In My Heart: a sweetbriar hearts novel

by Everly, Nora

  Lily melted into my side with Calla in her arms then Dylan stood up and threw himself at me, I caught him with a smile. We sat there, holding each other, then Dahlia appeared at the top of the stairs.

  “What’s going on? Everything okay?” she asked. Lily stuck her hand out and waved it around as an answer.

  Dahlia gasped. “You’re wearing Diana’s ring. Are you? Does this mean? Oh my God.” She burst into tears, rushed over, sat on the coffee table, and joined our hug.

  Dylan pulled away and patted her cheeks. “Don’t cry, Grandma, we’re all going to be a family together now.”

  “I know, honey. I’m just so happy.” She shifted Dylan to her side and grabbed Lily’s hand, examining the ring on her finger. “Diana used to call this her ice rink. We used to laugh at how huge and ostentatious this ring was, but it’s never looked more beautiful than right now. She would be so happy for you both, and I’m overjoyed, and I am planning your wedding. Oh, and I’m throwing the engagement party too. Don’t argue. I’ll go call Ben.” She got up and rushed down the hall to her room.

  “How long do you think it will be before everyone knows?” Lily laughed.

  I shrugged, I had what I needed. The rest was just details as far as I was concerned.

  Footsteps bounded up the stairs. “Lily, Luke, oh my God!” Rose shrieked when she reached us.

  “I know!” Lily cried as they hugged.“I’ve got to get to Violet’s, it’s my last day. Let’s all have dinner and celebrate tonight.”

  25

  Lily

  I walked into Violet’s to the sound of a lot of hooting and hollering, cheering, assorted whoops and one “You go, girl,” which none of us were cool enough to pull off. I looked around the shop, my mother had beat me here, along with Rose. Violet was behind the counter, Finn and Nick rushed over to me, bearing my favorite vanilla iced coffee and a cupcake, bless them. Gram sat on the big couch in the corner, waving excitedly. And at the tables, interspersed with a few of Violet’s customers, were many of my cousins and all my brothers except for Cade, who was on duty with my father and Trev. Everyone was smiling at me, and for once, I didn’t mind being the center of attention. Auntie Delphine rushed over and gave me a big hug and an “I’m so happy for you.”

  I marveled at how fast this had come together. Purple and white streamers hung across the ceiling and silver and purple balloons floated on their strings tied to the chairs. A Congratulations banner decorated the wall over the big seating area in the corner, and a huge bouquet of flowers sat in a vase in the center of the coffee table along with a delicious-looking tower of cupcakes. The news of mine and Luke’s engagement had only broken about an hour ago. Luke had stopped at his office with the kids. And I’d walked over here for my last day of work to face this extravaganza instead. How in the holy heck was all this possible? I looked over to my mother sitting on one of the chairs across from my grandma. She looked a little bit disgruntled, happy but disgruntled all the same.

  Violet came up behind me and gave me a hug. “I texted Luke. He’s coming over with the kids,” she whispered.

  “Was this you? Did you plan this? How?” I asked.

  “Of course, it was me,” Violet answered. “I’ve been planning a lot of things,” she said with a smile.

  “You’re amazing, Violet. I had been feeling bad that this is my last day. Are you sure you don’t need me for another week or two?” I asked.

  She threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, Lily. Don’t worry. I never needed you to work here,” she announced. “My shop is like a well-oiled machine. I wanted you here because Luke’s office is right across the parking lot.” She pointed out the window. “He came in here almost every day. You two belong together, it’s fate, and I am the hand of fate right now.” She pointed over at Mom, who looked even more disgruntled. “I am the matchmaking queen. I will now bask forevermore in the glory of being right, being determined, and beating Mom to make the ultimate match.”

  I stared at her, agape. I hadn’t had even one clue. She really was the master.

  Violet was laughing, and Mom had finally broken a smile. She lost the smile when Violet called out, “Who’s the master now, Dahlia?”

  Violet turned to Finn and Nick. “Boys, what were the magic words?”

  Both boys laughed. In unison, they said, “Don’t worry about it. We got it, Aunt Lily. Take a break.”

