Best Of My Love

by N. D. Jackson

  “Daddy says I’m an orchid because it’s the prettiest flower in the whole entire world.”

  “He’s absolutely right Petunia.”

  Orchid giggled again, wearing a broad smile that kept her talking ten miles a minute. “You’re being silly,” she accused and Dre only responded with an innocent shoulder shrug. “You’re a good drawer.”

  “Thanks kiddo but I’m an artiste.”

  “Artiste,” she repeated and Dre smiled down at her.

  Erick was shocked to see just how well they got along, they had their own groove when they were together. But the clock on his phone told him it was time to go. “I’ve got to get her to school before they rope me into another bake sale. Finish the paperwork and I’ll try to stop by later to pick them up. Date everything today to make it simple. Call me if you need anything,” he told her.

  “Will do,” she responded even though they both knew she wouldn’t call anyone and certainly not him. He would guess she’d become more independent over the years and even less likely to rely on other people. A shame really since she brought out his every protective instinct.

  Forty minutes later armed with coffee and pastries Erick made his way back to Dre’s new place. He wondered what she would do to spruce it up, if she would do anything.

  “What are you doing here,” she asked, hands on her hips and skin slick with sweat.

  Holding up the bag he told her, “I brought fuel and muscles.” Erick held his smile knowing she wouldn’t be able to scowl for long. It had been years yes, but he knew her. She wasn’t as hard as she pretended to be.

  “I’ll take the coffee,” she told him and plucked one from the cardboard carrier. She took a long sip and closed her eyes, the smallest smile curled the corners of her mouth upward. Not quite a smile just simple enjoyment of something so small.

  “I have milk, sugar and creamer.” She used to dump loads of fat and sugar into her coffee and he would joke that there was no coffee left in her coffee.

  “No need. This is how I drink it.” Hazel eyes flared with defiance, daring him to say something he shouldn’t.

  “Since when?” He should have let it go. But he couldn’t.

  Her gaze was as steady and emotionless as her voice. “For as long as I can remember.”

  That was funny because he remembered differently and he would make sure she remembered. “Right. Well let me help.” Another time.

  “No need. I have a system.”

  Of course she did because this version of Dre did things on her own. She didn’t ask anyone for help and she didn’t wait for anyone to show up. But Erick was determined. “I’m good at following orders.”

  The glare she sent him would have sent a lesser man cowering but Erick knew this was his last chance with her. “Just let me enjoy this coffee.”

  He nodded and looked around the yard to make sure everything looked okay. The weeds weren’t overgrown thanks to his mother and the teenager up the street he’d hired to cut the grass. “Tell me about L.A.”

  “What do you want to know?”

  He didn’t need to see her to know her body was full of tension. “Everything. Do you see celebrities all the time? Do you go to Hollywood parties?” Finally Erick stood and turned to face her.

  She shrugged. “It’s cool. I live in a loft where I do most of my work. Sometimes I see celebrities and on occasion I have attended a Hollywood party or two.”

  “I heard you attended a party with Rafe Silver last year.”

  “I did. He’s a good friend.” Her tone gave nothing away and he wanted to scream. To shake her and force her to tell him what she was doing hanging out with a teen drama star turned leading man.

  “I’ll just bet he is.”

  Dre froze and tossed her half-empty cup of coffee in his direction. “Thanks for the coffee but now I need to get to it.”

  Before he could say another word she pushed herself up into the truck. Dammit. “I’ll see you again soon,” he promised.

  “Let’s not,” she replied without looking up at him.

  He knew he deserved her cold treatment, her prickly demeanor but that didn’t mean he had to like it.

  All her life Dre wondered why the only grocery store in Emerald Creek, Mac’s Grocery Hut, was done up like a tiki hut. Strolling through the automatic doors—the one and only concession to change—she noted that it was still as tropical as ever. Some things do stay the same. The dairy display of organic milk was a miniature thatch roof and the beef display featured a cow wearing a grass skirt. It was all very kitsch-y but so very Mac and so very Emerald Creek. And a stark change from the cold, utilitarian markets she’d grown used to.

