The Best of Me: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

  “Not much. Just got home from work. How about you? You doing good?”

  She hesitated for a second before replying. “Yeah. I’m okay.” But the way she said it let me know she really wasn’t.

  “What’s the matter, Banana? Something happen at school?”

  “No, school’s fine. But….”

  My stomach twisted. “But what, sweetheart. What’s the matter?”

  “Well, it’s just…. Are you really dating Ms. Nona?”

  “What?” My back shot straight. I’d wanted to tell her and Shawn myself, but it was becoming apparent that was no longer an option. “Where’d you hear that?”

  “So it’s true?”

  I wasn’t sure if this was the kind of conversation a parent would ever be prepared to have with their children, and all I’d wanted to do was have a beer after a tense day, but it didn’t look like that was in the cards. “Would you have a problem with it if I were?”

  “No, not really. I think Ms. Nona’s great.”

  “Where’d you hear about me and Nona, honey?”

  “Promise you won’t get mad.”

  The hairs on my arms stood on end, and my throat went dry, making the words abrasive and painful as I asked, “Get mad about what?”

  Hannah suddenly started talking at a pace so fast I had trouble keeping up. “Okay, don’t freak out, but I heard about it from Mom.” My skin grew tight and itchy as anger took hold. “She was talking to one of her friends on the phone, going on about you two having a date yesterday. She was pretty loud, so it wasn’t hard to hear what she was saying. But she didn’t know I was listening, so please don’t tell her.”

  I managed to swallow down the litany of curse words I wanted to let out and took a few deep breaths before speaking. “I’m not gonna tell your mom, but you know you should never eavesdrop, Banana. It’s not right.”

  “I know,” she replied, sounding contrite. “I’m sorry, and I won’t do it again. But it’s true? You took her on a date yesterday?”

  “Yeah, I did. We went to lunch at the diner. But, sweetheart, it’s still really new. That was only our first date, and I planned on telling you as soon as you guys came—”

  “Wait,” she yelped, cutting me off. “You took Ms. Nona on your first date to the diner? For lunch? Seriously?”

  My eyebrows dropped into a V, and I immediately went on the defensive. “It was spur of the moment. I didn’t have much else to work with on such short notice.”

  “You could’ve at least taken her to El Toro!” she cried. “Or Marcello’s. Either of those would’ve been better than the diner.”

  “Hey! You’ve always loved Evergreen Diner.”

  “Yeah. It’s great, and Sally and Ralph are a trip, but it’s not where you have a first date, for crying out loud.”

  I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me. “I’ll have you know we both had a great time. And we’re going out again on Thursday.”

  “Oh yeah?” There was more than a hint of skepticism in her voice. “Where?”

  “The Groves, smart aleck.”

  “Ooh, fancy! Nice, Daddy. Very romantic.”

  “Well….” I paused, suddenly regretting my mention of The Groves. “It’s not actually an official date. Tristan and Blythe’ll be there since we’re goin’ for Tris’s birthday, but—”

  Hannah’s loud, girly giggles burst through the line, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sound of my baby girl’s laughter.

  “All right, you finished?”

  “Al-almost,” she choked out through more laughter. “Just gimme a sec.” She finally got ahold of herself a few moments later. “All right. I’m done.”

  “You sure?” I teased.

  “Yeah.” I could hear the smile in her voice, and it created a warmth that spread throughout my chest. “I’m really happy for you, Daddy. I didn’t like the idea of you being alone.”

  “I’m not alone, baby. I have you and Shawn.”

  “You know what I mean,” Hannah said softly. “You need someone around to take care of you when we aren’t there.”

  “I love that you wanna look out for your old man, honey, but worrying about me isn’t something you need to add to your plate. I’m the grown-up. It’s my job to worry about you.”

  “I know,” she sighed. “It just helps to know you’re happy. And you are, right? Happy, I mean?”

  God, my girl was incredible. “Yeah, Banana. I’m happy. I’m just happier when you guys are home with me.” I looked to the yard to find Diva waltzing toward the deck with a stick twice her size hanging from her mouth. “And speaking of, I have a surprise for you guys when you get back.”

