Savage Cinderella (16 page)

∞∞∞

Justin had washed and dried Brinn's clothes
from the night before. After showing her how the shower worked, he
left her alone to clean up and pull herself together. He fixed some
toast with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and made her drink a small
glass of tomato juice with Tabasco sauce, a balm for her queasy
head and stomach—the hangover cure of choice for his father, if he
remembered correctly. She adamantly refused the aspirin he offered,
so he didn’t press the issue.

A call to Cody assured him that Abby and
Phillip were in decent shape and felt terrible about the events of
the night before, in more ways than one. They were taking a cab
back to the bar to retrieve Phillip's truck and had offered Cody a
ride to his parents’ house just outside the city. Cody put Abby on
the phone.

The girl had been in a panic when she woke to
find Brinn missing, but Cody had successfully convinced her that
she was safe with Justin. She was reluctant to leave Brinn behind
with a stranger, but Brinn reassured her that she would be fine.
She relayed the news about her parents and the two girls rambled
excitedly, Brinn yelling into the phone as if Abby were a long way
off.

She probably had never talked on a cell phone
before, Justin thought. He smiled as her voice lowered to a normal
tone as she continued the conversation, until she sounded like any
other young woman, naturally gabbing on the phone to a friend as if
she'd done it every day of her life. He only hoped that she could
fit into other parts of society so easily.

As he observed her talking to her friend, he
thought about the night before—how he had carefully undressed the
girl, terrified she would wake from her drunken sleep and be
panicked that she was once again at the hands of the man who had
hurt her so badly. While cleaning her up and dressing her in one of
his shirts, he noticed more burn scars over her left breast and on
her inner thigh. Prickles of rage tore through his flesh at the
injustice and cruelty of her past. He closed his eyes against the
image of the faded lash marks that followed the curve of her hip.
Her wrists, ankles and neck were ringed with faint scars. Had she
once been shackled? She had suffered so much. Seeing her helpless
and vulnerable in her drunken state had shaken him. He could only
imagine the terror of what she must have endured, being at the
mercy of someone who would scar a child so cruelly.

Beyond the scars, he noticed the beautiful
young woman he'd held in his arms. Her skin was incredibly soft,
her slender body tanned from exposure. The curve of her breast and
the slope of her lean waistline called to an instinctive desire
inside of him to both protect her and keep her from any touch but
his own. He couldn’t imagine another man ever laying his hands on
her again.

She needed someone who could show her how
amazing she was, how beautiful being touched could be. And she
needed to feel safe before that could ever happen. He wondered if
the day would come or if she was so scarred by her experience that
she might never let anyone get close enough to find out.

Careful to keep his contact to a minimum in
case she woke, he had cleaned and dressed her with as gentlemanly
an eye as was humanly possible, but he couldn’t deny his body's
response to her. When he’d seen her in the bar last night,
ferociously defending herself, he’d been amazed by her
transformation. Even now, as she giggled and grinned into the air
and twirled her fingers through her long, black hair, she entranced
him, and he knew his heart had been lost to the beautiful wild
girl, and there was no taking it back. She had a long road ahead,
but if she could trust him, he wouldn’t let her walk it alone. His
only question was, could he keep her safe from whatever came
next?

Going Home

After she hung up the phone, Brinn sat across
the round glass table, sipping her juice and staring out the large
window at the city below.

"A penny for your thoughts." Justin quickly
revised, "What are you thinking about?"

"The cars crawling past move like a parade of
ants on a busy trail.” She smiled and met Justin’s gaze. “I was
thinking how familiar it all seems." She stared back out over the
city. "Is this where I grew up?"

"Your home is about six miles from here in a
neighborhood called Buckhead. Your mother is a doctor at Piedmont
Hospital and your father is with the District Attorney’s office on
Main Street in the downtown area. He used to be a Senator." He
wondered how much she remembered of her parents.

