His Greatest Treasure (Greatest Love #4)

Chapter 23

23

OLIVER

Rushing into Nova’s elementary school, I smooth down the front of my shirt and try to steady my breathing. I got lucky finding a parking spot in the lot out front, but I don’t even remember if I locked the doors before jogging up the steps and through the door.

It’s my first time at this school. Jamieson and I went to a different one a few minutes west of here that smelled like BO. The classroom number and teacher’s name I’ve kept up on my phone don’t lead me in a specific direction, so I dive into the front office like Avery instructed me to.

The woman behind the desk glances up at me in surprise behind her round glasses and offers me a soft smile. “You look a little lost. Are you here to pick up a student?”

I laugh on a quick exhale. “Yeah. Nova Hayes. Her mother, Avery Miller, said she called?”

Nova’s last name behind Chris’ makes my skin flush hot with anger, but I push that shit down. Not the time.

“Yes! Oliver Bateman? Do you have ID?” she asks, eying the name stitched onto the corner of my shirt. “School policy.”

“You won’t hear me complaining about you protecting my girl. ”

Their policy is a damn good one. I tug my wallet from my back pocket and flash her my license. She nods and smiles again.

“Turn right outside the office door, and then take another right. Mrs. Kerby’s class is the fourth door on the left,” she says.

“Thank you.”

“Have a good day!”

I wave over my shoulder and follow her directions before coming to a sudden stop in front of the classroom doorway. Nova’s backpack is still hung on the rack on the wall beside a couple of others, so I grab it and slip it up my arm before knocking on the door.

The older woman at the front of the class is perched behind her desk, a pair of glasses slipping down the bridge of her nose before she looks up and fixes them. Nova’s sitting at a collection of four desks that have been turned to face one another in a square, colouring in a thick book with an array of coloured markers.

“Ollie!” she shouts when she spots me, picture abandoned.

I smile, taking a step inside. “Ready to go, peanut?”

“You must be the Oliver that Nova’s been talking about. I’m Mrs. Kirby, her teacher,” the older woman says, approaching me now.

“Nice to meet you.”

“He’s a firefighter, Mrs. Kirby,” Nova sings as she stands, chin up and shoulders straight. “A lieutenant.”

“That’s right. My apologies, Lieutenant,” Mrs. Kirby teases with a quick wink.

Nova nods in approval and starts to collect her things from the desk. I watch her, an obvious lightness in my chest.

“Is everything okay?” Mrs. Kirby asks now that Nova isn’t listening.

“Avery got held up at work.”

She tips her chin. “So, I shouldn’t expect you to be the one picking Nova up after today?”

“It’ll be either one of us from now on. ”

There’s a sparkle in her eyes when I look away from Nova and toward her. “Alright. I’ll make note of that.”

“I’ll try to make sure we’re on time from now on.”

“I love my job, Oliver. And Nova is a sweet girl. It’s hardly a punishment.”

“That’s all Avery. She’s done an incredible job raising her.”

“Ollie, can we go now? Where’s Mom?” Nova asks, stepping into the conversation with her colouring book and markers in her arms.

I take them from her and drop the backpack from my shoulder to put them inside. “Yeah, let’s go. You’re coming to the station with me for a little while.”

“Really?” she shrieks, eyes wild with excitement.

“Really. You can meet my squad this time.”

“This is so awesome!”

“Glad you think so,” I say with a pat to her back. “Come on, we’ve gotta make a stop on our way back.”

Nova takes my hand and tugs me toward the door. “Okay. Goodbye, Mrs. Kirby.”

“See you tomorrow, Nova. And I hope to see your lieutenant again as well,” Mrs. Kirby replies with a grin.

We step out of the classroom, and Nova takes charge, leading me down the hallway and explaining which teachers teach in the rooms we pass and what grades painted the murals on the walls.

I listen to every word she says, enamoured with the way she switches between Swedish and English with ease, almost as if it’s happening without her knowing it. I’ve ordered a beginner’s guide to learning Swedish, but there’s no way I’ll be able to learn it without help.

“Why didn’t my mom pick me up today?” Nova asks once we’ve left the school.

“She got busy at the store and asked me to help.”

“Okay. Cool.”

“Do you like donuts?”

“With sprinkles and jam. Those are the best. ”

“We’re going to pick some up for the station. You can pick all the flavours if you want.”

She punches the air. “Nice.”

The donuts are absolutely a bribe for my squad, considering I left moments before everyone dived into their chores and opted into giving Adams my laundry duty.

Hart didn’t have much to do, so sending her to Avery was an easy choice. It helped that she’s a woman, and without having introduced Avery to any of the guys on the squad, I don’t want them around her without me. Not until I can threaten them with death if they try and flirt with her.

I open the back seat for Nova and watch with a small smile as she hops into the vehicle and onto the booster seat I stole from the extras pile at the station. She buckles herself in and gives me a thumbs-up before I head to the front seat.

“Do you have a favourite type of music, peanut?” I ask.

“Mom calls it dad rock .”

I keep my lips closed as I laugh to try and keep it silent. “Does she? I love dad rock. Do you have a favourite band?”

“Linkin Park and Matchbox Twenty. Nickelback too.”

I turn to stare at her, not having expected those answers. “Does your mom like that music too?”

“She loves it. Like me.”

Scrolling on my phone for a song, I find a playlist I made years ago and play it. I turn up the volume and put the SUV in drive before stealing a look at her in the rear-view.

