Had to Be You: Bad Boys of Red Hook Page 32

  “I heard that when they designed Central Park, they copied Green-Wood.”

  “Minus the graves, right?”

  “Yeah, Nicki. Minus the graves.”

  She pushed her bike along beside him. “So, where are those parrots you told me about?”

  “Down at the main gate—that’s where they have their nests and there’s a big bird feeder down there too.” He patted his jacket pocket. “I brought some birdseed and bread; maybe we can feed them like pigeons.”

  “Cool!”

  He and Nicki watched the parrots for a while. They were like people, some of them were quarreling, some of them seemed like lovers. They were a big hit with Nicki, and the bread and birdseed made Nicki the most popular little girl on the planet, in their eyes at least.

  Once the birdseed was gone, Slater took Nicki to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. Then they grabbed a quick lunch, and walked hand in hand through the Steinhardt Conservatory. He smiled to himself; it looked to him like Nicki was just as much into handholding as she claimed Bree was, but he didn’t mind, which surprised the hell out of him.

  He gave her his phone and she took more pictures of flowers and plants than he ever imagined anyone could. He even stopped someone and asked if they would take a picture of the two of them—it was something he could take with him and also something to leave with Nicki. They hit every one of the gardens, but the desert was Nicki’s favorite.

  Slater wished he liked the desert as much as she did—he was going to a part of the world surrounded by desert, and he was really not looking forward to it. Of course, his work would take place in the financial centers of the country. The last time Slater spoke to his contact, he mentioned a trip to Venezuela and possibly the world headquarters in Vienna, Austria.

  Austria would be nice. Maybe he could take Rocki and even Nicki with him if school was out.

  Mr. Seville said they wanted to see how the program would run in Bahrain first, and if it went as well as Slater knew it would, he’d have his system running in every major OPEC office in the world.

  Slater and Nicki headed back to Red Hook and ended up at the Pound for Lobster Rolls; if he was leaving Brooklyn, he was going to binge before he left. They sat at one of the indoor picnic tables and pigged out on lobster rolls, corn on the cob, lobster mac and cheese, and even wolfed down a few whoopie pies for dessert. Nicki ate like a truck driver. Not only did she eat as if she’d never seen food before, but she had no problem making a mess. She was half asleep before they arrived home—maybe it was the overly full stomach. He helped her out of the car and when she tripped over her own feet, he picked her up and carried her to the apartment.

  He was trying to fit the key into the lock when Pop opened the door.

  Nicki’s head lulled on Slater’s shoulder.

  “Looks like you wore her out. Go ahead and put her in bed. Just take her coat and shoes off.”

  She woke up when Slater unzipped her coat. “Hey? How’d I get up here?”

  “You fell asleep so I carried you.”

  “I’m awake.” She let out a huge yawn and stretched. “I can get dressed by myself. I’m not a baby.”

  He shrugged and hid his smile. She was real sensitive about the whole baby thing. “Okay.”

  “But you’ll come and tuck me in, right?”

  “Sure, Nicki. Don’t forget to brush your teeth.”

  “Too tired for that, but I want to put my jams on. Can I skip brushing tonight?”

  “Nope. You don’t want cavities. After cramming in those whoopie pies, you’d better brush.”

  She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “That’s what I thought you’d say.”

  He went out to the living room. “Pop, I took Nicki to see my mother’s grave today.”

  “Oh, did you tell her?”

  “No, I just told her it was my mother, and that she reminded me of her.”

  Pop sat back in his chair and muted the TV. “There will be time to explain everything later.”

  “There were flowers by her grave.”

  “Yeah?” Pop looked at his hands folded in his lap.

  “And she had a really nice headstone.”

  “That’s good.” He still stared at his hands as if he’d never seen them before.

  “Did you do that, Pop? The headstone and the flowers?”

