by Terra Kelly
The Loner
Man Card Book Six
Terra Kelly
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
A note from the author
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About the Author
Also by Terra Kelly
Books by T.M. Kelly
Acknowledgments
Synopsis
What if my prince never finds me?
Since I was a child, I wanted to have what all the women in all my favorite fairytales had: their happily ever after.
Then I was left stranded in the middle of nowhere and I started to wonder about my life.
When two complete strangers offered me a ride, I should’ve said no.
I should’ve… but something told me my fairytale had only just begun.
The man card series is a collection of short stories that are full of steamy romance. You're guaranteed that perfect happy ending and a cupboard full of sweets from all the cravings.
One
Sky
“Wait,” I dropped the bag of chips as I ran toward the front door to the store and promptly stepped on them as I stumbled forward. “Wait, where are you…”– my hand was wrapped around the door handle unable to move– “…going.”
I jumped when someone placed their hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay, Ma’am?”
“What? Oh yeah, totally fine.” Of course I was lying. There was nothing fine about my boyfriend leaving me stranded at a truck stop in the middle of B-F-E.
“You dropped your chips.” The same woman handed me the bag. It was a sad looking package and I knew every single chip had to be crushed into fine pieces just like my heart at the moment.
“Oh, thanks.” I nodded and held up the bag as I left the small store. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I mumbled to myself. “This can’t be happening right now.” I plopped down on the curb and rested my forearms on my thighs. The jerk had my phone and all my personal belongings.
“You okay,” a soft voice said beside me.
I hesitated to look up because I was feeling embarrassed at the moment. If I said no, I would admit my short comings. Yet, if I said yes, the only person who loses in that lie is me. Finally, I glanced up, but the sun was directly in my eyes. “Um, yeah, I’m not really sure.”
“Didn’t I see you get out of an SUV?” The young woman quickly held up her hand and sat down beside me. “I’m not stalking you or anything. My friend and I are parked right over there.” She pointed to an emerald green car.
I made the attempt to shield my eyes from the sun so I could a get a better look at the mystery woman. When I glanced her way, she flashed the biggest smile. “Yeah, you did. My boyfriend decided to leave without me.” If the woman was willing to sit down and talk to me, I figured I might as well be honest. “We had a fight earlier.”
“So, he’s not coming back?”
I laughed and stood. “I’m going with a resounding no on that answer.”
She stood and started to walk away. I had this fear that for the second time in less than ten minutes another person was going to leave me stranded. Not that I should care either way if the mystery woman left. I didn’t know her. It was just the thought of being left alone. I had no idea where to go or who to call.
“I’m not a serial killer.” She placed her hand on the car door handle. “Although, I realize saying that makes me sound like one.” She opened the door and threw her bag in the backseat and turned to open the driver side door. “But do you need a ride?”
I didn’t move at first. The town of Prescott, Arizona was small and everyone seemed friendly, but still, getting in a car with strangers was the very definition of a bad idea. My options were limited at the moment though, so I threw caution to the wind. “I know mixed martial arts,” I said as I slid onto the back seat.
“Noted.” She slid behind the steering wheel and put the key in the ignition before turning toward the second woman who was sitting directly in front of me. “I’m Lucy. That’s my bestie, Cora.”
“I’m Sky.” I reached over the seat and shook their hands.
“Where are you from, Sky?” Lucy asked as she slowly backed up the car and then put it in drive.
“North Carolina, but I’ve been living with my dad in Tucson for the last several years.” I noticed she was chuckling at my answer. “Why is that so funny?”
“Sorry,” Lucy looked in the rearview mirror. “The guy we room with is from North Carolina.”
“Oh.” I looked out the car window and watched the trees fade from my view as we passed by them quickly. “This guy, is he going to be okay if I just show up out of the blue at your place.” Not that I planned to stay at the woman’s house. I had no plans to intrude on anyone’s life.
“He keeps to himself.” Lucy said.
“He probably won’t even notice you’re there.” Cora placed her hand on Lucy’s shoulder. “Just ignore the whole third floor and all will be good.”
“Third floor?” Where were they taking me?
“Um,” Lucy chuckled. “The guy apparently has a lot of extra money. The place is…” she looked over at her friend. “Big?”
“Big is a fair word to use. I like to say oversized sometimes, too.” Cora laughed.
“Oh, okay. I just need to call my dad. I won’t be there long.” Hopefully he was available. There was some trade show and he planned to be busy all weekend. I didn’t even know if he would answer his phone.
“Girl.” Lucy looked back at me. “You don’t need to rush. I can only imagine how you’re feeling right now.”
“This is called compassion,” Cora interjected. “Something that douchebag that left you knows little about.” This was my first-time meeting Lucy and Cora, yet they made it feel like we were long lost friends.
