Wrong Side of the Tracks: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

  Bruce had been the one watching over McKenna and ended up taking a bullet to the chest trying to protect her. Once Marco got us safely away from the hunting cabin, he’d informed her that Hayes and Walker found him, and that he was still alive and in surgery at Mercy Hospital. She’d spent the forty-five-minute drive sobbing uncontrollably in the back seat while I held her and whispered soothing words in her ear. Turned out, she’d been in love with Bruce for quite some time and she didn’t know how to handle the relief she felt after hours of thinking he was dead. The only reason she’d been sucked in by Malachi was because she didn’t think she was good enough for a man like Bruce. It was a feeling I used to be all too familiar with.

  Bruce had pulled through surgery and was going to make a complete recovery. As soon as McKenna got the all-clear from the doctor, she’d rushed to his room and refused to budge, making such a scene that the nurses and doctors finally relented, and brought in a more comfortable chair so she could spend the night in his room.

  I watched as Bruce lifted his hand and gently caressed the side of her face. She smiled and leaned into his touch, placing her hand over his.

  “You think they’ll be okay?”

  “They’re gonna be just fine,” Marco answered, wrapping his arms around me from behind.

  “She didn’t think she was good enough for him,” I murmured, staring at the couple so clearly in love with each other. “She’s one of the sweetest, kindest girls I’ve ever met, and she didn’t think she was good enough.”

  “Sounds familiar,” he said with a soft, teasing lilt.

  “Yeah.” I pulled in a determined breath. “But I’m going to help. I’ll make her see just how truly amazing she really is.”

  “If anyone can do it, girasol, it’s you.” Shifting me to his side, he started leading me down the corridor toward the exit. “What are you thinking?” he asked once we reached the parking lot?

  “I’m thinking....” I paused to really give that some thought when my stomach decided to let out a loud grumble. “I’m thinking I haven’t eaten all day, and right about now, I want to binge on a huge pizza from Momma Gianna’s, then take a scalding hot shower and collapse into bed.

  Beeping the locks on the Cherokee, be opened the passenger door and helped me inside as he stated, “That’s what you want, then that’s what you’ll get.” Just as simple as that.

  My guy. Always taking care of me.

  * * *

  Marco

  As expected, the kids and Odette had clung to her like shrink wrap when we first got home earlier. Fortunately, once they realized she was going to be okay they’d been able to settle. After the ordeal she’d been through, Gypsy had gone to bed early, crashing almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

  Odette helped me get Holly and Ray tucked into before heading home herself. I rocked Raleigh to sleep before putting him in his crib, and had moved around, quietly shutting the house down and locking up for the night.

  When I finished and started for the bedroom, Rhodes was waiting in the hallway for me.

  “Hey, bud. You good?”

  Looking straight into my eyes, he mumbled, “Thank you,” in lieu of answering. “You kept your promise. You protected her. So I just wanted... well, I just wanted to say thank you.”

  “Always, Rhodes. For any of you. Never doubt that.”

  His throat worked hard to swallow as he gave me a nod. “I don’t doubt it. Not for a single second.” Then he turned and opened his bedroom door, issuing a quiet, “Goodnight,” before closing it behind him.

  It took me a few seconds to get a grip on everything I was feeling from that, but once I did, I headed into my and Gypsy’s room and climbed into bed. She rolled, throwing her arm around my waist and snuggling against me. Her warm body was heavy, her soft breath steady and even with sleep as the events from that day continued replaying in my head.

  I laid there for more than an hour, trying to find sleep. When it became obvious that wasn’t going to happen, I slowly rolled her to the other side of the bed and climbed out. Dressing in a pair of basketball short and a t-shirt, I moved out of the room and into the kitchen, keeping the lights off so as not to wake anyone up.

  Bracing my hands on the counter, I dropped my head and closed my eyes, pulling in a deep breath to try and calm my heart. It had been racing since Rory appeared in the door of Lincoln’s office earlier that day and hadn’t stopped yet.

