Page 75 of Rescuing Brinley

“Proud of you. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are today. Those pageant girls have no idea how lucky they are to have you designing for them.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“I do. Be careful today, and I’ll be waiting on your texts.”

“You be careful too. I mean, with those glaciers melting at an alarming rate and all…wouldn’t want you to get hit in the head with a piece of falling ice or anything.”

Cypress gave her a look. “That’s not how it works, Brin.”

“Whatever. Just be careful.”

“I always am.” Cypress chugged the rest of her coffee and put her empty mug in the sink. She gathered up her purse and bag and headed for the door. She turned at the last minute. “For the record, when you’re ready to move in with Dash, go for it. I’ll miss you, but it’s not as if you’ll be leaving the state anytime soon…right?”

Brinley’s throat instantly tightened with emotion, but she did her best to sound as normal as possible. “Dash said he and his team are here on special assignment and the Army is letting them stay longer than the usual two years.”

Cypress nodded. “Good. I can afford rent here by myself, so you don’t have to worry about that. All I want is for you to be happy, Brin. And I know being with Dash does that. It’s easy to see. You deserve a guy who finally sees you for the amazing person you are.”

And with that, she turned and walked out the door.

It took Brinley a moment to regain her composure. She hadn’t even thought about moving out. Even though she spent at least half her time sleeping at Dash’s place, it hadn’t occurred to her to move in with him permanently. She wanted to be with him, actually didn’t like sleeping without him now, but it was too soon to make such a huge commitment…wasn’t it?

The thing was, it didn’t really feel too soon.

Especially considering their closeness over the last week, since returning from Arizona. After what they’d gone through together with the death of his mom. It brought them closer, both emotionally and physically.

But thinking of leaving Cypress was hard. They’d been through so much over the years. It would be weird to not see her every day. But as she’d said, it wasn’t as if she’d be moving to another country or anything.

Brinley sighed. She had things to do, and Dash hadn’t asked her to move in, so it was a moot point anyway.

But she couldn’t help thinking it would be awesome to be with him all the time. No more packing a bag, or figuring out if she was going to his place or he was coming to hers. Or having to leave him to go home to work. He had an extra bedroom he didn’t even use; she could set up her business in there, instead of using the dining room table like she did in her own apartment.

Shaking her head, she picked up her phone. Clicking on Dash’s name, she brought the cell to her ear. It rang and rang before going to voicemail.

Brinley left a quick message. He knew about her meeting with Natasha today and had asked her to let him know how it was going, but in her message, she asked if he might be able to meet her at the drive-through coffee shop near her apartment, if he was free around ten. She made it clear that she didn’t expect any trouble, just mentioned that Cypress was worried.

Looking at her watch, she saw it was almost eight. She needed to shower, change, then get her notes organized so when she and Natasha came back here, she’d be ready to show her what she’d been sketching, based on their previous conversations about colors and designs. Then get to work taking her measurements and finalizing payment info.

When she hadn’t heard back from Dash after her shower, she belatedly remembered that he said he’d be in the field today. That he and his team were setting up a new land-navigation course. Cell reception wasn’t great once outside the city, so it was possible he wouldn’t get her message until he was back on base.

She sent a quick text, telling him not to worry about her voicemail, that she’d be fine and she’d message him when Natasha, her mom, and boyfriend had all left.

She also called Natasha but got her voicemail. She left a message, asking her to meet at the drive-through coffee place instead of the apartment, and gave her the address. She followed that up with a text as well, relieved when she got a reply within a few minutes, agreeing on the change.

With that done, Brinley made a plate of scrambled eggs with lots of cheese and ham crumbles, drank another cup of coffee, then got ready to head out. She was second-guessing giving in to Cypress’s paranoia, but it was too late to change her plans now. Hopefully Natasha wouldn’t be too irritated. Brinley decided to purchase a coffee for her to make up for the last-minute change.

She waved at her neighbor, a seventy-something man who went for a walk every morning, rain or shine, and headed for her Outback in the parking lot. It didn’t take long to drive to the coffee place. Brinley parked in a spot out of the way from the constant traffic at the drive-through. She scrolled on her phone as she waited for Natasha to arrive.

A knock on the passenger-side window scared the crap out of her, since she’d been doomscrolling social media. Looking up, she saw a man she didn’t know standing there, smiling at her. The car doors were locked out of habit, and she rolled the window down a tiny bit.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m with Natasha. Are you Brinley?”

She smiled and nodded, and reached for the unlock button next to her so she could get out and greet her client. “I am. Hang on and I’ll get⁠—”

Brinley didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence. As soon as she hit the unlock button, the man threw open the door and slid into her passenger seat. His welcoming smile had morphed into a cold, harsh glare.

But the thing that had her entire body freezing was the gun pointing straight at her.