Vow of Devotion (Vow Series Book 4) Page 15

  “These grades are good. So why am I here?” Melissa crosses her arms over her chest.

  “Warner is a very bright boy,” I say gently. “The problem isn’t his grades. It’s with his behavior. He acts out, causes scenes, and will sometimes use foul language with me and other students.”

  Mrs. Pritchett chimes in. “Behavioral problems are just as important as grades. We want to keep Warner’s grades up, but if his behavior continues, they could slip. Out of concern, Ms. Kincaid has been lenient with him. Not every teacher would do the same.”

  Melissa’s hand rubs up and down her arm, her gaze bouncing between the principal and me. Mrs. Pritchett glances at me, signaling me to continue.

  “After one particularly bad blow-up over an essay about Halloween, I began to think through the assignments. I noticed a pattern. It seems . . .”

  I trail off as Melissa’s eyes fill with tears. Her hands come up to her face and a ravaged sob erupts. I glance at Mrs. Pritchett, suddenly out of my depth.

  “Mrs. Forde, are you all right?” Mrs. Pritchett asks in a soft tone. It’s the kindest I’ve ever heard her speak. She stands, rounds the corner of her desk, and puts a comforting hand on Melissa’s shoulder.

  I pull a tissue from the box on the desk in front of me, handing it to Melissa. She takes it, wiping her eyes. The tears have subsided, but she still looks wrecked and her face is creased with pain.

  “Warner’s father is a truck driver. Over the summer he left for a delivery. He texted,” the last word is spit with a sneer, “that he wasn’t coming back. Ever.”

  My body sags against the chair. Melissa became a single mom overnight. It’s an unlucky bond that we share.

  “Warner and his father loved Halloween. Now, his father hasn’t called him in months. I’m scrambling to pay the bills, feed and clothe a growing boy, and keep our heads above water. I was a stay-at-home mom. I haven’t worked in years. No one wants to hire me.”

  Tears start spilling down her cheeks again. My throat burns with the need to cry, but I shove the urge aside. This isn’t about me, it’s about her. “I’m so sorry this is happening to you. Now that we know the problem though, we can help. I’m going to recommend Warner speaks with our guidance counselor once a week.”

  Melissa’s chin quivers. “I thought about therapy for him. He’s been withdrawn since I told him about his dad, but I don’t have the money.”

  “Our guidance counselor will help. He won’t change overnight, but with a healthy outlet for his emotions, hopefully we can steer him back onto the right track. I noticed he lashes out when I request something personal from him. I’ve been letting him make up his own stories, which I have to say are wonderful.”

  Melissa’s smile is wobbly, but there’s genuine happiness beneath the pain and pressure she’s up against. Mrs. Pritchett sits silently, letting me guide the conversation.

  “As for a job, we’ll keep our ears to ground and see if we can find something that suits your schedule and allows flexibility for Warner.”

  Hopefully Hudson won’t get angry that I’m hoping he can offer up a job I don’t know is available, but it’s a large company. Somewhere in the mix there’s got to be a job opening. I don’t want to promise anything, but I’m definitely going to ask Hudson if he knows of anything.

  Hopefully. Also not going to mention the current issues to her if it works out. Drugs being found on a construction site may not be a big selling point to a newly single mother.

  “That would be wonderful,” Melissa whispers, bringing a shaking hand to her throat. “I’ve been searching and applying everywhere. I’m working a shift at local diner, but it’s hardly enough.”

  Mrs. Pritchett regards me with an expression that looks a whole lot like pride. She carries that expression through the rest of the meeting.

  When we’re done, Mrs. Pritchett stops me on my way out of the door. “Well done, Ava.”

  Chapter 24

  Ava

  I use my key to open Hudson’s front door. I’ve been smiling since the meeting. It went really well and I’m confident we’ll get Warner on track. Mrs. Pritchett said Good job, which from her is a ringing endorsement.

  Hudson and Lilly’s laughs meet my ears making my smile grow even larger.

  Thump. Thump. Thump.

