More Than Rum (The Maple Leaf Series Book 3) (19 page)

“Shit, I didn’t mean to make
you cry.” He swiped the tears with his thumb.

“No, no. It’s good. It’s all
good. You just… oh, hell.” She hitched in a breath. “No one has ever said such
a nice thing to me before.”

“You’ve been hanging out with
the wrong people, lady. Stick with me, and I’ll tell you nice things all the
time.”

“I like this plan.” Her stomach
let out another sonic boom.

“Get dressed and meet me at the
front door before whatever’s in there breaks free.” He patted her stomach, and
she swatted his hand away.

With a final kiss, he left, and
Hope stood there, holding her clothes in her hand and feeling slightly
overwhelmed at the depth of her love for Adam. Yes, she had spent some solid
time waiting for him—time she thought she’d been wasting—but she never expected
to click with him so completely. Is this what Rick and Sage had found with Lily
and Orion? Goodness, she hoped so. Everyone deserved this.

She hopped into her comfy
clothes and made a stop in the bathroom to freshen up. When she arrived in the
living room, Adam—in his own comfy sweats and T-shirt—was dragging Olive’s
leash on the hardwood floor. The pup chased it as if this were the greatest
game ever invented. Hope’s heart filled with such potent emotion at watching a
muscled Marine play with a tiny Dalmatian.
Her
muscled Marine. 

Her stomach let out another
bellow, and both Adam and Olive stopped their game to look at her.

“You have a dragon living in
your stomach,” Adam said, grinning at her.

“Do not.” She put her hand to
her belly, willing it to shut up and act like a lady.

“Do too. I heard it with my own
two ears, and that’s over the humming in this one.” He pointed to his left ear
with his index finger then froze as he slowly raised his gaze to hers.

They looked at each other for a
moment. Adam realizing he’d revealed something about his injuries in
Afghanistan. Hope realizing he was letting her in some more.

“Another present from
Afghanistan to go with your scar?” She gestured to his torso and took a step
closer.

He set the leash down. “What?”

“I said,” she started, but then
stopped when she saw the smirk on his face. “Jerk.” She gave him a light shove
as she followed him to the door to get her boots.

“Sorry. It’s one of the few
benefits of a buzzing ear. You wouldn’t believe the number of times I got Orion
with that one when I first came home. He finally threatened to take a chainsaw
to me in his shop if I didn’t stop.” He grinned. “Like it’s
my
fault he
kept falling for it.”

Hope mouthed the words
Clearly
he was at fault
, but didn’t let out any sound.

“What?” Adam leaned forward
then shook his head at being so gullible. “Okay, I deserved that.” He shoved
his feet into his boots and slid on his jacket. Now it was his stomach’s turn
to remind him that food was in order.

Hope let out a laugh and was
delighted to hear Adam joining in. She’d thought he’d clam up after revealing
his ear had also been affected by his time in Afghanistan. Instead, he’d surprised
her once again and joked about it. That had to mean he was comfortable with her
and wanted to be close.

And that was what she wanted.
To be close. Close to Adam.

He clipped Olive’s leash onto
her collar then held out a hand to Hope. “C’mon. Wendie makes the best
lasagna.”

She slid her hand into his and
loved how his fingers closed around hers, strong, secure.

“I hate that this has to be
said,” he started, “but keep a sharp eye out there.” He pointed to the unopened
front door. “Daniel was able to get his hands on you once on this property. I
wasn’t ready for him then. I’m ready now.” He moved his coat and shirt to
reveal a small handgun tucked into the waistband of his pants. “Still, we can
be as ready as we can be, but that doesn’t me shit can’t go wrong.”

Hope nodded slowly,
understanding everything he’d said and hating all of it. She wanted to crawl
inside Adam’s coat and hide there.

No. No hiding.
A better
plan was to show Daniel that he’d fucked with the wrong people.

“I’ll stay close,” she said,
“if you can keep up.”

She took Olive’s leash, yanked
open Adam’s door, and bolted down the stairs to the workshop. She and Olive
stopped at the shop door while Adam jogged after them.

“C’mon, slow poke,” she teased
as Olive danced around their feet.