My boyfriend, Garrison flashed through my mind. We had been an on again, off again couple for several months. More in the off status. The guy was persistent though, I’d give him that. He spent a long time trying to convince me to go on a date. When I finally accepted, he actually took me to a fast-food restaurant. I knew then it was doomed.
“I really appreciate this.” I rested my head back against the seat. “We were on the way to Sedona to hike for the weekend at Oak Creek Canyon.”
“We know a better place to hike.” Lucy glanced over at Cora. “Right?”
“And the entrance to the hike is right in our backyard.”
Don’t go on the third floor.
A hiking path that starts in the backyard.
Seriously, where were they taking me?
The vision in my mind was elaborate. The two women didn’t present themselves as rich, but I was slowly starting to think we were heading toward a gorgeous mansion.
Two
Justin
“When do you leave for New York?” I sat down in the chair behind my desk.
“Two days,” Rylee said and cleared her throat. “You need to visit me.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I reached for a pen sitting in the middle of my desk and started to tap it up and down. “This is the busy season here.”
“Justin.” She let out a heavy sigh. “You have the perfect excuse every time I broach the subject. “You can’t hide away forever.”
“Who said I was hiding?” I tapped the pen a little too hard and flung out of my hand. “My paintings are getting more visibility and I need to make more.”
“Okay, whatever.” We both s
tayed silent for a few seconds. “We may be in Phoenix in a few weeks. I’ll let you know, but it would be short notice.”
“You better.” I stood when I heard tires on the gravel. Lucy’s Volkswagen Bug was pulling into the long driveway. “I need to go. I love you, Ry.”
I leaned my shoulder against the window frame. The two busy bodies were home. The silence in the house would be broken by their constant chatter. I pushed off the window and started to step away when I noticed a third head pop out of the backseat. “What the hell,” I whispered. The woman had long blonde hair that flowed around her face. I stood there a lot longer than I should’ve. It was just enough time for Lucy to notice me staring. She waved her hand in my direction but I ignored her greeting and stepped away.
Who was visiting? They didn’t tell me we would have a guest.
I thought about marching down the stairs and asking them why they didn’t check with me first. Then I glanced down at my hands and stopped in the middle of the room. Headphones. I could wear headphones and ignore the extra sounds.
The large canvas I was currently working on sat by the door. It was halfway done. I still needed to add a few more shades of blue. The buyer for the artwork had someone picking it up tomorrow at five p.m. sharp. There was no point in worrying about who was downstairs. I had work to do.
I threw on my headphones that were sitting on the end of my desk, started up some music, and grabbed the paint brush resting on the easel. This was better than embarrassing myself in front of a gorgeous woman I had never met.
I looked over at the clock on the wall and noticed it read two. Somehow time slipped by me and it was the middle of the night. The house was silent so everyone was most likely in bed by now. I opened my door and leaned my head out to listen for anyone talking. All I could hear was the clicking of the Grandfather clock that sat at the bottom of the staircase.
Before I left my room I grabbed my sweatshirt and threw the hood up. Even after five years I still made sure to have something covering my face. The steps were carpeted, so I was able to go down without a sound. Just as I reached the bottom step there was click from above me. I stepped into the shadow and waited, but no one emerged.
The kitchen was the first door on the right. As I stepped into the room I really did think I was alone. Then someone coughed and I stilled. There was nowhere to hide when I was literally standing in the center of the kitchen.
“Holy shitballs,” a woman screamed from behind me.
I instinctively reached for my hood to keep it in place and dropped my head. “Who are you?” I barked.
“Who are you?” she repeated and I noticed her hand was resting on the center of her chest.
“I own the place.” I walked over and flipped the light on. Not that it mattered since my roommates invited anyone in from off the streets. “Have we met?” I didn’t mean to sound so frustrated but it would’ve been nice to be notified of the new guest. Then the mystery woman smiled and all my concerns seemed to drift away.
“Um.” She shaded her eyes from the bright light. “Sorry, no.” Her small frame was sitting at the long kitchen table. “I’m Sky.”
“Did Lucy and Cora invite you?” I walked over to the cupboard and grabbed a box of cereal. They didn’t ask me if I was okay with the new arrangement. “Hungry?” I held up the box. But for some reason I found myself drawn to her.
“Yeah, I am.” She started to get up.
“Stay.” I held my hand up. “I’ll get it.” I watched how she slowly sat back down. “They’ve never brought you around before. Did you meet them at their book club?”
“No.” She had this soft, velvety voice that was like music to my ears. “I was left stranded at the gas station a few miles away.”
I slid a bowl her way with a spoon. “Stranded. Who the hell decided that was okay?”
