Glow (Glimmer and Glow #2)(110)
“Is there going to be some kind of press conference or something?” Thad asked.
“About Kehoe’s arrest?”
“No . . . his name broke on the news just this evening. I heard about it on the radio on the way over here. I meant is there going to be a big announcement about Addie Durand’s return . . . what it means to Durand Enterprises?”
“Oh. I don’t know,” Alice replied blankly, disconcerted by the question. Was that what she really wanted? To stand in front of the world and flashing cameras, and be introduced as the lost heiress Adelaide Durand?
She couldn’t imagine having the strength to do it. Not until she at least had the genetic test results in hand . . .
And possibly, not even then.
TWENTY-TWO
She awoke to the sensation of someone nuzzling her ear.
“Wake up, beautiful.”
Recognizing Dylan’s muffled, gruff voice, she opened her eyes, smiling tiredly. She was never more confused about their relationship and what it meant than she was at that moment. But that fact didn’t stop her heart from jumping at the sound of his voice, or dampen her craving to see his bold, handsome face in the slightest. He remained leaning over her when she opened her eyes, his face just inches from hers. Her gaze ran over him warmly. He’d showered and changed, and he looked amazing to her tired eyes. He wore a blue button-down and a gray sport coat. She inhaled his familiar, spicy scent and made a satisfied purr in her throat.
“I tried to stay up for you,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry. I got caught up with something at the castle. Now the nurse is threatening me to keep this short. I wouldn’t have wakened you, but I thought you’d think this was worth it.”
“What?”
He straightened. She realized his hand had been behind his back. He moved it to the front, showing her what he’d been hiding. She stared at the Team Championship trophy.
The Red Team flag had been tied beneath the clasping hands.
“The team that wins usually can’t keep their hands off the trophy on the last night of camp; it’s a major coup, you know. They only get the one night to crow over it,” Dylan said, smiling. “Your team immediately asked Guy Morales if the trophy could be sent over to the hospital. Over to you.”
Emotion hit her like a tidal wave. She choked. Tears shot from her eyes. Dylan looked alarmed, but she couldn’t seem to stop it. The storm of emotion had slammed into her unexpectedly.
“Shhh,” Dylan soothed a moment later. She realized he’d set aside the trophy and lowered her bed railing. He sat on the bed and his arms came around her. She pressed her right temple against his chest. She shuddered with feeling. Happiness. Anxiety. Hope. Anguish. Bewilderment. Desire. Loss. Grief. Triumph. Fear. All of it mixed together, everything she’d been experiencing since she’d first set foot on the Durand Estate weeks ago.
“They shouldn’t have done that. It was theirs. They won it.”
“They wanted you to have it. It was their way of saying they were thinking about you. And to thank you,” Dylan said, stroking her back.
“I can’t do this,” she muttered miserably against his chest. Why had the demonstration of caring and support from her kids sent her over the edge, and not Kehoe’s homicidal actions? Dylan would think she was crazy. Maybe she was. “I’m not who you think I am, Dylan. I’m not who anybody thinks I am.”
She felt him gently press his lips to the top of her head. His hand ran up and down her spine, as if he ironed out her emotional upheaval. “Who I think you are is Alice. And Alice has been through more than most people could imagine in the last few weeks, let alone bear.”
“I’m not bearing,” she gasped between shudders. “I feel like everything is crashing down on my life. It’s such a f*cking mess.”
“All the crashing is done, baby. All the catastrophe is over. Now comes the hard part.”
“What?” she muttered, her attention caught.
“Now you have to clear aside the rubble and decide what you want your life to look like.”
Minutes passed. Slowly, the onslaught of emotion subsided. She was left exhausted in its wake, her body aching with a dull throb. Dylan continued to hold her. She clung to him. They didn’t talk. Nevertheless, it was his voice she kept hearing in her head.
What did she want her life to look like?
*
THE next morning, the agents returned with some follow-up questions, most of them in regard to the Reeds. Alice became highly uncomfortable when they asked her for details on the physical layout of the trailer where she’d grown up and whether or not she knew of any weapons on the property. They were asking her for specifics because they were planning on sending agents there to arrest the Reeds. Dylan was in her room when the agents arrived, and they didn’t ask him to leave. When he saw Alice’s hesitation over answering the questions, he stepped in.
“I know it’s hard, Alice. But the details you give them will help insure that no one gets hurt.”
Alice nodded. He was right. She answered all the agents’ questions to the best of her ability.
*
LATER that morning, she went for more tests. Just as she was finishing her lunch, Dylan popped his head in the room.
“Hi,” he said.