504 Lovers Ridge: A Cherry Falls Romance Book 18

by Adriane Leigh

  “Dad—” She turned to him, leveling his chest with a palm and pushing him away. “Can we talk this over with some coffee?”

  “Thought I was coming to chase down a missing person, Poppy.” Her dad’s voice was soft, ravaged with worry like a good father.

  I still hated him.

  But I loved her.

  “Let’s go up to my palace and talk it out—”

  “I'm not going anywhere with him.” The Captain nodded my way.

  I rolled my eyes, throwing my hands in the air and turning to walk to the edge of the cliff that overlooked the bay.

  “Talk to me, would you, tell me what’s going on that I don't know exactly?”

  “That animal stole the first woman I ever loved and then he murdered her.”

  “That’s not what happened, you dirty snake.” I knew Connor had always had a crush on Lily, I just never thought he'd go that far. The man held a grudge from a junior prom dance when Lily had chosen me to be her date and not him. The beef between Connor and I had only grown since then.

  “Ssh.” Poppy pressed a finger to her lips. “You're not helping.”

  “He’s been blaming me for bullshit for decades!”

  “He isn’t wrong about that.” Poppy frowned at her father.

  He huffed, holstering his gun, and then headed to the cop car idling at the shoulder of my road.

  “Good riddance.”

  “I’m not leavin’ without my daughter, I don’t care what it takes.” He flipped his handcuffs in one hand. “I wouldn’t leave my worst enemy alone with you.”

  “Dad—” Poppy protested.

  “Surprise, she’s stayin’ forever, asshole.”

  “You’re the only asshole here, and over my dead body Poppy stays.”

  “Dad—”

  “Poppy, if you stay you’re dead to me, alright? It’s that simple and that important.”

  “Grr, Dad!” Frustrated tears watered her eyes. “You two are unbearable!” Poppy yelled at the top of her lungs. “I hate you both!”

  I grunted, “Now look what you’ve done.”

  Poppy’s dad snarled silently at me before guiding his daughter to his patrol car. “I’ll call the wrecker to get up here to fetch your car, sweetheart.”

  “I’ll deliver it—”

  “No, she’s fine, you’ve done enough.” He waved me off.

  Anxiety bunched my nerves when I realized Poppy had lost her fight, she was letting her old man lead her away from me.

  “Petal—”

  She paused at the passenger side of the patrol car. “I can’t leave him hanging. I'll talk to him. I promise.”

  I frowned, realizing slowly that she was really leaving me.

  After last night. After I gave her everything and more.

  “Don’t leave, Petal.”

  “I’m sorry.” She pressed her fingers to her lips and then blew me a sad kiss.

  “Petal, damn you.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Poppy

  “You don’t know what you’ve done,” were the only words Dad mustered as we drove down the ridge. The patrol car hung heavy with silence, my skin still on fire in all the places Maverick’s touch had marked me.

  I wished more than anything I could force Dad to turn the car around and bring me back to Lover’s Ridge, but instead I did the right thing and let him carry me back to safety.

  For now.

  Fifteen minutes later we were driving through downtown. When Dad passed my tiny apartment building, he kept driving.

  “Where are we going?”

  Dad’s palms tightened on the steering wheel, eyes laser focused as he clenched and unclenched his jaw and then finally replied: “Best thing I can think to do is show you what kind of mistake you’ve made. I pray it’s enough.”

  “Dad, what are you talking about? Maverick is perfectly kind to me—”

  “He is now.” Dad was heavy on the brakes when he finally slowed to pull into his driveway. “But what happens after he gets what he wants from you?”

  “Dad, Maverick doesn't want anything from me.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “Dad—”

  “Read for yourself, Poppy.” He flung the door of his patrol car open and rushed out. I slid out of the passenger side and followed him up the steps. By the time I was inside, he was already headed back out, a shoebox full of papers in his arms. “Here’s all of it, everything I could find that your mother left.”

