She reached for the paper, but I slapped a hand on it. Then I picked it up and tore it in two, feeling my personal power grow.
She smiled. “That’s a start.”
I left the paper on the table and walked with her to the door. “Thank you, Jeannette.”
“You’re welcome.” She headed out to her car.
As I watched her leave, I considered leaving, too. I’d told my father last night what my intentions were. But I decided to stay. This time, when I talked to him, I wouldn’t be reacting to him, he’d be reacting to me. I was going to assert myself and accept whatever he did. If he couldn’t forgive, Tucker was right, that was on him. And then I’d find Mo and do the same. Even if I lost them both, I’ll know I had tried. I’d been true to myself.
33
Maurice
I was in the back bed of my old truck, which was weird because I sold that truck after I graduated from college and moved back to Salvation to help my father run the ranch. I was engaged to Shelley at the time, and she’d insisted I needed a nicer ride.
Shelley wasn’t the woman lying in the back bed, gazing up at the stars with me now, though. It was Brooke. And I wasn’t in high school anymore. Neither was Brooke, which was a good thing because I was touching her. Everywhere. I couldn’t seem to get enough of her. And where I wasn’t touching her, my mouth was on her. Her lips, her neck, her tits, her belly.
Overhead the stars twinkled. Near us, the river flowed, the ripples of water the background music of this love scene.
“It’s not wrong,” she said. “Not if you love me.”
“Fuck. I do love you.” My entire being was filled with it. With this strong, sexy, sweet woman.
“Get your hands off her!” Frank’s voice boomed across the night sky.
I jerked up. He strode across the tall grass toward where the truck was parked.
“You’re a pervert, Maurice Valentine. You’ve ruined my daughter.”
“No,” she said, lying naked next to me. “It’s not wrong. Not if you love me.”
I looked back at Frank, now holding a shotgun pointed to my chest. “Are you willing to risk your life?”
With my hands held up in surrender, I looked down at her. She was so beautiful. She was the only thing in my life that brought me joy. Never in my life had something been so important as to have her near me.
I looked at Frank. “Yes. I’m willing to risk it all.”
I started to move to her again when a blast sounded.
I jerked up, my hand pressing to my chest, fully expecting to find a hole where Frank’s gunshot blasted through me. No hole. No blood, even. I looked around. Not in my old truck. I was in my room. In my bed.
“Fuck.” I flopped back as the remnants of the dream flowed through my head. What did it mean? Was it a warning? Would I lose it all by risking it all? Was it telling me to go for it? To take the risk. Was it showing me that I needed to get up the courage to stand up for what I wanted, Frank and my reputation be damned?
I scraped my hands over my face, then looked over at the clock. It was just before five in the morning. I got up and dressed in jeans to go check on the ranch before showering and changing to go to the office. Today was Friday. All I had to do was get through today, and then I could hide out at home until Monday when I could resign. After that, I didn’t know what the hell to do. Did I go to the hotel and tell Brooke, in front of Tucker, that I loved her? Should I have signed the divorce papers?
I checked in with my foreman and went over some paperwork, then I got ready for my last day as mayor. Whether Brooke wanted to be with me or not, I was exhausted by life, and I’d need all my time to figure out how to pay back the trust, so resigning seemed like my only option. I’d wait only because Sinclair asked me to, and she’d need the weekend to adjust mentally and emotionally for the change. One benefit would be that it would make it harder for Stark to get his man in if Sinclair did a good job until the election.
I was heading into work when I drove past the inn. I didn’
t remember making a conscious decision to stop, and yet, I found myself parking in the lot and walking up to the door I’d seen Brooke go to the other day.
“What are you doing, Valentine?” I asked myself as I stood outside the door. I knocked and waited.
“Hey, gorgeous—” Tucker’s grin stalled. “Ah…you’re Brooke’s…ah…mayor.” He was wearing sweatpants and no shirt. His hair was disheveled like he’d just gotten out of bed.
“Maurice Valentine,” I said, trying to get my heart beating in my chest again. “I was looking for Brooke.”
“She ran home to steal her phone back.” He opened the door. “You can wait if you want. I’m expecting her back.”