Blythe and Hannah were laid out in a couple loungers in the middle of the yard, soaking up the beautiful sun. And Heath, god bless him, was on his way to the porch, having obviously built up the courage to finally make his approach.
Oh, boy. Here we go.
“Uh, hey, Mr. Wanderly. Do you… um, is there anything I can do to help?”
I looked back and forth between a sullen Trick and nervous Heath, waiting for him to put the boy out of his misery. Trick kept his eyes pinned to the burger patties, and when it became clear that he didn’t plan on saying a word, I decided to step up.
“Yeah, actually, there is. The condiments and chips are on the island inside. Would you mind grabbing the stuff and bringing it out here?”
“Yeah, um, sure thing, Ms. Fanning.”
“Thanks, sweetheart. And you can call me Nona.”
He walked past us and into the kitchen.
As soon as the back door closed, I turned on my man. “Trick Wanderly!” I scolded in a whisper-yell while smacking his arm. “You can’t keep acting like he doesn’t exist.”
“Sure I can. I just did. See how easy that was?”
“Trick!”
He dropped his head back on a heavy sigh. “Fine, I’ll be nice.” He said it like that last word tasted so sour he might actually throw up.
“That’s my guy,” I teased, clapping him on his back. “And if you pull this off—” I leaned in to whisper right in his ear. “—I promise I’ll make it worth the effort.”
That seemed to do the trick, and his shoulders instantly slumped. “All right.” He lifted the spatula he’d been using to flip the burgers and pointed it at me. “But I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain.”
I leaned in for a kiss, speaking against his lips. “I promise.” He started to turn back to the burgers, but I grabbed his arm to keep his attention. “Hey.” Those gray eyes hit mine again. “You’re an incredible dad, and a phenomenal man.”
His forehead came down on mine, and he pulled in a deep inhale. “Lucked out getting a second chance with you,” he said in a gravelly voice.
My breath hitched. “Trick.”
“You have my word that I’ll never take that for granted, baby.”
The image of him started to blur as tears welled in my eyes. The back door opened, and I quickly blinked them away in just enough time to see Heath coming through, his arms laden with everything I’d laid out on the island in preparation.
“Here,” Trick said, moving from the grill. “Let me help you with that.”
Heath looked up at Trick like he was a superhero as my man divested the boy of half his load. “Thanks, Mr. Wanderly.”
Trick stopped and looked at him, fortunately without murder in his eyes this time. “You can call me Trick.” The kid practically swelled at his acceptance. “Just as long as you’re treating my Hannah Banana with respect, got it?” he finished on a warning.
I pulled my lips between my teeth to keep from laughing. Honestly, I hadn’t expected anything less. These were baby steps, after all.
“Y-yes, sir. You have my word.”
Trick nodded, and the two of them headed for the big patio table at the end of the deck.
When I turned to look out at the yard, Blythe and Hannah were both staring in our direction. Blythe was smiling, clearly proud of her mom for having stepped in to fix the situation. But it was the look on Hannah’s face that nearly had me bursting into tears all over again. Her eyes were wide and full of awe and appreciation, and I could have sworn I saw her chin tremble as she mouthed, “Thank you.”
I cleared my throat and managed to smile. Clapping my hands together, I declared a bit too loudly, “We need cheese!” Then I scurried into the kitchen with the perfect excuse to give myself the privacy to get my shit together before I turned into a full-on blubbering mess.
* * *
The credits on the movie started rolling, and Shawn reached for the remote to shut off the TV. When he turned to face the rest of us, his top lip was curled in displeasure. “That movie was so lame.”
“What are you talking about?” Blythe argued. “It was awesome.”
Tristan popped up from where he’d been sprawled out on the floor during the movie. Dinner had gone off without a hitch. We’d hung out at that table, talking and laughing and eating Trick’s perfectly grilled burgers before moving into the living room. Our last-minute grill-out had turned into an impromptu movie night, and I couldn’t have imagined a better way to spend a Saturday.
