A Long Way Home
Page 25
Newman started to rise as Jay Herald ran at Cubby, knocking him to the ground. He then threw off his backpack and started back down the trail. Seconds later, Newman was on his tail, with Tex on his.
The guy was quick, he’d give him that, but he was also scared, whereas Newman was enraged. He wanted the man to pay for what he’d done to Hope, and pay dearly.
Closing in on him, Newman leapt, and came down on Herald. They both tumbled to the ground. Rolling several times, Newman ensured Jay was beneath him, then smashed his fist into the man’s face twice.
“Get him off.” He heard Cubby’s voice, and then hands were pulling him off Jay.
“I’m not done!”
“I can say it’s resisting arrest at this stage, bud. But if you kill him, things could get sticky.”
Slowly the red film over his eyes receded, and he looked down at the man at his feet.
“Let me go, Tex. I won’t hit him again.”
Cubby dragged Jay to his feet and cuffed him, then glared at Newman, Buster, and Tex.
“One word about him knocking me down, and I’m throwing you all in a cell together.”
Raising his hands, Newman smiled for the first time in days. Hope is safe, and that , Newman thought, is a bloody wonderful thing .
Between them they marched Jay into the Lair. As luck would have it, Ms. Linear and her daddy were there, demanding to see Cubby.
“Jay!” Casey ran to his side. “Why is he in handcuffs? Release him at once!”
“He’s under arrest, Ms. Linear,” Cubby said calmly. “It was he who committed those crimes against you and your team.”
Newman walked through the reception and into the cells. He found Hope still locked behind bars, but this time it was her father only who sat on the cot beside her.
“Newman!” She ran to meet him. “Your face!”
“I’m okay. Give me the keys, sweetheart, it’s over.”
She retrieved them and handed them to him. He unlocked the door and hauled her close.
“It was Jay, baby. He did it all. Supposedly he was scared you were threatening legal action against Wildlife. Cubby and Katie dug into his past and found he’d done what he did to you before.”
The door opened and in came Cubby with Jay. Casey Rae Linear followed, devastation written all over her face.
“How could you, Jay?”
“Go away, Casey. The only good to come out of this arrest is that I don’t have to put up with your tantrums and bullshit anymore.”
As he walked by Hope, he smirked.
“John Finch should have been working with a pro like me. Not an amateur.”
Newman didn’t see her move, but she stuck out her foot, and Jay tripped into the cell, hitting the ground hard, as his hands were cuffed behind his back.
“Pretty boy like you, Jay, should do really well in prison,” she said, before walking out the door with Newman and her father on her heels.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
“ I hate this center of attention stuff,” Buster groused from beside Newman. “I asked Willow to elope, but she wasn’t having it.”
“Suck it up, baker boy, it’s her day. Dress, the whole deal, it’s what some women like.”
“Not your woman?”
“No, Hope’s different.” And he loved her for it.
“I saw her wearing a lemon dress, so not that different as it turns out.”
“We compromised.”
“I thought it was a bit understated for Hope.”
Newman just smiled, remembering the robust discussion they’d had. She’d gone for a compromise on her clothing for today. Dress and shitkickers. If he was being truthful, he liked her wacky style now. It suited her personality.
“You like living with her?”
“Surprisingly, I really do. She’s messy where I’m tidy, and we think differently, but for all that, it’s working.” Especially waking up with Hope in his arms. He’d never tire of that.
“Everything looks awesome, Newman,” Buster said, sounding like he’d choked on something.
They all stood on the edge of his property, with the lake at their back. He, Buster, Tex, and Jake were dressed in chinos and white shirts, because as the groom had stated, no way in hell was he wearing a suit!
They’d worked hard to make the place look special, and it did. Flowers in pots, rose petals scattered down the aisle instead of carpet, like he’d wanted. Hope had won that round. The arch was covered in an array of colorful flowers and greenery.
“Even the sun’s out for you, bud,” Tex said, looking relaxed. He and Jake had done this already, it was now Buster’s turn, and one day soon, Newman’s. Not that he’d asked her yet, but he would.
“Game on,” Newman said softly as the music started. He saw her then, his girl. She was backing out the door, camera poised. She snapped off a few shots, then turned and hurried a few feet.
