by Annie Rains
Glancing at the clock on her kitchen wall, she got up and headed toward the bathroom to shower and get dressed for the rest of the day. She was meeting Alma’s family at the church later to help with whatever they needed. She also wanted to talk to them about who would take ownership of Sweet Cheeks now that Alma was gone. The puppy wasn’t fully trained, but she’d made a lot of improvement in her behavior over the last few weeks. She’d become a great pet.
Val glanced down at the fur ball at her feet. “Don’t worry. You’re going to find a good home. I promise.”
—
The day so far had been uneventful, which Griffin regretted. He’d gone to work that morning hoping for some kind of action to take his mind off Val. Instead, he’d spent the last eight hours driving around and thinking of nothing but the sassy brunette with a heart of gold.
Griffin stopped his vehicle and took Jaws for a walk to relieve himself. A few minutes later he tossed his partner a treat as he loaded him in the back of his Explorer to head back to the office. As he was pulling back onto the road, his receiver went off.
All officers needed.
There was a fight between some grunts in the barracks.
Griffin turned on his lights and pressed the gas. Adrenaline coursed through him as he made an illegal U-turn in the road—but he was the one who handed out the tickets here—and raced toward the scene.
He was the first car to arrive. He unloaded Jaws and took a steadying breath. “Just be cool,” he told Jaws, who was already pulling on his leash. “Down!” he commanded in a sharp tone. Then he led the way toward a three-story building that housed a couple dozen Marines. He could hear the commotion as he entered the first floor. He glanced behind him to see if any other police cars had arrived yet. Not yet, but he could hear sirens in the distance.
“Military police! What’s going on?” Griffin shouted as he broke through a small crowd toward the aggressors.
There were two men who looked like they wanted to kill each other. Not on his watch.
“Go away! We don’t need help!” one of them shouted, pointing a gun at the other guy.
Sirens were getting closer. That was a good thing, because most barracks fights didn’t involve guns.
Griffin pulled his own gun and shouted behind him for the crowd to get the fuck out. The less people standing around, the less potential for victims to get caught in the cross fire, the better.
“No, you get the fuck out of here, man!” the gunman barked at Griffin, heavy sweat lining his brow. Griffin suspected he’d been drinking.
“Just calm down. Let’s talk about what’s going on,” he said.
“What’s going on?” The gunman shook his head, pointing his revolver at the unarmed grunt in front of him.
Who said the only danger in being a Marine was in war?
Griffin heard the entry doors to the barracks open. Backup was coming.
“This douchebag fucked my girlfriend. That’s what’s going on,” the gunman shouted. “What kind of brother fucks another man’s girl?”
The other Marine shook his head. “It just happened. She came on to me.”
“You’re a liar! A motherfucking liar!” The man shook his gun as he yelled.
Griffin kept his gun steady. “Just release—”
The man turned his gun toward Griffin.
“Put the gun down now!” Griffin ordered. From the corner of his eye, he could see Jaws maintaining a ready posture beside him. Ready but not trigger-happy this time. Good dog.
The gunman swayed drunkenly, then aimed his gun at the other Marine again. “I loved her and you had sex with her,” he said. He stumbled forward with his gun.
Jaws reacted like he’d been trained to do, not a moment too soon. He charged toward the gunman.
Griffin’s first instinct was to disable the gunman, but the other Marine was in the way and the hallway was too narrow.
A gunshot reverberated through the room and Jaws went down.
“You asshole!” Griffin growled, relieved to see officers swarming the back of the room. In all the commotion, they’d entered from both sides of the hallway. The gunman was surrounded.
“Drop your gun!” one of the backup officers shouted.
“Oh, God. I didn’t mean to shoot,” the gunman said, shaking his head. The slur in his voice increased.
Griffin’s gaze flicked to Jaws on the ground. The gunman hadn’t meant to, but he’d shot Jaws. “Drop your gun now!” Griffin ordered.
