“Do you still love me?” he asked hopefully.
Heather gave him a happy smile. “Sorry, cowboy,” she drawled. “Y’all are stuck with me now.”
He broke out into a wide grin. She went to hug him, but he stopped her and said, “Um, there’s somebody you better meet.”
He stepped aside, and at first, she didn’t understand what was happening. She saw nothing and then the slightest of movements behind his leg caught her attention. She scooted to the left and looked around him.
Huddled in the corner next to her door was a bedraggled looking waif clutching a filthy stuffed animal. Heather sank down into a crouch and smiled. “Hi sweetie. Who are you?”
The child said nothing. She just huddled closer to the wall and stared at Heather with wild, frightened eyes.
“Honey,” Brody said quietly. She heard the tenderness in his voice. “This is Mia. She wants to be called Bella. I gave her the choice of any name she liked and that’s what she chose.” The child looked up at him and the tiniest of smiles appeared on her dirty face.
“So,” he said brightly. “I’d like you to meet my daughter. Bella Mia Jensen.”
Bella Mia. Heather’s heart filled with emotion. This homeless looking little girl with a head of hair that hadn’t seen a brush in maybe forever and an outfit that screamed Salvation Army was a real beauty.
“Bella, sweetheart. This is Daddy’s girlfriend. Her name is Heather. Can you say hi?”
Heather tried smiling, but she could see the child was overwhelmed and probably a lot scared.
Brody murmured by way of explanation, “She doesn’t say much.”
God. No shit. Looking at her, she couldn’t imagine what the young child had been through. And then the most awesome thing happened. George, who’d been obediently waiting to be acknowledged, came trotting into the hall. He looked at Brody, made a soft woof, and then went over to Bella. She shrank back, at first, but George persisted, sniffing her head and nosing the decrepit stuffed toy.
With a look at Brody and another at her, George plopped down next to the little girl, licked the side of her face and hung his tongue like all this was normal.
Bella said, “Doggie.”
Brody beamed.
Heather scratched Georgie’s head lovingly then held out her hand to Bella. “Hey. Guess what. I made cookies earlier. And I bought some new bubble bath that’s pink! Wanna come in and check it out?”
A minute ticked by with no response, but she never wavered. Just crouched at Bella’s level with a smile on her face and her hand hanging in the air.
Brody was motionless. The future felt like it was knocking on the door.
Finally, Bella said, “Okay,” and hesitantly put her hand in Heather’s. She honestly thought she heard the universe pulse with approval.
Brody coughed back what she knew without looking was some pretty heavy emotions.
As she led Bella Mia into her apartment, she laughed and told her, “Oh and you know what else I have? A stuffed doggie on my bed that your daddy gave me. I think he needs a friend. You wanna give him a name and take care of him?”
She felt her cowboy’s hand on her shoulder. He squeezed and stayed close by her side.
“Um … Dave?”
Heather almost tripped over her own feet. Dave? Really? What an odd choice. Brody leaned close and whispered. “Dave is a minion. We watched Despicable Me on the plane.”
Ah, that Dave. Understood. “Sure, honey.” She laughed. “Dave it is. Now, give Daddy a little wave and let’s go take a pink bubble bath.”
“Cookies?” Bella asked.
Like any wise parent, she smiled into the little girl’s face. “Bath first. Treats after.”
Bella hesitated. “Okay,” and just like that, the future opened up before them.
“HOW MUCH MONEY would I have to throw at Cheryl to talk her out of that car? Fuzzy dice and all?”
Betty looked up at Tori as she shouldered her way through the door of the new business center, carrying a box full of business files. Dropping it with a sudden thud onto the desk, she met the Justice business manager’s grin with the same.
“You’re joking I hope. That car is practically her baby. Her husband gave it to her, you know. Twenty-fifth-anniversary present … so I doubt she’d be too keen to give it up.”
Wow, Tori thought. Twenty-five years is cool. “Well, I’d murder a bitch for a vintage ’64 candy apple red convertible Mustang. But those dice hanging from the rearview? Gone. I think a tacky dancing hula girl on the dashboard would be more me.”