“My boyfriend.” She poured some cereal into the bowl. “We were heading to Sedona for an overnight hike.”
“Let me guess, you had a fight.”
“More like a blowup.”
“Ouch.” I took a bite. “If you were the one left stranded, sounds like he started to see the error of his ways.”
“Why do you assume I’m the bad guy in all this?” She actually looked pissed. “He left me, remember.”
I held my hand up. “Okay, okay, don’t get your panties in a bunch.”
She dropped her spoon in the bowl and leaned back. “Are you always this pleasant?”
“Only to people I don’t know.”
She stood and stepped closer to me. “You don’t have a lot of room to talk.” She waved her hand in a circle in front of me. “You’re wearing a sweatshirt two sizes too big and I can barely see your face.” She rolled her eyes and headed for the entrance to the kitchen. Then I noticed how she spun on her heels to face me. “Those two women upstairs are angels. My asshole of a boyfriend was being a baby and left me. I only have my wallet. That’s it.” She turned back to leave. “It’s compassion. Maybe you should hang out with them more often.”
“Who says I don’t?”
“Lucy and Cora.”
I just sat there. What did she know? This was some random woman who had been in my home for less than twenty-four hours. She knew nothing about me or my life. Right as I was about to say something all I could see was the ends of her blonde hair blowing by as she left the room.
I looked down at my bowl of cereal. “Well shit.” I threw the spoon in the bowl and carried it to the sink. Lucy and Cora spent most of their days avoiding me because I made it clear I didn’t want to chat with them. For the last few years I had made a point to stay as far away from women as humanly possible. Then this blonde bombshell comes into my home and changes all that with just a few words. Now all I wanted to do was follow her upstairs. I shook my head and realized my hormones were talking.
Three
Sky
I hit the pillows with my fist a little too hard. There was a puff of feathers that popped out of one corner. “Shit.” I covered my hand over the small hole and glanced around the room. “Who does he think he is anyway?” I was mumbling to myself as I switched the pillow case around so I could hide the hole.
What was it about men? Why did they think it was okay to be a dick to women?
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours I was treated like shit by a man. Wait, why was I letting this happen. Someone needed to be held accountable for their actions. I dropped the pillow down on the mattress and marched toward the bedroom door. Right as I swung it open, I jumped back and magically stumbled over my own two feet and promptly fell backwards.
“Oh shit. Are you okay?” Mr. Grump jumped forward trying to catch me right as my back hit the wood floor.
“Do I look okay?” I pushed his hand away. “Where did you come from?” I quickly sat up and scotched away from him. “Is your mission in life to scare women, because you’re doing a fantastic job at it so far?”
“I was just about to knock.” He sat down in front of me and pulled his hood down further over his face. “I–”
“What are you hiding?” I pulled my legs up and wrapped my arms around my shins. He actually scowled. “The hood. What’s up?”
“Nothing,” he said and stood. “I just wanted to apologize for how I acted in the kitchen.” Before I had a chance to absorb the apology, he was out the door.
Now I wanted to know the guy’s story. Every time I tried to get a good look at his face, he would either pull that damn hood down lower or move in the perfect direction to have the shadow block my view. Lucy showed me the computer earlier and let me use the guest login. I padded down the stairs quietly and found the small study where the computer was located. Hopefully they didn’t monitor the users search history because I was about to get super personal with Mr. Grump. Hopefully.
I used all my search engine skills and tried to find out the guy’s name that owned the place. Cora did say Justin earlier. It was weird, I felt like both women were avoiding using his name. The
more digging I did though, the closer I got to my answers.
The Grandfather clock chimed again, letting me know it had been a few hours since I started staring at the computer screen. I rubbed my eyes and glanced at the digital clock on the computer. Four in the morning. Shit. I needed to get some sleep. There was a file downloading and had about forty percent more to go when I heard footsteps in the hallway. I turned off the monitor and ducked under the desk. The sound of footsteps stopped by my location and then moved away. When I thought the coast was clear, I popped up and turned the monitor back on. My download was complete. When I opened the file, the answers to all my questions were all the way at the bottom of the page.
Justin Nelson. Retired firefighter. Artist. I couldn’t find anything that would share about an accident. There had to be something. I clicked to the last page of the file and noticed the words, injury. “What?” I whispered. “Of course he did.” I shook my head. The guy was a hero who rescued a woman and her baby from a burning building. His mask malfunctioned and burned twenty percent of his face and hands.
I felt confused. Justin seemed to be hiding out from the world. If he was a hero, why hide?
“Pip, leave her alone.” Cora tugged at the Golden Retriever’s leash. “Not everyone loves dogs, you silly goose.”
I knelt beside the sweet pup and nuzzled his face. “Oh, I’m an animal lover for sure.”
