All The Way (All Series Book 3) (24 page)

She only nodded, afraid she would burst into tears. She just wanted to get out of there.

“Let’s go.” He grabbed her arm and helped her up.

“What about Kevin?” she asked, gripping the front of her shirt together. She really didn’t care, but she didn’t think they should just leave him there. What if he was dead? “Should we call the police?”

“He can rot in hell for all I care. Let’s get out of here.” They heard Kevin moan and start to move, so they left as fast as they could.

Life

Alec was furious, livid, distraught and sickened, all at the same time. He couldn’t stop looking at her right now. He knew she was fine—it happened years ago—only he couldn’t get the image of what happened to her out of his head.

He had to know one thing. “Please tell me that bastard is in jail right now.”

The tears rolled down her face. He watched her swallow once. “No. It’s complicated.”

“Are you kidding me? How is the fact that he assaulted you complicated?” He was completely baffled over her statement.

“I had Pete take me home. He wanted to take me to the hospital, but I said no. I was sickened by what happened. I felt dirty and just wanted to forget about it. Pete and I argued, but he was still a kid, so he did what I asked. He wanted to stay with me, but I said I was fine, so he left.”

“Brynn, are you kidding me? You were attacked and almost raped. You would have been, if Pete hadn’t interfered, and you went home alone?” Pete was forever going to be in his debt after this. That guy just earned himself one hell of a promotion.

“Alec, I wasn’t thinking clearly. I just wanted to be alone and I didn’t want anyone to know what happened. I felt ashamed. I wasn’t to blame and deep down I knew that, but I blamed myself for being in that position. I knew better than to be alone. I never completely felt comfortable about him, yet I didn’t listen to my gut.”

“Please don’t even think of blaming yourself. That’s crazy and you know it.” He wasn’t sure what was ticking him off more right now. What happened to her, or that she thought it was somehow her fault.

He watched as she wiped the tears out of her eyes. “I know, but I wasn’t thinking that night. I went home and took a shower. I needed to wipe away the night and what happened to me.”

He closed his eyes in frustration. That was the worst thing she could have done. “You know better than that.”

“I did, but in that situation I had to clean his hands off of me—the feeling of him on me. I wasn’t thinking rationally.”

Alec guessed he understood. He should be thankful that she wasn’t scared of men after that. But he’d never seen any sign of her being skittish around him or any of the men on the crew. “So tell me about this complicated part.”

“Shortly after I got out of the shower there was a knock at my door. I didn’t want to answer it and I wasn’t going to. That’s when I realized how stupid I was to go home alone afterward. But it was the police. I thought maybe Pete had called them, except I thought wrong.”

He wasn’t sure he liked where this was going. “Why were they there?”

“They were at my door to arrest me for assault, for attacking Kevin.”

“What?!” he roared. It was a good thing he didn’t know her at that time in her life. He’d be the one in jail now for killing that bastard Kevin.

“Lower your voice,” she said.

“Really? That’s what you’re saying to me? Get real, Brynn.”

“If you want to know what happened, then calm down. Remember, this was years ago. I’m fine now, you can see that, so rein it in,” she ordered him. “It’s not like he’s here for you to go after him.”

“I better never come face-to-face with him, either.”

“I doubt you ever will. He moved out of the area, last I knew. Anyway, I broke down in tears when they told me they were there to arrest me. They could clearly see the bruises all over my arms and my face. I told them what happened and they believed me.”

“I would think so,” he said, snorting.

“My bruises were consistent with my story, even with his injuries. He’d gone to the ER, and the hospital had called the police. My guess is Kevin would have never said a word had he not been as injured as he was. He needed stitches in his head and had a couple of busted ribs. He would have been embarrassed that a woman did that to him, so he would have kept everything to himself if he had a choice.”

“Then what happened?” Alec was growing tired of this. He wanted to pace, but every time he went to stand she pulled him back down.

“The police told me it was still his word against mine. Both of us were telling different stories and both of our injuries could have been from self-defense, even though they said they believed me. I told them about Pete. I even called Pete and put him on speakerphone so the police could hear. In the end Pete went to the Station and gave a statement. The police drove me in also. After a few hours, I was released, and no charges were brought against me. I pressed charges on him.”

Thank God she did. If she said she didn’t press charges he might have to shake her himself. “Then why isn’t he in jail right now?”

“He was in jail for a short period of time. He had no prior arrests and got out early. He moved away afterward.”

“That doesn’t explain why you left your job. This wasn’t your fault. Were you too afraid to go back?”

“No, not at all. I went back to work a week later. Larry’s father, David, came to see me the day after the incident. He paid all the legal fees, and obviously Kevin was fired on the spot. David was sorry and said he felt guilty that it happened to me—to one of his employees. He wanted to make it right.”

“He thought paying your legal fees would make up for you almost being raped?” Alec asked, disgusted.

“I didn’t know anything about Larry’s part in this until tonight. Even thinking about it now, who is to say Kevin wouldn’t have tried anyway?”

