There were so many stories. She couldn’t ever hope to capture them all. But she just wanted to focus on the things that were important to Brady—dedication, ambition, trust, hope, and working for the good of the community.

And when he finished, the cheers were even louder than they had been before.

Heather leaned over toward Liz and spoke low. “You did a really good job with that speech.”

Liz just stared at her, stunned. She was still not used to Heather acting normal, but ever since Liz had confronted her at the gala she seemed to be trying harder. “Thank you.”

Brady came offstage and scooped her up into his arms. “Brilliant. So brilliant. Like nothing else I’ve ever experienced,” he muttered against her skin.

Liz breathed in for what felt like the first time. She had survived her first election, and not just survived—Brady had won!

Chapter 27

MINE

The celebrations seemed to last forever.

Brady spent hours talking to reporters and answering questions about his victory. Then he spent even more time with the constituents who had come out tonight to see him. He was a star—smiling for pictures, shaking hands, kissing babies—the politician’s agenda. The room had an energy about it that seemed unstoppable.

It was certainly infectious. Every second that she felt as if she was getting tired, her feet were hurting her, or she couldn’t keep a smile on her face, she saw the people who greeted Brady. They were the reason they were even here today, the reason Brady had won.

After the primary party, they moved to another celebration for his high-end donors. Most of them had been at the fund-raising gala last weekend. They had been seated at the primary party, but Brady liked to thank them in additional ways. It was good to keep donors happy.

Liz sipped champagne and smiled at the faces that she had seen over and over this summer. She wondered what each of them wanted in return for their donation. How many of them had agendas they wanted to press on Brady, as Chelsea had?

She forced those thoughts out of her head and just enjoyed a night of celebration. Brady had the rest of the week off before delving into the general election, and she looked forward to those precious moments alone with him before school started. Between school and the campaign she wasn’t sure either of them would have much time together. Her chest ached at the thought of not being there to help with every speech as she had over the summer, but she had to sacrifice some of that for the greater good—her own independence.

She loved Brady like mad, but she needed a life beyond him. Liz was ready to begin anew. The more she thought about it, the more excited she got about her work in the PhD program. The thought of working in journalism, creating original research in the field, to maybe one day become a professor like her mentor was all too intriguing.

Marilyn approached her near the end of the evening and pulled Liz into a hug. “It is really wonderful to have you here, dear.”

“Thank you,” she said. Her voice was always thick with emotion whenever she spoke with Brady’s parents.

Marilyn pulled back to look at Liz with her hands still on Liz’s shoulders. “Don’t be a stranger when you start school. We’ve enjoyed having you around this summer.”

“I’ll be back on the campaign every chance I get.”

“We know you will,” she said with an easy smile. “Good night.”

Jeff said good night as well and then they departed. Clay and Savannah had never made it to this event and Chris had retired about an hour ago. The numbers were dwindling and only a few older drunk couples remained dancing in the center of the room.

Brady returned to her side after escorting his parents out. “Are you about ready?”

“Dying to get out of these heels,” she admitted.

“I’ll have someone pull the car around.”

Brady said a final farewell to the remaining guests and then they exited the party. It was just past three o’clock in the morning when they finally sat down in the back of the town car. Liz sighed heavily and leaned into Brady’s arm that he had wrapped around her shoulder.

“This was an amazing night,” she breathed.

“I loved sharing it with you.” He kissed her temple and she just sighed louder.

Liz had a feeling that she was going to fall asleep on the drive back to Raleigh. Her mind was exhausted as much as her body was. She couldn’t wait to sink into the soft mattress and wake up to five full days with Brady lounging around the house.

A second later, Brady was shaking her awake and she realized that she must have passed out. She fluttered her eyes open and yawned wide as she came to. “Are we home already?”

“No, baby, just a short detour,” he said. The door opened and Brady helped Liz out of the car.

She glanced around her, trying to figure out where they were. It was pitch-black. The car headlights and the light of the moon offered the only illumination of where she was. There were no buildings and it appeared that they were at the end of a paved road. Everything before them was gravel.

“You brought me to the woods?” she asked, confused.

Brady didn’t have a chance to respond before the driver handed him a few things and then with a nod returned to the car. Brady passed her a jacket, which she took, though she was utterly confused. Next he handed her a flashlight.

“Ready?”

She stared down at her heels. “What is going on? And do you expect me to walk through the woods in these?”

Brady laughed. “It’s a short walk, and not through the woods. There’s a path.”

“Okay,” she said apprehensively.

Liz slid the jacket on over her party dress. It was mid-August so it wasn’t exactly cold outside, but the wind whipped up around her, causing her to shiver. She flicked the flashlight on and walked with Brady across the street to the concrete path that led down the dirt road.

She felt a bit as if she were at the beginning of a horror movie. Walking around in high heels at night in the middle of the woods with nothing to defend herself and only a flashlight that was probably going to break in a matter of seconds. She had so many questions, but Brady didn’t seem as if he was going to answer any of them, so she just kept pace next to him and listened to the crickets chirping in the woods surrounding them.

True to his word, they stopped after only a few minutes when they reached the end of the sidewalk. Before them stretched nothing but a cleared grassy knoll that led down to a glistening uninhabited lake.