I’d sat curled into the corner of the big cushy sectional, snuggled into Trick. Heath and Hannah sat in the middle, holding hands the whole time, and Blythe had stretched out on the chaise side with Diva while Shawn and Tris lay out on the floor.
“It was stupid,” Tristan objected. “Next time we do family movie night, the guys get to pick what we watch.”
At my son’s mention of family movie night, Trick’s arm tightened, and I melted deeper into him. For the third time today, I wanted to burst into tears of happiness.
“I loved it,” Hannah added, and I had to admit, I was with the girls. I thought the movie had been great.
Shawn rolled his eyes at his sister. “The only reason you guys like it is ’cause you think the main dude in Aquaman is hot.”
Hannah and Blythe both whipped their heads in my direction like they expected me to say something to the contrary.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” I stated as I pushed from the couch and began gathering the empty popcorn and candy wrappers littering the coffee table. “I definitely voted for the movie because Jason Momoa is hot.”
I headed into the kitchen, followed by the hysterical laughter of everyone in the living room.
Someone turned the TV back on, and I could hear the mumbled sounds bleeding into the kitchen as I began washing the dishes we’d accumulated over the past several hours. Out of all the chores I did, washing the dishes was my least favorite, but as I stood in Trick’s kitchen with the sounds of our families filtering through my ears, I found I didn’t mind it one damn bit today. In fact, I was actually kind of loving it.
This had been the first time Trick and I had been around our kids as an official couple, and it couldn’t have been more perfect. I hadn’t had a day this good in a very long time. If Trick noticed my drink running low, he automatically refilled it without me asking. When we were sitting down to eat, he asked how I took my burger, then proceeded to make it for me. He ate at least a half dozen of my cookies, and with every bite of each one, went on and on about how amazing they were. He’d spent the entire day taking care of me, anticipating my every need, and moving to fulfill them while making me feel like a princess. Never in my life had there been a man who treated me like Trick did, and I was quickly coming to discover that I wasn’t just crazy about the man, I was falling head over heels at lightning speed.
“Hey.”
At the sound of Hannah’s voice, I turned to look over my shoulder. “Hey, honey. You looking for more snacks?”
She joined me at the sink and propped her hip against the edge. “No. If I eat anything else, I think I’ll bust right outta my skin.”
“I know the feeling,” I replied with a small chuckle.
She shifted on her feet, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed her biting her bottom lip. “I was actually coming in to see if you needed help with anything.”
I turned to face her, offering up a warm smile as I answered, “Sure. Grab a towel. You can dry as I wash. How’s that sound?”
She pulled the hand towel from the handle of the dishwasher and got down to work. We washed and dried, side by side in silence. I could sense she was building up the courage to say something, and I wanted to give her all the time she needed.
“Dad said you have a weird thing about dishwashers,” she finally said a minute later. “But I think I get it. I mean, it makes sense that you’d think a machine might not get off all the gross crud, and I told Dad that when he started teasing.”
“Anytime,” she muttered, lapsing back into silence for another handful of seconds. “I know it was you,” she said so quietly I nearly missed it.
“What was me, darlin’?”
Hannah stopped drying, placing her hands on the edge of the sink so she could give me her full attention. “You’re the one who convinced Daddy to let Heath come over.”
I stopped washing and gave her my eyes. “It wasn’t a big deal, honey.”
“Yes it was,” she insisted. “You told him he should trust me. I just want you to know… well, what I mean is… thank you. You went to bat for me, and you didn’t need to. I want you to know I won’t do anything to break his trust.”
“I know,” I whispered. “That’s why I went to bat for you.”
She gave me that sweet, shy smile that pulled Heath in, and seeing the beauty of it up close made my heart ache.
We went back to work, and Hannah kept her head down, her eyes on the glass she was drying as she said, “And I won’t break yours either.”