Betty’s outrageous sense of humor was on full display when she let loose with a full-throated laugh. “Murder a bitch, would you? Jesus, Victoria. Honestly! What would we do without your mouth to keep us all on our toes?”
“Downton Abbey, cowboy style?”
Their shared laughter bounced off the walls of the new office, which was still mostly empty. There was so much transitioning and shuffling going on all around the compound that it felt like a whole new site. Betty’s fancy business center was a perfect example. Alex must have lost his damn mind when designing this place.
Resembling a two story southwest house rather than an office building, the center boasted a conference room and technology station for clients along with a full working kitchen, a couple of smaller meeting rooms and Betty’s private office, which took up most if not all of the second floor. It was an impressive set-up and yet another glimpse into the mind of their boss.
Alex had nothing but the highest regard for the Justice business manager. With the agency going through a massive expansion, he’d insisted on completely changing her job description. Now, she’d oversee business staff and spend more time focusing her incredible energy and talents on the bigger picture financial stuff.
Rifling through the files she’d lugged over from the house in her all-consuming effort to get control of Alex’s tech cave while he was on his honeymoon and out-of-the-picture, she listened while Betty chatted happily about her old friend.
“We didn’t have push presents, you know. Back in our day. So William did a good thing getting her that car. And well he should,” she snickered. “Four kids is a mighty big push!”
“Oh my god. Back in your day?” Tori bawled disdainfully. “I hate that expression. Mom uses it all the time. You guys aren’t ancient!” She shook her head in disgust. Fifty was the new forty, right? Well, it fucking better be, she thought. Looking around at the fifty-something women she knew, Tori highly doubted a 'back in the day' narrative was appropriate.
“Well, you know what they say. The older you get, the fewer filters you have. That’s Cheryl and me right now. And what Y'all deal with is worlds away from the era of our twenties. We didn’t even have disposable contact lenses when my kids were born.”
Tori rolled her eyes. “Oh dear god. Are you gonna start whining about having to adjust the volume of the TV from the console?”
Betty chortled. Tori loved the irrepressible woman. She was, like everyone else around here, one-of-a-kind and quirky as fuck.
“Your mom and I have earned the right to whine, young lady! Filters, remember?”
She certainly had a point. “So, what’s Cheryl up to besides blaring Styx and leaving peach Snapple bottles everywhere? Swear to god that I’ve never heard Renegade played that loud before.”
“Oh, did she chuck one and miss?” Betty asked with glee. “I’ll have to take a few points off her current tally. I do believe I’ve hit way more baskets than she has.”
“What the hell is it with everyone around here and the keeping score? Is it in the water or something?”
The smug wink the feisty business manager offered said she knew exactly what Tori meant.
“I’m a little bummed that with all the new responsibilities I have, there won’t be enough free time in my foreseeable future to help Cheryl out with her business.”
Rearranging a stack of messy files, she nodded her understanding. So much was changing for everyone, n
ot just the agency. “Oh, that’s right,” Tori murmured. “You helped out with the party favors didn’t you?”
“Yep,” Betty answered with a smile. “Stork Creations. Cute play on words, huh?”
She chuckled. Yeah, it was. “Did you tell her we may be needing her services soon?”
Gasping, Betty put down what she held in her hands. “What do you know, Victoria? You’re around Alex all day. Have you overheard something?”
“Oh Lord. Didn’t you hear? They abstained before the wedding, and you know what that means. They were pre-heating the oven if you catch my drift.”
“Pre-heating the oven,” Betty wailed with delight. “Where do you get this stuff?”
“It’s my superpower,” Tori snickered. “When you grow up tiny and lead the geek patrol, learning useful snarkery is a critical skill. Didn’t stop everyone from being assholes but at least, I didn’t take it on the chin. You screw with me, and I screw you back.”
“No wonder Draegyn loves you so. He’s the same way. With the screwing that is. I highly doubt Mr. Suit and Tie ever put up with sexist bullying as a kid.”
