Christmas in Good Hope (A Good Hope Novel Book 1) (14 page)

Ami kept talking as she made her way across the living room. It wasn’t until she reached the kitchen that she realized Dakota hadn’t followed her. “Is something wrong?”

“It’s so clean. Not cluttered with junk.” Dakota seemed embarrassed by the admission, yet added, “And your tree is beautiful. Those pink lights are supercool.”

“Thank you, Dakota.” Ami motioned the girl forward. “I wanted something that felt like home.”

Dakota’s face darkened. “I wouldn’t want anything like my home.”

The fear in the girl’s eyes had Ami’s heart twisting. “Sweetie, come and sit down. Tell me what’s troubling you.”

“I shouldn’t have come here.” The teen glanced at the door behind her and appeared ready to bolt. “You can’t help me. No one can.”

Ami crossed the room. She placed her hand on Dakota’s shoulder and gazed into troubled hazel eyes. “I want to help you. I
will
help you.”

Uncertainty crossed Dakota’s face, but she released her grip on the doorknob and finally took a seat at the table.

They spent a minute sipping tea and eating. Ami chattered about the various scones they made at the bakery, hoping to put the girl at ease.

Not until Ami returned to the table after putting the teakettle on for more water did Dakota bring up the reason for her visit.

“You know Clint.”

A sick feeling took up residence in the pit of Ami’s stomach. “Yes.”

Dakota continued to nibble on her scone but kept her gaze on Ami. “What do you think of him?”

“I don’t like him.” Ami spoke bluntly, seeing no need to sugarcoat. “And I certainly wouldn’t trust him.”

“You shouldn’t trust him,” Dakota warned. “He has a mean streak. And he’s determined. Once he wants something, he’s going to have it. Like me.”

Ami inhaled sharply. “Has he—”

“Not yet,” Dakota hastened to reassure her. “But it’s just a matter of time.”

“Tell me what’s going on.”

“My skin crawls every time he looks at my chest, every time his hand touches my shoulder.” Though it was warm in the apartment—thanks to the new furnace—Dakota wrapped her arms around herself as if she was suddenly freezing. “He makes comments about how nice I look. Nothing you could pin him on, but I know what he’s really saying and what he wants. I’m not stupid.”

“Is it just you? Or your brothers, too?”

Dakota looked confused. “Kaiden and Braxton?”

Ami nodded.

“He ignores them.” A light of understanding filled her eyes. “Clint only likes women.”

Or girls
, Ami thought to herself. Still, knowing Dakota’s younger brothers were safe remaining in the household was a blessing.

“So, it’s only you that he’s focused on.”

A muscle jumped in Dakota’s tightly clenched jaw. She gave a jerky nod. “I overheard him telling a friend that as soon as he gets the chance he’s going to—”

Dakota whispered the rest of the sentence. The words were shocking but not unexpected. Ami had seen that predatory gleam in Clint’s eyes.

“What does your mom say?”

“According to her, Clint is a stand-up guy. She made it clear I better not screw it up for her with my lies.” Dakota gave a bitter-sounding laugh. “Oh, and I need to quit flirting with him.”

For one of the few times in her life, Ami was struck speechless.

“I don’t flirt with him.” Dakota spoke quickly, as if worried Ami might believe her mother. “I avoid him as much as possible.”

“Do you have a school counselor you could speak with—?”

Dakota gave a dismissive snort. “Apparently being a perv isn’t a crime unless you actually do something. The counselor did speak with my mother, who told her I was jealous of the coming baby and making up stories.”

The girl closed her eyes against the pain. A second later her lids popped open and the eyes were ice.

“We could go to the sheriff.” Leonard Swarts had held that position for twenty years, and Ami knew him to be a good guy.

“It’ll be the same thing that happened with the counselor.” Dakota heaved a resigned sigh. “When he asks what Clint has done, I’d have to say nothing yet. But sure as heck going to the sheriff will piss Clint off.”

“Maybe he’d be afraid to do anything if he knew Sheriff Swarts had been alerted?”