“Slow poke?” He narrowed his
eyes at her then grabbed her hand again. “We’ll see about that.”

He opened the shop door,
filling it with his body first and sweeping his head left to right, scanning.
Apparently he didn’t sense any threats because he tugged her and Olive outside,
closed the door, then broke into a run toward Wendie’s place.

Hope had to take leaping
strides to keep up with his long legs. Olive, on the other hand, appeared to be
made to run like Adam. She galloped beside them, her ears flopping in the wind,
her little legs flying over the plowed path.

Frigid air filled Hope’s lungs.
She’d never felt more alive. Yes, a small part of her brain made her cast a
glance to the surrounding woods, looking for threats, but most of her brain was
totally concentrated on the feel of Adam’s hand gripping hers, on the sheer
beauty of his body running.

When they arrived at Wendie’s
door, Olive went wild with happy barking at seeing Adam’s sister.

“Oh, isn’t she adorable?”
Wendie bent down and let Olive bounce all over her. “Lots of energy. Yikes.”

“Yeah, she ought to be real fun
if that energy level continues when she’s full grown.”

“Dalmatians can be large.”
Wendie picked up Olive. “But you’re just a little baby right now. Yes, a little
bitty baby.” Like Joy, Wendie nuzzled the pup, and the two became bonded for
life. Good thing Hope hadn’t wanted a guard dog.

Although, I may have one
anyway.
She squinted up at Adam and warmed all over just thinking about
being with him.

Adam walked into Wendie’s house
and pointed to a five-gallon bucket she had set up in the foyer. “Is the roof
leaking again?”

“Yeah, same spot.”

“This is why you made lasagna.
So you could ask me to fix that.” He pointed to a wet spot on her ceiling.

“Maybe. I like to pay you in
food.”

“I like to be paid in food,” he
said, “especially your lasagna.” He turned to Hope. “I’ll be right back. Stay
inside with Wendie.”

Hope saluted him, but the two
women waited together on Wendie’s porch until Adam brought a ladder around and
climbed to the roof.

Wendie laughed when Olive
pushed her cold, wet nose into her ear. “Hope, come in and look at the
embarrassing pictures of Adam I had my parents send me, per your request.”

“Yes!” Hope pumped her fist in
the air.

“No,” came Adam’s voice from
the roof right above where the women stood.

“Stop me.” Hope grabbed Wendie
and they ran into the house, chuckling like teenagers. “Quick! Show me before
he scurries off that roof and ruins everything.”

Wendie led Hope to the living
room and dumped Olive on her couch. The dog immediately got comfortable on the
overstuffed cushions. Hope sat in a matching chair across from the couch.

“I have them right here.”
Wendie held up a tablet triumphantly. “My mother wanted a guarantee that I
wouldn’t use these to, and I quote, ‘Ruin Adam’s chances with a woman.’ So you
have to promise to still hang out with him.”

“That’s an easy promise to
make. I love your brother.”

Wendie stopped short, the
tablet gripped tightly in her hands. “You do?”

Hope nodded. “I told him
earlier today. Actually, he said it to me first.”

“He did?” Wendie shook her
head, slapped her own cheek, and fanned herself with the tablet. “Where am I?
What happened? Adam said he loved you? Oh my God, do you have any idea what a
breakthrough this is?”

“I thought maybe it was a big
deal but didn’t want to overinflate myself.”

“Permission to overinflate
granted, girlie.” Wendie set the tablet on the coffee table and pulled Hope to
standing. She threw her arms around Hope and squeezed. “Wow. You did it. You
really did it. You got past his defenses. You brought him back. I’ve been so
worried about him since he came back from that PTSD treatment.”

Ah-ha. Treatment.
That
was where he’d disappeared to.

“He didn’t seem any better. We
were both disappointed, but I suppose there’s nothing like love to heal a man.”

Boots stomping on the back
porch made Wendie drop her arms. “Shit. He’s coming inside.” She grabbed the
tablet and swiped at the screen. “Here. Start with this one. I’ll try to detain
him in the kitchen.” She pushed the tablet into Hope’s hands and ran out of the
living room. Olive hopped off the couch and darted after her.

