Matt & Brooklyn: A Standalone in the "Again for the First Time" Family Saga (AFTFT Book 2) (32 page)

She leaned her elbows on the counter, intrigued. “Digging? Hope you’ve got yourself a sturdy shovel. I know it might not
look
like it, but we’ve got tons of bones to dig up—some buried pretty deep if you know what I mean.”

I was pretty sure I did. Getting the details of this story had been like finding a needle in a haystack. No one seemed to have much to go on; not Granddad, not Brook’s mom, no one. Apparently Lissette, Brook’s grandmother, as open as they all remembered her being, didn’t talk about her early life a whole heck of a lot. So now there were holes in a story that, to be quite honest with you, I wasn’t even sure existed. There was still the possibility that she ended things with my grandfather because of the times they lived in. It could’ve literally been that simple. It wasn’t as readily accepted for a black woman and a white man to be together as it was nowadays. So, for that reason, I had to remind myself that, even if I didn’t find the story I was looking for, I would still get some good footage to accompany the story.

“Well, thanks for the advice,” I said, and then headed back outside.

I’d just set the cases of water in the truck bed when a set of cool hands covered my eyes.

“Guess who?”

I’d know that touch anywhere, but played along. “Not sure, but I’m gonna have to ask you to keep this a secret.”

“Keep
what
a secret?” asked the gentle voice behind me.

“This,” I answered, quickly turning on my heels and tugging the waist of my assailant closer, kissing her right after. “I can’t just have strange women groping me in public. I’ve got a wife, you know.”

Her tender lips moved with mine before she paused. “Oh yeah? Is she hot?” was the next question.

I stared into the deep, brown eyes that had been my undoing for years. “The hottest.” Brook squealed just before my mouth covered hers, touching my lips to hers a few more times before pulling back. “Wait… you’re cold.
Why
are you cold? I feel like you’re holding out on me,” I teased, wondering how she wasn’t sweating bullets like I was.

She grinned and didn’t tell me right away. However, grabbing at her waist again made her give in.

“Okay, okay, okay… I may have found an ice cream shop around the corner while I was looking for the ATM.” An innocent, childlike grin spread across her face, one also racked with guilt.

I eyed her.

“And I may have stopped in for a popsicle? But I can’t remember,” she trailed off.

“Wowww… without me, Brook? You can practically see through my damn shirt I’m sweating so bad, and you… wowww...” I repeated, backing away, pretending to be disappointed in her.

“But you didn’t let me finish.” When she got done speaking she pulled another popsicle from her back pocket. “I got you one, too.” She peeled the paper off for me and then handed it over. “Now you have to apologize for thinking I forgot about you.”

I took a bite and then kissed her with chilled lips. “I’m sorry you tricked me into thinking you forgot about me.”

She scowled playfully. “Close enough.”

We rounded the truck, hopping back inside so I could blast the air conditioning. However, after putting the car in reverse, I stopped, unable to tear my eyes away from the beauty sitting in my passenger seat, thinking how lucky I was.

Her seatbelt clicked and she turned, realizing I was staring. “What?” she asked with a smile.

For twelve whole months, she’d been on the other side of the world, working, proving herself to Raj and her colleagues. I was so proud of her for having the courage to go. I managed to get away from the set every other month to visit her in Johannesburg—once for just shy of twenty-four hours, but I couldn’t help myself; I missed her so damn bad I couldn’t stay away. It even worked out that I was able to send for her around Thanksgiving
and
Christmas, knowing she’d want to see her family. I was busier than I would’ve liked on both occasions, but still managed to make it into Lindmore on the actual holidays to be with her.

It was during her Thanksgiving break that we decided to tell her parents and my family in person that our relationship ran a little deeper than just dating. The news that we were actually married took her mother by surprise, but honestly, her father was just happy. He knew I’d been in love with his daughter from the beginning. There was nothing in this world more important to me than her and I would always do everything in my power to see to it that she’s taken care of. Mr. James knew that.

While, yes, it would’ve been nice for everyone to be there to witness us coming together, I wouldn’t change anything. It didn’t matter to either of us that we didn’t have some big, fancy wedding. Hell… it didn’t even matter a whole lot to us that we didn’t really remember any of the details. All we cared about was this… having each other. Our relationship had been a slew of airport runs, telephone calls, and sad goodbyes. We hadn’t had an ordinary beginning, to say the least, but we weren’t your average couple either.

I lifted Brook’s hand to my lips, seeing her ring sparkle in the sunlight, and then kissed her soft skin before backing out of the small lot.

She’d only been back in the States for a couple weeks. The first we spent together in Lindmore, which was nice to do seeing as how my schedule has opened up for the time being. Then, we spent the second week in L.A.—just me, Brook, and the beach. This time there were no interviews, no business to handle… just us. I couldn’t think of a time in my life when I’d been happier. Having her there when I woke up, when I fell asleep, to talk to, to hang out with, to laugh with… there really was nothing like having my best friend back by my side.

After the year away, Brook decided to take a little time for herself. Instead of going right back to work when the semester begins, she let Raj know she’d be back in the winter. Her plan? To spend the next few months in California with me. We’d fly into Lindmore once a month to see family, but… Brook felt it was important to focus on building a foundation, establishing the roots of our marriage.

She’d done a complete one-eighty. There were no traces of the cold, indifferent Brook that hadn’t been able to push me away. This woman beside me was neither of those things. She was loving, open, sweet… everything I knew existed down on the inside all along. It just took some time for her to trust and let me in. I was grateful every day that I didn’t give up on her.

