by Deanna Chase
“Of course,” Levi said, the troubled expression in his eyes vanishing. It seemed that any time Chad had something physical for the two of them to do that Levi was able to shred his worries if even for just a fraction of time.
“Great. Come with me. We’ll let Hope get to work.” He turned to her. “Are we on for dinner still?”
“Seven. Sharp,” she said. The last two times she’d invited him over, he’d been hopelessly late after losing track of time while working to get the store up and running. “Don’t make me wait for my dinner this time.”
Chad had enough self-awareness that her statement caused guilt to creep over his features. He nodded softly. “Yeah. Okay. Got it.”
Hope saluted him with her latte and laughed. “We’ll see.”
“Count on it,” Chad promised as he draped an arm around Levi’s shoulder and led the kid down to his music store.
She stared at the two men in her life. Just a few weeks earlier, all of her relationships had been at arm’s length. Now she had a teenager she’d already fallen for and the one man she’d always wanted. Things were a little stressful with Levi’s custody still in limbo, but she wouldn’t change any of it for the world. Her heart was full and for the first time in her life, she had people to shower with the love that was bursting from deep inside her. It felt good. Better than good. It felt downright perfect.
Smiling to herself, Hope strolled down the street, already working on the night’s menu. Levi had proven to be a bottomless pit, as most teenage boys were. That was perfectly fine. It gave her an excuse to make all her favorite pasta dishes. Tonight, she decided, would be manicotti. Her mouth watered just thinking about it. She was just about to reach for the door to the spa when a man behind her said, “Why, if it isn’t Hope Scott.”
Hope froze, a chill running down her spine. That voice. She’d know it anywhere. What was Leo doing in Keating Hollow? She turned around and glared at her former foster mother’s boyfriend. A familiar ache in her gut made her stomach turn as she stared at his stringy hair and the dark circles rimming his eyes.
“This town is a little fancy for the likes of you, isn’t it?” he taunted.
That rage she’d barely kept in check all the years she’d lived in Pam’s house boiled right to the surface, but she managed to keep herself from hauling off and decking the good-for-nothing lowlife. “What do you want, Leo?”
“Levi. You have no business giving that kid a place to live. He belongs with his uncle, with family,” he said. “Not with an uppity girl who doesn’t even know how to keep herself out of jail.”
Despite the bolt of pure outrage that seized her brain, Hope didn’t react to his taunts that were aimed at disarming her. Instead she focused on what was most important—Levi. “How do you know Levi and his uncle?”
Leo tsked. “Not that it’s any of your business, you ungrateful witch, but Frank is a business associate of mine. And he wants his nephew to come home. Hand him over and I’ll leave without another word.”
“Or what?” she asked, narrowing her eyes further. There was no chance he didn’t already have some plan to make her life hell. It was just a matter of finding out what that might be.
Leo’s face turned a dark shade of red as he stalked toward her. “Don’t look at me like that, Hope. Like I’m something not even worthy of gracing the bottom of your shoe. I know your history. Remember that. I know everything. What do you think your boss will say when she finds out you’re an ex-con?”
“Her boss will tell you to get the hell off her private property,” Faith said, appearing out of nowhere right behind Leo.
Panic flared to life in Hope’s chest as she wondered exactly how much Faith had heard? Did she hear him say she’d been in juvy?
Faith crossed over arms her chest, and her green eyes flashed with something dangerous. “I don’t know who you are, mister, but I don’t take kindly to nasty old men threatening my sister. I suggest you step away before our sister Yvette decides to light a fire under your ass.”
Hope glanced over Faith’s shoulder and spotted her oldest sister, Yvette. The woman had her hands up and flames danced over her palms.
“Move along, jackass,” Yvette ordered, tossing her long chestnut hair over one shoulder. “Probably best to do that before Noel gets here. She’s not nearly as restrained as Faith and I are. Chances are she’ll knock you on your butt and pin you there until her deputy husband arrives and hauls your ass to jail.”
He snorted. “For what exactly? Having a conversation with my daughter?”
