Love At Peace (Hometown Heartstrings #3)

Chapter 20

Roarke

O n Thanksgiving, I headed to Gavin and Wendy’s house to celebrate with them. Or, as Wendy and her sister put it, I was going there to watch all the football with my buddy. Which was true.

It was a day meant for families, and Nevaeh was the only family I really had left. I wasn’t approaching her, though, not until she could get her head out of her ass about being with David.

My worry for her never stopped, but like I told Heather, I had other priorities to look out for, like making sure she would stay and be safe in her hometown.

It didn’t escape my notice that she hadn’t told me that she loved me. When I gave her that declaration, she didn’t reply in kind. But I hadn’t expected her to. I didn’t assume that she would.

Yet.

I felt the depth of her affection for me. I knew she cared for me, and when we had sex after we more or less made up, I could tell that she’d missed me as much as I’d missed her. Even though we fought, we were building something. We had made up.

This morning, when I realized that I hadn’t told her that I was sorry, that I hadn’t apologized for that big fight at her cabin, I drove over and caught her as she was leaving for Eric’s house to start preparing for a Thanksgiving meal with him.

She’d talked to me, but I wanted to say I was sorry too. I’d done wrong, arguing with her.

“Hey!” She’d raised her brows and smiled at seeing me. I’d clearly caught her off guard. “What are you doing?”

“I wanted to say I’m sorry.”

She frowned.

“For calling you na?ve. Weak. All that I said when we argued that day.”

Understanding dawned on her face. She smiled again and nodded.

“I get it now. I see why you’re so defensive. And I wanted to officially apologize for the way I talked that day.”

“Hey, you were mad too.”

“That’s no excuse,” I told her. “And I’m not siding with Nevaeh over you. It was never a matter of that.”

“Thank you for apologizing,” she said. “You’re restoring my faith in the world by proving a man can apologize.”

“Oh, count on it. I’ll fuck up again. I’m only human.”

She laughed lightly. “Hey, me too.” She held up the bag of things she was taking to her car. “I’ve got to get to Eric’s. I would like to catch up with you over the weekend though.”

I smiled. Catch up? I wanted to do more than that. “I’m going to Gavin’s later.”

“Ah. All right, well, maybe tomorrow or something. I’ve gotta go to work even though it’ll be Black Friday.”

“Me too. They wanted us at the ranch.” I shrugged, used to the sometimes unpredictable neediness of the ranch. I turned to leave, but she cleared her throat. “Wait.”

I stood still, my heart hammering fast, as she walked up to me and kissed me slowly.

“What was that for?” I whispered, smiling against her lips.

“Because I wanted to.”

I kissed her again, slower and deeper until she seemed to debate if she should hold that bag or drop it to hug me.

Slow down. There’s no need to rush.

I stepped back, breathless and glad that she was breathing just as hard. “I’ll see you later,” I promised. My heart was full at the fact that she was on board with seeing me again. I was confident that we were on better terms, but I needed to see what I could do to convince her about staying, too. With my friends backing us up, we had to be able to solve this David issue once and for all.

I arrived at Gavin’s and winced at where my mind was at. The kids would be running around. Wendy and the other relatives would make it a bigger crowd. It wouldn’t be an ideal time to talk to my friend about what we could do regarding David, but maybe later, during halftime, we could talk more in his man cave.

“Uncle Roarke!”

The girls yelled it in unison as they saw me coming. Clearly, I wasn’t an actual relative, but with how close of friends Gavin and I were, they saw me as an honorary uncle and included me as such.

I laughed, juggling the rolls that I was tasked with bringing, hoping they wouldn’t drop off the tray container that the bakery had put them in yesterday. All the kids gathered too close, trying to hug me or say hi at all.

It was bittersweet, to be included in their family holiday. They felt like family, but it wasn’t lost on me that my real family wanted nothing to do with me.

Nevaeh was sulking and avoiding me since we last talked. Even indirectly, on the phone when Marty called to tell me that she was caught shoplifting.

I was her uncle, her real uncle, but it was Gavin’s kids who were greeting me like that. Instead of wallowing in the irony and disappointment in how sourly things had gotten between us, I tried to shove all those thoughts aside and enjoy the company here.

It was a lively dinner, with great people, plenty of laughter, and wonderful food. Gavin must have talked with Wendy about my budding, tentative relationship with Heather, because once the kids cleared out to play in the backyard with their puppy—an early Christmas present—she asked, “Did you invite Heather?”

I shook my head. “It’s, uh, kind of delicate right now. We’ve made up, but she’s still on edge about being with me. About being with anyone.”

“But you’re such a catch,” she said teasingly.

“Gee, thanks,” Gavin grumbled good-naturedly.

She kissed him quickly. “Seriously, why would she still be iffy about being with you if you’ve made up?”

