Her chest ached and tears welled again. Cara wanted to call Wes… to hear his voice…
She refused to play some damsel in distress. She inhaled through her nose and out through her mouth, counting the breaths until they came in an even rhythm, and she was sure she wouldn’t cry.
Love in Armswould be done shooting at the end of the week. With references from Skye and Jerrod, she would find a job at one of the many other production studios in Atlanta. Courtney couldn’t keep buying companies just to torment her.
Cara could find a new place to live and delete her social media—for good this time. And, if the sicko didn’t leave her alone, she would call the police. This could be fixed.
Wes’s image appeared in front of her, and she inhaled a shaky breath, pain slicing through her. If she had to pretend that she was okay until she found some place new to live, to protect her heart, she would. She had to.
* * *
The GPS hadthe trip to Anne’s suburban home taking forty minutes with traffic. As Cara battled the stoplights and stop and go movement, her sadness returned. A week ago, she had thought she might invite Wes to meet her family. Cara thought he would enjoy the relaxed atmosphere in Anne’s home.
Anxiety made her want to throw up, when it came time to turn her phone back on to make the trip. To her overwhelming relief, the number hadn’t contacted her again.
She pulled into the driveway and saw that Luke’s Audi SUV was already parked there. She wasn’t looking forward to faking it in front of both of her brothers tonight. Taking a minute to touch up the makeup she put on her wrists to cover the bruises Matt had left, she met her eyes in the rearview mirror.
“Everything is going to work out,” she told herself. She was a Bloom, and she wouldn’t let Courtney, or an obsessed loser, wreck her life. She was stronger than that.
“Hi, Bruce.” Cara accepted the enthusiastic hug from Anne’s husband. Anne and Bruce had married almost ten years ago, but Cara always felt a little awkward around him. He never made her feel anything but welcome, and she knew her brothers were happy their mom was finally settled, but she still felt like an outsider.
As Anne’s sons, Luke and James belonged. She wasn’t sure what Bruce made of her role in the family. Sometimes Cara worried that he saw her as a reminder of the man who had broken Anne’s heart.
“Come in, come in! Anne is so happy you came!” He held the door wide, and the smell of roasted garlic hit her in a wave. It was a relief. From what Luke had said that day by the Chattahoochee, Cara assumed Anne’s health had deteriorated drastically. But, if Anne had cooked her signature sauce from scratch, it couldn’t be as bad as Cara had imagined.
Anne sat at the large island, sipping a glass of red wine. Her perfectly set hair was in the same shoulder-length bob it always was, though it was significantly grayer than Cara was used to. Anne always had an athletic frame, like her sons, but now her shoulders seemed narrower and her face rounder than ever. However, her bright eyes still sparkled.
“Oh, dear lord! You’re supervising closely, right?” Cara lifted her chin to where the twins stood in front of the stove.
Luke tossed a dishcloth over his shoulder and shook the wooden spoon at her that he’d been using to stir the pot.
“Hey!” James cried. “You got it on my shirt.”
“Luke, be careful,” Anne admonished in her normal calm voice as drips of sauce hit the hardwood floor.
“Thanks for getting me in trouble, Cara! And you,” Luke said, pointing at his twin with the spoon, “should thank me. That shirt is hideous.”
“Yeah, well not all of us take blood money to buy new suits,” James snapped.
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “Everyone deserves their day in court. Maybe, if the government didn’t take such liberties with the Bill of Rights.”
Cara laughed as Anne threw her hands up in frustration.
“Enough! Save the problems of the justice system for another night.” She leaned over and put her hand over Cara’s where it rested next to hers. “I have three of my children under the same roof, and you aren’t going to ruin it with squabbling.” Anne smiled indulgently when Bruce came over to put an arm around her shoulders.
“Would you like a glass of wine, Cara?”
“Sure! These are for you.” She handed Anne the bouquet of wildflowers she brought. Bruce beamed at the gesture. Moments like these, when Cara watched Anne and Bruce together, Cara believed that real, lasting love might be possible after all.
Luke pulled a glass down from the rack and poured from the open bottle on the counter. “Just one though, Miss Lightweight. I don’t want to defend you on a DUI charge.”
“Cara, can you check the oven? The sausages should be almost ready. James, slice the bread, and Luke, set the table?” The men made identical scowls but did as their mother asked. Cara’s chest expanded.Thiswas home. Not the house itself but having her family around her. They were only missing Declan and Siobhan.
Anne must have been on the same wavelength because she looked at James, her gaze laser focused. “When was the last time you spoke to Declan?”
James and Luke exchanged a look in that twin way they had. Entire conversations with a glance.
“I’m not sure. I should probably call,” James said blandly.