“Daughter?” Hope snarled, his words snapping her out of her shock of finding two of her sisters coming to her defense. “Have you lost your mind? I am not, nor was I ever, your daughter. You were just sleeping with my foster mom. That makes you nothing to me. Nothing but a bad memory.”
“Leave. Now,” Yvette said, tossing a ball of fire near the man’s feet.
He jumped back, scowled at her, and then turned to Hope. “If you don’t send Levi back to his uncle within the next two days, there will be consequences. Count on it.”
“Don’t think you can threaten me, Leo,” Hope said through clenched teeth. “I’m never sending Levi anywhere he doesn’t want to go. So do whatever it is you’re threatening to do. I don’t really care to be honest.”
“Cocky,” he said under his breath. “We’ll just see what your new boyfriend has to say about all of this.”
Chad? She let out a bubble of laughter. It didn’t matter what this loser of a man said to Chad. He knew all of her secrets already. Nothing he could say to him was of any importance.
Leo was already a good thirty feet away when he glanced back and said, “Laugh it up now. You won’t think it’s funny when he ends up in jail. But I guess you don’t have much of a problem with that considering you know all about what it’s like, right, Hope?”
She clenched her fists, vibrating with frustration and anger. She had no doubt that Leo would cause them problems. He was that kind of person. If he couldn’t use real dirt, he’d just make something up. She was certain of it. But Chad could take care of himself, and there was no reason on earth other than a court order that could convince her to send Levi back to his uncle. “Get out of here, Leo. I won’t be intimidated by you ever again.”
Yvette unleashed another fireball, this time coming perilously close to singeing Leo’s tattered jeans.
He scowled at her. “I’ll put you behind bars, too.”
Yvette laughed. “I’d love to see you try.”
Leo flipped them off and scurried down the street to a light blue pickup truck. Hadn’t Levi’s uncle been driving a blue truck? Hope pulled out her phone and called Drew. His phone immediately went to voicemail. “Damn,” she muttered while waiting for the tone. After leaving him a message, she turned to her sisters. “Thank you for that.”
“No thanks needed. That guy is a major douchecanoe,” Yvette said, moving to stand next to Hope. She wrapped an arm around the younger woman’s shoulders and pulled her in for a side hug. “He’s lucky I didn’t burn his junk off.”
Faith chortled as she pulled the spa’s door open. “That would’ve been something to see. Flaming balls in downtown Keating Hollow.”
“It would certainly give everyone something to talk about.” Yvette grinned at Hope. “Not to mention a sense of intense satisfaction at knowing that jackass couldn’t procreate anymore.”
Hope knew her oldest sister was trying to lighten the mood, but Hope was fixated on the fact that the Keating Hollow residents certainly would have something to talk about now. There was no chance the small altercation this morning with Leo had gone unnoticed. Besides, Faith and Yvette would certainly tell the rest of the family and their significant others. She’d be the talk of the town in no time. It was what she’d been hoping to avoid, but she should know better than anyone that she couldn’t outrun her past.
“Listen,” Hope said. “About that thing he said about me being in jail—”
“Let’s
talk in my office,” Faith said, cutting her off. She held the door open and waved the other two women in.
“Well, good morning,” Lena said. “I was wondering when you were finally going to get a move on. Abby and Noel are already in your office.”
“Thanks, Lena,” Faith said, already striding toward the hallway. She opened the door and looked at Hope. “After you.”
Hope’s gaze swiveled between Yvette and Faith. What was going on here? Some sort of intervention? Had her four sisters gotten together to try to convince her to stay away from their father? Or to leave town so she didn’t disrupt their perfect lives? Her heart sank as she imagined the worst. But hadn’t Yvette just threatened to permanently maim Leo on her behalf? And although Faith hadn’t threatened bodily harm, she’d certainly stood up for Hope when it came to Leo. Maybe Hope was jumping to conclusions. It wouldn’t hurt to hear them out, though she would’ve preferred to have had some sort of advanced notice she was meeting with all four of her sisters. At the very least she could have steeled herself for any number of scenarios. Instead, she was raw after her confrontation with Leo and felt blindsided by the meeting.
