Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
NONA
My cell phone rang just as I dumped the celery I’d chopped into the boiling pot. “Hey, handsome,” I answered, a smile in my voice as I propped the phone between my ear and shoulder. “How was work? You dole out any justice?”
His chuckle resonated through the line, warming me from the inside out. “You know a lot of what I do consists of sitting at my desk, doing paperwork, right?”
“That’s boring. I’ll stick to the image I have of you in my head, in constant foot chases with armed assailants, sliding over the hoods of cars to catch the bad guy. Ooh! With your shirt unbuttoned and hanging open as you run. You know, like Will Smith in Bad Boys.”
“Think whatever you want, beautiful. But if I’m constantly chasing down bad guys, does that mean you’re gonna rub my feet every night?”
“Pfft. Not likely,” I teased. “You just killed the fantasy.”
There was no missing the humor in his voice as he muttered, “Well that’s a shame.” Bantering with Trick was proving to be a whole hell of a lot of fun. He gave just as good as he got, and I loved how he always kept me on my toes. “How was your day?”
“Good! The guys came and installed the new window this morning, so that’s all taken care of. The sign guy’s coming out tomorrow to stencil the logo on it, and the security company’ll be installing the cameras on Thursday.”
“That’s good, baby.”
“FYI, your brood’s hanging out at my place right now. Just in case you were wondering, I think they like me more than you.”
“Wouldn’t be surprised. They do their homework?”
I started chopping carrots as I replied, “Homework is done. Shawn and Tris are currently rotting their brains with video games, and Hannah’s with Blythe in her room.
No doubt the two of them are lying on her bed right now, engaged in a conversation through text message since kids these days are above actually speaking to each other. ”
“I think they’re afraid they might spontaneously combust if they make eye contact.”
A giggle worked its way from my throat. “Oh, and Diva’s keeping me company while I make dinner. You want to eat over here, or subject your kids to something fried and full of sodium that you get through a window?”
“If that’s your way of making an offer, I’ll take door number one.”
“Always an offer, handsome. You and your kiddos are welcome over here any time.”
His voice went soft and sweet as he said, “Good to know, baby, ’cause I think it’s almost time to enter into the next phase of our relationship.”
The knife in my hand slipped, taking a huge chunk of carrot with it. “Oh yeah?” I asked in a breathy tone, eager to know what he thought the next phase for us was. “And what’s that?”
“Overnight visits.”
I freaking loved that idea. My chest swelled with excitement even as I asked, “You don’t think it’s too soon? We’ve only really been together a couple weeks.”
“I’m in this for the long haul, Nona. I know how I feel about you, and I know that’s not changing. Is it gonna change for you?”
I hung my head, staring down at the carrots as my vision began to blur with happy tears. “N-no,” I managed to say without croaking. “It’s not going to change for me.”
“I know what we have to do is complicated, trying to blend two families, but I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else. I don’t even want to think about that.”
I sniffled and batted at my cheeks. “Trick?”
“Yeah, beautiful?”
“You need to stop, or I’m gonna blubber all over the chicken pot pie I’m trying to make.”
“We wouldn’t want that,” he said, his tone sweet and affectionate. “Chicken pot pie’s one of my favorite meals.”
“So you’re on your way?”
“Leaving the station now.”
“Okay, honey,” I said softly. “See you when you get here.”
We rang off, and I put my cell back on the kitchen counter. Diva let out a little chuff, calling for my attention, and when I looked down at her, she cocked her head to the side as if to say, “What’s going on?”
“Well, I think it’s safe to say I’m officially in love with your owner,” I told the curious pup.
She yipped, and I took that to mean “No duh! About time you got on the same page” in Diva talk.
I glared down at her. “No need to rub it in. I might be slow on the uptake, but at least I got there.”
Diva flopped to the floor and proceeded to pass right out like she couldn’t be bothered to deal with me.
I let out a laugh at the dog’s colorful personality and went back to preparing dinner. I had a man and a whole brood to feed, after all.
And I loved it.
Dinner had, once again, been an absolute trip. Shawn and Tris kept us in stitches. Blythe and Hannah had gotten a kick out of giving their little brothers guff, doing so in a way that wasn’t ugly or mean but instead good-natured, showing that they loved them but also loved to bust their chops.
The kids dispersed to different parts of the house after washing the dinner dishes with limited grumbling, and now Trick and I were camped out on my back porch swing, snuggled up together while we stared out at the sun lowering over the mountains and dense woods that surrounded our town.
