Restoring Hope (8 page)

“You all right?” Nic asked, checking her from head to toe.

“I, I think so.”

“You think so or you know so?”

“I’m fine, really,” Hope replied as her bottom lip started to quiver. Taking a deep breath to settle her nerves, she tried to smile at Nic.

“Why don’t you sit down,” Nic told Hope as he watched her shake. His heart had about stopped when he turned the corner heading for Café du Monde for his nightly coffee. Hope had been standing rubbing the horse’s head when it knocked her to the ground. He’d started running towards her as the horse reared up, startled by a backfire, and pulled her into his arms just as the horse landed in the spot she had occupied. Twice in two days he’d come to her rescue, and he got the feeling she wasn’t exactly new to these precarious situations.

Turning Hope in his arms, he walked her to a bench and had her sit. Abby came over with a bottle of water she’d bought from a vendor and handed it to her. Both he and Abby stood over her as she took a drink, her hand shaking as she raised the bottle to her lips and drank deep.

“You better now, sugar?” Nic whispered to her as he kneeled down in front of her. Hope wouldn’t hold his eyes, just like last night, but she nodded.

“Well, that was enough excitement for one evening I think,” Abby laughed.

“I’ll second that,” Hope agreed. “In fact, I think I’ll head home and take a calming bath if it’s all the same to you, Abby?” Hope didn’t want to be there, not with Nic, he rattled her. She felt off balance around him and just wanted to slink back to her apartment.

“Ok, we can call it an evening. I’ll call my husband and have him come pick us up.”

“No, I can walk. It’s not that far from here,” Hope insisted, needing to get away as soon as possible.

“I’ll walk you home,” Nic told her and she started shaking her head no.

“NO! No, I’m fine you enjoy your evening.”

“I’m not lettin’ you walk alone; my momma would be cross with me if she knew I allowed a lady to walk home unescorted.”

“But—“

“You want us to wait for your husband to arrive?” Nic asked Abby as he helped Hope to her feet.

“No, it’s fine; we don’t live far from here, and I think I’ll get some beignets for the kids, you guys run along,” Abby smiled and then winked at Hope like they had a secret.

“You ready?” Nic asked.

“Really, I can walk home by myself,” Hope explained but no one listened.

Nic smiled at her, took her arm and folded it into his as he started moving toward the edge of the park. Hope looked back at Abby, who was smiling, watching them leave and then she gave Hope two thumbs up.
What on earth?

“Which way?” Nic asked, pulling Hope away from thoughts of Abby’s bazaar behavior.

“Um, Royal Cross apartments,” she answered not thinking.

“You live at the Cross apartments? Jesus, that place is a dump, is it even safe?”

“I think so.”

“Does it have a deadbolt?”

“Of course.”

“Fire exit, smoke alarms?”

“Yes, but—”

“You need to find a new place to live, sugar—”

“Look, it doesn’t matter. It’s what I can afford,” Hope broke in but let slip she was short on cash.
What was it about this guy that she couldn’t keep her mouth shut?
Hope was done; she couldn’t take another minute in this man’s company, or she’d start spilling secrets to him. He didn’t know her, and she needed to keep it that way for his own safety. Determined to keep her distance, she pulled her arm from his and stepped back as Nic turned a confused look to her.

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m only here for a little while until I get on my feet, then I’m moving on. So you needn’t worry about my living conditions, in fact, you can just forget about walking me home, I don’t need your help.” She turned to leave, but Nic grabbed her arm stopping her.

“I said I’d walk you home and considering where you live, I’m doin’ it,” Nic bit out, trying to keep his anger in check.

“Well, here’s the thing, Mr. Beuve.” Hope leaned in looking him square in the eyes, “I don’t want or need your help.”

“Are you always this reckless?”

“Are you always this daft?”

“Daft?” Nic growled.

“You clearly have the impression I’m seeking your attention, but I can assure you that I’m not. If I never saw you again, you wouldn’t cross my mind.” The word liar ran through her head because Nic was a man not easily forgotten and she knew it.

“Is that so?” Nic chuckled.

“It is, now, if you’ll excuse me, I have better things to do than stand here arguing with you. Enjoy your evening, Mr. Beuve, maybe I’ll see you at the bar sometime.” With that, Hope turned on her heels, walked down the sidewalk, and disappeared from Nic’s sight.

Instead of being pissed, Nic was intrigued even more. Though he was sure of one thing, she hadn’t lied when she said she wasn’t seeking his attention. Hope was clearly hiding something, and her behavior told him what she was hiding was bad. She’d recoiled at a hand raised towards her face and a drunken man made her shake like a scolded dog. Yet, she seemed to have a core of strength she called on when she needed it. She was a mystery wrapped up in a mystery he didn’t have time for, but her reaction to him, and the drunk, had his mind working overtime, and the thought of her hiding, for whatever reason, set his protective instincts into overdrive.

Setting out after Hope, Nic kept his distance until he saw her enter her building safely. He watched from the street until he saw the second floor apartment in the front turn on a light, illuminating the street with its glow. A dark figure peaked through the blinds but didn’t move—watching the street—searching for someone. Nic’s jaw tightened and he felt his hands curl into fists. She was alone, scared, and hiding.

Not while you’re around to protect her, Nic thought as he pulled out his phone from his back pocket and dialed the number he knew by heart. When the rich Cajun accent answered, Nic got down to business. “Rosie, we need to talk.”

