Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
TRICK
The moment I pushed my front door open, I was greeted by a high-pitched bark. I moved to the kennel I bought for crate training, and the moment Diva saw me, she started wagging her stubby tail so hard her entire back end wiggled.
“Hey, girl.” She let out another bark and beat her paw on the ground, demanding to be let out.
“All right, bossy. Gimme just a second.” Tossing my jacket onto the back of the sofa, I headed for the kitchen, removing my gun, holster, and badge from my belt, and placed them on the island.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge and uncapped it before going back to the kennel and unlatching the door.
Diva hopped out and followed me to the back door. The moment I opened it, she shot out to do her business. I was kicked back in one of the Adirondack chairs, sipping my beer while keeping an eye on the pup as she sniffed around, when my cell rang.
Pulling it from my pocket, I smiled at the screen before engaging the call and lifting it to my ear. “Hey, baby girl.”
“Hey, Daddy.” Hannah replied. “What’re you up to?”
“Not much. Just got home from work. How about you? You doing good?”
She hesitated for a second before replying. “Yeah. I’m okay.” But the way she said it let me know she really wasn’t.
“What’s the matter, Banana? Something happen at school?”
“No, school’s fine. But….”
My stomach twisted. “But what, sweetheart. What’s the matter?”
“Well, it’s just…. Are you really dating Ms. Nona?”
“What?” My back shot straight. I’d wanted to tell her and Shawn myself, but it was becoming apparent that was no longer an option. “Where’d you hear that?”
“So it’s true?”
I wasn’t sure if this was the kind of conversation a parent would ever be prepared to have with their children, and all I’d wanted to do was have a beer after a tense day, but it didn’t look like that was in the cards. “Would you have a problem with it if I were?”
“No, not really. I think Ms. Nona’s great.”
“Where’d you hear about me and Nona, honey?”
“Promise you won’t get mad.”
The hairs on my arms stood on end, and my throat went dry, making the words abrasive and painful as I asked, “Get mad about what?”
Hannah suddenly started talking at a pace so fast I had trouble keeping up.
“Okay, don’t freak out, but I heard about it from Mom.
” My skin grew tight and itchy as anger took hold.
“She was talking to one of her friends on the phone, going on about you two having a date yesterday. She was pretty loud, so it wasn’t hard to hear what she was saying.
But she didn’t know I was listening, so please don’t tell her. ”
I managed to swallow down the litany of curse words I wanted to let out and took a few deep breaths before speaking. “I’m not gonna tell your mom, but you know you should never eavesdrop, Banana. It’s not right.”
“I know,” she replied, sounding contrite. “I’m sorry, and I won’t do it again. But it’s true? You took her on a date yesterday?”
“Yeah, I did. We went to lunch at the diner. But, sweetheart, it’s still really new. That was only our first date, and I planned on telling you as soon as you guys came—”
“Wait,” she yelped, cutting me off. “You took Ms. Nona on your first date to the diner? For lunch? Seriously?”
My eyebrows dropped into a V, and I immediately went on the defensive. “It was spur of the moment. I didn’t have much else to work with on such short notice.”
“You could’ve at least taken her to El Toro!” she cried. “Or Marcello’s. Either of those would’ve been better than the diner.”
“Hey! You’ve always loved Evergreen Diner.”
“Yeah. It’s great, and Sally and Ralph are a trip, but it’s not where you have a first date, for crying out loud.”
I shook my head even though she couldn’t see me. “I’ll have you know we both had a great time. And we’re going out again on Thursday.”
“Oh yeah?” There was more than a hint of skepticism in her voice. “Where?”
“The Groves, smart aleck.”
“Ooh, fancy! Nice, Daddy. Very romantic.”
“Well….” I paused, suddenly regretting my mention of The Groves. “It’s not actually an official date. Tristan and Blythe’ll be there since we’re goin’ for Tris’s birthday, but—”
Hannah’s loud, girly giggles burst through the line, and I couldn’t help but smile at the sound of my baby girl’s laughter.
“All right, you finished?”
“Al-almost,” she choked out through more laughter. “Just gimme a sec.” She finally got ahold of herself a few moments later. “All right. I’m done.”
“You sure?” I teased.
“Yeah.” I could hear the smile in her voice, and it created a warmth that spread throughout my chest. “I’m really happy for you, Daddy. I didn’t like the idea of you being alone.”
