He was the reason my mom had met Art in the first place. I’d heard the story a dozen times. Art’s older brother, he’d been at Cornell when he’d met a Rochester native, and instead of going back to Savannah to join the family firm like his older brother Abraham had done, he’d decided to stay and open his own law practice. His parents hadn’t been happy about it, but he’d stuck with it. After Art graduated from Brown, Ambrose had convinced Art to move to Rochester too. That’s where Art and my mom met and where my nightmares had begun.
I’d told Bradyn all that on the flight, and even though he hadn’t asked, I’d known he’d had questions. I’d answered the main one, anyway. I had no idea if Ambrose had known what Art had been doing to me. He’d never said anything one way or the other.
Then I’d changed the conversation so Bradyn wouldn’t ask one of the other follow-up questions I was sure he’d already been thinking. I knew for certain that Ambrose hadn’t kept in touch with his brother because Art was dead. I didn’t want to talk about that, though. I had a shit-ton of baggage to deal with, and right now, I had to focus on the whole Ambrose-Min-Savannah mess. Things were so up in the air, we’d even left our return tickets open-ended so I’d have whatever time I needed.
“How’re you doin’?” Bradyn asked. The question sounded casual, but I knew why he was asking it, which was definitely not casual.
“Okay for now,” I answered honestly. “One of the reasons we’re staying where we’re staying is that it’s nowhere near the law firm or my old neighborhood.”
He didn’t ask if I wanted to see my old house. Whether that was because he already knew the answer or because he didn’t want to risk asking didn’t matter. I just appreciated him letting me take the lead with this.
Our appointment wasn’t until tomorrow morning so we had some time. I hadn’t been thrilled about the wait, but it was the best we could do. I’d been wracking my brains to figure out what we could do that wouldn’t freak me out or involve a sex marathon that would leave me sore tomorrow, and I’d finally come up with an idea that made me nervous but not panicking, and the nerves were at least a different type of anxiety.
“There are a couple places I’d like to show you, if you’re up for it,” I said as we made our way to the next taxi in line. “Places here that have good memories.”
He smiled. “I’d like that.”
Taking Bradyn to a few places in the city wasn’t just easier than I expected, but more enjoyable too. I liked being able to show him places where I’d been happy. A couple of them had even been from before my dad died.
Staying busy had made it easier to forget why I was there, but by the time we went to bed, my mind had been racing again. Still, I managed to get at least a little sleep so that when Bradyn and I were having breakfast in the hotel restaurant, I felt like I was as mentally prepared as I could be for what I had to do.
“I think I want to talk to Ambrose alone,” I said as we waited for our check.
“Are you sure?”
“Not really,” I said honestly, “but I think it’d be better. If I go in there with you, that just gives him something to use as a distraction, asking how we met, how long we’ve been dating, that sort of thing. I have enough questions for him. I don’t need him asking me any.”
“That makes sense,” Bradyn said. “But only if you’re sure. You don’t have to go through this alone.”
“I know.” I smiled at him. It was a watery smile at best, but it was still there. “And I’m grateful for it. Knowing that you’ll be at the hotel when I get back is exactly what I need.”
He didn’t look like he was happy about my choice, but he didn’t try to talk me out of it. Instead, he walked me out front where a cab was waiting, gave me a kiss, and said that he’d be waiting for me.
His faith in me gave me the courage I needed to make the ride to A. Check & Associates without freaking out. The sight of the building didn’t trigger anything, but that was probably