Slowly, the gunman lowered his gun.
“Drop it!”
The revolver fell to the ground with a loud clang of metal.
Griffin waited for another officer to cuff the Marine before he went to Jaws, whose breathing was rapid and shallow.
“What’s going on, Officer Black?” Officer Rodriguez wanted to know.
Griffin’s hands were shaking as he stroked Jaws’s fur. “I need to attend to my partner.”
Jaws whimpered on the ground, blood pooling from his abdomen.
“Do you have this, Rodriguez?” Griffin asked. There were at least half a dozen other officers in the room. Where were they five minutes ago?
“I got it. You go. Take care of your partner.”
Griffin scooped Jaws up in his arms and carried him to the vehicle. Jaws had to live. Griffin couldn’t stand to lose something, or someone else, who was important to him this week.
—
Val hesitated before walking into Seaside Harbor. She had her bag of books draped across her shoulder for the book club to pick their next book, hoping they’d still want to do the club with her. They’d been great last night, but maybe, like Griffin, they’d decided she’d lied to them. Or used them, or whatever Griffin was thinking. She didn’t know what he was thinking because he wasn’t talking to her.
“Hey, Louise,” Val said, suddenly worried about the head nurse’s reaction, too. She didn’t worry long. Louise would never judge her.
Louise smiled from behind the reception desk. “Hey, Ms. Evans.”
Val grinned. “You heard?”
“Oh, yes, indeed. You are quite the popular topic among the women around here. They’re all so excited to know a local celebrity.”
“I don’t know about being a celebrity.” Val clung to the bag of books on her shoulder, feeling better already.
“The only person you don’t seem to be popular with is Griffin. What happened between you two?”
Good question. “What do you mean?”
“He called to check on Helen and didn’t even laugh at my flirting. He always laughs at my flirting. Did you two get in a fight or something?”
Val shrugged. “I’m not sure.”
Louise wagged a finger. “Well, you need to make up with that man. He’s one of the good ones.”
“He is good,” Val agreed. Or she’d thought so.
“Let’s keep your sex life out of this, all right?” Louise said.
Val’s mouth dropped. “I meant he’s a good guy, not a—” She pointed a finger. “You need to pull your mind out of the gutter, Louise.”
“Look who’s talking.” The head nurse raised a brow. “Now you’ve even got me reading romance.” She pulled a book from under her desk. “This was Alma’s.”
Val swallowed. “I wish she could’ve finished reading it.”
Louise tilted her head. “Didn’t he tell you?”
Val stepped closer. “Tell me what?”
“He read the rest of the book to her.”
Chills spread over Val’s body. “Griffin?” she asked.
Louise chuckled softly. “No, honey. Your father. He came to read Bible passages, and when he was done Alma asked him to finish reading the romance novel.”
Val’s hand was over her heart now. “I can’t believe that.”
“Believe it. And if you want to know the truth, I think your father liked it.”
Val laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. “I have to go see my ladies in the book club. You should join
us. Seeing that you read the book, too.”
“Maybe I will.”
—
Griffin signed his name to the report on that day’s shooting and took a breath. He’d left Jaws at the veterinarian’s office and come back to his office. His cellphone was beside him, though, so he’d be privy to any more news about Jaws.
Hopefully good news. He needed good news this week.
Troy patted his back as he walked up and sat down beside him. “How’s Jaws doing?”
Griffin swallowed. “He’s in surgery. The veterinarian thinks he’ll live, but no promises.”
“Fuck, yeah, he’ll live. He’s a fighter.”
Griffin nodded as he recapped his pen. “Yeah. The irony is, he reacted just the way he was supposed to on that scene. He didn’t budge until the gunman came at us. He was ready.”
“You spent a lot of time training him. It sunk in, like we knew it would.”
Griffin sighed. “Well, if he lives, he won’t be eligible to stay on the K-9 unit. He’ll never be one hundred percent again.”
