The Best of Me: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

  I knew I loved this town, but it was times like this that reminded me of just how much.

  “Also, who wears workout attire like their regular clothes?” Roxanne added. “For cryin’ out loud, either go to the gym or wear regular clothes.”

  “After this little scene, I don’t feel comfortable doing your hair anymore,” Trina, one of my talented hairdressers, declared. “From here on out, you’re gonna need to get your hair done in Grapevine.”

  Emma’s mouth opened and closed in affront. “But that’s at least forty-five minutes away!”

  “You did it to yourself, comin’ in here and insultin’ our sweet Nona,” Ms. McClintock snapped. “Now you gotta face the consequences. And somethin’ tells me this isn’t the only place you’re gonna be banned from. Nona’s loved by everyone in this town. You don’t mess with a beloved member of the community. Now, it’s time for you to skedaddle.”

  With no one to back her ill-conceived play, Emma let out a snort of offense, spun in her squeaky-clean sneakers, and stormed out. I stared at the door for a few beats before slowly turning to face the ladies in my salon and declaring, “If it wouldn’t bankrupt me, I’d give all of you free haircuts for life, but since I can’t do that, I just want you guys to know how much I love you.”

  Ms. M. rolled her eyes and started back to her chair. “All right now. Enough with the mushy stuff. You aren’t givin’ your haircuts away for free, so get back to work.”

  And just like that, everything went back to normal. Ms. M. might give me crap for being mushy, but she couldn’t control my thoughts, so I spent the rest of the day thinking all the mushy thoughts about the town I loved and the people in it.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Trick

  When I’d pulled into the parking lot of the run-down apartment complex earlier, Chris’s shitty truck hadn’t been there.

  The last place I wanted to be was on this side of town, waiting in my Ram for that worthless waste of space to show; after all, Nona was currently at her place with all of our kids and a pain-in-the-ass dog, making tacos. I’d just left the station after a long day, and all I wanted to do was crack open a cold beer and eat my woman’s food while sitting at her dinner table, listening to Shawn and Tristan’s hilarious stories and watching the girls roll their eyes in good humor at their brothers’ outlandish tales.

  But I’d made a promise to Blythe and Nona, and I had every intention of keeping it.

  I was just about to call it a night, lifting my hand to twist the key in the ignition, when I heard a familiar high pitched squeal. A couple moments later, Chris’s beat-up, rusted excuse for a truck pulled into the parking lot.

  Shoving the door open, I climbed from the driver seat and started in his direction as he parked in front of the dilapidated building where he lived.

  “Evening,” I called out, giving the man a start. He pulled to a quick stop and jerked around. The moment his eyes landed on me, the surprise washed away and hate took its place.

  “The fuck do you want?” he grunted.

  I stopped a couple feet away from him, taking in his disheveled appearance. Chris’s skin was sallow, and his cheeks were sunken. His eyes were wired, like he’d been living on edge, constantly looking over his shoulder for a long time now, and the smudges of purple beneath them showed that he hadn’t been sleeping well, if at all, for weeks.

  Crossing my arms over my chest, I stared the smaller man down and stated, “You and I need to have a little chat.”

  “You think just ’cause you’re fuckin’ my wife, that gives you the right to come here unannounced and demand a conversation, you’re very wrong, man.”

  My jaw ticked as my teeth ground together. “First of all, I’m not fucking your wife. I’m fucking my woman. And I have every goddamn right when she and her daughter are both tweaked by the shit you’ve gotten yourself twisted up in.”

  That seemed to catch him off guard, and he lost control of the mask he had in place for just a second, allowing the panic to slip through.

  “What are you caught up in, Chris?”

  He blinked, sliding that bravado back into place before sneering. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talkin’ about, and I’m done with this shit.”