Brinn seemed hardly to register his words.
“My mother was a doctor,” she repeated. “I remember that the smell
of eucalyptus and disinfectant clung to her clothes.” She nibbled
at her breakfast, a smile of remembrance softening her serious
expression. “My father smelled like cinnamon toast and coffee...
and newspaper.” She released a slow breath as recognition dawned.
"They are out there right now and don't know I'm here." Setting her
toast down, she turned her eyes from the city view. "I'd like to
call them now."

Without hesitation, Justin dialed his phone
and handed it to her.

She paused, holding her breath, then spoke in
a shaky voice as a sob broke to the surface. "Hello...Mama, it's
me, Brinn. I want to come home."

There was a long moment of silence through
the phone and then a hysterical female voice could be heard from
the other end. When he realized that she and her mother were
babbling, sobbing, and making little progress, Justin pried the
phone from her hand and broke into the conversation.

"Mrs. Hathaway, this is Justin Spencer, the
reporter you spoke to a few days ago. Yes, I'll explain everything
when I bring Brinn home. What time can you and your husband be
ready for us to come over? Okay, we’ll be there shortly. We'll see
you then. Good-bye." He hit “end call” and smiled. “She says to
give her an hour. You’ll be home soon.”

Her eyes widened, the pupils darkening the
blue to a shade as deep as the ocean.

“
What’s wrong? Aren’t you
ready to go home?”

“
It’s just that...I’m
scared. What if...what if they don’t want me? What
if...?”

He leaned across the table and took her hand
in his. “They want you. Don’t be afraid, Brinn; I’ll be with you.”
A single tear rolled heavily down her cheek.

“
Thank you for everything,
Justin.”

He brushed the scattered dark strands from
her face and stroked her cheek gently, wiping the tear away. “I
only want you to be happy.”

She sniffed, wiping the wetness onto the back
of her hand, “I think I will be.”

Taking a napkin from the holder, Justin dried
the tears on her face, his own throat closing with emotion. The
moment seemed strangely intimate but completely natural. He
realized that he’d never been as comfortable with anyone as he was
with her. He didn’t have to be perfect. There was no need for
pretense. Her unassuming nature was both innocent and ancient, her
honesty as plain and simple as a child’s. But she was no child, he
thought, as his body responded to the feel of her warm, soft skin
under his fingertips. He felt the pull from his toes to his heart,
and everything in between. Their eyes met for a very long moment.
He stroked her hair, as comforting a gesture to him as it was to
her. She accepted him for who he was. For the first time in his
life, at that moment, he was good enough.

∞∞∞

Brinn could scarcely contain her excitement
for the next half hour. She paced and hummed under her breath.
Shannon Hathaway had said that her husband was in court that
morning, but that as soon as she could get a message to him, he
would be on his way home.

Justin called work. He was missing the Monday
morning meeting, and Charlene would need a good explanation. “I
have a scoop on something, but you have to give me some time.”

“
Tell me what it is, and
I’ll tell you if it’s worth you missing this meeting.” Her clipped
tone was laced with curiosity.

Justin gritted his teeth. Lying was
pointless. She’d know soon enough. He briefly explained the details
to his boss.

"And you didn't think to tell me that while
you were up in the mountains you found a missing girl who had been
kidnapped ten years ago? This is a fantastic story, Justin. Make
sure you get photos of the reunion. Better yet, let me send a
camera crew. This story deserves full coverage. You could get a
spot on the nightly news with this one. Think of the press that the
magazine will get." Charlene seemed beside herself with the
possibilities.

Justin cut her off in mid-sentence "Charlene,
she has been through a lot. This family deserves a few moments of
privacy before they are hounded by the press. Please...let me
handle this my way."

After a moment of argument, Charlene
conceded. "All right, Muffin. Whatever you think best, but I want
the exclusive. Make any deal you can with the parents, but don't
let them talk to anyone but us."

Justin agreed to do his best and hung up,
feeling a spark of apprehension at how easily she'd given up. He
knew all too well what a story like this could do for his career,
and hers. As tempting as it might once have been to make a circus
out of Brinn’s return, he couldn’t bring himself to break her trust
like that. Hopefully, Charlene respected his friendship enough to
trust him. The media would be on this story soon enough, but Justin
felt compelled to make Brinn’s reunion with her parents as easy as
possible for her.

