Honeysuckle Dreams

by Denise Hunter

  Hope glanced at the ancient green Toyota in the drive. It had obviously taken numerous knocks, and rust was waging a slow but fierce battle on the side panels.

  April followed her eyes, waving a hand. “That old car of mine . . . It’s making a funny noise, and I hoped Brady could take a peek, but he wasn’t in his shop.”

  “He’s running an errand at the mo—”

  Sam cried out, and Hope turned to see he’d maneuvered himself under the end table and gotten stuck.

  “Hold on a second.” She let the screen door fall shut, feeling a little rude. But she didn’t know if Brady would want April in his home.

  She got down on her knees, pulled an unhappy Sam from under the table, and lifted him into her arms. “There we go, sugar. Did you get yourself stuck?”

  His big blue eyes blinked up at her, his wet lashes clumped together, his chin rumpled. She wiped the tears from his cheek. “It’s okay. You’re all right now.”

  When she turned to put him safely in his swing, she saw that April had entered the house. The screen door snapped shut behind her.

  “Oh, he’s such a handsome little fellow. Can I hold him?”

  “Um . . . I should probably call Brady and let him know you’re here.” She reached for her phone.

  But April was already at her side, hands out. “Come to Grammy, baby doll.”

  Sam smiled at the friendly face, leaning forward.

  Oh well. Hope supposed it wouldn’t hurt anything, since she was right here. She started to punch in Brady’s number, but just then she heard a car pull up.

  He was home. Thank goodness!

  She shifted on her feet, not wanting to leave April alone with Sam, but she also felt the need to warn Brady that his mother was here. He probably wouldn’t recognize her car.

  April was playing peek-a-boo, and Sam seemed to be content. He was pulling April’s hands from her face and smiling his silly, toothless grin.

  Hope headed to the door to intercept Brady. But when she got there, her breath tumbled from her lungs. It wasn’t her husband approaching the house, but Patricia and Ned Parker.

  Oh no. What were they doing here? She stepped out onto the stoop and came down the two steps. “Mr. and Mrs. Parker. What are you doing here?”

  Patricia halted several steps away, her husband at her back. “We’re here to pick up our grandson, of course.”

  “But . . . Heather was supposed to pick him up.” Hope checked her watch. “And not for another forty-five minutes.”

  “She got delayed,” Patricia said. “And she already notified Brady. He knows we’re coming to pick up the baby.”

  Was that even true? She heard Sam’s giggles and felt torn.

  “We’re in a bit of a time crunch,” Ned said stiffly. “If you wouldn’t mind getting Sam, we’ll just be on our way.”

  “Brady’s not home yet, and he didn’t say anything to me about—”

  “For heaven’s sake.” Patricia straightened to her full height. “So we’re a little early. He knew we were coming.”

  “I should just call him.” Hope reached for her phone and dialed his number. “He should be here any minute, and I’m sure he’d like the chance to say good-bye to Sam.”

  “We’ll only have him for two days!” Patricia said. “Brady gets him all the time.”

  “I’m sorry, I just feel I should let Brady know what’s going on.” But Brady wasn’t answering his phone. Maybe he was out of range, or maybe the phone had gone dead. She left a voicemail for him to call her ASAP and ended the call.

  What now? Patricia was glaring at her, arms crossed. Ned’s brows were pinched together, looking formidable as he towered over them both. And Brady’s druggie mom was inside the house, alone with Sammy.

  A wave of tension rolled over Hope. “He should be here any minute. Maybe you should wait in your car until he arrives.”

  Patricia looked over her shoulder. “Ned, do something. This is ridiculous.”

  Ned stepped toward Hope. “You have no right to keep our grandchild from us.”

  “I’m not trying to do any such thing.”

  “We’re going to be late to our engagement!”

  “If you’ll just wait a few minutes—”

  “As if you have any rights to Sam at all! Your marriage is nothing but a charade anyway!”

  “That’s not true.”

  “You get to spend every day with our grandchild, and you have even less of a right to him than Brady does.”

  Heat flushed through her body. “Well, I’m afraid the judge feels differently.”

