Geronimo (A Songbird Novel) (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Jane

We didn’t speak as we tore through the street. Traffic was light, making the trip to school a fast one. My insides were going nuts.

One of my students was missing.

Missing!

Thoughts of what kind of trouble she could have gotten into nearly blinded me as I ran a red then careened around the corner.

“It’s going to be okay.” Harry’s voice was so soft and calm.

“How do you know that!” I snapped. “You don’t!”

“You’re right.” He nodded, still frustratingly calm. “I don’t. I’m just trying to have a little faith.”’

I scoffed, shaking my head as I gripped the wheel.

“I know you’re scared,” he whispered. “I get it. We both know firsthand that life isn’t perfect, but I’m not going to torture myself by worrying about something that may not have happened yet.”

Sucking in a shaky breath, I started blinking at my tears.

“Brandy’s a smart kid. We have to trust that.”

“I just…” My voice wobbled. “I can’t do it again, you know?”

He knew what I was saying. I didn’t have the strength to survive another tragedy.

My trembling words shut him up, and he gripped my leg a little tighter.

My mind immediately jumped to Blake and the way I felt as I sat in my wedding dress, trying to wrap my head around the fact my groom was no longer on his way.

Stealing a quick glance at Harry’s pale face, I had to assume he was thinking about the girlfriend he’d lost. Neither of us had gone into details about our respective partners. I didn’t want to know about her, and he didn’t seem overly interested in learning about Blake.

We shared yet another thing in common—broken hearts. It made the desire to simply be happy together and enjoy each other that much stronger.

We’d spent a few moments whispering into the darkness, reliving how it felt when we first heard the news—his dreaded phone call, me listening to my mother’s quivering voice—but neither of us had delved further.

Jerking to a stop in the street, I switched off the engine and lurched out of the car. Harry took my hand and we ran to the school gate together.

Wrapping his hands around the metal, he looked up and muttered, “Climbable. Very climbable.”

My fingers were trembling as I unlocked the padlock with my key and pulled the gate open.

“Brandy!” Harry started calling the second we reached the main entrance.

Leading him around to the side door, I let us in and joined his call.

“Brandy! Are you in here?”

Our voices blended together as we raced down the hallways, checking each door. Most of them were locked, except for the bathrooms.

I took the girls’ while Harry checked the boys’. My sneakers squeaked on the white tiles as I checked each stall.

“Jane! Get in here!” Harry’s muffled shout made me flinch.

I nearly slipped as I raced out the door. Harry was waiting for me with the boys’ bathroom door wide open. I followed him down to the last stall and noticed the smashed glass all over the toilet. A few smears of blood painted the tank.

“Shit,” I murmured.

“She must have cut herself getting in.” Harry squeezed my shoulder. Maybe he could see the pulse throbbing in my neck. My heart was acting crazy, hammering with fear as I stared at the blood. “But it means she’s probably here.”

It took me a second to register his words. I glanced up at his hopeful smile, my head bobbing erratically. “Let’s go.”

“Brandy!” we yelled together, taking a side of the hall each and trying every single doorknob. I called Troy, and he assured me he’d make all the right phone calls while Harry and I continued to look.

“Every bloody door’s locked!” Harry’s face bunched with desperation.

“The janitor’s coming with his set of keys.”

“I know. I’d just like to find her before she’s swamped by a truckload of people fussing over her. Most people naturally go into hiding when they’re dealing with bad news. I’m guessing she’s no different.”

I remembered the way I’d shrunk in on myself when Blake first died. So many people had tried to be there for me, and I’d shut them out in my systematic, robotic way.

“Let’s keep looking.” I took his hand, leading him down the next hallway.

We reached my classroom and I tried the handle, but the door was locked. I was about to run away from it but jerked to a stop.

“You okay?” Harry turned back when my hand slipped out of his.

“I have a key. I can at least check this room.” Fumbling my key chain, I struggled to shove the correct key into the lock.

“Just take a breath, love.”

I closed my eyes and did as Harry told me, sliding the key into the lock and pushing my door open. It creaked, sounding ominous in the dark hours of the morning.

Flicking on my light, I squinted against the sudden brightness and stepped into the room.

“Brandy? Are you in here?” My voice was flat.

I guess I expected nothing in response.

But then I heard a faint sniff.

Harry and I both flinched still, our heads snapping toward my desk. It was only then that I noticed my chair was pushed out further than it usually would be.

“Brandy? It’s Harry.” He slowly approached the front of the classroom.