“Luna?” Yvette asked. “Are you all right?”
Hope sucked in a fortifying breath. “Yeah. Sorry. Just still trying to recover from the shock of Leo showing up here after all these years.” She swept past her two sisters and headed straight for Faith’s office.
“There you two are,” Noel said, glancing at Faith and Yvette. Even though she was frowning, she glowed and was casually holding her impressive baby bump. Through the grapevine, Hope had learned that she was about seven months pregnant. “I was beginning to think Abby and I had the time wrong.”
Abby rolled her eyes. “Please, Noel. They’re only five minutes later. Give them a break.” She waved at Hope. “Morning, little sis.”
“Uh, morning,” Hope said, taken off guard by the casual way she’d said little sis.
“Okay, before we start, we need to fill you in on an altercation we just had outside the spa,” Yvette said. “Some dude was threatening Luna, trying to get her to give up Levi. But I scared him off.”
“Yeah, she threatened to burn his balls off,” Faith said, taking a seat on the couch. She turned her attention to Hope. “But I’m a little unclear on what was happening there. Luna, do you mind filling us in?”
Hope paced the room, her insides churning with anxiety. She didn’t want to talk about this, but she really had no choice. These women had stood by her and deserved to know what they’d just stepped in. “Leo is the boyfriend of my former foster mom. They make and sell potions, or at least did when I was still in Pam’s care.”
“No,” Abby said, her hand rising to cover her mouth. “That’s awful.”
“Yeah, it was,” Hope confirmed, unable to ignore the way Faith’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Anyway, I haven’t seen either of them in over three years. I had no idea he was here in Keating Hollow until ten minutes ago, or even in Humboldt county. We lived in Berkeley. Anyway, he just showed up demanding I hand over Levi to Levi’s uncle, Frank Kelley, which leads me to believe that Leo is partnering with Levi’s uncle, Frank Kelley, since he too is involved in illegal potions.”
“That’s quite the coincidence,” Faith said. “That Leo would be working with Levi’s uncle, don’t you think?”
“Oh, come on, Faith,” Abby said, frowning at her sister. “You know that the illegal potions trade is fairly small. I’d be more surprised if the two didn’t know each other.” She gave her head a little shake and turned to Hope. “Whatever you need, you let me know. I’m one hundred percent behind you, little sis.”
Hope’s heart swelled at Abby’s complete acceptance, but she knew she had more to explain. If she was going to forge a relationship with any of these women, she wanted all of her secrets out in the open. “Thank you for that. But there’s something else you should know.”
All four sisters were silent as they waited for her to continue. They were a study in contrasts, and yet, all had familiar features that just screamed ‘sisters.’ Noel’s blond hair had been been cut short again while Yvette’s natural chestnut locks shone with blond highlights. While Abby and Faith both had long blond hair, Faith was dressed neatly in a floral skirt and a formfitting T-shirt while Abby had on grungy beige capri pants and a stained T-shirt. She’d obviously come from her potions studio where she made energy potions and magically infused high-end body soaps and lotions.
Hope glanced away and her voice cracked as she said, “I spent almost three months in juvy for selling illegal potions three years ago.”
“When you were seventeen?” Noel asked. There was something raw in her voice that had Hope giving her sister her full attention. Noel’s expression had been neutral, but now it was stormy as she kept her blue eyes locked on Hope. “Did your foster mom know about that?”
“She’s the one who forced me to do it,” Hope said. “She ah… stole the money I was saving for college and said she’d give it back only if I made the run for her and collected the payment.”
All four of her sisters cried out their protests at such an injustice. The four of them closed ranks around her, hugging her while Faith cursed their mother Gabby for putting Luna in that position in the first place. Hope spent the next half hour filling them in on her history, starting with her adoptive mom and her death, and then she spoke briefly about the foster homes she’d been in. By the time she got to Chad, Abby was crying softly, and Noel looked like she wanted to murder someone. Yvette kept soothing her by running her hand up and down Hope’s back. But Faith had stepped away and was now pacing the office.
