Before Him Comes Me (27 page)

Walking around the new desk that had been set up for her,
Zara finds a small black frame with a picture of the two of them at Christmas. Opposite
her frame sits another black frame on Garrett’s desk.

Bouncing out from behind her desk, Zara runs into Garrett’s
arms and hugs him as hard as she can.

“This is why I was in such a hurry to get home. I was
excited for you to see your new study space. I’m sorry I scared you.”

“I love it. Everything about it is perfect. Everything. Thank
you for making me feel like I fit so perfectly here.”

“You do fit perfectly.”

“It’s home.”

“I will be fine.”

Garrett walks over to the bed and takes Zara’s face in both
of his hands. “How about, I don’t want to leave you. How about, I’m not
thrilled to be away from your beautiful face.” Kissing her square on the lips,
Garrett releases her to return to his packing.

“I mean… I am not jumping for joy that you are going away,
either. But you did say that this was a necessary trip for an important client.”

“Mhm, but I would feel better if you stayed at the loft with
Viv.”

“Garrett, this is my home now. Why do you want me to go to
the loft?”

“Little One, of course this is your home. It will always be
your home. I would like for you to be at the loft for a couple of reasons. First,
Viv will be alone as well and Branden is not excited about her staying by
herself while he is out of town either.

“Second, the loft has state of the art security. I want to
know you are safe. As an added bonus, there is that super big bathtub that you
absolutely love.”

“I would be happy to stay at the loft if Viv would not mind
having me as a guest. Can I use Branden’s sports car to get back and forth to
school?” Zara asks slyly.

Pushing her down on the bed, Garrett laughs and shakes his
head. “Nope and now I am going to tell him to hide the keys. You can use my car
now that you have your license to get back and forth to school.”

“Thank you. Not as much fun, but very much appreciated.”

“I’m going to miss you like–”

The doorbell chimes.

Garrett pouts. He is off Zara and at the door of the bedroom
in a flash. “Stay in here until I come back. Understood? I am getting rid of
whoever it is. I am spending the last hours before I leave alone with you.”

Smiling, Zara sits silent on the bed.

“Understood?” Garrett repeats in a much more forceful tone.

“Yes.”

With that, he is off to see who is at the door. In all the
time that Zara has been living at the house, no one had ever rang the doorbell.
In fact, there had never been surprise company. The entrance is hidden from the
main road, so if someone did not know what they were looking for, they would
not find the driveway.

Garrett appears in the bedroom door with a perplexed face.
He holds out his hand for Zara to join him and leads her to the living room. Standing
in the center of the room is her brother, Fredrik.

Zara looks at Garrett and he gives her hand a quick squeeze.
Tears fill her eyes as she walks closer to her brother. He takes the last two
steps to meet her, opening his arms. She hugs him so tightly he makes coughing
noises.

“Little One, don’t break him. He’s only just arrived.” Zara
releases her grip on her only brother, the brother she thought she would never
see again.

“Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat. You look
so thin.”

“I can eat. Garrett, I am sorry that I came without any
notice. I hope that you will allow me to stay for a few days in spite of my
poor manners,” Fredrik implores.

Zara turns to look at Garrett and await his response. “Actually,
Fredrik, I will be leaving on a business trip this afternoon.”

Fredrik looks dejected until Garrett adds, “I’m afraid you
will have to stay with Zara at the loft.”

“Fredrik… how about a shower and change of clothes and then
lunch?” Zara’s smile grows as she watches her brother’s face light up. After showing
him to the guest room and giving him a few more hugs, Zara goes to find Garrett
in his room where he is finishing his packing.

“Thank you for allowing him to stay.”

“Zara Faith, I am not your Dom. Yes, I am your protector and
I am in love with you. I know how much your brother showing up here means to
you. Of course I want him to stay. Actually, the thought of him here while I am
away gives me an additional level of comfort.

“I do have a few questions for him though.” Closing the
suitcase and lifting it off the bed, Garrett walks to the door. “The thought of
your father coming here looking for him and me being away does not make me very
happy. There is still a conversation that needs to happen.”

