Papina (Bearville County)

by Katie Hamstead

  Clint glared at Megan who blushed and shrugged.

  Paul huffed and glanced at me. "All right, everyone seems fine. Just keep the noise down. Oh, and the boys are sinking into the snow."

  We all spun and saw Donny and Jackson waist deep in the snow by the porch. We all rushed over to pull them out, but when I turned to look, Paul had gone.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  The detective had just swept my house again. Still nothing. I didn't know why they thought something new would show up. I sat by the table with my head rested on my arms. Nova stroked my hair while Jackson ate.

  "When's it going to end?" I asked.

  She sighed.

  I took a deep breath and sat up, looking at the clock. "Jackson needs to go to bed. Do you want to bathe him tonight?"

  She shook her head and plucked up her laptop.

  "School work?"

  She nodded.

  "All right. Well, I'm going to put him down and go to bed, okay?"

  She nodded. As she stood, she bent down and kissed my forehead.

  "Good night, Nova."

  I watched her climb up the stairs, then turned my attention to Jackson to watch him finish eating. My eyes felt heavy and slowly closed, but I jolted back awake when Jackson yelled, "Mommy!"

  "Are you done?"

  He grinned.

  "Okay, let's get you in the bath."

  An hour later, he'd fallen asleep and I retreated to my room. I headed into the bathroom, my whole body aching. All I wanted was a shower and bed. I stripped down and turned on the shower. I then realized I'd left my towel over the end of my bed and hurried out.

  But a sound made me freeze. I paused to listen. Tap, tap. I turned and looked at the window. Tap, tap.

  I grabbed my tank top and pajama pants, pulled them on, then walked over and pulled the curtain back.

  Paul paused mid throw, and dropped his arm.

  I pulled the window open and hissed in a low voice, "What are you doing?"

  "I need to talk to you."

  "And the front door doesn't suffice?"

  "I wanted to be discreet."

  "Good heavens. If you can get up."

  He disappeared, then the top of a ladder rested against the patio roof in front of me. His head appeared, with a wide grin from ear to ear.

  "You're pretty proud of yourself right now, aren't you?" I said.

  He tiptoed across to my window. "Yeah, it's romantic."

  I snorted.

  His grin widened. "Let me in?"

  "You said you wanted to talk. So, talk."

  "It's cold out here."

  I grunted and stepped back to let him in.

  He climbed through and looked around. "You know, I've never actually really been in here, aside from those few moments when the house was searched and fixing the shower head."

  I shuffled, feeling embarrassed that he stood in my room alone with me while I only wore a skimpy tank and thin pajama pants. "What do you want, Paul?"

  His gaze shot to me as he pulled the window shut. He stared at me with a fire in his eyes that made my belly fill with butterflies. "You."

  "Paul." I turned away from him, heading into the bathroom. "I've told you, it's just impossible."

  He followed me, and as I leaned over the sink, grabbing my makeup remover, he stood behind me, grasping my upper arms. "No it's not."

  I wiped at my eyes. "Please, just go. I thought you had something important to say."

  "This is very important." He grabbed my hand and turned me to face him. "Megan told me that you said you love me."

  I gasped, my heart fluttering. "No I didn't."

  He raised an eyebrow. His hand slid down my arm, making me shudder.

  I pushed him. "Stop it."

  Pain filled his eyes. "I wanna be with you, Bray, but all you do is push me away. We seemed to get somewhere, and then you freaked out."

  "There's too many other people involved. It's too complicated. I have to think of Jackson first and his needs, and Nova, she needs me now more than ever, and if I'm with you she won't…" I pushed by to the shower. "Could you leave now?"

  He grabbed me around the waist, pulling me into his arms. "No more excuses, Bray."

  I shoved his chest. "They aren't excuses! They are valid reasons. Forrest's case isn't closed yet, Nova needs me, and Sarah, my relationship with her is strained right now, and if I were to—"

  He kissed me.

  I melted into his arms. My whole body tingled, and I moaned when he touched my cheek.

