Best Of My Love

by N. D. Jackson

  “There is no problem so mind your damn business.”

  Seriously? “Well since she asked you to leave and you’re in front of my house, that makes it my business.” Arms crossed Dre glared at the woman she couldn’t help but feel nothing but contempt for even though she knew the feeling was irrational.

  “Just because you’re fucking my husband doesn’t mean you’re her mother.”

  Dre laughed at just how ridiculous this situation had become. “And just because you gave birth doesn’t make you a mother. Now run along or else I’ll have to call Erick.” And the police but she didn’t bother to say that. “Want to go around back with me Orchid?” The girl nodded and put her little and in mine.

  “You should ask yourself what you were doing wrong if he slept with me.” Calista was doing her best to make Dre angry, fortunately she didn’t find the woman worth her time.

  “When you’re just a hole to fill, you can expect there will always be someone around to fill it.” With that parting shot she turned and found Orchid already digging in the dirt inside the trough.

  “Whatcha planting?”

  Dre explained about each of the herbs starting with the basil, letting her smell each one. “We can use this to cook or to make lotion,” she handed her the rosemary next when she felt them being watched. “Get out of here,” she barked at the woman who stood in her yard, phone already out and dialing first Erick and then Sarah.

  “That’s my kid you have there!” Her eyes were wide, wild as they darted around the yard and her voice grew louder. “You can’t take my child from me. That’s kidnapping!” With a stiff smile she froze and pulled out her own phone and Dre knew her day was about to get a whole lot worse.

  “Just get off my property. This is a stand your ground state, isn’t it,” she pondered aloud, feeling almost no satisfaction when it sent the diminutive woman out to the sidewalk.

  Ten minutes later Dre found herself in the middle of drama that would spread through Emerald Cove like wildfire. Two cop cars sat outside her rental with her in back of one and Calista in the other, Orchid standing beside her, crying and apologizing. “I’m so sorry Dre.”

  She smiled at the little girl with the big heart. “This isn’t your fault honey, okay? There’s your grandma, go say hi.” But she stayed where she was as Sarah made her way over to one of the officers, a dark scowl on her face.

  “Ma’am a kidnapping charge was made, what do you expect us to do?”

  “Use some damn common sense! Get Dre out of there right this minute, you know that’s the Sheriff’s daughter!”

  The man paled and helped her from the back of the patrol car. “Don’t apologize for doing your job. I get it.” She rubbed her wrists and made her way back to her porch. “You should probably get her out of here,” she told Sarah with a sad smile. “Thanks for keeping me company Orchid.”

  She ran up to Dre again and hugged her. “You’re welcome Dre. I love you.”

  “Love you too, kiddo.” With a sad smile Dre watched them go, knowing that if she were anywhere but Emerald Cove she would be sitting in jail right now. Thank goodness for small favors.

  “Where is she? Where is my daughter?” Erick’s car pulled up, barely letting coming to a stop before he hopped out and approached the closest officer. “Orchid, where is she?” His question came out frantic and he wore a panicked look as he scanned the area for his child.

  The uniformed officer spoke softly to Erick who flashed a look toward Dre before he marched to the other patrol car. To her. Why that move impacted her in anyway, she refused to examine but let the pain settle deep inside her. Such a simple move yet she found it difficult to swallow or blink in that moment. Dre watched the animated conversation he had with Calista, hardly able to look away. Burying her head in her hands, Dre sat on the porch and decided to stop torturing herself. They were a couple with a history and they looked every bit of that in the moment.

  “What were you thinking?”

  She looked up, certain she hadn’t heard those words and that tone directed at her. Not in his voice. “Excuse me?”

  “What in the hell were you thinking, antagonizing her like that!”

  Wow. “Really, Erick? Is that what you’re going with?” She stood and noticed the patrol cars leaving. Thankfully. “Fuck you!”

  “Seriously you could have gotten locked up. For kidnapping!”