  He shrugged. “She’s your mother and she needed a decent headstone. I might have taken flowers to her every once in a while over the years. I owe her that much—after all, without her, I wouldn’t have you. Besides, I knew you’d want to see her taken care of. You always take care of the people you love. I just did it for you until you were old enough to take over the job yourself.” Pop got up from his chair. “I better go and tuck Nicki in.”

  “Pop?”

  “Yes, son.”

  Slater pulled him into a hug. “Thanks. Thanks for everything—for taking care of Momma, for taking care of Nicki—”

  “They’re mine, just like they’re yours. It’s what we do, son.”

  Slater cleared his throat. “I’ll tuck Nicki in tonight. I was getting pretty good at it.”

  “Yes, you were. You’re a natural. The only one who doesn’t see that is you.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Rocki tapped on the piano keys, trying to make some changes to her newest piece but nothing was coming to her. All she could see was Slater’s face right before he kissed her good-bye.

  He looked like hell. He was hung over, but it was more than that—he looked like she felt. Like he reached right into her chest and ripped her heart out to take with him. Still, what could she say? She’d promised to give him time; she just didn’t realize how awful it would feel.

  Jax threw the paper down on the table. “Rocki, you’ve played that at least fifty times, it’s starting to get on my nerves.”

  She’d spent a week living here with Slater and had had no problems, but less than twenty-four hours in the same apartment with Jax, and she wanted to kill him. “If you don’t like it, go home.”

  “And leave all this?” He gestured to her studio apartment. “Not a chance. What time does Slater leave?”

  “Soon, in about forty-five minutes.”

  “Then what the hell are you doing here?”

  She fiddled with a chord on the piano. “He didn’t want to upset Nicki—it sounds as if she’s been trying to talk Slater into staying.”

  “And you didn’t?”

  “Jax, he’s been through hell. He needs some space. That’s what you told me.”

  “Right. I was thinking about that. I might have been wrong.”

  “What?” Rocki looked at her brother and she couldn’t believe it; Jax was actually turning a bit red.

  “I just realized that space never did either of us any good after our parents died. How’s it going to help him? What he needs is the same thing you needed then and still need now. Love.”

  She tossed the music onto the top of her piano. She was wasting time trying to work now. “Slater loves me. He’s going to come back.”

  “I know, but he doesn’t need to leave in the first place.”

  “What the hell am I supposed to do about it? He has a job to do.”

  “Job, schmob. He could find a job tomorrow. Hell, I could hire him. He’s running away and you’re letting him.”

  “You’re the one who told me to give him space!”

  “Yeah, well, since when do you listen to me? If you fought for him the way you fight for everything else you want, the man wouldn’t stand a chance. I think you’re afraid.”

  “Afraid of what?”

  “The same thing we’re all afraid of. You’re afraid of loving someone too much. You’re afraid that if you spent more time together and lost him, you wouldn’t be able to deal with it. But I have a news flash for you, you’re already there.
”

  “Thank you, Dr. Phil.”

  “So, what are you going to do about it?”

  “Nothing. Leaving is his decision. I can’t force him to stay.”

  “Fine. I never thought I’d see the day when my little sister turned into a coward.”

  “I’m not a coward. I’m being understanding, dammit.”

  “No, you’re being stupid. If you want him, you have to at least try to change his mind.”

  “Jax, there are some things people just have to realize on their own.”

  He stuck his thumbs in his armpits and fluttered his arms. “Bock, bock, bock, bock, bock, begowwwwk.”

  “Oh, that’s real mature.”

  “Go ahead and get down there. You might just be able to catch him before he leaves. I dare you.”

  “Shit, Jackson! That’s so not fair.”

  “Oh, come on, I’m just giving you an excuse to do exactly what you want to do. Now go. Call me if you need me.”

  Rocki grabbed her purse, slipped on her lucky shoes, and headed out the door at a run.

  She ran down Canal Street until she found a cab. “I need to get to Red Hook. There’s a hundred bucks if you can do it in twenty minutes.”