“And then there’s that.” at the moment she didn’t have a lot to say on the subject of her husband. In the weeks since the wedding, they’d drifted even further apart in the bedroom. Draegyn was still attentive and loving and the best damn father ever but her hunky husband was also working overtime at avoiding their bed. Talking about him would only lead to her giving away that things weren’t exactly blissful at the St. John’s.
Well, damn. Now that she had her husband on the brain, it was useless to pretend she was going to get any more work done.
“I better get running,” she blurted awkwardly. “Daniel is out with the guys. Calder has everyone tearing around the homestead site with Mr. Marquez and Parker’s dad. Did you hear that guy from the east is flying in before Cristian and Ashleigh head back to Spain? Someone with restoration skills. I guess they want to see if any of the original adobe construction is salvageable.”
“A chapel,” Betty commented with awe. “This whole place is changing big time. Alex and Meghan won’t recognize anything when they get back.”
Word. The entire property was like a butterfly breaking out of a cocoon. A couple of months from now it’ll all be finished. The newlyweds would be returning to a whole new reality.
“On that note, I’m out. Catch ya’ later,” she chirped with a blown kiss as she headed for the door. Maybe she’d find Lacey and see what she was doing. Or her Mom.
Outside Betty’s new kingdom, Tori settled in an electric cart and checked her phone. No messages. She sighed. Hoping for her husband to suddenly send a naughty text was futile thinking. Those days seemed to have vanished.
Choking back an uncomfortable wedge of emotion in her throat, Tori couldn’t help but wish Irish wasn’t on another continent and far from the day to day life of Family Justice. She could use some of her insightful commentaries right about now. But the Major, that asshole, confiscated her phone and limited their contact to once a week.
Starting up the cart, she headed for home. With Meghan gone, Draegyn keeping her at arm’s length and everyone else in a sickening blissful mode, she felt like the outsider she’d been as a kid. And with that uncomfortable thought, she pushed on her sunglasses, flipped the bird to an open sky and motored on her way.
“Did you see the picture my shithead brother sent of his wife looking out over the Mediterranean? He better have cleared that shit with Meghan or his ass is grass.”
Parker snickered. “I believe what he was going for was her ass, Angel.”
“Yes, well,” she sniffed. Men. Honestly. Ride or die.
Parker slung his arm playfully around her neck and pulled her close making her stumble into him with a surprised squeak. “Cut him a break, honey. He Photoshopped the shit out of it to protect her dignity. You know damn well the underwear was added in later and probably just enough to hide the ink she put on her bottom.”
“I just hope he had the brains to show it to her before the dumb fuck sent it out in an email.”
“Stop ‘yer bitching,” he teased.
“Holy shit,” a voice coming up behind them declared. “Hurry up, would you?” Tori snapped. “I forgot my flip flops and the walkway is hot.”
Not for the first time in recent memory, Angie took a moment to key in on the little woman’s tone. She didn’t care how many times Parker shrugged off her concerns. There was something up with that one. Only a blind man couldn’t see there’d been a change in Tori’s attitude over the last couple of weeks.
“Here,” another voice sweetly offered. “I’ve got an extra pair in my bag.”
Lacey and Cam were bringing up the rear as they made their way along the tree-lined path to the Villa’s swimming pool. It was another brilliant spring day, and the temperatures were already in the upper eighties. With the kids on an outing to Sedona with Stephanie and Calder, they’d arranged to hang out, swim and get some rays while the opportunity was there.
Pausing in a cluster on the walkway, everyone waited while Tori slid on the flip-flops. Parker, of course, used the slight delay to grope Angie’s boobs. If there weren’t others standing around, she didn’t doubt he’d be destroying her nipples with his voracious mouth instead of innocently massaging the aching mounds. She considered palming his crotch for good measure but thought better of the crazed idea. He laughed as if reading her thoughts.
Draegyn, who like his wife was putting off a strange vibe, was lending Tori a helping hand but was otherwise staying silent. It was hard to feel naughty when the king and queen of blatant fuckery were acting so weird. It was starting to freak her out.