  “Yeah?” she asked excitedly. “What is it?”

  I laughed and shook my head, bending to pull the stick from Diva’s mouth when she reached my side. She fought me like her life depended on it, clamping down and letting out a playful growl. “Wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, would it? You’ll just have to wait ’til Friday to find out.”

  Her unhappy groan carried through the line just as I got the stick free of Diva’s jaw and sent it flying. She ran after it, but instead of bringing it back, she plopped down on top of it and commenced chewing.

  “Fine,” Hannah grumbled. “I guess I can wait.”

  “Good girl.” My call waiting beeped, and I pulled the phone from my ear to see the number for the department pop up on the screen. “Sweetheart, the station’s calling on the other line. I gotta take this, but no more listening in on your mom’s conversations, yeah?

  “Yes, sir.”

  “That’s my girl. I love you to the moon and back times infinity.”

  “Love you to the moon and back times infinity plus one,” she returned, saying the same thing we’d been saying to each other since she was about five years old. “Be safe, Daddy.”

  “I will, honey. Give your brother my love, and I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Okay. Later.”

  We rang off, and I clicked over to the other line. “Wanderly.”

  “Know you only just got home, man, but we got a body,” Hayes said.

  “Fuckin’ shit.” I shot from the chair and cleared the steps into the yard, bending to pick up Diva and carry her into the house. “Another OD?”

  “That’s what it’s lookin’ like. I’m on my way to the scene now.”

  My gut churned, and bile rose in my throat. “All right. Text me the address. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  I hung up without another word and stuffed the phone in my back pocket as I looked down at the squirming pup tucked against my chest.

  “Feel like visiting your girl for a little while?

  She cocked her head to the side and let out a little yip, which I was willing to bet meant yes.

  * * *

  Nona

  I’d just finished drying the last of the dishes from dinner when a knock came at my front door. Blythe was in her room, texting like it was an Olympic sport, and Tris was in the basement playing video games, so I grabbed a towel and started for the door as I dried my hands.

  “Hi,” I greeted in surprise, my heart doing a little leap when I opened it to find Trick standing on the other side.

  He hit me with a grin that caused a tingle deep in my belly. “Hey, baby.”

  I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to hearing him call me that, but where it used to hurt, it now felt like a gift. It was the day after our date at the diner. Trick had a lot on his plate at the station, so this was the first time I’d actually seen him since he dropped me off at the salon, but he made sure to call once or twice just to touch base or tell me to have a good day, and we’d texted a lot. I was quickly coming to discover that Trick had a gift for words in any form.

  I propped my shoulder against the doorjamb and grinned at him before dropping my gaze to where Diva was wriggling in his arms, trying to get to me. “Hey yourself, handsome. What brings you by?”

  Instead of answering, he asked a question of his own. “W
here are the kids?”

  Knowing exactly where his mind was, my nipples hardened as I lowered my voice to reply. “Occupied in other parts of the house.”

  That was all he needed to hear. He shifted Diva to the side and wrapped his free hand around the back of my neck, pulling me flush against him as he went in for a kiss that knocked my socks off.

  A soft moan rumbled from his chest just before he pulled away far too soon. “Wish that could’ve been longer, beautiful, but I actually came by to ask a favor.”

  Resting my palms on his chest, I tipped my head back to look up into those gorgeous gray eyes. “You sure are asking a lot of favors lately.”

  His hand drifted down my back, and his voice was like rich melted chocolate as he murmured, “The first one worked out pretty goddamn well for me, so I’m more than willing to push my luck.”

  I dropped my head back on a laugh, and Diva let out a bark a moment later, clearly unhappy with the lack of attention she was receiving.

  “Speaking of favors,” Trick grunted. “I just got called back into work and was wondering if you wouldn’t mind watching the little dictator here for a few hours. She’s been locked up all day, and I’d hate to have to put her back in her kennel until I get home.”