Troy shook his head. “I’m sorry, man. I really am.”
“Thanks.”
“So how’s the girl? The one you got naked with on my property?”
Troy was trying to lift Griffin’s spirits, but that was the wrong topic of conversation.
Griffin turned and looked at him again. “How did you know that?”
“I didn’t.” Troy laughed. “I just assumed. The kids in Paradise Point don’t call that place Make-Out Point for nothing. That’s why I posted all the NO TRESPASSING signs.”
Griffin smiled for the first time all day. “Val actually isn’t a good subject right now.”
Troy frowned. “What happened? Did you break her heart?”
“Not exactly.”
Troy’s gaze narrowed. “Don’t tell me she broke your heart, Mr. Badass Himself.”
Griffin sent his pen rolling on the desktop. “I’m not sure we were ever for the long haul.” As much as he’d started to think they were. Not if Val was willing to keep things from him. Not if she thought everything between them this summer had just been for fun.
Griffin turned and looked at Troy. “I’m meeting Micah and Lawson at Heroes for drinks later if you want to come. They think it’ll help to keep my mind off Jaws.”
Troy nodded. “Sounds good. Maybe I’ll meet you there.”
“Great, man. Hope to see you.” Griffin watched Troy walk out. Then he collected his signed report of what had happened and dropped it in Charlie Myer’s office mailbox.
He made the short drive home and took Trooper for a walk, glancing at his cellphone every few minutes to check for messages from Dr. Rogers. Still no news.
Waiting was the worst. He wished he could call Val. She had become a beacon of hope to him over the last couple of months. She made impossible things seem possible. Val would tell him that Jaws would be okay. That it wasn’t his fault. And somehow she’d make him believe her.
Griffin stuffed his cellphone back in his jeans pocket. He wasn’t calling Val. What could they say to each other to change things? The fun was over now and it was time to move on.
His phone buzzed and for a moment he wondered, halfway hoped, it was her. He pulled it to his ear. “Hello.”
“Mr. Black?”
Griffin straightened. “Dr. Rogers. How’s Jaws?”
“He’s doing well. We’re giving him pain medicine, but he’s stable now. And I have every reason to believe he’s going to stay that way.”
Griffin blew out a breath. “That’s great news. Thank you, Dr. Rogers. When can I come get him?”
“I want to watch him for a few nights. Maybe early next week,” Dr. Rogers said.
Griffin thanked him again and then hung up. At least that was one worry dissolved. All the others would melt away at Heroes with the guys tonight. One beer at a time.
Chapter 24
On Saturday morning Val turned from side to side in the mirror. She’d never looked good in black. She preferred to wear shades of color. Today, though, was about honoring Alma, and paying her respects.
Sweet Cheeks whined at her feet. None of Alma’s family had stepped up to take the little pup, so Val was Sweet Cheeks’s new owner. Just as well. A dog would never leave her, no matter what she did. A dog was faithful, unlike her bad boy muse this summer. Griffin had proved to be exactly what she’d thought he was from the start—fading.
Val stepped into her two-inch heels and walked into the kitchen, getting the feel for the height so she wouldn’t kill herself in the church in an hour. She grabbed her keys and left her home. Val was almost always late for her father’s sermons, but she wouldn’t be late for his service for Alma.
The church was nearly empty when she arrived. Val walked to the front pew where she always sat alone and took her seat, taking a few deep breaths to prepare herself. She was saying goodbye to a friend today, which would be hard. She was also quite sure she’d be running into Griffin here, which would also be hard. She’d tried like hell to get the memory of him out of her mind over the last few days—to rid her body of its yearnings for him—but it was useless.
Val saw her father approaching her from the corner of her eye. They hadn’t spoken since he’d seen Griffin leaving her home the other morning. A cringe-worthy moment for her that she’d also tried to get out of her mind. And for all she knew her father had also now heard about her career as a romance writer.
