Shattered Bonds: Book Seven of Wicked Play (24 page)

“Then seal the past and let it go.” Deklan cleared his throat, his gaze roaming the room before settling back on Noah. “I have someone you can talk to. He helped me when I left the military.” He rubbed the back of his leg, eyes drifting closed for a moment. “Deal with Beth so you can live with Liv.”

The puff of mirth from Noah was reflexive. “That’s what she said.”

Deklan gave a half smile, his dimple making a faint appearance that reminded Noah of how long it’d been since he’d seen it. “Smart woman.”

She was. Too good to lose.

Deklan had no idea if Kendra was coming back to him, when Noah had Liv right there waiting for him. It was unfair. Wrong in so many ways it hurt his head to think about.

“I’ll take that name,” he told Deklan.

Deklan grabbed his phone, tapped on it for a moment before Noah’s phone buzzed in his pocket. “Tell him I sent you. He’s part of the lifestyle, so he won’t judge on that.”

“Do I know him?”

“Maybe. Does it matter?”

He thought on that. “No. Not really. Thanks.”

Deklan stood and stretched. Exhaustion almost hung from him in visible weights of wrinkled clothing and pale skin marked by dark circles under his tired eyes. “I’ll let you know when tomorrow.”

The implied desire for him to be there when they brought Kendra out was humbling. “I’ll be here.”

The man gave a tight smile, nodded and left, his boots echoing down the hallway long after he was gone from Noah’s sight.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Liv shoved the box onto the shelf and wiped off the dust on her palms before grabbing another one. Stretched on tiptoes, she gave it a toss to get it in the last available space on the top shelf. More dust billowed up, and she reeled back, coughing. It’d been a long time since the storage shelves at the center had been that full.

She wiped the sweat from her brow with the cuff of her long-sleeved shirt and glanced at the five boxes still needing to be stored. The surprise donations had poured in all week. Food, crafting and school supplies; new clothing and sports gear; even nonperishable food had been included in the random deliveries. It was a good problem to have and she wasn’t complaining, but where was it all going to fit?

After the windfall from the carnival in August, this boon gave her more funds to put toward repairs. Maybe add programs and staff. Hopefully she’d see a drop in the gas bill with the new heater that had been installed in early October. And the roof repairs meant no more buckets in the hallway or gym.

Scheduling quotes and budgeting for the next six months had been another task that had blessedly kept her from dwelling on Noah. As if she could shut down her doubts and re-thoughts and over-thoughts and every other thought that spiraled through her mind, questioning if she’d done the right thing.

They’d passed at the hospital a few times in the week since she’d moved out, and his stony expression had softened just a touch each time they’d talked. It was a bit of hope, a dangling carrot that said she hadn’t messed up completely. She’d feared his complete rejection when she’d walked out and was grateful that hadn’t happened.

He’d also shown up to do his hours in the homework room when she’d half expected him to bail. Not touching or hugging him had taken a shot of willpower that had almost failed. She’d pasted on her sunny smile though and left him to the kids before she’d broken down.

She heaved out a long breath and stared at the floor, exhaustion seeping into her muscles. Almost a month of running, worrying, helping and praying to any entity that would listen was taking a toll on her. Add to that the second-guessing over Noah, the nightmares that still plagued her and the pathetic bit of sleep she managed each night, and she was past worn out.

She couldn’t stop though.

“Liv.”

Vanessa’s call reached into the cramped closet and offered an excuse for a needed break. She popped her head out the door and spotted two of her favorite people coming down the hallway. “Hey, guys,” she called, happy for the distraction. Vanessa and Holden both greeted her with hugs and smiles. “What are you doing here?”

“Helping my sister,” V said. The jeans and forest-green sweater V wore were probably designer, but her heels were a measly two inches instead of the four-inch ones she usually sported, so it was possible that V intended to volunteer in some way. Liv doubted it.

Holden chuckled behind V and winked at Liv. “I’m going to head into the gym. Who’s in there today?”

“Shelly’s the lead,” Liv answered. “The kids are going to go crazy, so watch out.” Holden hadn’t been at the center in close to two months, and he’d been missed.

He jogged down the hall to the gym doors and the resulting squeals of excitement that echoed back to them had Liv laughing. She’d warned him.

“It’s great that he still finds the time to get here,” she told V. “You got yourself a good one with him.”

V’s gentle smile said she agreed. “What’s all of this?” She motioned toward the boxes that spilled into the hallway.

“Donations.” Liv shook her head. “I’ve been swamped by a sudden influx of them this week. Most of them anonymous, too.”