“If you know Clint at all, you know it’d only make him more determined to get away with it. He’ll figure a way to discredit whatever I say against him, and my mother will back him.” Dakota raked a hand through her hair. “I didn’t know where to go.”

“What about your grandmother?”

“No.” Dakota dismissed the suggestion without an explanation.

“Lindsay would take you in.” Ami knew Dakota and her aunt were close. Lindsay wasn’t a pushover like her sister, and Ami felt confident she’d do whatever was necessary to protect her niece.

“I know she’d let me live with her if I asked,” Dakota admitted. “But Aunt Lindsay is the only real support my mom and brothers have right now. If she sided with me, Mom would cut off all contact with her. I can’t let that happen.”

“Which is why you came to me.” Ami finally understood.

“It was stupid.” Dakota nervously crumbled the rest of her scone on her plate. “I don’t know why I thought you could help. It was just when you told me to stop by, I got the feeling you saw through Clint. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to leave town. But right now I don’t see any other choice.”

“You could speak with an attorney.” Ami reached out a hand to stop her when Dakota rose to leave.

Dakota plopped back in the chair. “What about?”

“You could become an emancipated minor.” The words popped out of her mouth, dredged up from the past. Years ago, Ami’s father had told her about a kid at the high school who went out on his own. “Be responsible for yourself. Get a place to live here in Good Hope. Finish school. Maybe get a scholarship to college. Lindsay is always bragging how smart you are.”

“I’m in the top five of my class,” Dakota admitted with a hint of pride. “But that’s a legal thing, right? You have to go to court and everything?”

“I’m not sure what’s involved. But I know court is part of it.”

Dakota’s shoulders slumped. “I’ve got enough money for a bus ticket, but that’s all.”

“One of the attorneys in Sturgeon Bay might be willing—”

“I need someone to help me now. With Christmas coming, no one is going to take the time. Especially when they find out I don’t have any money.”

The girl made a good point. But Ami wasn’t about to give up.

“Could you figure out some excuse to stay with your aunt for a few days or so?” Ami asked.

“Maybe. Why?”

“I want you safe while I contact an attorney. I’ll try Sturgeon Bay, and if we can’t get an appointment, I know one here in Good Hope.”

“There isn’t an attorney in Good Hope,” Dakota told her.

“We didn’t have one before,” Ami told her, “but we do now. He moved here last summer.”

C
hapter
F
ourteen

Feeling as nervous as a sixteen-year-old boy, Beck pulled out his phone. While he didn’t need an excuse to call Ami, he was glad to have one.

He’d just gotten off the phone with Cory White. The young teacher and his wife were celebrating their tenth anniversary. His parents had given them a gift certificate to Muddy Boots. Cory wanted to know the best time for them to come in that evening.

Since it wasn’t yet the weekend, Beck didn’t expect a large crowd. Tom and his helper would handle the dinner rush with ease. The food would be good, but not anything special. Knowing Cory and Jackie’s history, Beck wanted the evening to be memorable.

Ami answered on the first ring. “What a coincidence. I was just about to call you.”

The warmth and ease in her voice had his grip relaxing around his phone. “I missed you, too.”

Beck heard her startled intake of air. He hadn’t meant to say what was on his mind, but neither was he going to apologize for it. Leaning back against the wall, he blocked the sounds of the early lunch crowd and focused on the conversation.

“We need to talk about something.” Her voice had turned serious, and he pictured a little pucker of a frown forming between her brows.

Beck hesitated. Did she want to talk about where they went from here? If that was the case, he wasn’t prepared. He was still trying to sort out his feelings.

There was no denying what had happened between them had been about more than sex. There was a connection between him and Ami that transcended physical need and pleasure.

As if she’d read his thoughts, Ami gave a nervous-sounding laugh. “It’s nothing concerning us. Not that there is any
us
.”

From the comment it appeared she was equally unsure and tentatively trying to find firm footing. But she was wrong about one thing; there was very much an
us
.

Beck decided to play it cool for now. “What’s up, Ami? What can I do to help?”

“Dakota stopped by this morning.”

Whatever he’d expected her to say, it wasn’t this. He frowned. “Didn’t she have school?”

