Chapter 25
Chapter Twenty-Five
NONA
“Come on, beautiful,” Trick said as I stared off at where my daughter had just disappeared. “Let’s go back outside and I’ll fill you in on everything, yeah?”
I let him take my hand and lead me out onto the back porch. He settled me on the swing I’d abandoned just moments ago, then went back inside to grab my wine and his beer.
I’d ventured inside, wondering what was taking him so long, but after seeing my baby girl with tears in her eyes, I wasn’t sure I could stomach another sip.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I demanded the moment he rejoined me.
He did just that, and I should have known that the answer would be more than I’d bargained for. By the time he finally finished telling me everything Blythe had just shared with him, I’d downed the whole glass and was in desperate need of another.
I only had two options in that moment: drink or let my head explode. “I’m gonna kill him,” I seethed, shooting up from the swing. “I’m gonna hunt him down and beat the holy hell out of him, and then I’m gonna kill him!”
“You aren’t gonna do anything,” Trick said in a low, deep timbre, grabbing my hand and forcing me back to my seat.
“You can’t possibly expect me to keep my mouth shut about this!” I cried.
“I can, and I do. The only reason Blythe told me was because she knows I’m a cop, and she trusted I could take care of it for her.
And I will, baby. But the one thing she worried about was you goin’ off halfcocked and getting yourself hurt.
” My back went stiff, and it suddenly hurt to breathe.
“That man scared her, Nona, in a really big way. I don’t have a goddamn clue how Chris managed to get tied up with this guy, but until I figure this out, I don’t want you or the kids anywhere near him.
You need to call your attorney to tell her what’s going down, you do that.
But you stay away from Chris until I’ve got this handled. ”
“Trick, I—”
“Promise me, beautiful.”
It was incredibly hard, but I managed to let out a calming breath and finally nodded a minute later. “I promise.”
He tucked me under his arm and gave me a squeeze. “Thank you.”
“What’s going on, Trick?” I asked a few seconds later.
“I don’t know, baby. But I’m gonna find out, I promise.”
We lapsed into silence as I tried to piece together everything he’d just laid on me.
My instinct was to go momma bear and rip Chris a new one for proving, once again, just how worthless he was, but Trick had a point.
And it freaking killed that my daughter had been struggling with this for weeks now, too worried about my reaction to tell me what had been bothering her, to the point that it changed her personality.
I didn’t have the first clue what my ex had gotten himself into, but I did know it wasn’t my problem—until it began bleeding into my kids’ lives.
“He called me a couple weeks back,” I said in a small voice. “The day after Tristan’s birthday, Chris called.”
“The restaurant,” Trick stated strangely.
I turned my head so I could look up at him. “What?”
“The calls you started getting at The Groves. It was him, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah.” I looked back out toward the amazing view of the wilderness beyond my backyard.
“He wasn’t even calling about Tris. He didn’t even remember it was his boy’s birthday.
He was calling to ask me for the money I told you about.
” I let out a bitter laugh. “He actually expected me to borrow against the equity on the house, or my sal—” I swallowed down my words, scared to even say what I was suddenly thinking.
“What, baby?”
“He suggested I take it from the salon.” I shot up and whipped around to look at Trick with wide eyes. “Oh my god, do you think it was him? Do you think Chris was the one who broke into the salon and tried to rob it?”
He didn’t say anything for several seconds, but his expression went hard as stone, and there was something working behind his thunderous gaze that gave me my answer. He already suspected him. "You already think that, don’t you?”
“It crossed my mind,” he admitted. “But there’s no definitive proof.” My eyes glazed over with fresh tears, and Trick reached up to wrap his hand around the back of my neck. “But you can fuckin’ guarantee I plan to find out.”
Leaning into Trick, I pressed a palm to his chest and dropped my voice. “Thank you.”
His brows dipped into an exaggerated frown. “For what?”
“Take your pick, handsome. For putting my girl’s mind at ease. For taking care of me and my family. For being so amazing.” I moved closer, brushing my lips against his as I added, “For loving me.”
His hands hit my waist, and once again he maneuvered me onto his lap. “Not a hardship, beautiful. Not any of it. But loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”
“I’m the luckiest woman in the world.”
He groaned, fisting his fingers into my hair and forcing my face closer so he could turn a gentle brush of lips into a bruising kiss that left me breathless.
And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Trick had managed a miracle and kept me from boiling over the night before when I found out about what was bothering Blythe.
It still plagued my thoughts, but with him at my back, I felt capable of handling anything that came my way.
And because of that, I’d spent most of the day so far in a pleasant mood.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to last.
The bell over the door let out its whimsical chime, but before I could turn to look at who had just entered, the atmosphere of the entire salon shifted.
When I glanced over my shoulder and found Emma standing there with her hip cocked and her arms crossed over her chest, I knew exactly what that shift meant.
Ah, hell.
The bright smile I pasted on my face dug into my cheeks painfully. “Hi, Emma.” I moved from my station to the front counter and rested an elbow on top of it. “You here for a trim?”
“No, I’m not.”