  He started to turn when I spoke again. “Blythe saw you.” His feet glued in place, and he slowly turned his head to me. “You left those kids here alone for fuckin’ hours. She had no clue where you were or what was goin’ on. She was so worried that she couldn’t sleep, so she waited up for you. Watched from the window while you and a guy—who, in her very own words, creeped her out—argued before he used your face as a punching bag. She saw it all, man, and it’s messing with her in a very big way.”

  Chris spun around, stomping back in my direction until he was less than a foot away. “My girl has a problem, I’ll fuckin’ handle it,” he snarled. “I’m her dad, asshole. Not. You. What she thinks she saw is none of your goddamn business.”

  “It’s my goddamn business when she comes to me askin’ that I talk to her mother ’cause she doesn’t want to come back here. It’s my goddamn business when she’s cryin’ in my arms because just the thought of having to stay here with you has her so freaked it’s changing her personality. And it’s most certainly my business when she comes to me because she knows I’m a cop, basically asking me to protect her and her mom and brother from whatever bullshit you’re mixed up in. So tell me, Chris, just how bad is it?” He didn’t say a word, so I tried again. “You owe someone money? Is that why you broke into Nona’s shop and tried to rob it?”

  His chest rose and fell with each heavy breath. “You here in official police capacity?”

  Fucking asshole. “Not this time. But trust me when I say you don’t want me coming back here as a cop.”

  An oily, nasty smile stretched across his face as he hissed, “Then you can fuck off. I don’t gotta say shit to you.”

  I shook my head, not bothering to hide my disappointment. “Good to know you care so much about your kids, man.”

  His face turned an unnatural shade of purple. “Fuck you!”

  Christian Fanning truly was a piece of shit, and his pride was going to prove to be his downfall sooner rather than later. “You can either tell me what’s going on and let me help you, or I’ll find out myself. And trust me, man. I will find out. And when I do, that offer of help will be taken off the table.”

  He bared his teeth and seethed, “I don’t need your fuckin’ help.”

  It took everything I had not to beat the holy hell out of the asshole right then and there. I was giving him this chance because I cared about his kids—apparently more than he did, which was a goddamn shame. He was one of the luckiest sons of bitches on the planet, having Blythe and Tristan, and he was taking them for granted, just like he had their mom. I couldn’t wrap my head around that. I’d gladly lay down my own life for my kids, without question. The fact that he didn’t seem bothered in the slightest that his daughter was scared out of her mind at the thought of having to come see him made me sick to my stomach.

  “Think long and hard, Chris, and take your kids into consideration. This is a onetime offer. Let me help you. For Blythe and Tristan’s sake. Put aside your arrogance for one goddamn second and think of them.”

  “How about you worry about your own kids and leave me to mine.” With that, he turned around and stormed off.

  “If it was you who broke into Nona’s place, I’ll find out, Chris,” I called as he ascended the rickety staircase. “I’ll find out everything you’re hiding. I promise you that.”

  With that, I climbed back into my truck, started it up, and pointed it toward Nona’s. I hadn’t expected that conversation to be easy, but I’d had hope. Unfortunately, there was nothing to hope for. Chris had proven there wasn’t even the smallest glimmer of a good guy beneath all that selfishness and indifference.

  I was halfway home when my phone rang.

  I hit the button for the Bluetooth on my steering wheel, and No
na’s melodic voice instantly filled the cab. “Hey, handsome. Dinner’s happening in approximately fifteen minutes. What’s your ETA?”

  The heaviness in my chest immediately drifted away, and a smile pulled at my cheeks. “On my way now, beautiful. Only about ten minutes out.”

  “Well pedal to the metal. It’s been eight hours and twenty-three minutes since I kissed you, and I’m getting antsy.”

  Just a few words from my girl and the storm clouds lifted, leaving nothing but sunny skies in their wake.

  Christ, I loved her.

  “All right, darlin’. I’ll step on it.”

  * * *

  Nona and I were lying together on her couch. She was sprawled out, half on top of me and half tucked against the back.