  “Of course!” Reaching out, I took the sweet girl and brought her to my chest, where she tucked in and started making a noise that sounded a whole lot like a snore. Trick let his arm fall from around me, and I took a step back so I could get a better look at his face. “I’m happy to take her. But…” My lips curved into a frown. “If you got called back in, does that mean someone’s hurt? Or worse?”

  “Or worse, unfortunately,” he replied in an unhappy mumble, and my heart broke for him. I couldn’t imagine seeing some of the things he had to see on a regular basis. It had to hurt, witnessing all the ugliness humanity was capable of, and I firmly believed that it took a very special kind of person to do the job Trick did. I respected the hell out of him, and I had complete faith that, with men like him on the police force, Hope Valley was in good hands.

  “I’m sorry, honey.”

  “Part of the job.”

  Lifting my hand, I brought it to his jaw and brushed my thumb along his cheek, loving the way the stubble felt against my skin. “I know, but I’m still sorry. And I think you’re pretty incredible for doing this job in the first place.”

  Trick came in close, lowering his forehead so it rested against mine and closing his eyes like I’d just said something that lifted a weight off his shoulders. “Thanks, beautiful. That means more than you can imagine.”

  “Any time.” I slid my hand down to wrap around the side of his neck. “I mean that, Trick. Any time you need a reminder that what you do, keeping all of us safe, makes you one of the best men I’ve ever met, you just cross that street and I’ll be here.”

  A sound very similar to a growl vibrated from his throat. “Fuck, sweetheart. You can’t say shit like that.”

  “I—” My chin jerked back in bewilderment. “What?”

  “You sayin’ stuff like that makes me want to throw you over my shoulder and take you to bed where I can spend the next several hours using my mouth, hands, and cock to show you how much I appreciate it.” My breasts swelled and my panties became uncomfortably wet at that declaration. “But I need to get to a crime scene, so that’s not in the cards right now.”

  “Just to say,” I started in a husky tone, “when you say things like that, I really, really want the exact same thing. So I’m thinking we’re both in trouble here.”

  The gray in his eyes turned nearly black, making my knees wobble dangerously. “Thinkin’ it would be a good idea if I left now, before I do something that’ll cause your kids a lifetime of therapy.”

  I let out a giggle and nodded in agreement. “I think you may be right.”

  I could tell by the look on his face that he really didn’t want to leave, and I freaking loved that, because I felt the exact same way.

  “I’ll text you when I’m wrapping up. I’m hoping it won’t be too late, but I won’t have a better idea until I get there.”

  “All right, honey. Go protect our town. I’ll be here when you get back.”

  He placed one last small kiss on my lips before turning and heading down my front walk.

  “Who was at the—” I shut the door and turned to face Blythe, and the moment she caught sight of Diva, her question morphed into a squeal. “Ohmygod! Did we get a puppy?”

  I put Diva on the floor and let her run to my girl for lovings. “Mr. Wanderly was at the door, and no, we didn’t get a dog. He got Diva for his kids, but he had to go back into work and asked if I’d watch her.”

  Blythe had plopped to the floor and was cuddling the rambunctious puppy close. “Her name’s Diva? That’s so cute!”

  In the days since my kids had been home from their father’s, Blythe had slowly started to return to normal, but she was still harboring something behind her eyes I couldn’t put my finger on. And no matter how many times I asked, she just kept insisting that everything was fine. So it was nice to see my bright, bubbly girl back just then, even if it was only because of a puppy.

  “It was nice of you to agree to dog sit for Mr. Wanderly.” She looked up from letting Diva lick all over her cheek, and I saw something in her gaze that made my breath hitch. “I heard something at school today.”

  Goosebumps slowly broke out along my arms as I hedged, “Oh yeah? What did you hear?”

  “I heard you and Mr. Wanderly were dating. Is that true?”

