Not out of fear that she’d see her past, instead she’d seen the city as it was now. In the present.
That had led to her asking the cabdriver to pull over in front of Beaux Arts Bakery for an impromptu stop. Terror hadn’t seized her on the sidewalk or back inside the cab.
Brooke opened the door to The Pampered Pooch, a lightness inside her she hadn’t experienced in far too long. A familiar musical laugh and lilting voice filled the store. Brooke moved along the center aisle, following the voice like a beacon. She rounded the endcap and had no time to prepare for the embrace that muffled her greeting.
“Sophie told me you’d be here soon.” Valerie squeezed Brooke and released her.
Brooke adjusted the croissant bag and her voice. “Valerie. What are you doing here?”
“Ben and Wesley told me at the park that Sophie was the one to talk to about how to organize the donations for victims of the wildfires.” Valerie raised her hands. “So here I am.”
Sophie grinned, clearly appreciative of Valerie’s efforts. “Valerie is putting together a small event to raise money and collect donations for both families and animals affected by the fires.”
Brooke was impressed. Valerie stood behind her words. She hadn’t been exaggerating about her charitable work. “That’s incredible. And a lot of effort.”
“I’m tapping into my mom’s network of friends and business associates.” Valerie shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve discovered that people want to help, but sometimes they don’t know how. I figure out ways to supply the how.”
That was no small feat. Once again, Brooke softened toward Valerie. “I’m sure the families and animals will appreciate it.”
“I know the rescue organizations I work with will.” Sophie brushed her hair out of her eyes, unable to remove the exhaustion, too. “Everyone is really overextended right now.”
“Then it’s a good thing I brought chocolate and other treats.” Brooke set the bakery boxes on the counter.
“I’m so pleased Beaux Arts is still open. One of the best on the West Coast.” Valerie set her joined hands under her chin. “Although I have to admit, there’s this small village in southern France, nestled among the vineyards and farmland. Lovely place. Their patisserie is the best I’ve tasted in the world.”
“Sounds simply charming.” Sophie opened a container and sighed.
“Brooke, do you think Ben would like to visit a village like that?” Valerie handed napkins to Sophie and Brooke.
Sophie paused midbite. “Ben is going to Europe?”
“I’d like him to,” Valerie said. “There’s a few small details Dan and I need to work out first, though.”
Dan’s refusal was more than a small detail. And threatening legal action and a courtroom showdown wasn’t minor, either. “We should let Ben sample one of these croissants. If he likes it, you can ask him about France.”
“That’s a good idea.” Valerie toyed with the corner of her napkin. “I’m also leaning toward the soccer idea after watching Ben at the park with Dan and Jason.”
Brooke refused to be moved again by Valerie. Yet Valerie had been paying attention. She was trying to put Ben into her plans. Brooke would test her. Maybe if Valerie failed, Brooke could like her a little less. “What do you have planned?”
“That football-stadium tour of sorts could be fun.” Valerie’s fingers tapped against the napkin as if she was unsure of her idea. “Ben could list the soccer stadiums he wants to visit. Then he can check off the places we go to. Sort of like Americans do with baseball and the football stadiums in the States.”
Brooke reached for a chocolate-filled croissant and forced herself not to frown. Valerie’s ideas were not allowing Brooke to like the woman any less. Valerie had come up with something Ben would love.
“That sounds like a trip I want to take.” Sophie winced and shrugged at Brooke as if she couldn’t help herself from joining Valerie’s travel train.
Brooke understood the feeling. She bit into the croissant, relishing the rich chocolate flavor, and convinced herself this was a good thing. Valerie was taking Ben’s likes into consideration. Funny, Brooke wasn’t convinced Dan would appreciate that.
A woman stepped up to the counter, holding one of the plush, higher-end dog beds. “Are these beds really worth the price?”
Sophie set down her croissant and brushed a napkin over her mouth.
“What kind of dog do you have?” Valerie reached over and ran her fingers over the heavy-duty stitching on the dog bed.