  Dinner had been delicious as always, and after, I’d taken Hannah over to Heath’s so they could study for a biology test. It had nearly killed me to do so, but when she’d asked, it had been her, Blythe, and Nona against me. I didn’t stand a chance.

  When I got back, my woman had been ready and waiting with a cold beer open for me. She led me into the living room and settled me on the couch, and we’d been lying like this ever since.

  I’d just finished telling her about the conversation I had with Chris a couple hours ago and was cautiously awaiting her reaction. “What are you thinking?” I finally asked when the silence extended for longer than I was comfortable with.

  Her chest pressed harder against mine as she sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know what to think.” I could hear the pain in her voice, and it cut to my marrow. “I don’t ever want Blythe to know what he said. It would break her heart.”

  “She won’t hear it from me, sweetheart. You have my word.”

  “I hate him,” she whispered a little while later, those three words radiating so much emotion that I wanted to kill the asshole with my bare hands. “I hate him so goddamn much.”

  “I know, baby. I’m so sorry.”

  She stayed quiet for a while before finally stating, “Let’s talk about something else before you have to hold me back from getting in my car and going over there to kill him myself. I’m really happy with you, and I’d hate to have to talk to you through plexiglass ’cause I’ve been arrested for murder.”

  I fought back my grin and bent my neck to kiss the top of her head. “You got it.”

  “Let’s talk about you. How you doing, Dad?”

  I finished off my beer and answered, “My fifteen-year-old daughter is currently at her boyfriend’s house. How do you think I’m doing?”

  The sadness was gone from her voice and replaced with humor as she said, “She’s at her boyfriend’s house, studying for a biology test, honey. You talked to Heath’s parents, and they both agreed that the kids would be at the dining room table that was within their eye line the entire time.”

  I let out a scoff and rolled my eyes. “Yeah, that’s what they said. But how can I really be sure?”

  Nona’s body shook against mine with laughter. “Handsome, you kept your gun and badge clipped to your belt the whole time you spoke with them. My guess is they’re all too terrified to cross you, so I think you’re safe.”

  My phone pinged from the coffee table, and I reached out to grab it. Nona’s head turned so she could see as I swiped the screen, and the moment the message from Hannah opened, she busted out laughing.

  My girl, being the smartass she was, had snapped a selfie of her and Heath. They were clearly sitting at what looked like a dining room table with their books strewn all about, making googly faces at the camera. The caption with the photo said Currently plotting world domination. But don’t worry, his parents are watching.

  “God, I love her,” Nona said, giggling hysterically.

  Dropping the phone back to the table, I looped both arms around her and squeezed as my chest grew so tight it hurt to breathe. “You love my girl?”

  She propped her chin in one of her hands and gave me a funny look. “Of course I do. I adore Hannah and Shawn, and I love having them here. I’m actually gonna be really sad when they go back to their mom’s next week. Blythe and Tris will too.”

  “Means the world to me, you care about my kids so much.”

  Her face went soft, those blue eyes warming like the ocean in the middle of summer. “They’re easy to love, Trick.”

  “So are you.”

  Her whole body sank deeper into me, and the way she was looking at me just then made me feel like I could conquer anything. “I love you too, handsome.”

  “Good to know,” I said on a chuckle.

  We lapsed into silence for a bit before she spoke again, shattering the calm surrounding us. “So, I guess now wouldn’t be the best time to tell you that Emma swung by the salon for a sneak attack today, would it?”

  My whole body strung tight as I gritted, “What?”

  Nona shot up so she was sitting, straddling my waist and bracing her hands on my chest to keep me in place. “Just listen,” she said quickly. “She came in for a showdown, but it didn’t work in her favor.”

  “What did she say?” I demanded to know, my vision beginning to grow red.

  “Well….” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down. “The gist of it was that I needed to step aside because she wanted her family back, and that wouldn’t happen as long as I was in the way.”

  “Fucking hell.”

