by Lucy Lennox
“Yep.”
“Why didn’t they come themselves?” I asked, walking up the back staircase to my second-floor living space. I tossed my keys onto the kitchen counter and made my way to the fridge for a couple of beers.
“They did, West. We all came,” he said, looking up and finally meeting my eyes. I saw kindness and love in my brother’s face, and I wasn’t quite ready for that level of emotion from anyone just yet. My feelings about Adriana were too raw, and after everything that had happened with Pippa, I felt like the smallest thing could push me over and send me reeling.
“Where is everyone now?” I asked, continuing to focus on opening the beers as if that brief moment of connection hadn’t happened.
As I expected, Hudson let it go. He shrugged. “Took off after you didn’t show. Figured you’d gone to Adriana’s or Goldie’s. Grandpa said to tell you he’s fixing Chicken Marbella and you’d better be there by six.”
I handed Hudson one of the bottles before slugging down half my own at the same time I pulled off my tie. I made my way back to my bedroom and began shucking off the rest of the formal clothing so I could change into something more comfortable for family dinner.
Hudson padded down the hall after me. “Where’s the baby? With Goldie still?”
“Yeah.”
“Who was the guy?”
I turned around to look at him with my eyebrow raised in confusion. As if I didn’t know who “the guy” was.
“You know, the guy with the weird hair and all the ink. I saw you talking to him after the service. Never seen him before.”
Just the mention of Nico Salerno had my back teeth grinding together again. “Adriana’s good-for-nothing brother,” I admitted. “Apparently she left custody of Pippa to him.”
“What the fuck? The guy who took off when we were kids?”
“Yeah. Don’t get me started, Hudson. Okay?”
I turned back around and slipped my shirt and undershirt off to replace them with an old, soft flannel button-down. I hung up my suit trousers and slid on a worn pair of blue jeans, thankful Grandpa had been a rancher and didn’t give a damn about how we dressed for family dinners.
After throwing on some boots, I followed Hudson back out to the kitchen to finish our beer.
“You sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Hudson asked. I thought for a minute about how many times he’d been there for me before—just a quiet companion when I’d needed a friend. We’d been brothers my whole life, but we’d also been as thick as thieves. As the two oldest siblings in a family overrun with them, we’d taken the unofficial roles of protectors to our younger brothers and sisters. Instead of burdening anyone else with our problems, we kept them quiet.
And only burdened each other.
I wound up telling him about the punk who’d come in from the West Coast to butt his nose into Pippa’s business—the guy who’d abandoned Adriana when she’d been a wayward teen and left her alone with the Billingham boys when Mrs. Salerno married Sheriff Billingham but died only two years later in a car accident. Just the thought of it set my teeth on edge and made me want to beat Nico up even more.
Hudson tilted his head at me and furrowed his brow. “This is really bugging you, West. What’s the problem? You said you think he’s going to go through with the adoption, right?”
“Yeah. That’s what Hon thinks anyway. I guess I’m pissed off that he couldn’t bother to show up and be there for Adriana until it was too late,” I explained. “She deserved better than that. She deserved someone in her corner. Especially after her mom died.”
“She had your friendship this past year, West. And everyone at the bakery. And Pippa. She was happy.”
I felt my jaw tighten again and knew I was running out of energy to keep up a brave face.
“I think I’m going to skip family dinner after all,” I told Hudson.
A heavy arm landed on my shoulders as he pulled me in close. “Nope. C’mon. I promised I’d bring you. Grandpa and Doc will skin me alive if I show up empty-handed. Let’s go. You can cry your eyes out on the way there if you want. I promise I’ll pretend not to notice.”
“Fuck,” I muttered, following him out to his vehicle.
And damned if Hudson didn’t keep his promise, as always.
Chapter 5
Nico
I didn’t get very far through town before I remembered I was a fucking adult and not a petulant young teen who could just run away from his problems. Plus I’d be damned if I was going to confirm that asshole doctor’s assumption that I was good-for-nothing.