The clipped tone of her voice threw me for a moment, and I scrambled to get back on track. “Oh. Okay, well, if you—”
“I need to speak with you, please.” She might have said the word please, but the way it came out was anything but a request.
“Um….” I looked over my shoulder at the bug-eyed client sitting at my station, watching the exchange along with every other woman in there. “I’m sorry. As you can see, I have a client. But if you wouldn’t mind coming back later—”
“I’ll say what I have to say now, thank you very much,” she replied snottily.
My skin started to prickle with embarrassment as her voice rose. “Emma, please, if you could just—”
“You need to back off,” she continued, making a scene.
My teeth ground together, but I did my best to remain calm as I said, “Please keep your voice down.”
“Do you even care that you’re tearing up my family?”
She had to be kidding. I wasn’t the one who tore up her family. She was.
Blowing out a frustrated sigh, I rubbed at my temples and requested, “Emma, please. This is my place of work.”
A nasty smile tugged at her face. “Oh, so you don’t want everyone knowing you’re a homewrecker?”
“Okay, that’s enough,” I snapped. “We aren’t doing this, not now and certainly not here.
I don’t know where you get off accusing me of anything, but I wasn’t the one who tore up your family.
You did that when you put a good man out and filed for divorce.
And I’m most definitely not a homewrecker.
There was nothing to wreck by the time Trick and I got together.
” I stabbed my index finger at her and stressed, “You saw to that.”
She took a step closer, squaring off with me. “If you’d back off, I could put my family back together.”
“That’s not going to happen,” I informed her in a cold, hard voice.
“I’m sorry you regret the decisions you made, but I know what I have with Trick, and no way in hell am I giving him up.
Now, I don’t know what you expected to achieve with this little showdown, but I’m telling you now, it’s not gonna go your way, so I’d appreciate it if you’d leave. ”
“You think it’ll actually last with you and Patrick? We had years together. I gave him two children. I was his wife. He’ll come back once he’s done slumming it with trash like you.”
“Get out.” We both turned at the unexpected voice.
Ms. McClintock stood there with the black cape hanging off her age-hunched shoulders, her blue-hued hair in curlers.
Her hands were planted on her hips, and she was glaring daggers in Emma’s direction.
“You should be ashamed of yourself, comin’ in here and causin’ a ruckus with that foul mouth. ”
“I’m sorry, but this conversation isn’t really any of your business,” Emma sneered.
“I beg to differ, seein’ as sweet Nona here asked time and again for you to stop, and you just kept right on goin’, makin’ a fool of yourself in front of all of us,” Ms. M continued, schooling Emma in the way only the old woman was capable of.
“By doin’ that, you made it all of our business.
And since it’s my business, I’m gonna damn well voice my opinion, and that is I do not like you. ”
Emma sucked in a gasp while my jaw dropped to the floor in shock.
“If we’re throwin’ around our two cents, I don’t much care for you either.
” I turned to Roxanne, who was sitting at Blair’s station.
She was younger than Ms. M., in her fifties, but just as surly.
She worked the reception desk for Lincoln’s firm, and she claimed that having to keep those alpha men in check at all times had given her a thick skin.
Everyone pretty much loved Roxanne and her hard demeanor, and until now, I thought she liked everyone in return. Guess I was wrong.
“Liked you well enough when you were makin’ Trick happy.
A man like him, always puttin’ his life on the line to protect and serve, deserves a good woman, but you were never one of my favorites.
Always seemed snooty. Then you quit bein’ a good woman altogether, and I officially stopped liking you.
Now I think you’re snooty and stupid for throwin’ away something so good.
And it’s just pathetic how you’re mad ’cause Detective Wanderly found himself something better than you ever could’ve been. ”
I knew I loved this town, but it was times like this that reminded me of just how much.
“Also, who wears workout attire like their regular clothes?” Roxanne added. “For cryin’ out loud, either go to the gym or wear regular clothes.”
“After this little scene, I don’t feel comfortable doing your hair anymore,” Trina, one of my talented hairdressers, declared. “From here on out, you’re gonna need to get your hair done in Grapevine.”
Emma’s mouth opened and closed in affront. “But that’s at least forty-five minutes away!”
“You did it to yourself, comin’ in here and insultin’ our sweet Nona,” Ms. McClintock snapped.
“Now you gotta face the consequences. And somethin’ tells me this isn’t the only place you’re gonna be banned from.
Nona’s loved by everyone in this town. You don’t mess with a beloved member of the community. Now, it’s time for you to skedaddle.”
With no one to back her ill-conceived play, Emma let out a snort of offense, spun in her squeaky-clean sneakers, and stormed out.
I stared at the door for a few beats before slowly turning to face the ladies in my salon and declaring, “If it wouldn’t bankrupt me, I’d give all of you free haircuts for life, but since I can’t do that, I just want you guys to know how much I love you. ”
Ms. M. rolled her eyes and started back to her chair. “All right now. Enough with the mushy stuff. You aren’t givin’ your haircuts away for free, so get back to work.”
And just like that, everything went back to normal. Ms. M. might give me crap for being mushy, but she couldn’t control my thoughts, so I spent the rest of the day thinking all the mushy thoughts about the town I loved and the people in it.