by Smith, C. P.
As if she could sense he was looking for her, she pulled into the driveway not long after him, and it crossed his mind she could have been following him, watching him at the cemetery.
Exiting her car, she produced a huge smile for him as he got out of his own and waited for her to come to him. She was dressed to kill as always, but there seemed to be a bounce in her step as she walked towards him.
“Hey there, sugar, what a nice surprise,” Kat told Nic.
“Kat, you gotta minute?”
“For you, I’ve got the rest of my life,” she purred and tried to kiss his lips, but he turned his head to avoid them. Stepping to the side Nic started walking towards the front door as Kat followed, her high-heeled shoes clipping the sidewalk as she hurried behind him. Nic unlocked the door, then stood back, and let her pass before him. Kat’s hand brushed his stomach as she passed him, and she smiled sweetly at him, acting coy, demure.
“So what did ya wanna see me about, sugar? Nicky isn’t here he’s at soccer practice.”
Nic didn’t mince words he jumped right in and asked, “Did you leave me that article about Hope?”
“Article?” she lied and Nic saw the recognition in her eyes.
“Yeah, Kat, the article about Hope being attacked and almost killed by her husband.” He saw a flash of anger in her eyes, and he knew she had left it. Kat had expected him to read the story and not see an abused woman, but a murderer.
He looked towards her office where she kept her computer and started walking towards the door. Kat rushed forward asking, “What are you doing?”
“Getting the truth for once,” Nic replied and then opened the door and pushed past Kat.
On her desk was a sheet of paper with the name Jessica H. Cummings, Nevada and Nic picked it up and showed it to her, his jaw clenching in anger.
“It was for your own good, Nic. The woman is around our son, and you needed to know she was a killer.”
“Hope was attacked by a man who repeatedly beat her for ten years, she’s no killer,” Nic shouted.
“The same husband who sold drugs? Are you gonna stand there and tell me that she didn’t know, that she is innocent of everything? Come on, sugar, you're not that stupid.”
“I’m not gonna tell you anything. You’re gonna listen to me, and you listen good,” Nic ordered and then walked up to Kat using his size to intimidate his ex-wife. “She risked her life to get evidence to the police. That bastard would love to know where she is, and you have a bug up your ass thinking she is competition. I know you, and if you have any thoughts about making a phone call, I will sue you for full custody of Nicky. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“You’d choose that drug dealer’s wife over your own family?”
“I’d choose Hope over you any day of the week,” Nic roared, “Now; do you understand what I’m saying? If John Cummings so much as sniffs in her direction, so help me God, you will wish you’d never picked up that phone.”
Kat’s face paled, and her hand came up to her throat. She looked around the room, stalling, trying to come up with anything she could use as a defense against his threat and came up empty. So, she changed tactics. Kat looked back at Nic and announced, “You let that woman near my son, and I’ll sue you for full custody.”
“That threat won’t work and you know it. After what you pulled, with the connections I have in this town and the houses I’ve designed for sitting judges, I can make one phone call, and Nicky will be gone tonight,” Nic threatened back.
“You wouldn’t,” Kat whispered.
“Kat, the way I’m feeling right now you don’t want to test that, I promise you.”
“She’s a common bar maid, a drug dealer’s wife—”
Nic cut her off on a shout, “There is nothin' common about Hope.” Then it hit him like a lightning bolt, swift and powerful, how he felt about Hope, and it all sank in. Jesus, what had he done?
Urgency to leave and find Hope washed over him, and he looked at Kat and bit out, “Are we clear? You’ll keep your fuckin mouth shut, or I swear to Christ I’ll make a phone call, you hear me, Kat?” Nic ordered tired of her games.
She didn’t respond to his question; Kat looked caught in some trance, like she couldn’t’ quite believe what she was hearing. Done with her, Nic walked passed her heading for the front door as Kat called out, “Nic.” He ignored her as he rushed to his car and got in, squealing his tires to get back to the condo and talk to Hope.
