Brant saw her wage a mental debate before clicking to answer the call. “Hi, Mom, can I call you back in a bit? We just got home.” She listened for a minute before exclaiming, “What! Oh crap, are you kidding me?”
Brant laid a hand over hers, quietly asking, “Is something wrong?”
Putting her hand over the phone, she said, “Boston got busted in a campus raid for possession of marijuana.”
He fought the urge to ask why they were so surprised by that fact but decided now might not be the best time to point that out.
“Mom, let me get in my apartment and I’ll keep trying to reach Uncle Ted.” She clicked to end the call and sagged back against the seat. “I so didn’t need this today.” She turned her head to look at him. “I have to go in and try to reach my dad’s brother, Ted. He’s a lawyer in Destin.” Brant did his best to hide a smile when she repeated his earlier thoughts. “Why is any of this surprising? Everyone in the family knows he is high as a kite more often than not. He’s studying botany, for God’s sake. Not only is he constantly smoking weed, apparently he’s growing the stuff as well.”
“What can I do to help?” he asked.
“Turn my brother into a scholar and not a pothead?” she asked hopefully.
Kissing her hand, he smiled. “Sorry, baby. That may be a tall order. How about I help you inside with your bags and let you do what you need to do for your family?” He could tell by the longing in her expression that they had both had other ideas about how the evening would end and now that was over. She needed to help her brother and that would be easier for her if he went home and let her concentrate.
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but their pace seemed to drag by mutual consent as they made it up the one flight of stairs to her apartment. She opened the door and he had just a glimpse of the brightly painted wall behind her before she turned in the doorway. He gave her a gentle kiss on the lips, mindful of the fact that neither of them needed to end the night any more frustrated than they already were. “Brant . . .”
He put his finger against her lips. “I know . . . I’ll see you tomorrow. If something comes up and you need the day off, just call me.”
With one more brief brush against her lips, he forced himself to turn and retrace his steps. Fuck, his life seemed to be filled with bad timing.
Chapter Twelve
Brant was at the office early the next morning. He tried telling himself it was just to get through the backlog of work waiting for him, but he knew it was to see Emma. They could go to lunch together later on and talk about what was going on between them. He smiled to himself, thinking it would be a better meal than the cold sandwiches she usually brought back on her own for him. As he walked through the lobby of the Danvers International building, he was surprised to see Mac there waiting for the elevator. Mackinley Powers had been a friend of the family for many years. He and Brant’s brother, Declan, had enlisted in the marines together and served a couple of tours before coming home. Mac ran a security company with Danvers as one of its clients so it wasn’t unusual to see him in the building. Plus, he was a very hands-on boss and didn’t leave much to chance. He turned as he heard Brant approach. Mac clapped him on the shoulder. “Hey, good morning, man, didn’t know you were back yet.”
“Morning, Mac. Yeah, we got in yesterday. This is an early morning for you, isn’t it?”
Grimacing, Mac said, “For sure, but I offered to cover for one of my guys today. His mom was having surgery so he needed to be there. I was just going to do a walk-through before things got under way today. I had dinner with Declan, Ella and Evan last night. Shit, that’s really hard to adjust to now, but I’m happy for him.”
Brant smiled in return. He had similar feelings where his brother was concerned. It was almost surreal to have the wild child of the family married with a new baby on the way and a son. When Declan discovered that he had fathered a child six years ago from a one-night stand, he had stepped up to the plate and was now an active parent to Evan. Coincidentally, a short time later, his new wife, Ella, had found out she was pregnant. It was a huge shift in Declan’s life after leaving the military and suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome over the death of a friend in Afghanistan. Ella had helped him turn it all around and now he was the most content that Brant had ever seen him. “I know what you mean. It’s been hard for me to believe as well, but he deserves it. Was Ava also there?”
Mac looked away, obviously uncomfortable with the question. “No, I left before she arrived. It’s . . . just different now.”
