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Eventually, exhaustion and bone-deep grief shoved her into fitful sleep.
Chapter Twelve
Rowan’s appetite was non-existent and by the middle of her second day refusing to eat, her bodyguard was prepared to have a medical team hook up an IV.
She sat at her desk, staring at the back courtyard where Bennett danced with her, lost in thought.
A Styrofoam cup with a straw appeared in front of her. Her eyes focused on it in confusion. She looked up at Gage.
“Strawberry shake from Brahms. You need calories, Rowan. This used to be your favorite.”
She took the cup from him and held it in a daze. She hadn’t had a shake inyears.
Gage had given her the last one. He’d delivered two cup holders of treats to the home a couple of months before graduation. The girls were giddy and he made sure Rowan got a strawberry...because it was her favorite. Reaching into the cab of his truck, he’d removed it from the cup holder and held it out with a wink.
Putting the straw to her lips, she took a sip of the memory. It made her smile. “Thank you, Gage.”
“You’re welcome.” He walked to the window seat behind her desk and lowered to it. “Your office is gorgeous. It says so much about the person you are now.”
She glanced around, taking in the knick-knacks on the glassed-in bookshelves she’d collected over the years from yard sales and thrift stores. Among them were outrageously expensive pieces given to her by Bennett.
He gestured to the stand that held a huge pad of paper. “I see you still brainstorm like nobody else.” Releasing a soft chuckle, he added, “You were the only girl who went through Miss Jeffries’ care who ever put notebooks and pens on your Christmas list.”
“I-I never seem to have enough paper.” Meeting his eyes, she tried to navigate the chaos in her mind. “I…” She paused and cleared her throat to try again. “It’s hard for me to talk to you right now.”
“I get that,” he answered quietly. “I’m sorry about Bennett, Rowan. I know how much you loved him. He was a damn good man.”
She nodded, blinked against tears, and took another sip of the shake to avoid trying to talk.
“Did you know Bennett renovated the home for Miss Jeffries?” Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “Top to bottom when she only had a couple of girls last year. Had a double-wide trailer parked on the property for them to live in while the work was done.”
“He never told me.”
“Did he tell you about your house?”
Frowning, she murmured, “What?”
“That man sure loved surprisin’ you, Rowan.” Reaching into his back pocket, he removed his cell phone. He went to the gallery before handing it to her.
She scrolled through photos of a blue and white Craftsman-style house she’d never seen before. It was two stories with columns, a wraparound porch, and big trees out front.
“When we were here for your last birthday, he asked if I had some land he could use to build you a house.” She looked up from the phone in confusion. “I sold him ten acres of forest next to my place. Right across the road from Miss Jeffries.” Nodding at the phone in her hand, he said, “Told us he’d figured out your dream house after lots of talkin’ y’all did and he planned to build it close to your friends.”
“Bennett built me a house in Daingerfield?” He smiled. “Why…?” She closed her eyes as pain lanced through her chest. “Oh, Bennett. You were planning all this time.”
From the door, James told her quietly, “The house looks like a traditional Craftsman but it has a poured concrete basement with flood protection and a panic room. The wood of the exterior was built over concrete, rebar, and steel sheeting. The windows are impact-resistant to a 50 caliber round. It has top of the line security, a gate and iron boundary around the house itself, a six-foot stone boundary around the rest of the land, and a bunkhouse for more security that looks like a barn.”
Confused, she asked, “I don’t...why so much security? It’s Daingerfield. Have youbeenthere? There’s like three people and a cow.”
“You’re not Miss Foxe anymore, sweetheart. You’re Mrs. Bennett Jefferson - the sole heir to a massive fortune left to you by your billionaire husband upon his death. It doesn’t matterwhereyou live, Rowan. You’ll need protection for the rest of your life.”
Handing Gage back his phone, she rubbed her temple. “Why would I live there? I spent my marriage with Bennett in this house. My memories with him are strongest here.”
James shrugged. “This house will always belong to you, Rowan. Bennett thought you might need to get away from it for a while after his death. What better place than near the people you’ve known all your life? Mary-Margaret and I will go where you go.” Pointing at the shake in her hand, he said, “Drink that. You haven’t eaten a thing in two days.”
She drank it distractedly as she stared at the land beyond her window. Bennett had given her life after losing him a lot of thought. It made her happy even as it made her weep.
How awful to live the last years of his life with his death hovering over everything. Always waiting for his heart to fail, to stop beating, to snatch him from his life.
