No One Like You

by Heather McGovern

  “Get out. Both of you!” Walt bellowed.

  Trevor stood his ground. “The school district might not have the time or interest in coming after you, but we do.”

  Brooke pointed her finger at Walt. “You’re going to regret the day you ever scammed a bunch of kids.”

  “I said get out. Or I’m calling the cops.”

  Trevor grabbed Brooke’s hand. He shoved open the door for her and called back as they left, “You’ll be seeing the cops, all right.”

  They ran to Trevor’s truck, her hand in his.

  Through her anger, even after such a confrontation, her heart flew. Light. Alive. She jumped into the passenger side, trying to catch her breath as he sped out of the parking lot. “What did we just do?”

  “We confronted the beast.”

  She tugged on her seat belt and he headed into downtown Newton. “My heart is pounding.”

  Trevor laughed, the sound filling the inside of his truck. “Now that was an adventure.”

  “I’ve never done anything like that.”

  “I don’t know why not. You’re great at reading people the riot act. Ole Walt looked about ready to mess his drawers.”

  With a laugh, she touched her cheeks, warm and flushed with adrenaline. “That side of me isn’t exactly something I’m proud of.”

  “You save it all for Reagan’s ex-boyfriends?”

  “No. Well…I guess so.” The truth was, she hadn’t confronted anyone at all until her divorce. She’d barely confronted her ex. Until the day came she had no choice.

  Her ability to stand firm and take no crap had grown from that experience. Her tolerance for nonsense was nonexistent. Any capacity to remain passive long gone.

  She’d only ever had to use it on Reagan’s string of dating misfits. Using it on someone doubly deserving, like Walt, felt…felt amazing.

  “I have to say, that felt really good.” Brooke smiled.

  “Yeah, it did.”

  “Do you think we should go after Zen?” she asked. Jolie certainly didn’t have the resources, and the idea of more legality and attorneys and lawsuits made her stomach churn, but right was right.

  “I don’t know all of the options, but after seeing that place, something has to be done.”

  “Who knows how many other people they’ve deliberately misled?”

  “True. But they could’ve sold off that sound system or any of that other stuff in there to at least give those kids some of their money back. This isn’t a matter of them not being able to refund money; they’re choosing not to.”

  “I feel like kicking that Walter guy’s butt. Even in these heels.”

  Trevor grinned from ear to ear. “I’d turn this truck around right now to see that.”

  “He’d call the cops on us.”

  “Definitely.” He turned into a shopping center parking lot and killed the engine.

  “What are you—”

  He was already out of his seat and circling to her side of the truck before she could finish her question. He jerked her door open, stepped up on the runner, leaned in, and kissed her.

  His kiss wasn’t the sweet, tentative one from the garden. Not the deliberate, thorough kiss from the basement either.

  This kiss demanded attention.

  Trevor cupped her face, the tips of his fingers threading through her hair. He slanted his mouth over hers, hungry. Though she was sitting down, her world spun.

  Brooke reached for him, clung to his arms, opened for more. Heat spread through her body and she gasped.

  With one final tug against her lips, Trevor parted. “That was awesome. You were awesome.”

  Her pulse flying and her breathing coming entirely too quick, Brooke took his offered hand and he helped her down from the truck.

  “Those kids are lucky to have you on their side,” he said.

  “Us. They’re lucky to have us.”

  “I’ll talk to my brother Dev about what we found out today. He has friends down at County Square now—which still cracks me up—and he might’ve made buddies with someone in the school district. If there’s something more we can do, we have to try.” He tugged on her hand. “Come on.”

  “What are we doing now?”

  “This adventure has made me hungry. Let’s eat.”

  Chapter 17

  “You like Thai, I hope.” Trevor marched toward a glass-front restaurant with decorative ceramic elephants outside.

  “I wasn’t expecting to have some right now, but sure.” Brooke held on to his hand as they hurried inside.

  Trevor chose a booth by the windows and sat, willing his heart rate to go down. Their foray into scam-busting had his blood pumping faster, the colors of the Thai restaurant shining brighter.

  “I can’t believe we did that, but I’m so glad,” Brooke said, echoing his sentiment.

  “Told ya. Adventure is fun.”

  A waitress brought over water and menus and left them to decide.

  Brooke studied the tall page for a second, and then slapped the menu down. “Order whatever you like,” she said. “Let the adventure continue.”

  Trevor ordered Tom Yum Gai soup, and two Panang dishes.

  “Sounds promising.” Brooke rubbed her hands together and leaned forward. “I think my mom and dad still drive all the way out here when they’re in town and get a Thai craving, but I’ve never been.”

  “Then you’re in for a treat.”

  Brooke sipped her water while his mind caught on the mention of her parents. His mom and dad were long separated. His mom was the only one to still come to Windamere. She’d visit Honeywilde too, but only if Trevor invited her.

  “Where are your folks?” he asked.

  “Right this second? Who knows? They’re retired in a RV somewhere, seeing the country.”

  “Seriously? That’s great.” Miles of open road and the freedom to take your time while traveling. “Good for them. I’m jealous.”