“Numb” by Linkin Park wasn’t what I pictured Nova banging her head to, but as she starts singing the lyrics and tapping her thighs with the beat in my back seat, I think she crawls further into my heart, making a home for herself there.

“You’re cheating,” Nova accuses Patel, his latest match of cards pinched in her fingers.

Patel shakes his head, black hair flying. “I’m not cheating. How would I cheat at Go Fish anyway?”

“By peeking at my cards.”

Nova tucks her four cards against her chest, and I flick Patel’s arm, scowling. “Don’t look at her cards.”

“I wasn’t!”

“He was!”

“I think you’re the one cheating and trying to blame me,” Patel says.

Nova glares adorably. “It’s naughty to lie.”

“But I’m not lying!”

“Patel, give her your matches,” I order.

He gapes at me. “No way.”

“You can’t disobey your lieutenant’s orders.”

“Yeah!” Nova drawls, sticking her tongue out at him.

“This is harassment in the workplace,” he argues.

I roll my eyes. “Better take the loss, then.”

“No way.” Patel tosses his three sets of matches to Nova, and she beams at me before pulling them toward her like they’re treasure. “Now we’re even. No more cheating from you, fox.”

“I’m not a fox,” she protests.

“You’re sneaky like one,” he says.

Nova twists her mouth. “Okay, I guess.”

I glower at my squad member, but he ignores me. I’m the only one allowed to give her a nickname, and now I’ll have to smack him upside the head later.

The lack of calls today has been a blessing. Other than a small restaurant fire this morning, it’s been quiet. Captain was eager to busy himself and took my spot so I could stay here with Nova, and I owe him big time for it. I don’t want to leave her here without me, even if I know she’ll be well taken care of.

Patel asks Nova if she has any fours while I check my phone for an update from Hart. The only one there is from shortly after I got Nova back here.

Hart : She’s all good.

Me : And? What else?

Hart : I’ll update you later.

Avery sent me the same messages, but there’s a feeling in my gut that tells me there’s more to it than I’m being told. They’re hiding something, and I want to know what it is.

“I’ll be right back. Try not to get into a fist fight with a seven-year-old girl,” I warn before standing and stepping into the gym.

Texting Avery, I try not to glare at the phone.

Me : Nova is cheating in go fish. Did you teach her how to do that?

Her reply comes back too quickly to ease the suspicion in my gut.

Princess : It’s a life skill. Of course I did.

Me : Are you okay?

Princess : Almost done. Thank you for sending Rebecca. I’ll come by the station in a few to get Nova.

Me : Take your time.

It’s almost dinnertime, but after eating half a box of donuts, I don’t think she’ll be wanting real food anytime soon. My bad.

“I win! I win!” Nova shouts, voice piercing when I open the gym door and head back to them.

“Only because you took all of my matches and I had to start over!” Patel mutters .

“Don’t be a sad loser,” I tell him gruffly, taking my seat again. “Your mom is coming to get you in a few minutes, peanut. Do you have one more game in you?”

“Can it be just you and me this time?”

I glance at Patel and wait for him to notice before saying, “Did Adams finish laundry?”

“I’ll go check. Thanks for the game, Nova,” he says.

She smiles at him and starts gathering all the cards into one pile. We’re left alone as she attempts to shuffle the deck but ends up flinging cards all over the table.

I stack them all back into a pile before separating it into two. “Here, watch me.”

Bending the two decks, I show her how to use your fingers to move the cards until they’re flipping into one pile. She watches and then tries again, coming closer to doing it this time.

“I couldn’t shuffle cards until I was fifteen.”

“That’s old.”

“You’re already way ahead of me. A few more times and you’ll have it down pat.”

“Thank you, Ollie.” She grins at me, and I smile back.

“One more game, and then we’ll get all our stuff together for your mom.”

“Okay.” Her grin falls, and her eyes dim.

Alarm steals my breath. “What’s wrong?”

“I was mean to her before school. Is that why she didn’t pick me up?”

“What? No, Nova. She’d never leave you at school because of that. Your mom loves you.”

“I didn’t try to be mean.”

“I know. It’s never nice to be mean to someone, but sometimes we do it on accident. We just have to try not to make a habit of it,” I try to explain.

I’m severely lacking in the teaching life lessons skill, and it’s more obvious now than ever. With no practice, I don’t think I’m ever going to be any help in these situations .

That stings. If I want a chance with Avery, I have to prove that I’m someone she can count on. It has to be more than picking up her daughter when she can’t. I’ve got to prove to her in other ways that I can be someone she trusts to have in her and her daughter’s life.

“I don’t mean to be mean to her,” Nova whispers, bottom lip quivering.

“She knows. It takes practice to handle emotions. My brother, Jamie, used to get so hyper he would work himself up so badly that he hated being told no. He’d shout and throw fits, but he learned that instead of acting out, it would be easier to use his words to explain why he was upset. Once he started talking things through, everyone knew how to help him. If you tell your mom why you were upset and apologize, she’ll understand why you acted the way you did.”

She blinks up at me. “Really?”

“Really.”

Shoving her chair back, she smiles despite the two tears on her cheeks. I don’t have time to open my arms before she jumps at my chest and hugs me. She presses her face into my shirt, and I pull my arms out from between us and hug her back.

“I like you, Ollie. You’re nice.”

A harsh wave of emotion clogs my throat. “I like you too, Nova.”