The Best of Me: a Hope Valley novel

by Prince, Jessica

  “Surprised to see you here,” Chris said, breaking the silence.

  “You look like shit.”

  Chris’s eyes narrowed, and he looked to Trick for the first time since stepping into the room. “Yeah, well that’s because of your boyfriend and his buds,” he grumbled.

  A knowing smile tugged at my lips, and I lowered my voice to say, “Really? From what I hear, you fell down a flight of stairs while running from cops like a coward.” I leaned forward. “Or at least that’s what everyone in town is saying, and seeing as you like to blame everyone else for your own fuck ups, I’m inclined to believe all of them over you.”

  His head turned to the side, almost as if he felt too much shame and guilt to maintain eye contact.

  Good, I thought. He deserved every ounce of pain he was suffering.

  “How...” he cleared his throat awkwardly as he looked back down at the table. “How are the kids.”

  “They’ll be fine,” I answered. Chris closed his eyes, his whole body sagging in relief. “Because of me and Trick,” I continued, finally getting to why I’d come. “They’ll be fine because of me and Trick, and because we gave them the truth, and are getting them the help they’ll need in order to cope.”

  Chris’s head shot up, his eyes going wide in bewilderment. “Y-you told them?”

  My hands clenched into fists in my lap, and it took everything I had not to launch myself across the table and scratch his eyes out. As if sensing my rising fury, Trick reached over and placed a hand on my thigh to keep me centered.

  My man, always having my back. “My kids were taken from their own home. A man broke in, scared the hell out of them, tied them up, and held them for over an hour until Trick found them. All because of you! So yes, I told them why that had happened, so they wouldn’t have to live in fear that it would ever happen again.”

  “I can’t believe you!” Chris had the audacity to shout. “You’re tryin’ to poison my kids against me!”

  I let out a bitter laugh. “See? This is your problem. Everything that happens to you is someone else’s fault. You’ve never, not once in all the time I’ve known you, taken responsibility for your own actions. Poor Chris, he’s never to blame for anything. Leaning forward and bracing my palms on the table. “They’re no longer your kids. They’re mine. As we speak, my attorney’s working on having all your parental rights stripped. You will never see my kids again, Chris. As long as there’s breath in my body, I’ll make goddamn sure of that. You put their lives at risk.”

  I was gonna get the money! I never would have—”

  “You were caught trying to leave town!” I shouted, slamming my hands on the table hard enough to make him flinch. “You knew where they were, and you ran! You’re a coward, and I’ll do everything in my power to protect my babies from the likes of you.”

  His throat worked and his eyes grew glassy. “You... you can’t just take my kids from me,” he said on a broken whisper. “Please, Nona. They’re all I have. Please.”

  I couldn’t find it in me to feel the slightest bit sorry for him. “To late. You’ve already lost them. They want nothing to do with you, and you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.”

  With that, I stood, causing the chair to scrape loudly across the floor as I pushed it back. Trick was right behind me as I headed for the door.

  “No,” Chris called. “Nona, please! Just wait!”

  But I was done.

  The door closed with a sense of finality behind us. I managed to make it out of the prison and to the parking lot before the weight of everything that had just happened hit me. I sagged against Trick’s truck, and he was there within a second to scoop me up and wrap me in his arms.

  “You okay, baby?”

  “Not even close,” I muttered, burrowing into him. “But I will be, eventually.”

  Pressing his fingers beneath my chin, Trick forced my head back so he could look into my eyes as he declared, “You know I love you, right?”

  “Yes,” I whispered, my vision blurring with tears.

  “Take all the time you need. You don’t have to be okay today or tomorrow or next week. You take as long as you need, ’cause I’ll be here to carry the burden for you until you think you’re strong enough to face it.”

  “God,” I cried, burying my face in his chest as tears leaked from my eyes. “I’ve lost count!”

  “Lost count of what, beautiful?”

  With a sniffle, I lifted my head and wiped my cheeks dry. “The number of blessings I have in my life.”