Brant looked at Mac, surprised by his shuttered expression. For as long as he could remember, Mac had been in love with his sister. He knew that she loved him in her own way, but so far that hadn’t been enough to make her take a chance, and now maybe that would never happen. “Has something happened between you two?”
Sighing, Mac said, “No, not at all and that’s the problem. I told Declan a while back that I needed to move on with my life and Ava shows no signs of wanting to be a part of that.” Mac looked at him almost apologetically. “I’m sorry, man. I really am. I’m not abandoning her; I’ll always be here if she needs me, but in a different way.”
Brant felt a pang for his sister, realizing that she was about to throw away the best thing to ever happen to her, and yet there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it. Maybe Ava, like Declan, would have to hit rock bottom in order to come back up for air. Hell, maybe there was something in all this that he needed to be paying attention to. Did he want to be alone and closed off to the world forever like Ava? Holding out a hand to Mac, he shook the other man’s hand. “I understand. No one’s going to think less of you, Mac. You’ve always been there for Ava and I know you’ll continue to watch over her. Maybe she needs to be forced from her comfort zone.”
Mac gave him a skeptical look. “I wish it were that easy. But I’ve started putting some distance between us and I will talk to her soon. Truthfully, I’ve been putting that off because I’m not ready to see her indifference about me.”
Brant couldn’t imagine his sister being indifferent to Mac moving on and finding love somewhere else, but he couldn’t be sure. He may be emotionally reserved, but Ava was emotionally detached, which, in his estimate, was hard to overcome. He and Mac parted ways at the elevator and he walked toward his office even more determined to pursue a relationship with Emma.
Brant looked up from his computer as the sound of movement in the outer office caught his attention. Anticipation filled him as a knock sounded on the door. He was momentarily surprised because Emma usually sailed into his office without bothering to knock. He grinned, yelling out, “Come in.”
His surprise turned to shock as the door opened and Alexia Shaw walked hesitantly into his office. It seemed they were both momentarily at a loss for words before he finally remembered his manners and stood. “Alexia?” He knew that his greeting came out more like a question, but he was powerless to stop it. The same shy smile was there, but she looked very different from the last time they had seen each other. She was thinner, bordering on too skinny, and her hair was shorter and pulled back into a ponytail.
Alexia looked nervous as she closed the door behind her. He walked around the desk to greet her. They exchanged an awkward hug before he indicated one of the chairs in front of the desk. Frankly, he was afraid she would fall over if she stood much longer. “Hi, Brant,” she said quietly. “It’s so good to see you again. I know this must be a bit of a . . . surprise.”
He settled back on the corner of his desk, studying her curiously. He knew from Ava that Alexia was back in town and supposedly engaged. He hadn’t expected to see her, though, so the surprise was hard to shake. “I am surprised, although it’s nice to see you, too. You look . . . well.” Shit, why had he mentioned anything about her appearance?
A laugh erupted from her at his words and finally he saw a brief glimpse of the woman he once loved. “You’re a terrible liar, Brant, you always were. Even when I really didn’t want to hear it, you gave it to me straight. I always admired that about you,” she added almost absently.
Attempting to lighten the mood, Brant smiled, asking, “Is that the only thing you admired?”
His attempt seemed to have the opposite effect as she shook her head solemnly. “No, it’s not. I’m here because I’m counting on your strongest quality . . . loyalty. I know we haven’t been involved for years, but I also know you would never turn your back on someone you cared about. I . . . I need help, Brant. I don’t have anywhere else to turn.” When tears welled in her eyes, Brant grabbed a tissue from the container on his desk and handed it to her.
Fuck, a crying female and it was his ex-fiancée to boot. This morning had officially taken a nosedive from promising to unsettling.
“Alexia . . . what’s wrong?” Brant was starting to get nervous. What was going on here? This didn’t sound like someone needing a loan or wanting absolution for past sins. He found himself not wanting to ask but really he had no choice. “Tell me what I can do to help you? It can’t be as bad as you think.”