  Dre scoffed. “I have a great lawyer on retainer so spare me your fake concern.” She definitely needed a do over for this day. Maybe the entire summer. “First of all, Orchid was out on her own when I heard her telling some anonymous adult to go away because you would be upset. I went to check on her and it was your ex-wife. She wouldn’t leave no matter what Orchid said so your daughter ran to me. For safety.” His angry gaze burned and her shoulders slumped. “You know what? Forget it. It doesn’t matter.” Not anymore, and now that the block was empty she decided to go inside and end this conversation.

  “She told me what you said Dre. You couldn’t just let it go, could you? No,” he shook his head. “You never could. It was a million years ago and you’re still angry. Just get the hell over it!”

  Dre felt her insides go cold and she nodded, knowing they were done. “Whatever you need to believe, Erick. Goodbye.” She didn’t wait for him to say more as she stepped inside her rental and twisted the lock. She refused to cry, not again. And not over this man. Nope, not again.

  Fuck that.

  “Things won’t get fixed by scowling at your breakfast Erick.” Sarah’s eyes filled with concern but just underneath he spotted a hint of censure.

  He sighed at the fried eggs on his plate. They looked no more appealing than a pile of sludge in his current state of mind. Nothing tasted good anymore. Even his bestselling lobster bisque held the consistency of cardboard. For three days he hadn’t been able to eat or sleep, sucking back nothing but sparkling water to get rid of the sick feeling in his gut and then coffee because he couldn’t manage a decent night of sleep. “Yeah Ma, I know.”

  “Then what the hell are you waiting for?”

  “She hasn’t called at all. What if she doesn’t want to speak to me?” He thought after she calmed down she might reach out to him but when days passed and she didn’t, he knew. He’d made a monstrous miscalculation. One that just might ruin his last chance with Dre.

  Sarah laughed. “You can bet your sweet ass she doesn’t want to talk to you and I don’t blame her one bit. But if you want to salvage what’s left between you two, go to her.”

  He nodded. Ma was right, he’d already waited too long, taking the coward’s way out by hoping she’d come to him. Why should she come to him when he’d messed up? Big time.

  Five days. Five long insufferable days without a word from Dre, without setting eyes on her and he was miserable. “I’m going now.” He pushed away from the table and dropped his plate in the sink. “Leave the dishes Ma. I’ll do them when I get back.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice,” she laughed and wiped her hands on her hips, watching him with an amused smile as he rushed through the house and out the front door. Almost.

  “Daddy! Daddy!” Orchid barreled down the steps as though someone was chasing her. “Where are you…oh there you are.” She jumped into his arms and smacked a kiss on his cheek. “Good morning Daddy.”

  “Good morning sweet pea, did you sleep well?” He held her small body in his arms, noting how much taller she was these days.

  “Yes and I want to go see Dre today. Before she leaves.”

  Erick frowned. “Leaves?” He hadn’t heard a word about Dre leaving.

  “Yep. She came over when I was at Zoe’s to say goodbye. I gave her a hug but I didn’t tell her I loved her and Grandma says it’s important to let people know how you feel about them.” She smiled over at Sarah. “Do you think she knows that I love her Grandma?”

  “I’m sure she does.” Sarah told her with a sweet, indulgent smile.

  Erick was equally sure Dre doub
ted his love for her after the way he treated her the other day. “You and Grandma are going shopping today. Maybe you can stop by Dre’s house later, okay?”

  “Okay,” she pouted and wiggled out of his grasp. “What’s for breakfast?”

  He took a few more minutes to whip up pancakes for Orchid before kissing both women goodbye and taking the short walk to Cedarwood to talk to Dre. Finally. His nerves were on edge because he never knew what he’d get with Dre. She could be in a forgiving mood though that option was less likely given her silence. Best case scenario, she planned to ignore him until she left town but Erick steeled himself for her sharp tongue. For words meant to do more than wound but to flay. Enough of that, he admonished and shook his head, squared his shoulders and walked up the stairs where he knocked instead of using the bell. A full minute passed before the door opened but it wasn’t Dre, it was a slightly ripped blonde guy. Without a shirt. “Never mind.” He couldn’t believe it. Five days and she already had found someone else. She hadn’t even given him a chance to apologize before finding someone else to warm her bed. Goddammit!