  What is that?

  I walk farther into the entryway, the bottom of the staircase comes into view. Their laughs and the thumping noise is getting even louder.

  Lilly and Hudson sail past me and out of sight again as they slide across the floor.

  What the hell?

  I run to the stairway. Lilly and Hudson are sitting on a bare mattress. Lilly has a football helmet on her head. They’re both clutching their stomachs laughing. I look from the set of stairs back to them.

  Did they just slide down the stairs on a mattress?

  I clear my throat.

  Hudson’s head whips to the side. His mouth drops open and his eyes widen in alarm.

  “She has a helmet on,” he says.

  I bust out laughing. Lilly stands, stumbling off the mattress. I go and hug her.

  “Was that fun?”

  “We need stairs,” she says giggling while trying to pry the helmet off of her head. Hudson crouches down in front of her, unsnapping the helmet and pulling it off of her.

  He holds it up, shrugging. “My old football helmet.”

  I lean down, pecking him on the lips and grin. “At least you protected her head.”

  “I’d never let anything happen to her,” Hudson vows.

  “I know,” I whisper, cupping his cheek and he stands. He pulls me into his body, hugging me tightly and kissing me again.

  “Can I watch TV?” Lilly asks.

  “Sure,” I say. I watch her run off to Hudson’s living room before turning my gaze back to Hudson’s.

  “How’d it go?” he asks.

  “So great,” I answer. “Think you might have an opening at Wells Builders for an assistant or secretary or something? His mom really needs a job.”

  Hudson kisses the tip of my nose. “With all the shit happening right now, I’m not positive, but I’ll see what I can do, bluebonnet.”

  I stand on my tiptoes, kissing him. His tongue traces my lips until I open for him. I whimper softly relishing the taste of him.

  “Proud of you,” he whispers pulling back and pecking me softly. “Come upstairs. I want to do something for you and then your girl and I are cooking dinner.”

  I smirk. “You cook?”

  “I can handle it.”

  I take Hudson’s offered hand and go upstairs with him. He leaves me sitting on his bed as he goes into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He opens it a few minutes later, motioning for me to come to him.

  I stand from the bed and walk to the bathroom, smiling the entire time. My eyes slide from him to the bathroom. It’s dim and candles are set around the tub creating a beautiful glow. Steam rises from the hot, bubbly water.

  I gasp.

  “I haven’t had a bath in a long time.”

  “Relax tonight, bluebonnet. You deserve it.”

  Hudson reaches around and unbuttons my shirt. I slide the zipper down my skirt.

  When I’m naked I step into the hot bath and sink down into the water while groaning. My eyes snap open when Hudson grazes a knuckle over my nipple.

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  He’s kneeling next to the bath, staring at my half-covered body. He pulls his hand away and meets my eyes. The l-word surges into my brain. At this moment, I want to scream it from the rooftops.

  “This is the sweetest gift anyone has ever given me.”

  “I hope to make you say that a lot, bluebonnet. I’ll always treat you the way you deserve.”

  He leans down pressing another kiss to my lips.

  “I’ll come to get you when dinner is ready.”

  I sink further into the water as I watch him go and trust him to take care of me and Lilly. My eyes fall shut a
s I relax and let the water soothe my muscles.

  Hudson consumes my mind while I relax. If Lilly had been sledding down a set of stairs with anyone but Hudson, I’d probably have lost my mind. I trust him to take care of her. He’s shown me over and over that he will be there for us.

  My first impression of him may have been true, but it’s not anymore.

  The fire alarm rings through the house. My eyes pop open.

  “We’re good. It’s all good. Keep relaxing,” Hudson yells. I laugh as I imagine how he’s destroyed dinner. It doesn’t matter though, he could’ve done anything to it, as long as it’s him and Lilly, it’ll be perfect.

