Tumult (TSS Series Book 1) by Lea Hart (26)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Thursday, November 30^th

Coronado

Carrick opened his front door and grinned at Frisco and Brooke. “It’s hard to believe you’ve taken him on, Brooke.”

The rear admiral’s daughter walked in along with his former teammate and punched him in the arm as she passed. He’d known Brooke since she was in high school and she was one of his favorite people in the world. Not only because she was a good person, but because she had a salty sense of humor. Lt. Frisco Jones, on the other hand, had been a rogue up until he met Brooke, and he wasn’t all that sold that he could make her happy.

Not that it was any of his business or he had any say. He closed the door and put his hands on his hips. “Adam just finished the first round of renovations and I need your help, Brooke, so I can fix it up for Audrey.”

“This is the woman I saw a couple of months ago at Titan, right?”

“Yeah, I forgot you were there the day she came in for her initial meeting.”

Brooke gave both men a satisfied smile and then took Frisco’s hand. “I would like it reflected for the record that I predicted that his ‘Amal’ was coming back in Chad and I was, in fact, correct.”

Seeing how happy she was, Carrick couldn’t work himself up to a snarky comment or rebuttal. “I bow to you and your superior ability to see into the future.”

“Thank you, Carrick, and because you’ve been so gracious, I will help you make your house a home.”

“You’re lucky because she’s great at the whole decorating thing and it won’t take her long to whip this thing into shape,” Frisco commented.

“Let me show you guys around and then you can tell me what I should do,” Carrick commented as he led them up the stairs.

“It’s got good bones and I like that you didn’t change the feel of the house. The dark wood floors with the light-colored walls are perfect for the craftsman vibe of the house.”

“Thanks,” Carrick responded as they walked into the master bedroom. “I like what you did to your house and I think Audrey might too.”

Frisco rocked back on his heels and looked around. “Just out of curiosity, is Audrey ready to move in or is this something that you’ve got to convince her to do?”

Hating to reveal how not on-board Audrey was with any of his crazy ideas, he kept his mouth shut and walked over to the window. “I figure we’ve got to get this room right.”

Frisco chuckled. “Been there, man.”

“It’s true,” Brooke added as she tightened her ponytail. “Frisco had us just about engaged in his mind and I wasn’t even sure we should continue dating.” Looking up, she twisted her mouth into a grin. “Didn’t take him long to convince me, though.”

“From the moment I saw Brooke in the hotel in N’Djamena, I knew it was never a question of if we were going to be together, but how.”

Carrick turned around and looked at the couple and nodded. “You were hit, man, from the moment you saw her.” Realizing he wasn’t much different than Frisco or probably any of his other friends made him relax. “Honestly, I was too when I met Audrey, but it took me a minute to accept it.”

Frisco slapped him on the back and grinned. “Congratulations, brother. It’s the best damn thing in the world and all I can tell you is do everything you can not to screw it up.”

“That’s the idea,” he responded. “Let’s go downstairs and I’ll get you two something to drink and Brooke can tell me what I need to do.”

“There’s going to be a lot,” Brooke said as she walked out of the room. “All I ask is that you don’t lose interest halfway through and throw your hands up in frustration.”

“I’ve never thrown my hands up and I don’t plan on starting now.”

“I’m counting on it,” she replied.

Carrick sat on the couch he’d brought over from his old place and realized Brooke had been correct when she said they had a lot of work to get this house in shape. “Where do I start?”

“Have you looked on Pinterest to see if she’s got any home decorating boards we can pull inspiration from?”

“I didn’t understand anything you just said.”

Frisco smirked as he pulled out his phone. “This is the best thing ever invented because all you have to do is follow your woman’s boards and get all the intel you’ll ever need.”

Brooke put out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “Let me have your phone and we’ll get you signed up, so we can stalk her and see what she’s into.”

“I had no idea it was going to be so complicated,” he replied as he handed Brooke his phone. “I didn’t think inspiration was going to be part of the process.”

“When is she coming?” Frisco asked as he opened the app on his phone.

“I don’t have a confirmed arrival date, but I invited her to come for Christmas. She’s on a case right now and not sure when she’s going to be done.”

“So, she may not come?” Brooke asked as she downloaded the Pinterest app.

“It’s possible, but I want to be prepared either way.”