When he arrived, he pounded on the door shouting, “Hope,” and when she didn’t answer, he tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. He walked in, saw her key on the kitchen counter and ran down the hall to the bedroom. Gone. She was gone.
“Sonofabitch,” Nic yelled and ran back to his car heading for The Bayou.
He reached it after a long five minutes with traffic clogging the roads. If he’d been looking at passing cars, he might have seen Hope in the back of a cab, unshed tears in her eyes as she headed towards the train station, but he was too busy cussing himself and the idiots in front of him.
Double-parking in front of the bar, Nic rushed in, passed Henri at the bar and threw open the door to the kitchen. He found Rose and Big Daddy huddled together; a cell phone in each one’s hand looking worried.
“Where is she?’ Nic shouted.
“You stupid, Cajun, sonofabitch, what take you so long?”
“Rose,” Nic rumbled low in his throat, silencing her, “Where the fuck is Hope?”
“She gone, I try to stop her, but she say she gonna leave wit’ or wit’out money, so I gave her what I owe her, and she leave. Headed to da’ train station she is. Here she left dis’ note for you,” Rose cried out and then handed him a letter. Nic opened it with shaking hands and read her tear-covered words that gutted him, leaving no doubt in his mind that he was the biggest fool that ever lived.
Nic,
Sorry, isn’t a big enough word for how I feel. No word can cover the depths of my regret. Just know that even though I lied, I did because I cared too much. I hurt you and I wished to God I hadn’t. I was scared to open up and then I was scared if I did, I would lose you. You've given me more love in the past month than I’ve had since my parents died, and I will always remember New Orleans as a time of hope for unrequited dreams.
Take care of Nicky, tell him I’m sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye, but I think it’s best for all concerned.
No more lies, Nic, you know everything except one thing. You were the best thing that's ever happened to me in my whole life, and I hope that someday you’ll find someone who makes you as happy as I was for a few short weeks. You deserve that and more.”
Hope~
Nic finished reading then swallowed the knot in his throat and mumbled “Oh, ma coeur, I’m gonna put you over my knee when I find you.”
Chapter Twenty
Dreams, simple things everyone has; dreams of riches, fame, love and family, or creating a perfect batch of gumbo. Some work hard to attain them, and some have them dropped in their laps and don’t appreciate them. Then there are some, no matter how hard they try, who can’t find a way to reach them. They drown in the sorrow of those unrealized dreams as they fight to grasp hold, only to have their fingertips brush them, giving them a sense of what it feels like to hold them in their hand. But, like anything in this life, if you don’t grab hold with a firm grip, what you try to hold onto will slip through your fingers if you don’t stay focused. Nic should have tightened his grip when he had hold. Should have seen what was in the palm of his hand, the beauty he possessed. Because just like the dreams Hope had of gentle hands to hold her, children to fill her heart while surrounded by family and friends who cared. Nic’s dream of a future filled with a woman he loved passionately—were slipping through his fingers with each tick of the clock.
Rushing from the Bar with Big Daddy in tow, they piled into his car still double-parked out front. Hope was ahead by thirty minutes, and he had no idea what train she was boarding. He wa
s prepared to bribe every ticket agent until he found the one who sold Hope her ticket.
As he drove swiftly through the streets, cars honking as he cut them off, Hope was purchasing a ticket for New York, final destination, Canada. She hoped to hide there from John until he was brought to trial and sentenced.
She made her way through the turnstiles, her eyes down to avoid the stares she was sure were there. She’d held her emotions in check all the way to the train station, but as she purchased her ticket, the realization that she was indeed leaving choked her and the tears she held at bay won out.
If Nic had seen those tears as he made his way faster still to the station, he would have ripped his own heart out at the sight. But, he was too busy cursing his own stupidity for doubting that the woman he’d held in his arms, made love to with a passion he hadn’t felt in years, was anything but the angel he knew she was, and if he didn’t reach her in time, he feared he’d never find her.
