Page 40 of Whisk Me Away
I'd been trying to give Karis the space she needed to process and spend time with her mom, but she was all but ignoring me. The texts I sent were either left on read, or she'd respond with one-word answers. The logical side of my brain knew she was hurting, but I couldn’t help feeling like she was pushing me away. She's closing herself off, and I didn't know how to help her.
I dropped by the bakery a few times when I noticed it was open, but a woman named Aspen was working. She'd told me that Karis hired her to run the shop for her during this season. She seemed like a nice enough girl, but Whisk Me Away wasn't the same without Karis' bright spirit.
I leaned back in one of the gray plastic chairs surrounding the long rectangular table in the local firehouse. I was going stir-crazy in my office, so I drove to the firehouse to hang out with Brock.
"You look like crap,” Brock tosses out with a raise of his eyebrows.
"Gee, thanks," I respond, rolling my eyes.
"I'm sorry. Bad attempt at using humor to lighten the mood?" Brock grimaced with a shrug of his shoulders.
I couldn't fault my brother for trying to bring me out of the funk I was in. I'm sure I was a bear to be around. My officers had been giving me a wide birth since everything happened with Karis. Not that I was being a jerk intentionally, I just couldn't help it. I needed to see Karis. I needed to talk to her face to face in order to figure out if she really was pushing me away. I was going to drive myself mad if I didn’t.
"It's fine," I responded after realizing I hadn't acknowledged Brock. "I just don't know what to do. I haven't slept much, and Karis won't talk to me. It's killing me.”
Brock regarded me with a pensive look while leaning back in the chair across the table.
"Cut her some slack, dude. Her mom isn't doing well,” Brock's look had my stomach twisting in knots. He was friends with a lot of the hospital staff, which made me wonder if he knew something I didn’t.
"What do you know?" I growl, my voice coming out sharper than I intended.
Brock held his hands up in a placating manner. "I don't know specifics. I just know she took a turn for the worse this week, and it's not looking good." His voice was full of sadness.
No. No, that can't be right. She can't lose her mom.
My mind was racing through all the possible ways I could help or be there for her during this time. A call came in over my radio about a brush fire at one of the farms just outside of town. Brock shot me an apologetic look before tipping his head and running for the firetruck. I stalked out of the station and slid into my SUV, turning on my lights and sirens and allowing my mind to switch to Sheriff mode. I needed to focus on the task at hand, even if all I wanted to do was think about Karis.
I was dead tired at the end of the night when I pulled in front of my house. The sight of it typically made me feel content, but lately, it's only felt lonely. When did that change? When did I go from craving my space all to myself to wanting someone to come home to at the end of the day?
That thought terrified me, especially after what Olivia had done. For so long, I built walls around my heart to shield myself from the pain of betrayal. Olivia's betrayal shattered my trust in love and commitment, leaving me scarred and wary of ever opening up again.
Despite my best efforts to keep my distance, Karis managed to break through those walls. I was constantly fighting a battle within myself, torn between the fear of getting hurt again and the warmth she brought into my life. A year ago, the mere idea of wanting another woman in my home as my wife would have been absurd.
But Karis was different. She’s patient and understanding and sees through the facade I crafted to protect myself. With her, the wounds from Olivia's betrayal seemed to heal, albeit slowly. She'd shown me that not all love leads to heartbreak and that there's still hope for a future filled with happiness and companionship. The thought of letting someone in so deeply again was still terrifying, but with Karis, it was a risk I found myself willing to take.
I rummaged through the fridge, pulling out leftovers to heat up, when my phone buzzed on the kitchen island. I took a minute to contemplate whether I wanted to pick it up or not. It'd been a long, exhausting day, and I just wanted to eat and go to sleep. When it buzzed again, I gave up and strode back to where I left it.
Karis' name lit up my screen as I saw two text messages from her. It'd been a while since she initiated a text to me, so I quickly swiped to open them.
Brant…
She's gone.
She's gone. I read those two words repeatedly, trying to make sense of them. I knew what she meant, but my heart refused to believe it. I immediately dialed her number.
"Hello?" Karis hiccuped over a sob.
"Peach. Where are you?" I asked as gently as I could manage.
The gut-wrenching sobs coming through the phone threatened to bring me to my knees. Never in my life had I hated this feeling of helplessness more than I did right now. I wanted to take the pain away from her. I wanted to hold her until it didn’t hurt so bad.
“Bakery," she managed to squeak out before another round of sobs overtakes her.
"I'm coming. Stay on the line, Peach. I'll be there soon."
I raced through the house, thankful that I hadn't taken off my boots yet. I swiped my keys and badge from the bowl on the entryway table before rushing to my SUV. Driving as fast as I could while maintaining safety and control, I flew down the road that led to the town square. The 10-minute drive only took me five minutes, and before I knew it, I was slamming my brakes and throwing the vehicle in park.
"I'm here, Karis. Just open the back door,” I dropped my phone in my front pocket and stalked toward the big steel back door. By the time I arrived, Karis stood just inside the door, covered in flour with tear-stained cheeks.