  “Sure, lady. Fasten your seat belt.”

  They made it to Van Brunt Street faster than Rocki thought possible. “Let me out right in front of the Crow’s Nest, and thanks.” She tossed the driver the cash and was out of the cab and up the steps in no time. She knocked but the door was locked, so she grabbed her keys and let herself in.

  Nicki stood next to the breakfast bar, her eyes red and swollen from crying, both hands behind her back. The sad expression on her face was quickly eclipsed by guilt.

  “Nicki?”

  “Slater left already.”

  She stepped backward, heading toward her room.

  “What’s behind your back, Nicki?”

  “Nothing?”

  Rocki stuck out her hand. “Come on, hand it over.”

  “Fine, but I just opened it because the mail man said it’s real important. It must be. I had to sign a paper—in cursive—and promise to give it to Slater.” She handed it to Rocki and dug her sneaker into the carpet. “It says it’s positive. What’s it mean, Rocki? I don’t get it.”

  Rocki didn’t need to look at it, but she did. It was the paternity test. “It means that we’re a family.”

  “It’s for Slater, and he left. We have to get it to him.”

  “Yeah, we do. Where’s Pete?”

  Nicki dug her foot into the carpet again. “Everyone’s downstairs. I snuck up. I just wanted to be alone.”

  “Get your coat. If we’re going to deliver this to Slater, we need to leave now. I wonder if Pete will let me borrow the car.”

  Nicki pulled on her coat. “I thought you didn’t have your license.”

  “Technically I don’t.” She grabbed Nicki’s hand. “But it’s probably not a good time to mention it.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  They ran down to the bar and it felt as if they were walking into a wake. Not good. Pete was nursing a scotch and Bree wasn’t even giving him a hard time about it.

  “Pete, Nicki and I need to borrow your car.”

  A slow smile spread over Pete’s face. “It’s about time you decided to go after him. Good idea taking Nicki, the boy doesn’t have a chance.” He handed her the keys. “You’d better hurry. He’s at JFK. British Airways on the 6:25 to Heathrow. Bring him back with you, honey.”

  She gave Pete a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll try.” She grabbed Nicki’s hand. “Come on, baby. Let’s see if we can catch Slater. Get in the backseat and buckle up—it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

  “Yeah, I remember how you drive. Are you sure you don’t want Ms. Patrice to drive us? Or Mr. Francis—he might be able to use his red light and everything.”

  “No, I’m a good driver. There’s nothing to worry about. Just . . . when we get into the airport, I may have to talk us through security.” She checked to make sure the road was clear and gunned it. “So whatever you do, don’t say anything.”

  “How come?”

  Rocki caught Nicki’s wide-eyed gaze in the rearview. “Because I might just be forced to tell a few white lies. If anyone asks, be sure to leave that part out of the conversation—this is an emergency. I don’t condone lying—”

  “Unless it’s an emergency, right?”

  “That’s right, but you didn’t hear that from me.”

  • • •

  Slater sat on his duffel and stared at the British Airways check-in counter. He’d checked in. He used to think it was cool that he could carry everything he cared about in a duffel bag. Now he realized he couldn’t. He had a hell of a lot more baggage than he’d ever known. And that wasn’t even counting Rocki and Nicki—his girls. They walked into his life and turned everything around. Suddenly the whole traveling-light-through-life thing had lost all appeal.

  He checked his watch. He should get up and get his ass in the security line but all he could think of was the way Rocki and Nicki looked when he left.

  Rocki held back the tears, barely, but Nicki didn’t. Pop had to peel her off his leg so he could leave.

  If he had any part of his heart left, it was mutilated now. His chest ached. He’d almost told the cabbie to turn around a dozen times. He’d sat on his own hand to keep from pushing the door open.

  Slater had left every place he’d ever been and he’d never had a problem. He never looked back. But now? Shit, now he couldn’t seem to look ahead.