  “What does this have to do with Mom?”

  He shook his head. “Maverick Wright is a bad man, by the time you’re finished reading these, I trust you’ll understand and I won't have to fight with you about keeping you safe.” He tipped his uniform hat at me, but there was a warning in his dark irises. “I’ll be back after my shift.”

  And with that he walked out.

  I watched him leave, thinking how he’d spent my entire childhood escaping into work after Mom left, leaving me with family friends and high school babysitters while he did his duty keeping Cherry Falls safe. The man put so much focus on safety, that sometimes he failed to stop and take in what it was he was protecting.

  I slumped into the kitchen chair, the box of my mom’s old things in front of me and nothing but time to look through it as my dad’s shift probably wouldn't be over for another six hours at least. I could’ve walked the few miles to my apartment—being back in my childhood home wasn’t exactly my favorite, though I stopped over whenever I could to help Dad with things.

  So many memories, and now I was supposed to sift through them while he was at work.

  I opted instead for a shower.

  I stopped at the tiny laundry room on the way to the bathroom, throwing in last night’s clothes and wrapping myself in the only towel I could find. I made my way into the bathroom, pausing at the mirror to take in my features.

  Everything hurt, but only in a just a workout kind of way. I pressed fingertips to my lips, enjoying the tiny pinch of pain from Maverick’s demanding kisses. I loved that he felt things big, just like the man, his emotions were wide and all-consuming. I let the towel drop to my feet, analyzing my skin in the mirror and smiling when I found small pink marks from his nips and kisses along the underside of my breasts. He’d doted on me, the evidence of him everywhere.

  Warmth filled me up at just the memory of being in his arms, feeling so safe and loved and cared for. I wondered what he was doing now, and I felt a surge of regret that I’d let my father take me back down the mountain.

  I was an adult, he should respect me, but deep down I knew that my father had things he needed to work through that only time could heal. I wasn’t willing to tear what family I had left apart for some notion of high school love, I would at least hear my dad out first and then make my decision.

  Ten minutes later I’d soaped and rinsed in the hot shower, enjoying the way it melted away the ache in my muscles and made me feel relaxed. I padded out to the kitchen still wrapped in the bath towel and poured orange juice from the fridge. I frowned when I realized how sparse Dad was keeping things stocked these days, and made a mental note to buy him some organic fruit and vegetables from the market the next time I had a chance.

  With my orange juice in tow, I snatched the box of mementos and letters from the table and brought it to the couch. And then I began to read. At first it seemed only like schoolgirls passing notes back and forth, talk of crushes and bad teachers and teen dances, but as the playful loops and swirls turned to more concise and purposeful handwriting, so did the tone.

  And then I realized what I was reading.

  My mom and Maverick’s wife, Lily, had been best friends. At first they all seemed like friends, with mention of my mom and dad going to the homecoming dance together, and Maverick and Lily as they were announced prom king and queen. And as their senior year went on, the notes grew more angry and threatening. I even found some that were returned unopened.

  Confused, I kept pulling out new letters and scanning for the reason
they’d had a falling out.

  And then at the bottom I found it, a yearbook of my mother’s with an unopened letter marking the page where Maverick and Lily stood side by side at graduation.

  I slipped my finger under the envelope seal, opening the last remaining letter in the box, hoping it would give me some answers to the curse that had plagued these men for decades.

  What fell out was a birth announcement, along with a small scratched note that said I’m sorry, please join us for a baby shower. Tucked inside that was another note, written in my mother’s long hand, begging her to leave Maverick—reminding her again that he wouldn’t be able to afford a family, that he had no skill and no motivation to work. That she would never be taken care of like she deserved, and was setting herself up for a life of hardship. Was love really worth it? the last line of the letter asked.

