Read Freefall to Desire Online

Authors: Kayla Perrin

Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary

Freefall to Desire (4 page)

“And what if he’s got this whole other life—which he’d have to, right? A life that doesn’t include me?”

“You mean assuming he has amnesia?”

“Yes.” She looked scared suddenly, and something inside
Alex’s gut stirred. “If he’s been missing all this time, he must have suffered some type of memory loss. What if he’s got a family?” She swallowed. “I don’t want…I’m not sure I could handle that.”

“Even if he’s got a new family, he’s still got his family back here. Parents who grieved for his loss. Friends. You.” He paused, looked at her pointedly. “He deserves to know about the people he’s left behind.”

Brianne began to pace. “Maybe you’re right. But if it does turn out to be Carter, his parents will always be his parents. I’m just a woman he used to love. He’s probably forgotten all about me.”

Alex stood and walked toward Brianne, stopping only when he was directly in front of her. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “You’re more that that,” he said, then took a breath, hoping she didn’t pick up on the double meaning behind his words. All this time he hadn’t seen her, and yet he was still attracted to her.

His best friend’s girl.

Former
best friend’s girl.

“Weren’t you the one who didn’t want to give up hope?” he asked. “The one who thought for sure that I was wrong, that Carter was out there alive somewhere?” She nodded, but Alex saw pain in her eyes. “Wouldn’t you feel better knowing he was alive, even if he’s got a new life?”

“I don’t know,” Brianne said softly. “Maybe.”

“Then we work together. We hit the streets in Florida. We find out if Carter is still alive. Once we know for sure, we can decide what to do next.”

Brianne stepped away from Alex and hugged her torso. “You can do it without me.”

“Maybe. But we both knew Carter, and I think it’ll be easier—”

“I can’t.”

“Of course you can.”

She shook her head.

Alex didn’t want to pressure her, but she couldn’t say no. He needed her. “I know it won’t be easy, but I’ll be there with you every step of the way.”

“This is all too much to process right now. I need time. Will you give me that?”

“Of course,” he said. “Absolutely. I’ll give you my number and you call me whenever.”

“I’m not making any promises.”

“That’s fine.” Alex wasn’t about to pressure her, even if he needed her. Brianne would want to know. He felt that in his heart. She would think things over and then call him and tell him she wanted to help him find Carter.

At least he hoped so.

Because she had the key to finding Carter.

“I’ve got a business card in the car. I’ll go get it.” Brianne nodded.

Alex went to the front door and jogged down the steps. There was a chill in the November air, reminiscent of the day he and Carter had gone into the mountain three years ago. Three years that had changed his life.

Because Carter hadn’t just destroyed him emotionally when he’d disappeared on that mountain. If Alex was right, he had taken the one thing from him more precious than any money.

While he and Carter had been in hiking the Canadian Rockies, someone had ransacked Alex’s home, emptying the safe of not only its cash but of a family heirloom that meant the world to him.

On her deathbed, Alex’s mother had given him a ring that had once belonged to her mother. His mother had told him that since she hadn’t had any daughters, she was passing the
antique diamond engagement ring to him. That he should give it to the woman he would ultimately marry.

The memory burned him as he retrieved a business card from his car. At the time, he’d considered it a cruel twist of fate that his home had been robbed at the same time that his friend went missing. Now, he didn’t think it a coincidence at all.

His gut told him it was all a part of Carter’s plan.

Alex went back to Brianne’s front door. She swung the door open before he could.

To his surprise, he saw tears in her eyes.

“Brianne,” he said with alarm. “Are you okay?”

She wiped at her eyes and forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just overwhelmed, is all.”

Guilt slammed into him. Maybe it was unfair to involve her in his plan. She had gone through so much as it was…

“I’ll be fine,” she told him. “You have your card?”

“Yeah,” he replied and passed it to her. “The office number is on there, and my cell. You can reach me anytime.”

Nodding, she accepted the card. “Okay. I’ll call you.”

“I’ll talk to you later, then,” Alex said.

“Mmm hmm.”

