Hope Awakened by Charlene Hartnady
Chapter 12
Later that day…
Willing her hand to steady,Hope took a deep breath and continued applying the paint to her nails. Part of her felt she was being silly. She was in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t like anyone was going to look at her toes. But then again, she had to look at her own toes and she happened to like them painted. Not silly at all. Therefore, here she was, carefully applying coral-colored varnish to her toenails.
Just when she had one foot done and the big toe on her second foot half-finished, she thought she heard shouting from down the hall.
She listened, cocking her head. The house was massive. It was hard to tell.
No, wait…there it was again. More shouting. What in the world? She had just put the brush back in the container and was twisting it closed when a hard knock sounded on her door. Two seconds later, Reece strode through the door. His eyes were blazing. He wore a pair of linen pants. White this time. The fabric looked good against his bronze skin. His muscles looked out there. Like he’d been pumping iron.
“Come in…I guess,” she deadpanned. “You do know that it’s customary to wait until a person invites you in? What if I had been changing?” Changing would have been better than this. As it stood, she was wearing an oversized hoodie that was about a million years old and looked it. Her hair was in a messy bun on the top of her head.
His murderous expression became even more murderous. She hadn’t thought it possible. His eyes seemed darker. Like thick honey. “Do you make a habit of interfering, Dr. Bristol?”
“What?” she frowned. “Where is this even coming from?”
“I was pulled aside by the king and interrogated on the way I run my team. Do you know why he would have done that?” He narrowed his eyes for a second.
Why the questions? What was going on here?Hope spotted Locke hovering around in the hallway outside her bedroom. He seemed to be pacing. She couldn’t catch a glimpse of his face. “Why would I know something like that?” she finally said, her voice timid. It felt like a trick question. Like he was trying to trap her into saying something she might regret.
“Leukos wanted to know why I refused to give Locke leave. He didn’t think that it was fair. Something about the queen being upset. Then it turns out that they heard all about it from you.”
“Hang on just a minute—” She put up a hand.
“I won’t hang on for any length of time, Doctor. This is my team and my assignment. I don’t appreciate you interfering.”
“I wasn’t interfering. Locke was depressed because he was denied leave. Claire wanted to know why he didn’t seem himself. She was the one who picked up on it. She was the one who asked me about it.”
“So now you’re blaming the queen for your flappy mouth. Why am I not surprised?”
She sucked in a breath. “I do not have a flappy mouth, and I’m not blaming Claire.” She shook her head.
“Seems like it to me.”
“I’m explaining what happened…that’s all! But since you’re shouting at me for my wrongdoings, let me just point out that I think it’s wrong that you wouldn’t let Locke go for one lousy weekend.”
“He is going. Well done! Your meddling worked. Locke is going and you’re stuck with me, instead.” With that, he stormed out.
The front door slammed as Reece left the house moments later. Locke came into her bedroom. He looked sheepish. “I didn’t mean to get you into trouble. I’m so sorry about that, Dr. Bristol.”
“Come on!” she growled. “You should really call me Hope. We live together. We’ve become friends. It’s stupid how formal you have to be all the time.”
“I can’t call you Hope. It would be going against orders.”
She made a noise of frustration and rolled her eyes, flopping back on the bed. Reece was damned infuriating. She sat back up after a few seconds.
“I’m so sorry,” Locke said again, running a hand through his hair.
“Listen to me,” she said, “you have nothing to be sorry about. You should never have been denied the leave in the first place. I don’t feel bad about telling Magnar and Claire. They picked up on your somber mood and I told them what was going on. I also explained that Reece was only looking out for the royal family and that you were ultimately okay with it. If Reece had given me half a chance to explain, he would have known that.”
“I shouldn’t have put you in that position in the first place.” Locke looked upset. “I shouldn’t have moped around at work. It wasn’t professional.” She could hear Reece in that statement.
“Stop,” she said. “Stop right there. This isn’t on you.” She smiled. “So, when do you leave?”
His eyes lit up. “Tomorrow after my shift. I get two whole nights on human soil. I can’t wait to tell Tracey.” He didn’t move. His eyes stayed on hers. Locke looked tense.
“What are you waiting for then?” She lifted her brows.
Instead of heading off, phone in hand, Locke lingered. “Maybe I shouldn’t go.” He shook his head.
“Of course you should go.”
“Reece is angry. You—”
“He’ll get over it. I’ll apologize to him. He blames me, not you. I don’t mind at all.” She shrugged.
“He’s not too thrilled with me, either. It might be hell sharing a house with him for a whole weekend.”
“I’ll be fine. How bad could it be?” She rolled her eyes.
Locke still looked hesitant. “Reece can be—”
“I know how Reece can be, and I’ll cope. Call your girlfriend and tell her the good news. I’m a grownup. I promise you I can handle that stick-in-the-mud.”
Locke pushed out a breath. He finally grinned, his eyes lighting up. “Thank you, Doctor. I won’t forget this. I really hope you’re right about being able to handle Reece.”
“Of course I’m right.” She laughed.