  For the first time since her plane landed at O’Hare Dre finally felt some semblance of normalcy. Pushing a cart down a mostly empty grocery store in the middle of the work day and adding things to her digital to do list was exactly what she’d have done back in LA. She could wander through the store without being bothered.

  “Oh, Andrea it is you.”

  I said without being bothered, she mentally shouted to the universe. She fixed a polite smile on her mouth and greeted the woman currently blocking her shopping cart. “Mayor Weston, how are you?”

  Georgianne Weston had been mayor of Emerald Creek since Dre was a little girl and she hadn’t aged a day. Though she had to be in her sixties she didn’t look a day over forty-five, rocking her wavy silver bob and wearing her ever present uniform of jeans, a silk shell and a blazer that was usually colored like an Easter egg. “I’m good thanks for asking. We’re all so proud of you, I hope you know that. None more than Al, that’s for sure.” She scowled. “I do hope you two are able to settle your differences before your visit is over.”

  “Thank you, Mayor but that’s not likely to happen.”

  She looked disturbed but wisely chose not to pursue the topic. “Right. Well I’m glad I found you because we’d like to hire you. The town, that is. We could use some marketing, a web presence and all that to make Emerald Creek and our businesses more appealing.” Hands crossed in front of her in true politician style, Mayor Weston simply waited for Dre to say yes.

  But she felt her tension rise at the request. First it would be something small, innocuous and before you realized what the hell had happened you were sucked right back in. They’d have her stuck in the thick of life here and that would make it hard to leave.

  Again.

  But it was easy work and she didn’t turn down business when she didn’t have to. With a heavy sigh she smiled at Mayor Weston. “Sure I can handle it just forward me the details.”

  Georgianne clapped her hand excitedly, looking her age for perhaps the first time Dre could remember. “Oh good. I’ll have the president of the Chamber of Commerce get in touch with you, and don’t worry we can pay you.”

  “A discounted fee of course,” she threw in knowing it would be a hardship for small mom and pop companies to pay her fee.

  “Such a sweet girl. Losing you was a big loss for us.”

  Feeling uncomfortable with the praise Dre gave a nervous smile and pushed the cart around Georgianne. “Well you’ve got me for now.” Her laughter followed Dre all the way to the herbs and spices aisle.

  She refused to get sucked back into life here in town. She would help where she could since she didn’t have much else to do with Burke and the rest of her team on top of things. Then she would leave. Go back to California and her business.

  Her life.

  Without the icy chemical air of the grocery store Dre inhaled the fresh flowery air, letting the sun warm her skin. It reminded her of home. The constant sunshine provided the perfect therapy from one day to the next, always keeping her happy enough to keep her demons at bay.

  “I heard you were back in town and I had to see with my own eyes.”

  She recognized that soft feminine voice and looked up to find her half-sister leaning against her rental car. “Kira. I’ve been here for a couple weeks now. What’s up?”

  Ki
ra shrugged and looked around the mostly empty parking lot nervously. Dre felt bad about that, she’d never intended to make Kira feel bad or inadequate as a little sister. It wasn’t her fault her mother was the kind of woman she was. But she could see in hindsight just how hard a time she had separating the woman from her child. “I was kind of hoping maybe we could spend some time together while you’re in town.”

  Dre had to think about it. It would be nice to have some company in that big house she’d rented since Shayna and JT would be fully back pretending to be a happy family soon. But having Kira around might make Annie come around more. But it might be nice having a relationship with Kira. She might not be half as annoying as Dre remembered. “Sure. You want to come by tonight for dinner?”

  Big brown eyes that were flecked with gold widened in surprise. Clearly she’d been expecting Dre to find an excuse to avoid seeing her. As she’d done since Kira and Annie had come to live with them. “Um, sure. That would be great. But I don’t know where your friend lives, I could ask Dad.”

