when we wake up.”
“No problem.” Tierney half turned to get Charley but changed her mind. “Um, Giselle?”
“Yes?” Having also turned to enter her bedroom, Giselle stopped and placed a hand on the doorframe.
“I know I’m repeating myself, but thank you for doing this for Stephanie. I really care about this kid. She feels like a little sister, in a way, because of where she’s had to stay.” Walking up to Giselle, Tierney stopped just at the edge of her personal space. “I know it can’t have been easy for you to not only accept a stranger into your house, but also to have us actually stay right next to you.” Tierney motioned at the three rooms.
“I thought it’d be harder than it actually feels.” Giselle had a wondrous expression on her face. “I think I dreaded the sunup more. Stephanie seems like a lovely girl. If I can help keep her away from people that might destroy that part of her…” Lowering her gaze for a moment, Giselle then raised it and locked her eyes on Tierney. “Also, I did it to keep you out of trouble. You would’ve moved heaven and earth to save that girl and the younger children. I’d rather you stay here with me than spend your life in prison for kidnapping and so on.” Her voice was facetious, but her eyes were dark and serious.
Tierney’s heart warmed, and the heat spread to her entire abdomen. “Glad you’re keeping me from having to place my one phone call to try to find someone to bail me out.”
“See. I did myself another favor too.” Giselle smiled quickly and then walked into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Thankfully, Charley wasn’t too eager to walk this early in the morning. She did her business and then trotted inside. Tierney hurried toward the bedrooms, but when she went to join her after setting the alarm—and placing a Post-it note on the front door telling Stephanie that the house had a security system—the dog was nowhere to be seen.
As Tierney saw that Stephanie’s door was ajar halfway, she peered inside. Stephanie was already fast asleep on the bed, holding a pillow close. On the bed, by her feet, lay Charley, wagging her tail as she glanced over her shoulder at Tierney.
“You fell head over heels for Steph, didn’t you, girl?” Tierney whispered. “Well, keep an eye on her for me, okay? She’s precious.”
After walking into her room, Tierney sat on the bed next to her things,
closing her eyes. As tears, mainly of relief, began to stream down her face, she mimicked Stephanie and took a pillow in her arms. She didn’t dare to hope this arrangement would last. That was asking for the impossible and would only lead to a world of pain. She had to settle for how Stephanie now stood a chance to go on to a new and better home. And until then, the young girl would get a chance to find her bearings.
Curling up on her side, still hugging the pillow, Tierney told herself she would only close her eyes for a few moments and then grab a quick shower. As it turned out, she was asleep before she’d finished the thought.
* * *
Giselle tossed and turned, twice getting up to straighten her bed, as she hated wrinkled bedsheets against her skin. She was exhausted but knew when she had exerted herself like this, being awake for an entire night, she went into mental overdrive. It could also trigger her anxiety, and knowing how important it was for her to get at least seven hours of sleep, that stressed her even more.
Sitting up in bed, she hugged her knees to her chest. The different faces she had seen during the drama playing out outside the Brodys’ house flickered through her jumbled mind. First, Tierney’s tense expression as she sped toward the town where Stephanie lived. Giselle had wanted to run her fingertips along Tierney’s cheek, as if that would have smoothed out the small worry wrinkles at the outer corner of her eyes. Instead she had only dared to lay a careful hand on Tierney’s knee, hoping to convey her sympathy. Tierney had done the same to her at one point, and only now did Giselle understand why she had literally yanked her hand away. The tingling sensation in her palm had turned to searing within a fraction of a second, which was not only unexpected, but also startling.
And how was it that Giselle had responded like that to Tierney? Was it just lust? Or pent-up desire since she hadn’t allowed herself to let anyone close to her in ages? Giselle shuddered. Was she so starved for physical closeness that a mere pat on the knee, whether receiving or giving it, made her so hungry for more? Or was it because it was Tierney? Statistically, Tierney was probably straight and would be totally uncomfortable if she sensed Giselle’s response. Thinking about it as she tugged at one of the large pillows, she realized that was perhaps not the whole truth. Several times since Tierney talked her way into her life, Giselle had found herself on the receiving end of one of Tierney’s long gazes. She didn’t stare, not at all, but she would look at Giselle, and her bright gray eyes would glitter like sun on the ocean.