Page 11 of Harboring Secrets
Shane was the first one to latch on to what I said.
“I can get you the number for my real estate agent. You probably don’t want to work for me, but there’s always a job for you at The Anchor if you want one. Just talk to Vivian. She’s the manager there now. Is all your stuff still in storage? How big of a place will you want?”
I watched in horror as Shane pulled out his phone and started tapping away on it.
“I—” No words would come out of my mouth. I should be used to Hurricane Shane, blowing in to take everything over, but I’d forgotten what it was like. I’d been away for too long and I’d lost the defenses I used to have.
Then something miraculous happened. Archer took the phone from Shane and put it face down on the table. “Shane, stop. Brodie’s a big boy. I’m sure he can handle his shit. Right, Brodie?”
I wasn’t half as confident as Archer was, but I nodded anyway. I managed something close to a smile.
“I think I like you, Archer.”
Shane pouted, but stayed quiet and Archer patted him on the arm, snuggling closer to him, probably to soothe his bruised feelings.
Shane’s gaze slid over to me. “What kind of dog? Do you need help looking?”
“I don’t know yet, Shane. But when I go dog shopping, I promise to bring you, okay?”
Shane beamed at me, then reached over and ruffled my hair. “I missed you.”
I already regretted promising to bring him dog shopping.
Chapter 6
Liam
TheminuteIturnedmy phone on, it went insane with text messages from my sister. The missed calls numbered in the double digits and I knew what waited for me in my voicemail.
Instead of reading through any of that or listening to the voicemail, I called her back.
“Where are you?” she demanded.
“Not in town.” I smirked when I heard her suck in a breath.
“Are you continuing your vacation?”
“Not as such, no.” The second leg of my journey had brought me to a small airport in upstate New York. The idea of Ubering around all over Hell’s half-acre didn’t appeal to me, so I’d arranged to rent a car. A man in black jeans and a red blazer met me at arrivals. My name was neatly scrawled on the front of a sheet of paper.
“Where are you?” Carol asked again. “I can always turn on the friend finder app, Liam.”
“I can’t be there, Carol. I won’t deal with them anymore.”
It was all too much. I’d be fine, but then John and Marsha would come around and their grief would swallow me up like quicksand. Their sadness was oppressive. It made it impossible to breathe around them. And their latest idea had horrified me to the point where I was positive I didn’t want anything to do with them.
On my way to the airport to come here, I’d called my lawyer, Oren, and left a message instructing him about Piper’s eggs and what I wanted done with them. Piper was their child, but she’d been my wife. Not only did she not want someone else raising her baby, but she especially wouldn’t want to have her eggs used to make a Piper 2.0. I wasn’t a therapist, but I highly doubted what Marsha wanted to do was a healthy way to cope.
“I can’t do it, Carol.” My voice was thick and the words struggled to make it out. I fell into step next to my quiet escort and followed him out of the airport. Autumn was starting to roll in. The air had that crisp snap to it when the wind brushed my cheeks and some of the trees had just started to turn in preparation to shed their leaves.
“At least tell me where you are and how long you’re going to be gone.”
“I’m in New York. State, not city. I’m safe and shall remain so. Do I need to send you proof of life?”
“I wouldn’t hate it,” she grumbled.
“Carol, I love you, but we both know my position at the company is redundant. Give my position to my assistant. She does most of the work anyway. Offer her a hefty raise and give her time to adjust and I think you’ll be happy with the change.”
“Are you coming back, Liam?”