“Good idea, man, we know how important it is to be completely prepped for a mission and I’ve recently discovered relationships are not that much different.” He held up his phone and pointed to pictures on the Pinterest app. “Everything I need to know is buried somewhere here and all I have to do is sift through it and figure out where the clues are.”

“You could just ask her,” Carrick commented.

“What fun would that be?” Frisco asked. “I like to surprise and impress, and this app lets me do that. It’s like looking at a map and figuring out where to ingress and egress.”

“You don’t need any help with that,” Brooke mumbled quietly.

  “That’s true,” Frisco responded before kissing Brooke’s head.

  Carrick cleared his throat and took his phone back from Brooke. “What do I do?”

  “Type her name into the search bar and see what comes up.”

  He followed directions and typed her name in and a couple of different accounts came up on the screen. Does everyone use their name or is it like Facebook?”

“It depends,” Brooke responded. “Look at the little profile picture and see if you recognize her.”

Carrick studied the small profile pictures and when he was on the second page, he recognized her photo. Clicking on the bubble filled his phone screen with images. He held up his phone to Brooke. “Is this it?”

She grabbed it out of his hand and studied it closely. “Sure is, and you, my friend, are very lucky because she’s a prodigious pinner. She has boards for just about everything.”

“Damn, is this even legal?” Carrick asked as he took the phone back from Brooke and started looking at it. He noticed she had over forty boards with everything from vacations to poetry, clothes, food, and everything in between. “Thanks, Brooke, this is amazing.”

Frisco looked around and pulled Brooke closer. “I can’t believe a woman is willing to take on your cranky ass; makes me think that Brooke is right when she says there’s someone for everyone.”

“You’re living proof, Jones, it’s true and there’s no accounting for taste.”

“True that,” he responded with a laugh.

Carrick looked up from his phone. “Thanks, Brooke, this is what I needed.”

“I have some free time in the next couple of weeks, so call me and I’ll come over and help you shop.”

“Thanks.” He looked down at his phone and shook his head. “I have no idea where to get any of this stuff, so any intel you can help me with is going to be great.”

“Happy to do it,” Brooke replied. “I’m all about hearts and romance now, so consider me your cupid and I’ll do whatever I can to make your romantic dreams come true.”

“Normally, something like that would make me gag,” Carrick said as he leaned back on the couch. “But since it doesn’t, I guess the transformation is damn near complete and I’ve joined the ranks of those bitten in the ass by love.”

Brooke snorted. “Don’t ever say that to Audrey; otherwise, she won’t even walk through the door.”

“Roger that,” Carrick replied. He looked at his phone again and knew he’d say and do just about anything so that when Audrey arrived she’d want to stay.

It was a long shot at best, but he’d always been pretty good at making the impossible happen and he was going to assume this wasn’t going to be much different.

***

New York City

Audrey opened her apartment door and felt like kissing the man who was delivering her Chinese food. “Thank you,” she said as she handed him a tip and took the bags out of his hand. Watching him spin around and speed walk to the elevator made her think that her smile had been just this side of crazy.

Which could very well be true.

Her case was sliding south, and she wasn’t sure if a resurrection was possible; her book was stalled, and she missed Carrick something fierce. If she didn’t do something about it, she was going fall into a hell of a pity-party for herself.

Not one to let life’s little frustrations get to her, she wondered why she was feeling so down and out. She took the bag of food into the kitchen and unpacked it and heard her doorbell ring. Sighing, she trudged back and wondered if the delivery boy had forgotten her fortune cookies. Looking through the peephole, she saw Kelly.

Flinging the door open, she saw her best friend swinging a bottle of champagne back and forth as she tapped her foot. “I love you.”

“I know,” Kelly responded as she stepped inside. She lifted the bottle and grinned. “In about a minute, you’re going to love me more, if that’s even possible.”

“Are you hungry? I just got food delivered from General Tsao’s and I over-ordered as usual.”

“Yes.” She dumped her bag and then shrugged off her coat. “Go grab some glasses and let’s get this celebration started.

Audrey gave Kelly a questioning look and then walked back into the kitchen to grab glasses and dinner. Whatever news she had was going to be good because they reserved champagne for life’s small successes and tragedies. And since neither of them was facing something catastrophic, it had to be good news.