What she needed was the pool. Swimming would help Angie reign in her unsettling thoughts.
“Ready?” she muttered, heading off down the path not waiting for an answer. All of a sudden she heard something and stopped dead in her tracks. Like a cartoon set-up, her unexpected halt made everyone else stumble into her. It was a comedy of flailing limbs and some quick backpedaling.
“Shhh!” she implored, with a finger to her lips. “Quiet” Angie whispered as loud as she could.
There it was again. A tittering sound. Oh shit. She hoped it wasn’t what she thought.
“What’s up, Angel?” Parker asked with real concern. She grabbed his arm and motioned him to shush.
“I think the pool is in use,” she whispered.
“So the fuck what, Drae drawled. “Come on,” he said as the idiot headed straight for the end of the path where the walkway curved around a tree into the wide open pool area.
“Draegyn! Wait,” Angie implored, but it was already too late. Three seconds after rounding the bend he was back and with an ashen look on his face.
“Uh,” he didn’t seem able to say much else.
“What is it, man?” Cam asked.
“What the hell’s the matter with you?” Parker laughed as he slapped Drae on the back and angled around him.
“Sullivan, wait!” Drae blurted out, but it was too late. Angie tried to block Parker’s way, but she didn’t react in time. Just as he cleared the last tree the very distinct and booming voice of Cristian Marquez bellowed, “Cannonball” a second before a huge splash was heard followed by raucous laughter. Male and female laughter.
Parker came back so fast he plowed right into them. “Oh my god,” he groaned. With a hand covering his eyes he told them, “I just saw my Dad doing a cannonball off the deck. Buck ass naked.”
Lacey giggled. “What?”
More laughter from the pool area rang out and without thinking it through, Angie started fast-walking back to the house. The second she heard the giggling titters she’d known what was going on. It was practically the bane of her existence. Parents who were overtly sexual with one another. But put her parents and Parker’s parents together and what did you get? Shit like this.
Parker caught up with her. “I think I’m going blind,” he muttered.
“Did you
see my mother’s um, girls?”
“Baby, it would not be the first time.”
Aargh. As they approached the back gate to the Villa’s garden, she whirled around and all but jumped on Drae. “I thought you were supposed to be handling everything while Alex is gone.”
Lacey looked stunned at her accusatory tone. She started to say something but Cam put a hand on her arm, and she silently backed down.
Parker snorted at her comment. “Angie. It’s not Drae’s fault that our parents act like bad kids at an exclusive summer camp with no counselors.”
She knew that but gawd! Blaming someone else for her embarrassment was a reflex. “Sorry,” she muttered apologetically.
“Those four are harder to control than fifty hard asses from Quantico.” She shared the frustration heard in Drae’s voice. Lowering his voice to a near whisper, he told them all, “Couple nights ago, I came back to the Villa kind of late.”
Angie noted the way Tori pursed her lips and went rigid at Drae’s words. He must have felt her stiffen because he looked down at her and she could have sworn for a split second they both had the same tense expression, but it vanished just as quickly.
“Anyway, I was grabbing a water from the frig when I heard chatter in the courtyard and decided to hurry and clear out before I interrupted anything.”
Angie almost swatted him when he didn’t finish. “And?” she asked with an exasperated flap of her arms.
Drae looked apologetically at Parker. “I think they were blazing. Either that or burning some interesting sage.”
Lacey, bless her innocent soul looked confused. “Blazing?”
Cam chuckled and gave her a hug. “Yeah, you know. It was a four-twenty moment. Bud stopped by for a visit. They were baking.”
She just looked confused. After a while, everyone started to laugh.
Parker droned, “I hope to god someone’s got a medical card, or I swear…”
“Shhh,” Angie giggled. “Chill, counselor.
Cam hustled his wife away with a comical look. “I’ll explain the finer points of the discussion at hand to my virgin bride.”
Sanctuary (Family Justice Book 3) Page 49