  “Jealous of spending month after month, being cooped up in that small RV?”

  He balked. “They aren’t cooped up. Not if they’re doing things right. They’re probably out seeing waterfalls, lakes, purple mountains majesty, and the like.”

  Their soup arrived and he dipped into the covered bowl to serve up two smaller, steaming cups. “Getting out and seeing the world beyond Windamere is important. I mean, spending a year in Peru might not be for everyone, but still. Getting out and going beyond our town can be life changing.”

  “You spent a year in Peru?”

  He nodded. “Right before I moved back to work at Honeywilde.”

  “How did I not know this?”

  “You aren’t the only one who keeps your private life private.”

  Brooke swallowed her spoonful of soup and smirked. “Touché. But you guys were already running Honeywilde then. Didn’t your family miss you? Seems like they would’ve needed you at the inn.”

  He sipped the spicy, sweet broth and shook his head. “They wanted me here. They didn’t need me. Looking back, I do feel kind of bad about my timing, but when I left, I had no other choice. Staying at Honeywilde would’ve been the worst thing. For everyone.”

  Not long before, his parents had abandoned the family business, leaving his oldest brother, Roark, to take over the operation of the inn. Devlin was still drinking, Sophie was overworked and anxious, and Trevor was unhappier than he’d ever been.

  He blamed Honeywilde for his parents’ failed marriage, blamed Roark for working him and his brother and sister too hard, and blamed any and every one for all of the other problems in his life.

  Rather than cope and deal, he’d been a silently seething bitter pill. He’d hated Honeywilde back then, and the resentment was spreading to his family.

  “If you say so.” Brooke poked her spoon around in the soup.

>   “Definitely so.”

  The best thing he ever did for himself and his siblings was to go away. Going away helped him think, prioritize. When he returned, he could appreciate his family and the inn in a way that was impossible before.

  That’s why he planned to go away again.

  His place in the family chain might be clearer now, but his fulfillment within that chain was another matter. He loved his family, and Honeywilde, but life could shrink down to something too small when it completely revolved around one place and three other people.

  He needed…more.

  “That’s why I’m going back to Peru in the fall.”

  Brooke coughed, trying to swallow her soup. “You are?”

  “Not for a year. Obviously. But I’ll be visiting for a few weeks in late summer with the same volunteer group.”

  “Your family doesn’t need you here?”

  Trevor shook his head. “Roark has everything under control now. Dev is his go-to guy for events at the inn; Sophie could run the place blindfolded. They’ve got everything under control. I’m really more extra help than anything. I’ll be a lot more use in Peru, helping build houses and working in hospitals.

  Focusing on her empty spoon, Brooke frowned. “I doubt you’re extra anything. I couldn’t plan this prom without you and I’m sure your family feels the same.”

  Trevor brushed off the comment. “Regardless, Dev took a couple of weeks off to go on his honeymoon to Canada. I figure I can have a couple of weeks to help out a good cause.”

  “Yes, of course. I’m not disagreeing. That’s commendable work and I admire you for doing it. I just…I can’t imagine leaving Jolie, or my sisters. I can’t imagine leaving at all.”

  “I’m not leaving forever. You’re frowning like I’m hopping on a plane tomorrow, never to return.”

  “I don’t think that.” Her face had drained of color, her jaw held tight, concern coloring the dark depths of her eyes.

  He knew that look. He’d seen it hundreds of times before. “Sure you do. At least a little. My family thought the same thing, after I got back. They thought for sure I’d take off again. Maybe you’re wondering the same thing.”

  “No, I’m not—”

  “I’m not going to abandon you with this prom. I would never do that. Getting away when all the sh—the you-know-what hit the fan made the whole situation better. After my parents divorced and Dad gave up the inn, the place was in constant turmoil. I can’t…I mean, let’s just say I don’t do well in that environment.”

  To say the least.

  He’d never told anyone that, but if Brooke trusted him enough to talk about her divorce, maybe he could trust her with how rocky things had gotten at home.

  “Truth is, I wouldn’t be here now, helping you, helping out at Honeywilde, if it weren’t for my time abroad.”

  “Okay.”

  “And I’m not going away for a year again, to anywhere. You can count on me.”

  They’d spent only a few days together, but he already knew how important reliability was to her. Brooke didn’t want to count on anyone, and she wasn’t one to throw her trust around. He’d had to maneuver his way into being her partner on a damn prom project.

  Maybe her lowered expectations were because of the divorce. Or maybe her defenses went deeper. Whatever the reason, he knew what it was to be let down by loved ones, and to be the one who let them down.

  He wasn’t going down that road again.

  This time, his family would know all about his plans, his intentions, and he’d return in a few weeks, with an idea of what came next in life.

  The waitress brought their food, the rich aroma filling the air. “Here’s your Panang.”

  His mouth watered, the hint of pepper tickling his tongue. He stirred his bowl, adding some rice to the broth to taste that first steaming hot bite. But first, he watched and waited for Brooke’s reaction to his choice.

  She brought the spoonful of chicken and broth to her lips and her eyes rolled back into her head as she chewed.

