Free Dark Without You by Sue Lyndon Page A

good-bye.”
    Say good-bye? Really? Like she’d wished for further humiliation. Shooting up to her feet, Alice hurled the now-lukewarm coffee into Andy’s face. She realized her mistake too late.
    Eerie silence, like the calm before a terrible storm, permeated the room. He stood deathly still for several seconds before wiping the liquid away with his sleeve. Then he invaded her personal space, his intense eyes driving fear into her gut. She shivered and inched back until her legs hit the couch. Cornered and guilty as sin, she trembled as she waited for retaliation. A moment passed and he hadn’t yet laid a hand on her, and she felt incredibly stupid and ashamed. Despite all that had happened and despite the fear she felt, deep down she still trusted him with her life. He wouldn’t hurt a hair on her body, spankings not included.
    Alice’s eyes grew wide and she shook her head. “I—I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did that.”
    Andy lifted her chin with one finger and raised an eyebrow. “After we make up, young lady, I will punish you for that.”
    “Make up?”
    “This is all a big misunderstanding, don’t you see? Your brother probably had good intentions, but I don’t think he put the bottle down long enough to truly consider his actions. Tracking down and inviting Madison back was outrageous.” Andy cupped Alice’s cheeks with his large, warm hands stroking her skin with his thumbs.
    “I came to the tour because Rich asked me. He said you’d had a crush on me years ago and thought my presence could keep you from quitting the band. But I wasn’t faking anything between us.” She paused and her head shot up. “You have a show in Memphis tomorrow night. How are you going to—”
    “Shh.” He placed a finger over her mouth. “I’m done with the band.”
    “Oh.”
    A smile formed on his lips. “So where were you running off to with all those boxes, young lady?”
    Alice explained about the apartment she’d planned to lease on the other side of town. He understood, but wouldn’t hear of her living by herself. She agreed to move into his little townhouse. The hurt feelings between them healed as they curled up on the couch together and spoke further about the preceding days. Alice couldn’t begrudge Andy for having a past with Madison—Lord knows she had plenty of notches on her own belt. She believed his accounts, and they pieced together Rich’s deceptions until the full picture appeared with the two of them painted as victims in a desperate man’s plot.
    It was hard for Alice to feel truly happy, even as she lay comfortably in Andy’s arms, because of the dark shadow her brother had cast. His betrayal was like another family tragedy to her, one that she should’ve seen coming years ago. Always obsessed with money and appearances, he’d only helped her when it bolstered his image. He’d made sure she had nice clothes and a car to drive. He’d made sure she had any material possessions she’d needed. Alice had always assumed it was his way of showing love, but now she knew better. Despite this dreadful epiphany about Rich, she’d always feel a certain amount of gratitude toward him. She suspected they might have a reckoning between them one day, but not today.
    Today was about starting her new life with Andy—the man who’d spent years standing on the sidelines ready to step in each time Rich failed.
    She lifted her head off Andy’s chest and stared into his eyes. “Can we leave now?”
    He kissed her forehead and tugged her closer. “Yes, baby, we can leave.”
     
    * * *
     
    “This is the last box,” Andy announced, setting it down next to the others. He’d borrowed a truck from a friend to relocate Alice’s possessions into his townhouse. Now that everything was moved, a sense of warmth and finality settled upon him.
    Alice looked up from the books she was unpacking and smiled. “Thank you.”
    He helped unpack her things and even cleared out one side of his closet for her