Linda Warren - The Right Woman

“Daniel—”

He cut her off. “If you have a problem with Russ, just call Lieutenant Bauer and he’ll take care of him.”

“Daniel…”

“Goodbye, Sarah. After today you won’t see me again. I’ll be flying to Paris on Monday and I’m not sure when I’ll be back.” He turned and strolled toward the elevators.

She watched until he disappeared behind the closing doors. She let out a long breath, not even realizing that she hadn’t been breathing. For a moment she didn’t know what to do. All she could think was that she hadn’t had a chance to apologize. Daniel hadn’t wanted to hear anything she’d had to say. She deserved that. She had been cruel last night, hurting him when he’d been nothing but kind to her.

At Boyd’s trial, Serena had sat on one side of her and Daniel on the other, encouraging her and letting her know she had the strength to face Boyd and to describe in open court what he’d done to Greg and to her. She wondered now if she could have done it without him.

She moved toward Brooke’s room. He’d said he was going to Paris. Did he have family there? Or was he taking a special woman? She suddenly realized that she didn’t know anything about Daniel or his life. Did he have a family? He wasn’t married, she knew, because Serena had mentioned it. Who was Daniel Garrett?

She shook her head as she entered the room. It really didn’t matter. She had just severed all ties to the man and she felt an emptiness in her stomach at her thoughtless actions.

BROOKE WAS LYING on her side, staring at the wall. The IV was still in her arm.

“Good morning,” Sarah said as she took a seat.

“Morning, Ms. Welch,” Brooke responded.

“How are you feeling?”

“Sore, and my neck and throat hurts.”

“That will heal with time.”

“And the nightmare, the shame and horror—does it go away, too?”

No. It will be with you the rest of your life.

She should have been able to say yes with confidence, but she couldn’t. The truth of that hit her like a slap in the face, the sting creeping into tiny crevices in her mind that she had boarded up against the pain. She hadn’t dealt with what had happened to her. She could see that now. Daniel had seen it, but she hadn’t.

She gathered her thoughts, her knowledge. “It will be hard.” She spoke the truth and more truths followed. “You have to make a concentrated effort to move on with your life. You have to talk to people, especially when you’re hurting, and don’t shut people out.” Like I did. “People want to help you.” Daniel did. “It will take a lot of love and support, but eventually you will be able to put it behind you.” Like I have to do now.

“I don’t like talking about it.”

“A good counselor or therapist will help you with that and you don’t have to talk until you’re ready.”

“I like talking to you.”

Sarah reached into her purse and pulled out a card. She wrote a number on the back. “This is my cell phone. You can reach me today or tomorrow, any time you want to talk. On Monday make an appointment at the office. Dr. Mason usually handles these cases for the hospital. She’s very good and you’ll like her.”

“Can I talk to you?”

“Sure.” Somehow Sarah was hoping she’d say that. For so long she’d refused to open those doors that were so painful, but by helping Brooke she could also help herself.

“I remember you talking about your family last night,” Brooke said. “Are you close to your twin now?”

“Yes, we are.”

“I have two sisters younger than me and I don’t know what to say to them.”

“I think you’ll find that you won’t have to say much. They’ll just want to comfort you.”

“Yeah. People have been real nice. Detective Garrett was here earlier and he’s so nice and good-looking. I just thought that cops in the movies were that handsome.”

Was Daniel handsome? Of course he was. He was tall, lean, with dark eyes and hair. At times his hair curled into his collar. His features were strong and chiseled, his nose straight and his lips… Oh, my. She touched her warm cheek. She’d noticed Daniel more than she’d ever thought. Denial—she’d been firmly in denial. But not anymore.

She was going to take her own advice and make an effort to move on with her life. She couldn’t remember the last time she had actually laughed, felt silly or giddy. It was time for a change.

Brooke’s parents entered and Sarah stood. Lois ran to her daughter and hugged her. Her father did the same.

“The doctor said you can go home soon.” Bob Wallace wiped away an errant tear.

“I don’t know.”

Brooke seemed afraid and before Sarah could say anything Bob added, “Don’t worry. No one’s ever gonna hurt you again. Not as long as I’m around.”

Brooke’s fears eased and Sarah knew she was going to be okay with the love and support of her family.

“I’ll go,” she said. “If you need anything, just call.”

“Thank you, Ms. Welch,” Brooke replied. “Will the police still be questioning me?”

“Yes.” Sarah glanced at Bob. “Call if you need me, but I feel your father can handle them.”

“Yeah.” Brooke nodded confidently and Sarah slipped out of the room.

WHEN SARAH GOT IN her car, she grabbed her cell phone. She had to talk to Serena. Serena, please, please, be home. The phone rang and rang then the answering machine came on. She clicked off, wondering where Serena could be. This wasn’t like her. But Sarah still wasn’t worried.

She drove toward Fort Worth and home, and realized it was almost noon. She had the house to clean and laundry to do yet. But the emotional tennis ball in her head kept bouncing back and forth with a ferocity she couldn’t ignore, couldn’t deny any longer. She had to sort through what she was feeling, about Daniel, about her life, and the only way to do that was to talk, as she’d told Brooke. She could talk to Karen—she had many times—but she didn’t open up to her colleague the way she did with Serena. She had to talk to her sister. Where are you, Serena?

She drove into the garage and smiled. Ethan’s truck was parked to the side. Serena was home. Sarah jumped out and ran to the house. The door burst open and Jassy flew toward her, her red hair in a ponytail, bouncing.

“Sari, Sari, Sari, it’s me,” she shouted.

Sarah dropped her purse and caught Jassy, swinging her around and into her arms, then she just held her tight.

“Look at me, look at me.” Jassy wriggled and leaned away from Sarah. “Look how big I get. Daddy says I grow like a weed. Daddy says he’s gonna put a rock on my head. Daddy says I getting too big for my britches.”

Sarah kissed her cheek. “Daddy says a lot.”

“Yeah. Daddy knows everything.”

Jasmine Marie was the light in her father’s eyes and she worshiped him. Serena taught school and Ethan kept Jassy while Serena was at work. Ethan had retired from the FBI and he occasionally did P.I. work, but since Jassy’s birth he only took care of his daughter. He’d been married before and had lost a son, so he tended to be overprotective. That’s why Serena made him go away for the odd weekend. She wanted Jassy to be around other people.

“Where’s Daddy Says?” She teased her little niece, using the name that Sarah called Ethan because every other word out of Jassy’s mouth was “Daddy says.”

“In the house with Mommy and Gran. Mommy said I could watch for you and I saw you first.”

The door opened again and Serena came toward them.

“I gonna go tell Daddy you’re here.” She slipped from Sarah’s arms, ran around her mother and back into the house.

The sisters embraced. Two identical young women—same red hair, same blue eyes, same height and body shape and weight, except Serena’s hair was now shorter and hung in a natural style past her shoulders. Sarah’s was still long and wound into a knot at her nape.