Chapter 23 #2
“Apparently, there’s a man that’s been hanging around town for the past few weeks asking questions.
None of the business owners have been able to get a good picture of him without him noticing, but he’s being described as around six feet tall, jet black hair with gray at the temples, and wearing the same tan Carhartt jacket. ”
“What kind of questions?” I interject.
“Stuff about the town, job openings, and cost of living, etcetera.”
“That doesn’t sound too alarming,” Brody says.
The chief shakes his head. “I didn’t think so either until someone said they saw him hanging out by the school.”
“Okay…” I drag out.
Chief Banks throws his hands in the air. “I’m just letting you know about the calls I’ve been receiving.”
“Sounds like you’re reaching,” Jordan says. “I know things are quiet…”
“Goddamn it, Jordan!” The chief yells. “Haven’t I made myself clear about using the fucking q-word?”
The sound of metal screeching echoes in the room as I stand from my chair, pushing it backwards.
“All right,” I say. “Let’s approach this rationally.
” Chief Banks glares at me, but puts his hands up in surrender.
“It’s better to err on the side of caution.
Just keep your eyes open for this guy and approach him carefully if you see him.
He’s probably just a tourist interested in life here, contemplating a move or something,” I add, partially trying to convince myself.
“You know how people are that visit Blossom Peak. They fall in love with this place and suddenly are considering small-town life, only to go right back where they came from.”
Daniel nods in agreement. “You’re right, Rhonan. Better safe than sorry.”
“Thank you, Rhonan, for helping me try to get these knuckleheads to see reason,” the chief says to me before turning on his heel and heading for the door. “Glad to see someone else doesn’t want a situation to occur that could have been prevented.”
Once he’s completely out of the room, Jordan turns to all of us. “Is he all right?”
“Who knows,” Brody replies. “Could be that the state is breathing down his neck to retire.”
“Where did you hear that?” I ask.
“I’m surprised you haven’t heard about that yet,” Brody says as a smirk forms on his face. “Although you seem to have been distracted by a certain blonde lately, so I guess you have a legitimate excuse.”
“I’m not distracted,” I say a tad too defensively.
Daniel comes up behind me and slaps me on the shoulder. “I’m pretty sure it’s a good thing, man. You certainly have a pep in your step that hasn’t been there in a while.”
“Yeah, that’s what getting laid will do for you,” Brody adds through a laugh.
I step up to him, getting right in his face. “Don’t speak about Vienna like that.”
Brody’s smile falters. “You’re into her, huh?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like…this isn’t just a fling for you. Fuck, man.” He pats me on the shoulder. “That’s great.”
I push his hand away. “I don’t need your fucking encouragement.”
“No, I’m being serious,” Brody says. “Jaylyn and I always wondered if you’d find someone that would help you move on after Sarah,” he says, referencing his wife.
“Yeah, well…”
She has, I think to myself.
For the first time in five years, I’m thinking about the future—and not just the one where I watch Ellis grow up alone—but one where I have someone by my side through it all.
Brody slaps me on the shoulder before heading for the door. “I hope it all works out for you, man. Truly.”
Yeah, you and me both.
After everyone clears out from the debriefing room, I head back to my desk to catch up on some paperwork, fighting to ignore the bomb my friends planted over the weekend.
All I would have to do is press a few keys, and the database would tell me everything I could ever want to know about the woman that I’m falling for more with each passing day.
But is it necessary?
Like I told my friends, I don’t feel like she is hiding anything from me, but then I think about Elliot and how blindsided he was by Tori.
I don’t want to fucking end up like that too.
If I got fucked over by this woman, I know for certain that I would never entertain a relationship again.
My heart and head couldn’t go through something like that again.
Staring at the blinking cursor on the screen, it taunts me with the truth—the whole truth, not just what Vienna has told me.
But do I honestly think that something is missing?
No.
The answer comes to me so quickly that I exit out of the database system and exhale the breath I was holding.
