by Lucy Score
She was loved.
Eva caught a glimpse of herself in the dresser mirror and saw happiness, bone-deep.
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As cheerful as she’d ever been at seven a.m., Eva pulled up outside Overly Caffeinated and was disappointed to find that whatever ruckus had taken place at the café was now settled. Donovan was nowhere to be seen, and the usual morning rush was in full swing.
Well, since she was here it would be a shame to leave without indulging, she mused.
Eva slid out from behind the wheel and followed her nose in the direction of caffeine.
The crowd inside was a dapper blur of tie-dye, hand-knit cardigans, and varying desperation for coffee. Eva kept herself entertained in line by revisiting the highlights of last night with her writer’s mind. Had she written it herself, it couldn’t have been better. They’d connected on a level that, until now, only her characters had been able to find.
And that was only a little bit terrifying. Okay. A lot bit. Eva vacillated between enjoying the ultimate female satisfaction and the terror that she was about to step off solid ground into an abyss.
“What can I get you, Naked in Town?” The girl behind the counter, an ethereal third generation Woodstock-wannabe, asked with all the interest of a robot.
Her counterpart, a dark-haired guy with an eyebrow ring and about a quarter mile of ink visible on his skinny arm, snorted. “Naked in Town is old news. She’s the sheriff’s girlfriend,” he said, elbowing the blonde out of the way.
“How did you—”
But he was shaking his head. “It’s Blue Moon. We know everything. Plus, there was a special edition of The Weekly Monthly Moon this morning. You want your usual?”
Eva had no idea what her usual was since she had the tendency to try new things every other time she came in here. “Sure,” she shrugged.
“You get the law enforcement girlfriend’s discount,” he said, taking five percent off her total.
“Uh, thanks?”
“If you guys get married, it goes up to ten percent,” he promised. “Next.”
Eva handed over the cash and slipped out of line to admire the glass case of sinful pastries and pretend the guy hadn’t just mentioned marriage.
“Well, don’t you look chipper today?” Ellery, clutching her black matte thermal mug, eyed Eva from her seat by the pastries.
“Should I be seen talking to you?” Eva whispered. “Or will the B.C. run us both out of town?”
Ellery’s black lips curved. “I work for your brother-in-law in your front yard. I think we can come up with an excuse for chatting.”
“Here you go, sweetie.” Ellery’s fiancé swooped in with a flakey croissant drizzled with chocolate.
“Awh, thanks, hubby-to-be,” Ellery grinned up at him.
“Hey, Mason,” Eva greeted him. She still found the relationship fascinating. Goth princess Ellery was marrying number-cruncher Mason with his gray suits and his nerdy glasses. It was adorable, even if the match was completely incomprehensible.
“Oh, good morning, Eva,” Mason smiled. “Will you and your sisters be attending the wedding?”
After dating Emma in L.A., Mason had been an instrument wielded by the diabolical Beautification Committee to cement her sister’s decision to date Nikolai. In the midst of the subterfuge, Mason had fallen hard for Ellery.
“We wouldn’t miss it, and I believe I’ll be bringing a plus one if that’s okay?”
Ellery’s black lips stretched wider. “The sheriff is already on the guest list, but I’ll make sure he’s at your coffin.”
Eva blinked. “Coffin?”
“We’re using pine coffins as reception tables,” Mason said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Of course you are,” Eva said.
“Hey, weren’t you wearing that last night?” Ellery asked, frowning at Eva’s outfit. “And isn’t that Sheriff Cardona’s SUV you drove up in?”
“I won’t comment on your coffin tables if you don’t comment on my walk of shame.”
“Deal.” Ellery beamed, slipping her arm through Mason’s.
Eva waved the happy couple off and stole their table. It offered her a view of the hustle and bustle coming in through the door. Her drink turned out to be a soy cinnamon latte and good enough that she considered making it her official usual.
Everyone seemed to be sane today. A chorus of pleases and thank yous echoed from the cash register. There were smiles all around as caffeine surged through systems. It was as if the momentary insanity that had the town in its grip had passed and everyone was back to normal.