Sliding her arms around Garrett’s neck, Zara presses her
body against his and hears the suitcase leave his grasp and thump on the ground.
His hands snake around her body and she tells him, “I am going to miss you
madly. Please be safe and hurry home to me.”

“You have your credit card and bank card, right?” Zara nods.
“If Fredrik needs anything, get it for him. He only has one small bag with him.
If you are too busy with school, ask Viv to take him. In fact, I will let Viv
know that she should take him, so he won’t feel uncomfortable having his sister
do it.”

“Garrett, you have clients to take care of, you do not have
time to worry about me and Fredrik.”

“Little One, you will always be my focus, my priority and my
greatest pleasure. This is what I do, so please let me do it.”

“Thank you. I love you. You are my focus, my priority and
greatest pleasure as well.”

“I know.” Chuckling, Garrett walks to Zara and lifts her up onto
the island. He positions himself between her legs and pulls her as close to him
as possible. “We should take Fredrik out to eat instead. No clean-up and I can
get you both squared away at the loft before I take off.”

“If that would make you happy, then it is fine with me. The
fact that my brother is here and I will be spending even a couple of days with
him makes me so happy. Garrett, I wish your trip could be rescheduled. I would
have liked for the two of you to spend time together as well.”

“Little One, we don’t know the circumstances of this visit. This
may be the first of many visits. Your brother will always be welcome in our
home. In time, I will get to know him. But I am sorry that I will not be around
for this first visit. I need for you to stay in contact with me. If your father
shows up, you are to call me immediately.”

“I understand and I will be careful. I am still going to
miss you terribly.”

As Zara lowers her lips to Garrett’s, she hears the sound of
Fredrik walking toward them. Changing what was going to be a very passionate
kiss into a quick peck, Zara looks into Garrett’s eyes and smiles. Garrett helps
her off the counter.

“I can come back if you need more time,” Fredrik says softly.

Garrett turns to him and smiles. “I will always need more
time with your beautiful sister. If we require privacy, we will go to the
bedroom. Other than that, you will have to get used to me holding her because I
cannot keep my hands off her for very long.”

Garrett leans down for another quick peck on the lips, and then
releases her. He makes his way over to Fredrik. “We were just discussing going
out for lunch. How does that sound? I would prefer to have you both settled at
the loft before I leave town.”

“Sure. I am good with whatever.” Zara walks around the
island and approaches her brother. He has grown taller in the months since the
funeral. With wet hair and a change of clothes, Fredrik seems more relaxed but
it still bothers Zara how thin he appears.

“I need a few minutes to throw some things in a bag. Fredrik,
there are granola bars. Help yourself.” Zara opens the pantry door and points a
shelf loaded with snack foods.

Within the hour, the three are sitting in a restaurant
placing their lunch orders. Garrett jokes with Fredrik telling him to order two
entrees if he wants and to the surprise of his sister, he does. Once the
waitress is away from the table, Garrett begins to ask the questions Zara has
been thinking since laying eyes on her younger brother.

“Okay, Fredrik. Explain how you got to Michigan and found
the house. That information is not easy to come by, so let’s have it.”

Eyes diverted downward, Fredrik begins to tell the story of
how he walked out of their family home after months of neglect. “Once mother
died, he just snapped. He didn’t buy groceries and when I asked him for money
for food… he would hit me.”

The soft tone her brother uses intensifies the pain Zara is
feeling.

“Finally, I asked him if I could spend time with some
friends.” Tears well up in his eyes as he struggles to get the rest of the
story out. “He looked at me and said that he really did not care what I did; that
all of his children were a disappointment to him.”

Garrett had moved his chair closer to Zara’s and wrapped his
arm around her early into Fredrik’s story. He hands her his handkerchief to
wipe the tears away as they fall. “I am so sorry I suggested a restaurant, Little
One. I would have never, had I known,” he whispers to her as she turns into him
for comfort.

“Fredrik, I am so sorry that this has happened to you over
the last several months. Had either of us known, we would have insisted on you
coming with us after the funeral,” Garrett says evenly.

“He would have never allowed me to leave with Zara. He sees
red when it comes to her. The fact that she showed up to the funeral at all was
a slap in the face in his eyes. He trashed your room once we got home that day.
On the same day that we buried mother, he destroyed everything in your room.”

