“Can I talk to Alice?” I interrupted. “I need a favor.”
Alice’s chipper voice came on the phone. “You got married? Without letting me vet the bride? What were you thinking?” She was laughing, but under her humor, I heard the thread of concern.
“We didn’t exactly have time for you to put my bride through the wringer. Listen, I need a favor. Is one of the safe rooms clear?”
“Sure. No clients in-house. You want to stay in my old place? Why not yours?”
“Because I need you to find me rush movers who can pack up all my personal shit and have it ready to ship to Sawyers Bend by the middle of the week.”
“Ahh, gotcha. I’m on it. What about the furniture?”
“We can leave it. We’re moving Hope’s things to the house and I don’t really care about mine. I thought I could rent my place for a while.”
“Got it.”
“And one more thing…” I glanced at Hope, who was studiously pretending she wasn’t listening. I squeezed her hand to get her attention and mouthed, Don’t argue. At her look of confusion, I said to Alice, “Are you free tomorrow?”
“Sure, I have a dance class, but I can miss it. Why?”
“Would you take Hope shopping? On me. She needs everything.”
Hope’s brows drew together, and I waited for her to argue. Instead, she gave a wry smile and shook her head. She tugged her hand from mine and turned back to the window, but the smile still tilted the corners of her mouth. I was taking that as a good sign.
“Shopping? On you? I’m in. She needs everything?”
“Everything. Hope’s a workaholic and there’s no decent shopping in Sawyers Bend.” I wasn’t going to tell Alice about Edgar and his miserable taste in suits. That was Hope’s to share if she wanted to. “The closet at Heartstone Manor is huge. She needs some clothes to fill it.”
“I do not,” came from beside me.
“I say you do. Don’t argue when someone hands you their credit card and tells you to have fun.”
Hope shook her head again, that tiny smile growing just a little wider. “You’re nuts.”
I ignored her. To Alice, I said, “We’re stopping for lunch, be there in a few hours.”
“What’s my budget on the movers?”
“Whatever you need to get it done.”
Lunch passed with more semi-awkward silence. Hope tried to convince me to drop the idea of a shopping trip. I shut her down. Alice loved to shop, and though she had a unique style of her own, I knew she’d be able to figure out what Hope liked and find her what she’d want.
I couldn’t get those suitcases by her door out of my head. An entire life in three suitcases and a few boxes. Hope should have more. I was going to give it to her, one way or another.
Chapter Seventeen
Griffen
I pulled into my parking spot in the Sinclair Security garage, feeling like a visitor. This place had been home for over a decade, but since the day I’d learned my shoulder wasn’t going to be the same, something inside me had been pulling away. I just hadn’t realized it until now.
Cooper, his brothers, and my co-workers were my family, but I didn’t belong here anymore. I couldn’t work in the field and didn’t want to be stuck behind a desk watching everyone else out there doing my job.
The idea of running Sawyer Enterprises was different. It was both a brand-new challenge and one I’d spent half my life preparing for. I didn’t like the way I’d ended up in charge of the company, but I won’t deny I was excited by the prospect of finally taking the reins the way I’d always expected to.
I used my handprint to get us access to the elevators and rode up to the third floor. Before she’d hooked up with Cooper, Alice had lived in one of the safe room apartments kept for clients who needed heightened levels of protection. Alice’s place wasn’t the most luxurious of the three apartments, but unlike the other two, Alice’s place was familiar. Comfortable.
I dumped our things in the kitchen and turned to Hope. “I want to head upstairs and check in with Cooper, go over some things. You should come—”
She was already shaking her head. “I’m exhausted. I’d rather lay down, try to take a nap.”
Hope did look tired, but I’d bet she didn’t want a nap as much as she wanted to avoid meeting my friends. I wanted to promise it wouldn’t be that bad when I remembered the string of expletives Cooper had spit out when he’d heard about our marriage.
This mess wasn’t Hope’s fault any more than it was mine. She’d made mistakes years ago, but this marriage, the will—those were all my father and Edgar. Not Hope. And I didn’t like the dark circles under her eyes. She hadn’t had a minute alone since she’d shown up at Harvey’s office. If she needed solitude, she would get it.