Free Coming Home (Homeward Bound Series Book 1) by Rebecca Barber

me a few moments to get my heart beat back under control before I started on my hair. I didn’t have a hair dryer and I assumed Spencer didn’t, either. I hadn’t thought to pack one since I was supposed to be staying in a hotel. After quickly running a towel through my hair, I knew it was as good as it was going to get. I combed my hair and twisted it up on top of my head, taking care to make sure enough stray pieces fell loose across my head to help hide the stitches.
    I started putting my makeup on as normal, but you could still see every blemish. It was beyond frustrating. After doubling the layer of foundation, I applied everything thicker than I usually would. Maybe I could hide behind the mask. Maybe enough swipes of the mascara wand would hide the tears and disguise the bags below my eyes. It took barely twenty minutes before I gave up. I wasn’t exactly happy with how everything had turned out, but I just couldn’t find the energy to care.
    Squaring my shoulders, I pulled opened the door and walked determinedly into the lounge room. Spencer sat on a bar stool at the kitchen bench, sipping a glass of water while flicking through a magazine. I allowed myself a brief second to appreciate his appearance before I walked up and stood beside him, nudging him with my shoulder.
    “You ready?” I asked, my voice trembling.
    As much as I was pretending I was okay the truth was I was freaking the fuck out.
    Spencer rose gracefully. He towered over me but I wasn’t afraid. I never needed to be afraid of Spencer. He rested his hands deliberately on my shoulders, bent down, and lined up our faces so our eyes were level. “Zoe, you know you don’t have to do this, don’t you?”
    “I know,” I squeaked.
    “You still want to though, don’t you?”
    “I have to.”
    “I know. Well then, let’s get it over with,” he confirmed strongly.
    I felt myself nod and Spencer’s warm fingers wrapped around mine as he led me out the door and down the driveway. When he opened my door I realised how much this must be hurting him as well. I’d been selfish. The whole time I’d been getting ready I kept reassuring myself that I’d be okay. That Spencer wouldn’t let anyone or anything hurt me, but not once did I pause to consider how hard it would be for him. He’d always been a nice guy. A good guy. Opening car doors for women wasn’t something I’d ever seen him do before.
    The drive was only ten minutes yet every moment felt like an eternity. Each breath felt like it was being wrenched from my chest. By the time we pulled into the car park in a shower of gravel and dust, I was sweating, my pulse was racing, and my chest was aching. I was regretting my stubbornness and wishing I’d accepted Spencer’s offer to stay home, but I’d never admit that now. I’d told him I could do this and now I had to follow through.
    I should have known Spencer better than that.
    As he put the car in park and killed the ignition, he grabbed my arm. “Zoe?”
    “Yep,” I answered a little too quickly.
    I could feel the bead of perspiration on my lip and as much as I wanted to wipe it away, I knew that would just draw attention to myself. I was hoping that in the dark, Spencer hadn’t noticed.
    “What do you want to tell people?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well, what story do you want to tell them? I just want to make sure we’re on the same page before we head inside.”
    “Oh,” I spluttered. Inside, I was thanking God that Spencer was beside me right now because the reality was I’d hadn’t even thought about how to explain it. Any of it. No amount of makeup would cover the split lip and the stitches. Right now I had no lie on the tip of my tongue that I could roll out confidently. “Ummm…”
    “I have an idea,” he offered.
    “Yeah?”
    “What if we just tell everyone you had an accident?”
    I exhaled heavily. It was pure genius. It was simple. Easy to remember and it wasn’t that big of a stretch. Or at least it