“She skipped. But truancy is the least of her problems.” Ami blew out a breath. “Would you have a few minutes to talk about her situation this evening?”

“Sure.” From his vantage point, Beck could see that everything in the café was running smoothly. “Or we can discuss it now. I have time.”

“I prefer to make a few phone calls first,” she demurred. “See if I can get this resolved on my own before involving you.”

Something in her voice pricked his curiosity. “Are you certain you want to wait?”

“Yes. Later will be best. Good-bye, Be—”

“Wait. Don’t hang up. I have something to ask you.”

Silence filled the air for several heartbeats.

“Ah, what is it?”

He’d flustered her, which amused him. Probably because he was feeling a bit flustered and unsure himself. “I know how hard you work and I don’t want to add to your overflowing plate.” Beck hesitated, recalling her propensity to agree to most requests. He didn’t want to take advantage of her. Yet he was aware of her fondness for Cory and Jackie.

“Spit it out, Cross.”

“It concerns Cory and Jackie.”

“I’m listening.”

Beck went on to explain about the call he’d received from the teacher. In the end, he didn’t need to ask. Before he could, Ami volunteered.

“I’d love to make a special anniversary dinner for them. Maybe whip up a cheesecake for dessert. Cory told me at the last fundraiser that’s his favorite—and Jackie’s, too.”

“Do you have time?”

Ami ignored the question as if it were inconsequential. “I’m going to call Jackie right now and ask what meal they’d like served. Surprises are nice, but I want the dinner to be filled with their favorite dishes.”

She actually sounded excited at the prospect of spending her free time creating a meal for a couple she only knew casually.

The thought humbled him. Back in Georgia, Beck had known many who gave generously to charities but would never personally offer assistance. Before moving to Good Hope, before Ami, he had to admit he’d been one of them.

“You’re a gem, Ami.”

“Neighbors helping neighbors is the Good Hope way.” She spoke in a light tone, deflecting the praise. “Well, I’ll see you—”

“Soon, darlin’. We’ll see each other very soon.”

Smiling broadly, Beck pocketed the phone.

Ami arrived promptly at five, but any talk of Dakota was put on hold when Tom burned his forearm badly enough to necessitate a trip to urgent care.

Though the crowd wasn’t huge, it was still more than Tom’s assistant, a culinary student home for the holidays, could manage. Ami stepped in and took charge.

That left Beck to greet Cory and Jackie when they arrived at six. He’d reserved one of the tables in a corner for them.

Cory was younger than Beck had thought he’d be for a man with three children. If he was thirty-five, Beck would be surprised. The teacher wore a stocking cap, and when he took it off his sandy-brown hair stood straight up, short and fuzzy. His wife, a pretty strawberry blond with freckles, walked with an unsteady gait.

Chatting amiably, Beck ushered them to their table. Cory pulled out the chair for his wife before Beck could, and she blushed prettily.

“This feels like a real date.” Jackie reached across the table and squeezed her husband’s hand. “Thank you for planning such a wonderful evening.”

Beck knew many of his former colleagues would consider a meal of chicken and dumplings served in a diner as slumming it. Of course, none of them had tasted Ami’s cooking.

“Do you have any plans after you finish your meal?”

“My parents are watching the children tonight.” Cory smiled at his wife. “Life has been so hectic, the thought of just going home and sitting in front of the fire sounds like heaven.”

“I’m sure that must sound incredibly boring.” Jackie’s fingers tightened around her husband’s hand.

Beck thought of last night. The fire. The wine. Ami. “I can’t think of anything better.”

“Hey, you two.” Ami appeared tableside and bent over to give Jackie, then Cory, a hug. “Happy anniversary. How many years has it been?”

“Ten.” Cory lifted Jackie’s hand to his lips and kissed it. “Ten amazing years.”

“We’ve been blessed,” Jackie said.

The comment stuck in Beck’s head as he and Ami headed back to the kitchen.

“Did you hear Jackie say they’ve been blessed?” Beck asked when they were out of earshot.

Ami’s lips lifted in a soft smile. “They are such a happy couple.”

“He has leukemia,” Beck reminded her. “She has MS.”