  “You like?”

  “Delicious.” She drew the word out, sending prickly heat up and down his body.

  Trevor focused on his dinner.

  Not on Brooke or how much he willingly shared with her, how good he felt when he made her happy, or how incredible she’d been today dealing with that blowhard.

  He definitely wasn’t focusing on the noise she made as she savored her meal or the look of pleasure on her face.

  Prom. He needed to think about the prom and get her talking again.

  “So, which friends did you go with?” he asked.

  Brooke blew on her next spoonful. “Go with where?”

  “To your prom. The other day, you said you went with a bunch of friends. Who were they? I probably know them.”

  “Just other student government people. What about you? You went with Julie Phillips. Was that senior and junior year?”

  She’d wasted no time changing the subject off of herself, like he wasn’t going to notice.

  “I went with Cindy Gandolfo my sophomore year, Brandy Kline my junior—”

  “Your sophomore year?” Brooke interrupted him with her spoon suspended in midair. “Cindy Gandolfo would’ve been a senior.”

  “What can I say? I like women with some life experience.” He cocked an eyebrow as he ate.

  She tried to dismiss his comment with a roll of her eyes, but color flooded her cheeks.

  They continued eating their late lunch, a companionable silence between them, but he wasn’t letting the mysterious stone of her high school love life go unturned. “Did you ever take a date to prom? Like, say, Troy Richenbacher?”

  Brooke plopped her spoon down and brought her napkin to her mouth. “Where in the world would you have gotten that idea?”

  “Come on. Everyone had that idea. Rumors about the two of you were big news my freshman year. Troy was a basketball god and, like I said, you were Miss Windamere High, but you never dated anyone. Like, ever.”

  “Thanks a lot.”

  “Well? Did you or didn’t you date Troy Richenbacher?”

  “We went out a few times my senior year, yes.”

  “But he didn’t make the prom cut?”

  “If you must know, he broke up with me shortly before prom.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I wouldn’t have sex with him.”

  “Ah, classic high school move.” Trevor stabbed a piece of broccoli with his fork. “At eighteen, there’s really little hope for us. Luckily, we grow up and, I like to think, improve.”

  “Not all of you.”

  “Ouch.”

  “No!” Brooke put her spoon down again. “I don’t mean you. I was referring to my ex.”

  “That bad?”

  With her hands busy adjusting and readjusting the position of her bowl of food, she looked everywhere except at him. “Kind of. Yes.”

  So much more of her story lay behind that “kind of.”

  He kept quiet, refusing to pry but wanting to know everything.

  “I guess at first things weren’t bad,” she finally said. “But…later, things went south. Fast.”

  Trevor nodded, remaining silent.

  “When I met Nick, my ex, I thought he was the perfect guy. Successful, smart, good looking, driven. He wanted it all. I should’ve known, anything too good to be true usually is. But I thought we had a lot in common. He had goals and determination, like me.”

  “Young and hungry?”

  “Yes. We dated for a while—not long enough—and got married. I was so stupid and eager. I could see our whole lives mapped out ahead of us. Our futures were bright, life would be ideal. My parents would be so proud. I knew this with every fiber of my being.”

  “What happened?”

  “Life w
as not ideal.” A derisive laugh punctuated the sentence. “Life just…happens. Bumps in the road, struggles. A lot happened or didn’t happen, and while I kept going and staying positive, he gave up. Every little setback was the end of the world for him. Then he started taking it out on me and…we just weren’t right for each other. I’d been in such a hurry and so sure we’d make the perfect pair, but I was wrong.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Finally, she met his gaze. “Thank you, but it’s not your fault. If anything, it’s mine. I should’ve known.”

  Trevor scowled, an underlying sentiment of what she said tying a knot in his stomach. “What do you mean, you should have known?”

  “If I’d been patient, waited and dated him longer and not been so damn sure of myself, I would’ve seen how manipulative and mean he could be.”

  “How is—Hold on. That is not your fault. People get blinded by love or whatever. You couldn’t have known.”

  Her noise of derision indicated otherwise. “The end wasn’t amicable. Let’s put it that way. I left him last year. Our relationship was over long before then, but I stayed. And staying made things worse.”

  “What finally made you leave?”

  “You aren’t going to ask why I stayed? My sisters still ask me that to this day.”

  “You obviously had your reasons for trying to make it work. I’m more interested in why you left.”

  “I couldn’t take the turmoil and misery anymore. He became hateful. I was barely surviving in an unhappy marriage, and I woke up one day wondering, What are you doing?

  Trevor was quiet for a while.

  “But I didn’t want to give up on this man who I promised to love and honor. I guess I thought it would get better or…I don’t know.”

  “But it didn’t.”

  “No.” Her raw, scratchy laugh tied a knot in his throat. “About a year and a half before I left, Nick lost his job. He found another one, but he never got over being fired. Things weren’t great before then, but after that, he spiraled. I think he felt like a failure. He couldn’t get past it. He had a strong personality and I thought that was a good thing, but really he was temperamental. Once we were married, he took all of his stress and unhappiness out on me.”