  Those gray eyes went quicksilver right before he leaned in and gave me a kiss that took my breath away. And just like that, he made everything better.

  Epilogue

  Trick

  One month later

  “Yes! That’s it, bud! You got this!”

  I stood on the sidelines of the soccer field, smiling at my woman as she jumped up and down in excitement, thinking I was the luckiest man on earth.

  The weeks after Blythe and Tristan’s kidnapping hadn’t been all easy sailing. There were a few bumps along the way, and both of them clung to me whenever I was around for a while, but we were slowly beginning to get back to normal.

  And I was coming to discover that normal now included things I never would have expected.

  One of those things being the amicable relationship Nona had formed with my ex. Something in Emma had shaken loose the day Blythe and Tristan were taken. Her maternal instincts pushed to the forefront, providing her with a sense of sympathy toward Nona for all she’d been through. While they’d probably never be the best of friends, she and Nona got along better than I ever could have imagined. Case in point, this was her week with the kids, so when the game ended, she was taking Shawn, Hannah, Tristan, Blythe, and Heath out for pizza. There had even been a couple of times when Tris and Blythe had a sleepover at her place with my kids. It had taken some getting used to on my part, and at first I didn’t trust it, but every time I voiced my concerns, Nona just laughed and shook her head like I was being ridiculous.

  I learned to let it go, choosing not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and concentrated on doing what Nona did; counting all the blessings I had in my life.

  And there was a whole hell of a lot of it.

  My woman wasn’t kidding when she said she loved to bake, and I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of it. Sure, I’d had to up my workouts to keep from getting a gut, but the moment I bit into one of her cakes or cookies, I knew it was all worth it.

  Nona always had a cold beer waiting for me when I came home from work, and if a case was weighing on me, she provided a shoulder for me to lean on.

  She had a gift for pulling me out of any bad mood. All she had to do was smile, and my world lit up with sunshine.

  I felt a presence at my side and turned to find Blythe closing the distance. On instinct, I lifted my arm to make room for her, and she didn’t hesitate to slide right in.

  “My mom’s a nut,” she muttered quietly, eyes to the field as Nona threw her arms up in another whoop.

  “That she is, darlin’,” I said with a grin. “But she’s a nut of the very best kind.”

  Her face softened as she watched her mother. “Yeah.” She turned back to the field and watched her brother for a few more seconds before stating, “She loves you.”

  My arm clenched around the beautiful girl. “I know, sweetheart.”

  Those turquoise eyes came to me. “I do too, you know. Just in case you were wondering. Me and Tris both.”

  Christ, but the Fanning women had the power to undo me like no one else. “Good to know,” I pushed out past the emotion thickening in my throat. “Seeing as I love you guys too.”

  The whistle blew, calling an end to the game. As if that was all she’d needed from me, she lifted up to place a kiss on my cheek, then skipped off to do the same to her mom before heading across the field to where Emma and Hannah stood.

  Tris rushed over to give Nona a quick, sweaty hug and get a fist bu
mp from me before doing the same.

  With all of the kids now at her side, Emma lifted a hand and shouted across the field, “I’ll have them home by seven!”

  “Thanks, doll!” Nona shouted in return, then came up to snuggle into my side. “You guys have fun!”

  We stood in place, watching as they headed for Emma’s car.

  Once they were out of sight, I began leading us toward the parking lot, “You know, I kind of love this new arrangement,” she said, looking up at me with a beaming grin. “Gives us some alone time, and I think Emma likes having a full house every now and then.”

  “I’m thinkin’ you’re right, beautiful.”

  “I’m glad she joined that dating website. She needs a good man,” she muttered thoughtfully, her words stopping me short.

  “Emma’s online dating?”

  “Yeah.” Nona grinned. “I helped her set up her profile. I even did her hair and makeup for her picture. You should’ve seen it. She was gorgeous. I bet the guys are blowing it up.”

  “Christ,” I grunted as we reached my truck. “I do not need to know these things about my ex-wife.”