  I thought of Aspen, then the pictures I’d seen in Maverick’s house as she grew up, the trips they’d taken and the experiences she’d had hunting and fishing on the ridge. And now she owned a new cafe in Cherry Falls. Could that really be it? Concern for their friend’s future wellbeing? I didn’t think my parents would throw away a friendship for that.

  I slammed the yearbook closed, shoving all the papers back into the box and wishing I hadn't seen any of it—as much as it was nice to walk down memory lane, it raised more questions than answers.

  I left the living room, throwing my clothes in the dryer and heading to the bathroom to get ready for the day with the few cosmetics I’d left behind when I’d moved out to go to college. Old trays of overly pink blush and cakes of concealer would be enough to make my face look like I hadn't slept out under the stars last night, as romantic as it had been.

  And then I passed the time organizing my dad’s house from top to bottom, one eye open as I sorted everything that lay under a layer of dust.

  When my mom had left Cherry Falls, she’d really taken everything with her. Everything but me.

  I found old stacks of books and shoved them into a separate pile to take home, sorted old records that had a cool vintage vibe and I imagined I could use them to decorate one of the flower shop walls—or get my dad to bring them to the record store. This house hadn’t changed since Mom had left, right down to the curtains in the kitchen and the blanket on my bed, my father was stuck in a freaky time warp that crawled up my spine and left a little chill whenever I was here.

  I missed what we had when I was a kid, we’d seemed happy for a while, until Mom spent less time doing family stuff and more time with new friends. By the time I was eight, I knew she had one foot out the door. She began leaving a backpack with a change of clothes in it outside under the steps, high heels and sparkly shoes with brightly colored eyeshadows and mascaras. She became a party girl almost overnight, responsibilities of family too much, and so, one day, we carried on without her.

  It broke me for a while, but life was peaceful with Dad—I knew what to expect and I was glad for that. But Dad—he was still lost in a time warp, his hatred for Maverick as alive as it’d been all those decades ago.

  By the time Dad came home seven hours later, the sun was already setting, and the house smelled of the homemade spaghetti sauce I’d brewed up in my boredom.

  “House looks nice,” he uttered, dropping into the chair.

  I’d left the shoebox of books front and center. His eyes glided over it, before he moved to take off his uniform boots.

  “Hungry?”

  “As a lion. It’s good to have you home.”

  I suppressed the growl. He’d nearly kidnapped me and held me hostage out here all day, much like he’d assumed Maverick had done. “I cleaned places that look like they haven’t been touched since Mom was here.”

  Dad pushed the chair across the cracked linoleum, growling loudly.

  “There were so many dust bunnies under the dryer I could have made a new blanket to keep you warm at night.”

  He didn’t answer, fumbling with the tie on his boot.

  “I read that entire box of memories you left me with.” I slid a bowl of steaming hot spaghetti across the table. “I still don’t understand what you think you’re doing.”

  “Saving you,” he grouched, finally catching my eye.

  “From what? Myself?” I held a fork just out of reach, unwilling to give him anything.

  “Hell, for starters. You see the storms that come in off that ridge—”

  “This isn’t about the storm, Dad, only the one you created.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve been holding a grudge on a man you don’t even know. Punishing him for something he didn’t do.”

  “It’s not that simple, Poppy, don't you see? He's the reason your ma left us—”

  “Did she leave for him? What are you talking about?”

  He shook his head, dejected, and gave up on his boot. Pain laced his old eyes and feeling a spike of sympathy, I relinquished the spoon and bent to help him untie his boot. “After Aspen's mom died, your mama just wasn't right after that. She lost her best friend, it was one thing when they were fighting, at least they talked—but losing her for good made something split inside your mama’s head. She was so lonely all the time, her eyes were so vacant, I’d come home and find out she hadn't even fed you all day.” His shoulders slumped. “I used to worry so much at work I had Nana Winnie pop over every day around lunch to make sure you’d had something to eat.”

  Tears welled in my eyes at the name of the little old woman that’d been in my life almost every day for the first thirteen years. She wasn’t even related—only a kind neighbor with a huge heart.