  He broke away, staring into my eyes. "You want this as much as me. Your kiss doesn't lie."

  I broke eye contact. "Paul, I don't—"

  He kissed me again.

  When he pulled away I felt breathless and giddy.

  "Braydon, I'm crazy, head-over-heals, madly in love with you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you and see you smile every day. Why should anyone get in the way of that? What gives anyone the right to say we can't be together? Who says we shouldn't be happy and in love? Stop fighting it, Bray, and let me be with you. Let me take care of you like you deserve. You have struggled on alone for long enough, don't you think? You've proved you're a woman of steel, but you don't need to keep living this lonely life."

  I stared into his incredible blue eyes. My heart pounded as it filled with my love for him. But I couldn't love him. A lump of pain swelled and caught in my throat. Tears ran down my face. "Paul, I…."

  His fingers brushed my tears away.

  I ached for him, and without realizing I clung to his shirt, pulling him closer. But a strange strangled sound came from my throat as my heart and head battled for supremacy.

  He caressed my cheek and rested his hand on my neck. He leaned forward to whisper in my ear. "Stop fighting it."

  I sobbed and buried my face into his shoulder. He held onto me as the words I fought to keep from him tumbled out. "Oh Paul, I love you so much. Why does it have to be so hard? Why do I feel like loving you is betraying everyone else?"

  He pulled back and clasped my face. "You're not. Forrest would want you to be happy. He wouldn't want you to be alone for the rest of your life. You know that."

  I nodded, without breaking eye contact.

  "And everyone else will learn to accept this."

  "I just…" I sighed, dropping my gaze. "I never thought I could ever love someone else."

  "Neither did I."

  I looked up into his eyes and suddenly his pain seemed so much worse than mine. Although Forrest died, I always knew he loved me. But Paul, he had to live with the scolding of the woman he loved. He never knew what it felt like to have his love reciprocated. Until me.

  I grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down into a kiss. When our lips met, a bolt of electricity shot through me.

  He caressed my face and held me against him.

  It felt like everything in the whole world had become right again. My heart pounded. My tears fell. I couldn't keep pushing him away. I couldn't lose him, not after losing my first love. If I lost him too, my heart would never mend from a double heartbreak.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him so tight. I never wanted to let him go.

  He pushed me up against the wall, his kiss growing firmer, more intense. His hands wandered over my body, making me quiver.

  I broke free from his lips and said breathlessly, "Paul, I love you."

  He smiled. "It's so good to finally hear you say that."

  He bent over and nibbled my neck.

  I gasped, and rubbed against him. I wanted him so badly. Every inch of me tingled as he necked me. I pushed him back.

  He looked down at me, confused, but I grabbed his hand and led him into the bedroom. I dropped his hand, and, with my back still to him, pulled off my shirt.

  He moaned and wrapped his arms around me, nibbling at my shoulder. He grabbed my breasts, touching me in ways I'd missed, and ached for him to do for so long.

  I peeled his
hands back and turned to face him. He took in my body as he let out a long breath. I pressed against him and whipped off his stupid hat. I grinned at the far more attractive man underneath it.

  He ran his left hand down my shoulder and waist as his right caressed my face. "Braydon, this… this is something I—"

  I covered his mouth. "I know." My hand slid down onto his shoulder and I pushed off his jacket. I ran my hand down his shoulder. "I still don't like these stupid shirts."

  He chuckled and kissed me. He worked at unbuttoning his shirt as I moved us backward toward the bed. When my legs hit it, I pulled back and looked up at him. He had his shirt off in a flash, and my hormones raged at his incredible, muscular body.

  I sank onto the bed, and as I slid back, I removed my pants.

  He stared down at me, taking in every inch of me, before he kicked off his shoes and climbed on top on me. He kissed me again as he explored my body. I threw my head back and moaned as he played with me, fondling me, teasing me. "Paul…"

  "Mmm?"

  "Please, Paul."

  "Say it again."

  "I love you."

  He sighed, contentedly, as he leaned back and undid his pants. Then, it all happened so quickly. I gasped, and looked down to see he hadn't even bothered taking his pants off all the way.

