a kiss, she felt the shattered pieces of herself healing, the love in her heart growing, and the strength in them becoming more powerful than ever before.
Chapter Thirty
THURSDAY MORNING AS the sun spilled over Sampson, asleep on his doggy bed by the glass wall, Justin lay awake worrying about Chloe. The last two days had passed in cycles of distress and disbelief with intermittent moments of relief, but at the end of those difficult hours they found their way back into each other’s arms. Chloe was nestled against him now, sleeping soundly. He didn’t dare move and tried not to breathe too hard. She’d been having nightmares since the attack, jerking in her sleep and calling out. He wished he could wipe her memory clean and take away all of her doubts and fears.
It hadn’t taken long for LOCAL’s human resources team to conclude their internal investigation. Chloe had been cleared of Alan’s allegations yesterday afternoon and given approval to return to work with one caveat. She was not allowed to discuss the incident or have any contact with Darren Rogers because of the familial conflict of interest and ongoing police investigation. They’d given her two weeks to decide if she was going to return to work. Justin knew her indecision was a big part of what was making her feel lost. Chloe thrived on being prepared, knowing what she was doing from one day to the next. Justin was pretty sure she also needed to accomplish more than just being on a daily basis. She’d built a life on her accomplishments, whether they were simple, like making albums for friends, or complex, like creating new programs for the residents of LOCAL. Those accomplishments were hers to own. They were validations of how far she’d come. There were no two ways about it. Chloe was floundering. Despite family and friends stopping by, and a visit with Shadow yesterday to try to bring a little light into Chloe’s day, she still seemed to exist on autopilot. Justin knew she needed more than friends or dogs to get through this. She needed her work and the residents she’d come to love the way other people needed oxygen, and Justin vowed to do everything he could to help her find her way back to them.
She twitched in his arms, and he held her tighter, whispering, “I’ve got you, sweetheart. You’re okay.”
“Sorry,” she said as she turned in his arms, bringing them nose to nose. Sadness hung in the dark crescents beneath her eyes.
He kissed her softly and said, “Don’t be sorry, babe. Maybe we should talk to a therapist and see if they can help.”
“Maybe. I’m just…” She sighed, burrowing closer.
“Talk to me, sweets. What were you dreaming about?”
“They were taking you to prison,” she said just above a whisper.
Her worries were his fault, and that gutted him. “You know Justice is trying to get the charges dropped. He’s pushing Alan’s lawyer now that the allegations he made against you have been disproven. LOCAL’s HR team interviewed almost thirty people, and several said they were uncomfortable with Alan. His allegations did more harm than good for him. That’ll bite him in the ass.”
“But nobody said he did anything inappropriate. And that was just the internal investigation at LOCAL. As far as the police are concerned, nothing has been proven.”
“Not yet, but Justice said Alan dug himself a hole that will be hard to climb out of by placing those false allegations. The police will follow up with the people who claimed to be uncomfortable with him. They’ll dig deeper. They’re liable to find dirt on him. Justice thinks there’s a good chance the charges against me will be dropped.”
“I know, but I’m still worried. I just got you. I don’t want to lose you.”
“You won’t. Let’s give the police and Justice’s private investigator time to do their jobs.” He kissed her again and said, “Have you given any more thought to going back to work?”
“That and you going to prison are all I think about. One of my colleagues is handling a meeting with the teenagers who are taking part in the Junior/Senior Program this afternoon. What if those kids find out what’s going on?”
Word traveled fast through the small Cape Cod towns. There was a good chance those kids had already heard about the attack, so he focused on the things that mattered. “You were cleared of his false allegations. You’re the victim in all of this, and I’m sure everyone who