The woman’s tender smile gentled her voice. “We’ve adopted a greyhound named Marley.”
“My friend rescued two greyhounds from being euthanized in Australia last year. Such sweet and precious dogs. They shouldn’t have to suffer so much for people to profit.” Valerie straightened and smiled at the woman. “But you’ve saved Marley. He won’t starve anymore or be forced to live in a cage two sizes too small. He’ll have freedom and love.”
“I’ll take this one.” The woman set the bed on the counter and looked at Sophie. “Marley has earned a little pampering.”
She added, “Give me one minute. I need to grab a few more things.”
“Take your time,” Sophie told the woman. Then shifted her smile to Valerie and mouthed the words thank you.
“My pleasure.” Valerie tucked her hair behind her ear and stuffed a notepad into her purse. “I better not linger any longer. I need to get busy on those donations.”
Brooke understood right then that Valerie’s donation to the fire victims wouldn’t be small or inconsequential. Not after she aimed her full-wattage smile at potential givers and persuaded them to help a good cause. More charities could use people like Valerie on their teams.
“Sophie, I’ll be in touch later this week.” Valerie wrapped a croissant in a napkin. “Thanks for this, Brooke. I needed a pick-me-up.”
“You can take more than one,” Brooke offered.
“Then I’ll just be overindulging.” Valerie laughed and hugged Brooke. “If you could tell Dan I changed my mind about traveling for soccer, maybe he’ll reconsider his own travel ban for Ben.”
“You should probably tell him that,” Brooke suggested. She stepped to the side of the counter to give Marley’s owner room to set chew toys and a blanket on top of the plush bed.
The woman laughed and touched the plush snowman and the stuffed squirrel. “I couldn’t decide which one he’d like better.”
“Always good to have options.” Sophie picked up the cash-register scanner. “You can rotate the toys, then he won’t get bored.”
“You don’t think Ben would be bored traveling with me, do you?” Valerie muttered as if unsure.
Brooke doubted she would be bored traveling with Valerie. “That’s not Dan’s concern.”
“He doesn’t trust me to take care of Ben.” Valerie adjusted her purse on her shoulder and tipped up her chin. “But Ben is my son.”
It sounded as if she’d asked a question, not made a claim. As if she doubted herself. Valerie brushed her platinum blond hair away from her eyes as if everything about her was suddenly out of place. “Maybe you should show Dan that you can take of Ben while you’re here.”
Valerie’s hand stilled. “Dan did let Ben go to dinner with Jason and me last night.”
And that had allowed Brooke to spend the evening alone with Dan. Once again, she wanted to thank the woman. Or she would thank Valerie if she was someone different. If she was someone who listened to their heart and took risks.
“Maybe Ben would want to stay at the hotel and swim in the indoor pool.” Valerie’s voice strengthened, and her hand dropped to her waist as if the fidgeting never happened.
Then Brooke could spend another evening with Dan. But this wasn’t about her and Dan. This was about Valerie and Dan finding common ground for Ben’s sake. This was about avoiding a cour
troom brawl—one that forced Ben to pick a side and where no one won. And everyone ended up hurt. “You won’t know until you ask.”
“I’ll text Ben right now,” Valerie said.
“He’s in school,” Brooke reminded her.
“Right. I’ll do that later.” Valerie walked down the aisle and turned around. “When does school get out?”
“Three-oh-five p.m.” Brooke glanced at Sophie to confirm her answer.
“Correct. Evie is on car pool duty today.” Sophie finished putting Marley’s new supplies into a bag and thanked Marley’s owner for her purchase.
“I’ll walk with you to your car.” Valerie took the bag of toys and treats from Marley’s owner. “You don’t want to drop the new bed on the sidewalk.”
The pair walked outside. The door chimes marked their departure.
Brooke turned toward the counter and took in a confused Sophie.
“I seriously tried not to like her. I really, really tried.” Sophie lifted both hands and smoothed out her ponytail. “I mean, who leaves their husband and child to travel the world? A selfish, self-centered woman, right?”