Her only response was a slight rustling of clothing and another sniff.

Pulling the chair away, Harry crouched down, the gentle smile on his face enough to make me certain I was in love with him.

“Hey, runaway,” he whispered.

Brandy let out a little whimper, and her sniffs turned into pitiful cries. I rushed around the side of the desk, kneeling down as Harry gently pulled her out of hiding.

She wrapped her skinny arms around his neck and hung on tight while he rubbed her back and shushed her.

I placed my hand next to his, stroking her shoulder as she cried against him.

There were scratches on her forearms, nothing too deep. She’d need patching up, but nothing a Band-Aid and cuddle couldn’t cure. Relief swirled through me, and I slumped to the floor.

Brandy pulled out of Harry’s embrace to look at me. Her sad brown eyes were so large and uncertain.

“You scared me.” I tried to smile at her. “I thought we’d lost you for good. Why’d you run?”

Troy had told me, but I wanted to hear her version.

“I’m moving to Chile.” Her voice wobbled, and she sucked in a ragged breath. “Dad’s so upset,” she hiccupped. “He was yelling at Mom and crying. I’ve never seen him cry before. I don’t know what to do. I have to go with her, but how do I leave him?”

Harry gave me a pained frown, his eyes glassing over as he blinked and rocked her on his knee.

“I know it sucks,” he finally managed. “I wish I could say something amazing to make this all better.”

She sniffed and cried some more while I texted Troy to let him know we’d found her.

We heard him running down the hall a few minutes later. His entire body sagged with relief when he spotted us on the floor by my desk.

“Thank you, God,” he breathed, then walked across to us.

Brandy sucked in a breath and looked up at him, a fresh wave of tears filling her eyes.

“I’m sorry, B,” Troy murmured.

She nodded, her blotchy face crumpling as she rested her head against Harry’s shoulder again. “I know running was dumb, but I just couldn’t listen to him crying anymore. Why should she get me when he’s not allowed to? I just figured it’d be more fair if they both went without me.”

“I know.” Troy’s voice, although deep, was always so soft and reassuring. “You shouldn’t even have to be in this position. Life’s not fair.”

“I don’t want to go! And I don’t want to stay! I just… I want to be a family again!”

“That’s not going to happen. You know that.” The look on Troy’s face told me they’d had this chat before. “But you’ve got two parents who are going out of their minds with worry right now, which tells me that you’ve got two parents who really love you. And even though they can’t be together anymore, it doesn’t change how they feel about you.”

“Sounds like they need you,” I added.

Brandy’s gaze hit mine, and I gave her an understanding smile. Her response was a slightly surly lip curl.

“Before you say,
what do you know about it
, I can assure you that I
do
know about it. I know what it feels like to say goodbye to someone you’re not ready to leave. But you have some pretty awesome things going for you. Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp. There are so many cool ways to keep in touch with your dad, and I’m sure he’s already working out when he can come down and visit.”

“It’s not the same,” she grumbled.

“I know,” I croaked, catching Harry’s eye and getting a taste of what he was thinking.

That’d be us soon. It was better than nothing, but it wouldn’t be the same as having him in my bed each night.

Dammit. I was gonna miss him so bad.

That thought paired with Brandy’s anguish made tears pop onto my lashes. I tried to blink them away, but it didn’t work. Tears trickled down my face as I gave Harry a sorrowful smile. His expression mirrored mine, but we kept it all in.

That moment wasn’t about our impending separation. It was about Brandy.

Sniffing at my egotistical tears, I swiped them off my face and stood. “Come on, your parents will be waiting.”

Scooping her up, Harry stood and cradled her in his arms. She held tight to his neck as we walked to the front of the school. The second we reached the doors, her mother appeared, slamming out of her car and running across to rip Brandy from Harry’s grasp.

“My baby. You had me worried sick,” she sobbed and clung to her daughter. Brandy’s father appeared out of the darkness, his face smeared with tears as he gripped his mouth and watched his daughter and ex-wife embrace. His expression was a blend of relief and dismay. He’d found his baby girl but had to prepare himself to say goodbye for real.

Gliding his arm across my shoulders, Harry pulled me against him and kissed the top of my head. I snuggled into him, cherishing his touch. In a few short days I wouldn’t have it anymore.

And I didn’t know how I was going to live without it.

