Page 11 of Tied to Hope
Brie smiled, thinking back on her high school teacher. She had been recording short films about her family and the small town she’d grown up in for years, but it wasn’t until Miss Fushimi came into her life that anyone had taken her seriously.
“Do you know what she said when she gave this to me?” Brie asked Hope, waving the paperback in the air.
Hope bounced in her carrier, holding her hands up, wanting to grab it.
Brie laughed, loving her daughter’s enthusiasm and curiosity.
“Miss Fushimi told me, ‘Everything you need to know is in this book.’ She said it with such confidence that I believed her.”
She looked through the pages again with fondness. “And this little book really did have a fountain of good advice.”
She glanced at Hope. “But it wasn’t what was printed in it that made this important to me…” Opening it up to the title page, Brie held it up to show her. “It was the message Miss Fushimi wrote inside it.”
Brie stared down at her teacher’s beautiful handwriting and smiled as she read the words aloud:
Follow your heart, Brianna Bennett, and you are guaranteed success.
Brie traced her fingers over the handwritten words, a lump growing in her throat. “Everyone questioned my plans to become a filmmaker—except her. She was the one who gave me the courage to head out to LA on my own to get my film degree.”
Looking back down at the writing again, Brie was overcome with a sense of profound sadness. “Miss Fushimi will never know the difference she made to me.”
A tear slowly rolled down Brie’s cheek as she told Hope, “That amazing woman died of breast cancer three years after she gave this to me.” She wiped away the tear, telling her daughter. “But her words still live on in—”
“I guess I owe Miss Fushimi a debt of gratitude, then,” Sir said from the doorway.
Brie turned to him, nodding with a sad smile.
“Hand it to me and I will pack it with your personal items. We don’t want it getting lost.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
As she was handing him the book, Sir mentioned, “I just got a call from the Gallants. We’ve been asked to join them for dinner tonight.”
She was thrilled to hear they would be visiting Mr. Gallant and his wife, Ena, so she made quick work of the rest of the box, wanting to get ready.
Brie hadn’t seen either of them since throwing the adoption party for the Reynolds at Rytsar’s beach house. She cherished any time spent with the Gallants because she held both of them in the highest esteem.
Later that evening, when they arrived at the Gallants’ house, Ena answered the door and greeted them warmly. “It is lovely to see you again, Sir Davis.”
She gave him a slight bow of her head before turning to Brie and smiling. “I can’t believe how much Hope has grown already.”
Brie looked down at their little girl, who was staring at Ena with big doe eyes, obviously smitten with the tall, exotic woman.
When Ena leaned down and made cute baby noises, Hope graced her with an adorable smile.
“She is absolutely precious,” Ena told Brie, her eyes sparkling.
Mr. Gallant came up from behind and placed his hand in the small of his wife’s back. Brie had always loved the contrast between the couple. Mr. Gallant was a tiny man with pale skin, and Ena, an unusually tall woman, with a radiant dark complexion.
Despite their height difference, there was no mistaking that he was a Dominant. An authoritative confidence emanated from the man.
Mr. Gallant took one look at Hope, turned to Sir, and stated good-humoredly, “You’re in trouble, Sir Davis. That little girl of yours is going to have a line of boyfriends out the door. Mark my words.”
Sir chuckled. “Luckily, I’ll be able to learn from your experience before Hope hits that age.”
Mr. Gallant sighed heavily. “It’s already starting for me. Kalisha is only fifteen, not even old enough to date yet, but I have to fend the boys off constantly.”
Brie laughed. “Well, I’m not surprised, Mr. Gallant. You have two beautiful daughters.”