Brooke took a large bite of her croissant, letting Sophie ramble.
Sophie picked up the credit-card receipt and shoved it in the drawer. “Not a woman who organizes a donation drive for a city she doesn’t live in. Then convinces a stranger to spend over three hundred dollars on dog supplies in a pet store that isn’t hers.”
Sophie wasn’t the first person conflicted over Valerie. Even Dan had yet to utter a negative thing or bad word about Valerie, since she’d arrived. Dan—more than anyone—had every reason not to like his ex-wife. Yet Brooke doubted Dan’s ability to dislike anyone.
She’d heard stories about first responders and hard-to-deal-with patients and families. Dan hadn’t denied that patients could get combative, physically and verbally. He hadn’t denied that even family members insulted him and his coworkers. Yet he had proclaimed that his work still mattered, perhaps even more in those moments. Dan had been called to help other people—he accepted every part of his job just as he accepted Valerie for who she was.
Just as he accepted Brooke, the woman too scared by her past to walk within two blocks of a street corner. The woman who couldn’t say no to any animal in need. Valerie might have a gift for optimism, but Dan’s gift of acceptance was greater.
How accepting would Dan be when he learned Brooke suggested Ben spend the night with Valerie? “I think Dan is going to be mad at me.”
Sophie opened the second box of croissants and sighed. “You bought the berry galettes, too?”
“I couldn’t resist.” She also couldn’t resist trying to help Valerie and Dan.
Sophie closed the box and eyed Brooke. “What did you do?”
“Encouraged Valerie to host Ben for a sleepover at the hotel,” Brooke said.
“Okay.” Sophie opened the box and took out a berry-and-cream-filled galette.
“She wants Dan to trust her.” Brooke held out her hand and waited for Sophie to put a pastry on her palm.
“How could Dan trust her after what she did to him and Ben?” Sophie asked between bites.
“That’s the problem.” Brooke peeked behind the counter. “Now would be a good time for Evie’s Irish coffee.”
“Yes, it would.” Sophie nodded, slowly and deliberately.
“But Dan and Valerie can’t go to court,” Brooke argued. “Imagine what that would do to Ben.”
“And if Valerie wins joint custody, it won’t matter if Dan trusts her or not.” Sophie frowned and plucked a raspberry from the center of the pastry.
“I should tell Valerie it was a bad idea,” Brooke said.
Sophie straightened. “Or you could have Dan come up with the idea on his own.”
“What?” Brooke asked.
“No. It’s brilliant.” Sophie wiped her hands on her jeans. “Convince Dan that Ben should spend the night with Valerie, but make it seem like Dan came up with the idea himself.”
Brooke set her forehead on the counter. “How am I supposed to do that?”
Sophie said, “You’ll figure it out. You’re good at this type of thing.”
Her thing wasn’t manipulating people. More specifically, manipulating Dan. “I’m not sure what my thing is.”
“Well, you got Earl to agree to meet a family,” Sophie said. “That was beyond genius.”
“I haven’t found a family or solved Earl’s problem yet.” Not that she’d given up. She hadn’t exhausted all her contacts yet.
“But you will. I have faith.” Sophie touched Brooke’s shoulder, drawing Brooke’s gaze to her. “Your heart is in the right place with Dan, Ben and Valerie.”
“Do you think that will be enough for Dan not to be mad about the sleepover?” Brooke asked.
“I think it will be enough to guide you,” Sophie said.
When was the last time Brooke had followed her heart? She was more practical than that. “That’s very whimsical and fairy godmother–like of you.”
Sophie shrugged. “Sometimes our hearts know what we need before we do.”
“I need to work off these croissants.” Brooke touched her stomach. “I’m going to the play yard. Then I’m going to look through your list of foster families again.”
There had to be a solution for Earl and Sherlock. Brooke just wasn’t seeing it. Just like there was a compromise for Valerie and Dan. She just had to uncover it.