  Chapter 25

  Hudson

  Since Ava came into my life, I’ve been waking up and cruising through my morning routine with a smile on my face. Since she met my family a couple weeks ago, the girls have been staying with me a couple nights a week. Ava insists on some nights alone so Lilly can adjust to the new pace. When they’re here, they bring life back into my house, which is too quiet the rest of the time, now that Callan and Brae are gone.

  Pulling my shirt over my head and tugging down my torso, I finish getting dressed. Ava is already dressed and working on getting Lilly ready for school. I grab my boots from the closet, pad across the bathroom to my bedroom, and sit on the edge of my bed.

  When I bend down to shove my feet inside of the boots, the smell of coffee and bacon hit me through the open doorway. Both of them are moving around in the kitchen. My fingers start lacing the boots faster so I can get out there to join my girls.

  All materials on the job site are accounted for since we fired a few people with sticky fingers. There hasn’t been another appearance of drugs, which appears to be restoring some of my family’s faith in me. Though, it probably has more to do with meeting Ava.

  Ava is standing in front of the stove with a spatula in her hand. Her hair is hanging in loose waves down her back. I love her teaching outfits. She dresses conservatively for work, but that just makes her more enticing. Each outfit hugs her body but leaves the skin beneath all to the imagination. The fact that I’m the only man who knows what’s underneath her layers makes my dick hard.

  Her ass is pert and deliciously round in her skirt. I’m having trouble taking my eyes off it. Until Lilly calls my name and gets my attention. Ava looks over her shoulder and her eyes light up when she spots me.

  “Guess what we’re having?” Lilly says, sitting on her knees on the barstool at the island. She’s already in school clothes and her backpack is on the chair next to her.

  “What are we having?”

  “Blueberry pancakes!”

  I walk over to her and tickle her sides. She squirms and laughs. “Your mom is putting you in the pancakes? Do you taste good?” I lift her arm to my mouth and pretend to bite her.

  “No, silly,” she says, still cackling. “Real blueberries!”

  “They’re ready.” Ava turns from the counter to the island with two large plates in her hands, one with a stack of blueberry pancakes and the other stacked high with bacon.

  I reach over, taking the plates from her, and put them in the middle of the island. She’s getting silverware from the drawer when I crowd in behind her and sweep her hair to one side.

  “Morning,” I whisper against her neck.

  “Morning.” She shivers against me as I graze my lips along the column of her neck. But I’m a good boy and step back, not staying long enough to start something when there’s a child in the room.

  I set a plate in front of three barstools and grab the syrup. Ava meets me at the island with the silverware and coffee.

  “I like this,” I say.

  “I like it, too,” she confides with a tiny grin on her face.

  I never want this to change. I want them here every morning for the rest of the time left I have on this earth. I want the chaos that comes with Lilly. I want the beauty that comes with Ava. I want them to fill this house with their stuff and their noise.

  “You’re still coming over after work, right?”

  Ava looks up, then holds up one finger while she finishes chewing. “Yeah. We’ll be here tonight. Just like we discussed yesterday, goof.”

  “Good,” I say, grinning. “I should be home by the time y’all get out of school, but in case I’m not, you remember the code to get into the house?”

  “Yep,” she responds.

  I flip my wrist and check the time. I need to go if I want to be there when they start the dig on our second block. I pick up my plate, rinse it, and place it in the dishwasher.

  “I have to go, ladies,” I say, kissing them both.

  I walk out of my kitchen while my girls are still eating and starting their days. Part of me is reluctant to leave, but another part is delighted that they feel free to use the kitchen as their own.

  Callan is standing with a few workers when I pull up to the site. He lifts his chin in greeting when I step out of my truck.

  “Ready to get started?” I ask the group. I’m ready to break ground on the next street and then get lost with some manual labor on the homes that are already framed. When building a neighborhood, from the outside, it looks like the houses pop up overnight. But inside, the entire home is nothing but a skeleton.

  I like to get involved with each project, put my own stamp on it in some way. Whether it’s laying tile, hanging drywall, or painting, I want to be involved. I especially want to be involved now that this home division is mine.

  “Let’s do it, boss,” Jimmy says and hops up into the cab of the backhoe.