“I think she is tempted to leave. To get away from David regardless of what she could have here with me.” I sighed, hating how much it hurt to admit that. “Anyway, she’s with Eric today.”

“How’s he doing?” she asked.

“Better, but he still doesn’t remember what happened that day,” Gavin said.

“And he’s so frustrated about it,” I said.

Wendy grinned. “Well, maybe he won’t have to wonder for long.”

Gavin and I shared a look then frowned at her. “Huh?” I wasn’t following.

“Okay, so Eric’s house is across the street from the Rosarios.”

I shrugged. I knew most of everyone in this town but the name didn’t ring a bell.

“Mindy Rosaro?” She raised her brows expectantly. “I work with her.”

“Ah. Okay.”

“Well, they’ve been out in Minnesota, helping Mindy’s mom deal with the last of chemo. They’ve been out of their house for a good month now, and they’ve got a Ring camera on their door. It’s not placed in an obvious spot, and I bet Marty doesn’t know it’s even there. He’s aware they’re out of town, of course. But she called me this morning to say Happy Thanksgiving and that they’re almost home again. I mentioned about Eric and all, and she thinks that if someone came to pick Eric up outside his house, their camera will catch it.”

I smiled wide. “About time there’s evidence somewhere.”

“Eric’s going to be so happy to hear about this,” Gavin said.

“Heather too,” I said.

“Now she only thinks it’ll show it, but she doesn’t know if it will. They forgot the Ring password and haven’t been able to log in and see the camera all this time. Which, if you ask me, defeats the purpose of it and all, but still. She said they’ll be home probably tomorrow morning and she’ll contact Marty as soon as possible once she confirms if the angle shows the front of his house well. She didn’t want to call and get his hopes up if it doesn’t pan out to show anything.”

I left later, after the games. My stomach was full of food, my spirits were lifted with great company, and I was optimistic about this news of a camera catching whoever picked up Eric before he was hurt.

As I drove away, I thought again about my niece. If she wasn’t so damn combative and flaky, she could’ve been there too. She was missing out, shoving everyone away in her life.

Well, she’s not pushing her baby daddy away.

I scowled as I drove, not looking forward to when I did see her. I’d need to tell her about the man she was with. How terrible he could be. It seemed like a lost cause reaching her, but when I spotted her biking that crappy old bike on the road, I pulled up alongside her.

“Want a ride?” I asked.

She looked over and narrowed her eyes. Her face was beet red from the wind burn. A beanie helped cover her head, but I spotted the ends of the neon-green and orange that she’d dyed it since I last saw her.

“From you? No.”

“Then where’s your hotshot lawyer of a baby daddy?” I asked. “Why isn’t he driving you around?”

“Shut up. I don’t want to hear you say a single word about him.”

I gritted my teeth, hating that she’d grown up the way she had to not have the respect for herself to get with a loser. “Tough shit. I just learned how capable David is of some really nasty stuff.”

She shook her head, not pausing in her biking.

“He’s bad news, Nevaeh.”

“Oh. And you think I’m gonna take your word on that? I know him. I know who he is.”

“Right, so you’re cool with him stalking women. Lying to them. Controlling them. Kidnapping even.”

She growled, pedaling faster as if she could outrun me and escape the truth I said.

“I told you I don’t want to hear a single bad word about him.”

“Too bad,” I yelled back. “Your lover isn’t a good guy and—”

“According to who? You? Because your little girlfriend is spiteful and talking crap about him? Heather is the problem. Not David.”

“She’s not—”

“She is!” She whipped her head over to glower at me. “She’s nothing but a greedy, whiny, ungrateful bitch who took his money!”

I shook my head, knowing the truth. She’d mentioned that too, about how he’d taken over her finances. There was no point arguing. It was like talking to a wall.

“Heather messed David up. She really played with his heart and didn’t even care.”

“Oh, cry me a fucking river, Nevaeh. He’s lying to you. How can you be this gullible? You don’t listen to anyone, but everything he tells you is suddenly the truth?”

“Heather is the one who needs to be avoided. She’s the problem. I don’t trust her, and you shouldn’t either.”

I sighed, hating how defeated I felt with her. This was a lost cause.

“You’re just thinking with your dick, and she’s tricking you into believing she’s some sweetheart.” She snarled, shaking her head. “You shouldn’t trust a single thing she says, Uncle .”

I watched her bike, sad and disappointed in myself that I couldn’t help her see the truth. But I would correct her on this.

“I do trust her, Neaveh. I love her, and I will not let you or your boyfriend ruin her life.”

It felt like such a heavy comment to make. Choosing Heather over Nevaeh. I was aligning with the gorgeous woman who represented my future.

I chose love over duty to my last family member, and I wouldn’t feel an ounce of guilt to follow my heart in doing so.