Again, he was struck by her loveliness, and her vulnerability. His heart quickened.

Ignoring the feeling, he turned away from her and trotted down the steps.

He hoped it wasn’t a mistake to involve her in this. And yet, he didn’t know of another way.

He had to do what he had to do to get back what was taken from him.

Alex could live without the money that had been stolen from his place. Insurance had replaced it, anyway. But
the ring that had meant so much to his mother. That was irreplaceable.

Alex wanted it back. And he intended to get it.

Chapter 3

B
rianne went to the living room’s front window and peered outside. Alex’s car was still there, as if he were waiting for something. But moments later, she heard the engine turn over and his sleek and expensive Mercedes drove away from the curb. Only when his car was out of view did she ease back and let her body fall onto the plush sofa.

Carter. Alive. Could it be possible?

Brianne pulled her knees onto the sofa, holding them close to her chest. Her head was spinning. She felt more ambiguous than hopeful, more confused as opposed to certain about what she should do.

Why now?
she thought. Why at a point when she had just resolved to let go of any hope that Carter was alive had Alex shown up at her door?

Was this a sign from God? A sign that she should
not
be giving up on Carter?

Brianne sat for several minutes, holding Alex’s card
in her palm. What had happened was so bizarre that she almost couldn’t be sure if she were dreaming.

But she was awake, no doubt about it, which meant that what had just happened had actually happened.

She glanced down at the card in her hand. The name ALEX THORPE was written in big, bold letters. She didn’t know what was more unsettling, Alex’s sudden appearance at her door or what he’d told her.

Carter. Alive. How long she had waited to hear those words… Why wasn’t she jumping for joy?

Brianne got up from the sofa and went to her bedroom. Her best friend, Salina, was in New York pursuing her career as a chef and her new man. Brianne called her cell but got no answer. Again. The last she had heard from Salina was two weeks ago, and she’d said that she was working long hours, was stressed but that otherwise all was good.

“Hey, girl,” Brianne said when the voice mail picked up. “Something
major
just happened. Call me. I need to talk to someone.”

Unable to reach Salina, Brianne went to the closet, retrieved her suitcase and found the travel documents she’d had for her sister’s wedding at the Gran Bahia Principe hotel in Jamaica. She didn’t like the idea of disturbing Shayna while she was on her honeymoon, but this was an emergency.

She called the hotel in Jamaica. Within minutes, she was connected to her sister's room.

After the third ring, Brianne thought no one was going to answer. Not that she expected them to. Either Shayna and Donovan were out enjoying an evening show at the resort, or they were doing what honeymooners did best. But just before the fourth ring, someone picked up the receiver.

Brianne heard some shuffling, and then, “Hello?”

“Shayna!” Brianne exclaimed, happy to hear her sister’s voice. She didn’t realize until that exact moment how much she needed her sister right now.

“Brianne?”

“I’m sorry to call you on your honeymoon. I wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t very, very important.” Brianne heard Donovan ask something along the lines of if she was okay. “Yes, tell Donovan I’m okay. Well, actually I’m not too sure that I am.”

“What’s going on, Bree?” Shayna asked, her voice laced with concern. “Oh, of course. How could I have forgotten? It’s today. The three-year anniversary.”

“Oh, Shay.” A little sob escaped Brianne. “I just talked to Alex, and he said something. Something that’s hard to believe.”

“Alex? As in Carter’s best friend?”

“Yes.”

“I thought he’d left Buffalo.”

“So did I. But apparently he’s back.”

“He just called out of the blue?”

“He came to the house.”

“Oh, God.” Shayna’s voice was barely a whisper, and Brianne knew her sister was coming to the same conclusion she had. “They found Carter’s remains.”

“That’s what I thought, too, when I saw him. But Shay, he said something that has me reeling. He thinks…” Brianne paused, inhaled deeply. “He thinks that Carter’s
alive.

“What? How?”

