Chapter 33

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

DUSTY

We stayed at the house for another twenty minutes before Brody and Patty got in their car and went to meet Hank at the station to file an official report. The way they carried themselves as they walked to the old Toyota revealed how much relief they felt to have Brody’s dad in custody. Some people weren’t meant to be in their children’s lives, and this guy was one of them. I’d never considered my own situation like that before, but maybe it was similar. Maybe if my parents had stayed, our situation would have only escalated.

My grandpa was a level-headed guy who was very happy spending most of his time alone. If he’d thought he was the better choice for raising me, then my parents had to have been a terrible option. I actively avoided thinking about them, but after almost fifteen years of no contact, sometimes I couldn’t help but wonder where they were. I was only human.

I was waiting on the sidewalk with Travis when Nova pulled up in my black truck, and my heart flipped over at the sight. She looked good behind that wheel.

“Where’d they go?” she asked, hopping out and carrying two brown paper sacks. Her skirt swayed with each step, and she tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Police station,” Travis said. “We can put the food inside and lock the door on our way out. Patty left us her spare key.”

“Okay.” Nova smiled at him. “I think it should reheat well. Dal put together more food than they could eat in one night anyway.”

I wondered how much she’d told him about the situation. Honestly, she only had to say that someone needed food and he’d fill bags, no questions asked. People in this town looked after one another, as evidenced by how things went down tonight. My faith in Arcadia Creek was rewarded, and my gratitude that Nova got to experience it made me glow.

Nova carried the bags into the house. We put them in the fridge and met Travis at the truck. “Can you drop me off at home?” he asked. “Desi had to get Kendall to bed, so they left the fundraiser.”

“For sure.” I glanced at the time, surprised to see how late it was. By the time we’d taken Travis home, the auction was definitely over. We sat in my truck while I sent Henry a text to update him on the situation.

Dusty

Brody is good now. His dad was taken back to jail. I’ll give you the full update when I see you

Coach Gable

Don’t worry about coming back. We have enough boys here. Clean up will go fast.

Dusty

Did we make enough?

He didn’t text back, so I put my phone in the cupholder and pulled onto the road. “The fundraiser is over. ”

“Okay.”

“Should we…do you want to…” How could we continue spending time together without me making it sound unwholesome? It was so important to me that Nova understood I was willing and happy to take things slowly…which was absolutely cramping my game.

“I don’t have a TV or I’d invite you to come back and watch a movie,” she said.

“I’d ask you to go for a moonlit walk with me, but I’m beat. I think my adrenaline has been on high for the last two hours. Now I’m coming down and I’m feeling it.”

Nova looked at me until the stop light turned green. “I have dessert at my apartment and a laptop. We could throw on a miniature movie and eat apple pie.”

“You’ve been holding out on me,” I said, eyeing her. “Apple pie?”

“Caramel apple pie, actually.”

“Marry me already.”

She went silent.

“Bad joke,” I muttered.

“No, it’s good to know what you value. Caramel apples rank high on that list.”

“Incorrect,” I said, pulling the truck behind the diner and parking in front of her apartment building. “Caramel apple pie does.”

“Noted,” she said lightly, then cleared her throat. “My mom called.”

I shut off the ignition, looking at her. Nova’s tone had changed, and I felt the weight of an impending revelation. After the emotional stress of the evening, it put me on high alert. “Is everything okay?”

“My dad needs hip surgery, I guess, so they’re coming home early and renting a place until their house is vacant again.”

“I bet your brother will be glad to have them back,” I said, hoping that was the end of the conversation. The thought of her and the kids leaving sent a rush of fear through me.

“Yeah.” She chewed on her bottom lip and looked through the window, staring at something in the distance. “She invited us to come live with them.”

The truck was deadly silent. I could hear both of us breathing. I hadn’t even kissed this woman yet, but I knew she needed to be in my life. The idea of her going back to New York felt like a swift slice through the gut, opening an old wound and laying it bare.

People left. It was what they did. My parents had done it more than once. I’d always wondered if maybe I hadn’t given them enough of a reason to stay, and I would not make that same mistake with Nova.

With her, I would fight.

“I want you to stay.”

She looked at me sharply.

“Yeah, I said it. Maybe I should be more stoic, but it’s the truth. I don’t want you or Ben or Alice to leave. I want all of you to stay.”

Nova closed her eyes. When she looked at me again, she seemed tired. “I’m not making any decisions tonight.”

Well, that was a good sign.