  I’d seen some of the most horrible things you could imagine during my time as a Ranger. I’d experienced heartbreaking loss when Juan died. But never in my life had I been as scared as I was today.

  The thought that I could lose her had nearly crippled me, and had it not been for Linc, Xander, West and Cord at my back, I didn’t think I would have made it. The forty-five-minute drive through the woods to that cabin had been the longest minutes of my life, and when those gunshots sounded from inside, my heart stopped.

  It was only thanks to Xander and Cord’s strength that I hadn’t killed Black once we had him detained.

  That short amount of time spent thinking I was about to lose the one thing that meant the very most me to was too much to bear, and the nightmare I’d lived through just wouldn’t loosen its death grip on me. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Black pinning Gypsy to the ground, I heard the sounds of her screams and gunfire, and every time that happened, I felt like I was dying all over again.

  I felt Gypsy’s arms come around my waist and her heat hit my back as her melodic voice asked, “Can’t sleep?”

  Grabbing her wrists, I pulled her arms tighter around me and let out a sigh. “Not sure I’ll ever sleep again after today,” I admitted, looking out into the dark living room.

  “Oh honey.” She shifted, squeezing her way between me and the counter. “Marco, I’m okay,” she said, placing her palms on the sides of my neck. “I’m right here with you. I’m perfectly safe now.”

  “You are now, but what about earlier? Gypsy, he had a fucking gun. He could’ve killed you.”

  Her hands shifted to my cheeks, and she forced my face closer to hers. “He wouldn’t have killed me.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Yes I do,” she answered quickly. “I knew you were coming. I knew it with everything I am that you were coming for me. I just needed to fight long enough for you to get there.”

  I appreciated her words, but I just couldn’t accept them. She was giving me way too much credit. I didn’t have the faith in myself that she did. “And what if it had taken me longer, huh? What if I didn’t get there when I did.”

  “Then I would have kept fighting,” she said with determination. “I would have fought and fought for as long as it took.” Her fingers slid into the hair at the base of my neck, and she lifted up on the balls of her feet so our lips were only an inch apart. “I wasn’t going to die in that cabin. Not when I had so much to live for. I had you and the kids to get back to. We promised each other a great life, and nothing is going to come between that. Ever.”

  That tightness in my chest began to loosen and the knot in my gut started to unfurl. “Girasol—”

  “I believe in you, Marco. I believe you when you say you’ll always protect me, that you’ll keep me and this family safe. I believe it and I’ll never stop. So when I lay my head on that pillow at night, I’ll do it knowing that nothing is going to hurt me because you’ll be here. And I’ll wake up every morning knowing that it’s going to be one of the best days of my life because you’re in it.”

  “Christ, Gypsy. I love you.”

  Her smile brightened the entire room. “I love you too. And I’m here for you for as long as it takes to get you past these demons.”

  Leaning in, I pressed my lips against hers in a hard kiss. “Thank you, Gypsy.” I wrapped her in my arms and buried my face in her hair on a sigh. “I’m just so fucking thankful you’re okay.”

  Looping her arms around my neck, she pressed another kiss to my lips. “As long as I’ve got you, I’ll always
be okay.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Marco

  I moved down the hallway at Susan’s side, ignoring the concerned glances she kept shooting my way.

  “You sure it’s a good idea for you to be here?” she asked for the third time since I’d shown up at her firm earlier this morning. Gypsy was currently being coddled to death by Odette and her girls. The kids were all at school, with the exception of Raleigh. And Lincoln had given me a much-needed day off so I could take care of my family.

  And that was exactly was I was doing by being here.

  “Not gonna fuck this up now,” I grunted as the conference room door came into view. “Not when we’re so close to this being over.”

  She blew out a breath as she placed her hand on the knob. “Fine,” she relented unhappily. “But you keep your cool in there, you got me? I can handle people like this.”

  I gave her a nod, and she threw the door open. The moment she entered the conference room her entire demeanor changed. She squared her shoulders, lifted her chin, and threw her hair back, exuding an air of authority and boredom as she sauntered to the table, placed her phone down, and tossed the file she’d been carrying next to it before pulling out the chair at the head of the table and taking a seat without sparing the two people already in the room a single glance.