  Funny how hearing that didn’t enrage her this time. “I’m not staying with Shayna anymore actually. She’s figuring out things with JT so I rented the yellow farmhouse on Cedarwood for a while.”

  “I didn’t hear that.”

  That pulled a smirk up one side of Dre’s mouth. Guess the old Emerald Greek gossip train was being serviced today. “It just happened a few hours ago.” Which had her mind going back to a brown haired chef who still smiled at her like she was the mostly carefree girl she’d been a decade ago. Damn him. “You found me here so I imagine you’ll find your way there by seven-thirty? Or earlier if you want.” Kira’s eyes were as wide as saucers and her smile was beauty pageant perfect. “I know. Don’t make a thing about it. See you later.”

  Kira laughed and pushed off the fender. “I wouldn’t dream of making a thing,” she said with entirely too much glee.

  By the time Dre pulled into the driveway too much of the day had escaped so she shoved the bags of groceries into the still cooling fridge and fired up her laptop. It was time to get to work. Though she still did quite a bit of coding and designing for clients, more of her time than ever was spent pulling in new clients and other boring business crap, but she did still create apps when she couldn’t sleep. Which was always. She’d mocked up several designs for a pop starlet and checked in with her staff to make sure everything was getting done on time before returning a few outstanding emails when the doorbell rang.

  “Who the hell is it,” she growled from the dining room and shoved her computer away.

  “It’s me, Kira,” she answered so damn softly Dre thought maybe it was just a ghost.

  A quick glance at her phone though told her it was twenty minutes to seven. “Shit, I’m sorry Kira.” She pushed open the screen door to let Kira inside. “I didn’t realize it was so late.”

  “Should we do this another time?”

  “Nah you’re already here. We’ll just have dinner a little later. Drink?” She made her way to the kitchen and pulled the bags from the fridge along with ice cubes. “Whiskey or wine?”

  “Wine please.” She looked around the kitchen with a worried expression. “Are those the groceries from earlier?”

  “Yep. I didn’t have time earlier so I just shoved the bags in there.” They shared a laugh which had broken the tension between them. Dre enjoyed the quiet while it lasted sipping her drink and prepping dinner. “What’s new, didn’t you graduate recently?”

  “I did,” she nodded slowly as though waiting for something. “I have a fashion and design degree and I’d like to start my own little boutique here in town. Stylish and trendy you know so we don’t have to trek to the city just to find something nice and modern to wear.”

  Dre smiled, she’d had no idea Kira had any real interests. When they lived under the same roof she always dressed too prissy and joined beauty pageants. It drove her crazy back then. “Sounds cool. You don’t sound sure.”

  She blew out a breath and took three big gulps of wine. “Mom doesn’t want me to go into fashion because she says owning a business means I won’t ever put a man first, and she wants grandchildren.” Kira’s exaggerated eye roll told Dre her thoughts on that.

  Dre felt proud that she didn’t say the first disparaging comment that came to mind. It was hard but Kira didn’t deserve it, certainly not now. Instead she went for tact. “Or if you start your own business and become financially independent you can choose who you want to be with. It’s better than marrying someone you can’t stand because they have a good job.”

  Kira smiled. “You’re a romantic,” she accused.

  “Nope I’m practical. If you want to be happy, to live life on your own terms you have to be able to take care of yourself.”

  “But I don’t want to be alone Dre.”

  “I didn’t say you had to take care of yourself. I said you had to be able to. There’s a difference.” She’d pinned all her hopes on a guy once and had it not been for her business sense she’d have been without a plan for her future. “The goal should be happiness and if you choose someone because you like being around them rather than because you need them you exponentially increase your chance at happiness.”

  “What if I can’t do it?”

  Dre slammed her drink and poured another before adding a rainbow vegetables to the wok. “What if you can?”

  Kira finished her wine and refilled her glass while she spoke. “You’re blowing my mind right now Dre. You’re a romantic, you’re not bitter and you’re offering up advice. Are you dying?”

  A wry smile crossed her lips. It was an honest question. “No. I’m not dying but I am making a genuine effort to get to know you. Is that a problem?”

