Page 44 of Forsaken Trail (Runaway 4)

“Bro—” The call wasn’t necessary. As I glanced over my shoulder, I spotted him in the lobby. “Oh. Never mind.”

Brody stood in the center of the room, dressed in the same suit he’d worn last night, talking on the phone. He looked rumpled. His hair was damp and finger combed. His suit wasn’t its usual crisp. Still, he was the most handsome man to ever grace these halls.

He’d come here without a bag, hadn’t he? The cold robot who loved money had cared enough and been freaked out enough to hop on a plane without so much as a toothbrush. He’d come here on a spur-of-the-moment decision because our lives were now different. Entwined.

He’d rushed to my side and begged me not to cut him out of our kid’s life.

Brody never stopped surprising me.

It was endearing, seeing him as human, knowing he wasn’t abandoning me to single parenthood. His apology for the morning after the wedding had helped too.

Hovering beside the reception counter, I waited until he hung up the phone. He let his arm drop, the device in his grip, but he stared at it like he wanted to throw it on the floor and walk away forever.

Brody dragged a hand through his hair, tucked the phone into his pocket and turned. He took one step before his chin lifted and he spotted me. Then he froze.

“Hi.” I waved and crossed the lobby.

“Hi. How are you?” Brody towered over me, seeming taller than ever today, even disheveled.

Was it strange that I wanted him to hold me?

“Nauseated. Tired. Soon to be unemployed.”

He blinked. “Unemployed.”

I nodded toward the hallway. “Walk with me.”

Without a protest, he fell into step at my side as I led him through the hotel, stopping by the locker room for my coat, then out an employee exit. Then we hoofed it in the chilly weather to the greenhouse.

Like yesterday, it was empty, most of the staff on vacation for the upcoming holiday. The ones working were at the hotel. We strolled past the long tables and into the area with the seedlings I’d planted yesterday. Someone had watered them this morning.

I pulled out a wooden stool and shrugged off my coat. Then I gestured for Brody to sit in the other stool. “I thought about what you had to say.”

“And you quit your job.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” I confessed. “I’m winging it and picking the option that feels right. This, moving to Arizona, seems less scary than raising a baby here alone. And I’m tired of feeling lonely.”

That was the second time I’d admitted it today. Now that the word lonely was out there, I was having a hard time hiding from it.

“I don’t want this baby to be lonely,” I said. “Family is important and living close to Clara and August has been something on my mind for a while now. I’d hoped to convince her to move here but . . . we’ll try Arizona.”

Brody’s entire face changed. Gone was the fear and worry. Gone was the stoic, stony gaze. Everything melted. His eyes. The hold of those soft lips. His shoulders dropped from his ears. He almost looked . . . happy. He looked like the man who’d charmed me at a wedding.

“Thank you.”

“I can’t promise it’s forever. But I can give you the year.”

He took one of my hands in both of his, his palms warming my skin. He pressed it, my hand sandwiched between his, and he dropped his chin. “Thank you.”

“What did you expect me to say?”

“No. I thought you’d say no.”

“I almost did,” I admitted. “Last night, I thought about what you said. And I thought about what I wanted. Arizona is not what I want.”

I wanted to live here in my cozy condo. I wanted to keep my job at The Gallaway because it was dependable. I wanted to avoid turning my life upside down. But if I’d wanted all that, then I shouldn’t have had sex with Brody.

If only he’d been resistible.