  “Erick, right?”

  He stopped and turned, acid burned in his gut. “What if I am?”

  He smirked. “I know what you’re thinking and you can just forget it. Come on in.”

  He frowned at the brazen man inviting him into his house. “Yeah and how do you know that?”

  The man waited until Erick turned and retraced his steps, smile never leaving his face, before he introduced himself. “Burke Black, VP of Red Rock Designs. Nice to finally meet you.”

  Dre’s friend and business partner. Though what kind of friend answered the door shirtless was anybody’s guess and with Dre he never could tell. “Is she here?”

  Burke shook his head, floppy blonde hair moving with every twist. “Nope. Left for California after her dad stopped by to take her statement over the day’s skirmish. Our Dre is a runner.” He smacked his lips, an affectionate frown on his face.

  He knew it was true but damn, it stung to have someone else know her well enough to know that. Though she hadn’t always been a runner, he’d made her one. “More like she went home though, right?”

  “Maybe. But it’s more like her refuge. Coffee?” He didn’t wait for Erick to accept his invitation, he stead walked deeper into the house until they were in the kitchen. Just like Dre. “She didn’t say why she was running this time but I’m betting you know?”

  Yeah he knew and the blame lay squarely at his feet. “I knew when she didn’t even bother to defend herself that I didn’t have the whole story but I couldn’t stop myself.” He’d been so scared and angry when he heard his daughter’s name with the word kidnapping, he hadn’t waited for details just took off for Dre’s place. “She never gives up a chance to prove herself right, and then rub it in.” He shook his head as that day replayed in his mind, of all the mistakes he’d made and couldn’t undo. When Orchid had confirmed the truth later, he should have run back to Dre, thrown himself at her feet and begged forgiveness then. Instead he waited.

  Too long apparently.

  Burke laughed and shook his head as he handed Erick an oversized mug of coffee. “That’s for damn sure. I remember every single time I’ve won an argument with her because that’s how rare it is.”

  That sounded exactly like the Dre he’d befriended and later fallen in love with. “You have no idea where she’s gone?”

  “Not for certain, no. I know she had to fly to Turkey to take care of a client but she didn’t say how long she would stay there or where she might go next.”

  Turkey? “I can’t believe she ran again.”

  “Why not? You’re her kryptonite, man. The one thing guaranteed to make her run like the wind.” Burke sat back, eyeing him carefully. “What did you do? Exactly.”

  Erick took a deep breath, contemplating how much he wanted to share with this man but in the end he knew Dre would likely tell him the whole sordid story anyway. So he gave Dre’s second in command a very condensed version of what happened. “So instead of yelling at me, she left me.” He wanted to say again but knew that wouldn’t be fair. She’d done what she had to do to get away from what he’d done to her. To them.

  Burke’s surfer boy good looks darkened. He set his coffee mug down, elbows digging into the table as he leaned forward. “Why do you even want Dre back? It’s clear you don’t trust her and you obviously don’t think very much of her if you think she’d taunt your kid’s mom in front of her!”

  He felt like being a bastard because who in the hell was this guy to question his motives? Dre didn’t need anyone to fight her battles, least of all this guy. “What’s it to you, trying to figure out the competition’s playbook?”

  He barked out a laugh that Erick found more than little irritating. Clutching his flat sculpted belly with one hand and pounding on the table with another, he continued to laugh until Erick thought that he might be offended. “Oh please! Dre is like a sister to me. My best friend. I love her but I’m not in love with her.” His expression turned serious and his gaze took on a faraway look. “When I met her she was running herself ragged, working nearly every aspect of the company and doing a damn good job of doing it all. But she was exhausted and I was at loose ends. My dad had just died, leaving me more money than I knew what to do with and there was Dre. Abrasive, sarcastic and brilliant. Offered me a job and later an investment opportunity, and we’ve been a team ever since. She’s my family.”

  It hurt like hell to know there was someone out there in the world who knew Dre better than he did. “She’s not close to her actual family.”