That time, when I smiled, I did it at the sudsy water in the sink. “Thank you.”
“You make him happy, you know.” My hands froze mid-scrub, and I suddenly had trouble pulling air into my lungs. “I’m not stupid. I know most kids want their parents to be together, but I can’t remember the last time I saw him laugh or smile with my mom the way he does with you.” God, she was killing me. “I’d rather my dad be happy.”
“Honey.” That one word came out ragged and full of emotion.
“I like seeing you guys together. Daddy deserves someone great.”
“If you don’t stop, I might have to start bawling.”
She let out a little giggle but didn’t stop. “I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m not just glad Daddy has you. I’m glad I do too.”
My eyes began to water, and I sniffed against the wave of emotion crashing into me “See?” I grumbled playfully. “Now I’m gonna cry.”
“Okay, I’m stopping now.”
We grinned at each other as I murmured, “Appreciated.”
Then we finished the dishes without another threat of tears.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nona
The boys of Makin Hardware were killing it on stage tonight. The Tap Room was hopping, and it looked like at least half the town had crammed inside to check out the show.
We managed to get here early enough to score a couple tables right at the edge of the dance floor, so we had easy access when the girls and I were in the mood to dance, which just so happened to be about every other song.
It wasn’t easy, all of us finding a night to get together, but at least once a month, Tempie, Eden, Gypsy, and I came to The Tap Room. Not only because it was the best bar in three counties, but because Rory’s folks owned the place, so she was usually behind the bar. It was a win-win. She got to hang with us when she wasn’t busy, and we got to enjoy good music and freaking great beer.
In the two weeks that had passed since our grill-out at Trick’s, this was the first night we’d had a chance to go out. Hannah and Blythe were at a sleepover for a friend’s birthday, and Shawn and Tris had a lock-in with their soccer team, so Trick and I were enjoying a night out with our crew.
Spinning around, I moved my hips and threw my hands in the air as the band played Grand Funk Railroad’s “We’re an American Band.” When I opened my eyes, I caught Trick watching me from his place at our clump of tables. He’d hung back with Hayes, Lincoln, and a few of the other guys from the police department.
A smirk was pulling at his lips, and I could see the way his gray eyes were darkening with lust as he watched me dance.
Gypsy leaned over and spoke in my ear as we moved to the beat. “Your man’s looking at you like you’re a cool, sweet ice cream cone on a hot summer day.”
I looked at my friend with a wicked smile. “As talented as he is with his tongue, he can lick me up any time.”
Her face twisted up. “I love you, hon, and I’m over the moon happy for you, but that was way too much information!” I burst out laughing. “Now every time I look at him, I’m gonna picture that shit. Thanks a lot.”
The song came to an end, and I hooked an arm around her waist. “Then I guess your next drink’s on me to make up for it.”
We headed to the bar, and as we started past our tables, Trick reached out and grabbed hold of me, stopping in the middle of his conversation to say, “You need a drink, I’ll get it for you, beautiful.”
I felt my face soften as I reached up to brush my fingers along his jaw. “That’s okay, handsome. I owe Gypsy anyway.” He gave me a curious look and cocked his head, so I finished, “Let’s just say, when she looks at you from now on, I’ll have put an image in her head that can never be erased.”
“No offense. You’re hot and all, but I don’t need to know those kinds of things about the man givin’ it to my girl,” she grumbled with a dramatic frown.
Trick and Hayes both busted out laughing, and I leaned down to press a kiss to my man’s lips. “Be right back.”
“All right, darlin’.”
Gypsy and I managed to work our way through the thick mass of people to the bar, sidling up and leaning against the top while we waited for Rory or the other bartender to free up.
She caught sight of us a few seconds later and came over. “Hey, babes.” She propped her hands on the bar top and used them to heft herself up enough to lean in and give us cheek kisses.
“Hey, doll. Can I get an IPA and whatever Gypsy girl here wants?”
