Page 7 of Save Me
She’d read every article about him since that night. She’d followed his career and his personal life as much as she could.
She didn’t know if his parents had offered her the job out of their guilt and kindness or if Brock had anything to do with the deal.
Watching the family interact, something told her it was the latter. No matter the case, she understood the Millers to be kindhearted people who would have gladly hired her regardless of her past experiences working in a strip club.
Sitting on the massive deck that hung on the back of the large home and overlooked the clear emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico, she felt as if she could finally relax for the first time in a month.
She knew that she should have contacted Reggie after that first call.
But she’d talked herself into believing she was just being a hysterical victim once more. In the first year, she’d jumped at every shadow. It had taken all her strength and willpower just to step foot outside, much less go to a grocery store. She’d sheltered Emma too much and hadn’t allowed her daughter to meet other kids her own age.
Moving to the Keys had been a blessing to both of them. She loved hearing Emma giggle when Brock picked up his cat, which had been begging at his feet, and made it ask for a bite of Emma’s spaghetti in a funny voice. Her daughter eagerly complied by giving the cat an entire meatball.
Chester quickly snatched the thing and gobbled it whole. When Emma tried to give the cat another one, Brock laughed and set the cat down. “I think one is enough for tonight.”
Crissy knew that her daughter was done with the meal when her eyes started drooping and a big yawn almost toppled her over.
“I think it’s time we headed home,” she said when the conversation died down.
“Right.” Brock nodded and then stood up and gathered everyone’s empty plates.
“Thank you for coming out here,” Kim said as she wiped Emma’s face and hands.
“Thank you for having us and thank you for…” Crissy felt a lump in her throat. “Everything else.”
Kim smiled. “We’ll get Emma’s car seat from my car and put it in Brock’s Jeep. If it’s okay, since he’ll be staying there, he’ll drive you back instead of us.”
Crissy nodded. “Thanks.”
Emma had fallen fast asleep the second Kim had placed her in the car seat in Brock’s newer model Jeep. The two of them rode in silence for a while until she felt the urge to thank him grow too strong.
“Thank you,” she blurted out as they turned onto her street.
“For?” he asked, not removing his eyes from the road.
“For…” She felt her stomach turn. “Everything.”
“Don’t thank me,” he said after a moment of silence.
“Why not?” she asked, feeling slightly shunned somehow.
He pulled into the parking lot of the pool house and waited until he’d turned off the Jeep before answering. “Because I didn’t do anything.”
“Yes, you did,” she said, turning slightly towards him. “You came all this way to stay here because…” She swallowed as she shook her head. “Your job, your home… uprooting your cat.” She nodded to the animal carrier sitting next to her daughter.
Upon that Brock smiled and then laughed. “You’re a surprise.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “I am?” she asked with a slight frown.
“Yeah.” He nodded and without any further explanation, opened his door. “I’ll get Emma, if you’ll get Chester?” He nodded to the cat’s carrying case.
For the next few minutes, they shuffled Emma and his things past the main house and into the pool house.
When his parents had come up with the idea of having him come down there to watch out for her and Emma, they had wanted to cancel all of the bookings until further notice so he could stay in the bigger house. But there was no way she would have allowed them to lose so much money because of her.
Instead, she’d offered to have Brock stay in the pool house with her and Emma while they hunted down the sick person responsible for the phone calls. After all, there was an entire guest room that she and Emma didn’t use.
“Where’s her room?” Brock asked, standing in the doorway to the guest room.
