Rock Kiss 02 Rock Hard(62)

She loved the active quiet of it in the mornings, peopled by early-rising student joggers, and others dressed for work who were taking a shortcut to the central business district. Some people walked briskly, eyes on their smart phones, but most traversed the paths with a leisurely stride, smiling at one another as they passed. Every so often, she’d see a group practicing Tai Chi under the canopy of one of the larger trees and would stop to watch the graceful, slow melody of movement.

Nine thirty on a public holiday, it was busier but not crazy. Gabriel found a parking space only a couple of minutes’ walk away, and they were soon entering the park, his hand on her lower back. With Auckland free of snow even in winter, the park usually had flowers of some kind or another even in the coldest season. Now, heading into the tail end of that season, the garden beds boasted a profusion of color.

“I always wonder how they keep it so beautiful no matter the season,” she said, the two of them taking the pathway that would lead eventually to the covered band rotunda. Charlotte didn’t want to be enclosed even that much. Instead, she turned right, taking them toward an open area populated only by a number of large trees, their limbs curving and winding and creating living sculptures.

“You should ask Sailor about the garden stuff,” Gabriel said. “He’s like a plant encyclopedia.”

“How did he end up in landscaping and gardening rather than sports?”

“He’s the nerd in the family—always was more interested in science and plants.” A grin that took the sting out of the words, his pride in his brother clear. “He does play club rugby on the weekends for fun, so we haven’t disowned him.”

Charlotte sighed. “There’s no hope for me then. I love sports, but I’m not coordinated enough to actually be any good at them.”

He shifted his hand to her hip, squeezed. “What are you talking about?” he said as things went all melty and hot low in her body. “You wrangle T-Rexes, don’t you?”

Scrunching up her nose at him, she fought a smile. “Only one.”

“Good, because this T-Rex is possessive as hell and does not share well.” He ran his hand over her hip again. “How about here?”

Charlotte looked at the natural seat formed by a spreading limb, and the bubbles of delight went flat. It was time. No more delays. She had to tell him every bit of the ugliness. “Yes,” she whispered and sucked in a breath when he put both hands on her waist and lifted her up onto the tree. Instead of sitting beside her, he leaned against the branch, his arm braced behind her.

“I thought you liked crowding me,” she murmured, heart bruising at the sign that he might already be pulling away.

“I love crowding you. But since you didn’t want to talk in the car, I thought I’d behave and give you some space.” Eyes of steel gray pierced hers. “I’m right here if you need me, and I’m more than big enough to help you fight your demons. Just say the word.”

Her heart ached. She shifted closer to the reassuring bulk of him without a word. Expression softening, he cuddled her by curving his arm around her without blocking her in.

“I don’t know how to start,” she said, watching a girl spin around in the arms of a boy before they both raced away toward the white spire of the university’s clock tower.

“Did it happen here?”

“Yes.” At least it had begun here.

“Then start here. Tell me about your wild college days.”

Charlotte wanted to smile, couldn’t. The past was too heavy, too horrible; the malevolent shadow of it crushed any lightness inside her. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but since I enjoyed reading the business pages, I decided to do a commerce degree, majoring in accounting.” She laughed softly, but the sound held no humor. “It sounds like such a stupid reason to make that big a decision, but I wasn’t thinking on all cylinders.”

“Was your mom sick when you had to decide?”

Charlotte nodded, the memory of loss heavy on her heart. “My mom told me to live my life, to not let her death weigh me down, and I was determined to do that—even after I lost my father too.”

Her throat grew thick despite the distance of years between that moment and this. “It happened just weeks before the start of the semester. At first, I was a zombie sleepwalking through lectures, but after I survived that first burn of grief, I wanted to make Mom and Dad proud.”

Gabriel stroked his hand over her hip. “Did you have anyone to lean on?”

“Molly.” She cuddled even closer to him. “I wouldn’t have made it without her.” Her best friend had all but carried her through the weeks directly after her father’s shock passing. “I’d turned eighteen a couple of weeks earlier, so I was technically an adult when my father died, but I was so lost. Molly’s the one who organized my dad’s funeral, who talked to the lawyers to make sure I was given access to the family accounts so I could pay for things.”