Eva waved to Rainbow Berkowicz as the woman picked up her decaf and loaded it with enough sugar to choke a horse. She smiled at Ernest Washington who was huddled at a table with the ancient Old Man Carson. The two eyed up every pretty girl who walked into the shop and then went back to arguing about football.
She loved it here. The vibrant community had accepted her with open arms. It was something she’d been seeking, subconsciously, since she was a child. That easy acceptance, that genuine interest. She belonged here, and she was starting to think that maybe she belonged here with Donovan.
The front door chimed again, and Eva grinned when she recognized her father and Phoebe. The delight on Franklin’s face when he spotted her warmed her already full-to-bursting heart.
He hurried over and dropped a kiss on Eva’s cheek. “There’s my pretty girl,” he said.
“Phoebe, don’t you make this poor man coffee in the mornings?” Eva teased.
“We’re treating each other after a late night,” Phoebe announced, pretty in her cozy purple turtleneck. Her cheeks carried a flush that didn’t have anything to do with the morning chill.
“Don’t tell me you two are falling victim to the planetary crossing,” Eva laughed.
“Oh, no! Not at all. This was just our normal Naked Wednesday,” Phoebe said, smiling up at her husband.
Franklin cleared his throat guiltily. “I think I’ll just go get our coffees,” he said, all innocence.
Eva laughed when she watched him practically skip to the counter.
“You look happy,” Eva told Phoebe.
“You’re looking rather pleased yourself,” Phoebe said, watching her shrewdly. “So pleased that your incredibly observant and intelligent stepmother would be willing to bet that you had a late night yourself.”
Eva blushed scarlet and picked up her coffee to give her hands something to do. “There may have been a few late hours,” she admitted.
Phoebe drummed her finger tips together like a diabolical mastermind. “I am so happy to hear that. Donovan I’m assuming. Oh, I just knew you two would find each other.”
“You could have given me a head’s up!”
“Sweetheart, I was one of the founding members of the Beautification Committee. Shoving romance into someone’s face rarely works.”
“You were?” This was news to Eva.
“Another story for another time,” Phoebe promised. “Now, back to you and your front-page story on The Weekly Monthly Moon.”
“I need to see this paper,” Eva muttered, wondering exactly how much trouble she was going to be in when the Beautification Committee found out she’d jumped head first into relationship territory. “Anyway, as you so astutely guessed, it is Donovan and we did have a late night, and he is just…” She trailed off, at a loss for words.
“Isn’t he though?” Phoebe said, understanding exactly what Eva meant. “I’ve known that boy as long as my own, and he is one of the best this world has to offer. And you know what?”
Eva leaned forward. “What?”
“You’re pretty spectacular yourself. Don’t you forget that and get all caught up in comparing yourself to Donovan’s perfection. He had a solid upbringing, the best parents, and there was no room for self-doubt. You took some lumps when you were younger and had to work for your confidence, your independence. Don’t
discount that work. You’ve earned every inch of where you are today.”
“How did you know that I was…”
“Feeling a little insecure?” Phoebe grinned, her blue eyes lighting up behind her glasses. “I’m your stepmother, and I love you to the moon and back. And I would feel exactly the same way in your position. You’re a wonderful, amazing, talented, smart woman, Eva. Don’t forget that.”
Eva leaned across the tiny table and squeezed Phoebe’s hand. “You know I love you, right?”
Phoebe grinned. “As my boys used to say until it drove me insane and I threatened to cut the internet to the house, ‘duh!’”
Franklin returned with two coffees and a kiss on the cheek for each of them. “Well, my lovely ladies, I hate to cut this short, but I need to get to the restaurant.”
Phoebe rose. “And I need to get to Gia’s so I can help her with her bookkeeping.”
“Is she catching on yet?” Eva asked.
Phoebe laughed. “We really use it as an excuse to eat pie and play with Lydia. I don’t think your sister is going to be interested in learning exactly what constitutes a business expense or when quarterly taxes are due.”