  “What else?” she prompted.

  “Give her scones when it looks like she wants to run away,” Nick shouted while Finn cracked up at his side.

  My mouth dropped open. I’d been played by my sister and her two teenage sons. I grinned huge. “I love you guys,” I burst out.

  “We love you too,” they shouted from behind the counter.

  “I love you, Violet,” I whispered to her.

  “I love you too, little sister. Be happy,” she whispered back.

  We both turned as the door opened behind us, and Luke and the kids burst in.

  “Oh, cupcakes!” Dylan shouted when he spied the cupcake tower.

  “Nope, take your booty to the veggie tray over there by Uncle Ash and the kids, donut boy,” I answered.

  He smiled and looked sheepish, but he didn’t argue as he headed to their table.

  “Gimme that baby,” Violet demanded of Luke. He handed her over, and Violet took off with her to sit by Gram on the couch, where they proceeded to coo and rain attention on her. Calla loved it. Her smile was huge, her baby squeals and giggles danced across the shop.

  I took a bite of the cupcake Finn brought me, then offered a bite to Luke. He leaned over, took a bite, then licked frosting from my finger. That action inspired a lot of catcalls from our audience. “Oh my gosh.” I groaned and buried my face in Luke’s chest.

  He laughed and hugged me close.

  Rose cleared her throat. “I see that Violet and I will be fighting for maid of honor duties now.” Everyone laughed. Rose held up her coffee. “But first—let’s toast to Diana. We all miss her. And let’s not forget that it was her and Mom who started this whole thing. Aren’t you glad you didn’t end up with me, Luke?” He laughed and squeezed my waist. “To Diana, to Luke and Lily, and to you too, Mom. Cheers!” We all cheered, then Luke and I were passed around the room to receive hugs and well wishes and “Finally, when’s the weddings?” My ring was examined, and Diana was remembered, which choked Luke up. Until it was just Luke and me at a table in the corner sipping coffee, eating cupcakes, and the room disappeared. I was so happy that everything else faded away. I looked into Luke’s eyes and knew down to my bones that no matter what happened, we would get through it. Together this time.

  The party carried on for a couple of hours, then people started filtering out, back to their own lives. The happy bubble was coming to an end, but I was still riding the high.

  Violet had yet to give up my baby, so Calla was content. I had relented and let Dylan have a cupcake, so he was content as well. Luke and I were still attached at the hip, so we were both super content. This day was the best I’d had in a long time.

  “Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom,” Dylan came up and announced. The bathroom was down a wide hall that also held a small storage room. It led to the back door of Violet’s shop. I had previously told Dylan that he wasn’t allowed to go back there by himself. Call me overprotective, but I didn’t want him back there alone. I got up to walk him back and wait in the hall.

  “Come on, bud,” I said, and he raced ahead of me to the hallway. I saw light from the back door shining into the hall. Violet always kept it shut and locked. She didn’t want anyone sneaking in through the back.

  “Dylan, wait.” I rushed into the mouth of the hall and saw the good-looking, ponytailed, Hawaiian-shirt bad guy named Derrick come out of the storage room. He lunged for Dylan and grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the open back door.

  I ran forward to jump on his back, reaching around his neck I pulled at his nose, I kicked, I scratched, I hit him over and over until Dylan was
able to break free. “Run, Dylan, get Luke, get help,” I grunted.

  Dylan stared at me for a second as tears filled his eyes, then he shot off down the hall.

  I was glad he didn’t see me get thrown off. I was glad he didn’t see me get shoved into the wall and punched in the side of the head.

  After that, I couldn’t see either. Everything had gone black.

  26

  Lily

  I woke up in a trunk. Before I could even try to remember how to get out of a trunk, it popped open. I blinked rapidly as my eyes adjusted to the dim light. I looked up and saw the huge, hairy Hagrid-looking bad guy glaring down at me unhappily. He reached out and touched the side of my face. Even though he looked concerned I flinched away from him. I didn’t care about his concern. I was in a freaking trunk, for flip’s sake.

  “I don’t care what’s going on. You don’t punch a girl. You okay?” he barked.

