Page 57 of The Brave and the Reckless (Bravetown #1)

brOOKS MONROE: ONE NIGHT ONLY

Many fans expressed their disappointment in the choice of venue and the limited ticket availability…

E SRA

I spent four days drifting in and out of sleep.

The third day was the worst, when the fever spiked again and even the joints in my fingers burned to the point where I couldn’t hold my phone anymore.

Noah barely left my side throughout the whole thing.

He couldn’t take the entire time off, but he had someone else handle his work with the park’s horses and check on Tornado, Cookie and Crumble, so he was really just gone for the few hours he had to play Ace.

Once I was well enough to get out of bed, he helped me into the tub in the master bathroom and showed off his electric hot-shower contraption.

It was made for camping grounds, but it worked well enough for him to wash days of sweat and grime off my skin and out of my hair.

His fingers carefully combed along my scalp and through the knotted ends.

I let my head fall back, every molecule in my body humming with comfort.

“The dark bronze looks great,” I mumbled as I blinked up at the shower rod he’d installed.

“Yeah? You like it?” he chuckled.

“Mm-hmm, yeah.” I let my eyes fall shut, soaking in every soothing touch.

I didn’t care that much about the shower curtain fixture, but we’d chosen it lying naked in his bed while he’d tried to distract me with his tongue.

In the end, I’d just picked one, so he’d finally sink his head between my legs.

Lucky enough, the dark brown did look great in the bright rooftop space.

He rinsed my hair and rubbed a towel through it before helping me up and out of the tub. I smelled like him now. I was going to use his shampoo for the rest of my life if it meant getting to smell him whenever I whipped my head around.

It took another week for my body to fully recover, but despite the bland diet and early bedtimes, that week was one of the best of my life.

I wore Noah’s shirts around the house and wandered barefoot through the backyard.

Noah made me tea and cradled me in his lap while I sipped it, and we watched teen horseback-riding dramas on Netflix.

And we lay under that beautiful skylight, tangled in the blankets, sharing secrets and stories from our lives while we tried not to get distracted by all the kissing we could do for hours on end without interruption .

By Tuesday, I felt well enough to leave the house with Noah as he went to work.

He said he’d smuggle me through the staff entrance, but I waved him off and headed to the ticket office instead.

Even Stephanie at the counter tried to tell me that I could just go through, but I insisted on getting a ticket.

I’d left. I was just like any other guest. Almost. I felt a bit like Clark Kent.

I’d put my hair up in a high ponytail and had borrowed Noah’s big aviators just to be safe.

I didn’t want to shatter some little kid’s illusion on the off-chance they knew my face.

The crowd in the park seemed denser than usual.

Maybe it was just the height of summer season.

Part of me couldn’t help but think it was because people preferred the new Annie Lou.

I took a bite of my horseshoe pretzel to swallow the bitterness down as I stood in line for the meet and greet.

His smile didn’t falter until I got to the front of the line and flipped my sunglasses up.

“Hey Lucky.”

Lucas shook his head, the smile returning slowly. “Hello gorgeous.”

I handed my phone to Clarence, who was assisting with Lucas’s crowd, and went up to get my picture taken with Kit Holliday.

“Are you coming back?” he asked when I was close enough for only me to hear him.

“If you’ll have me,” I said and meant it. I was going to talk to Renee later, but Lucas had spent so many hours on those videos with me, trying to help me find my footing here, that I wouldn’t blame him if he never wanted to see me again after the way I took off.

“Yes, please,” he said and put an arm around my shoulder for the picture, leaning in to whisper, “you can be my wingwoman, so I can finally pull myself an Annie Lou. The new one’s kinda hot. I have dibs.”

“You’re incorrigible,” I laughed.

Clarence handed back my phone and Lucas sent me off with a big smile and an “I’ll see you later.”

I considered staying for the show afterward, but my throat closed up at the thought of seeing someone else in my costume.

Playing Annie Lou wasn’t what I’d envisioned for myself, but it was so much fun.

Between the excited kids and the show itself, I also got to spend all my time with the people I cared about in a place designed to make everyone’s days brighter.