  Nona let out a giggle and hopped into the passenger seat, buckling her seat belt as I climbed in behind the wheel. “Get used to it, handsome. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before she’s asking us to keep Hannah and Shawn so she can go on a date.”

  “Well, at least that’s a silver lining.”

  “She’s really trying. You should cut her some slack.”

  I heaved out a sigh and started my truck, backing it out of its spot and heading toward Nona’s. “I’m tryin’. It’ll just take some getting used to.”

  Her hand came down on mine, and I twisted my palm up so I could tangle my fingers with hers. “It’s a much better place than we were in a couple months ago. I’ve learned to count my blessings however they come.”

  Lifting her hand to my lips, I pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist. “You’re right, baby. This is a much better place.”

  I felt the atmosphere in the truck shift before she asked hesitantly, “So, you’re happy?”

  I chanced a glance in her direction to find her worrying her lip. “You kidding? Christ, Nona. Every morning I wake up with you is better than the last.”

  Her face went soft, and those turquoise eyes began to glisten. “Then it wouldn’t be too soon to ask you to move in with us?”

  My body went solid for just a second before I turned to give her a smile so big it made my cheeks throb. “Is that really what you want?”

  She nodded. “It is. Your house is great, handsome, but it’s small. My basement is finished, so we can turn that into a room for Tris or Shawn—they’ll have to battle that one out amongst themselves. And I never use my home office, so I figure we can get rid of the stuff in there and make it Hannah’s room. They can even paint them whatever colors they want.”

  My chest shook with silent laughter. “Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out.”

  Her giggle filled the cab. “Well, when my super-hot detective boyfriend told me his feelings for me were never gonna change, my mind started to drift.”

  “Is that right?”

  “Mmmhmm. And the bonus for me is he has two awesome kids, and his dog loves me more than she does him.”

  My voice was full of humor as I said, “This is very true. And the bonus for me is that my woman has two awesome kids, and she’ll bake for me whenever I want.”

  Her fingers clenched around mine. “Well, I don’t know about you, but this sounds like a no-brainer to me.”

  Fuck, I loved this woman.

  “Then I guess I better call Eden to see if she won’t mind me breaking my lease several months early.”

  Nona shifted in her seat, the sunlight coming through and catching all that long, gorgeous red hair. “Something tells me she’s not gonna have a problem with it.”

  “Yeah? What makes you say that?”

  “My best friend is all about fairy-tale endings, and I finally found my Prince Charming.”

  “There’s just one difference with us,” I stated, coming to a stop at a red light.

  “Yeah? What’s that?”

  I turned to face her, shooting her a wink. “This isn’t a fairy-tale ending, beautiful. We’re only just getting started.”

  * * *

  Nona

  Three weeks later

  I’d been right. Eden didn’t give a damn about Trick breaking his lease. In fact, she right after she got off the phone with him, she’d called me, so excited I barely understood a word she squealed through the line.

  That had been a week and a half ago. Thanks to our crew, Trick and his brood were permanently moved into our house, the kids’ bedrooms were painted and made their own, and Diva was in heaven, having double to number of people to cater to her every whim.

  Life was amazing, and it just kept getting better and better.

  “You know, you don’t have to ogle him from afar anymore,” Gypsy teased as she and the rest of the girls came sauntering up the porch steps. Eden and Rory forced me to scoot over so they could join me on my porch swing, and Tempie and Gypsy hopped up on the railing across from us. “He’s all yours now. All you have to do is go over there.”

  I looked across the back yard to where Trick was standing, manning the grill with a beer in hand while chatting with Hayes, Linc, and a couple other guys.

  My back yard was packed full of friends and family, all there to celebrate Trick and I having moved in together. Tris and Shawn were running around with Gypsy’s younger siblings, keeping them entertained. Hannah and Blythe were in their usual spots, soaking up sun while Heath stood a few feet away, talking to Gypsy’s oldest brother, Rhodes. He was secretly sneaking peeks at his girl while keeping an eye on Trick so he wasn’t caught doing it. And Ms. McClintock was at one of the long picnic tables we’d set up, throwing her brand of salty sass to anyone within her vicinity.