As Hope made her way to the train that would take her from the first place she’d felt safe, cared for, genuinely happy since her parent died, Nic was stuck at an intersection two blocks from the station. A collision between a car and truck had traffic at a standstill. Frustration mounting, Nic barked, “Fuck it,” and opened his door and told Big Daddy, “I’m running the last two blocks, meet me at the station when you can get through.” Then he took off running, his eyes on the train station as he jumped curbs, rounded stopped cars and threw his hands out to stop vehicles as he ran through a green light, not wasting a second to stop.
Hope handed her ticket to the conductor, and when the man smiled at her and saw the pain and tears in her eyes he asked, “You okay, miss?” Nodding, and then she shook her head no, she sucked in a breath and then answered, “I really enjoyed my time here and hate to leave.” The conductor laid a hand on her shoulder and leaned in telling her “The magic that is New Orleans stays with you your whole life. You come back soon and fill up again with Cajun dreams.”
Biting her lips to keep from breaking down, his words hitting too close to the heart of the matter, she nodded and then climbed the steps and made her way to her seat. She stored her bags underneath her seat, sat down, put her head to the window, and closed her eyes to block out the pain as Nic finally reached the station.
Running to the ticket counter he stepped in front of a large man who was next in line and ignored that man’s “Hey, back of the line,” as he leaned in and asked, “Blonde woman, petite, looks like an angel, did she buy a ticket from you?” The man behind the counter shook his head, and Nic moved down the line to the next agent and repeated the same question over and over until he found a woman who said, “Yes, sad woman, I was worried about her.”
“What train?”
“We aren’t supposed to give—“
“Her name is Hope, I screwed up, and if I don’t stop her, she’ll never know.” The older woman looked over her shoulder then clicked on her keyboard. “She bought a ticket for New York, and it leaves,” then she looked at the clock on the wall and said, “Now, platform four.”
Without so much as a thank you to the woman, Nic bolted away from the ticket counter, jumped the turnstile, and bumped and pushed his way down the hall to get to the train.
As Hope heard the conductor announce the departure, she took a deep breath and said her quiet goodbyes. Nic’s dark soulful eyes smiling back at her, Rose’s boisterous laugh, Big Daddy’s fatherly advice, all forefront in her mind as she heard the train’s engine begin to throttle. A knot formed in her throat, and the tears began to fall as Nic rushed to the platform shouting, “Hope.”
She didn’t hear his call; the windows were thick and the engine loud. He ran down the side of the train, looking through the windows at the passengers, searching for her blonde hair.
As the train started to pull forward, Nic shouted, “Stop the train,” to a conductor standing on the platform but the man shook his head. Nic kept moving forward running faster than the train as it pulled forward slowly to leave the station. He caught sight of blonde hair a car ahead and sprinted to the window and saw Hope with her eyes closed; head pressed against it. He shouted, but she didn’t hear him, so drew his fist back and punched the window hard.
Hope, eyes closed, her heart in pieces jumped when something hit her window, and she turned to see Nic running next to the train shouting at her. She froze at first; convinced her mind was playing tricks on her, and then mouthed “Nic?”
When Hope turned and looked at Nic, finally seeing him, he knew he didn’t have time to say anything, but “Get off the fuckin train, NOW.” He watched as her eyes grew wide, and she hesitated for an instant as he ran out of platform, and the train continued down the track. He stood there as car after car moved past him, but he kept his eyes on the train praying to God that she understood him.
Just as he thought she was gone, Hope emerged at the back of the train, and Nic ran to the edge and shouted, “Jump!”
Hope hesitated, then took a deep breath and launched herself onto the platform landing on her hands and knees, but only for a second. Nic scooped her up, and the minute she felt his arms around her the floodgates opened. She buried her head in his neck, and then wrapped her legs around his waist holding on tight, afraid to let him go. He’d come for her, like a white knight in a fairy tale; he’d come for her and was holding her in his arms, his mouth at her ear whispering, “Ma coeur je t’aim.”
Nic buried his head deeper in her neck, the realization he’d almost been too late seized him and he hissed, “Fuck, I almost lost you, I’m such an ass.”