The dress was soft and silky, and stopped a few inches above her knees. She wore a circlet of flowers in her hair, which she’d left loose. The little silver chain he’d given her was around her wrist, and her long legs were bare. The boots finished the outfit.
Buster made a sound when Willow stepped into view on her father’s arm. The dress had tiny straps and fitted her body like a glove. All lace, it really suited her. Her hair was high and loose, and dotted with flowers. Her feet were bare.
“Need me to slap you about a bit, baker boy? You’re looking peaky.”
“Like hell,” he muttered, eyes firmly focused on Willow. “Lord, would you look at her. She’s so beautiful.”
They all agreed. Hope moved closer. Newman winked at her, and she winked back.
The service ran smoothly, except for Rose demanding to go to her parents, and her doting grandparents trying to quiet her while everyone laughed.
After that they ate, drank, and then the candles were lit outside as the sun started to go down. Newman was excused from his best-man duties, and went looking for Hope, who had still been taking photos when last he’d seen her.
“Your girl’s taking in the sunset from the lower level,” Declan said, walking by with two glasses of champagne.
“Thanks.” Newman made for the end of his property, then down the stairs he’d had built that led to another viewing platform. This one held a swing seat and was private. He was pleased to find only Hope there.
“Hey, you.”
She was leaning on the rail, camera poised as she snapped.
“Hey back.”
“You about done with the photography?”
“Yup.” She took off the camera and lowered it to the seat. “Now I want to be kissed, because after looking at you dressed like that for the entire day and not being able to touch you, I’m about ready to jump you.”
His eyes crossed.
“Ha ha, you’re so easy, Paul Newman.”
She moved closer and slipped her arms around his neck. Newman burrowed his nose in her hair and inhaled.
“My father called me this morning, Newman.”
“What’d he say?”
“That he wants me to go visit him and his family, and meet my brothers and sister.”
“Sounds like a plan, when do we leave?”
Her sigh was soft. “I like that I’m part of a ‘we.’ Especially with you.”
“Marry me.”
“Sure, but I don’t do all the big stuff. Having said that, this was fun, so maybe one like this and I’ll cope.”
He looked at her.
“Sure? I ask you the most important question I’ve ever asked anyone, and you say sure.”
“Yes, then? You honor me, maybe? How about, yes, oh great one?” She was giving him that cheeky smile he’d only recently discovered. She told him it was because she was happy and content, two things she’d never really been in her life before. Her words had humbled him.
“I like the last one best.”
“I guessed you might.” She touched his face, running a finger over his eyebrows and the
n down a cheek. “How is it that the thought of being apart from you now makes me desperate? That in you I’ve got what I never believed I wanted.”
“What?” He took her finger and kissed it.
“You make me dependent, and I don’t mean weak. I mean that in you I’ve found someone who understands the person I need to be, and accepts me for it. Mr. Perfect loves me for me, and now I need you in my life.”
“You think it’s any different for me?” He kissed the pad of her thumb. “I’m stronger now. I can say no to people, and even my dad can’t hurt me. You’ve done that to me, Hope. You alone.”
She cupped his cheeks. “Love me?”
“Always,” he replied, as he always did when she asked him. “You?”
“Always.”
He held her then, and together they watched the sun go down. His love, his life, forever and always.
THE END
THANK YOU!
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SOMEBODY TO LOVE
He was the bad boy no one trusted
Bailey’s burned out, and not sure what led her back to Ryker Falls, but has a feeling it’s got something to do with closure. Bad boy Joe Trainer had once been her soulmate, but she wasn’t sure she had a soul anymore. Finding he’d made something of his life is a shock, as he’d been on a one-way trip to hell when she left. This new Joe is sexy and enticing, but she knows all too well there’s a devil underneath the urbane exterior.
She was the good girl who never broke the rules
When Joe finds his childhood friend, Bailey Jones, has returned to Ryker Falls, his life suddenly shifts from settled to off-center. Once they’d been closer than anyone ever guessed; now, they’re chilly strangers. But Joe’s not letting his stubborn, sexy-as-hell ex-bestfriend stay closed off. He lost her once through his own stupidity this time he’s never letting her go. Joe knows he doesn’t deserve a second chance, but he’s never played by the rules before so he’s not starting now. Game on.
Preorder available now!
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