Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 64704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
“I’ll always be grateful for you, Brick. I spent my life listening to my parents use sex as weapons to just hurt each other, and I thought that was what love was. It made me terrified of that kind of passion, but you showed me that I need that in my life. But that’s just one little piece of me that’s been made whole. I need to find the rest, and need to do it alone.”
“I went a little crazy after you left,” he said finally. “What I did to you was wrong and I hated myself for it. When my investigators finally found that you’d been hired here, I planned this whole sweeping and romantic big gesture. Flowers. A limousine. A diamond ring. I was going to take you away from all of this and make it right, but couldn’t wait long enough to plan it all. I needed to see you today.”
A diamond ring? My heart pounded in my chest, but I couldn’t just let go of finding my real self either. “Brick…”
“No. Let me say this. I do love you, Daisy. But I’ve never been in love before. I’ve done this all wrong, and you’re right to turn me down. You want to be wooed.”
“What? No, that’s not what I meant, Brick.”
“I doesn’t matter, baby. You deserve that. Making you happy is that only that that matters to me, and if that means being patient, then I’ll be patient. I don’t mind putting in the work for you, Daisy. You’re worth it.”
Stunned, I watched him get up and leave, not entirely sure what just happened. But Brick wasn’t a patient man, which meant I had no idea what was going to happen next.
Epilogue
Daisy
A week went by, and I didn’t hear anything from Brick. Despite how much I missed him and how seeing him made that fire burn even hotter in me, it also let me relax a little and focus on things at the shelter. I got my second paycheck and started applying for apartments nearby. Even though I wanted my own place, it didn’t mean helping Nadia had to stop.
We got the new washer and dryer installed, but Nadia didn’t stop there. She was on fire. A handyman stopped by and fixed a few things around the shelter, and some constructions workers also showed up and built a beautiful patio. Landscapers added a privacy fence to the backyard and installed some beautiful gardens. I was floored by the transformation and by how fast it had been done.
“Are you doing all of this so I don’t move out?” I teased Nadia as we made dinner. “The backyard is like a sanctuary now!”
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Nadia smiled. “I’ve also hired a professional counselor to come by and speak to the women. I think she’s going to work directly with us in group therapy sessions and one-on-one.”
“What?” I was so surprised that I forgot about the grill and the sandwiches started to burn. “Crap!” Hastily, I turned them over on the grill. “Nadia, where did you get the money for all of that?”
“A wealthy patron has taken an interest in our little shelter. Imagine that. He asked me to write down a list of things that we needed and told me not to worry about the cost.”
“He?” I frowned. “Nadia, is this wealthy patron Brick Langston?”
“How did you know?” Her bright smile faltered when she saw my face. “Oh. Daisy, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I’ll cancel our dealings with him immediately.”
I never told Nadia his name. It wasn’t just because of the contract, but more that nothing good would come of it. Admitting that it was Brick would do nothing to ease my pain. “No. Don’t cancel it. He’s trying to do some good, and this shelter could use some it.”
Nadia turned down the heat for the soup and began to fill the bowls. I removed the bacon and grilled cheese sandwiches. “You’ve spoken to him, haven’t you?” she asked.
“He found me last week. Told me that he was sorry and that he loved me. I think that he was going to ask me to marry him.” Unable to help myself, I smiled. “It was good to see him again. I’ve missed him.”
“I know you have. Are you going back to him then?”
“I love Brick, but there are still some things that I need to work on. Things that we need to work on. Pretending that we didn’t have problems, pretending that he didn’t buy me isn’t going to fix those issues. He plans to woo me. I guess he’s starting with the shelter. It’s easy for him to give away money, though.”
“It’s not just money, darling. Mr. Langston spoke to Officer Jenkins and our other liaison officers to see if there was anything they thought we needed. He personally sat in on the therapist interviews. He was here yesterday to make sure the constructions workers did a good job.”