Page 41 of The Hand That Holds Me
I wished she wouldn’t push herself so hard, but she’s like Jason in that regard…all hard work and determination.
Now to get them in the same room without her running from both of us.
Iwoke up Monday morning with a renewed energy I hadn’t had in a while. I didn’t sleep as well as I did with Lucas this weekend but I was able to get some solid hours last night.Maybe sleeping next to Lucas was the reason I slept so well. I finally felt safe, cherished, loved.
I padded into the kitchen to find Caroline already awake and making us cups of coffee. I was glad were able to have some alone time last night. I had been so busy with work and Lucas and she had been at the bar with so many shifts that we’ve hardly seen each other over the last few weeks.
“Good morning, sunshine.” Caroline smiled as she set a plate of donuts down on the table and took her seat across from me.
“Good morning. I didn’t expect to see you this morning. What has you up so early?”
“I wanted to make sure you had a nutritious breakfast before you started your day.” She smirked at me as she handed me a blueberry cake donut from the bakery across the street
“Thanks for the sugar rush but, really what has you up this early? The sun has barely risen and you didn’t say you had anything happening this morning.” For her to be up this early meant she either hadn’t been to sleep or something woke her. Caroline can sleep through anything.
“I got a weird friend request last night on Facebook after you went to bed and it has been bothering me. I was hoping you could look at it and tell me I’m not imagining things. I think it may be Andrew, or someone pretending to be him.” She said to me with tears in her eyes.
I went over and pulled her into a hug, letting her tears fall without asking questions. She’s been very vague about what happened to Andrew and his family for years. I knew she was heartbroken over him and if she could get some closure, maybe she would be willing to look for love again. She has such an amazing heart that I hated to see her so sad.
She hands me her phone and I pulled up her friend requests.
“It’s the first one, Gabriel Andrews. We have no friends in common, this picture is dark and doesn’t really show his face but, in my heart, I think it’s him. Am I imagining things Maddie? I see him everywhere I go. His face still haunts me. Why can’t I move past him? Why can’t I tell my heart to stop loving him?” she cried into her hands, her body shaking with sobs.
“You never told me what happened with you two and now is not the time to get into that conversation. My question to you is this: What makes you think this is him? Besides the name, his first and this guy’s last, what makes you feel it isyourAndrew making contact after all these years?”
“Gabriel was his older brother’s name. He died when Andrew was seven and he used to talk to me about him. Something in my heart says it’s him but I don’t want to imagine things. That’s why I asked you to look.”
“I’d say accept his request and you can always block him later if your gut is wrong. If he’s just some perv trying to gather friends, you delete him. Problem solved.”
“You’re right. I guess I got all worked up over nothing…”
“You being upset isn’t nothing. One day, very soon, you and I are going to talk about what happened with you guys. The whole story. Maybe it will help to tell someone else what happened. A fresh pair of eyes to look at it. I want to help you get past him so you can love again. You deserve so much love, Caroline.”
“Speaking of love, how is Lucas? We talked about a lot last night but you didn’t tell me how your weekend went. How was his lake house?”
“It was wonderful. He wants you to come up with us one weekend and hang out. You would love it. His house sits right on the lake and has the most amazing deck with a huge hot tub.”
I blushed at the memory of Lucas and I making love in the hot tub on our last night there. He had turned the lanterns on and had some slow music playing. We sipped on wine, laughed, talked, and stargazed until our wandering hands led us into exploring each other’s bodies under the stars. It was the perfect end to a wonderful weekend that I looked forward to repeating many times in the future.
“Love looks good on you, Maddie. I am so happy for you guys.” She hugged me with a smile on her face.
“Love feels good too. I’ve got to get cleaned up. My first meeting is at 8 and if I play my cards right and traffic is on my side, I can be done by lunch so I can surprise Lucas. He thinks I have appointments until three o’clock but a few emailed me with requests for earlier times so I shuffled a few things around.” I wagged my eyebrows at her as I gave her one last hug and floated down the hallway to get dressed.
I finished up with the day’s contract signings a little after eleven and headed straight for the office. I was eager to see Lucas and go over the additional sponsors I had managed to secure. A few of our partners were excited about the program and had passed the word on to others, resulting in sponsorship and additional resources that would help us grow and expand into other areas of the city and, hopefully one day, the entire state.
I arrived on my floor and walked up to Carol, Lucas’s secretary.
“Hello Maddie. I thought you were out of the office today. Would you like me to let Mr. Walters you are here? He is in a meeting but I know he would want to know.” She said with a knowing smile. I guess she is aware about Lucas and me.
“I wanted to surprise him for lunch. I’m going to sneak into my office and drop off these contracts then I’ll wait until his meeting is over. No need to disturb him.”
I walked past his closed office door and hear him with the man he was meeting with. It sounded like he had an old friend from the tone of voices and jovial words exchanged. I couldn’t tell what they were saying, only the infectious laugh coming through the door, making me smile.
I was in my office when I heard Carol bring in coffee for Lucas and his guest. I guessed he might be a while longer, and I had a few more emails to address. With my door open, I heard the voices in his office change and start getting louder through his slightly cracked door. Carol must have forgotten to close it completely, resulting in harsh words and angry voices carrying into my office.
I tried to drown out the argument that he was having in his office but it was getting harder and harder to ignore. I knew in business tempers and emotions could get high sometimes, resulting in anger. It was only when I heard my name being spoken loudly that I started to move toward the source of the commotion.
“Why haven’t you told Maddie about everything yet?” A voice I didn’t recognize was saying, anger and hurt in his voice.