  He nodded. “Neither am I. Just another thing to commiserate over during the holidays. I’m rooting for you Erick, I really am. But if you hurt her again I’ll be forced to kick your ass.”

  Too late. He wondered if there was a limit on how many shitty things you could do to a person before you were beyond redemption. Dre had never been the most forgiving type before he’d hurt her. Now he had a feeling she might consider him, them, beyond forgiveness. “She hasn’t returned my calls for five damn days.”

  “Did you really expect her to? She was protecting your kid, who she should by all rights hate. But she doesn’t. She cares about that kid, loves her I would say. And you lashed out at her, taking the word of the woman you cheated on her with, over hers.” He leaned back and tapped his chin in the universal sign for thinking. “Gee I can’t figure out why she didn’t call you back.”

  “You’re a real asshole, you know that?”

  Burke grinned. “Thanks for noticing. But I also happen to be right.”

  Yeah. “It does sound bad when you say it that way.”

  “Sorry man but it is bad. She held it together but I know the minute she was on the jet she cried until she ran dry.” He glared so hard he looked like a different man entirely. “The only reason I’m talking to you is because I know she never got over you, or what you did to her. So if there’s a chance you’re somehow her happy ending, I’ll help however I can.”

  Damn. That had been the last thing he’d expected to hear. “What’s wrong with you that you didn’t fall in love with her yourself?”

  “We’re both too damaged in the same way. Cynical and sarcastic and highly efficient. We’re kindred spirits and that’s too beautiful to fuck up with great sex.”

  “Great,” Erick asked, sable brows arched in question.

  He shrugged. “I told you we’re close. We talk about things. Everything.”

  Erick blew out a long breath and sat back, cupping the now lukewarm coffee in his hands. “What if she can’t forgive me?”

  “Find a way to make it impossible for her not to forgive you.”

  Not exactly specific advice meant to help but Erick knew what he meant. “Yeah, thanks Burke. I guess I better get used to having you around.” His laugh came deep and raucous. “Just try putting on a shirt once in a while, all right?”

  He laughed again. “I’ll see what I can do. But I make n
o promises.”

  He stood and rinsed out his mug before stopping beside the man. “You’ll let me know if you hear from her?”

  “Are you kidding? I can’t wait to see this play out,” He said a little too happily.

  Erick didn’t care. If it meant tracking Dre down and making her listen to his apology, making her his again, he would take all the joking the California blonde could dish out. “See you around Burke. Come to Maverick’s for dinner. On me.” He left then, smiling for the first time in days.

  Dre I’m coming for you and this time I won’t let you go.

  Chapter Twenty

  “So what do you think Nico? Will this bring big spending tourists to your resort?” Dre laughed at the pleased expression on the Turkish hotelier’s face. She’d arrived in Turkey nearly ten days ago to calm Nico’s ruffled feathers over the crap one of her former employees had tried to pass off as quality work. One of her former employees.

  “Andrea you have done a wonderful job as always. I think it will bring me many elite customers.” He cupped her face in his hands, dropping a kiss on each side as was his custom. That had taken some getting used to when they met years ago. Back then he’d been the first international client willing to take a risk on her for one of his father’s boutique resorts that catered to the ultra rich. “And the security updates are magnificent! Now my guests may do what they like without worrying about those damn blackmailers. What will it take to get you to marry me?”

  She tossed her head back and laughed at his old song and dance. Nico was a charmer. A flirt. Not to mention a much documented ladies’ man. “You can start by giving up your five girlfriends, or is it six now?” She laughed again, harder this time at the fake pout of his lush mouth. “Oh Nico, I really need that laugh. Thank you.” Despite the spectacular crash and burn of her last few days in Emerald Creek, she looked forward to this trip, to visiting with Nico.

  “Tell me what is the matter Andrea,” he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her from his office, through one of the luxury dining rooms and out onto the patio. “You are not as acerbic as you normally are. Tell Nico all about it over lunch.” Like the gentleman he was he pulled her chair out for her before taking his seat. “Wait until you taste what our chef has prepared, it will make your problems go away. And you will beg me to marry you.”