My Only Reason (Men of Monroe Book 2)

by Rachel Brookes

  “I’m sure you get told this all the time, but your hair is gorgeous.”

  Her cheeks flushed, and her fingertips moved to her hair. “Thank you. I love it 80% of the time, but summer isn’t my friend. Actually, I should say humidity isn’t my friend.”

  “I’ve got a bit of a crazy question I was hoping you could help me with?”

  She nodded. “Okay, how can I help?”

  “Long story short, my mother has been receiving a delivery of flowers every month for quite a while, and I was hoping you could tell me if the flowers were coming from here, and if they are, who is sending them?”

  I decided to just lay it all out. I wasn’t stupid, I knew my chances of finding out were slim to none, but I had to try. If she didn’t know or refused to tell me, it would drive me crazy waiting for the next delivery with hopes of seeing a card or paperwork to tell me where they came from.

  She wrung her hands and bit her lip. “Uh, I’m not sure I’m allowed to share that kind of information.”

  “Please, I wouldn’t ask if I wasn’t desperate.”

  Her eyes darted from mine to the closed door off to the side of the counter. I kept my attention locked on her, though. “I’ll, uh, go and ask my boss.”

  She darted away and disappeared through the closed door. I took a quiet moment to walk through the shop, bending to look closely at the variety of roses, daisies, and tulips on display. Breathing in deeply, I inhaled and sighed blissfully as the perfume of fresh flowers to consume me.

  “Marnie Lavender?”

  I stood tall and swung around at the sound of my name. Tricia Moore, a girl I was friendly with in high school, beamed as she strolled across the shop toward me. It would have been at least ten years since I’d seen her. Last I knew, Tricia and Gary, her high school sweetheart, had moved to the city where he worked as an accountant.

  “Tricia! Long time, no see.” I returned her smile and hugged her tightly after she wrapped her arms around me.

  She stepped out of my embrace, and the smile didn’t leave her face as she stared back at me. “It feels like a lifetime since I’ve seen you. Where have you been? What are you up to? Tell me all.”

  We stood in the middle of the shop, catching up and laughing about our high school days. I filled her in on the past ten years and shared stories of my studies and travel and mentioned I was back in Monroe to open Luscious Lavender. She clapped excitedly and then pouted and told me she was jealous about the places I’d visited and lived. She revealed that she had just returned to work after giving birth to her first child, and she was running Petals and Thorns for her mother-in-law.

  “I’ll definitely send people to you if they are looking for a florist in Monroe. Hell, if I can’t do something for them, I’ll send them your way too.”

  I smiled in response. “I’ll do the same.”

  “I’m so bummed that I have to run, but let’s catch up for coffee or a drink soon. I want to hear all about your shop and Monroe.” She handed me her phone. “Put your number in there, and I’ll text you.”

  After tapping my number into her contacts, I handed back her phone. She hugged me again quickly before rushing toward the door.

  “Georgia, give Marnie whatever info she needs. I’ll be back in an hour or so.” She called toward the counter. “See you soon, Marnie!”

  The weight sitting on my shoulders started to ease. God, I hoped the information I needed was here. After Tricia disappeared out the glass front door, I made my way toward Georgia.

  “Let me go and grab the laptop out of Tricia’s office, and I’ll see if I can help.”

  I nodded, smiling. “Thank you so much.”

  Drumming my fingers against the counter, I waited impatiently for her to return. I ran through my to-do list in my head, getting slightly overwhelmed by all the things I should be doing instead of searching for the name of the mystery flower sender. But it would be worth it, because I needed to know, and if I had to do a couple of all-nighters to catch up, so be it.

  My drumming fingers halted when Georgia appeared with an open laptop in her hands.

  “Did you find anything?” I asked anxiously.

  “Yep, the flowers are coming from here.”

  She placed the laptop on the counter, and after a fury of taps, her eyes ran across the screen while I reminded myself to breathe.

  “Okay, so the name on the order is Austin Hart, and it looks like it began five years ago. It is very particular. A large bouquet that must include baby’s breath, lilies, and roses in pinks, reds, and oranges is to be delivered to Lola Lavender on the third Thursday of every month. No card or sender name is to be placed on the order.”

  My jaw hit the floor, and I stared at her in disbelief. Had I heard her correctly?

  “Can you please repeat the name?” I whispered, my heart feeling like it was beating in my throat as I leaned in close to make sure I heard her correctly.

  Staring at me wide-eyed and looking a little freaked out at my reaction, she spun the laptop toward me so I could see the order for myself.

  And there it was in black and white. Austin’s name, an order with no end date, and his payment details.

  Shock slammed into me like a freight train. Why had Austin been sending Mom flowers?

  What the actual fuck?

  “Uh, thank you for your help,” I stuttered, retreating from the counter. “Have a great day.”

  I didn’t stick around. I headed to my car and made the hour-long drive back to Monroe. The closer I got, the more confused I became. I couldn’t wrap my head around why Austin would be doing this. How did he know the significance of the third Thursday of the month? It blew my mind and sent me spiraling to a place of sadness and uncertainty. Sadness because it was my ex-boyfriend who was offering my mom a level of happiness and peace she deserved, and uncertainty because my heart fluttered at the thought of Austin doing something so selfless for her.

  Now that I knew who, I needed to find out why.

  Twelve

  Austin

  I sat at the diner with my ass planted in a booth, eating a late lunch with Ben, Sasha, and Missy before Ben and I headed back to work to try to crack a case that had been causing us to tear our hair out for the past month.

  “Austin, I’m setting up another date for you,” Sasha announced from across the table. “And this time, she’s going to show.”

  Fuck. My. Life.

  I took a huge bite out of my double bacon cheeseburger and stared at her as I chewed and swallowed. It had been a couple of weeks since she had mentioned anything about double dating, finding me a girl, or hooking me up with someone, and I’ve got to say, I thought she finally realized that it was a shit idea. Obviously, I was wrong.

  “Oh, do I know her?” Missy asked next to me before popping a few fries into her mouth.

  My eyes sliced to Ben. “I thought you were putting a stop to this?”

  “I love sex, and I love having sex with my girlfriend. Look, I love you like a brother, but I’m not risking getting sex taken away from me because I told her to stop trying to find you a date.”

  I scoffed. “Pussy. Whipped.”

  Ben didn’t hide his smile. “Ass. Hole.”

  “Sash, you don’t need to find me a date.”

  “Here he goes again.” She rolled her eyes at Missy. “He tries to talk me out of it every time I mention it.”

  “Yeah, because I’m quite capable and experienced in finding my own dates.”

  “When’s the last time you went on a date?”

  Fuck, she caught me. I didn’t date. I hadn’t dated anyone since Marnie, but that was not to say I suddenly became a born-again virgin after we broke up. It was pretty fucking simple; I didn’t want to settle with anyone other than Marnie, so it made the decision to stay single quite easy. But when I wanted to fuck, I did. I met women the old-fashioned way, usually at Hamilton’s, and I was more than happy with that and more than happy for it to be casual. What I wasn’t happy about was Sasha’s
constant need for me to date.

  “Do we really—” I started but was stopped by Missy’s voice.

  “Oh look, there’s Marnie.”

  I followed the direction Missy was looking and locked onto Marnie through the floor-to-ceiling windows that faced Main Street. She was walking like a woman on a mission. Black skinny jeans caressed her curves, heeled boots elongated her legs, and a light pink sweater hung seductively off her shoulder. Her long chocolate brown hair whipped around her face as she turned her head and looked through the glass and into Missy’s Diner. When her eyes found mine, fury stared back at me.

  What the fuck had I done now?

  “She’s looking at you like she wants to rip your head off,” Missy said, confirming what I already knew. “You really need to spill the beans on the history you two share.”

  Marnie placed both hands on the glass door and pushed it open. Silence fell across the table, and it wasn’t just me staring at her as she weaved her way through the tables toward our booth. The fury hadn’t left her eyes, and her eyes hadn’t left mine. I braced for impact, not having a clue what I’d done to make her look this pissed off.

  “What the fuck have you done?” Ben muttered next to me.

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  I hadn’t seen or spoken to her since I went to her shop about my mother’s text message. That was a few days ago, so I had no clue what I could have possibly done between now and then. But whatever it was, she was massively pissed, and it was directed entirely at me.

  “Would you like to explain to me why you are sending flowers to Mom every month?” she hissed when she finally reached the table. “What kind of fucked-up game are you playing?”

  Shit.

  Audible gasps from Sasha and Missy and a murmured fuck from Ben bounced across the table. My heart rate accelerated, and I swear I could hear it in my ears and feel it in my throat. How the fuck did she find out about this? I’d made sure to keep my name off everything other than the initial order form and obviously my credit card details. There was a reason I went outside of Monroe to organize it, and it was to avoid this exact conversation.

  “Tell me! That was something Dad did when he was alive, so why the hell are you doing it?” Her voice broke at the mention of her dad while despair and confusion swam through her pretty brown eyes as she stared at me, begging for answers.

  “Do you really want to have this conversation here?” I asked gently. “Let’s go somewhere and talk.”

  Her hands moved to her hips, and her stance became even fiercer. “You better fucking believe we are doing this here.”

  I threw my used napkin onto my plate and linked my hands in front of me. I met her stare, and she didn’t budge. This wasn’t the time or place to have this conversation. It needed to be done behind closed doors, so we could break and come undone if we needed to without an audience.

  “Um, should we leave?” Sasha asked nervously. “We can give you two some privacy?”

  Marnie shook her head. “No, stay. I won’t be here long, so there’s no need to leave. If Austin would just answer my question, I’ll get out of here and leave you to your lunch.”

  Fucking hell, I did not want to bring this up here. “We should go somewhere and discuss this.”

  Frustration rolled off her. “Just tell me.”

  I took a quick glance around the table at our audience. Ben’s jaw clenched, and worry covered his face, and Sasha’s eyes darted back and forth between Marnie and me in utter confusion while Missy sipped on her iced tea, completely intrigued by what was going down. This conversation was about to open a Pandora’s box of questions for not just Marnie and me but for everyone at the table.

  I sucked in a breath, twisted in my seat, and faced her square on. I had to try again to make her realize we shouldn’t speak about this at a table full of people. “We really should go somewhere private for this.”

  She shook her head, and whispered, “Please just tell me.”

  Fuck, this shouldn’t be happening. But if this was what she wanted, then I’d give her what she asked for. I closed my eyes on sigh and tried to find my words. When I looked at her again, she was still staring and waiting for the truth, and the truth was all I could give her.

  “I made a promise to your dad while he laid in my arms, and you, more than anyone, knows I’d never break a promise I made to him,” I revealed delicately. The tension in her stance eased the more I spoke. Her hands dropped from her hips, and one moved to her mouth while the other laid flat on her chest over her heart. “Your dad asked me for two things and made me promise to do both.”

  Her breath hitched, and her voice came out as barely a whisper. “What did he ask for?”

  “He made me promise that your mom would keep receiving flowers every third Thursday of the month and that I’d take care of you. I’ve been able to keep one of those promises since he left us, and I’ll work on the other one for the rest of my life. You might not think I’ve done anything for you over the years, but I have, and I’ll continue to do so. Now that you’re back, and I see you and can breathe you in, I’m kicking it up a notch.”

  “You’ve been doing this for Dad?” Her voice shook, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. She took a step closer to the booth and grabbed the edge, causing her knuckles to turn white. “He asked you to do that?”

  Theo Lavender had begged me to keep his promises as he took his last breaths on the floor of Monroe Police Department. I still had nightmares of that day, and in the deepest of sleep, my brain would replay every excruciating minute in a never-ending circle of hurt and despair I couldn’t wake from. Even though I dealt with some horrific scenes in my career and had been witness to death and hurt, there were times when the sight and smell of blood thrust me right back to the moment I sat with my back up against the wall and held Captain Theo Lavender in my arms as blood gushed from his chest and his life slowly left his body.