  I nodded. “Are you going to let me go? Please?”

  “No. I can’t.” The trunk slammed shut, sinking me into darkness once more.

  I knew, I just knew if I got happy, something or someone would come along and mess it up. Such as being in a motherfucking, flipping, effing trunk. I squinted in the dark, trying to see the safety lever. In my youth, I had spent time in the trunk of a car on occasion. Cops and Robbers could get kind of dicey with my brothers and sisters.

  My eyes finally adjusted enough to see the lever. My hands were cuffed behind my back so I flipped over to reach it. For once, I was glad to be short; it allowed me room to maneuver. I just wish I weren’t wearing heels. Being a slob could pay off sometimes. I wished I were in my jeans and sneakers. However, the pins in my hair would probably come in handy. Bright side, I guess.

  I pulled the lever and sat up. It appeared that I was in a warehouse-type of building. The roof was very high, but the space was not open. It had been divided up with walls that gave it a maze-like quality. The ambient sounds bouncing off the metal walls echoed in my ears. I tried to focus in the dim light. Luckily, I could see the sun peeking through the high windows, hopefully, I would find my way out before it grew completely dark. My head pounded, and the side of my face felt tight from the hit at Violet’s.

  I rolled over the side of the trunk and landed on my ass on the cement floor. I tucked my legs to my chest, tight as they could go, so I could slip my feet through my arms. I didn’t even need to take my shoes off.

  God bless my brothers and sisters and our deranged childhood games.

  God bless Will and his excessive self-defense lessons.

  I reached into my hair and located a bobby pin. I used my teeth to take off the little plastic thingy on the end, then bent it at an angle. The trick was to stick the pin in only halfway. My hands were free.

  I kept the handcuffs in my hand as I looked around for something else to use as a weapon, and at the same time, I looked for a way out. There had to be a garage door somewhere around here, someone had driven a car into the space after all. I walked around one of the makeshift walls and saw more walls, some with doors that probably led to small rooms, and some that just snaked around and led to who knew where. I decided to follow pathways that were wide enough to drive a car through. I needed to get to an outside wall, then I could follow it around until I reached a doorway.

  Instead of a way out, I found Hawaiian-shirt Derrick with his stupid effing ponytail and dementedly handsome, hostile grin. I immediately took a swing at him and clocked him in the throat. He immediately started gagging and gasping. He also immediately got pissed off and moved to hit me back. Ducking it, I kicked him in the balls. He doubled over and I swear he started to cry, but I wasn’t going to stick around to find out. I turned on my heel and ran the opposite direction, forgetting Will’s and Cade’s and my father’s previous instructions to completely incapacitate an attacker. I should have kicked him in the head a few times.

  Too late now. I was already running around the corner, turning around weird nonsensically placed walls and stacks of boxes and crates. I was hopelessly lost in this ridiculous, cavernous warehouse. I froze when I saw huge, hairy Hagrid in front of me holding a gun.

  I dropped the handcuffs and held my hands out to my sides. He gestured for me to go to him, so I did it. At this point, I was out of options and a little bit out of my mind. I stopped in front of him, and he grabbed my arm and zip tied my hands behind my back.

  He pulled me through a narrow pathway forged between stacked-up boxes and crates. Dust kicked up with every step and filled my nostrils, I couldn’t breathe. I gasped as I struggled not to fall. I stumbled once, and he hauled me up painfully by my arm, shaking me forcefully. So much for his earlier concern.

  It was getting darker, and the sound of our footfalls stomping and scraping across the dirty floor echoed throughout the warehouse. We reached a door, and he shoved me into a pitch-black room. Careening through the doorway, I tripped on my heels. But instead of hitting the floor, I hit a body.

  I assumed it was a man, based on his size and that when I hit the chest area, there were no boobs. I balanced precariously against his chest as he curved his shoulders forward to prevent my fall. He was solid, and he tried to keep his footing as he helped steady me. I managed to lower myself to the floor and sit down, then he sat near me.

  As my eyes started to adjust to the dark, I could make out his features a bit. It looked like my wackadoo stalker. If he was tied up too, he couldn’t be the jerk who had been messing with me.