To keep Brinn from literally climbing the
walls in his condo, he decided to take her on a tour of the city
while they made their way across town.

Brinn sat anxiously in the freshly detailed
front seat, unaware of the mess she'd made the night before, or the
fact that he had paid a small fortune to have it taken care of
first thing that morning. His usual detail guy was none too happy
at starting his Monday off with cleaning up dried vomit from a
cream-colored carpet.

They drove through the downtown streets, busy
and bustling with the activity of shoppers and business people on
their usual jaunts. With the convertible top down on such a
beautiful sunny day, Brinn craned her neck in every direction to
catch glimpses of high rise buildings and colorful window displays
as they passed by. Her hair floated in black feathers around her
face and her blue eyes sparkled with anticipation and
excitement.

“
Look at that!” she
exclaimed for the fourth time as they passed by the Botanical
Gardens of Peidmont Park. A wistful look of longing covered her
face. The solemn ponds and stone outcroppings with cascading falls
must have reminded her of the mountains she called home. Even so,
her face lit up each time they passed through a busy intersection.
Although the city was noisy and crowded, Justin could see that part
of her wanted to belong there.

They moved into midtown through the
Virginia-Highland district, Justin pointing out local landmarks and
enjoying Brinn's fascination. The large buses and rumble of the
trains in the air caused her to jump in wide-eyed amazement and
then grin broadly.

“
I can’t imagine how
exciting it must be to live with so much happening around you all
the time,” she commented, after they’d ridden in silence for some
time.

“
I hadn’t thought of it
like that before. After a while, people don’t even notice what’s in
front of them,” he said.

“
I guess it’s what you get
used to.” Her eyes and voice became distant. “I got used to being
alone when I lived at the farm. He left me alone a lot. Then on the
mountain, I was alone almost all the time. Except for Kitty, of
course.” Her face clouded with sadness as she looked
away.

Justin thought he understood how she must be
feeling. If she decided to stay with her parents, she’d be leaving
her friend, and the only life she’d known, behind. “You’ll see her
again. Just because you’re going home doesn’t mean you can never go
back.”

She smiled uncertainly, “It’s just that I
don’t know what’s going to happen next. I don’t know how I’ll ever
fit in here.” The smile disappeared and she dropped her gaze to her
hands in her lap. “Maybe I don’t belong here anymore.”

“
Of course you do, Brinn.”
He changed lanes and took the exit toward Buckhead, wondering how
hard he should push the subject of her past, with all that she was
facing ahead. “Your life was stolen from you. You have a right to
have it back.”

Her eyes shot up and she turned to him. “I
hope you’re right, Justin. Are you sure these people are my
family?”

“
Absolutely. Please, don’t
worry, Brinn. It’s going to be all right.”

“
Going home is what I
always wanted. It’s all so hard to believe. Everything is happening
so fast.”

Justin pulled off into the parking lot of a
small park behind an elementary school. “You don’t have to do
anything you don’t want to. I think you should meet with your
parents, find out if they want you to stay, and then make a
decision. Whatever you decide, it will be your choice, okay?”

Brinn sat silent for a long moment and then
released a breath. Her face hardened in resolve. “I won’t let him
keep me from my life any more.”

“
Do you want to talk about
what happened when you were little?” Justin’s heart pounded with a
mix of anticipation and dread.

Her shoulders went rigid beside him and she
stared straight ahead. “No, I want to think about today. My parents
are alive. That’s all that matters.”

“
What do you say we take
you home, then?” He started the car and pulled back onto the road.
“We aren’t far; we should be there in a few minutes.” She would
need time to adjust to her new life and now wasn’t the time to
bring up the past. That ordeal was likely to be on the very near
horizon. He wished he could keep her from ever having to think
about it again, but he knew firsthand how the past seemed to lurk
behind every bush. Justin stopped at another light.