After pulling into the parking lot of the town park only a few blocks down the road, I turned off the engine and lay my head down on the steering wheel. How did I see this playing out? What were my options?
Adriana’s baby girl, Pippa, was alone. Why? Where was my mother? I hadn’t had a chance to ask many questions of the attorney before I’d been thrown into the deep end of meeting the people who’d been caring for my niece. And, honestly, I was almost afraid to ask. If my mother was dead too, I wasn’t sure how I was going to handle the news.
A sharp rap sounded on the driver’s side window, causing me to jump in my seat. I turned to see a uniformed officer glaring at me through the window, so I lowered it and looked up at him.
“See some ID, sir,” the officer said in a clipped tone. He kept his reflective shades over his eyes so I couldn’t see much of what he looked like other than having buzzed hair and being muscled to within an inch of his life. Gym rat, no doubt.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
“Seems you’re loitering. ID please.”
“But I only parked here like three minutes ago,” I muttered, reaching for my wallet in my back pocket. Had I not been so mentally exhausted from the events of the day, I would have gotten mouthy with this small-town, piece-of-shit cop.
I handed the officer my license and the rental car paperwork before noticing the name tag on his uniform.
Billingham.
“Are you by any chance related to Sheriff Billingham?” I asked, trying to see behind his shades without success.
“I’m his son. Curtis.”
Curtis. As in bully-from-hell Curt Billingham.
“Curt?” I asked. “It’s Nico.”
“I know who you are.”
Uh-oh. That did not sound friendly. Which shouldn’t have surprised me, really. The kid had always been a jerk to me, especially after our parents started dating. He’d always thought he was better than I was.
“Then you know I’m in town for Adriana’s funeral,” I said, refusing to let the asshat intimidate me in his big, important, police officer’s getup. “I just pulled over to get my bearings before heading back to her house.” Okay, so that was a lie, but still. It was none of his business.
“You need to move along,” he said stiffly, extending my license back to me between two beefy fingers. “No one wants you loitering, Salerno.” The way he said my last name was like there was a poisonous, furry caterpillar on his tongue.
“Whatever,” I mumbled, reaching out for my ID. He pulled it back as soon as the words were out of my mouth.
“What did you just say to me?”
“I said, ‘Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.’” I glared at him as I spat the words in his direction. This entire scenario reminded me of one of the reasons I’d sworn never to come back to this shit town to begin with. I hadn’t even been in town for two hours, and it was already suffocating me. The whole thing was like a scene out of a cheesy movie.
Curt flicked my ID with his thumbnail, and it sailed past my face to land on the floor of the passenger footwell. I took a deep breath and looked straight ahead, chanting to myself to leave it alone. I knew better than to pick a fight with someone wearing a badge no matter how much of a snotty-assed punk he was.
I turned the engine over and reversed slowly out of the parking spot before making my way out of the lot.
The sooner I got my sister’s affairs in order, t
he sooner I could leave Hobie for good.
Again.
By the time I pulled back down the familiar driveway, I’d stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few things to tide me over until the following day. I hadn’t known what to buy for the baby, so I hoped the woman who’d been caring for her had whatever she needed.
When I entered the little house, I saw the woman and the attorney sitting at the breakfast table, drinking from thick mugs. There was no sign of the gorgeous asshole doctor. Which was probably a good thing because I really didn’t have the energy to face him again so soon.
“Um, hi. Mrs. Banks? Mr. Baptiste?” I began, feeling unsure of myself and hating it. “I’m sorry I ran out of here like that. I promise it won’t happen again.”
The woman’s face softened, and she stood up to approach me. “It’s Goldie, hon. Not Mrs. Banks. And I completely understand why you got overwhelmed. Come here, sweetie.”