For once I’m going to trust my gut because the thing I know for certain is that the only thing that has been missing from my life—is her.
***
“Daddy, why do you look so grumpy?” Ellis asks as she and Vienna paint rocks at my dining room table.
I’m standing in my kitchen, cleaning up the dishes from the meal I just made for the three of us, but I haven’t said much since Vienna arrived.
I’m afraid that if I do, I might blurt something out that she might not be ready to hear, but my mind can’t stop fixating on.
I’m fucking in love with this woman.
Every time she’s in my house and with me and my daughter, all I can think about is how I want this for the rest of my life.
And as soon as I came to this realization about an hour ago, I couldn’t focus on anything else.
“Just have a lot on my mind, Ellis,” I say as Vienna glances up at me too. And fuck, the sight of the two of them together is everything I feel like I’ve been missing—someone who cares for my daughter as much as they do for me.
“You should come paint rocks with us,” Ellis continues as she smears red paint all over her rock. “I’m making a ladybug.”
“And you’re getting more paint on your hands than the rock,” Vienna tells her. “Maybe you should wash your hands before you continue.”
“Okay.” Ellis hops down from her chair and runs down the hall to her bathroom.
I’m in the middle of wiping down the kitchen counter in front of me when I feel Vienna come closer. “Are you okay, Rhonan?” There’s a cautiousness to her voice.
I reach for her by the waist and pull her into my chest, stroking my finger down the side of her face. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t seem fine,” she says, reaching up to my chin, forcing me to look at her.
“If you’re not careful, you’re going to give yourself even more wrinkles and then your sister is definitely going to push that face cream on you.
” She toys with my bottom lip and I can’t fight the way my body reacts to her.
Chuckling, I lean down and press my lips to hers. “I draw the line at yoga, all right? Yoga won’t prevent wrinkles, but it will prevent a shit ton of other issues.”
Her eyes widen. “Has someone been researching yoga?”
“Not intentionally. It’s just popping up on my internet feed now. Henley said the same thing happened to him after the first time he tried it.”
Vienna laughs. “Well, I’m glad to see that you’re embracing it instead of fighting it finally.”
I’m embracing a hell of a lot more than yoga.
“Okay, I’m ready!” Ellis announces as she re-enters the room, interrupting our conversation.
“We’ll talk later.”
Vienna nods before pressing a kiss to my lips and returning to the table with my daughter.
Fuck, I can’t wait until Ellis goes to sleep so I can show this woman exactly how she makes me feel—all fucking night long.
“Daddy, are you gonna paint with us now?”
Sighing, I toss the kitchen towel to the counter and take a seat at the table. “Sure, sweetie.”
“Yay!”
After countless rocks are turned into ladybugs, turtles, and more rainbows, Vienna goes back to her house to check on Roscoe while I get Ellis through bath time and our bedtime routine.
Tucked in her bed, on the verge of falling asleep, my daughter looks up at me. “Daddy?”
“Yes, sweetie?”
“I missed you when you were at work and Uncle Fletcher’s party.”
“I missed you too, baby girl.” Pushing her hair from her face, I can see her eyes start to flutter closed.
“I missed Vienna too.”
“Yeah, me too,” I croak out as I hear the front door open and close, which means Vienna must have come back.
“Are you gonna marry her?”
“I—I don’t know, Ellis,” I answer honestly. Plus, she’s already been married and so have I, so I’m not sure where her head is at on the topic. But could I see her walking toward me in a white dress? Could I see me waking up next to her with my ring on her finger?
Yeah, I can definitely see it now.
“I think you should.”
I fight to control my smile. “Is that so?”
“Yes. You love her, just like Uncle Fletcher loves Auntie Laney.”
God, to be a kid when love and life seem so fucking simple. “What makes you think that?”
“Because you look at her like she’s the most beautiful rainbow you’ve ever seen.”
My heart threatens to jump out of my chest. “I love you, Ellis.”