Focusing on the picture on the
screen, Hope let out a laugh at the little blond boy sitting atop a pony,
wearing nothing but a pair of red shorts and a cowboy hat. Getting to her knees
in front of the coffee table, she swiped through the rest of the photos.

Adam standing on a tire swing,
a devilish look in his young hazel eyes as if he were preparing to launch
himself into the air. He probably was.

Adam dressed in a powder blue
suit standing next to Wendie in a yellow, flowered dress and white gloves in
front of what appeared to be a church. He looked as if he were itchy from head
to toe in that suit. His dress shoes were untied. The rebel.

A baby shot of Adam with a face
covered in chocolate frosting, a Happy Birthday sign strung up behind him.

Adam in a Marine dress uniform
and hat, dashing and patriotic. Others were dressed the same behind him so Hope
assumed it was graduation.

Another baby photo. A naked
baby photo. Adam on a blanket, his butt cheeks out for all the world to see.
What made it funnier was the enormous reddish-brown dog standing over him as if
planning the best way to eat him in as few bites as possible.

“No, not yet!” Wendie yelled,
trying to block the doorway between the kitchen and living room.

“Let me by, Wendie. I mean it.”
Adam tried to sidestep around her, but his sister was quicker.

“It’s okay, Wendie,” Hope said.
“I believe I’ve looked at them all.”

Adam’s shoulders sank. “All of
them?”

“Yep. Even this one.” She held
up the butt cheeks one. “Your ass still looks this good.”

“Ugh. Too much info.” Wendie
stuck her fingers in her ears. “Don’t want to know.”

Adam crossed the room and
plucked the tablet from Hope’s hand. He powered it off and set it on the coffee
table. “We’re even now.” He pressed his index fingers to Hope’s temples. “You
will now forget you ever saw these. Abracadabra.” He snapped his fingers and
dropped a kiss on Hope’s nose.

“I don’t want to forget,” she
said. “Those pictures are proof that you’re adorable.”

“I’m not adorable. No one’s
ever called me that.”

“Adorable. Definitely. Do you
still have the cowboy hat?”

He gave her a light shove. “I
do not.”

“Shucks.” Hope was warmed deep
down inside when Adam grinned. Joking around with him was fun. Almost as fun as
doing other things with him.

“Let’s get out of here,” he
said, reading her mind. Turning to his sister, he said, “I shoveled snow off
the trouble spot on the roof. I see a spot where the copper is bent. I’ll fix
it tomorrow.”

“Okay. Don’t leave without
this.” Wendie disappeared into the kitchen and returned with two foil-covered
pans stacked on top of one another. “A salad and lasagna for two.”

“Thanks,” Adam said, taking the
pans from her. “This does not, however, make up for the fact that you showed
her those pictures.”

“I did what I had to do, Adam.”
She patted his arm then turned her attention to Olive. “See you later,
sweetie.” With a flurry of kisses, Wendie gave the dog to Hope. “I should have
gotten one of these babies for myself.”

“Except Frisco would kill you
in your sleep if you did that,” Adam said as he corralled Hope and Olive toward
the front door.

“This is true.” Wendie sighed.

“Where is your cat?” Hope
asked.

“Sharpening his claws into
katana blades, no doubt,” Adam said.

“Oh, you’d better leave before
he hears you and exacts his revenge.” Wendie pushed them out the door. “Be
good, kids.”

Outside, Adam surprised Hope by
turning around quickly. “Just so you know, I don’t plan on being good.” His
hazel gaze traveled over her and somehow she was sweating in the winter air.

“Me neither.”

“I admired the table all day,”
Diana said after a sip of her ginger ale at the bar.

“Glad it came out the way you
wanted.” Adam poured two beers from the tap and set them in front of the
customers sitting next to Diana.

“I wish you would have taken
more money for it though. I feel like I stole it from you.”

“I had some of the wood already
and the polyurethane, so it didn’t cost me much to make. That price was
accurate. Besides this is how I draw in clients,” Adam said. “I undercharge
then when they ask me to build more pieces, I slowly increase the price.”

