Page 3 of Betrayed (Alternate Ending)

"I'll do some rescheduling, get someone to cover my practice, and then we'll be there, honey," her dad said. "Within a week."

"I love you," Brook said. "Don't worry. We'll see each other soon."

Brook stared at the receiver after she disconnected the call. Finally, she hung it up and turned to Lance. She was trembling when she went to him. He gathered her into his arms and held her until she stopped shaking.

"Now, I need to call Clark." She pushed away from Lance with a small tug of guilt.

"I'll wait in the truck." He slid into the seat and closed the door.

Brook returned to the phone and dialed the number for Clark's cell phone. He didn't pick up. When she got his voice mail, she paused, unprepared. Finally, she cleared her throat and said, "Clark, this is Brook. I'll try to call your office. I'm safe, and I'm coming home."

She then dialed his office and learned that Clark was in a meeting outside the building. Her message was simple. "Tell him his wife called."

"That was fast," Lance said as she climbed into the truck.

"He wasn't available." Brook looked out the window.

"Okay." Lance started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot. "To the sheriff's office?"

"Yes," she agreed.

While Lance drove, Brook changed into the moccasins he had made for her. She ran her fingers through her hair and gently rubbed her eyes.

When Lance pulled up in front of the sheriff's office, Brook gazed into his dark eyes for only a moment, the ache of their separation threatening to overwhelm her. She saw Lance struggling with the same torment. Quickly, she leaned in to kiss him goodbye. He met her halfway and they lingered briefly over the kiss. Neither spoke of their love; they had told each other many times the night before. The time had come to put those words aside.

Brook got out of the truck and walked up to the building. In the windows fronting the office, she could see the reflection of Lance sitting in his truck. Her heart squeezed, but she didn't turn around. She blinked back tears as she watched him pull away.

Lance pointed his truck towards home. Although there was a lot he needed to replenish after the winter, there would be no shopping today. He needed the comforts of his cabin now.

Chapter 50

Deputy Sheriff Mick Vernon looked up from his newspaper when Brook pushed through the door. "Help you?"

She approached his desk, holding her bag tightly. "I'm Brooklyn Parrish. I was abducted in Denver last October."

"Sit down, sit down." Mick closed the paper and set it aside. He stared at Brook as she took the chair across the desk from him. “Now, what did you say your name is?” He moved his computer mouse around, clicking until he had the page he was looking for.

“Brooklyn Parrish,” Brook repeated.

“Well, I’ll be damned.” He stared at Brook in amazement. Finally, he said, “Make yourself comfortable; we've got a lot of talking to do. But, I need to call the sheriff first. He's just over at the diner."

Brook looked around as the deputy sheriff made his call. There were only a few desks in the small department, all of them empty. Her hands trembled slightly as she clutched the bag containing her evidence.

Mick returned his attention to Brook. "Sheriff's on his way. Can I get you a cup of coffee or something?"

"Yes, thank you. Coffee's fine." Brook set her bag on the floor beside the chair and clutched her hands in her lap.

The door opened and Sheriff Leonard Hawk entered. He walked over to Brook and extended his hand as he introduced himself. He grabbed another chair and pulled it over next to the desk. "Let's see if we can get this all sorted out."

Mick placed the coffee in front of Brook and settled back in his chair, notebook open, and pen poised. Hawk began his questioning. Brook was relieved when they didn't press her too hard about the recluse who housed her over the winter.

"There are some jurisdictional issues here," Mick said to Leonard.

Leonard nodded. "I'm gonna make some calls."

Little over an hour later, after several phone calls, the decision for transport was made. Brook settled in the back of the cruiser, bound for Denver, with Leonard Hawk himself at the wheel and a female deputy riding shotgun. "I want to make this delivery personally," he said over his shoulder to Brook. "It ain't often we get the chance to bring someone like yourself home safely."

Brook leaned back and closed her eyes. Telling her story had drained her, and she had a lot of thinking to do. Brook felt she could relate to the homeless; even though, in truth, she had a place to go, a home, a life. As the car rolled down the road, moving further from one man she loved and closer to the other, Brook found herself in turmoil. How would she feel being with Clark again? Did she still love him? She hadn’t really thought about the matter before her abduction. But since that time, she had realized that life with Clark had changed over the years.

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