Honor (Blackstone #1)

by J. L. Drake

  “Lower Deck, please.” I leaned back and fought the heavy smell of the cologne the cabbie must have bathed in. Why did men wear it? Body soap smelled much better.

  The bar was busy, but I found our table easily. Vikki was on the phone when I arrived. She waved me over to an open chair and handed me a beer.

  “You look great.” She glanced down at her sweater and laughed. “I lost my fashion flare at forty-five.”

  “I think you look lovely.” I tapped her bottle to mine. My stomach nearly rolled when I saw Dr. Rice coming toward us.

  “Huh!” she snorted. “You know, I saw him outside of the hospital one day and called him Mr. Rice, and he corrected me.” She rolled her eyes. “I get it that you worked damn hard to use the title ‘doctor,’ but you don’t have to be a dick about it.”

  I laughed. She was right; that was a little dicky.

  “Come on.” She took my hand and led me out on the dancefloor, where we—and I meant only the two of us—danced to Hey Baby by Bruce Channel. I think I may have fallen in love with this place. At least they have good taste in music.

  The song ended, but Vikki reached for my arm to hold me in place. “Go with your heart.”

  “What? What does that—?”

  She pointed, and I started to move but jerked back in place. She nodded at Mark, and he returned it with a smile.

  Music started to play softly. It took me a moment to recognize the voice singing the song. She sang in a bluesy, soulful voice, and from the first word, her tone made me want to weep.

  Savannah sat behind the brown piano, her eyes closed, playing “Can’t Help Falling In Love.”

  “What on earth…” I couldn’t even think straight. Mark stepped forward, asking for my hand, and with a confused step forward, I accepted it. His warm hand instantly made me think of being at home. His free arm slipped around my back and held me close.

  Where do I look? Am I too stiff? A thousand things ran through my mind, but most of all—why was he here? I went over things in my mind until his lips touched my ear. He let out a painful sigh, and that was it.

  Everything just gave…nothing left to hold me up except his arms. My body sagged against his, my cheek pressed to his chest, and we swayed.

  He started to sing about falling in love. His voice had a slight hitch to it, but there was a thread of confidence that made it incredibly powerful.

  I knew he felt my hesitation. I started to pull away, but he held me in place. His lips moved to the shell of my ear. “You were the first girl I opened up to and told my secrets. After you, when I did wake up alone, I didn’t mess up the sheets in the morning because I wasn’t alone. I had you.” He nuzzled my hair. “I understand now why you didn’t tell me. You were right; I wouldn’t have let my guard down with you. Which would have been a shame, because I wouldn’t have fallen so soul crushingly hard for you.”

  I pressed off his chest and looked into those deep, dark eyes that dared me to doubt him. Even his jaw showed confidence, but I could see the vulnerability behind his smile.

  “I’m sorry for what I said. I lashed out in anger, and there was still a part of me that was upset you picked Kenny over your own life, but that was because I cared a lot about you. Kenny wasn’t the one in danger, but you were.” He gave a slight shrug. “Heart won over sensitivity.”

  I had to look away and take a minute. I spent the last how many nights thinking he hated me? That I was the last person on his mind. That I was only the afterthought of something unpleasant.

  “I took care of my problem, but I lost a good friend along the way.” I nodded. Nurse Taylor told me about Paul. I was so sad; I could only imagine what the house went through. “I can’t lose you too, Mia.”

  I licked my lips. “I never meant to hurt you, Mark, but if it’s worth anything, I felt the pain of my lie the moment after I told it, and that pain never left me.”

  “Don’t. It’s not worth it, because the bottom line is it showed me how much I am in love with you.” He blinked like he hadn’t realized what he had said. Then a lazy smile stole across his lips and up to the corners of his eyes. “I have a bit of a temper when it comes to you, but damn, Mia, I am so in love with you.”

  I threw off his rhythm when I dropped his hand and leaned up on my tippy-toes to press my lips to his. Both his arms wrapped around my back and held me close. His tongue curled around mine to deepen his kiss.

  “I love you too, Mark.”

  ***

  Three Months Later

  Mark

  “Where is he going?” I sipped my coffee. Keith walked down to the dock after he received a phone call.

  “I don’t know.” Daniel gave me a hopeful look.

  I knew he thought Keith had a girl, and maybe that was it, but something still didn’t feel right. It felt off.

  Butters went running after him with a huge stick in his mouth. He jumped and barked until Keith chucked it down the sand that followed the lake, then went running after it.