Just like Brandy’s father, I wasn’t sure how I was going to prepare myself to say goodbye for real.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Harry

I couldn’t believe how quickly six weeks had passed. When I’d first touched down in LA, I wasn’t sure how long I’d be there.

But Jane had invited me in, and it’d been the best time I’d had.

Living with her was easy.

Being part of her life felt incredibly natural, and I couldn’t believe I was just walking away from that.

Nan was important to me though. I had a life in England, and I couldn’t pretend it didn’t exist.

Jane held my hand as we walked to the security checkpoint. Her jaw trembled slightly when she clenched it, and I swear my heart was about to start bleeding.

“You sure you don’t want to come with me?” I tried again.

She snickered then sniffed. “You know I can’t. My next break isn’t until Thanksgiving…and you’ll be back before then, right?”

“Of course. I’ll save as hard and as fast as I can. I’ve already taken on a couple of extra clients. It won’t be long.” I tried to give her an encouraging smile, but that wouldn’t change the fact that even if I did come back, I’d be on limited time.

Goodbyes were inevitable in our future together.

Unless…

My throat thickened with emotion, making it hard to swallow…nearly impossible to get the words out. I gazed down at her beautiful face, smiling at the sprinkling of freckles on her pale skin, loving the curve of her cheek and the intensity of her emerald stare.

Yes, I could do it.

I could say it…and I could mean it.

My voice came out in a husky whisper as I said the words I’d always feared. “Marry me.”

Her eyes rounded as I pulled her against me and threaded my fingers behind her back. “What?”

“I don’t want to have to keep leaving you. This time’s hard enough. It’ll be even worse next time because I’ll have to stay away for longer.” I shone her a hopeful smile. “And Georjana Tindal has a wonderful ring to it, don’t you think?”

Her laughter was made breathy with surprise. “Harry, I…” She shook her head and bit her lip.

“You know you want to.”

I probably sounded like such a desperate idiot, but I knew she loved me.

The sad smile on her face made my heart twist out of shape.

“Harry,” she whispered, dipping her head and breaking eye contact. Resting her forehead against my shoulder she tried to break my heart. “I can’t get married again. I can’t do that whole wedding planning thing and the anticipation and then the…” She stopped breathing, holding on to the things she was too afraid to say.

I nudged her cheek with my nose. “We don’t have to plan a wedding. Let’s just elope to some island and do it. Or better yet, go to a courthouse.”

“How romantic.” Her droll expression made me grin.

“We don’t need a big wedding. You and me together, that
is
romance. We’re meant to be.”

My words were weakening her, I could tell by her wobbly smile and the way she struggled to refute me. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but she shook her head again. “Are you just doing this to get a green card?”

I laughed and kissed her lips. Leaning back, I brushed her hair behind her ear and made sure she was looking into my eyes. “I’m doing this because I love you. Say yes, Jane.”

Her erratic breath hit my chin and she bruised my heart with a pained smile. “I…don’t know.”

Refusing to let her hesitation bring me down, I held the back of her head and kissed her with everything I had. I poured my heart into the moment, desperate for her to know how much I meant it.

Out of breath, I pulled back and gazed down at her. “Did that help persuade you at all?”

Her red lips smiled, and her eyes glassed with tears as she chuckled. “Nearly.”

I couldn’t leave her crying, so I kept the moment as light as I could. “Okay, fine. You don’t have to say yes.” Reluctantly letting her go, I stood back and pointed at her. “But if you miss me, if you yearn for me in your bed, then I’m expecting a yes next time I see you.”

She laughed. “Well, I might as well just say yes right now, because I know I’m going to miss you.” Grabbing my collar, she yanked me back for a kiss.

Our tongues danced together, a last passionate tango to see us through until the next time.

Pressing her forehead against mine, she whispered against my lips, “And I know I’m going to yearn for you in my bed.”

Her words made me warm all the way to my toes. Touching her cheek, I gazed into those stunning green eyes and went for the honest truth. “I don’t want to force you into a yes, and I know I’ll be sharing your heart, just like you’re sharing mine…but I’ve got space for you, darling. And I don’t want to regret not asking.”

The leaving her not crying thing was going to be impossible. Tears welled so high in her eyes they spilled over her lashes, but the affectionate joy in her gaze gave me the courage to leave her.

Stopping at the checkpoint, I spun one last time and blew her a kiss.

“I love you,” I mouthed, and placed my hand on my heart.

She mirrored me and mouthed, “I love you too.”

Staring at her for a second longer, I memorized everything I could before turning away and taking her with me in my heart.