  I took the chair to her left, studying Danny and Peggy Bradbury intently from where they sat across from me. Rhodes, Ray and Sunny had gotten Danny’s dark hair and eyes, but seeing her for the first time, I now knew that Raleigh, Gypsy, and Holly were all Peggy Bradbury.

  It was obvious that they’d both been attractive back in their prime, but a hard life, shitty decisions and unhappiness had hardened Gypsy’s parents in a way that made them much less attractive than their offspring.

  “All right, Mr. and Mrs. Bradbury. My name is Susan Seymore. I’m representing Gypsy Bradbury in the pursuit of custody of Rhodes, Sunshine, Raylan, Holiday, and Raleigh Bradbury.”

  Peggy let out a choking sound, her eyes going wide as they bounced between me and Susan. “Custody? I thought... You said on the phone this meeting was about the estate of my dead uncle!”

  Oh, damn. I knew Susan was good, I hadn’t realized just how good. I hired her because she was known for being a shark. When it came to the wellbeing of children, she could be downright ruthless.

  I’d been curious as to how she got the Bradburys to agree to a meeting, but now I knew. She’d read them correctly before ever meeting them. She knew they were flaky, self-absorbed wastes of space, so she’d catered to their worst traits, conning them into this meeting with the hope of a payout.

  “Oh, yes,” Susan said apathetically, clicking her pen and throwing the file open. “My apologies. I was going off incorrect data, but now that you’re here, let’s get down to business, shall we?”

  “Fuck this,” Danny Bradbury grunted as he pushed to his feet. “I came here thinkin’ there was money involved. No point in stickin’ around if their ain’t.”

  “Sit down, Mr. Bradbury,” Susan commanded in a loud voice that left absolutely no room for argument. Once he’d done as ordered and she had the couple’s attention, she started in. “Seeing as my time is valuable, we’ll get right down to it.” She lifted a set of documents from the file and placed them on the dark wood of the table. “This right here is an agreement I’ve drafted myself. By signing this, you’ll be signing away custody to all of your children beneath the ages of eighteen. You will be agreeing to grant that custody to Gypsy Bradbury. She will retain all authority on medical care, education, and any legal matters that may arise. Basically, what this agreement states is that you won’t have any legal or custodial rights to your five children whatsoever. All decisions regarding their wellbeing will be made solely by Ms. Bradbury.”

  Peggy snorted and rolled her overly-lined eyes toward the ceiling. “Well ain’t this just typical Gypsy, always thinkin’ she’s so much better than the rest of us. I’m not givin’ my rights over to that uppity bitch! Those are my kids.”

  “She wants ’em, she can damn well pay for ’em,” Danny added, making the blood burn in my veins.

  It took everything I had not to launch myself across the table and wrap my hands around his throat, but I managed to keep my seat by white-knuckling the arms of my chair.

  “Let me just make sure I understand what you’re saying,” Susan stated. “What you’re telling me is you would grant Ms. Bradbury sole custody of your children if she was willing to pay you money for them?”

  “I didn’t stutter, did I?” he bit back. “You need me to state it plainer? If Gypsy wants my kids, I want five grand a piece.”

  Susan gave the man a cunning smile. “Thank you for clearing that up.” She flipped her phone face up on the table and tapped the screen, stopping the recording no one had been aware she was making. Realizing they’d just been played, the Bradbury’s looked at the phone; Danny with anger and Peggy with panic. “I’ll need to make sure my assistant dictates that after we’re finished here.”

  She removed another document from the file and placed it beside the first one, pressing her fingers on the first page. “Now this is a motion to terminate all parental rights on the grounds of abandonment and neglect. If you refuse to sign the agreement by the end of this meeting, I’ll be filing this motion by the end of business today, and I suggest you find yourselves a lawyer as quickly as possible. But before we go down that road, I feel I should warn you, in the twenty years I’ve been practicing, I’ve not lost a single case, and the evidence against you is, quite frankly, staggering. There is no doubt in my mind that the court will rule in Ms. Bradbury’s favor. The outcome will still be the same, your parental rights will be terminated, but you’ll also be out thousands in legal fees for your attorney as well as court costs. And that’s not to mention my fees, because I’ll also make sure you pay those as well.”