Brianne took the next few minutes to fill her sister in, tell her everything Alex had said. “He wants me to go to Florida to help find Carter. But I don’t think I can. I mean, what if it was just a look-alike Alex saw? It’s been so hard for me already, trying to deal with the unrealistic likelihood
that Carter might come back one day. In so many ways, it might have been easier if I’d just accepted that he had died. So what if we get to Florida and find this person and it’s
not
Carter after all? I don’t know if I can deal with that.”

“I don’t even know what to say, sis. I’m totally in shock.”

Again, Brianne heard Donovan speaking, and then she heard Shayna’s muffled voice as she filled her husband in on what was happening.

“A part of me is too scared to hope,” Brianne said. “But what if Carter
is
alive and he needs me? Or what if he’s alive and he’s got this whole new life that I won’t fit into?”

“I’d want to know,” Shayna said. “If you go and learn that it was simply a Carter look-alike, that’ll probably help you with closure. You can probably put to bed the idea of Carter ever coming back. But if you go and discover that against all odds Carter is alive… Yes, it would be hard to find out that he was involved with someone else, but will it be any easier wondering?”

Shayna had a good point. “Not really. No. It’s the wondering that has been so hard these past years.”

“Then again, Alex could deal with this on his own and report back to you what he finds. Especially if he learns that Carter has a wife and kids.”

A wife and kids.
The words made a lump form in Brianne’s throat. She always thought that she would be Carter’s wife and the mother of his children.

“I’m sorry,” Shayna said. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, don’t apologize. Nothing about this situation is sweet and rosy. I have to accept that.”

A beat passed, then Shayna asked, “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I called you. To get your input.”

“Truthfully, I think that Alex probably saw a guy who looked a lot like Carter, but I doubt it was him. If Carter were alive, then he would have needed medical attention at some point. The authorities would certainly have been called. Then there’s the issue of him coming back to America without his identification. Brianne, I can’t see this person truly being him.”

“But there was no body.” Brianne spoke the words more to herself, thinking about the amount of times she had refused to believe Carter dead simply because his jacket and backpack had been found.

“I know,” Shayna agreed. “But you know what the authorities think. And there was enough blood on the jacket that they believed there had to have been some sort of attack.”

“Yes, yes, I know.” Brianne sighed. “Sorry, Shay. I’m not trying to be testy. It’s just…I still can’t think about what might have happened to Carter. It’s too hard.”

“Brianne, you have to decide what’s best for you to do. If you think going to Florida will help, then go. But if it’s going to be more painful than anything, then I think you shouldn’t do it.”

“I thought you said you’d want to know.”

“I did, yes. But when I really think about it, the likelihood of it—and how your emotions will get dragged through the ringer again—I don’t think it’s worth it. That said, I’ll support whatever decision you make.”

“I know you will,” Brianne said softly. “Thanks for listening. I’m sorry I disturbed you.”

“Are you kidding? I’m glad you called. I’m just sorry that you’re there by yourself dealing with this.”

“Tell Donovan hi. I’m gonna let you go.”

“All right. But, Bree, if you need to talk again, don’t hesitate to call back.”

Brianne heard the note of concern in Shayna’s voice and loved her sister for it. If not for Shayna, Brianne might not have come out of the dark days of depression after Carter’s disappearance.

“Go back to whatever it is you two lovebirds were doing,” Brianne said, injecting humor into her voice. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

“Take care, sis. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Brianne said.

Brianne ended the call and sat in the dark room, her thoughts once again going back to Carter. More specifically, to the day she had learned from Alex that Carter hadn’t come off of the mountain.

Never in her life had she gone through a more emotionally wrenching time. For a twenty-four-year-old, deeply in love and losing the man she adored—it had been too much to bear.

Of course, she’d been devastated. But she’d been most upset with the searchers and the authorities and everyone who had been willing to write Carter off as dead. Determined to prove them all wrong, she had booked a ticket to head to British Columbia and search the mountain herself if necessary. Her sister had gone with her for support. But while in Canada, Brianne had realized how utterly helpless she was to effect any change. The amount of snow was unbelievable, and she—a woman who couldn’t stand a day of camping in decent weather—was never going to be able to find Carter when the search team couldn’t.

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