Maybe it wasn’t what I was going to spend the rest of my life doing, but I wasn’t ready to give it up yet.

That’s what I had to talk to Renee about.

“I want to come back,” I said in the firmest voice I could manage.

I sat in Renee’s office, shoulders squared and hands clutched together to stop them from trembling.

I hadn’t even been this nervous for my med school interviews.

Those had been based on my merit and my grades, which had been impeccable.

My Bravetown record wasn’t as impeccable though.

“I know that leaving without a heads-up after the accident was a horrible thing to do, but in my defense, I wouldn’t be able to do the show right now anyway, or even help in the stables or anything.

With the shoulder, I mean. So I would have been useless either way.

But when I’m better, Noah and I will do the Ace and Annie thing permanently if you still want us to. ”

It was the one thing I knew I could bring to the table.

Over the last few days, Noah had given me a bit more insight into his profiles.

He’d been putting in very little effort since day one.

All he had to do was raise his brows, smirk, flex his gloved hands and his biceps, and the views tumbled in.

It was an easy side hustle for him. Or had been.

After Lucas’s footage of the three of us had run out, people kept asking for more.

Both their comment sections were full of it.

A lot of them were particularly asking for a part two of a video that had gone a little viral.

That dynamic was the one thing I brought to the table.

Especially since Noah said there was no one else he’d ever indulge like this.

I was the only one who got more Ace Ryder if I asked him for it.

Renee tapped her pen against the open file on her desk, with my almost empty CV at the very top of it. “Well, I think we need to clear something up first. It says medical leave of absence in your employee file.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Judging by the way you just tried to talk me into giving you a job, it sounds like you resigned. But I never received a resignation from you.”

“But I left. I didn’t even tell anyone. I just… I left.”

Renee crossed her arms in front of her chest and regarded me with raised brows.

“Well, I have no written resignation, and as far as I know, you’re recovering from an occupational injury.

Where and how you do that is legally none of my business.

I do have some insurance forms for you to fill out, though, and a meeting with HR you’ll have to attend. Once you feel well enough.”

“Oh. Wait. So I’m not fired? I’m still Annie Lou?

” That didn’t seem right. Sure, I’d had an accident, but besides being inconsiderate, I must have broken a bunch of clauses in my work contract by running off without notice.

At the very least, they would have needed a doctor’s note to confirm my medical leave.

“Yes, Esra,” Renee sighed, and her face softened into a smile, “you’re still the Pretty Annie Lou.”

“And that other girl…”

“I’ve decided to start casting understudies for our lead roles. I hear they’re becoming quite popular.”

“Oh.” Oh . I still had my job. I got to come back. The bridges I thought I’d burned seemed just a little charred. Tears started pricking in my eyes. Everyone had just welcomed me back. Unconditionally. “I guess I should tell you that I won’t need my room anymore. You can reassign it.”

“All right. You’ll need to get your stuff out.

I believe your parents tried to send someone to pick up your things, but I hadn’t heard from you and I couldn’t find your signature on any of the paperwork.

And then the movers had the audacity to throw a tantrum.

” She smirked and twirled her finger by her temple.

“As if I was going to let a bunch of strange men on to Bravetown property to rummage through my employee’s belongings. ”

“It’s all still there?” Dad had only said he’d hired movers and that they were delayed. He’d taken on the task and had never even mentioned that my signature might be needed.

“Just as you left it.” Renee held out a box of tissues. I hadn’t noticed the tears spilling down my cheeks. “Before you leave, we should discuss the consequences for your… mishap in the Haunted Mines. ”

Shit. I’d forgotten about that. It felt like forever ago. “Of course. Again, I’m so sorry,” I croaked as I wiped my face clean.

“I think a paid suspension will do. Six weeks, starting three weeks ago. You can come and go as you please, but you’re not allowed to work.”

“So I come back to work in three weeks? When my shoulder is better?”

“If a dislocated shoulder that didn’t require surgery takes six weeks to heal before you’re allowed physical activity, and that recovery time just so happens to line up with the suspension, then yes.

” She tried to put on a nonchalant face as she waved her hand through the air.

As if I hadn’t noticed her explicitly mentioning it was a paid suspension as well.