  “He’s our grandchild,” Ned said. “You can’t keep him from us. The judge said—”

  “Everything all right out here?” April appeared in front of the screen door bouncing Sam on her hip.

  Oh no. This wasn’t happening. Hope closed her eyes in a long blink.

  “And just who is this?” Patricia said.

  “Howdy, y’all.” April stepped out onto the stoop. “I’m April Russell, Brady’s mama. And you must be . . . ?”

  Hope tried to warn April off with a look, but the woman was paying her no mind.

  Hope was vaguely aware of the crunch of gravel. Brady . . . Thank God. “April, maybe you can go inside and get Sam some Cheerios. They’re in the pantry. I’ll be right in.”

  “Wait . . . ,” Patricia was saying. “I thought Brady’s mom passed away when he was in college.”

  Ned’s eyes narrowed on April. “She did.”

  April tossed her braid over her shoulder. “That was his adoptive mother, my sister. I’m his real mama. I’m in town visiting for a while. Are you Hope’s parents?”

  Hope’s hand went to her throat where a warm tingling sensation had begun. Hopefully the Parkers knew nothing about—

  “Wait just a minute.” Ned took a few steps closer, passing his wife. “You’re that drug addict who gave him up for adoption.”

  April’s chin notched up. “Well, how diplomatic of you. I’ll have you know that’s all in my past now.”

  When Ned reached the steps, Hope moved in front of him, blocking his path.

  He stopped but scarcely paid her any mind. “Is that why your pupils are dilated right now? Why you can’t seem to stop fidgeting?”

  April’s eyes hardened. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I’m a retired police officer. I’ve seen more addicts than you can shake a stick at.”

  “How dare you judge me,” April said. “You don’t even know me.”

  Ned’s eyes shifted to Hope. “How dare you put my grandson in the care of some druggie.”

  It took everything in Hope not to shrink away. “That is not what’s happening here.”

  “Who do you think you are?” April said from the safety of the stoop.

  “You’re not helping, April,” Hope said. “Go back inside, please.”

  “Oh, no she won’t.” Ned grabbed Hope’s arm, jerking her to the side. “Not with my grandson.”

  “Let go of me!”

  “Hey!” Brady was there, pushing Ned away. “Back off, Ned.”

  The men faced off, their shoulders leaning in, their brows pulled tight. Brady was half a head taller, but Ned was stout and in good shape for his age.

  “What’s going on here?” Brady said. “Why are you so early?”

  “We simply came to pick up our grandson,” Patricia said, “just as we told you we would, and we find your druggie mother in possession of our grandchild! Is this what you call good parenting, Brady? I’m sure the judge will be very interested to know about this!”

  “She’s never even been here before, Patricia,” Brady said.

  “Give me my grandchild.” Ned started to push Hope aside again.

  But Brady grabbed him by the collar. “So help me, Ned, if you put a hand on her again, I’ll lay you flat on the ground.”

  Hope had never seen Brady so riled. She placed a hand on his arm. “Okay, everybody, just calm down. Mr. and Mrs. Parker, A
pril stopped by unexpectedly. She was here for all of five minutes before you arrived, and I was with her every moment.”

  Patricia’s eyes narrowed on her. “So you say.”

  Brady turned loose of Ned’s shirt, his jaw clenched, his eyes piercing the older man’s. “Take your wife and get in your car, Ned. I’ll bring Sam out in a minute. It didn’t have to happen like this.”

  After a long, tense moment Ned started backing away. Before he reached the car he turned. “You haven’t heard the last of this, Brady.”

  Hope was afraid of that very thing.

  Brady couldn’t sit down. He paced the length of the living room, the adrenaline still flushing through his system. He’d delivered Sam, along with the bag, to Ned and Patricia. They hadn’t exchanged a single word before the car took off down the lane.

  April was harder to get rid of, but Hope had finally made her understand that now wasn’t a good time for Brady to take a look at her car.

  “I’m so sorry, Brady,” Hope said.

  So was he. How had that gone south so fast? He couldn’t believe this was happening. The Parkers would use it against him in court. He just knew it.