  She gave the couple a fake pitying look. “If we can’t reach an understanding today, I’m afraid you’ll have nothing to show for your wasted time, and the debt you’ve already accrued on your own will more than triple.” She glanced down at the file once more and began rifling through. “And from what I see here, that debt is already quite substantial.”

  Danny’s mouth fell open in shock. “I can’t... but that’s not... you can’t do that!”

  “I assure you, Mr. Bradbury, I can and I most certainly will.”

  “But, but, but...”

  “We don’t have that kinda money!” Peggy cried.

  At her declaration, Susan scooted the agreement closer to them. “Then my suggestion is you sign so we can be done with this whole thing.”

  “This is...” Peggy’s mouth opened and closed several times before she snapped, “This is total bullshit!”

  “I must disagree with you,” Susan replied. “What I find to be bullshit is two parents who would abandon their children, who would sit idly by while their seventeen-year-old daughter dropped out of high school so she could take on the responsibility of raising their children, who would then come into a meeting and demand cash in exchange for custody of their children as if they were cattle instead of human beings. And I can assure you, Mrs. Bradbury, there isn’t a judge in this county who wouldn’t agree with me.”

  “I don’t have to sit here and listen to this!” Danny shouted, shooting to his feet once more and slamming his hands down on the table. “Who the hell do you think you are to judge me, huh? Just ’cause you got yourself a fancy education and a big vocabulary, you think that gives you the right to try and take away my kids?”

  I was officially done keeping my mouth shut. “They aren’t your kids.” All three sets of eyes shot to me. “They’re mine and Gypsy’s.”

  “And just who the fuck are you?” Danny seethed.

  I slowly rose out of my chair and mimicked his pose, bracing my hands on the table and looking him square in the eye. “I’m the man with the means to pay top dollar for an attorney capable of taking you to the cleaners,”
I replied in a calm, quiet voice. “I’m the man who tracked down every single speck of dirt there is on you, and believe me, there was a lot. I’m also the man who found that bank account you’ve been hiding from your wife. You know, the one you’ve been squirreling money away in to help pay for the baby you’re having with your neighbor’s nineteen-year-old daughter? He’s a cop isn’t he? Not so sure how comfortable it’ll be living next to them when he finds out the truth in...” I looked to my watch. “Oh, well, my colleague’s probably already there now.”

  Danny looked like he was about to puke all over the table. An understandable reaction when you find out your gun-toting neighbor just learned you’d been nailing his daughter in his house while he was serving and protecting his community.

  “What?” Peggy screeched, shooting up beside her husband. “You son of a bitch! How could you! You said you never touched—”

  I looked at her and kept going. “I’m also the man who located that sugar daddy you’ve had on a hook for the past year and a half.” Her mouth snapped shut and her face blanched white as my mouth curled up in a grin. “He and I had a really nice conversation. Turns out he knew nothing about your husband or your six children. Until we spoke, that is. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but I’m afraid your dreams of being swept off to an island in the Caribbean is gone. Last we talked, he was planning to jet off with his twenty-five-year-old assistant. She has less baggage. I’m sure you understand.”

  They both remained speechless, but Susan let out a tiny squeak, and I turned just in time to see her drop her head and fight back a laugh.

  Shifting my focus back to the two people I’d come to despise, I added, “I’m the man capable of dismantling your entire life without so much as breaking a sweat, and when it comes to my woman and our kids, I won’t hesitate. There isn’t a secret that’s safe for me or the men I work with, so my suggestion is you sign that agreement and disappear somewhere much, much further away from Hope Valley. Because if I ever lay eyes on you two again, I’ll make this seem like a day at Disney Land.”