The Vacation

Chapter 17

Monday had dragged on forever. Brenna couldn't remember a day she had struggled so much to focus since the incident. The three missed calls and messages from Detective Brewster had brought the day down even further.

She couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what was the problem. Part of her was filled with anticipation for the next day both for the case and for her personally since she'd be spending the whole day with him.

She spent a sleepless night tossing and turning after he'd left. Somewhere around dawn, after the ever recurring nightmare she'd finally trudged off to the shower where she'd been plagued with fantasies of what could have happened had he stayed.

She surmised that lack of sleep contributed greatly to her sour mood but it didn't account for it all. A yearning, sense of dissatisfaction plagued her followed closely by guilt. If she were honest with herself she had thoroughly enjoyed their kisses. She'd wanted his hands to continue and wanted to feel every inch of his body. Deep down she knew this was natural, that she was an adult woman with needs and desires and Mac was damn sure worthy of that desire but she struggled with the nagging feeling that she was somehow being disloyal to Greg's memory.

No one else expected her to sit and wallow in her grief for the rest of her life, forsaking all chances at happiness, so why did she?

Mac had been right in the words he'd spoken in the library. Greg had been the warmest, most loving man on the planet. There was no scenario in which she could imagine him looking down on her and wanting her to remain alone and hurt. She knew that if she could talk to him; ask him, he'd tell her he wanted her to be happy. So why did she do this to herself?

Unable to answer the ongoing question she pinwheeled to the next issure plaguing her mind.

The first call from Mark she'd honestly missed as she'd been up getting herself a cup of coffee. After listening to the voicemail he'd left her she'd simply ignored the next two calls.

"Hey Brenna. I just ran into Isabelle at the sandwich shop on 4th. So you didn't mention that Mac and you were some sort of thing. It's good to hear that you are moving on and open to the idea of a new relationship. I support this step for you. Hey, listen, I'm sure we are both going to be going to Madison's birthday party on Saturday and I thought we could save some gas, reduce our carbon footprint and all that by riding together. Get back to me ok."

Brenna had groaned loudly into the empty office, she could just hear the eagerness in his voice. It seemed, despite her clear and concise rejection of his advances he'd simply chosen to believe he could wait her out.

Brenna could all but guarantee Isabelle had imparted her valued information in hopes of angering Mark and securing herself in the position of sympathetic friend. Although she didn't give a damn if Isabelle had secured Marks attentions, in fact it would make Brenna's life easier if she did, she did have a small chuckle in the fact that Isabelle's plans had gone askew once again.

In the exact opposite reaction that Isabelle had intended Mark had decided that Brenna was now healed and ready and he would start his pursuit in earnest. She dreaded having another talk with him and trying, once again, to make him understand that at no time were they going to be more than what they were.

She hadn't listened to either of his subsequent messages and cringed when she saw the red light blinking at her from her phone.

She'd finally decided to head to the gym during her lunch break to try to bang out some of her frustrations. An hour later, she was sweaty, tired and still bound up inside. She was trying her hardest to concentrate on a city building inspectors report when Brad and Lana arrived with a handcart full of boxes en-tow.