  He laced his hands behind his neck. “Just tell me what happened.”

  Hope started at the beginning, going into more detail about April’s arrival.

  A headache throbbed in his temple. “I really didn’t want April in the house, Hope.”

  “I didn’t let her in the house.” She explained that Sam had gotten stuck, and April had slipped inside while she went to help.

  “All right, but then you just handed Sam over to her?”

  Hope’s eyes flashed. “What was I supposed to do? I’m not the enemy here, Brady. Yes, I let her take Sam for a few seconds. But I was standing right there. I didn’t know what to do. And then the Parkers showed up.”

  “And what, you thought it would be a nice family reunion?”

  Something flashed in Hope’s eyes. She pressed her lips together. Her shoulders had gone rigid, and she crossed her arms over her chest.

  What was he doing? Brady scrubbed a hand over his face, taking a few deep breaths. “I’m sorry. I know this isn’t your fault.”

  She stared at him from across the room, her posture stiff and defensive.

  He was an idiot. He gave a long sigh and approached her slowly. When he reached her he stopped, but her gaze was locked onto his shirtfront.

  “Hope . . .” He tilted her chin upward until her eyes met his. He wasn’t used to seeing those green eyes distant and flinty. And more than a little hurt.

  Guilt pricked hard. She hadn’t asked for this. Any of it. She’d done nothing but try and help him. She’d even married him, for crying out loud.

  “I’m really sorry,” he said. “You didn’t deserve that.”

  Her shoulders sank as a breath tumbled out of her.

  “You’ve been great. This was a . . . situation you couldn’t have avoided.”

  “We never talked about how you wanted to handle April.”

  “I know. That’s my fault. And it’s just my luck she’d be here when the Parkers show up.” He bit back a word he hadn’t said in a long time. “They’re going to use this against me in court, and it’s not going to look good.”

  “We’ll talk to Calvin about it. Tell him exactly what happened. Ned didn’t do himself any favors either, losing his temper like that. Putting his hands on me.”

  “It’s our word against his. I wasn’t sure if she was still on drugs. It was dark at the Rusty Nail, but Ned’s right. Her pupils were dilated. She’s clearly on something, and we can’t let her anywhere near Sam again.”

  “Agreed.”

  “I’ll have a talk with her.”

  “She’s not going to like it.”

  “Too bad. I just hope the damage hasn’t already been done.”

  The Parkers had the money to look into April’s past. Maybe hire a private investigator and dig up more dirt to use against him. Like the way she’d neglected him when he was a baby, and the charges her parents had filed so that his mom and dad could get custody of him. Maybe they could even call witnesses who knew of April’s destructive behavior.

  No, he’d never allow April near his son again. But if Patricia and Ned had their way, it wouldn’t matter. They’d spin this one event into so much more than it had been. And with the hearing only a week and a half away, it might be the very thing that tipped the case in their favor. He could lose his son because of an absentee, drug-addicted mom who’d probably come back into town on some whim.

  Brady’s breath felt stuffed into his lungs, and his heart felt near to exploding. “I can’t lose him, Hope. I just can’t lose him.”

  Her eyes softened on his as she reached for him. “Hey . . . That’s not going to happen.”

  He drew her into his chest, the soft feel of her against him like an anchor.

  She held him tight. “Have faith. This will all work out. You’ll see.”

  He could only pray she was right.

  chapter twenty-four

  Hope held Zoe’s short wedding train as the bridal party headed toward the back of the church sanctuary. The slim-fitting bridal gown made the most of Zoe’s trim figure. Josephine had tamed her auburn curls and left them flowing down her back. A circlet of flowers crowned her head. She looked like a fairy-tale princess.

  Ruby Brown, whose job it was to keep this shindig running smoothly, manned the sanctuary door. Four-year-old Gracie was at her side, twirling in her frilly white dress, awaiting her part in the ceremony.

  Ruby’s face lit up when she saw Zoe. “Oh, look at you, child! I declare, you’re just the prettiest thing. Your granny’s looking down from heaven with a big ol’ smile on her face right now.”