“Evil. You’re like a crack
dealer.” Diana took another sip of her ginger ale and swiveled to face the main
room. She spent a few moments scanning the crowd while Adam served up a few
more drinks. When she rotated back to him, she said, “Despite the situation,
Hope looks rather…
satisfied
.”

“We spent most of the day
together.” His cheeks grew warm as he thought about what they had done after
stuffing themselves with Wendie’s lasagna. Making love and lasagna should be
part of every day.

“She’s busted into your
fortress, hasn’t she?” Diana gave him a narrowed-eyed glance. “You’ve finally
let her in.”

Adam nodded. “I don’t even know
how it happened really.”

“Doesn’t matter how it happened
as long as it did.” She raised her bottle to him. “I’m happy for the both of
you. It’s not always easy for people like us to find love.” She took a swig
then looked over her shoulder toward the door. “Do you think Kevin will come
tonight?”

Adam met her gaze, her eyes
dark in the dim lighting of the tavern. Her hair had been pulled back in a low
ponytail, jet-black curls piled on her shoulder, and she was wearing more eye makeup
than she wore on the job. Her dark skin reminded Adam of hot fudge and he
couldn’t think of one good reason Kevin
wouldn’t
come. Adam also knew
Diana had a concealed weapon on her as did he, and he hoped Kevin would make a
third armed person. The more eyes on Hope tonight, the better.

“He’ll be here.” Adam gestured
to Hope sitting at a table with Lily, Orion, and Sage. He liked how her family
formed a barricade around her. Rick was playing with Shadow Hills tonight, but
Adam was sure Hope’s cousin would be watching out for her even from the stage.

Diana’s shoulders relaxed and
she nodded. “If you tell him I’ve been anxiously waiting for him, I’ll kick
your ass.”

“Got it.” Adam winked then did
his own sweep of the bar. So far, Hope and company had stayed at their table.
He had wanted Hope to be with him behind the bar, but she’d convinced him she’d
be in his way. Orion had promised to take over guard duty since Rick was going
to be performing with the band, and Adam had seen his buddy scanning the crowd
every now and then.

Still, he just wanted to get
back to his apartment with Hope and pick up where they’d left off. 

He kept glancing at the clock
on the wall, but the hands never seemed to move. In one respect, he hoped time
continued its slow march, because then his evening with Hope would be eternal
too. That would be excellent.

No doubt it’d fly by instead.
That could be okay though if he was promised more nights.

Look at me
. Adam Rouse
planning future nights. Unbelievable.

“Here he comes.” Diana’s voice
brought Adam back to the tavern.

Sure enough, Kevin weaved
through the patrons, heading for the bar and Diana. The guy was a long, lean
line with a shock of short red hair that made him easy to spot. His
clean-shaven face made him appear younger, but Adam knew him to be about his
own age.

“Hey, guys,” Kevin said as he
slid onto the stool next to Diana. He did a scan of the room too, and Adam
relaxed a little. With all these eyes on Hope, she would be safe. Daniel
wouldn’t get near her though they were all hoping he would try.

“Hey, man,” Adam said. “What
can I get you?”

“I’ll have what she’s having.” He
gestured to Diana’s glass of ginger ale. “I see you started without me, D.”

“Yeah, you’re going to have to
guzzle to catch up.” Diana tossed back the last of her soda and wiggled the
glass at Adam. “More, please.”

Adam got them both drinks and
was about to ask if there was any news on Daniel when a petite brunette came up
behind Kevin and put her hands over his eyes.

“Guess who?” she sang.

Kevin’s mouth turned up at one
corner while Diana’s eyes shot a death ray at the woman.

“Tina?” Kevin asked.

The woman slid her hands from
Kevin’s eyes to his shoulders. “How did you know?”

Kevin swiveled to face her,
taking her hands in his. “Do you honestly believe I could forget these
puppies?” He dropped a kiss on each of Tina’s hands, making the woman give him
a smoldering look.

Diana picked up her glass and
brought it to her lips. “Fuck,” she said quietly before taking a sip.

