I nodded. I really was in no mood to drive myself. My stomach was only then beginning to settle and I didn’t want to be alone in any sense. Besides, it was snowing even harder and the roads were getting slick. I climbed in with Brandon and we drove in the direction of town. Brandon sensed that I wasn’t done talking. I needed to put all the dark, troubling questions out there and look at them from different perspectives.
“So, assuming that you and LaViere aren’t related by blood, and assuming that you don’t have an older sibling floating around out there, what else bothers you?” Brandon had a way of getting right to the point.
“The scandal, for one,” I complained.
“Don’t you think that probably died away long before you were even born?” His point made good sense.
“My poor Dad. I wonder if he knows,” I speculated.
“Sweet, if Mrs. Jessup knows, then I’d say it’s a pretty good bet your dad knows, too… or at least has heard the gossip, even if he doesn’t know for sure.”
I nodded. “Yes, you’re right. There’s no way he couldn’t have heard the talk. Well, I suppose the other aspect is how this will affect Worth and me. His father is bound to not want me around. I pose too much of a threat to his reputation. Then there’s my mother, who, while I don’t really care if she disinherits me, will make my life a living hell if she feels threatened by what I know. What a hell of a mess, Brandon!” I was exasperated. I rarely cursed, only in times of great frustration when I couldn’t get things to work out the way they should.
Brandon casually looked from the traffic to glance at me once in a while. He nodded, letting me know he was listening. We came to a light and he turned a bit in the seat and looked directly at me. “Auggie, I think you’re going to have to accept that there are some aspects of this that aren’t malleable. They are what they are. All you can do at this point is find out enough truth to refine your own sense of what happened and let God pass the judgment. You have people who love you, you know… including me.”
His last two words were so soft, I wasn’t sure I’d heard them. I looked at him but he had returned his profile to me. I must have imagined his comment or perhaps he meant that he loved me like a friend. Either way, I didn’t have any mental energy left to dedicate to the question, so I let it go.
We pulled into the parking lot of the doctor Brandon was referring me to and we went directly into the building through the back door. Brandon settled me in one of the back examining rooms and disappeared. He returned shortly with a nurse in tow, a plastic bag with swabs in her hand. “Auggie, just do as she says and I’ll take care of the rest,” he told me. It was a brief procedure and we were back in Brandon’s car minutes later.
I laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I just realized maybe I can finally find out if I’m really related to the Earl of Langford as my aunt always insisted.”
He grinned. “Would it matter? You’ll always be my royal Auggie,” he commented.
There it was again, the offhand remark that revealed an aching heart. What am I doing? I had no right to involve Brandon in this and I think I recognized instinctively that it wouldn’t make Worth happy. Not at all. Especially after our recent pact to keep everything on the table, open and honest. Would Worth understand why I couldn’t come to him on this? Would he forgive me? The thought of him made me ache to be in his arms, to feel his comforting caresses and hear that deep voice in my ear. Another tear fell upon my cheek. Brandon noticed immediately.
“Afraid to be royal?” he teased me into a smile. I shook my head.
“As long as you bow when you enter my room,” I teased in return.
The snow had become a whiteout and Brandon’s car was spinning tires. “Auggie, this is a mess. Too early in the year for this. No one is used to driving in this and it will melt in a day or two, but right now, this is damned dangerous.”
I looked around to determine where we were. “Your apartment is just down there,” I said, pointing at the upcoming intersection.
“Yes,” he responded, cautious and trying to ascertain what I was suggesting.
“Well, good, then drop me off here at this Holiday and you’ll only be a couple of blocks down the street. I’ll stay here and you can be my guest at dinner in their restaurant. Keep me company for a bit before you go home. After all, this is our date, isn’t it?” I pointed out.
“A very good point,” he smiled and I detected even a sense of relief. I knew if I asked Brandon to stay all night, he would have. I also knew he wanted to be with me because I wanted him, not because I was running from anyone or anything else. He was an honorable man. I knew I could trust him.
He pulled into the Holiday and went in to get me a room. He had to take it in his name because they wouldn’t rent to someone who didn’t have a car in their parking lot. I went up to the room to freshen up while Brandon waited for me in the dining room.
We ordered wine and steaks with a side salad. We laughed and reminisced about our college days. We had many friends in common and shared the gossip we each knew. It was a wonderfully warm, pleasant evening and made me wonder why everything I shared with Worth was filled with drama and intense emotion. Could I have warm evenings like this with Worth?
Brandon kissed my cheek and left me at about ten o’clock, promising to pick me up the next morning. He forgot, however, to leave me his phone charger so I could keep my phone going. I thought about calling home to let them know I was fine before my battery was dead. I chose to call Dad directly. Without details, I told him I had taken a room in the city to wait out the blizzard. He said he thought it was very wise and wished me a good night. I settled under the covers and fell asleep almost immediately. It had been a very long and very emotional day.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Worth
I stood in the plastic-sheeted doorway to the new annex and surveyed the progress so far. I hated things that weren’t complete. I tapped Jeremy’s number.
“Hey!” he answered on the second ring. “Helluva snow, isn’t it?” he said cheerily.
“When is this mess going to be done?” I said without ceremony.
“Well, good morning to you, too, asshole!” his voice was half perturbed and half amused. “Typical Worth,” he added.
“Sorry. You know how I am. I want this done and to get the business on track.”
“Worth, everything is on track with the construction. Within a week, you can bring in all those torture tables and spa accessories. Ten days from now you can have your grand opening and listen to your praises being sung from the heavens. So, back off now, buddy, and let me do what I do best,” he pushed back.
“This is what you do best?” I let the innuendo lay there.
“Asshole,” came Jeremy’s final word as I hung up.
I looked around at the havoc and couldn’t imagine that the crew would have it all together. There were two therapy hot tubs to be installed, special wiring, drywall, trim, paint, flooring, drapes. The list was long and it put me in a very bad mood.
Patsy was tapping at her computer, doing her best to not catch my eye. She knew me well enough by now to understand my black moods.