“Faith?” Yvette asked. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
Hope was overwhelmed with the unconditional support three of her sisters had bestowed upon her. She hadn’t quite figured Faith out, but understood that of the four of them, she was the most cautious.
Faith stopped her pacing. “I have a few questions. One major one, really.”
“Okay,” Hope said, trying to settle the nerves in her stomach. She didn’t know why she was nervous exactly. She’d already spilled all of her secrets. Now she just wanted a place in this family that she’d never dreamed she deserved.
“Why did Leo call you Hope?” she asked.
“Oh. That’s the name our mother gave me. After juvy… I changed it to Luna. You know, as a fresh start. A way to distance myself from that life. But recently I’ve realized that I can’t keep running from who I was back then and have decided to go back to Hope. I know it’s confusing, but you can call me by either name.”
“Our mother named you Hope?” Abby said, her eyes wide.
“Yeah,” Hope said with a humorless chuckle. “Ironic, huh?”
“I think it’s perfect.” Abby wrapped her arms around Hope and held on tight. “It suits you.”
Yvette joined the hug, while Noel went to Faith and grabbed her hand. “I think we’ve had our questions answered, Faith,” Noel said softly.
But Faith shook her head. “No. I have one more.”
“Okay.” Hope stepped out of Abby’s and Yvette’s embrace. “Lay it on me.”
Faith closed her eyes for just a moment. When she opened them, she sent Hope a small smile. “Will you come to dinner at Dad’s tomorrow night? I think it’s about time we welcome you to the family. You’re welcome to bring Levi and Chad if you want to.”
Something warm and unfamiliar flooded Hope’s system. Tears stung her eyes as she nodded. “I’d love to.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chad sat across from Hope at Woodlines, gazing at her smiling face. Her eyes sparkled with a happiness he’d never known her to have when she was a teenager, and he found himself wanting to spend the rest of his life making sure that look never faded.
“What are you staring at?” she asked as she lowered her menu to the table.
“The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Her face turned a sweet shade of pink even a
s she rolled her eyes. “That’s a sweet thing to say, but hardly original. You can do better than that.”
He laughed. “Nah. I’m too dazzled by that sparkle in your eye to come up with anything other than clichés.”
She snorted. “Okay, Mr. Sweet Talker. But next time I expect a little more effort.”
Chad reached across the table and took her hand, lightly stroking the pad of his thumb over her palm. “You just seem really happy. It’s a good look on you.”
“I am happy,” she confirmed. A slow smile claimed her lips. “A lot of that is thanks to you.”
It was also thanks to the fact that the Townsend family had embraced her as one of their own and that a judge had officially granted her temporary custody of Levi. Thankfully, Leo hadn’t been back, and the shock of his appearance a few weeks ago had started to fade into the background. Life had finally fallen into place for Hope. And Chad was just happy to be a part of it. In fact, he was hoping to someday become a permanent part of it. But it was way too soon to be asking that important question, so instead he asked, “What do you think about making this relationship exclusive?”
Hope tilted her head to one side and studied him, her lips twitching with amusement. “Did you think I was looking to troll the dating sites for a little variety?”
Chad laughed, unable to even picture such a thing. Dating sites weren’t Hope’s style. “No. I just wanted to make it official. Let you know I’m all-in on this.”
Her expression softened, and her hand tightened around his as joy radiated from her bright green eyes. “In that case, I think exclusive sounds wonderful. Does that mean I get to call you my boyfriend?”
“I’m counting on it,” he said, his voice husky with emotion. Then he leaned across the table and brushed his lips over hers. His heart sped up, and warmth filled him all the way to his toes. And for the first time in his life, he was willing to name the emotion that was sweeping through him… Love. He was in love with the woman sitting across from him. He didn’t know when it had happened. Not back in Berkeley. He’d never thought of her like that. Maybe he’d fallen that first day he saw her sitting at the Townsend’s brewery looking so lovely that his insides had turned to goo. Or maybe it was the day she’d let him help her move and she’d been ready and willing to do anything she could to help Levi. He didn’t know. But it was more than clear to him that she owned his heart now, and he wanted to give her anything and everything he had.