  He thrust into me as he bent over and kissed my collarbone. Then he grabbed my arms and pinned me down.

  His aggression and dominance aroused me, and for a brief moment I wondered what his ex was thinking if she thought he wasn't enough. He was so strong, passionate, and intense, and most importantly, he was completely focused on me. That was the best part. I felt how much he loved me by the way he looked at me, the way he watched my every reaction and smiled when I responded well.

  Then, I felt it. My climax building. I moaned and pushed against him, yearning for it, my whole body craving it. Then, it hit. I let out a squeal of delight and he covered my mouth.

  "Shh."

  He thrust into me again, my whole body writhing as he held me down.

  BANG.

  I screamed as the door flew open and grabbed for the blankets.

  Nova screamed in her tribe's language as she pointed a gun at Paul.

  He stumbled back and fell behind the bed. I covered myself, and when he leapt back up, he'd pulled his pants back on. He spoke to her in her language, and she wailed back at him.

  "Nova!" I cried. "What are you doing?"

  She glanced at me and moved closer. She yelled at him again and he raised his hands, responding in her language again.

  "What's she saying?" I said in a high pitched voice.

  He glanced at me and she yelled at him again.

  "She's saying you don't belong to me," he answered quickly.

  She yelled at him again, waving the gun wildly.

  He pulled back, wincing.

  "Nova, what's going on?"

  She looked down at me. "You belong to Forrest."

  My jaw fell. Her first words to me in more than a year! But, I had to make sense of them. "But Forrest is dead."

  Her eyes flashed with pain. "I know. But he can't have you. He hurt you. He held you down and forced you! I won't let him steal you away from me."

  "Nova, put the gun down."

  Her lip curled. "No. I'm gonna shoot him like he shot me for what he's done to you."

  "But he didn't do anything to me!" My voice reflected my tension, my fear, and she looked down at me with concern. I clutched tightly to the blankets as I continued. "I've fallen in love with him. It was consensual. Nova, I can't be alone for the rest of my life."

  She lowered the gun and turned to me. "But you are the last thing Forrest thought about. The last words he said were to tell you he loved you. You can't be with someone else after that, so now it's just me, and I'll take care of you like he wanted."

  My jaw hung as I struggled to process what she said.

  Paul appeared behind her, and plucked the gun from her hand. But she didn't even seem to notice as she knelt on the bed in front of me and grabbed my shoulders. "I'll protect you like he did for me, I promise."

  "But… what happened?"

  Her eyes darkened, and for a moment, feared she'd stop talking again. But she leaned closer and said in a hushed voice, "My ex-boyfriend attacked me. Him and his stupid friends… but Forrest saw them drag me off and came after me. He ripped them off and helped me escape. But they shot him."

  Tears welled in her eyes. "They shot him as he ran, and he told me to get in the car. He fell and I saw all the arrows in him and I screamed. I tried to help him, but I think he knew he…"

  Her head fell on my chest as she sobbed. "He said to find you and tell you that he loves you. Then they shot him again. I tried to get him to stand up, but they came at me so I ran. When I looked back, they pulled his head back and—"

  "Nova," Paul said. "I think you should stop."

  She cried loudly as I sat, stunned, horrified. I was on the verge of throwing up. I whimpered, the images of Forrest's brutal murder flashing through my mind.

  I moaned and sat forward. "I don't feel so good."

  Paul grabbed me and rushed me into the bathroom where I threw up in the toilet. He tossed a towel around my shoulders and pulled my hair back into a ponytail, a moment before I threw up again.

  I didn't want to think about it, but Forrest's face as he was shot over and over filled my mind. I heaved again, but nothing much came out, it just hurt.

  Paul dashed into the bedroom. "Nova?"

  "Get away from me!" she screamed. "Get out of this house!"

  "Where'd you get the gun?"

  "Sarah hid it in the floor of the office. They never noticed the loose carpet in the corner."

  "Nova, we need—"

  "Get out!" she screamed.

  Jackson cried out.