  Her palms pressed harder. “Like I said, it didn’t work out in her favor. I let it be known that I had absolutely no intention of going anywhere, and when she decided to get ugly….” She stopped, her face twisting like she was trying to hold in her laughter. “Some clients stepped in to put her in her place.”

  Fucking hell. “Who?”

  “Ms. McClintock and Roxanne.”

  I dropped my head back and cursed up at the ceiling. “Of course it would be the two of them.”

  “It was actually pretty hilarious. And my stylist who usually works on Emma let her know that she would no longer be taking her on as a client.” When she saw that none of that was making me feel any better, she bent at the waist and brushed her lips against mine. “It’s all right, handsome. She ended up walking away with her tail between her legs, and like I said, I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Nona, how could you possibly think that her showing up at your shop, gunnin’ for a showdown, is all right?”

  She smiled sweetly, giving me some of her weight. “Because she didn’t get what she wanted. She lost. And I won, because I’m right here with you. And I love you.”

  Jesus, only Nona Fanning had the power to undo me with just a few simple words.

  I wanted to kiss her deeper, to pick her up and carry her to her bedroom, where I could strip her naked and spend the whole night worshipping every inch of her. But that would have to wait.

  Shawn and Tristan came busting into the living room from the basement a moment later. “Mom! Can you make us your world-famous ice cream sundaes?”

  Nona pushed off me without hesitation. “You got it, kid. One of you gets to man the whipped cream, the other the chocolate syrup.”

  Heath’s parents dropped Hannah off an hour after that, and Nona quickly made my girl a sundae of her own. Then she and Blythe huddled around her so she could swoon over Heath and how amazing he was.

  The ice cream felt like it was curdling in my belly, and I was at risk of a migraine if I rolled my eyes one more time, so while they giggled over a boy I still wasn’t sure of, I spent the rest of the evening hunkered down in the basement with the boys. Suddenly, I understood kids’ obsessions with video games. It was amazing how cathartic it was to blow shit up on a TV screen.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Trick

  It had been a week and a half since Nona and I had exchanged “I love yous,” and while there had been a whole lot of good in that time, there had also been some parts that weren’t so great. Mainly that my kids were back with Emma, and while I talked to them every day, sometimes more than once, I missed them li
ke I’d miss a limb.

  Or my heart.

  The silver lining there was that the verbal smackdown she’d been handed at Nona’s salon the other week seemed to have done the job. The woman cared way too damn much what other people thought about her, and that scene was the kind of humiliation most people didn’t bounce back from, so she’d retreated back to her corner and was licking her wounds. Hopefully she’d stay there for a good long while.

  But for every good, there was a bad, and the thing that was bothering me the most at the moment was something I couldn’t put my finger on.

  I woke up next to Nona this morning with a ball of dread coiled tightly in my stomach, like a snake just waiting to strike. I couldn’t figure out what exactly was eating at me, but I couldn’t shake the impending sense of doom. It was like it had crawled beneath my skin and rooted itself into my bones. Even Nona’s bright smiles and laughter couldn’t make it go away.

  “You good?” Hayes asked, looking over at me as I turned the department-issued SUV into the hospital parking lot.

  “Got a bad feeling I can’t shake,” I answered honestly. “Don’t know what it’s about, just know it’s there and not going away.”

  “Instinct,” Hayes mumbled. “Keep your eyes peeled, brother. From what I’ve learned, that feeling means somethin’ ugly’s just around the corner.”

  Lifting my hand, I scrubbed at my face as I maneuvered the truck into a parking spot. “Fuckin’ shit.”

  “Whatever it is, I got your back.”

  We climbed out of the SUV and headed for the hospital entrance. The glass door slid open, and Hayes and I stepped inside. The antiseptic smell burned my nose while people in lab coats and scrubs hustled all around us as we walked through the corridors toward the nurses’ station. Tempie was standing there with a clipboard in her hand. She lifted her head at our approach, and her eyes went wide before warming at the sight of her husband.