  Zoe gave Ruby a hug. “Thanks, Ruby. I’m so glad you’re here. Everything going smoothly so far?”

  “Just like clockwork. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

  Ruby ordered the bridesmaids to take their places in the lineup, and Hope rearranged Zoe’s train as the strains of “Loved Like That” filtered through the door. The parents were probably seated by now, and it was only a matter of waiting for the song to end.

  Zoe had chosen to walk solo down the aisle. Partly because her relationship with her dad was strained, but also because it represented her rediscovered independence. After falling for the wrong guy, Zoe had cut ties with Copper Creek and lost her way for a few years. But she was back now, and happier than Hope had ever seen her.

  Finished with the train, Hope straightened and faced her best friend. They’d been through a lot together, and she was so honored to be by Zoe’s side today.

  Zoe’s makeup was flawless, and her green eyes sparkled under the dim chandelier. Her creamy skin glowed against the white satin of her gown. She was a beautiful bride. Perfection.

  Hope gave a wistful smile. “Have I told you how absolutely gorgeous you look?”

  Zoe fiddled with the taupe ribbon dangling from her elegant bouquet. “Several times, but I sure appreciate the sentiment.”

  “Cruz is going to faint dead away at the sight of you.” The two had waited a long time to be together. But Gracie had her daddy now, and the three would finally be a family.

  “Do you have the ring?” Zoe asked.

  “Of course I have the ring.”

  Zoe’s eyes narrowed on hers. “You didn’t put it on your finger, did you?”

  Hope gave her a look. “I have my own ring now, thank you very much.”

  “I don’t know why I’m so nervous. Look, my hands are shaking.” The ribbons hanging from her bouquet trembled.

  Hope took Zoe’s free hand in her own and gave her friend her best, confidence-inspiring smile. “All of those jitters are going to go away the second you lay eyes on that man in there. He loves you more than life itself. I have never known two people more meant for each other or more deserving of a happily ever after.”

  A tremulous smile curved Zoe’s lips as her eyes went glassy. “Oh,
Hope. Thank you. You always know exactly the right thing to say.”

  Hope made a face. “Well, I just stole from my matron of honor speech, so when you hear it again later, pretend it was the first time.”

  Zoe laughed, the strain on her face falling away as the music inside the sanctuary shifted, and Rawley began the sweet strains of “Marry Me” on his guitar.

  Zoe sucked in a breath as Ruby reached for the door. “All right, ladies, everybody ready?”

  “Let’s do this,” Josephine said.

  Daisy gave Zoe a smile. “You’re about to make Cruz the happiest man in the room.”

  “Aw, thanks, Daisy.”

  Hope gave Zoe’s hand a squeeze, then ushered little Gracie to her place in line. She smoothed her own blush-colored dress as Ruby opened the door with a whoosh.

  It was finally time. They’d been so busy this week with last-minute wedding arrangements. The rehearsal last night had gone smoothly and had been followed by a lovely dinner at the Blue Moon Grill.

  Hope advanced in line as Josephine made her way down the aisle. Ruby handed Gracie her miniature bouquet.

  Hope drew a breath in and breathed it out, letting the day’s stresses flow away. She’d been on matron-of-honor detail since first thing this morning. She hadn’t even seen Brady today, but she couldn’t wait to see him now in his tux. Little had they known when Zoe and Cruz had asked them to serve as maid of honor and best man that they’d be married themselves when the big day arrived. Crazy.

  But crazy good. A smile curled her lips as she eased forward, thinking back to the other night. To the way his lips had felt on her neck. On her mouth. At some point those passionate kisses would continue on into the bedroom. Some point soon, she thought.

  She moved into the doorway and, at Ruby’s signal, began the slow walk down the aisle. She looked to the front, her eyes seeking and finding her husband. He stood at Cruz’s side, his eyes homing in on her. His eyes smiled a split second before his lips turned up.

  As the quiet strains of “Marry Me” shifted to the chorus, Hope couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was gorgeous, her man. She was sure he’d looked this good at their own wedding, but she must’ve been too distracted to pay much mind. She was noticing now. So were her thumping heart and her laboring lungs and her wobbly knees.