Trick had one of my beers in his hand, and I was slowly sipping a glass of red wine as we rocked at a slow and steady pace.
I was so relaxed I could have dozed off right then. Unfortunately, the peacefulness was broken by what Trick said next. “Emma came by the station today.”
I tried my best to keep my body from going rigid, but I knew I’d failed when his arms tightened around me. “Oh?”
“Wasn’t a pleasant conversation,” he muttered quietly.
Pushing up from where I was leaned against Trick’s side, I shifted so we were face to face and offered, “I’m sorry, Trick.”
He blew out a breath and scrubbed his face with his free hand.
“Been questioning whether or not I should tell you, but I don’t want us to have any secrets.
What we have is good. No, it’s fuckin’ great.
And I don’t want to ruin that, so you have to know, she came with the intention of trying to get me back. ”
Every bone in my body locked tight. “I-I see.”
Trick set his beer bottle on the deck near our feet, then grabbed the wineglass from my hand and did the same before wrapping his fingers around my waist and pulling me so I was straddling his lap, moving me how he wanted with complete ease. “From the look on your face, I don’t think you do.”
It blew my mind that I could speak past the lump swelling up in my throat, but I managed to eke out, “It’s okay, Trick.
I get it.” I placed my hands on his chest, trying to break his hold so I could climb from his lap.
If we were going to do this, I needed distance between us.
I didn’t think I’d be able to survive it with him touching me.
“No, obviously you don’t or you wouldn’t be tryin’ to get away from me,” he said on a low growl, his fingers clenching against my hips. “I told her no.”
My battle against his grip stopped, and I stared down at him in shock. “What?”
His granite jaw ticked, and his forehead pinched into a tight, unhappy frown.
“Pisses me off that you’d be surprised to hear that,” he grunted.
“Apparently it’s escaped your attention, though fuck if I can see how, but since you missed it, I’ll spell it out for you.
I’m in love with you, Nona. And I don’t give a shit if it’s too soon.
I don’t have a single goddamn doubt that I’m meant to spend the rest of my life with you, and I told Emma as much when she made her play. ”
I swallowed past that lump, my lungs shaking as I pulled in a slow inhale. “That… that must have been hard for her to hear.”
“It was. But it needed to be said. Now she has no doubt where my head is, so hopefully we can finally get to a point where we can do this co-parenting shit without being at each other’s throats.”
Reaching up, I placed my palms on the sides of his neck and leaned in, resting my forehead against his. “I hope so too, handsome.”
“Now tell me, do I need to put in more work to get your head straight, or do you finally see where this is going?”
“I see where this is going,” I whispered, unable to contain my smile.
Then I burst into laughter at his agitated “Well, thank fuckin’ Christ for that.”
I lifted my head to look down into those gray eyes. “Just so you know, I’m in love with you too.”
They went quicksilver, full of heat and passion as his fingers pressed deeper. “Good to know, baby,” he said, his words soft but packed with emotion. “Hannah and Tris are back with their mom Friday. You have ’til then to get your kids to a place where they’re cool with me spending the night.”
God, but I loved him something fierce.
“I have a feeling they’re already there.”
His grin turned me to jelly. “I do too, but better safe than sorry, right?”
He was absolutely right. I nodded in agreement and leaned in for a kiss. He didn’t make me wait long. Afterward, he shifted me off his lap and stood, bending to grab my glass and his beer bottle. “Getting another beer. You want a refill?”
And just like that, he proved again that he was all about taking care of me. “Yeah, handsome.”
He gave me one last quick kiss before heading inside. While he was gone, I snuggled into my porch swing and looked back out at the setting sun, watching its beauty as the colors bled from soft pinks and oranges to deep purples and blues, all the while counting my blessings.
Trick
I turned the corner into the kitchen and saw Blythe standing in front of the open fridge. She looked back at me from over her shoulder and gave me a grin. “Hey.
“Hey, darlin’. Hand me one of those beers, would you?”
“Sure.” She grabbed a bottle of water and a beer, then moved to the island as I uncorked Nona’s wine bottle and refilled her glass. “That for Mom?”
“Yep.” I finished pouring and shoved the cork back into the spout.
“You really like her, huh?”
Surprised by her question, I jerked my head up and saw her watching me hesitantly. “Yeah. I do.”