“You should give her your lucky rock,” she mumbles, her eyes nearly closed now.
My hand covers my pocket where my rock resides. “But you gave me that rock.”
“Yeah, because I love you. But you love Vienna, so you should give it to her.”
Ellis’s eyes completely close, so instead of responding, I place a gentle kiss to her forehead and then shut her door softly, returning to the living room to find Vienna sitting on the couch, focused on her phone.
When she senses me in the room, she jumps, covering her chest with her hand. “Jesus, Rhonan.” Tucking her phone back into her purse, she peers up at me. “You scared me.”
“Who else would be coming down the hall?”
She shakes her head. “No one, I guess…” Pushing her hair from her face, she smiles up at me. “I was just so engrossed in my phone that I didn’t hear you.”
I take a seat on the couch next to her, pulling her into my chest and inhaling her, my nose buried deep in her hair. “Well, you can be engrossed in me now.” Leading her to straddle me, I wait until she’s in position before I study her face. “God, I could get used to this.”
Her eyes sparkle in the dim light from the lamp beside us. “Me too.”
“I like coming home and knowing I get to see you.” I drag my nose up the column of her throat. “It makes all of the stress go away.”
“What stress?”
“Just life. Worries about being a good dad. Work.”
“I thought your job was pretty lowkey?”
Leaning back, I meet her gaze. “Normally it is, but when Chief gets an inkling about something, he makes it the entire station’s problem.”
Her hand plays in my hair at the back of my neck. “What’s going on?”
I shake my head. “Nothing. I don’t want to add any worry to your plate.”
“You know you can talk to me, Rhonan.”
“I know, baby. That’s one of the things that I enjoy most about having you here.” Inhaling deeply, I say, “And the fact that you and Ellis have a connection too makes this seem almost too good to be true.”
She huffs out a laugh. “I seriously love that little girl. She’s like joy, sunshine, and rainbows all bottled up into a tiny person.”
“Speaking of Ellis, do you mind watching her Monday night next week, please? Joanne needs the night off after this weekend with the wedding and all that.”
“Of course. I—I would love to.” She bites her bottom lip. “My, how things have changed in a matter of a few months.”
“What do you mean?”
She arches an eyebrow. “Well, if memory serves me correctly, you were yelling at me weeks ago about not understanding the responsibility of having a child, and now you want me to babysit her.” Tapping her chin playfully, she continues, “I honestly don’t know what to think of this turn of events.”
I tickle her ribs, making her squeal. “Hey, watch it. If memory serves me correctly, I apologized profusely that night with my tongue all over your pussy.”
Her eyes grow darker and the heat between her legs grows hotter as she rubs herself over my cock. But I’m not done holding her, not done soaking up her warmth that is soothing my soul in ways I never thought possible.
“I’m not just obsessed with your body, though, Vienna.” I push her hair from her face so her eyes are exposed to me completely. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had someone to talk to, someone that I feel I can trust, and you’ve given me that again.”
“Same, Rhonan.” She places a chaste kiss on my lips and then rests her forehead on mine. “Lydia was my person, and when she died…”
“How did she die?” I cut in. “You never told me that.”
Her eyes grow glassy. “Ovarian cancer. It was aggressive and she fought it hard, but by the time they started treatment, it was too late.”
“Fuck, I’m sorry.” Pulling her into me, I hold her tightly. “I would have loved to have met her.”
“She was the best. She would have loved you.”
“I owe her a lot.”
She leans back and looks into my eyes. “Why’s that?”
“Because she brought me you.” The words drift from my lips so effortlessly that I almost say the other three words that have been on my mind these past few days.
“If I never would have fallen down at The Charming Bull, do you think we would have met?” she asks with a quirk in her lips.
“I’d like to think so.”
“Does that mean you’re beginning to think some things might actually happen for a reason?”
I frame her face with my hands and pull her within an inch of my lips, feeling her breath skate across my mouth. “Yeah, baby. I think I just might.”