Awaken My Heart

by Maria K. Alexander

  “I wouldn’t, but if someone was to try and come at me, I’d be able to handle myself. Plus, the instructors said the training can help build muscle and agility, which would help with softball.”

  “You build a good case.” Nick pointed to the card. “This is the place Joey goes to.” He turned to Ashley. “If you want, I’ll talk to them.”

  Ashley considered a moment before nodding.

  “Gina’s really mad at me. I guess I should have let her flip me.”

  “You were doing a demonstration. There was nothing personal about it. Both your aunts have flipped me.”

  “They have?”

  “Many times. Gina will get over it.”

  He hoped.

  Sean scanned through the crowd until he spotted Gina, who gave him a nasty look. “In what lifetime?”

  Nick put a hand on Sean’s shoulder. “Girls are a little sensitive at this age. She’s more annoyed that you made her look bad. If she stopped focusing on beating you, she may have been able to take you.”

  “I’m glad she didn’t. It’s embarrassing to get beat up by your sister. Again.”

  “Let me talk to her. I’ll be back.”

  Nick pushed his way through the crowd until he got to Gina. After catching her eye, she excused herself and walked over to him.

  “Did you see how Sean humiliated me out there?” she demanded.

  “I saw a beginner sparring match. You held your own out there. Part of sparring is learning to lose graciously.”

  Gina snorted. “Not possible against him.”

  “Anything’s possible if you try.”

  “You would say that. Now I’ll be known as the girl who got beat up by her half-brother.”

  “He won a match fair and square, unlike the time you punched him in the nose.”

  She grimaced and had the decency to blush. “Whatever.” She crossed her arms over her middle. “I thought about our conversation the other day, and I’m not comfortable spending the holidays with him.”

  “Come on, G. We talked about this. There will be so many people around you can probably ignore him very easily. I’m not asking you to become besties.”

  She shook her head, a curl from her ponytail slipping out and her mouth in a thin line, so much like Vicky. Unlike Kate who he could generally sweet talk into his way of thinking, Vicky stood by her principles even if she didn’t want to. Likewise, Gina was a tougher nut to crack. It was time for Nick to play hardball.

  “Fine. Then you’re going to have to explain to Grandma why she can’t see all her grandchildren over the holidays.”

  Her façade slipped long enough for Nick to catch the little bit of nervousness that passed over her face, which is why Nick brought his mother into the equation. No one wanted to tell his mother no.

  “You wouldn’t.”

  Nick raised an eyebrow, tired of being at the mercy of both Gina and her mother. “Try me.”

  Gina’s eyes filled with tears, although Nick couldn’t be sure if they were real or fabricated. “I can’t believe you’ll force me to be with him. That’s not fair.”

  “Let’s discuss this later when you’re not angry. Okay?”

  She panned the crowd until Nick presumed she spotted Sean. Her jaw tightened. “I’m not going to change my mind, and I’ll never accept him as my brother.” She took a step back. “And I hate you for trying to force me.” She turned and stomped away.

  Nick felt like he’d lost his own sparring match. And there was more at stake than losing face.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Preparations for the orphanage Halloween party were in full swing when Nick arrived later that day. Kate was in charge of decorations, which was how Nick ended up on a ladder stretching orange and black paper-chain garland over his head.

  “Higher,” she called from her perch on the couch.

  Nick rose another step.

  “A little to the left.” With a pillow behind her and feet elevated on the coffee table, Kate looked like a queen.

  An enormously pregnant and bossy queen.

  Nick narrowed his eyes. “Comfortable, are you?”

  Kate shrugged and held her palms face-up. “What? I’m not allowed to climb on a ladder. Otherwise, I’d be hanging the decorations. Besides, I helped.” She held up plates and napkins she sorted so a napkin sat on top of a plate.

  Nick swung his gaze to the opposite wall where Edward also stood on a ladder. “You’re going straight to Heaven, bro.”