CHAPTER TWENTY
BROOKE STOOD OUTSIDE the apartment and closed her jacket up under her chin. The day would eventually warm enough to shed several of her layers. But for now, she needed the extra warmth. The excited thumps of the dogs’ tails against the walkway drew Brooke’s attention. She looked over and her own excitement sparked. Dan walked across the backyard, his uniform replaced with a sweatshirt and workout pants.
Brooke waved. “You just missed Ben. Nichole picked him up. Your dad left to meet up with Jason.”
Dan nodded.
Up close, the deep shadows under his eyes and the gloomy cast to his gaze drew Brooke closer. “Are you okay?”
“Very long night.” Dan leaned over to greet the dogs.
The misery in his words and etched into the lines around his eyes was heartbreaking. Brooke wanted to hug him. Hold on until whatever ate away inside him ceased its assault. “Is there anything I can do?”
Dan scrubbed his hands in his hair, disrupting the wavy strands as if that would disrupt whatever haunted him. “Sometimes there are calls that hit hard, like a ten-ton brick dragging you under.”
“Does it help to talk?” She hadn’t believed a conversation could have such an impact for her, but she’d been wrong. She’d shared her dark past with Dan and shed a shroud from herself in the process. A shroud that shaded her view of the world around her.
Dan kicked at a pebble. “A twelve-year-old girl suffered a severe asthma attack at her grandparents’ house.”
She failed to mute her gasp. Ben was only a few years younger than that poor child.
“She’ll be fine,” Dan assured her. His touch on her shoulder soothed. “We wheeled her into the ER. Her frantic parents barreled into us. Her mother, hysterical, kept yelling her daughter’s name, her high heels slipping on her gown and the floor.”
“I imagine I’d have been the same.” Brooke picked up a tennis ball and tossed it into the yard. Both dogs raced off to claim it. “Is it Ben? That Valerie wouldn’t be there for him?” Brooke considered that. Hated it for Ben. Wanted very badly for Valerie to prove her wrong.
“Valerie.” Confusion pulled his mouth into a frown. “It’s not about her. It’s me.”
Brooke faced Dan. The ashen cast of his cheeks tipped worry through her. “You told me the little girl was fine.”
“Her father was in a tuxedo, his tie smashed
and partly undone. Terror in his eyes.” Dan fisted his hands at his sides, dropped his head back and drew in a shaky breath. “‘Did she suffer?’ That’s all he kept repeating.”
Brooke, horrified, snared another gasp.
“He thought his daughter had died. Thought he hadn’t been there with her.” Dan wiped at his tears. “I stared into his eyes. Father to father, Brooke. Looked right into my own greatest...”
Fear. Brooke launched herself into his arms. Held on. Tighter and tighter. Until he curved his arms around her and squeezed. She stayed in his arms, waited for his breaths to even out. Waited for her own heart to slow. Minutes. Maybe longer. Time didn’t matter. Only Dan.
The tennis ball rolled against her foot. She peered down at Rex. He leaned against Dan’s legs as if offering his own encouragement.
“I’m too restless to sleep.” He pulled away and tucked her hair behind her ear. “Would you want to walk with me?”
“Let me get the leashes.” Brooke slipped inside, returned and handed him Rex’s harness.
A fragment of a smile drifted across his face. “I’ll let you lead the way.”
Brooke walked down the driveway, Luna beside her, and paused. Dan had looked directly into the face of his darkest fear—could she do the same? Have no regrets. What would she regret more: confronting her fear or always wondering about a life well lived? “Ben tells me there’s a larger park in the opposite direction. Do you know the way?”
Dan tilted his head and eyed her. His earlier anguish replaced with concern. For her. “You’re sure you don’t want to go the usual route?”
No, she wasn’t sure. Not at all. But the dog park wasn’t the accident site. She might be walking in the same direction. But no one was forcing her to go there. Not today or any day. Push your limits. “I thought the dogs might like a change.”
He nodded, then lifted his chin toward her. “I like the new clothes. The bright colors suit you.”
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