Before I could react, the older woman had engulfed me in a bear hug, all squishy boobs and warm floral perfume. The gesture was kind—so very different than the welcome I’d gotten from most everyone else I’d encountered that I could feel tears pricking the back of my eyes again. I squeezed her back before quickly untangling myself from the maternal embrace so I didn’t lose what little control I had over my emotions.
“Thank you,” I mumbled. “I have to admit, ah, I’m not exactly… good with babies. I was hoping you might know of someone who could help—”
“Nonsense,” she said sweetly. “Just because you’re not experienced, doesn’t mean you’re not good with them. I’ll show you everything you need to know and stick around until you’ve gotten the hang of it. How does that sound?”
I stared at her. “That sounds amazing, but why would you do that?”
“Nico, honey, there’s no way for you to remember this, but I’ve known you and Adriana since you two were knee-high to a grasshopper. That girl thought the world of her little brother, and until I find out otherwise, I do too. And I sure as heck think the world of Pippa. So I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you all end up okay. Why don’t you bring your things in from the car, and I’ll show you around before Pippa wakes up from her nap?”
I couldn’t speak past the lump in my throat, so I quickly nodded and made my way back out to the rental car to gather my things. By the time I returned inside, I noticed the attorney had spread out some paperwork on the kitchen table and was busy talking on his cell phone.
Goldie showed me around the small home, most of which was one big open room that included a cozy living area with a stacked stone fireplace, the large wooden breakfast table, and a modern kitchen with specialty appliances of some kind. In the back there were two bedrooms. The master was off to the right, and the smaller bedroom, the nursery I assumed, was off to the left. Between the two stood large glass sliding doors to the backyard. My mother’s property had never looked better. The backyard had been landscaped with simple, clean lines and basic shrubbery. Even though it was the end of September, the grass looked freshly mowed, which made me wonder who would look after the property now that she was gone.
Oh right, me.
I set my things down on Adriana’s queen-sized bed and tried not to look at anything in the room. I just wasn’t ready to see my sister’s personal space yet. When I followed Goldie out of the room, I pulled the door closed behind me, as if I could shut out the reminder of not having known the woman my sister had become. I knew there was no way I was going back in that bedroom anytime soon except to grab my bag out of there once everyone left. One look at her personal items and I knew I’d feel the weight of every year I’d missed getting to know her as an adult.
By the time Goldie finished showing me around, the baby still hadn’t woken up, so we joined the attorney at the table. Once he finished his phone call, Honovi began explaining some of the details of the custody situation.
“Wait,” I said, holding my hand up. “What about my mom? Why isn’t she here to take care of the baby?”
Goldie’s soft hand came down on mine, but she let Honovi break the news.
“Nico, your mom passed away several years ago,” he explained in a gentle voice. “She and the sheriff were killed in an automobile accident.”
I looked at him while the news sank in. “Really? When? How long ago?” I wanted him to be wrong. I wanted him to say, No, not really. She’s just on vacation. But I knew he spoke the truth. She would never have left her only grandchild.
Honovi glanced over at Goldie before continuing. “Maybe twelve or thirteen years ago?”
“Wh-what? That long? She’s been gone that long? What about Adriana? What did she do without my mom all that time? Oh my god.” I was babbling, but I didn’t know what else to do. My head was spinning, and a small voice inside me kept chanting, You could have come home, you could have come home and been with her. “Can I see my mom’s grave?”
Honovi gave me a smile of reassurance. “Sure you can. Her grave is in the churchyard. Adriana will be buried next to her. She still had Curt and Reeve, Nico. They were her family.”
Bile rose up my throat at the thought of the Billingham brothers being my sister’s only remaining family, and I shoved it away. While the image of my mother’s body in a grave only a few miles away from me settled over my heart, I realized something else. For some reason I hadn’t thought of it until now.
“How did you find me?” I asked the attorney. “How did you know how to get ahold of me?”
“Adriana listed your contact information when she made the will before the baby came,” he said. His eyes were so kind and I was grateful she’d chosen such an empathetic man to do this legal process.