My thoughts were interrupted when my phone rang. “Here, you’re driving. I’ll answer it,” Brook said, reaching for my cell.

I listened as she greeted whoever was on the other line, but then she smiled big and put it on speaker.

“Who is it?” I whispered.

“Just say hello,” she whispered back.

I did that and then I realized why she hadn’t relayed any of the short conversation she’d just had. It was Nick.

“What’s up? Got some good news for me?” I asked, waiting and holding my breath.

Nick hesitated on the other end and I wondered if I’d read his tone wrong. Maybe it
wasn’t
good news. But then the words, “I got the job!” changed all that. My heart felt a huge weight lift off it.

“Dude… congratulations!” I couldn’t even express how happy I was for him. His road to recovery hadn’t been easy, but I have never seen Nick work so diligently toward anything our entire lives. He came out of rehab so positive, ready to get his life back in order. At first, we all feared what would happen when the reality of everyday life hit him, when the pressure of being home got to him, but that never happened. Even when challenges arose, he stayed firm and conquered them one at a time.

One thing I was glad to see happen was that he didn’t hesitate to lean on us when things got hard. Sometimes I’d get calls in the middle of the night when he’d had a rough day and thought about using. The fact that he had the courage to admit what he was feeling took my respect for him to a whole new level. Several times I sat up on the phone with him for hours, talking him through whatever he had going on, or sometimes just distracting him from the pull of his addictions. But through it all, he came out stronger, better.

“I’m so proud of you, man.”

“Thanks,” he replied graciously. “I couldn’t have done it all without you, though. I hope you know that.”

“No, this is all you, Nick. You did good.”

Brook squeezed my hand.

“Uh… not yet. Thanks,” Nick said to someone in the background, and then I had his attention again.

“That who I think it is?” I asked, referring to the voice I heard.

He laughed a little. “Yeah… she’s letting me cook for her tonight.”

This guy… I couldn’t believe him. He and Mel had been back in contact since his stint in rehab and, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say their relationship was
also
on the road to recovery.
As friends.
Both made it clear that they weren’t any good together. In fact, Mel recently started seeing someone else and was pretty serious about the guy from what I heard. She and Nick decided to take things day by day, though. He had a lot of hurt to undo, a lot of trust to earn back, but Mel was open to having a friendship with him, which was only a good thing.

“Well, listen. Don’t let me hold you up over there
Emeril.
Finish up in the kitchen,
but congrats again,” I said, making Nick laugh into the phone.

“All right. You and Brook be safe out there in no-man’s-land,” he joked. “Hope you find what you’re looking for.”

“We will,” Brook chimed in.

The call ended after that, just as we arrived back at out motel. I helped her out of the truck and then we went inside, stepping over pictures and handwritten notes we placed, trying to piece this story together.

Brook moved aside so I could put our cases of water on the floor. A heavy sigh left her mouth and I walked up beside her where she studied a board filled with pictures, all representing a piece of the puzzle, secrets we hoped would reveal themselves. We sat up almost every night before setting out on the road, combing through pictures, searching names. I loved that she was just as invested in this as I was. Even if it
hadn’t
involved her family, there was no doubt in my mind that she’d be just as big a help to me.

I smiled, watching her from the corner of my eye. “What’re you thinking?” I asked.

She crossed her arms over her chest and shrugged. “I’m thinking we’ve got a long way to go before we figure this all out.” A soft laugh left her lips when she cocked her head to the side.

She was right. We had no solid leads whatsoever. I noticed that she zoned in on one picture in particular—one of a young woman. Her skin was dark and there was a haunting depth to her gaze, like she was staring right back at us. There was a fearlessness I’d seen before, in
Brook’s
eyes. The woman’s hair, an inky black, had a life all its own, filling the frame of the picture surrounding her face, its volume blotting out the background of the photo completely.

“You have a hunch?” I asked.

Brook hesitated, but then nodded.

I carefully removed the picture from the board and held it. “Then we’ll start here.”

There was no caption aside from a date—1941—and a name:
Quinn Dixon—
Brook’s grandmother’s aunt
.

Brook took to the laptop without me even asking her to, checking the local census for that year, I was sure. She was a natural at this stuff. I smiled watching her. We were a team in this just like everything else, on a wild adventure that mirrored the
rest
of our journey.

When I passed by, I kissed the top of her head before taking a seat at the table.

“I think we should check this address out,” she said, pointing a finger at the screen. It was here in town—a house.

I grabbed my camera and a few other pieces of equipment I’d need, and then set them on the table, ready to go. “Then we’ll start there. First thing in the morning.”

She looked shocked that I didn’t immediately head toward the door. “In the morning?”

I nodded, taking her into my arms. “Yup… morning.” I kissed the side of her neck, turned on by the way she tasted after the time we’d spent out in the heat.

When she realized what I had in mind, she laughed and attempted to slip from my grasp. “Um… how about we pause this until I shower?”

I shook my head, groaning against her skin. “There’s no time for that.”

She stopped fighting me so hard, beginning to bend to my will.

“How about…” she started, pausing to exhale a slow breath. “How about we compromise?”

I continued to kiss her neck. “I’m listening.”

The next second, she pulled away and my eyes were glued to her when she lifted the army-green tank top over her head and then reached behind her back to unsnap her bra. When she unbuttoned her jean shorts and started taking them down, I was grinning pretty hard. She walked past me casually, turning back to glance at me over her shoulder.

“Two birds, one stone,” she said suggestively, and then disappeared inside the bathroom. Only a dainty finger appeared in the doorway and a pair of black panties fell from the tip of it.