  He pulled his phone out of his pocket and considered calling Mr. Seville to see if he could rework the contract. He still hadn’t signed it. At first, he didn’t want to sign it until he’d received the results of the paternity test. Now he didn’t need a piece of paper to prove Nicki was his baby girl. After remembering his mother, seeing her picture, there was no doubt in his mind. But if he called Mr. Seville, he could very well flush the whole deal down the toilet.

  He ran his hands through his hair. He had a bad feeling that leaving was wrong. Like he needed to stay. He told himself he was crazy. Pop said he’d look after Nicki and Rocki, and he was sure his brothers would too. But all the time he spent telling himself they would be okay didn’t make that lump of fear go away, or even get smaller.

  So, what if he did scuttle the deal? He could possibly lose millions. But then if he had a choice between money and Rocki—there was no contest. Rocki would end up on top every time.

  “Shit.” He thought back to the last time he was here in this airport. The last thing he’d wanted to do was stay; it took him a whole day to get up the courage to go home. Now he couldn’t seem to leave.

  It wasn’t as if he couldn’t get a job here. Sure, they wouldn’t be millionaires—okay, maybe they would if you took Rocki’s trust fund into account, but he really wanted no part of Rocki’s money. He almost wished she didn’t have it. There was a definite feeling of I-am-man-and-will-support-my-woman going on inside him—she sure as shit wouldn’t like it either. He almost looked forward to the fight; nothing turned him on more than Rocki with fire shooting out of her eyes.

  “Slater!”

  Damn, now he was hearing things. Maybe he should just cut bait and check himself into the nearest psych ward.

  He heard the clickity-click of the sharp tattoo of heels racing across the tile floor and his heart matched the beat. Nobody ran like that—nobody but Rocki.

  He shook his head and took a deep breath, praying he hadn’t completely lost his mind, and looked.

  Nicki sprinted right for him. Damn, his girl was fast. She held something in her hand and waved it like a flag to get his attention, as if her screaming his name wouldn’t do it. God he loved the little squirt.

  He stood, pocketed his phone, and caught her. She wrapped her arms and
legs around him and he closed his eyes, willing his heartbeat to slow so he could hear her over the blood rushing through his ears.

  Rocki was still running—the woman knew how to run in heels, and looked damn good doing it. She was creating quite a scene—even the cops wore the same look he’d probably worn since that first night he’d seen her. Rocki had rocked his world, and from the looks of them, she’d just rocked theirs too. Too bad for them she was his, and he’d be damned if he was ever going to let her go again.

  He wondered if he looked as stupid as they did, but shit, he took a deep breath, the first deep breath he’d taken since he’d left her, and realized that if it were up to him, he’d wear that look for the rest of his life. He was just happy as hell to see Rocki and Nicki both. “What are you doing here, squirt?”

  “Me and Rocki got something you have to see. It’s important.”

  Rocki skidded to a halt. She was a hell of a runner, but wasn’t good at judging distance—not that he minded since she ran right into him. Thank God he’d had the forethought to move Nicki to his hip, leaving him one arm to catch Rocki.

  She was winded from the run, and her tight T-shirt and all her deep breathing had his blood flowing south, which was ridiculous since he had Nicki with them.

  Rocki didn’t loosen her hold on him; if anything she scooted closer. “Slater, what are you doing here? I thought for sure I’d have to talk my way past security to find you.”

  “If anyone could, it would be you.”

  Nicki jumped up and down. “Look, this came in the mail. It’s really important ’cause I had to sign for it, and I had to promise to give it to you.” She looked down at her shoes. “I opened it ’cause I didn’t know how to get it to you. It says it’s positive. That’s good right?”

  His smile made his face feel stretched. He bent down until they were face-to-face. “Yeah, Nicki, that’s real good.”

  She started digging her heel into the tile. “Rocki said it meant that we’re a family.” She said it in such a small, timid voice, his heart sank, but then when she looked up at him, he realized she was nervous—and that just about killed him.