“Good. So, um, I need to go talk to Magnus. Take your time getting dressed. My clothes are in the wardrobe there. Just take whatever you want for now. Hopefully, if there’s time, we can take you to the store to get some of your own, but for now mine should do.”
I kept looking down at my hands, even when he rose from the bed. Based on the sound of his footsteps, I tracked him as he moved around the room a bit more before leaving.
Then I was alone.
Even if I had my memories, I doubted I’d be able to describe what I was feeling. Part of me was happy that Brody was so certain I couldn’t have hurt anyone. It was a relief to know he thought so highly of me. If I had that same confidence in myself, nothing would ever bring me down again.
Yet, under that spark of joy, there was a tangled web of negative feelings. I enjoyed last night, and it hurt hearing Brody call it a mistake. He was right, of course. In the current situation, getting involved with anyone in such an intimate way was a bad idea.
My gaze turned to the wardrobe that Brody had given me free access to.
I had a roof over my head, clothes on my back, and three meals a day. None of which I was entitled to. Brody didn’t have to give me anything, but he provided for all my needs without complaint. He’d even protected me when armed gunmen attacked us. Asking for anything more was just selfish.
I couldn’t help wanting more, though. I’d been so happy last night. For the first time that I could remember, I felt like a real person and not just the shell of a person that my real self had left behind.
Was it really so bad to want more?
My stomach grumbled, interrupting my heavy train of thought. I snapped back to reality, and realized I couldn’t hear Brody moving around anywhere in the house. There was no telling how long I’d been sitting there, but early morning was no time for deep self-reflection. I wasn’t awake enough to handle the size of the questions bouncing around my head.
I got dressed quickly, grabbing whatever looked like it would fit me best. Most of Brody’s clothes were the same “lumberjack chic” style. It looked good on him, but it didn’t suit me. Instead, I managed to find a plain green shirt at the back of his closet, and a pair of dark jeans that mostly fit. He was a little taller than me, so I had to roll up the pants cuffs once to keep them from dragging on the ground, and his shoulders were a bit broader, so his shirt hung loosely on me, but otherwise it was close enough to be comfortable.
Plus, all his clothing smelled like him. When I pulled the shirt over my head, I pressed the collar to my nose for a moment, taking in the smell of cedar and bergamot. It was enough to chase the lingering tension from my shoulders and I left the bedroom with a thin shell of confidence.
As I suspected, Brody was no longer in the house. I found him outside, standing on the porch to Magnus’s house. The door was open, and the two men faced each other across the threshold like it was a battleline.
Neither said a word for several moments, and I hung back on Brody’s porch just a few yards away waiting to see what would happen.
“All right,” Magnus eventually said, holding his arms out wide. “Let’s get it over with.”
At first, it looked like they were going to hug. I couldn’t think of any other reason for a person to hold their arms out like that.
Then Brody cocked back his fist and punched Magnus hard in the shoulder.
“Fucking hell,” Magnus shouted as he staggered and clutched his shoulder. “You really didn’t hold back.”
“That’s what you get for being such a bastard.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Magnus muttered, though there was a smile on his face. “I was a jerk. I’m sorry. We good now?”
“We’re good.”
Trent came out of the house, fussing over Magnus’s shoulder, but the blond man just waved off his concern. “All right. Now that that’s over with, what was so urgent that you needed to talk to me this early in the morning.” As he spoke, something seemed to occur to him, and he perked up. “Did you hear about Creed?”
“No,” Brody shook his head. “It’s something else. I forgot to tell you before, but look what we found yesterday.”
He pulled out the wooden box and opened the lid. From this far away I couldn’t see inside, but I could easily picture the key it held.
All three men stared down into the box for a moment, but surprisingly it was Trent that reached out and snatched up the key.
“This is Poppy Milford’s key.”
There was that name again. That was the same thing Brody had said when he saw the key, and it left me feeling like I was missing a big chunk of important information.
Magnus grabbed the key, not taking it from Trent’s hands, but turning it in the light to get a better view of its details.
“Are you sure?”
The look Trent gave him was so full of attitude that I could feel the heat from here. “Yes, I’m sure. I was called in to examine it for a reason. What? Do you doubt my judgment when it comes to an antique like this.”