  You could barely hear a word anyone was saying over all the voices, and I was loving every. Single. Minute of it.

  As if feeling my gaze on his, Trick turned from the grill and gave me a wink.

  “I’m good right here, for now,” I told my girls. “I’ll give him some time with his buds. After all, I’ve got that man for the rest of my life.”

  “That you do, hon,” Gypsy sighed, waving a hand in front of her face. “If I had a man who looked at me like that, I think I’d keep him tied up in my bedroom for days on end.”

  Our laughter was broken up by the sound of a throat clearing

  All five of our heads whipped around to find Marco Castillo standing just outside the back door, his beautiful hazel eyes pinned to Gypsy.

  “Lookin’ beautiful as always, girasol,” he said in a deep, masculine timbre before moving down the stairs and heading toward the grill.

  “What. Was. That?” Eden breathed, trailing Marco with her eyes, just like the rest of us.

  “I don’t know,” Tempie, murmured, “But whatever it was, it was hot.”

  I looked to Gypsy and found she was frozen in place, her lips parted, and her eyes on where Marco had last been standing.

  “Quick!” I shouted. “Someone tell me what the hell girasol means!”

  Rory whipped out her phone and started typing, letting out a squeak when she got the result of her search. “It means sunflower.”

  “I, uh...” Gypsy stood from the railing, moving woodenly toward the back door. “I need to go to the bathroom. Excuse me.”

  She bailed into the house, leaving the rest of us in a tizzy.

  “Is it just me, or does it seem like Marco’s set his sights on our little sunflower?” Tempie asked on a giggle.

  I turned my head and looked back toward the men. Sure enough, Marco’s eyes were on my back door. “Oh, he most certainly has. And I can’t wait to see what happens.”

  * * *

  Trick

  One month later

  There was no doubt about it, I was in Hell.


  That was the only logical explanation for the pain I was currently suffering.

  “Will you quit pacing,” Nona griped from her place on the couch. “You’re gonna wear a hole in the floor.”

  Shawn and Tris laughed, and I shot all three of them a murderous glare. “Don’t tell me to relax. You relax!”

  One of her auburn brows hooked up in confusion, and she lifted her arms to her sides. “Uh... as you can see, I am relaxed.”

  “Dad, you need to chill before you give yourself a heart attack,” Shawn mumbled, barely taking his eyes off the TV screen where he and Tris were currently engaged in some racing video game.

  “Chill or not, I’m liable to have a heart attack anyway, I grumbled as I resumed my pacing.”

  Nona tossed her e-reader aside and stood from the couch, coming to me and wrapping her arms around my shoulders. “It’s all gonna be fine, handsome. I promise.”

  I rest my hands on her hips and dropped my head back on a sigh. “How can you say that? Any second now that... kid is gonna show up to take my Hannah Banana on a date. In a car. Alone. With no parental supervision.” I pulled from her embrace and reached into my pocket for my cellphone. “You know what? I can’t do this. I’m calling the station and having a detail put on them.”

  Snatching the phone from my hand, Nona gave me a warning look. “First of all, you are not putting a detail on them. Secondly, that kid’s name is Heath, and you know him. You know he’s going to treat your girl with the utmost respect, so you’re gonna suck it up and calm down, because Hannah’s on cloud nine right now. She’s sixteen-years old now, and this is her first official car date. I know you well enough to know you don’t want to mess that up for her.”

  Jesus Christ, I felt like I was dying inside. “This is killing me, beautiful,” I whispered, lowing my forehead down against hers.

  Her hands came to rest on the sides of my neck, and I felt her touch giving me strength. “I know, honey. It’s because you’re such a phenomenal father. And for that reason, I know you’re going to push past the pain and put on a brave face for your girl. It’s just one of the millions of reasons I love you so much.”