“You don’t really believe that, do you, Brynn? You even said that Kevin commented on how you were giving it away.”

Brynn dropped her shoulders. “I know. It’s hard to process it all now. Still, I can be thankful for one thing that David did.”

“What’s that?” Alec couldn’t think of one damn thing the Walker family did that Brynn could be thankful for.

“After a few weeks back on the job, it was obvious everyone was uncomfortable with what happened. I tried to make it work, but it wasn’t. The men were steering clear of me, no one wanted to get in my way, they were all eying me like I was fragile and was going to break. Maybe they all feared they would get fired if they said the wrong thing to me. I really didn’t know. So I told David that I had to leave. He asked what I was going to do and I told him I would get my real estate license. It was the only thing I could think of that I might enjoy.”

“How can you be thankful to him for that?”

“He kept me as an employee while I went to get the license even though I didn’t actually work. He paid for everything, including the classes and license. I told you he took care of all of my legal fees too. But even then, all of that wouldn’t have made me thankful to him. What I’m thankful for is that all of those things brought me to you.”

She was trying to distract him. He still wasn’t sure his mind was ready to go in another direction right now. It was hard to break away from the range of emotions he’d felt just now. Anger, fear, disgust and now love. “I would have liked it to have brought you to me another way.”

“True, but it made me who I am and gave me the skill set you needed. After I got my license, I sold all of his builds, you know that. I know you checked my references, or someone at Harper’s did. I stayed in touch with David all along, and he helped me build my client base. I always thought he felt guilt about what happened to me as an employee of his.”

“No, he felt guilt that his son was such a douche and played a part in what happened to you.”

“You’re probably right, but still, everything has come full circle. Don’t you think?”

He leaned across the chair and pulled her closer to him and into his arms and then onto his lap. “Yeah. I guess so. I still don’t like knowing what happened to you back then, or the fact that you never told me. You should have. Why didn’t you?”

He watched as she hedged, then lowered her head and whispered, “I didn’t want you to look at me differently, like I was tainted or dirty for what happened to me.”

He pushed her back on his lap and stared into her eyes, appalled she would think that of him or anyone for that matter. “Why in the hell would you think I’d feel that way?”

Her eyes filled with tears. “Others had in the past. It took me months to date again, and even then it was a battle to not jump at times. When I explained why I was jumpy, the guy I was dating cringed and looked at me like it was my fault it happened. I felt ashamed with the way he made me feel, like I’d asked for it working where I did, around all the guys. I never told another person after that.”

He didn’t know what to say. He should have realized that this strong woman would have shouldered it and fought through it on her own without leaning on anyone for help. “The more I know, the more I wish you would’ve let me rearrange Larry’s face.”

She choked out a laugh, opened her mouth to speak but never got a word out.

“He’s right. You should have let him hit Larry.”

“Dad!” Brynn jumped up and rushed over to Andy’s side where her father was lying there with his eyes open. Brynn reached for his face, running her hands across it. “Dad, do you know who I am?”

“What the hell kind of question is that? Of course I do,” Andy rasped out with more snarl than Alec had ever seen before. Then again, if Andy had heard everything that had been said, not to mention the amount of pain he was probably in, his attitude made sense.

“Let me get the doctor.” She stood up to leave.

“No. Stay with your father. I’ll go get him, and I’ll find Drew too.”

***

An hour later Brynn was allowed to go back in and see her father along with Drew and Alec. The swelling had gone down even more, and though her father was in pain, he was pretty lucid and cranky on top of it.

“When can I get out of here?” he asked Brynn.

“The doctor said not for a few more days.” She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, careful of the IVs hanging from his arm. “Can you tell us what happened? Do you remember?”

“I don’t remember much, nothing more than I went up to knock some ice off the roof. The ladder slipped on me and I thought I righted it, but obviously not.”

“I’m so glad you’re fine, Dad. Well…you will be fine. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you too.” She was crying again; she couldn’t help it. Joy. She was so happy he was awake and alert, but she was still emotionally charged over the idea that she might have lost him.

“Nothing is going to happen to me. Your mother made me get my ass back to you, to keep you and Drew in line.”

She was so used to him talking about her mother. She wasn’t even surprised by it. “Did she now?”

“She did. She said I had to make sure you and Drew made the right choices in life.”

“I think I’m doing a good job making the right choices, at least now,” she amended and looked over at Alec. He was smiling at her, so nothing could be wrong in her world right now, regardless of the nightmare she just relived about her past.

Alec stood up and walked over to the bed, stopped and looked down at Andy. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep her in line, you have my word. She’ll always be the first, last and the most important thing in my life.”

Andy smiled, looked at Brynn, then back to Alec. “That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

Epilogue

“Is that your father again?”

Brynn looked up from her phone. “No, it’s Drew. He’s complaining about my father’s complaining.” She chuckled and put her phone back away. “So where are we going?”