“Well, enjoy your pie, your coffee, and your grandbaby,” Eva said, wrapping her in a tight hug. “And you, my fine father, have a beautiful day.”
“I don’t see how it could get better,” Franklin said, cheerfully. “Dinner soon. Or lunch. Come by the restaurant.”
Eva waved them off and decided she might as well get home, shower, and test how unbelievable sex affected her writing. She gathered her things and headed out the door into the crisp autumn morning.
She was clutching her latte and navigating the sidewalk traffic when someone called her name. Ice formed in her belly, and every muscle tensed before she turned around to face the past.
“Hello, mother,” Eva said evenly.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Agnes Merill, or whatever she went by these days, hadn’t aged well. There was little left of the bright, beautiful woman from the family photo album in the too thin, too sharp woman before her. Her once red hair was dyed a shade of burnt blonde. Sallow skin sagged around her chin, and her cheeks were hollow. Her fingers were yellowed with nicotine stains, pink paint peeling from the nails.
In all the times Eva had seen Agnes since the woman found her, she’d never seen a hint of the woman her father had married, the woman who had baked her sisters fanciful birthday cakes and taught them silly songs. That woman had disappeared just as surely as if she’d died. And in her place was a scheming, angry shell.
“I’ve got some plans cooking, and I need that cash now,” Agnes told her, lighting a cigarette with a cheap Bic that flickered in the autumn breeze. There was no greeting, no “How’s it going, sweetie?” Everything with Agnes was about the bottom line.
Eva looked over her shoulder and breathed a sigh of relief that Franklin and Phoebe were no longer in sight.
Agnes rasped out a laugh and with it a cloud of blue smoke. “Yeah, I saw him. Looks like Frank got himself a new wife.”
Eva’s eyes narrowed. “Stay away from them,” she said. She may be a lot of things, a push-over, a liar, a chicken shit. But no one messed with Eva’s family.
“Oh, I will, but it’ll cost you.”
Eva was already shaking her head. “Not this time, Agnes. The ATM is closed.”
Agnes gave another dry laugh, one that didn’t reach her bloodshot green eyes. “You owe me, Eva. Because of you, I lost everything.”
It was the line that had gotten Eva a hundred times before and the guilt, familiar as an old quilt, settled onto her shoulders. “If you’d just gotten help—”
“There was no help. You were born, and I was dropped into a black hole. I lost my husband, my family, my home,” Agnes counted her losses on her stained fingers.
“You walked away from your husband, your family, your home,” Eva countered.
“Well, well. Look who decided to grow a backbone,” Agnes said, amused.
“Get out of Blue Moon now, and don’t ever come back.”
Agnes looked around them at the morning sidewalk bustle of a town waking up and starting its day. She shrugged rail thin shoulders. “I don’t know. I kinda like it here. I might decide to stay.”
“If you don’t leave town and leave me alone, it’ll be your turn to pay,” Eva said, her voice shaking with the vehemence behind her words. It ended now. She was done paying for something that wasn’t her fault.
“Now, you listen to me. I want ten grand, and I want it by next week. If you don’t deliver, I’ll do everything I can to ruin your pretty little life, just like you ruined mine. And when I’m done with you, I’ll start on your sisters and your father,” Agnes spat back.
Eva took a threatening step forward. She wasn’t sure just how far she’d be willing to go on the sidewalk on Main Street, but Agnes didn’t need to know that.
“You go anywhere near—”
“Everything okay, Eves?” Nikolai and Jax, handsome as devils and looking concerned appeared behind her.
Agnes’s twisted face smoothed into a bright smile. “Thanks for the directions, sweetie. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.”
It was a threat plain as day but one Eva couldn’t deal with right now. Not with family witnesses. She watched Agnes scurry off toward the park and then pasted a facsimile of a smile on her face.
“What brings you two handsome men out so early today?” she asked brightly.
“Who was that?” Niko demanded, his eyes still on Agnes’s thin frame.
“Yeah, you looked like you were about to deck her on the street,” Jax commented.