  Surprisingly, Scoot had accepted Butters in the house as a part-time visitor. Although not before they fought over the bed Savannah had given Scoot last Christmas. I ended up having to buy Butters his own bed, only to have Scoot want that one more than his own. Spoiled furball. At least they had finally declared a truce, and Butters patiently waited for Scoot to choose one bed before he would settle in the one not chosen.

  Dell nodded as he headed toward his Jeep. He had one more month at the peak before he’d return to his normal post. I shivered at the thought of my last experience there. As much fun as it was having Savannah play paintball, I wouldn’t be volunteering her for anything else.

  Cole moved in my line of vision as he whistled to get Keith’s attention. Keith quickly ended his call and jogged back up the lawn with Butters hard on his heels.

  Cole closed the door behind him. “House meeting, three minutes, dining room table.”

  I shrugged at Daniel as we took a seat a few minutes later.

  Once everyone gathered, Cole placed three boxes in front of us.

  “I was going to give them out at Christmas, but I decided to wait.” He slid a black, shiny box over to Keith and one to John. They each opened theirs and grinned at their new Blackstone watches. “Tracking devices inside are undetectable. After what went down with me, I think it’s imperative we wear them.”

  “Thank you.” Keith put his on immediately. I looked over at John, who was looking at the extra box—Paul’s box.

  “Now,” Cole looked around the room, “no one wants to admit how much they’re hurting right now, but the best thing we can do for Paul is to move forward. Moving forward doesn’t mean we will ever forget.” He glanced at me before he went on. “I have really thought about this, and I know his seat is still warm, but we have a lot of trips coming up, and we need our team to be full. So,” he picked up the box, “the man who will be filling Paul’s very large shoes is…” The sadness was mixed with a little excitement, something the house really needed right now. Cole leaned down and slid the box right into a hand covered in red and black swirls.

  The room went silent as he picked it up and admired the box.

  John leaned over the table and reached his hand out for a shake. “Welcome to Blackstone, Mike.”

  “Thank you, John.” Mike let out a long sigh before Daniel started to cheer and lifted the mood back up. He had a lot to live up to.

  “Let’s have a drink.” Dell shifted his arm in his sling. “Lord knows I need one!”

  As the place started to roar with happy laughter, I moved to the window where a set of headlights was moving across the frosty pattern.

  Mike joined me, interested to see what I was looking at. I pointed to the door with my mug. “Here she comes.”

  I had convinced Mia to move to Montana. We found her an apartment three blocks from Daniel and Sue’s, and one block from her new job at the Red Stone Medical Center. It was perfect. I got to see her whenever I wanted, and she seemed happy that she was able to spend
time with her father more often. It was nice to see them getting along better.

  Cole gave her clearance to the house, but we couldn’t bend any more rules to have her live there. Everything worked out for the best. She and I agreed to take things one day at a time. After all, we hadn’t even known each other for a year yet. She said she was looking forward to going out on date nights so she could check out my dance moves. Ladies loved my moves.

  “Hey, you.” She tugged her scarf free and hooked it over the wooden peg in the entryway. “How was your day?”

  “Better now.” I kissed her frozen nose and wrapped her in my warmth. She knew I loved her, though I hadn’t said it since Boston. I just wanted to hold on to her with all my strength and never let go, no matter what life threw at us.

  “Mmm,” her chest vibrated against mine, “I needed this.”

  “Hungry?” She nodded but didn’t let go. I didn’t let go either.

  “Oh, great!” Savannah broke our moment. “Mia, I have such a story for you!” She took Mia’s hand and dragged her into the kitchen.

  Mia looked over her shoulder and cast me a smile that nearly knocked me off my feet. Wow…I was so lucky.

  After all I’d been through in life, I refused to look back, and I wouldn’t hold back. I knew that no matter what, I had the perfect woman. One who helped me chase the demons from my past, and one who I knew would stand solidly with me in the future. I could truly hold my head high with honor. I knew, because I was finally free of any doubt that I was a good and honorable man.

  The End

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  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Mary Drake

  Erin Smith

  Ana Armstrong

  My Blackstone Girls Street Team

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  J. L. Drake was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, later moving to Southern California where she now lives with her husband and two children.

  When she is not writing she loves to spend time with her family, travelling or just enjoying a night at home. One thing you might notice in her books is her love of the four seasons. Growing up on the east coast of Canada the change in the seasons is in her blood and is often mentioned in her writing.

  An avid reader of James Patterson, J.L. Drake has often found herself inspired by his many stories of mystery and intrigue. She hopes you will enjoy her books as much as she has enjoyed writing them.

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