  Callan and I take a step back when Jimmy starts to move the huge machine.

  Callan claps me on the shoulder when the first pile of dirt is scooped up and dumped. The grin slides off my face as the second pile of dirt cascades from Jimmy’s bucket, something glinting in the early morning sunshine. That can’t be what I think it is.

  “Did you see that?” I ask Callan.

  “See what?”

  I shake my head and wave at Jimmy. “Stop!” I yell. I keep repeating the word at a yell until Jimmy hears me inside of the rig. He shuts down the backhoe and stands from his seat.

  “What’s up, boss?”

  I jog toward the pile of dirt he just dropped on the ground. “I need a shovel,” I call out over my shoulder.

  “Hold on,” Callan says.

  A moment later he returns with a shovel and plants his fists on his hips. “What’s happening?”

  “I saw something and I really hope I’m wrong.”

  I use the shovel to move the dirt around without picking any of it up. My heart skips a beat when the sun catches on a piece of metal peeking through the dirt. I wipe away more.

  A gun.

  “Fuck,” Callan groans.

  I look over my shoulder at the small hole in the ground. Gripping the shovel in my hand, I stride toward the hole in the ground and repeat the same process of slowly moving around the dirt.

  I freeze when a head appears.

  Chapter 26

  Hudson

  The shovel falls to the ground. I swipe my hand down my face and release a pent-up breath. I take the phone from my pocket as Callan appears at my side, halting midstep when he sees the head.

  His surprised eyes swing my way. Neither of us says anything as I dial my brother’s number.

  “Wells.”

  “I just dug up a body and a gun on my job site.”

  There’s no time for a greeting. The words come out a jumbled mess. I’ve learned enough from my brother to not dig anymore and to not touch anything, but beyond that, I haven’t a clue what to do and I need him here right now.

  “Be there soon.”

  I shove the phone back in my pocket as Jimmy walks up. “Jesus. Is that—”

  “A human head? Yeah, it is,” Callan answers.

  My chest feels like it’s on the verge of an explosion and pain pulses behind my eyes. “Fuck.” I rake a hand through my hair, tugging on the ends.

  A
few minutes later, the blare of sirens roars up the hill, followed by flashing lights. Maddox is at the front of the cavalry in his Charger. Two unmarked cars are following behind him, a black-and-white behind that.

  Maddox’s tires squeal as he slams on his brakes. He’s unfolding himself from the car even before the engine dies. His strides are long and quick as he makes his way over to me.

  “What the fuck is going on, Hudson?”

  I point to the head peeking out from the dirt. Maddox crouches as the other men with him approach. He pulls a pair of gloves from his pocket and shoves his hand inside of each one, though he doesn’t actually touch anything.

  “You said there was a gun?” Maddox asks.

  I point toward the pile of dirt. “It’s right on top.”

  One of the cops goes to inspect the gun, pulling gloves out of his pocket.

  Over the next few minutes, Maddox makes several calls, but his eyes are glued to the man beneath the dirt. The forensic team shows, marking places with little tented numbers and taking pictures, and finally the coroner arrives.

  I stand rooted in my spot, activity buzzing around me.

  When the coroner’s people final start exhuming the body, head first, a single gunshot wound is exposed on his temple. Maddox curses under his breath, twisting to look at the officers with him.

  All of their eyes meet, silently communicating with each other.

  “What?” I ask.

  Maddox sighs. “This is one of the biggest drug dealers in the city. Specifically cocaine.”

  “Is this related to—” I pause, unable to finish my thought. First drugs were found here inside of a box and now there’s a fucking body. “Fuck.”

  Maddox stands, taking off his sunglasses. His fists land on his hips and he stares down at his boots for a second before meeting my eyes. “We’re going to have to shut your project down. It’s an active crime scene now.”

  “Fuck.” My vocabulary has been reduced to a single word.

  “I’m going to need to take statements from everyone on your crew,” another detective says. He sticks out his hand for me to shake. “Forest Smith.”