“She’s no one. Just a stranger asking for directions.”
Neither of them looked remotely convinced. “Eva, if you’re in trouble—” Jax began.
“You give us names and social security numbers, and no one will ever find the bodies,” Niko interjected, doing his best impression of a hitman from Jersey.
Eva laughed to reassure them though the pit in her stomach seemed to grow by miles. “Are you two doing some kind of overprotective street patrol for Donovan?” she joked, her voice tight in her throat.
“We’re on our way to pay our pal the sheriff a visit. The PI turned up a trail for Reva and Caleb’s mom. We want to move on it before it goes cold.”
Christ on a freaking cracker, what was with mothers abandoning their children and being shit human beings? Eva wondered, her chest tightening. She hoped that Reva and Caleb’s story would be a happier one than her own. Jax and Joey would stand between those kids and their mother just as she stood between hers and her family.
Eva bobbed her head. “Uh, well, good luck. Tell Donovan I said… nevermind. I’ll see you guys around.”
She turned, but Jax stopped her.
“Hey, are you coming out to the farm Saturday? Apple butter boil day. You don’t want to miss it.”
“Uh, sure. Yeah. I’ll be there,” Eva nodded. “See ya.”
This time she escaped, climbing behind the wheel of Donovan’s SUV and locking the doors.
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Nothing was going to dampen Donovan’s mood today. He diffused the cold brew battle at Overly Caffeinated without even having threatened anyone with charges. Clayton, a teddy bear at heart that looked like a retired linebacker, graciously accepted Selma’s apology for dumping her cold brew coffee on his crotch after an argument about whether the Giants’ new quarterback was worth his $20 million contract.
Donovan even scored a free cup of truly excellent coffee for his troubles and was in the office, whistling, by seven.
“Someone’s in a good mood,” Minnie said, raising an eyebrow as he snatched a blueberry muffin out of the box she’d brought.
“The sun is shining. The birds are singing. And I didn’t have to arrest anyone before seven a.m.” Donovan told her. “What’s not to be happy about?”
She rolle
d her eyes. “Yeah. Right. The sun that’s not even over the horizon yet,” she snorted. “Did the sun also bail out Tanbark and send him home? Wait. Nope. That was Evangelina Merill according to this form.” She waved the paper in his face.
“Eva has a big heart. She thought Tanbark should be home with his parents.”
“Uh-huh. And did she also believe that two weeks of files should be tossed on the floor of your office and rolled around on?”
“Don’t you have some filing or faxing or muffin-eating to do?” Donovan asked.
Minnie stuck her tongue out at him as he grabbed the new Weekly Monthly Moon off the counter and resumed his whistling on his way into his office.
He wasn’t even shocked by the headline. But that didn’t mean he didn’t roll his eyes. That Anthony Berkowicz made small town journalism look more like a high school yearbook.
Sheriff Dating Fire Victim: Engagement announcement expected shortly.
He settled in behind his desk and sat for just a moment, enjoying the coffee and the sunshine that was just now peeking over the park and Main Street. He wondered what Eva’s reaction to the paper would be. Her reluctance had certainly taken a backseat last night. He swiveled in his chair to stare fondly at the bare counter behind his desk. Everything had changed last night. Years of waiting, of wanting, of dreaming and fantasizing, had finally come to a head, and he couldn’t have imagined it being more perfect.
The way Eva responded to him… hell, the way he responded to her. It was like coming home. No wonder he had a big, stupid smile on his face. The rest of his life had finally begun.
His phone vibrated on his desk.
It looked like his work day had begun too.
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Donovan held up a finger when Jax and Nikolai strolled into his office.
“I appreciate it. Keep me apprised,” he said into the phone.
“Keep me apprised,” Jax mimicked in a falsetto to Niko.
Donovan raised a different finger in his friends’ direction. “Uh-huh. Thanks, chief,” he said and hung up the phone. He tossed the empty muffin wrapper at Jax. “You’re going to feel like an asshole in a minute.”
