AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hadley?”
“I hear you,” Hadley called out to her brother. She collected her two empty bottles, plus the one that Theo had drained before meeting his gaze. “I close the bar at two tonight.”
Theo slowly smiled at her not-so-subtle hint.
Ever since his injury, he’d sworn off complicated relationships.
Maybe it was time to change his frame of mind.
“I could go for another round.”
Chapter Eight
Brooklyn Sloane
December 2022
Saturday — 6:14am
Theelevatordoorsslowlyopened onto the first floor of Brook’s building, giving her time to adjust her scarf. She was running later than usual this morning due to receiving a call from her father’s nursing home in Morton, Illinois. He’d somehow fallen out of bed. The staff had immediately called 911, and he’d been transported to the hospital as a precautionary measure. X-rays and a CT scan had been ordered, and they should have the results relatively soon.
Brook had made sure the ringer on her phone wasn’t set to silence before tucking it into the side of her purse. She didn’t want to miss such an important call, and she once again debated with herself over whether or not she should continue to abide by her father’s wishes.
He’d wanted to remain in Illinois.
He’d stressed his desire to do so numerous times during the earlier stages of his Alzheimer’s Disease. She’d been assured many times over the last couple of years that he wouldn’t know if he’d been moved to another facility in another state, but she wasn’t so sure of that assumption. The bottom line was that she couldn’t break the promise that she’d given her father after his doctor’s initial findings.
Brook couldn’t push back her concern that her father was nearing his eventual death. She’d wanted more than anything to one day be able to tell him that Jacob was no longer free to inflict pain on others. It didn’t matter that he wouldn’t understand in his physical and mental state. She’d just wanted to be able to say the words before he passed away.
Stepping out onto the marble floor, she pulled her leather gloves from the pocket of her winter dress coat. Since it was Saturday, she wasn’t wearing her usual business attire. Instead, she’d opted for a pair of dark jeans, a brown turtleneck, and a tweed blazer. Professional, but casual since she planned on meeting with Millie later this morning.
Brook had just finished slipping her left hand into one of the leather gloves when she caught sight of Hadley Soerig. The officer wasn’t in uniform, and she’d already opened the first door of the double entrance.
Officer Soerig hadn’t noticed Brook at all.
It didn’t take a genius to connect the dots.
Theo had moved into the building three weeks ago, wanting to be closer to work. A condo had become available on the tenth floor. They didn’t even share an elevator bank, but such a sighting had Brook rethinking dinner with Graham on Wednesday night.
She wasn’t the type of woman to second-guess herself, and what she did on her own personal time didn’t concern anyone else. Still, it made her slightly uncomfortable to know something about Theo that he would no doubt like to keep private.
Brook paused as she stepped onto the industrial-sized grey mat that protected the marble tile throughout winter. She took her time securing the second glove, not wanting Officer Soerig to still be outside waiting for a cab or an Uber.
“Good morning, Ms. Sloane.”
Brook glanced over at the main counter where Charlie McPherson was standing with a smile on his face. He usually worked Monday through Friday, six o’clock in the morning until three o’clock in the afternoon.
Seeing him on a Saturday was unusual.
“Good morning, Charlie. Did Dennis call off sick?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Charlie stated with a vigorous nod. “Lou will be working second shift, but we don’t mind the overtime with the holidays so near.”
“How are you doing in fantasy football this season?”
“Second place,” Charlie boasted in pride. “Come tomorrow, I might be in first.”
“Don’t go rubbing it in Lou’s face,” Brook warned good-naturedly as she advanced toward the door. “Have a good day, Charlie.”