“Margarita on the rocks. No salt,” Gypsy ordered.
“You got it,” Rory said. “Be back in two shakes.”
She got busy making Gypsy’s drink, and I used that as an opportunity to people-watch. I was halfway through my scan when I felt someone push up to the bar on my other side.
As I turned to look up, a chill broke out along my skin. A man I’d never seen before was leering down at me, standing way to close for comfort. “Nona?” At the sound of my name coming from him, my muscles locked tight. “Nona Fanning?”
There was something sinister in his muddy brown eyes when I looked into them. “Sorry?”
“You’re Nona Fanning, right?”
That chill on my skin grew almost painfully frigid. “Do I know you?”
“No,” he replied with an eerie smile on his face. “But I know you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
The man didn’t answer, just continued to look at me in a way that made my skin crawl. Fight or flight was kicking in, and I was just about to grab Gypsy’s arm and bail when she spoke.
“What’s going on?” Gypsy’s voice pulled me from the man’s snare, and as I turned to her, I caught him moving away from the corner of my eye. Gypsy’s crumpled into a frown as she stared at the space he’d just disappeared from. “Who was that guy?”
“I—” I looked back over my shoulder, but he was nowhere to be seen. “I don’t have a clue. I’ve never seen him before, but he seemed to know who I was. He knew my first and last name.”
“He gave me the creeps,” Gypsy said with a shiver as Rory came back and placed our drinks on the bar in front of us.
“What’s wrong? You two look like you just saw a ghost.”
“Not a ghost,” Gypsy said to Rory. “A skeevy dude who knew Nona’s name and gave us both a bad feeling.”
Rory’s face went cautiously watchful as she looked around the bar. “Really? You see where he went?”
I did another scan. “I think he left. It’s okay,” I told her, a sense of relief that he was gone washing over me. “He’s probably seen me around town or something. I’m sure it was just his lame attempt at a pickup.”
Gypsy’s face pinched up in a way that made Rory and me laugh. “Gross.”
“Good thing you have a super-sexy cop in your bed now,” Rory teased.
“Speaking of super-sexy….”
At Gypsy’s words, we turned to look in the direction her eyes were pointed and saw Cord heading over to our tables. He gave the standard alpha greeting to the rest of the guys by way of chin lifts and fist bumps. I didn’t know him personally, but I knew he worked for Alpha Omega, and that he’d taken three bullets trying to protect Eden when her wayward brother got her in some serious trouble a while back. He was finally on the mend, but everyone was still shaken up over it. For as long as I could remember, nothing ever happened in Hope Valley, then suddenly people were being shot and killed, and my friends were targeted by some really nasty characters. It was all so bizarre, like something out of a cop show or movie.
But the one thing that interested me the most about Cord was that something had gone down between him and Rory that none of us knew about. Rory had been beside herself when he was shot and had spent days camped out at the hospital, waiting for him to recover. Then, all of a sudden, a switch was flipped. The few times he’d come into the bar to make an approach, she’d brushed him off in a way that made it obvious that whatever had gone down between them caused her immense pain. No matter how many times we poked and prodded, Rory had remained tight-lipped.
No one knew what had happened, or where it might lead, but we were all watching with a hawk eye to see how things played out. Because it most certainly would play out. That was just the way in Hope Valley.
“I need to see to my other customers, but you guys make sure to swing by again to chat.”
Gypsy’s eyes went wide. “That’s it? That fine hunk of man walks into your bar, and that’s all you have to say?”
“That’s it,” Rory answered flatly.
Gypsy narrowed her eyes and grabbed her margarita off the bar. “If you didn’t mix such a killer drink, I wouldn’t like you.”
“Yeah you would.” Rory winked and blew us a kiss. “Now go, have fun. The more you ladies drink, the crazier you get. Makes for some great entertainment.”
The Best of Me: a Hope Valley novel Page 18