Chapter Six

The Bayou was in full swing when Nic entered. Cajun music was blasting from the sound system and there were diners at every table. The sound of silverware hitting plates rang out as they consumed their meals, but Nic ignored it all. Rose was waiting for him behind the bar, so he pulled up a seat, nodded once at Henri for his usual drink and watched as Rose made her way down to him with an intrigued look on her face. After Henri had placed his shot of whiskey in front of him, Rose leaned in for their talk.

“What’s this about,
Cher
?”

“Hope,” Nic responded and he watched the old woman’s mouth twitch into a smile.

“She a fine looking woman, no?”

“She’s a woman in hiding.”

“She dat’ too.”

“What’s her story?”

“Come to me dis’ week looking scared, hungry and beat down. I give her a job and dat’ it, I knows notin’ but dat.’”

“She hasn’t told you anything?” Nic asked surprised. Women as a general rule loved to gossip, he was sure Hope had told Rose her troubles.

“Some troubles cannot be spoken,
Cher
, y
ou
know dat’ bettah’ dan’ anyone.” Pausing to take a deep breath at the reminder of what he’d lost, Nic nodded in agreement, some things were hard to talk about.

“I know you well enough to know you’ve got an opinion on the matter. What’s your take?” Nic asked moving the conversation from him and back to Hope.

“She runnin’ from her past, from a man who used his fist I sure a dat.' A woman don’t look da’ way she looked unless it been bad dat’ much I can tell you.” Nic felt his jaw tighten when Rose said fist. The thought that any man would raise a hand to a woman made his blood boil, but when you took in how small and fragile Hope was he saw red.

“What you tinkin,' Nic?”

“I’m thinkin’ she needs to stop runnin’ and let people help her.”

“She won’t listen. Dat’ girl got one foot out da’ door anytime she here. She got to have a reason to stay and fight,
pas de be
̒
tises.”

Thinking about Hope’s curves and those sky-blue eyes, Nic wanted to say he’d give her a reason to stay, but he knew he couldn’t make that promise. He had to focus on Nicky, not get involved with a woman.

“Then make her feel like she’s wanted here, give her a reason to stay, Rose. Invite her to your house; spend time with her out of the bar, anything that will build a connection.”

“I will do what I can,
mon ami
, but notin’ will keep dat’ woman here but love. She scared for her life she is.”

“If you think that someone should be me then get it out of your head,” Nic sighed.

“I not tinkin’ about you. You too wrapped up in your own pain to give T-Hope what she need. I tink’ Henri could use a good woman and he need to stop his wild ways he do.” Rose smiled then looked over her shoulder at Henri. The man in question was a tomcat; bed everything that came into the bar that was a willing participant. Nic looked at the man, all playboy and not a lick of common sense that he could see. Then the thought of Henri looking out for Hope didn’t set well in Nic’s gut and a surge of jealousy flared when he thought of Henri touching her.
Shit
.

“Why don’t we concentrate on keeping her safe instead of fixing her up with the neighborhood manwhore,” Nic ground out.

“How you gonna do dat? She won’t let anyone help her. I say a man who falls for her is what she need. He’d protect what is his, no?”

“Yeah, if he’s any kind of man he protects what’s his,” Nic agreed and then thought of how he hadn’t protected the one thing in his life he should have protected the most.

Nic didn’t agree with Rose, he knew Hope needed to feel safe before she could get her life back on track, and she needed people in her life she trusted, not to be set up on blind dates. In Nic’s opinion, getting her out of that rat-infested building was the first order of business they should concentrate on, not her love life.

“You got bettah’ idea, Nic, I all ears,” Rose broke in after he’d been silent thinking.

“She’s livin’ at the Cross on Royal,” Nic informed Rose and then watched as she inhaled sharply with disgust. “She’s not safe there; she needs to move, period. She let slip it was all she could afford, so we need to find a place that we can control the rent. Do you know anyone with an extra room?”

Rose thought for a moment and then a smile crossed her face. There was a reason she always succeeded when it came to affairs of the heart—she was devious.

“I know da’ perfect place for
‘tite ange.”

“And that would be?”

“Wit’ you.”

“Excuse me?” Nic barked out. He couldn’t have the one woman who’s piqued his interest in three years living in his daughter’s room.

“You got dat’ downstairs condo you workin’ on, yes?”

Rose watched as Nic thought about that and then smiled as she watched the inner workings of his mind. He was more than just worried about Hope being alone and she knew it. She saw the way his eyes had followed Hope around the bar the night before. He was interested in her as a woman, but too caught up in his own grief to see it, or his guilt about Chelsea wouldn’t allow him to act on it. She knew Nic, knew what kinda man he was, knew when something was his he’d move heaven and earth to take care of it, even if that person didn’t deserve it. His no account wife came to Rose as she waited for Nic to sort out his head. He’d worked his ass off for her, taken care of what was his, and she’d thrown it all away because she was a selfish cow. Nic deserved better than Kat, and Rose was gonna see to it he got better.

“Well?” Rose finally asked when he said nothing.

“Yeah, that would work,” Nic agreed, and couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it himself. She needed someone to look after her whether she wanted it or not, and with Hope downstairs, he could keep an eye on her and be there if something happened.

“Good, how you gonna convince her to move?”

Nic shrugged, threw back the shot that Henri had brought him, then stood. “I’m not gonna ask, I’m gonna tell her she’s moving.”