When she opened her eyes, she looked at me. “Should we go have some pie and pretend I never told you that?”

“Yes to the pie,” I said, “but I don’t want to pretend anything. I’m glad you could trust me.”

Nova’s smile was the little shot of adrenaline I needed. We seemed, with mutual understanding, to decide to table the conversation for now, which gave me hope. I had time to convince her to stay.

She hopped out of the truck. My phone buzzed, so I picked it up and read the text while I got out and closed my door behind me.

Coach Gable

More than enough. These boys are going to camp.

“We did it,” I said, putting my phone in my pocket. “We made enough to cover summer camp.”

“Yes!” Nova jumped in the air, then flung her arms around my neck, giving me a good squeeze. “You did it, Dusty.”

Words failed me.

My brain stopped computing anything outside of this woman in my arms. I closed my hands over her back, our lungs expanding in sync. The embrace shifted, Nova melting against me while my arms wrapped around her, pulling her closer. I inhaled slowly, my eyes fluttering closed, and breathed in the sweet scent of her shampoo.

I wanted to take her with me to my warm house where we could sit on the porch and look at the stars with hot cups of tea. I wanted her to be there when I got home from my shifts in the morning so we could make breakfast together and get the kids off to school. I wanted to shop for Christmas ornaments and plan a Thanksgiving menu with her. I wanted to walk the aisles of Walmart slowly while the kids chose their lunch boxes at the end of the summer. I wanted an extremely domestic life, and I wanted it with her.

I was already planning our happily ever after. Because, despite how slowly I was willing to take things, I could see a future with Nova, Ben, and Alice. It seemed like it would be rich and full of goodness.

Her hands smoothed up my shoulder blades, and I leaned away to cup the back of her neck, looking her in the eye. “I’m so impressed with the way you handled things tonight.”

“I did nothing,” she argued, her eyebrows rising in surprise. “Well, I gave Brody a snack, but it would have been better if I’d had protein and not sugar on hand. ”

“You were a calming presence for us.”

Her arms tightened around my waist as she tipped her chin up to look me in the eyes. Nova’s height meant I wouldn’t have to bend too much to kiss her. She was perfect.

“I will go at whatever pace you need to go, but just know I’m a patient man. I’ll wait as long as it takes for you to be comfortable with me.”

Nova stiffened. “I have to think about the kids.”

“Exactly. If you don’t want to tell them we’re dating, I’ll respect that.”

“We’re dating now?” she asked, her voice oddly void of emotion. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“I hope so. But if you need a few more first dates, that can be arranged.”

Her quiet chuckle made some of my nerves melt away.

“Just stay here with me,” I said. “Don’t go. I have a recipe for happily ever after. Want to hear it?”

“Yes,” she whispered, burying her head against my chest.

“Me, you, Alice, and Ben.”

“What about Leia?”

“I’m not finished. You have to mix the first four ingredients together, stick them in a house full of furniture, toss in a blue couch, some homemade cookies, and sprinkle a cat on top.”

“How about then you have to top it with a cat? It sounds less gruesome.”

“Top it with an orange striped cat and enjoy for…hmmmm…maybe forever?”

She grinned up at me. “That’s a long time to be stuck with that same blue couch.”

My heart soared simply because she didn’t run away after I painted a picture of us being happy together. This was a step in the right direction.

“True. And the view from my back deck could get boring after a while. ”

“No, it won’t.”

“Yeah, it definitely won’t.” I brushed loose hair away from her forehead, looking into her eyes. “I really want to kiss you.”

Nova didn’t rush to respond. She blinked, looking at me, her brown eyes searching mine as if she could look through them and read my entire history. She drew in a shuddering breath. “Okay. Then do it.”

My lips broke into a wide grin. I brushed my thumb along her bottom lip, smooth and velvety. I was pretty sure it was the most beautiful thing in the world, and I didn’t think I was biased about that.

Sliding my hand along her jaw, I leaned forward, our lips just a breath apart.

“Nova,” a man said sharply, making us flinch and knock our foreheads together.

We turned in unison, though I didn’t release her. A man stood at the base of her apartment steps, shadowed and dark. He looked put together, his dark blond hair brushed to the side, his suit spotless, but his expression was pure rage.

“Carter?” she asked, peering closer like she couldn’t tell if he was real or a terrible hallucination. “What are you doing here?”

He slid one hand into his pocket, his eyes running over her and avoiding me. “I’m here for my kids.”