“And they’re about to lose their house.” Ami lifted a shoulder in a tiny shrug. “But they’re happy, Beck. They love each other and their kids. They have more friends than they can count. In all the ways that count, they’re very blessed.”

Beck followed her into the kitchen, his mind reeling. “Are they really going to lose their home?”

“Looks that way.” Ami kept her voice low so the staff couldn’t overhear. “They got behind when Cory was off work. I believe they only need three or four thousand dollars to get the loan up to date, but it might as well be a million. His paycheck barely covers their day-to-day needs.”

Beck pondered what he’d been told while Ami returned to the stove. When Ami had learned chicken and dumplings was their favorite meal, she’d asked Beck if they could just make it the café’s evening special. Of course he’d said yes.

It proved the right decision. The dish, coupled with green beans, coleslaw, and a yeast roll, had been flying out of the kitchen.

As he watched Ami personally plate Cory and Jackie’s food on the china dishes she’d brought with her, Beck couldn’t stop thinking of the couple in the dining area.

Once the server picked up the food and left the kitchen, he pulled Ami aside. “Couldn’t the Giving Tree help them out?”

Ami shook her head. “There has been a lot of need in the community in recent months. There isn’t enough money left to fund a donation that large.”

“Where do the donations come from?” Beck asked.

“There’s an account at the BayShore Bank. People in the community donate to the fund. We also do fundraisers throughout the year.” She leaned back against the commercial refrigeration unit, her brow furrowed. “I wish there were something more we could do. Anyway, you should be set for the evening. The rush is over. The cheesecakes are in the refrigerator.”

“Do you have to hurry off?”

She winked. “I’m a busy gal this time of year.”

Beck shoved his hands into his pockets. “What’s on your agenda for tonight?”

“A hot date.”

Beck froze. “Really?”

“With paper and ribbon and tape. I’m headed over to your house to wrap gifts.” The dimple in her left cheek flashed. “I should be there most of the evening. If you see a light on in the back room when you finally head for home, please don’t call the sheriff.”

As Beck’s body began to recover from the shock of her potential “hot date,” he glanced around the kitchen. Right now it was running like a well-oiled machine. It didn’t seem fair to have Ami in his home working while he was just standing around. “Need some help?”

“I was hoping you’d offer.” She reached for her coat.

Beck proved faster. He lifted it off the hook, then helped her on with it.

“You’re quite the gentleman.”

He shot her a sardonic grin. “Sometimes.”

The flash in her eyes told him she was remembering bits of last night when he’d been not quite so gentlemanly.

“Are you leaving now?” she asked. “Or coming later?”

“Now,” Beck decided impulsively and grabbed his own coat. “Why should you have all the fun?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Ami watched Beck efficiently wrap another package. She had expected to have to show him how to wrap, but to her surprise, he was quite proficient.

They quickly settled into a routine, working side by side at the makeshift table in companionable silence. After several minutes she broached the subject that had momentarily slipped her mind. “Dakota is in trouble.”

Beck paused, a striped red-and-silver bow in one hand. “What kind of trouble?”

“Things have gotten worse at home.”

Ami recounted what Dakota had told her. As she continued to explain, Beck’s eyes darkened. By the time she finished, his lips formed a hard line.

She met his gaze. “Do you think she’s right? Can the sheriff really do nothing?”

“I’m not sure how they handle such things here, but back where I come from, they’d probably get the entire family together and gather all the facts.” Beck paused for a moment. “Has Clint ever done anything inappropriate?”

“No.” Ami picked up another package and set it on the table. “That’s the blessing. So far, Dakota has made sure she’s never alone with him. But she’s convinced he’ll get to her sooner or later.”

“Seeing the way he looks at her, coupled with what he said to his friend, I’d say she’s right to be worried.” Beck dropped the bow and rubbed his chin. “You mentioned she doesn’t want to stay with her aunt.”

“She’d like to stay with Lindsay, and I know Lin would take her in, but Dakota is right. If Lindsay sides with her, Cassie will cut off all contact with her sister. Which leaves Cass and the boys at Clint’s mercy.”