Adam wanted to take an empty mug
and knock it against Kevin’s head, but Diana sent him a look that said,
Do
it and die.
He held up his hands instead and backed away slowly.

“Tina, this is my partner,
Diana. Diana, Tina.” Kevin put his arm around Tina’s tiny waist.

“Nice to meet you, Diana,” Tina
said. “Gosh, you must be brave.”

Gosh?
Who talked like
that? Adam knew he was the last person who should criticize another guy for not
seeing what was right in front of him, but
gosh
? C’mon.

“Brave or incredibly stupid,”
Diana said as she stood with her glass. “I’m going to get a seat somewhere…”
she looked out into the busy tavern, “somewhere else.” She nodded toward Adam
then disappeared into the crowd.

“What’s with her?” Kevin asked
as he motioned for Tina to take Diana’s abandoned stool.

Adam wiped the bar and set a
coaster out in front of Tina. “You really don’t know?”

“Even I know,” Tina said,
surprising Adam.

“What am I missing?” Kevin
looked over his shoulder, but Diana had melted into the crowd pretty
effectively. No wonder she was a great cop.

“If we have to tell you, you’re
not ready yet.” Tina patted Kevin’s hand and turned to Adam. “I’ll have a glass
of pinot grigio, and maybe if you have some crayons back there I can draw this
guy a clue.” She pointed at Kevin.

Adam barked out a laugh. “I was
prepared not to like you, Tina, but maybe I was wrong.”

“Hey, Officer Sencotte here
saved my life once and we had a few fun times, but I know better than to get in
the way of the real stuff.” She accepted the wineglass Adam set in front of
her.

“The real stuff?” Kevin asked.
“What, me and Diana?”

“Oh, maybe I don’t need the
crayons after all,” Tina said, clapping her hands.

“No.” Kevin shook his head.
“No. Diana and I are partners. I mean, we flirt, but she doesn’t…” When Tina
and Adam just blinked at him, he asked, “Does she?”

“I can’t answer that question,”
Adam said, “because I’ve been threatened with an ass-kicking, but maybe Tina
here can shed some light, you know, as a woman.”

Tina nodded. “She does, Kevin.
Go find her and make nice. Real nice.”

A goofy smile slowly made its
way across Kevin’s lips. “Make nice. Yeah.” He picked up his soda, dropped a
kiss on Tina’s cheek, saluted Adam, and faced the crowd. In under thirty
seconds, he’d found Diana and sat across from her at a table by the small stage
where the band would be playing. Both officers were in direct view of the door
and Hope’s table.

Diana shot a look at Adam, but
he pointed to Tina in a
wasn’t me
gesture. She held up a fist anyway,
but he wasn’t scared. Hopefully, something was starting there tonight that would
take her mind off giving him a beating.

“Well,” Tina said, “there goes
my date for the evening.”

“Sorry about that,” Adam said.

“How sorry?” Tina raised a thin
brown eyebrow at him.

“My girl is at that table over
there.”
My girl.
He liked the sound of that.

“Figures. All the good ones are
always taken.” Tina pouted, then took her wine and joined a group of women at a
table.

Adam didn’t know if he was a
“good one,” but being with Hope made him feel perhaps that was possible. He
looked at the clock again. Only ten minutes had gone by.

Damn.

And where was Jake? The dude
had called and said he’d be “a little late.” That was two hours ago. Adam
didn’t mind being in charge. The tavern nearly ran itself, but he wanted the flexibility
to go to Hope’s aid should she need it. He wanted to be able to kick a
lowlife’s ass if given the chance.

He spent the next thirty
minutes getting people drinks, checking in with the band’s leader to make sure
they were all set, and clearing a few tables. When he got back behind the bar, Sage
and Hope got up at the same time from their table and started for the bathroom.
Adam was prepared to escort them, but Diana signaled that she’d follow instead.
The vise grip Hope had on her sister’s arm made Adam even more eager to pound
on Daniel’s face. Fucking douchebag.

When Hope saw him watching her,
her hold on Sage loosened and she smiled. That smile made him put down the
drink he was in the middle of pouring, round the bar, and snake through the
crowded room to get to her.