  I gave myself a moment to carefully consider my words before answering. I honestly didn’t know how she’d react to finding out her mom was dating, and I’d have been lying if I said it didn’t worry me. When I’d filed for divorce, I kept their father’s cheating a secret. But it was a small town. People talked, and kids could be nasty, so it had gotten back to her no matter how hard I tried to protect her from it. And I never wanted to put her through another situation like that.

  “Yeah, honey pie. We’ve been on one date so far, and I invited him to join us for Tristan’s birthday dinner tomorrow night. That okay?”

  “Yeah,” she replied quietly. “It’s okay with me.” She held Diva tight and stood from the floor, keeping her attention pinned to the puppy as she muttered, “And it’s good you’re dating Mr. Wanderly. He’s a cop, and cops protect people. It’ll be good to have him here to protect us.”

  A frigid chill spread across my skin, and my stomach sank to the floor. “Blythe.” That one word came out jagged. I waited until I had her eyes to ask, “Sweetie, what do you think you need protecting from?”

  “Nothing,” she continued to mumble.

  I took a step closer to my daughter, lifting my hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “Baby, you know you can tell me anything, right? I’m always here for you, no matter what. And I’ll never, ever let anything bad happen to you or your brother.”

  “I know, Mom. I was just sayin’ it’d be nice is all. I have some homework to finish up. Is it cool if I take Diva in my room with me?”

  The knot that had formed in my throat made it impossible to talk, so I just smiled at my girl and nodded, all the while worried out of my mind as she turned and walked away.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Trick

  “Who’d you score from, Benny?”

  “I’m tellin’ you, man, I don’t know anything!”

  I stood in the back of the interrogation room with my shoulders against the wall, my arms crossed over my chest.

  It had been five hours since I got the call and had to drag myself to a shitty, ramshackle house in a seedy part of town to investigate another goddamn meth overdose, so it went without saying that my patience wasn’t thin, it was fucking nonexistent.

  We’d been questioning this twitchy piece of shit for more than thirty minutes, and I was just about ready to wrap my fingers around the guy’s throat until he started talking.

  “We have witnesses who pu
t you at the victim’s house right around the time of his death. We even got a description matching your piece-of-shit car to a tee,” Hayes clipped.

  “All right! Okay, I was there, but I didn’t buy the shit, man! Clay already had it on him, man. He called me. That’s why I was over there!”

  “Damn.” Hayes turned to look at me with a brittle grin. “Talk about a shitty friend. Comes over to smoke his bud’s ice ’cause he’s too cheap to get his own, and then he bails and leaves his boy to die ugly on the living room floor.”

  “Shit! Look, I’m sorry!” The guy actually started crying. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have left him. It was fucked. I just freaked, okay! He started thrashin’ all around, and this foam was comin’ from his fuckin’ mouth, and I freaked! I never tried that shit before. I smoke bud, bro, that’s it. But Clay called and said the stuff he scored was primo. Best he ever had, so I figured why not? But believe me, man. Seriously. After the shit I saw, no fuckin’ way I’ll touch that shit again.” He shook his head so fast his stringy hair went flying. “No fuckin’ way.”

  “Clay ever mention a name?” I asked, speaking for the first time since we entered the room. “Tell you anything at all about the guy who deals to him?”

  “No, nothing! Dude, I don’t even think he knew their names.”

  “Their?” I pushed off the wall and moved to the table, taking the chair beside Hayes.

  The guy looked back and forth between us in confusion.

  “You said he didn’t know their names. So he bought from more than one guy?”

  Something seemed to register, and he started speaking at a fast clip. “Oh! Yeah, right. No, I mean, I think he always bought from the same dude, but the last two times he scored, he mentioned another guy being with him. Said he thought it was weird he got himself a partner, ’specially one who didn’t look like he belonged.”

  Hayes leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. “What do you mean, didn’t look like he belonged?”

  “Well, Clay said he was tweaked at first, you know, when that new guy first started comin’ around with his dealer. Said the dude was too clean cut. Looked like one of those suburban nine-to-five assholes or somethin’. At first, he thought he was a cop, but I guess he was just some guy in the middle of a midlife crisis, thinkin’ he could break bad or some shit.”