Once they were both seated at her tiny dining room table and Kelly had popped the bubbly, she waited for her friend to smooth out her dress. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“No, I’m building up the moment.”

“It’s built already, spill.”

Kelly gave her a smile and then crossed her legs. “Had a little chit-chat with an editor over at McMillian and I told them what you were up to and gave them a synopsis of your current manuscript and they’re ready to talk.”

“What?”

“You heard me…we could have a bidding war and, if that’s the case, I plan on making sure whoever wins gives you everything, including the ever-elusive mega-marketing campaign.” She peered over her glasses and pursed her mouth. “We want that more than anything. You don’t need some big advance since you’re already in process, so we’re going to get a campaign that shoots this sucker to the moon.”

“Wow.”

“I know,” Kelly responded as she lifted her glass. “Here’s to those women in Syria, by the time we’re done with them, there isn’t going to be a person who doesn’t know their story.”

Audrey clinked her glass and took a sip and felt her emotions tip over. Tears started to stream down her face and she quickly wiped them away.

Kelly leaned forward and handed her a napkin. “This is good news.”

Sniffing, she wiped her eyes and then her nose. “I know, it’s just that I was feeling so overwhelmed before you got here, and it just seems like it’s too good to be true.”

“I swear on my mother’s Birkin bag, I’m going to cure you of this fatalist attitude. When something good comes along, it doesn’t mean it can’t last.”

“I know that intellectually, but I’ve always felt like there is another shoe out there ready to drop.”

Draining her glass, Kelly refilled it and then topped off Audrey’s. “Something else is at play, so you might as well tell me what it is, so we can figure it out.”

She handed her a pair of chopsticks and then opened the cartons of food. “Let’s eat and then dissect my life. I feel like we’re going to need more than champagne to figure it out.” They dug into the food and she felt the news start to sink in. “They’re really interested?”

Spearing a shrimp, Kelly nodded. “Why do you find it hard to believe?”

“This story seems like it’s in a niche category and I find it hard to believe that McMillian is interested.”

“The world is a-changing as we both know and there is a hunger for women’s stories. The warriors of the YPJ, fortunately, are very marketable and it makes sense that more than one publisher would be interested.”

“I guess I never thought of it that way.”

“Which is why you have me.” Tilting her head, she squinted her eyes. “You haven’t said much about your surprise Thanksgiving guest; does he have something to do with your mood?”

“Maybe.” Pushing her chopsticks through the fried rice, she thought about the four days they’d spent together. “Having him here was fantastic and I guess perhaps I just miss him.”

“Ah-hah!” Kelly replied loudly. “I knew that man meant more to you than you were ready to admit.”

“If I gave him half a chance, he could end up meaning everything.”

“Oh,” Kelly replied quietly. “That bad?”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

“No wonder you’re all out of sorts and leaking tears over news that should make you feel elated. That brutal man has gotten ahold of your heart and you’re trying to decide if you want to wrestle it back.”

“Pretty much,” she replied glumly.

“This sort of thing could be terminal if not handled properly.”

“And considering all my urges are telling me to jump on a plane and run into his arms, you can understand how hard I’m fighting.”

“Jeeze, it is bad.” She lifted the bottle and refilled both their glasses. “Into his arms…really?”

“Yes!” Audrey responded. “His big, capable arms that make me feel like there’s no other place I’d rather be. It’s like every sappy Hallmark movie we’ve ever watched, wrapped in a schmaltzy song that we can hardly stand, with a bow of sentimentality that would make us both gag.”

Shuddering, Kelly stared at her friend. “It’s worse than I thought.”

“I know. This is the sort of thing that, if not handled correctly, could be fatal.”

“Like, suburbs, station wagons, carpool fatal.”

“Yes,” Audrey responded quietly. “The whole bloody nightmare.”

“And, you want to run at this thing?”

She drank down her glass of champagne and nodded. “With every fiber of my being.”

“We need some bourbon.”

Audrey stood and took their glasses. “We sure as hell do because if I don’t get myself under control, the moment I’m done with this case, I’m going to be on a plane headed to California with my heart in my hand.”

“Get the bourbon and we’ll come up with a plan.”

Audrey walked into the kitchen and pulled down the bottle and two glasses, knowing there was no amount of alcohol in the world that was going to make her feelings go away. Carrick was in her heart and the chances of that changing were slim to none.