  “I still don’t understand why this is Maverick’s fault.”

  “Him and his crazy ideas, self-reliance and survival, he was hellbent on natural childbirth and insisted on a midwife—only, when that baby was born it was the night of the worst storm in recent history. The waves were so big just off the bay that a fishing boat capsized that night. Of course, the bridge went out and the midwife couldn’t get to the ridge, that’s why Maverick’s wife died—that’s why your ma lost her best friend and me and my dad knew long before that that he was a stubborn, no-good bum that would bring more harm than good to everything he touched. Even from up at the ridge.”

  “That doesn't seem right, Dad. I don’t think—”

  “Ask him.” Dad’s eyes flamed with anger. “Just ask him. He’ll probably lie to you to save his own ass.”

  “Dad, is this really what you've been punishing him every day for? His existence?”

  “I grew up with Maverick, that kid used to sit at my kitchen table and listen to my parents fight over politics and mashed potatoes. He went from needing a good family to spend time with, to his dad coming back to town and planting these wild anti-establishment ideas in his head—he just wasn’t the same. When he told your ma and I that he had no plans after high school except to work and live off the land, how could he do that—how could he plan to support a family and take a wife without a job? He’s just a bum, Poppy, too lazy to work then and too lazy to work now.”

  “That’s harsh, Dad, and it’s not true. His life is just different from yours.”

  “It’s not for you. I raised you a certain way—”

  “What way? To love nature? To hunt and fish and camp and stop and smell the wildflowers? I love the ridge, and I love the man that lives on it.”

  “Poppy, I won’t let you go back there—I couldn’t live with myself if...if…” He swiped at angry tears, covering his forehead with his palm before pushing up off the chair and leaving the kitchen.

  I heard his door at the end of the hallway slam. Dad wasn’t anywhere near ready to deal with the reality that I loved Maverick Wright. The painful realization that it might take more than just a conversation or two to clear up this nonsense twisted my stomach.

  I swiped Dad’s bowl and wrapped spaghetti around the fork to take my own bite. “Well then, so much for spaghetti and questions.”

  CHAPTER ELE
VEN

  Maverick

  Twenty-four hours since The Captain had stolen my Petal and here I stood, arms overflowing with as many fresh flowers as I could fill them with as I stood on Captain O’Henry’s porch.

  I had to make this right, had to show her what she meant to me.

  I inhaled quickly and then knocked on the front door. Two seconds later it swung wide, and there was my Petal.

  “You look so beautiful.” I held the flowers out to her.

  She frowned. “You shouldn't be here, Maverick, if he sees you—”

  “I just needed to see you. Is he holding you hostage in there?” I glanced over her shoulder, prepared to defend her freedom if needed.

  Poppy laughed, then finally took the flowers from my arms. She sank her nose into the petals and inhaled, a smile taking over her face. “Thank you.”

  “I placed an order for flowers every day this week.”

  “I saw. You shouldn't, it’s a waste of money.”

  “Showing you how much you mean to me is the only thing I want to do. I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back on the ridge.”

  “Maverick.” She stepped out, closing the door behind her. “I need time. So much has happened between us—but between the two of you? That issue is older than I am.”

  I grunted, unwilling to revisit the past like The Captain seemed to like to do.

  “Maybe I can talk to him—prove to him I’m not the man he thinks I am.”

  “I don’t think that will work.” Her face looked drawn, almost sad in a way that I wasn’t used to.

  “I’d do anything to chase away the rain clouds for you.” I caught her gaze, begging her to feel all the things I couldn’t say with words.

  “Poppy! Do you know where I put my badge?” Her father’s voice popped our bubble.

  Poppy clamped down on her bottom lip, shaking her head once before mouthing the words, I’m sorry. Then, she opened the front door and slipped back inside, gone before I’d even had the chance to tell her what I came to say: