The Best of Me: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

  She shrugged. “It’s my one weird thing. Everyone has one weird thing, and the dishwasher’s mine. Don’t make fun, just let me have it.”

  “All right, beautiful,” I said with a chuckle, grabbing a hand towel so I could dry the dishes she’d just finished scrubbing. “I’ll let you have it.” Her laugh was one of the most beautiful sounds I’d ever heard, and I suddenly had the urge to do whatever I could to hear more of it.

  We washed and dried side by side in silence for a couple of minutes before I spoke again. “What you did for my girl in there, I’ll never forget that, Nona.”

  She looked up at me with those blue eyes as clear and warm as the Mediterranean. “It was nothing.”

  “You’re wrong. It was everything. The split was rough on her, and she’s been different since I moved out. I’ve tried talkin’ to her in the hopes of pullin’ her out of it, but for months, not a damn thing’s broken through. Until tonight.”

  Nona finished rinsing the last plate and passed it to me while using another towel to dry her hands. When she finished, she laid it on the counter and turned toward me, propping a curvy hip against the edge of the sink. “She’s a great girl. A lot of what she’s struggling with has to do with her age, but….” She hesitated on what she was going to say next while she bit down on her bottom lip.

  “But what, Nona?” I asked, taking a step closer.

  “It’s not my place.”

  “Sweetheart.” My hand came up of its own accord, and I did what I’d been dying to do all goddamn night. I slid several strands of that deep red, silky hair between my fingertips before tucking it behind her ear. “After what you did back there, I think it’s safe to say it is. You care about her, so I wanna know what’s on your mind.”

  “I just…” She chewed on her bottom lip in indecision. “If her mom’s feeding into those insecurities… well, it’s not gonna be good.”

  My molars ground together while my hands balled into fists. “You caught that, huh?” I asked on a hiss. I couldn’t believe Emma was actually measuring our daughter so she could keep track of her size, something no fifteen-year-old girl should ever do.

  “I’m not judging,” Nona added quickly, holding her hands up in surrender. “I don’t really know her, and from what I’ve seen, she’s a good mom. But that’s—”

  “Completely fucked?” She winced before nodding in agreement. “Christ,” I grunted, raking a hand through my hair in frustration. “She used to do little shit like that, but at least I was there to—” I swallowed past the painful lump taking up residence in my throat. There was nothing worse in the world than feeling like you’d failed your own child. “Now I’m not.”

  Seeing the direction my thoughts were headed in, Nona’s hand came up, those delicate fingers wrapping around my bicep. “She’s gonna be just fine,” she said quickly to appease my worry. “You might not be there to run interference, but you aren’t gone. She still has you when she needs you, and as long as that’s the case, she’ll be just fine.”

  Something came over me at that very moment, an intense feeling I’d only experienced once before. When Nona and I were on the dance floor at Hayes and Temperance’s wedding. Her smile, all that insanely gorgeous hair, those curves. All of that was enough to bring the strongest of men to their knees. But when she smiled, it was like feeling the sun on your skin. When she spoke in that melodic voice, speaking her brand of wisdom, it was all too much; the pull was impossible to fight. Moving purely on instinct, I closed the last few inches and pulled her against me, slamming my mouth down on hers.

  Her lips parted on a surprised gasp and I took full advantage, driving my tongue inside Nona’s mouth. She tasted like wine and chocolate, sweet and rich. It was heaven, and that initial taste sucked me in and refused to let me go. I was drowning, completely consumed by her, and I couldn’t get enough.

  Her nails scored my chest, fisting the material of my shirt as a tiny whimper bubbled up her throat, and that was enough to push me over the edge.

  I pinned her ass against the edge of the counter, rubbing my hard dick against her as our tongues tangled together. I sifted the fingers of one hand in all that soft, thick hair and slid the other up her hip, along the defined dip in her waist, and across her ribs until I got to her full, round breast.

  I felt her nipple pucker at my touch beneath her clothes and let out a low growl. I’d have given everything I had at that very moment for the chance to strip her naked and feel her skin against mine.

  The memories of our one night together were still as fresh in my mind, as if they’d only happened an hour ago, and I wanted all of that. Again and again and again. I wanted her over and over until I eased at least some of the ache that came from desiring everything there was to Nona. But deep down to my bones, I knew it was useless. This kind of craving was never-ending. I craved her body and mind. I wanted every single piece of her.

  Just as quickly as the moment happened, it was shattered by the boys’ shouts carrying up from the basement and penetrating the bubble we’d been surrounded by.

  Nona wrenched herself from my grasp, bringing a trembling hand to her lips with a stunned expression on her face like she’d just been slapped.

  When I reached for her, she stepped back, the shock wearing off as anger twisted her gorgeous face.

  “Don’t,” she clipped on a harsh whisper when I tried to move closer, making me freeze in my tracks.

  “Nona—”

  “No.” The emotion in that one word cracked through the air like a gunshot blast, even though it was spoken so quietly. “You don’t get to do that,” she continued, the anger in her expression and words cutting into me like a razor-sharp knife. “I’m not a piece of ass you can play with whenever you’re in the mood to get off.”

  My stomach began to churn as my own anger built. “I’d never treat you like a piece of ass.”

  “You just did,” she hissed. “You made the decision about how things were going to be between us when you didn’t even do me the courtesy of staying the whole night after you fucked me. You don’t get to change the game because you’re a nice guy and feel guilty for what happened that night.”

  “It’s not like that, Nona, and you know it.”

  “What I know is I put myself out there for a man I had feelings for, and that came back to bite me in the ass.”

  Fuck me, but I felt that like a dull blade slicing through me. “Sweetheart.” I took a step closer, needing to touch her, to comfort her, only to have her take one back. “I care about you.”

  Nona slammed her eyes closed and shook her head before looking at me again. “You drew the line between us, Trick, so stay on your side, or whatever we are is done.”

  My lips parted to speak. I didn’t have a goddamn clue what I was going to say, but I knew I needed to fix this somehow, because there was no shaking the feeling clawing at my gut. The feeling that I was about to lose something incredibly important.

  But before I could get the words out that could possibly undo the damage I’d just caused, the clatter of footsteps on Nona’s hardwood floors interrupted me, and Shawn and Tris came running into the kitchen.

  “Hey Mom, can we have another piece of cake?” Tris asked.

  Wiping her expression clear of everything she’d been feeling just moments ago, Nona turned toward the boys with a look only a mother could pull off. “Yeah, not a chance.”

  “Aw, come on.”

  “You got my answer, kid,” she said, moving to him and ruffling his hair. “It’s already pretty late and you still have homework.”

  With that statement, she effectively ended the evening, letting me know without actually saying it that I’d worn out my welcome.

  “Shawn, you have homework too, bud, so we need to get goin’. Do me a favor and go get your sister, yeah?”

  My boy’s shoulders sank at having his fun cut short, but he did as asked with Tristan following closely behind him. As soon as we were alone again, I turned back to Nona. “I’m sorr
y,” I said in a quiet voice. “You have to believe me, beautiful, I never meant to hurt you.”

  Those extraordinary blue eyes landed on me, and the sorrow in them nearly stole my breath. “Not meaning to do something doesn’t make it hurt any less, Trick.”

  I was such a fucking asshole. If there was ever a woman who deserved nothing but the best, it was Nona, and I just kept fucking up and hurting her.

  We said our goodbyes a couple minutes later, and as I crossed the street with my kids running ahead of me, I looked back over my shoulder to watch as Nona, in all her beauty, disappeared behind her front door.

  And that same gnawing feeling I’d had as I walked out of her house in the dark hours of the early morning after our night together came roaring back with a vengeance.

  That feeling that I was making a huge mistake by walking away.

  Chapter Eight

  Trick

  I’d barely been awake an hour, and already my day had turned to shit.

  I managed to go all of three hours after leaving her place last night before the need to reach out to her outweighed everything else. But the two texts I’d sent the night before and the one I shot her this morning right after waking up had all gone unanswered. And the lack of response was beginning to drive me out of my fucking head.

  “Morning, Daddy,” Hannah greeted when I entered the kitchen.

  “Mornin’, Banana.”

  “Hey, Dad,” Shawn added.

  “Bud.” I gave his shoulder a jostle as I passed him on the barstool, then bent to kiss the top of Hannah’s head before moving around to the coffee machine. “Y’all sleep good?”

  “Yeah,” Shawn answered. “This place is freaking cool!”

  Turning back to the island, I slugged back a gulp of coffee and placed the mug on the counter as I studied my baby girl. “What about you, Banana? You like your room?”

  “Yeah, Daddy.” She smiled a megawatt grin that worked wonders in loosening that ball of dread that had taken residence in my gut the past several months. “It’s great. But do you think Ms. Eden would mind if I painted it?”

  “Don’t see why not, depending on the color. You got something in mind?” She shook her head and spooned some cereal into her mouth. “How about I check with Eden sometime this week? Then the next weekend I have you, we can hit up the hardware store and find you something you like.”

  “Can I paint mine too?” Shawn garbled through a mouthful of cereal.

  “Yeah, bud. We’ll go after your soccer game.” I sucked down more coffee, in desperate need since I hadn’t slept for shit. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the sadness in Nona’s. “You guys finish that up. It’s almost time to go.”

  “On it!” With an overabundance of energy for so early in the morning, Shawn hopped off the barstool, dumped his bowl in the sink, and took off to grab his stuff from his room.

  Hannah moved much slower, taking the time to rinse her bowl in the sink. But instead of going to grab her backpack, she stopped beside me and pressed close against my side. It was something she’d done since she was a little girl but was becoming more rare as of late. Taking advantage of the moment she was offering, I looped my arm around her back and pulled her tight.

  “I like the house, Daddy,” she said as I kissed her head again.

  “I’m glad, Hannah Banana.”

  “Like the neighborhood too. It’s really pretty around here.”

  That ball in my gut loosened even more. “Makes me happy to hear that, baby girl.”

  She stood against me in silence for a few seconds before adding, “And I like that Ms. Nona is just right across the street. She’s awesome.”

  My arm spasmed at the mention of Nona. “Yeah, darlin’. She is.”

  “And pretty.”

  “Yeah,” I grunted in reply.

  “Like really pretty,” Hannah continued, tilting her head back and giving me a funny look. “I’ve heard boys at school talk, and they all think she’s one of the prettiest moms in the whole town.”

  “You makin’ your way around a point, sweetie, or just stating the obvious?”

  Her face split into a huge shit-eating grin. “So you think she’s real pretty too.” It was a statement, not a question. My girl was way more perceptive than I’d given her credit for. Either that or I’d done a piss-poor job at hiding my feelings at dinner the night before.

  I gave her a playful shake and chuckled. “What are you getting at, Banana?”

  “Not getting at anything,” she chirped, pulling from my embrace. “Just sayin’ I think she’s super pretty is all.”

  And with that, she went skipping out of the kitchen.

  * * *

  I made my way through the bullpen with a coffee from Muffin Top in my hands and a shitty disposition. Nona had gone back to avoiding me the same as she’d been for the past month and a half, and although I had no one to blame but myself, it still pissed me the fuck off.

  My partner lifted his head and grinned when I hit my desk. “Mornin’, sunshine.”

  “Fuck off,” I grunted, kicking my chair out and lowering myself into it so I could power up my computer.

  Hayes chuckled, smiling a full, bright white smile. He’d been doing a whole hell of a lot of that lately. Ever since he got the love of his life back. They’d been through hell and back more times than anyone could count. Once, years ago when they were ripped apart, and again just months ago when a psychotic asshole went on a killing spree in the twisted belief that he was doing it for Temperance. It finally ended with the madman being killed by Hayes, me, and at least half the men on the force when we emptied our clips into him, but not before he took Tempie and put her through a goddamn nightmare.

  It was a miracle, and a testament to their strength that they came through that healthy and happy and together.

  “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning,” Hayes ribbed, getting off on screwing with me in my current mood. Just like I’d have done with him.

  “Like I said, fuck off,” I muttered, one corner of my mouth hooking up in a smirk behind the plastic lid of my cup. Downing the last of it, I chucked the empty paper cup in the trash bin and kicked back in my chair. “So, what’re we lookin’ at this morning?”

  The good humor fled from Hayes’s expression. “Two more OD’d last night. One’s in critical condition at Mercy.”

  I had a gut feeling I knew the answer, but I still had to ask. “And the other?”

  Hayes looked down at his desk before returning his hard stare to me. “Sixteen-year-old girl. She didn’t make it.”

  I let out a grunt, balling my hands into tight fists as I leaned forward in my seat. “Meth?”

  “Still waiting on toxicology, but it’s lookin’ that way.”

  “Fuckin’ Christ.” That made four meth-related overdoses in the past two months, and the first death. All of them being fucking kids no older than their early twenties.

  Needless to say, shit was getting bad. For the past couple of years, the counties around Hope Valley had been dealing with a pretty heavy drug problem. Our town had been lucky for a while, remaining untouched while other areas had been hit hard. We’d been silently holding out hope that we’d stay clear of that garbage, but that hope was gone now.

  An asshole by the name of Malachi Black had been cooking somewhere up in the mountains for years, but none of the departments had been able to locate his operation. The longer he stayed in business, the bigger that operation got. And the shit thing was, we didn’t have dick on the fucker. Absolutely nothing.

  “Something has to fuckin’ give,” Hayes said, scrubbing at his face. “Black’s a goddamn stain on humanity. Waiting for that prick to screw up so we have something that’ll hold him is doin’ my head in.”

  “Sixteen years old,” I seethed. “She was just a fuckin’ kid. A little girl.” Not even a year older than my own baby girl, I thought. And in the blink of an eye, the life she hadn’t even had a chance to start living was snuffed out.
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br />   Hayes rested his elbows on the desk and leaned in, studying my face closely. “You good, brother?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  It was obvious from his expression that he didn’t believe me, but fortunately, he let it drop. I got to work, finishing a report on a case we’d just closed earlier in the week while checking my cell more than regularly in the hopes of getting a response from Nona.

  “So how’s the new place?” Hayes asked about half an hour later. “The kids settle in for their first night?”

  “The kids loved it,” I answered, turning my attention from looking at my phone for the millionth time. I gave him a little smirk. “They’re already askin’ if they can paint their rooms.”

  “That’s good, brother. Means they’re wanting to settle in, make the space theirs, right?”

  “That’s what I’m hopin’.”

  “I’m glad, man. It’s good you’re finally settling in somewhere. And believe me, if I could give you more time to appreciate that, I would, but I’ve got no control.”

  My forehead pulled in a tight frown. “No control over what?”

  “Tempie’s got it in her head, man. Saw you and Nona at our wedding and was convinced you guys had a moment. Word spread that you two are neighbors, and now she’s just itchin’ to play matchmaker. She’s brought the rest of her posse into the fold too.”

  Well fuck.

  “Don’t suppose there’s any way for you to call her off, is there?”

  “You’ve met my wife, right?” he returned, the look on his face speaking volumes. “You think I have any chance of talkin’ her out of anything once she sets her mind to it, you’re delusional, my man.”

  “Ah, hell,” I grumbled, flopping back in my chair and reaching around to rub at the back of my neck. “Just do your best, yeah? I’m not exactly Nona’s favorite person right now.”

  “What happened?”

  The knots that had taken residence in my shoulders and neck since yesterday evening bunched up even tighter as I admitted, “I fucked up. That’s what happened.”