  “I think of it as my penance for my less-than-scrupulous past,” Edward deadpanned.

  “Hey. I’m right here,” Kate snapped but couldn’t refrain from laughing.

  Taking a piece of tape, Nick fastened the construction paper to the wall. “How much more is there?”

  “Don’t forget to hang the spiders.” Lucas held up a black spider made from a Styrofoam ball and pipe cleaners and moved his hand up and down. “It bounces ’cause Sean said to use rubber bands to hang them.”

  Nick descended the ladder and examined the project. “Nice job. Looks like you and Sean have hit it off.”

  “He’s great. And now I’m not the newest member of the family.”

  “Come, sport. I’ll help you with those,” Edward said and led Lucas across the hall to the game room that had been set up for pumpkin decorating and apple bobbing.

  Nick dropped onto the couch. He’d had a headache since his frustrating discussion with Gina after the sparring match. He rolled his neck and shoulder, hoping to ease the tension.

  “Bad day?” Kate asked.

  “It had its moments.” Nick rested his head on the back of the couch and closed his eyes. He wanted a beer and his recliner chair like nothing else.

  Besides Ashley. He wanted her. More each time he saw her.

  He winced when Kate pinched his arm. “Care to elaborate, or are you going to leave me hanging?”

  “I’ve been going to Chartwell the past few days for a series of workshops for the high school kids. Damon and I spoke on drugs.”

  “That doesn’t sound horrible,” Kate said.

  “They’ve also been learning jujitsu and had a sparring match this afternoon.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  “Not when Sean and Gina are the two sparring.”

  Kate covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh no. How bad did she hurt him?”

  Nick opened his eyes. “She didn’t. He flipped her. And did a damn good job of it, too.”

  “Way to go, Sean.”

  “After, he apologized and offered his hand to help her up.”

  “Uh oh. My newest nephew has a lot to learn about how we DiFrancesco ladies work.”

  No shit.

  “The mini-truce we had is over. Gina is back to hating Sean and mad at me because she thinks I took his side.”

  “I see.”

  “And after I’d finally gotten insight as to why she’s been moody.”

  “Other than her being a teenage girl and hormonal?”

  “Well, duh.” Nick pulled a strand of her hair. “It seems Franny is all about Danny and all but leaves the kids to their own devices. They’re only allowed in certain parts of the house, and Gina isn’t allowed to bake because she’ll mess up the kitchen.”

  “Told you your ex is a bitch. If it wasn’t for you having two great kids with her, I’d wish you never married her.”

  Kate wasn’t alone in that feeling. The more Nick replayed his conversation with Gina, the angrier he got. So much he’d actually called his lawyer to discuss if there was anything that could be done. Nick had presumed the kids wanted to live with Franny, but maybe it wasn’t the case—at least not anymore. Still, with his job, how could he be their primary guardian? There was no way it could work.

  Nick blinked when Kate waved her hand in front of his face. “Where’d you go?”

  “Sorry. Trying to figure out how to help my kids. I’m tired of feeling like a bad father.”

  “You’re not. Franny should be ashamed of herself
for ignoring her kids. That’s how they get caught up with the wrong crowd.”

  “Vicky says Gina has a boyfriend,” Nick said.

  “And the fun starts. Do you know anything about him?”

  Both Franny and Gina had dodged any probing Nick had made about the boyfriend. It was time to change that.

  Nick rose and started pacing. “I’ll talk to Gina. It’s past time I meet this kid.”

  “Meanwhile, what’s going on with Ashley?”

  He was not ready to get into his relationship status with Kate.

  “Nothing’s going on.” The words were out before he could rephrase them in a way Kate would buy.

  “You still can’t lie for shit—at least to me. Did you sleep with her the other night?”

  “No comment.”

  Kate smiled. “I’ll take that as a yes.” She rested a hand on her belly. “I like her. She’s fun—even when she’s not drunk.”