They stood there; Hope wrapped around Nic like a monkey, her sobs in his ear as he tried to put into words how much of a fool he was and that he loved her. He fuckin’ loved her, and he hadn’t known it until he’d stared into the eyes of a woman he thought he’d loved when he married her. He hadn’t known what real soul-fulfilling love was, until he’d almost thrown it away because of his stupid pride. It doesn’t take years to fall in love when a person is your other half. Your heart recognizes them, sees them for what they are the minute you cross paths. The trick to finding them is to listen to your heart not your head.
“You came,” Hope whispered in his throat, amazed that he’d come after her, felt deep down that he hated her, and she was so confused.
“Always, angel, like I said, I’d rather cut my hand off than let you leave.”
Hope didn’t let go, didn’t’ want to let go, she kept her arms and legs around him as he walked down the platform so he could get his woman home and apologize in private. No eyes or ears to keep him from saying exactly what needed to be said.
“Nic?” Hope whispered in his ear.
“Yeah, baby?”
“Did you just tell me you love me in French?”
“Oui, ma douce amour,” he whispered back and then stopped, let her feet hit the ground and then raised his hands to cup her face. He wiped the tears from her eyes, kissed her forehead, her cheeks, and then her nose. He ran his thumb across her bottom lip and watched as her tongue snaked out and tasted his finger. He leaned down, nipped her bottom lip, both hands in her hair as he captured her mouth and poured his love into the kiss.
Hope whimpered as his tongue tangled with hers, still in shock that he’d come for her. When he wrapped an arm around her back lifting her off the floor so he could plaster her to his body, he deepened their kiss. The kiss felt like a new beginning like a door had opened, and together they were walking through it with no more secrets between them. It was a branding, a coming together as one and any hesitation she had about why he’d come after her were washed away when he mumbled against her lips.
“God gave me three gifts in this life; one he took too soon, one that makes me proud each day and one I never saw coming until she stumbled into my life and woke me up. I won’t take them for granted another day, and I’ll fight like hell to keep them safe,” Nic vowed then pulled back and said in all seriousness. “But, if you ever take off like that again I will put
you over my knee till you can’t sit for a week.”
“What?”
“Learn quickly, sugar . . . I will love you, fight with you, die for you, but I will also put your sweet ass over my knee if you run from me.”
“You wouldn’t?” Hope asked shocked, and maybe a little turned on.
“Oh, sugar, you wanna find out, try me and see what happens. Fair warning though, if you like it, I’ll find another way to punish you for running.”
“That train is looking better and better to me,” Hope announced.
“They have cars with beds, you wanna test me, have at it. I’ll make do with close quarters.”
“How come you never showed me this side before?”
“You were too busy looking over your shoulder to see what was right in front of you.”
“What was right in front of me?”
“Your future, angel, all six foot two inches of him,” Nic explained then brushed his lips across hers until she opened her mouth. Nic drank in the taste of her until he wanted to bury himself deep, and show her what it meant to be well and truly loved by a man who used his hands for pleasure, not pain.
“Nic,” Hope gasped as his lips brushed against her silky thigh. Then he gave her what she wanted when his mouth found her core. He ran his tongue through her folds finding the tiny bundle of nerves and he flicked her with his tongue. Her back arched off the bed; her hands yanked his head down to her pulsing center, needing relief, and he grinned at her.
He’d built her into a frenzy, his hands teasing her, his fingers finding a rhythm as he plunged deep inside her finding that spot that turns a fire into an inferno. He’d curled up his finger, tapped that spot that made her fly and she exploded on his hand, riding it hard. Nic watched the beauty that was Hope as she climaxed, and he felt the wetness drench his hand. She was so responsive to him, like she was made for him alone. Moving up her body, trailing kisses and nipping each nipple as he moved between her spread legs, she was waiting for him to anchor himself deep inside her silken heat, to bring them both to a climax that signaled the beginning of the rest of their lives.