  "No,” Paul said. “I'm part of this. I'm going to help Bray, and you're going to trust that I'm not going to hurt her."

  "No."

  "Yes!" His voice rose as anger filled it. "Now go see to Jackson and help him calm back down. Bray doesn't need the added stress right now."

  "I won't do what you tell me."

  "Nova Garcia, you will do as I say because if you really loved Bray, you wouldn't want to add to her burdens. So go see to Jackson."

  Silence lingered for a moment, then, "Don't you dare touch her."

  She stomped out, and the sound of Jackson's cries grew louder as his door opened.

  Paul was at my side. "Bray?"

  I couldn't speak.

  He stroked my hair back from my face. "Let's get you dressed. We're heading to Bearville right now."

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Paul drove us to Bearville. Jackson moaned and whined for the first fifteen minutes before he fell to sleep. I stared at the clock. 11:46p.m. I hoped more than anything Nova would speak again when we arrived.

  I must have dozed off because Paul shook my shoulder. "We're here. I'll take Nova, you get Jackson."

  "If you touch me I'll—"

  He swung around and glared at Nova. "You'll what?"

  "I'll… I'll say you did it!"

  "Uh huh." He jumped out of the truck and pulled her door open as a pair of police walked up to join us. "Let's go."

  She grumbled and climbed out.

  I hurried to pluck out the sleeping Jackson and follow them inside.

  The detective emerged, looking dazed. Her hair was tied back in a messy pony tail and she'd just thrown her suit on. "Why so urgent, sheriff?"

  He shoved Nova's shoulder.

  She growled and yelled, "I hate you! You stay away from Bray, you hear me?"

  The detective's eyes widened. "Get her in for questioning."

  Nova struggled as they took her away and yelled, "Don't let him near Bray!"

  The detective looked at me. "What happened?"

  My cheeks felt like an inferno. "She found out I am dating Paul and it didn't go down well."

  "How exactly did she find o
ut?"

  Paul cleared his throat.

  "Maybe I don't want to know." She turned away from us, but said, "As her legal guardian, you can sit in if you want, which might be good considering she wants him to stay away from you. It might reassure her enough to spill everything."

  Paul reached out and carefully took Jackson from my arms. I followed the detective to a small room where a loud crash made me jump.

  She raised an eyebrow. "Well, we're in the right place."

  She threw the door open and Nova spun, panting like a raging bull. Her eyes focused on me as I walked in and she rushed over, wrapping her arms around me.

  I stroked her hair. "Hey, can you tell them what happened?"

  Her shoulders rose. "I don't want to."

  "Why not?"

  She looked up into my face. "Because you'll hate me."

  My heart ached for her. I caressed her face, staring into her eyes. "I won't hate you. What happened wasn't your fault."

  Her chin quivered. "But it was! You don't understand."

  "Well, tell me so I can."

  She pulled away and shook her head. "No. I was horrible and selfish that day. I hated you for being married to him when he was the only nice man I'd ever met. I didn't think that a white girl deserved him when white people are so horrible."

  I stared at her, unable to get a read on how I felt or what I thought. "What do you mean?"

  She grabbed the roots of her hair and tugged. "My ex was a boy from the boarding school, but his dad didn't want us to be together because I'm Indian. So he dumped me, and has been mean to me ever since while trying to hook up with me secretly. I hated him for what he did so I avoided him."

  My heart pounded in my chest as I said in a soft voice, "You said your ex killed Forrest."

  Pain filled her eyes as she rushed toward me. "I didn't mean for it to happen. Please don't hate me. I didn't realize they were coming back from one of their sports trips. All I cared about was… was…"

  Her head fell into my hands. "Please don't hate me."

  "Nova." I pulled her into my arms. "I will never hate you. We're family. I said I'd adopt you and I will once all of this is over. Nothing you could say will change that."

  She sobbed loudly in my arms for several minutes. I glanced around and saw the detective and the man who usually did the questioning standing back, just watching. She pointed at the wall where I saw a small microphone. They must have started recording, and needed me to get more out of Nova.