I can always walk down to the hospital and shower there if I need to, but I don’t want to use their resources unless I absolutely have to. I had worked yesterday and am not scheduled for another shift for two more days. Soon I start on night shifts, which I never look forward to.
“Hey, what’s this?”
I turn to find Brecken holding up the letter from Harrison. I hadn’t forgotten about it. I was just blissfully content and ignoring it in favor of staying that way.
“A letter.”
“I can see that, but why is it—” He stares down at it, flipping it over to see the return address. Then he swallows hard. “Rina, this is from…”
He can’t even say his name.
“Yeah,” I finish for him.
“What is it?”
“A letter Harrison wrote to me before he died. His father felt the need to mail it to me.”
“It’s sealed. You haven’t read it yet.”
“Nope.”
“Are you going to?” he asks, looking up and meeting my eyes with an indiscernible expression.
“Not sure yet, but I’m leaning toward no.”
He nods like he’s in favor of that and then shakes his head. “Why would his father send this to you?”
“To make me hurt the way he’s hurting.” It’s the same reason he sent me the money. The same reason he called wanting to speak to me himself instead of having his lawyer do it. His son would have turned thirty, inherited his business and led the life he planned for him, and six years later, he’s still angry with me over the way his son died. Nothing he did was about respecting Harrison’s wishes, otherwise all of this would have been uncovered six years ago after his death.
No. This is some weird, sick form of revenge. Only I’m not playing into it.
In addition to the letter arriving yesterday, Harrison’s trust hit the account my lawyer had set up for it. It’s done. It’s legit and on the level.
The money is going to charity and the letter can go in the fire. I’m moving on and living my life. Yesterday was a bad day, but I don’t think I’ll have another like it. At least I hope not. I felt like I got something out of my system last night. It was like when Brecken showed up at my door, I realized Harrison never will again.
I will never forget that night six years ago. I will never forget the six months leading up to it. But I no longer feel or see it when I close my eyes either.
Brecken stares at the thing for another long second. Though I can see he’s trying to keep his features neutral, there is no hiding the fury in his eyes. Yet another reason why he’s still here.
“Toss it in the fire.”
“What?” His eyes slingshot up to mine.
“I mean it. I don’t want to read it. Harrison wrote that when he was very sick. There is nothing that will help me in there. All it will do is hurt.”
I watch his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “Rina, I don’t think—”
“You’re right. I should be the one to do it.”
I march over to him, snatching the letter from his grip. I stare down at it and a prideful smile breaks free as I toss it into the fire without a second thought. And as it burns, so does more of my pain. It crumbles into ashes, same as the letter.
A sense of freedom springboards through me.
“There. Much better.” I blow out a relieved sigh, practically gleaming from within.
Brecken is gobsmacked. He’s staring at the letter, watching it erupt in flames like he doesn’t know what to say or how to react. But then he grabs me out of nowhere, hauling me into his strong chest, wrapping me up in his arms as his lips rain down on mine.
He kisses me fiercely. Passionately. Effusing a world of unspoken praise directly into my soul. And I think, yeah, I’ve got this. I can do it all. Possibly with this man holding and kissing me like this. Maybe, just maybe, this time it won’t go bad.
23
Rina
“Angel, your phone is ringing.”
I groan, refusing to move. It’s too cold. Why is it so damn cold? Is the power still out?
“Angel.”
“You can answer it,” I mumble into my pillow. “Too cold to move.”
“Mmmm,” Brecken growls, scooting under the blankets, his warm arms wrapping around me, tugging me into him. “And just like that, instant body heat. So much better.”
I sigh. And sag. And form something that likely resembles a half smile though I’m not sure the muscles on my face are moving all that well yet. It’s early. I think. Actually, I’m not sure what time it is. All I know is that I’m tired because we went to bed late and cold because there is no heat in my house.
“Do you hear that?” he asks just as my phone starts ringing again. Only I don’t think that’s what he’s referring to because I heard it too. I roll over, grabbing my phone from my nightstand, ready to answer as he says, “It sounded like a banging.”
“Carter, it’s like—”
“Yeah, sorry for the wake-up call, but we’re outside your door.”
I bolt upright, frantically searching around. “Wait. What do you mean by we’re, who’s outside my door?”
“It was Oliver’s idea, but yeah, we’re outside your door. All of us except Landon who is waiting on us at the compound. Get up. Get dressed. We’re going to a place with heat and power and warm water in the showers.”
I glance down at Brecken who is staring up at me. I’m pretty positive he just heard everything because he mouths, “Is there room for one more?”
“Carter. Hold on.”
“Yeah. Sure. I’ll hold. It’s not like it’s fucking freezing and icy as shit out here.”
I roll my eyes, placing my brother on mute. “You want to come with us?”
“You know, I’m so glad you asked, and I didn’t have to invite myself.”
“Brecken—”
“Yes, Rina. I’d like to come. I’d like to be in a place that has power and heat. A place where I can hopefully charge my devices and get some work done. A place where I can take a hot shower with you.”
“You realize my brothers will be there. All five. And well, it’s my parents’ place, but they’re away.”
His eyes light with challenge. “Are you worried about me meeting your brothers or seeing where you grew up?”
I gnaw on my lip. “Um. So. Both, I guess.”
Brecken sits up, cupping my cheek in his hand as his eyes search mine. “I’ve already met two of your brothers, but I’d like to meet all of them. And I already know about your family, Rina. I don’t care about your money or how you grew up. I care about you. Nothing else.”
Unmuting the phone, I inform Carter we’ve got one more coming with us and that we’ll be down in five. Brecken smiles, kissing my lips softly before we both climb out of bed, dressing as quickly as we can because it has to be about fifty degrees in my bedroom. I throw my nasty, sex-mussed hair up into a messy bun and then pack up an overnight bag for myself.
“We’ll make a quick stop at your place so you can grab clean clothes and your work stuff.”