“But how did she know? I never contacted her after I left.”
He shrugged. “Could be she did an Internet search. Or maybe hired a private investigator. If you’re living and doing business under your legal name, it’s not that hard.”
I thought about Adriana knowing how to contact me and not reaching out. I wondered how long she’d known where I was—what she might have thought about me after all these years. While I settled into a complete funk, I heard the beginnings of a baby crying.
Goldie’s face lit up as she stood.
“C’mon Nico, let’s go meet your precious girl.”
Chapter 6
West
For the next four days it seemed like everywhere I went in town people were talking about “that weirdo from California” who’d come to take Adriana’s precious angel from us. It took all my self-control not to show up at Adriana’s house all hours of the day to check on them. But both Goldie and Hon had assured me Nico was managing okay with Goldie’s help.
It was on the fifth day when Goldie showed up at the office that I freaked out.
“What are you doing here?” I snapped when I saw her come in and put her lunch in the fridge as if it were any old normal day at work.
Her head snapped up, warm honey curls bouncing fresh out of the curlers she still used daily. “Excuse me, Dr. Wilde, but I work here.” Her voice was the voice of my childhood, and it immediately put me into kid mode. I tried hard not to whine my response.
“But what about Pippa?”
“What about Pippa?” she shot back at me.
“She needs you. Where’s Nico? Who’s with him? What if something happens?”
“Dr. Wilde, have I ever done anything to put a child in danger?”
Oh shit.
“No, ma’am,” I muttered.
“Then mind your own business, and let’s get to work. Leigh Coney is here with JJ, and it sounds like he might have the flu.”
I followed her out of the break room to one of the small exam rooms. Sure enough, the five-year-old had the flu. It was our first confirmed case of the season. That meant work was about to get very busy. Once we got him squared away with everything he and his mom needed, we moved on to the next child waiting for her annual checkup. The day remained steady until it was time to close up shop.
I followed Goldie out to the small parking area and opened the sedan door for her.
“So, ah, are you headed to Adriana’s house?” I asked as nonchalantly as I dared.
She looked up at me with a knowing smirk. “I think you mean Nico’s house, Dr. Wilde.”
I felt my jaw tick at the thought of it being his house instead of hers now. “Whatever. Are you going to check on them?”
“Nope. I’m headed home to spend some much-needed time with Gene. If I don’t cook something healthy for him soon, he’s liable to subsist on frozen dinners until he turns into one.”
“But…,” I began.
“If you’re so worried about them, West, why don’t you stop by? I’m surprised you haven’t visited Pippa since the day of the funeral. That’s not like you.”
It was true. Since Pippa had been born, I hadn’t gone more than one or two days without seeing her. My arms were itching to hold her, and I was desperate to put my nose to her little head and smell the baby wash scent of her.
“I didn’t want to interfere,” I explained.
“That’s a load of malarkey, and we both know it. Something’s gotten into you, and you’re throwing a hissy fit. Whatever it is, get over it. She needs us right now whether you’re scared or not.”
She was right about Pippa needing us. The baby had already spent the past several hours without a familiar face, and I didn’t want her to go to bed tonight without being rocked by someone who loved her. I sure as hell knew Nico wasn’t that person.
“I’m not scared, Goldie. I’m just worried I’m going to punch that guy in the face is all.”
Her eyes studied me as she sat down in the driver’s seat. “You sure that’s all? You sure it’s not about having to say goodbye to Pippa when the Warners adopt her?”
My gut twisted at the mention of her adoption. “I have to get used to not seeing her every day,” I said quietly. “It was easier to do it when I knew she was with you.”
Goldie reached out and cupped my cheek with her warm palm. “West, you need to stop working so hard and find someone for yourself. Start your own family. You were born to be a dad. That little girl is lucky to have you, but she’s going to have plenty of other people who love her once the adoption goes through. I think you should focus on finding someone for yourself. I hate that you’re still on your own.”