“Really?” V stepped up to peer at one of the labels. “Books?”

“Yeah. Isn’t that great?” Their small library of used books had been in need of new titles. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this, would you? Reaching out to more contacts, maybe?”

V lifted her shoulder in a noncommittal shrug. “No, but you might check with Noah. He mentioned something about spreading out the offers for help that had come into The Den.”

Liv gaped at her sister, mind scrambling. “This all came...but...why? Why would he do that? And why would they want to help me?” She wasn’t a part of that community. They didn’t even know her.

V studied her. “How many days have you been at the hospital since the accident?”

“I don’t know,” Liv sputtered, not following.

“Every one,” V answered. “How much of your own money have you spent on food and magazines and whatever anyone there needed?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“How many miles have you logged driving between everywhere?”

“What does any of that have to do with the donations?”

“Oh, sis.” V cupped Liv’s face and gave her a soft smile. “You honestly don’t get it, do you?”

“What?” She was starting to, but the thought of the donations being payback or something seemed to nullify her actions. She didn’t do any of it to get something out of it. “I don’t need anything back. That’s not why I helped them.” Was that what everyone thought?

“Stop that.” V gave her a shake. “I know what you’re thinking, and nobody thinks you had an ulterior motive. This is nothing more than a pay-it-forward thing. There were people wanting to do something to help, and these donations do that. You help us, we help you. It’s a human thing and has nothing to do with lifestyles or clubs.”

Liv sniffed back the tears and narrowed her eyes at her sister. “Who are you, and what have you done with my Ice Queen sister?”

V’s full laugh put a smile on Liv’s face. “She got melted by Liv, the good witch of the north.” She nodded toward Liv’s office. “Come on. I brought you lunch.”

“Great.” She suddenly realized she was starving. Food hadn’t been a priority lately. “I’ll grab drinks and napkins.”

She returned to her office to find her sister laying out takeout containers. The spicy scent of curry shoved her hunger into overdrive. “You’re the best.”

“I know,” her sister said, a smirk on her lips. She licked sauce off her fingers and accepted the napkin Liv held out to her. “I got some good news for you, too.”

“Really?” She’d take any she could. “Is it about Kendra or Tyler?”

“No, but we just came from there. The stress level has mellowed out now that everyone’s out of the ICU.” They’d both been moved to the rehabilitation floor in rooms next to each other. Kendra had come out of her coma with a bit of memory loss and fine motor skill impairment on her left side. She was talking and interacting with people but was still dealing with bad headaches, and the doctors were concerned about seizures.

The cumin and almond flavors of the curry burst on Liv’s tongue to her low hum of appreciation. “This is good,” she mumbled around the food then took another forkful before sitting back to savor it instead of inhaling it like she wanted to. “So what’s this news then?” she asked after she’d swallowed.

V slipped a large envelope out of her bag and handed it to Liv without a word. Her smirk had Liv hesitating. She wiped off her fingers and flipped open the end to peer into it before she dumped the contents onto her desk.

Papers slid from the packet with a pile of tags tumbling off the top. She tilted her head and read one of them. Glaciers Behind The Scenes pass. A lot of them. Her mouth dropped open for the second time that day. She stared at V, unable to speak. Was it really...

V smiled, nodding. “Yes. It’s twenty-five tickets and before-game passes for the home game on December fourth. It’s a Saturday afternoon, so hopefully more kids can come. The Glaciers have arranged for a bus to take everyone to and from here, too.”

The chair banged against the wall when Liv launched herself out of it to maul her sister with a hug. “Oh my God. This is so incredible. Thank you. Wait.” She jerked back. “Who do I thank? Is this from you and Holden?”

“It’s a donation from the Glaciers. I was asked to deliver it for them. Heidi should be contacting you with the details.”

She’d worked with the Glaciers’s publicity manager when they’d arranged the carnival last summer. “I’ll send her a thank you right away.” She dropped back into her seat and thought of how excited the kids would be. She’d need to get permission slips out and see if Shelly and Joan could help chaperone. Oh, she had to send Noah a note too about the donations and then—

“Liv.”

V’s sharp bark ripped Liv out of the mental scripting of her To Do list. “What?”

“I asked if you’re going to Mom’s for Thanksgiving.”

Liv frowned. “Are you?”

Her sister took a sudden interest in her salad, picking out the peas with her fork just like she’d done as a kid. “Holden has the day off and wanted to go to his parents.”

Liv sat forward, grinning. “That’s so great. Are you going?”

“I think so. If you don’t mind.”