“I’m not alone, baby. I have you and Shawn.”
“You know what I mean,” Hannah said softly. “You need someone around to take care of you when we aren’t there.”
“I love that you wanna look out for your old man, honey, but worrying about me isn’t something you need to add to your plate. I’m the grown-up. It’s my job to worry about you.”
“I know,” she sighed. “It just helps to know you’re happy. And you are, right? Happy, I mean?”
God, my girl was incredible. “Yeah, Banana. I’m happy. I’m just happier when you guys are home with me.” I looked to the yard to find Diva waltzing toward the deck with a stick twice her size hanging from her mouth. “And speaking of, I have a surprise for you guys when you get back.”
“Yeah?” she asked excitedly. “What is it?”
I laughed and shook my head, bending to pull the stick from Diva’s mouth when she reached my side. She fought me like her life depended on it, clamping down and letting out a playful growl. “Wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, would it? You’ll just have to wait ’til Friday to find out.”
Her unhappy groan carried through the line just as I got the stick free of Diva’s jaw and sent it flying. She ran after it, but instead of bringing it back, she plopped down on top of it and commenced chewing.
“Fine,” Hannah grumbled. “I guess I can wait.”
“Good girl.” My call waiting beeped, and I pulled the phone from my ear to see the number for the department pop up on the screen. “Sweetheart, the station’s calling on the other line. I gotta take this, but no more listening in on your mom’s conversations, yeah?
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s my girl. I love you to the moon and back times infinity.”
“Love you to the moon and back times infinity plus one,” she returned, saying the same thing we’d been saying to each other since she was about five years old. “Be safe, Daddy.”
“I will, honey. Give your brother my love, and I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay. Later.”
We rang off, and I clicked over to the other line. “Wanderly.”
“Know you only just got home, man, but we got a body,” Hayes said.
“Fuckin’ shit.” I shot from the chair and cleared the steps into the yard, bending to pick up Diva and carry her into the house. “Another OD?”
“That’s what it’s lookin’ like. I’m on my way to the scene now.”
My gut churned, and bile rose in my throat. “All right. Text me the address. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I hung up without another word and stuffed the phone in my back pocket as I looked down at the squirming pup tucked against my chest.
“Feel like visiting your girl for a little while?
She cocked her head to the side and let out a little yip, which I was willing to bet meant yes.
Nona
I’d just finished drying the last of the dishes from dinner when a knock came at my front door. Blythe was in her room, texting like it was an Olympic sport, and Tris was in the basement playing video games, so I grabbed a towel and started for the door as I dried my hands.
“Hi,” I greeted in surprise, my heart doing a little leap when I opened it to find Trick standing on the other side.
He hit me with a grin that caused a tingle deep in my belly. “Hey, baby.”
I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to hearing him call me that, but where it used to hurt, it now felt like a gift.
It was the day after our date at the diner.
Trick had a lot on his plate at the station, so this was the first time I’d actually seen him since he dropped me off at the salon, but he made sure to call once or twice just to touch base or tell me to have a good day, and we’d texted a lot.
I was quickly coming to discover that Trick had a gift for words in any form.
I propped my shoulder against the doorjamb and grinned at him before dropping my gaze to where Diva was wriggling in his arms, trying to get to me. “Hey yourself, handsome. What brings you by?”
Instead of answering, he asked a question of his own. “Where are the kids?”
Knowing exactly where his mind was, my nipples hardened as I lowered my voice to reply. “Occupied in other parts of the house.”
That was all he needed to hear. He shifted Diva to the side and wrapped his free hand around the back of my neck, pulling me flush against him as he went in for a kiss that knocked my socks off.
A soft moan rumbled from his chest just before he pulled away far too soon. “Wish that could’ve been longer, beautiful, but I actually came by to ask a favor.”
Resting my palms on his chest, I tipped my head back to look up into those gorgeous gray eyes. “You sure are asking a lot of favors lately.”
His hand drifted down my back, and his voice was like rich melted chocolate as he murmured, “The first one worked out pretty goddamn well for me, so I’m more than willing to push my luck.”
I dropped my head back on a laugh, and Diva let out a bark a moment later, clearly unhappy with the lack of attention she was receiving.
“Speaking of favors,” Trick grunted. “I just got called back into work and was wondering if you wouldn’t mind watching the little dictator here for a few hours. She’s been locked up all day, and I’d hate to have to put her back in her kennel until I get home.”