Liam: Branded Brothers by Raen Smith Read Free Book Online Page A

unable to do anything but feel
overwhelming joy. As his lips turned blue, all Charla could see was light. She
had waited five minutes before calling an ambulance. Every second had ticked
like a step closer to freedom.
    As she wiped the sweat from her brow, a loud creak sounded
in the house. She lay back down heavily on her pillow, ignoring the songs of
the old cottage. They no longer startled her like they had when she first moved
in. She pulled the covers up to her chin and stared at the shadows on the
ceiling, wondering if the memory of her step-father would ever disappear. They
had been quiet for the past three years as she cared for Jack and enjoyed the
solitude of the cottage, away from her past.
    A quiet thud sounded through her opened window and then a
clutter of frantic steps followed. She sprang up. It seemed too loud for a deer
or other critter. She listened again, hearing what she thought were footsteps
again, but this time they were softer. She flipped the covers off and crept
through the dark bedroom into the hallway.
    Charla was used to taking care of herself and tonight would
be no exception. She grabbed the baseball bat tucked in the corner of the
dining room and gripped it tight. Jack used to bang on the railing of the back
deck to keep the occasional black bear away. She scanned the shadows of the
living room before turning to the back deck. She peered through the glass door,
her adrenaline coursing through her body. She wound her fingers tighter around
the handle and listened.
    Nothing.
    She reached for the light switch, her index finger shaking.
She hesitated for one second longer before she flipped it and illuminated the
back deck.
    “Oh!” she yelled as the beady eyes of a raccoon stared back
at her. She loosened her grip on the bat and clutched her chest. “Jesus Christ.
Just a raccoon.”
    She double checked the rest of the yard, scanning down by
the lake and the steps. It was empty. So she flipped the switch, leaving the
raccoon back in the dark. She ran her fingers over the smooth wood of the bat
before turning back to her bedroom, the bat still in her hand.
    “For safe measure,” she whispered as she walked into her
room. She closed the door and locked it. Then she pressed her back against the
door, trying to steady her breathing. She used to sleep with her door locked
since she could remember, but it was different here at Jack’s cottage. She
hadn’t slept one night with her door closed or locked. She had always felt safe
here. It was home.
    But tonight it didn’t feel like home, and she realized it
was time to move on. She eyed the folded fleece pajamas on the dresser with
disdain before she shoved them into the garbage below and crawled back into her
bed, still clutching the bat.
     
    ***
     
    The morning sun streamed through
Charla’s window, making her squint as she opened her eyes. It was 6:30 a.m. on
the dot. Her body was accustomed to the exact moment of Jack’s waking. He knew
no holiday or weekend. Every day was the same. He’d wake up, shuffle down the
hall, and stand in the doorway. After a few seconds, he’d ask if she was awake
to which she would reply, “You bet I am.” For the past few months, he’d ask who
she was. She always responded with, “The woman of your dreams, Jack.”
    But she didn’t hear his shuffling this morning, and she
didn’t see his outline in her doorway. All she could feel were her hands still
loosely holding the baseball bat. She sighed and rolled out of bed, leaning the
bat against the wall. There was no sense in leaving the bat in the dining room
anymore. Her phone chirped, indicating she received a text message.
    Liam? Her stomach flipped with the possibility of
Liam thinking about her already this morning. She’d thought about him more than
she would have liked to admit. She looked down at the dress she was still
wearing before grabbing her phone. She slid through the screens to see the text
from her best friend, Jill.
    Of course, it’s