Alec looked over at her and grinned. They’d returned from their trip to Aruba a few weeks ago. They waited until they knew Andy was well on his way to recovery and Brynn felt comfortable enough leaving him for a week,
and
comfortable enough leaving work.

He’d had to pressure her to pick a date. After Andy’s accident, she hadn’t wanted to leave. When Andy was finally released from the hospital, he and Brynn went home for a few days of work, and then Brynn returned for another week to help Drew out. She made the trip on the weekends to relieve Drew, who had moved in with Andy to help care for him until he was moving easily on his crutches.

Though Brynn didn’t make the trip back as often now, she still spoke with her father and brother daily, listening to Andy complaining about Drew’s hovering and Drew complaining about Andy’s grouchiness. Both were itching to be called back to work. Andy thankfully had been cleared to return, his leg and other injuries one hundred percent healed.

“Just out for a drive. It’s a nice day.” He looked around the lake as they drove. The snow was melting, and winter was making its way out. They actually hadn’t had much snowfall this year, which was a blessing with all the work and new homes they would be building this summer. They were just waiting to break ground in a month, fingers crossed.

“There is still so much more snow in Rochester than here. Is it normally like this?”

“No. We’ve had years where the snow isn’t gone until mid-April, sometimes May. But with the temperatures this week, it could be gone in a few days.” A full week before April first.

“Hopefully we won’t get one of those spring-time snowstorms.”

“Bite your tongue.” Alec shuddered just thinking about it. “We’ve got too much work to do.” And another house he was adding to their timeline, only she didn’t know about it.

He pulled his truck to the side of the road. “Here we are.”

“Where’s here?”

“Let’s take a walk around,” he said, ignoring her question.

They got out of the truck and walked to the edge of the property. “It looks a little wet,” she said, glancing at the ground.

“That’s why we’ve got boots on. Besides, the ground is probably still hard enough. It’s not as soggy as you think. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, past the trees lining the front and skirting the ground of the small piles of snow until they were looking out at the lake.

Suddenly, she seemed to realize where they were. He was impressed because she’d only seen it once before, from the water, no less. “It’s your land.”

“It is. I wanted you to see it from the front of the property this time. What do you think of it?”

She turned full circle, looked around some more, then walked a few feet in each direction while he held his breath. “It’s perfect. Out of all the pieces you had to choose from, this one seems to have it all.”

He walked over to where she stopped halfway between the road and the lake. “It does now.” He reached up and trailed his fingers down her cheek.

Her face softened, she leaned forward and placed her lips over his. “That is so sweet.”

He was about to get sweeter. “We’ve done quite a few flips together in the last eight months, right?”

“Yes, we have.”

“And we work well together as a team. Don’t you agree?”

“I agree,” she said, smiling and humoring him, he could tell. She was so clueless.

“I never thought I’d find the woman I would be willing to go all the way and back for. The one that would center me, or ground me like you do. I’m ready to plant my feet down in one spot now. I’m ready to do it here, on this land, in a house you and I design and build together. A strong foundation. We know each house needs one. We’ve got that together.”

She stared at him, almost in shock, and he realized she was finally starting to catch on. He reached in his pocket and pulled out the closed jewelry box. He placed it in her hand with the lid still down and his hand covering it and covering hers. “Will you marry me and help me strengthen that foundation?”

Her eyes filled, and she let out a little laugh, one that seemed more like a giggle, and yelled, “Yes!”

She pulled her hand out of his, clutching the box, but not opening it. Throwing her arms around him, she hugged him tight, then kissed him quickly on the lips, again and again. “I want windows. Lots and lots of windows facing the lake.”

He laughed.
That
was the first thing she thought of? “Aren’t you going to look at your ring?” Most women wanted to see that before anything else.

She giggled some more, pulled out of his arms, and flipped the lid. There was no stopping her gasp. “Oh my God. It looks exactly like my mother’s ring.” And there went the tears she had simmering in her eyes. He knew the style of Colleen’s ring since he’d asked Andy weeks ago.

Brynn had mentioned her mother’s ring time and again. Andy had had it custom made, a square stone in the center and two ovals, one on either side. When Andy described it to Alec, he thought he hadn’t heard him right. Why mix a square and ovals?

But Andy explained that Colleen was the square and he was the oval, and putting them on the sides was like his arms always supporting her tight. Alec was touched by the gesture that Andy thought to design his wife’s wedding ring that way.

“It’s close.” He didn’t want to copy it exactly, so he had the ring made bigger and set in platinum, rather than yellow gold like her mother’s.

“It’s perfect.”

He slid the ring on her finger and then watched as she searched her pockets for something, but came up empty.

“Oh hell, who cares?” she said, running her hand under nose.

This woman who was always so neat, so organized and so prepared, didn’t have a tissue on her. Alec grinned, “I care. I care about you and your happiness, and the memories we’ll have here.” Something flew by his head, something small like a butterfly, but not one. It was the wrong season to have butterflies out. He didn’t know what it was, but in his mind, it was a fairy. It was Colleen giving her approval.

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