  “No.” Her smile looked a little wobbly and she’d only had one glass of wine.

  Dre scowled. “Good.”

  “Tell me what’s going on with you and Erick? Dad said you saved his tail with some hot soccer guys!”

  Dre quirked a brow over her shoulder as she poured the rice into boiling water. “He said they were hot?” It should sting that Kira and their father talked so freely, but it didn’t.

  “He said you flirted with them for a good fifteen minutes. In French!” Her voice was filled with awe.

  “They were hot French guys, of course I did. They invited me to their final game this weekend. Want to come?”

  “You’ll hook me up with one of them?”

  Dre laughed. “I’m getting you up close and personal, what you do with it is up to you.”

  Kira groaned. “I have no game. All the guys I’ve dated have been boring.”

  “No time like the present to change that.” She looked up at her scowling half-sister and laughed. “It’s easy, trust me. Men are easy.” At least they were when you only wanted orgasms from them.

  Chapter Eight

  The early evening air in Emerald Creek swept in warm and crisp, the scent of flowers blowing on the breeze. Summers always came warm and perfect this time of year, the creek bisecting town responsible for staving off the humidity known to plague the area. Erick didn’t care about the cause, he only cared that on a rare night off he had a relaxing evening perfect for sitting out on the deck with a cooler full of beer and a grill sizzling with meat.

  Not that either of those things factored into his evening as he strolled down the street, making a left onto Cedarwood towards the big yellow farmhouse in the middle of the block. He’d been surprised to hear from Dre but his joy quickly deflated when he realized she’d sent it to ‘Mr. President,’ as in President of the Chamber of Commerce. I guess Mayor Weston kept her promise. The woman had been determined to “spruce up” Emerald Creek’s digital image for the past few years, and he guessed she had a point since Herb Farnsworth’s name still headlined the home page as head of the Chamber and the man had died Erick’s junior year of high school.

  Still, he figured this job required a plain old web programmer, not someone like Dre who had a multi-million dolla
r company, insane computer skills and has worked for the who’s who of all industries. But his vote didn’t trump the mayor’s so he and Dre would have to work together.

  Somehow.

  It also gave him an excuse to take an evening stroll to see the woman in question. Nights off were a rare occurrence, and Orchid was having a girls’ night with his mom, so he came armed with the one thing Dre could never resist. That used to be me.

  She pulled the door open, a deep frown marring delicate features she seemed determine to contort. “Are those your mom’s brownies?” Finally, a smile.

  He laughed and thrust the plate into her hands. “Your ridiculous super sniffer,” he joked the way he’d always done about her too keen sense of smell.

  With a roll of her eyes she accepted the container and opened it, sorting through each square to find the perfect one like she used to. The groan that escaped when she bit into the tiny chocolate square sounded way more erotic than he knew she meant it to but his body didn’t give a damn. “Other than bribing me with brownies, what are you doing here?”

  He took a moment to appreciate the sight she made in a thin white cotton dress. She so rarely wore them he extended the moment to commit every detail to memory. Erick thought he might be hallucinating but he swore he could actually see pert brown nipples through the thin fabric. Her toned legs looked long despite her lack of height, smooth sun kissed skin dotted with freckles along her arms, chest and shoulders. And that normally wild mass of black curls hung, damp and clinging to her skin. “I uh, brought brownies and I thought we could talk.” He waited for her to argue, already deciding he would barge in if he had to.

  He didn’t have to though, quickly hiding his surprise when Dre stepped back and let him enter. “I’m out back,” she said and followed him through the house and out the back door, letting the screen door smack shut behind her.

  Erick couldn’t help the smile tugging at his lips as he stepped onto the back porch where a new glider sat, complete with a cherry and tulip covered cushion for comfort. A small knit blanket sat balled at one corner and he could see her, in his mind’s eye, curled up with it draped over bare legs. A bottle of tequila—very nice and expensive tequila—sat on a small table with a shot glass and a liter of water. “Drinking alone?”