  “She doesn’t drink a lot, which is why she got toasted. Some chaperone you turned out to be.”

  “I wasn’t a chaperone. I hadn’t even planned on going to the club, but Meghan wanted to go. Do you know what it’s like to get hit on while seven months pregnant with twins?”

  “Can’t say I do.”

  “You should have seen the kid’s face after I declined the drink he bought me and he came around the bar.”

  “I’m sure it was priceless.”

  “Edward thought it was funny that his wife is still smokin’ hot.”

  Nick imagined his brother-in-law would have gotten a chuckle out of it.

  “Anyway, we’re keeping things quiet because we want to wait before we tell Sean,” Nick said.

  “You don’t want to get his hopes up only to find things don’t work out.”

  “That plus there’s Gina and Joey to consider.”

  “Makes sense to go slow, but what do you want?”

  “I rushed into my marriage with Franny. I don’t want to rush my relationship with Ashley. I don’t want another divorce.”

  “Are you considering marriage?”

  Nick didn’t know…no, that wasn’t true. He knew marrying Ashley would make things easier. He’d get the girl and their son all in one neat package. But what happened when things got demanding with his job, and he missed important functions?

  Could she handle it, or would it pull them apart like it had with Franny?

  Nick needed to make sure Ashley understood what she was getting by being with a cop.

  “Are you in love with her?” Kate asked.

  A question Nick had been thinking about all week. Their time together—both alone and with Sean—was natural. He’d spent every night after work at Ashley’s house. Practicing softball with Sean and having dinner together was something he could get used to. Nick didn’t even mind Ashley’s pitiful attempt at cooking.

  He ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I don’t know…maybe…it’s too soon.”

  Kate, who was rarely speechless, said nothing. She scooted forward and held out a hand when she tried to get up off the couch and couldn’t. “Here, help me up.”

  Nick had no idea how to gauge her reaction, but her throwing her arms around his middle wasn’t what he expected. When she looked up, her lashes were wet. “I never thought you were in love with Franny.” She held up a finger when he started to interrupt her. “You may have cared for her—she was carrying your child—but you never had the deep-down passionate love like Mama and Daddy have.”

  Kate could always see down to his core.

  “I like seeing you all twisted up about Ashley.”

  “Gee, thanks, Sis.”

  “It means you’re falling for her.” She hugged him again. “It’s no use fighting it so let it happen.”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “My only request is that you wait until I give birth and lose a little of this baby weight before having a wedding.”

  Leave it to Kate to make him laugh.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Nick’s phone rang, and he reached into his back pocket, recognizing Damon’s ring-tone. “I need to take this.” Swiping, he held it to his ear. “What’s up?”

  “There’s movement at the warehouse Randy told us about.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  ****

  That evening, Ashley stood at the back of the gym and surveyed the job she and the other members of the PTA had done transforming it for the annual Chartwell Halloween party. Orange and black streamers hung from the ceiling, and a zombie graveyard stood in one of the corners.

  The octagon-shaped tables were covered with either black or orange tablecloths, and Ashley was one of several volunteers who had placed clusters of orange and black Mylar balloons in the center. Along one side of the room, long tables had been set up and were currently being arranged with food. The side opposite would hold tables of desserts parents would donate.

  Two women arranged bags on a table. Ashley couldn’t tell who they were based on their costumes—yes, even the volunteers were required to wear costumes—but thought she’d offer to help. She started toward the table only to stop short when she realized one of the moms was Franny DiFrancesco. Not someone she wanted to deal with tonight—or any night.

  Turning on her heel, she changed directions, scanning the crowd for Sean without success. She halted when someone touched her arm.

  “We need to talk,” the timbre of Nick’s deep voice sounded against her ear.

  She turned and took in his costume. He wore dark brown pants with a matching long-sleeved brown shirt open at the collar and revealing a little chest hair. It was topped with a black vest.

  “Who are you supposed to be?” Ashley asked.