“Why would I mind?”

“That’d leave you alone with the family.”

Liv waved off her sister’s objection. “I think you’re just looking for an out. Why? Is Holden’s family a version of the Addams Family or something?”

V arched a brow and chuckled. “No. But it might be easier if they were.” She pushed her food around for a moment. “I’m not sure if I’m the woman they’d envisioned for their son.”

Liv choked down her mouthful of food and eyeballed her sister to see if she was joking. “What does that mean? You’re a smart, successful business woman. What’s not to like? Turn the ice down a notch, and you’re fine.”

V shook her head, her smile wistful. “You’re right. I’m just being foolish.”

“No. I think you’re concerned because it’s important to you that they like you.” V didn’t answer, but she did a great job of avoiding Liv’s eyes. Her heart went out to her sister. “You love Holden. That’s all his family needs to see. Don’t let our messed-up family keep you from experiencing his.” She leaned in to grab her sister’s hand across the desk. “I take it he wants you to meet them.”

V squeezed her hand and let go. “We met once at a Detroit game, so that part is done.”

“You didn’t tell me that.”

“More important things were going on.” She shot Liv a meaningful look. “Anyway, this is a whole day of extended family.” She shuddered.

Liv’s low laugh was one of understanding. “You’ll have Holden there. He’ll pound on anyone who gives you problems.”

“Oh, I can handle that.” V’s hard tone had Liv chuckling again. Yeah, that wouldn’t be the problem. V gave up on the pretense of eating her salad and slumped back in her chair with a heavy sigh. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

“Not even the slightest. Go meet your future in-laws.”

“What?” Her eyes went wide.

“Ha. Gotcha.” Liv flashed a smile and V scowled. “Seriously though, this doesn’t seem like a short-term thing for you guys.”

“Maybe not. But marriage?” V shuddered again. “I never saw that for myself. You, yes. You were made for marriage and commitment.”

Liv’s stomach did a dance of trepidation. “Why do you say that?”

V studied her for a moment. A gentle smile softened her expression in a way that reminded Liv of Noah. His face did the same thing when he looked at her. The thought sent a pang of sorrow through her that soured her appetite. He was always right there in her head no matter how much she tried to
not
think of him.

“It’s just who we are,” V said as she packed up her half-eaten lunch. “I have to run some errands. I’ll be back to pick up Holden later.”

“I thought you were here to help me.”

“I just did.” She wiped her hands before tossing the used napkin into the trash.

Liv frowned. “How?”

“By telling you not to give up on Noah.”

She jerked back, stunned. “What? Where’d that come from? I’m not giving up on him.”

“Good.” V swung her purse over her shoulder. “You two fit. I approve. Just give him time.”

Liv couldn’t decipher the shock from the anger or relief. She hadn’t asked for her sister’s approval, yet it meant a lot. Dang it. It didn’t help that she agreed with everything V said. She’d walked away to give him the time he needed and she wasn’t giving up on him. How could she when he still held her heart?

V paused at the door. “Be ready when I come back. We’ll go out for dinner. It might be the last time I see you for a few weeks.”

Liv didn’t get a chance to argue. V’s heels were clicking down the hallway at a rapid pace, and Liv couldn’t get herself to move. What just happened? They’d been having a rare discussion about Vanessa, and suddenly it’d swung to her.

She closed her eyes, a smile creeping over her lips. The move was her sister’s way of leaving things focused on Liv and not herself. Tactical and so V that Liv could only shake her head and accept it.

Did everyone think she’d given up on Noah? That she’d leave him when he’d finally started to deal with his past? Maybe distance was the wrong approach. It was if
he
also thought she’d completely left him.

She found her phone under a pile of napkins and quickly typed out a text over her cracked screen, deleted, tried another and deleted it, too. Her hands were shaking now, nerves rushing in to turn her into a bumbling teenager with her first crush. God. She thumped her forehead into her palm and laughed at her own stupidity.

Her slow exhale helped some. Her final attempt at a text was simple and close to the banter they’d established during their weeks together.

Was
thinking
of
you
.
How’s
your
day
? Her thumb hovered over Send before she tapped the screen. Hopefully it was a start. A way to build something new and stronger if he wanted it. If not, she’d have to accept his friendship, even if it killed her to see him and know what could’ve been.

Determined not to hover around waiting for a response, she packed up the rest of her lunch and stored it in the refrigerator. She had boxes to sort, thank yous to write, kids to entertain and an evening of cooking up meals for everyone. That was more than enough to keep her busy, both body and mind.

If only it would work.