  “Austin, this isn’t going to end how I want it to end.” He choked on a mixture of blood and desperate breaths; his cloudy eyes locked on me as his limp body rested against mine. “I need you to promise to take care of my girls. Make sure my lady gets flowers each month. I’ve been doing it for twenty-nine years, and I don’t want that changing because I’m not here.” He closed his eyes and sucked in a shallow breath. My clothes were soaked with his blood, and the metallic scent was seeping into the walls to forever haunt the waiting area of Monroe Police Department. “And Marnie... take care of her. Win her back, Austin. You two are meant to be together, and even if she doesn’t think so, make her see. Make her understand why you did what you did. I love you like a son. Give my lady grandbabies and tell them about their grandpa.” His eyes closed, and his breathing became rattled. “Promise... me.”

  “I promise, Captain,” I whispered hoarsely. I shook him slightly, desperate for him to open his eyes because I needed to see he was still with us. I shook him harder, my bloodstained hand gripping his shoulder. “Captain, I need you to open your eyes. Don’t you dare leave us. Hold on because help is coming. You need to be here for your grandbabies, you need to buy your lady flowers, and you need to be here when I win Marnie back. I need you.”

  He never reopened his eyes.

  Marnie waited, sucking in shallow breaths, her eyes pinned to mine as she barely held her emotions. Under the table, my leg bounced madly. All I wanted to do was reach out and pull her into my arms and comfort her. When her pretty brown eyes overflowed, and a single tear cascaded over her cheek, my leg froze.

  “Yeah, Freckles, I did that for your dad and your mom, and I’m going to keep doing it, so please don’t tell me to stop because I can’t, and I won’t.”

  Our locked gaze didn’t falter. Time came to a standstill, and the chatter in the diner became background noise. She stared. I stared. She breathed. I breathed. Our minds restless and running wildly as she swallowed the bombshell I’d just told her, and I dealt with the cyclone of emotions swirling around that came with bein
g around her.

  “Let’s give them some space.”

  Ben’s voice tore Marnie’s eyes from mine. He slid out from the booth, then held his hand out to Sasha, who continued to stare at me with wide eyes and a slack jaw as though I was some kind of fucking unicorn.

  She placed her hand in Ben’s but remained in her seat, no budging. “But I want to hear more of this story.”

  “Me too,” Missy gushed, her gaze transfixed on Marnie and me. “Making us leave now would be like ending an epic book on a crazy cliffhanger.”

  Ben smirked, shaking his head. “Come on, you two. Let’s go. You can pester him with questions later.”

  Reluctantly, Sasha and Missy slid out of the booth, then followed Ben toward the counter, leaving Marnie and me on our own. I nodded at the now vacant seat across from me, encouraging her to take a seat and join me. She continued to stare at me, her mouth opening and closing as if she had something to say but didn’t know how to say it. Slowly, she slid into the seat. She placed her purse on the seat next to her and ran her fingers nervously through her hair.

  “How’d you find out?” I asked the million-dollar question.

  She dropped her head and focused on the empty plate in front of where Sasha had been sitting. “I went to Mom’s last night and saw the flowers on the counter. She thought I’d been sending them. When Cora and Trent said it hadn’t been either of them, I became a woman on a mission, and I needed to find out, so today, I headed to Scottsville. You know me, I don’t have much patience, so I put on my detective cap and became Detective Marnie Lavender.”

  Fuck, she was cute.

  I popped a couple of fries in my mouth before pushing the plate toward her. She took a couple for herself and finally looked at me.

  “And how exactly did you put your detective skills into practice to find out it had been me sending the flowers?”

  Pink crawled up her neck and landed on her cheeks. Intrigued, I leaned back, crossed my arms over my chest, and waited for her big reveal. Her hand moved to the back of her neck, rubbing it nervously.