  “A Huntsman. I was limited on what would cover my piece.” His gaze swept down her body, and she recognized the heat in his eyes. “I like. You’re that Ice Queen, right?”

  “Queen Elsa. Patty insisted, saying I had the hair for it.” She held up the tip of the braid she’d woven and flipped over her shoulder. “She’s dressed as Anna, my sister.”

  “Speaking of which, we’re meeting Patty, your dad, and Damon in your dad’s office.”

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  She picked up her pace to keep up with Nick’s longer stride as he led the way. “Is something wrong?”

  “There’s a break in the case.”

  Once inside her dad’s office, Damon closed the door and nodded at Nick.

  “We’ve been monitoring a few warehouses Randy told us about. Earlier today we noticed activity at one of them,” Nick said. “It seems our friends got a new shipment.”

  “We were able to get close enough to get pictures.” Damon removed a handful of 5x7 photos from the inside of his Ninja costume and spread them on the table.

  They leaned forward to study them. One in particular caught her father’s attention, and he reached for it to study it closer.

  “Do you recognize him?” Nick asked.

  Her father frowned and passed the photo to Patty. “It looks like one of the students here.”

  Patty nodded. “It does.”

  Her dad moved to his computer and started clicking until he brought up an image that matched the boy in the photo.

  “Who is he?” Nick said.

  “His name’s David Nelson,” Patty said.

  Ashley grasped Nick’s forearm. “Isn’t that the name of—?”

  “Gina’s boyfriend,” Nick finished.

  ****

  Nick’s ears rang as he processed that Gina’s boyfriend was likely linked with the drug ring.

  “Are you sure?” Nick demanded.

  “I’m certain that’s who is in this picture,” Rob said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Shit.” Nick slammed the picture on the table and walked to the window.

  “I can’t believe David’s involved in this. He’s from a good family,” Patty said.

  “Unfortunately, lots of criminals come from good families,” Damon said.


  Nick tried to recall the little Franny told him about this kid, cursing himself for not insisting on a meet—not that it would have changed anything. Knowing his stubborn daughter, if he had forbidden her from dating the punk, it would only have enticed her to do so anyway.

  He felt Ashley behind him even before she rested a hand on his shoulder.

  “What now?”

  Nick pivoted to face her. “Did you see either of them when you were in the gym?”

  “Franny was there, so I figured Gina was, too.” She bit her lower lip as she thought. “With the kids in costumes, it’s hard to tell who is who. I didn’t specifically see her.”

  Nick paced the office. “I can find out from Franny what Gina is wearing. Who does this kid hang with?”

  “I’m not sure,” Rob said.

  Patty went to the keyboard and pulled up new images. “Here are the two kids I see him with in the halls and at lunch. I’ll print off their pictures.”

  “Do you think they’re involved, too?” Ashley asked.

  “It’s likely. They could be pushing or just users,” Damon said. “We won’t know for certain until we find them.”

  “Is only the main entrance unlocked?” Nick asked.

  “Yes. We lock down the other doors, and on nights like tonight when kids will be here late, we gate areas of the school so they can’t get into trouble,” Rob said.

  Nick nodded to Damon. “I’ll call for backup. Why don’t you reach out to Lombardi and Rodriguez and fill them in.”

  “I’ll get one of them to monitor the entrance until reinforcements get here,” Damon said.

  Nick grasped Ashley’s arm. “Let’s you and I start searching in the gym.”

  “Patty and I will do a check of the other doors and make sure everything’s secured,” Rob said.

  Nick led Ashley into the hall and toward the gym. His mind raced with possibilities. Did Gina know her boyfriend was a dealer? Was she using drugs? Franny would be no help, since according to Gina she never paid her or Joey any attention.

  How bad had things gotten and to what lengths would Gina go for attention?

  Ashley grasped his arm. “Nick, slow down a minute. I can barely keep up.”

  He pulled her down a small corridor. “Sorry. I just want to find Gina.”