“Good morning, Valerie,” he said, standing in front of her in his best black suit. He was wearing his emerald-colored tie, which she was glad for. Alma had always complimented him when he’d worn that tie.
Val forced herself to lift her gaze to meet her father’s. She was done hiding who she was. “Hey, Dad.”
“How are you holding up?” he asked, true concern shining in his blue eyes.
A lump rode up in Val’s throat. Today might be even harder than she suspected. “I’m okay. Alma will be missed. I hear you, uh, read her our book club selection.”
His lips curved a touch. “I’ve never been one to deny someone a dying wish. It was good.” He held her gaze. “Very good.”
Val swallowed, still unsure of what her father knew.
“I was wondering if you could do something for the church later,” he said, clearing his throat.
Right. She couldn’t have a conversation with her father without being assigned an errand. “Cooking for a family? Cleaning up after the service? What did you have in mind, Dad?” Didn’t he understand that she was grieving this morning, too? She’d loved Alma.
His eyes warmed. “Well, news travels fast in Seaside. A few of the ladies have asked me if I can get you to sign their books.”
Val looked up. “And you’re condoning that?”
He shrugged. “I’m your father. It’s my job to support you, whatever you do.” He sat down in the empty space beside her, filling it for the first time since she was nine. “You are more and more like your mother every day. When I see you…” His eyes welled. It’d been a long time since Val had seen her father cry. “Sometimes it hurts when I see you, Val, because you look and act so much like her. I’m sorry if you felt like you couldn’t share this part of yourself with me.”
She touched his arm. It wasn’t a pass for all the cold years when she’d felt like her father’s servant, but she loved him. She’d forgive him anything.
“Your mother would be so proud of you, sweetheart,” he said, turning to her. His gaze lowered to the pearls around her neck. “I am so proud of you.”
Her heart squeezed. She’d known she was going to cry this morning, but not before the funeral had even started. Leaning over, she wrapped her arms around her father’s neck and held on tight. “Thank you, Dad. Hearing you say that means so much to me.”
After a long moment they pulled back. The church was beginning to fill with people there to pay their respects. Val watched her father retreat to the bench behind the podium. She dug through her purse and found s
ome Kleenex and started dabbing under her eyes.
As much as she wanted to, she didn’t turn to look back at who had come. To see if Griffin had come. They were over, she reminded herself.
It was a beautiful service, celebrating Alma’s life. She’d lived a long, full eighty-eight years and had done so much for the people around her. After her father’s closing words, the crowd departed to meet back at the cemetery. Val, on the other hand, stayed to help put together the buffet-style meal that the church always served the family after the burial. Her father hadn’t asked her to this time—she’d offered freely. She needed to do something to help the family.
“Val?” a man’s voice said behind her as she stood from the pew. There was no denying who the voice belonged to. She turned, hoping there wasn’t mascara gooped under her eyes.
“Griffin.” Just saying his name lit up every cell in her body.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
It was all she could do not to step forward and bury herself in his arms. “I miss Alma already.”
He was wearing a nice blue button-down shirt with a tie. Not a look she’d seen on Griffin before. The last time she’d seen him here he’d stuck out like a sore thumb, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. This look suited him, too. It surprised her that he fit so well here.
But he didn’t fit with her. Not anymore.
“How is your mom?” she asked.
He braced his hands on the back of the pew in front of him. “She’s okay. I tried to tell her about Alma, but she doesn’t remember her. Or me most days…She asked about you.”
“She did?” Val fidgeted with her hands, struggling to keep them from touching Griffin the way she wanted to. “I haven’t gone to see her in a few days. I need to get over there.”
He nodded. “My mother adores you. You’ve been great with her this summer.”
“The feeling is mutual. I’ll, uh, stop by and see her tomorrow afternoon,” Val promised, moving her gaze around the room, anywhere but on him. Because he didn’t love her back. He’d made that loud and clear the other night.