  “Are you the one messing with me?” I asked.

  He sighed. “Yes.”

  “And?” I said, and he sighed again with annoyance. “What the hell is going on?”

  “You know Tara?” he asked.

  “Trevor’s wife, Tara?”

  “Yes. She’s my sister. Did you know about the divorce? Why they were getting it, all of that?” he asked.

  “Yeah, she cheated on him. He only took her back because she had cancer, so she could stay on his insurance, keep the same doctors,” I answered. Trevor was a saint and a great dad. I loved him like another brother.

  “Right. I’m not proud of what she became. But she was my sister, and I had to protect her and the kids. Mostly Madison.”

  “Explain. All of it. Now,” I demanded. How did Trevor and Tara have anything to do with all of this? Had Will known?

  “Madison might not be Trevor’s. At first, Tara just didn’t want him to know. She would lose some of the child support—you know how she was.” He shook his head. “Then she found out she was terminal, and she didn’t want Madison to be taken from Trevor if he wasn’t her father. The prick she cheated with had been blackmailing her.”

  “What does Trevor’s marriage have to do with me and Will?”

  “I’m a police officer. My father is a detective. In Brighton.”

  I shrugged. I didn’t know Brighton.

  “It’s a tiny town about halfway between here and Tacoma?” He gave me another look.

  “Yeah. So?”

  He shook his head at me. “So we needed money to help Tara. We went to a local loan person.” He cast his eyes downward.

  “You mean like a loan shark?” I asked, and he nodded. “You idiot,” I said. “You’re a police officer. You should know better. Mortgage your house, sell your car, or, I don’t know—arrest the blackmailer.”

  “We did all of that. He kept wanting more and more, and Tara was desperate. She was dying and desperate. And Madison, she’s a little angel. She can’t be taken from Trevor.”

  “I understand. But why am I here? Why did that guy try to grab my son? I have nothing to do with Trevor and Tara’s marriage, or you.” All his explaining hadn’t enlightened me at all. I was still confused.

  “The guys who have us are the loan sharks. They figured out who Dad and I were, and then they didn’t want us to pay them back. They wanted to use us instead. They got ambitious, wanted to branch out, and who better to help them than two cops they could get dirty? We were in way over our heads. We
couldn’t ask Trevor for help. First, because we aren’t close with him for obvious reasons. And second, we didn’t want him to find out about Madison. We asked Will for help. We figured he wouldn’t want her to be taken from Trevor either, so he might help us on the down low.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “Will died over a year ago. Why is this happening now?”

  “Will was working with us to bring these guys down. I’m pretty sure they killed him.”

  “No …” My heart dropped to my stomach. Not my sweet Will. Tears filled my eyes, but I resisted letting them fall. I could think about this later. I couldn’t afford to fall apart now. Instead of sadness, I let myself feel rage. Will had been a good man, the best and I would always love him. “What made you think they killed Will?”

  “At first, we thought what everyone did, that it was a random hit-and-run. But now, I’m pretty sure they did it. A few months ago, they figured out that it was us who tipped Will off, and that we were working with him. They wanted us to gather any evidence he had managed to collect. I knew Will had the flash drive because I gave it to him. I tried to tell them it would be useless without knowing what it was. I mean, it’s just lists of places and routes. Will never found anything that would stick, other than our word against theirs and our word would have been useless without proof. We needed to find tangible evidence. I tried to explain that we had nothing on them, but they had become so paranoid and reckless—”

  “You broke into my house?”

  He nodded.

  “You know, you are a really crappy stalker. I knew you were watching me. I knew you were following me,” I accused.

  “I wanted you to know. I wanted to scare you so that you wouldn’t be alone in that house with your kids. I’m not a bad person. I made stupid decisions, but I never wanted anyone to get hurt. I thought if I scared you enough, you’d get protection. You would go hide out with your father, or your cop brother, or even Trevor. I didn’t want to hurt you, or your kids. I sure as fuck didn’t want Will to die. I never wanted any of this to happen.” He was so earnest, I believed him.