Reaching her hand across the table, Zara takes Fredrik’s
hand in hers. “Michigan is my home. The Dawsons are my family. We will do
everything we can to make that happen for you too. I am going to do everything
I can do to keep you safe and away from him.”

She releases his hand as the waitress appears with the food.

“The sad part is, I am not even sure he is aware he is doing
it. He is so lost without her. Mother was his everything.”

Zara’s hand slams on the table, making the plates clank and
startling both men. “Then he should have treated her better.”

Garrett places his hand on top of Zara’s and slowly her
tension eases. The three try to salvage the rest of the meal before Garrett’s trip
by transitioning into lighter conversation about Michigan and Zara’s school
life.

*****

“Okay. This sucks.”

Garrett holds Zara in his arms outside the loft while he waits
for the car service to arrive. Zara can tell he feels guilty for having to
leave after everything that had just come to light. Holding him tightly, she
tries to reassure him she and Fredrik would be fine and that he should
concentrate on work.

“I am sorry he just popped in,” Zara whispers into his
chest.

“Little One, we are in this together for the long haul. I am
very glad that he showed up today and not tomorrow when no one would have been
at the house to greet him. I am sorry that I cannot move this trip around. I
have worked every angle and I am needed on-site.”

“I love you so much. Thank you for giving me this last year
of experiences.”

“Hey… One week. I will be gone for one week. Then we will
work on a solution for getting Fredrik here permanently. You will be in this
spot in five days to greet me. Preferably alone so we can have a few moments of
make out time. Understood?”

“Understood.”

“I love you completely, Zara Faith Evans.”

“And I love you completely, John Garrett Dawson.”

Garrett gets in the car and Zara watches it pull off and
disappear with the man she loves in the backseat. Wrapping her arms around her
body, she takes a few deep breaths to get her mind under control.

She smiles and looks up at the sky.

I have not needed any of the techniques in quite a while. Ironic
that the first time I hear about Father, I am pulling them out again. I miss
you, Mother. I am so sorry that I let this happen to Fredrik. I am stronger
now. I will fight for him.

“You have changed.”

Spinning around, Zara is staring into the eyes of the only
family she has left, the family she will hold onto with everything she has.

“I saw the change when you came to the funeral, but there has
been even more of a change since then.”

“Time and distance from that house and the Community has
allowed me to grow.” Zara looks at the ground and kicks some gravel around with
her foot. “It is the small pebbles that create the biggest changes.”

Looking down and smiling, Fredrik asks, “Do you love him?
Garrett?”

“Yes. I am deeply in love with him.” Zara’s smile could not
be suppressed. “Do you want to go back inside?”

“In a minute. Are you sorry that you did not finish your Circle
Ceremony?”

Zara looks at Fredrik. “No, Fredrik, I am not. I am sorry if
that seems selfish. I would not be the me that I am today had I accepted his
collar that day. Garrett gave me a precious gift – the opportunity to find me
before giving myself to him.”

“It does not sound selfish. I am glad you chose him. Mother
would have been very happy as well.”

Zara stands stunned. Opening and closing her mouth, she has
no luck pushing out any of the words swirling around in her mind. Grabbing the
pendant that hangs around her neck, Zara closes her eyes to settle her racing
thoughts.

“Zara… maybe we should go inside for this part of the
conversation.” Shaking her head, Zara slides down and sits on the ground. Fredrik
removes a letter from his back pocket and takes a seat beside her.

“Mother knew about the letter to Michigan State University. She
knew about Garrett’s plan to bring you to Michigan. Did you ever wonder how the
school had the documents it needed for your application? The documentation for
the identification; bank account… Zar… all of that takes time to process. Mother
even packed your clothes for me to sneak out to be loaded into his car.”

Zara burst into tears. It is too much. First, the brother
that she loved had been neglected at the hands of her father – the man that had
made her childhood a living hell for all three of them. Now she finds out her
Mother had risked everything to help her gain her freedom and escape the life
she was forced into. Zara remembers the last time she had looked into her mother’s
eyes. Her mother had been trying to convey something. Zara did not understand
at the time, but she had known there was something.