Page 158 of Beat of Love
Another wave of melancholy swept over him.
“My mom died when I was thirteen.”
His breath hitched. How did he not know this? A vision of a sad, freckle-faced, pigtailed Brandy-Lyn dressed in black sprungto mind. He moved closer and pulled her into a one-arm hug. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he murmured.
She laid her head against his shoulder. “Thank you. Life was simpler without her around. But … her death left a void.” She sighed, replacing the photo in its position amongst the others.
They stood still for a minute, maybe two, before she spoke again. “My father …” She inhaled a sharp breath and twisted from under his arm to face him. “My father destroyed everything that reminded him of my mom. Everything,” she spat. “It was as if she’d never … existed.”She gave a short, bitter laugh. “It was his way of getting rid of the bad memories. Two months later he started seeing another woman. They married soon after.”
“That’s … harsh?”
She shrugged. “Georgia wasn’t a wicked stepmom, just … indifferent. She made sure I was fed and clothed, and we learned to co-exist.”
There was a lot of pain in her voice, but before he could ask more questions, she continued, “Maybe I can help you decide what personal items to keep? Things I’d’ve like to have had of my mom.”
He tucked the same stubborn lock of hair behind her ear. “I’d love your help.”
She was the first to break eye contact by looking around. “What’s going to happen to the furniture?”
“The kids’ stuff is all going to Texas. Rae — the woman looking after them now — suggested relocating their bedrooms as-is to make their transition easier. Once we’re gone, Selena’s friends here will stage the house for sale and donate anything the new owners don’t want to charity.”
“Makes sense.”
A sound from the entryway snapped their attention around.
“Hello? Mr. Lawson?”
Mrs. Bronson stood in the doorway, clutching her handbag like a shield.
Rafferty bit back a groan. Of all people, she was the last he wanted to see right now. Stepping away from Brandy-Lyn, he said, “I wasn’t expecting you today.”
She sniffed. “I saw the Texas plates on the vehicle in the street.”
Nosy woman.
*
“I’m sorry,” Rafferty said again as he opened the Yukon’s door. Deep shadows stretched across the parking lot outside his hotel.
Brandy-Lyn slid out of the passenger seat. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, sugar.”
“Nosy woman,” he muttered.
She gave a sleepy grin, swayed a little on her feet, and let out a jaw-cracking yawn. “Ugh. Sorry. I’m so freaking tired.”
He pulled her suitcase from the back and hit the lock. Slinging the case in one hand, he held out his other arm.
“Come on. Let’s get you settled before you conk out on the sidewalk.”
Her fingers interlocked with his, and the side of her breast rubbed against his arm as she drew closer and leaned into him. Warmth spread up his arm and shoulder and into his chest, coiling around his heart.
Rafferty twisted his neck to look down at her. The crown of her head was right there, level with his chin, the security light catching the strands of grey amongst the auburn as they moved under its glow. He tipped his head and brushed his lips across her hair.
She jolted and looked up at him, lips parted.
His gaze flicked to her eyes, and he found the same something extra from earlier lurking in the green depths. Maybe exhaustiondulled her reflexes, because the longer he held her gaze, the brighter her eyes glowed.
And a rightness settled in his soul.