Christ, she was breathtaking.
She wore a ruffled black sweater over a shimmery silver tank top. Denim covered
her amazing legs and disappeared into knee-high, black leather boots with
silver buckles up the sides. Her hair was curled a little tonight and though
Adam loved her straight hair, something about the loose, blonde waves was so
sexy it tightened parts of him instantly.

“You okay?” he said when he
reached her. She smelled like cinnamon again, and Adam was starving for her. So
starving it hurt.

“Excuse me,” a voice said
behind him. “I’ve been waiting at the bar for my drink.”

Dammit, Jake.

“I’ll be with you in one
moment,” Adam said as politely as one could through clenched teeth.

The little prick shrank back a
bit, but waved his empty glass as a reminder.

“Go ahead,” Hope said. “I’m
fine. I’ve got my posse.” She motioned to Sage and Diana.

Adam let out a frustrated
growl. “Jake better hurry up and get here.”

“Yeah, about Jake,” Hope said.
“My mom called and he’s with her.” She waved her hand and raised her eyebrows.

“Right. Okay then.”

Hope smiled. “I was weirded out
when we first barged in on them, but then I saw how happy they both were, and
maybe I knew a thing or two about being that happy given what you and I have
been up to, so… that’s that.”

“Good for them then.” Adam
winked. “I can’t wait to get happy again tonight.”

“Me too.” Hope pointed over his
shoulder to the bar. “But for right now, you’d better get that dude his drink.
Jake would be pissed if that customer wasn’t happy.”

Adam’s throat rumbled.

“Don’t worry,” Diana said.
“We’ll keep Hope company until you’re free.” She patted her coat where Adam
assumed her gun was holstered.

That was good. He didn’t want
Hope to be alone, to be vulnerable, to be taken away from him.

Adam approached the bar where
that dude was still waiting for his drink.

“The service here sucks,” the
guy said.

“My apologies.” Adam swallowed
all the curse words he’d rather say. “What can I get you?”

The man clearly hadn’t expected
Adam to be nice, so he hesitated before saying, “Scotch, on the rocks.”

“Coming right up.” Adam poured
the drink and set it in front of the man who had money ready. “On the house for
your patience.”

Instantly, the man’s features
softened. “Hey, thanks, man.” He snatched up the glass and with a nod to Adam,
rejoined his group.

The old Adam would have told
that guy to go fuck himself. This new Adam, born in the arms of one magnificent
woman, could step back and see what really mattered.

What else would Hope teach him?

****

Hope accepted the drink Orion
placed in front of her and did her best to appear casual and relaxed.
Just
another night out in Danton.

Only it wasn’t.

She was on high alert. Her
family was on high alert. The tension was pretty thick, but her eyes kept going
back to Adam behind the bar. In his Black Wolf Tavern long-sleeved T-shirt,
interacting with the customers, he was the definition of sexy. His buzz cut
looked freshly mowed and her fingers tapped on the table in anticipation of
running her hands across that velvety softness. Preferably while he was doing
something like kissing her stomach… or other parts of her.

She shivered in her boots and
took a hearty swig of her rum swizzle before tuning into the conversation in
progress around her. The conversation her family was trying to use to mask
their concern for Hope.

“Myah got her report card today
and it’s official,” Sage said. “She’s brilliant. The kid got an A in every
subject.”

“She gets that from me,” Orion
said, earning him an eye roll from Sage.

“Okay, I know I don’t share any
DNA with Myah, but come on. Who’s been grilling her on math facts and spelling
words and taking her to the library?” Sage pinched Orion on the arm.

He rubbed the spot, but shot
his fiancée the biggest smile. “Well, I suppose you may have contributed to her
academic excellence, but what happens when she gets into second grade and the
work is too hard for you?”

Sage’s mouth dropped open,
while Hope and Lily broke out into hysterics.

“You all suck.” Sage pouted,
but joined in on the chuckles. “I don’t care. I’m proud of Myah as if she were
my own kid.”

“She is your kid.” Orion set
his beer down and took Sage’s hand. “Myah and I had a little conversation this
afternoon. Want to know what she asked me?”