Rocky Ground

by Kaylea Cross

  ROCKY GROUND

  Crimson Point Series

  Kaylea Cross

  ROCKY GROUND

  Copyright © 2019 Kaylea Cross

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  Cover Art: Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs

  Developmental edits: Deborah Nemeth

  Line Edits: Joan Nichols

  Digital Formatting: LK Campbell

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. With the exception of quotes used in reviews, this book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author.

  ISBN: 978-1-928044-32-1

  Blurb

  She’s been hurt too many times…

  Single mom Tiana Fitzgerald has sworn off all romantic relationships to protect herself and her daughter. Her track record is disastrous and she’s done getting hurt. But a certain sexy Scotsman in Crimson Point has other ideas, and somehow manages to sneak past her defenses at every turn. As the hits keep coming and her life implodes, she begins to see he’s unlike any man she’s ever known. Now he’s become the greatest threat to her heart, because there’s no possible future for them. Not when he’s leaving the country in a few weeks. And when her worst fears are realized, she must risk everything by placing her trust in his hands.

  He’s determined to capture her heart.

  Scotsman Aidan MacIntyre never saw the fiery, beautiful Tiana coming. The prickly redhead has gotten under his skin as badly as he wants to get under hers. But she’s determined to keep walls between them. Luckily the former Royal Marine doesn’t know how to give up. Someone from her past wants to hurt her, but Aidan will stand between her and any threat. He’ll stop at nothing to protect her and the little girl who have completely stolen his heart—and fight for them to have a future together.

  Dedication

  For Hazel, without whom Aidan wouldn’t sound like a proper Scot. I so appreciate your help in bringing my Scottish Royal Marine hero to life . Looking forward to Edinburgh and the Tattoo this summer! xx

  Author’s Note

  So here we are in the final Crimson Point book. Aidan’s my first Scottish hero ever, and I’m so thrilled to present you with a Royal Marine.

  “Per Mare, Per Terram”. By Sea, By Land, Captain Aidan MacIntyre’s got you covered.

  Happy reading,

  Kaylea

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Stealing Vengeance

  About the Author

  Complete Booklist

  Chapter One

  A womanizing deadbeat, a not-so-high-functioning alcoholic, and a pedophile.

  The sad truths of her three longest-lasting relationships. Not exactly a track record to be proud of, or a recommendation for mother of the year.

  Tiana Fitzgerald pulled the hood of her coat up as she got out of her car and dashed through the rain to the Crimson Point police station to face more fallout from her most recent disaster of a romantic relationship. Her week had already gone from bad to worse on Monday after receiving another blow, this one by mail.

  One crisis at a time.

  Sheriff Noah Buchanan rose from the chair behind his desk with a broad smile on his face when she knocked on his open door. He’d been so good to her and her daughter through everything that had happened. Over the past year he and his girlfriend Poppy had become her friends. “You look half-drowned,” he said with a chuckle. “Come on in.”

  “It’s monsooning out there.” April showers brought May flowers and all that, except here on the Oregon Coast when it rained nonstop for weeks on end and saturated everything.

  “Is Ella at afterschool care?”

  “No, I dropped her off at Beckett and Sierra’s before coming here.” She took off her soaked jacket and draped it over the back of the chair in front of his desk before sitting and folding her hands in her lap, maintaining at least the outward appearance of calm and collected. “So, you said you had an update for me about Brian.”

  She still hated saying his name. Hated even more that she’d fallen for his fake charm in the first place and not seen the monster underneath. It disgusted her to think that she’d slept with him. Filled her with rage that, unbeknownst to her, he’d exposed himself to her then eight-year-old daughter, and would have molested her or worse if Ella hadn’t told someone.

  Ella hadn’t told her. No, she’d told their neighbors, Beckett and Sierra instead. Noah’s best friend and sister.

  It broke Tiana’s heart that her daughter hadn’t trusted her, but once Ella’s reasoning had become clear, she understood her daughter’s decision better. Ella had been trying to protect her. That was so wrong on so many levels. It was Tiana’s job to protect her, not the other way around.

  “I do.” Noah reached one muscular arm back into a file cabinet and took out a folder that he placed on his desk. “The latest report came back from the computer forensics people.”

  Her insides curdled. They’d seized Brian’s electronics after he’d been arrested last spring, but they’d found a personal laptop of his only a month ago. She hadn’t been shown any of the information about the ongoing investigation until now. “Let me guess—they found all kinds of child porn and a whole bunch of other disgusting stuff on his hard drive.”

  Noah confirmed her suspicions with a nod. “Right.”

  Gross. “And I’m also betting Ella’s not the first girl he’s done this to.”

  “Right again. We identified three other possible victims. All girls, aged eleven and under, and there may be others we don’t know about yet. His pattern seems to be targeting single moms with young daughters.”

  The news sickened her. It was horrifying to think that predators like him were walking around in plain sight, but undetected, and that she’d fallen for his act. His clean-cut, good looks and impressive professional image as a successful and highly sought-after investment banker working for a large firm based in Portland. “Well that’s…disturbing.”

  Noah’s deep blue gaze was steady. “Yes, it is.” The night of the confrontation with Brian, Noah had been especially wonderful. Beckett too, whom she’d never be able to thank enough for intervening on Ella’s behalf.

  Tiana had arrived home that evening, clueless as to what had been going on, and walked into a chaotic scene straight out of her nightmares. Brian in cuffs in the back of Noah’s cruiser, his nose and mouth bleeding from Beckett’s powerful fist. When she’d found out what Brian had done, she’d wanted to rip him apart. “I can’t say any of this surprises me, though. Not now.”

  “I showed you this because I wanted you to know you’re not the only one. You’re not the only person he’s fooled. He’s done this before and gotten away with it, at least three more times that we know of. But because Ella spoke up and he’s been charged, two of the other girls are willing to testify as well.”<
br />
  “A tiny bit of a silver lining in this whole mess.”

  “Yes.” He opened up the file, leafed through some papers and began to read. “The forensic psychologist’s report says the usual things common to most child predators. He was likely sexually abused as a child himself and blames external factors to explain and justify his actions in an attempt to diminish his guilt. He’ll also go to great lengths to hide his behavior.”

  “Boy, did he ever,” she said bitterly. She’d been completely oblivious to what was happening behind her back.

  Noah closed the file. “They’re experts at it. That’s why it’s so hard to catch them. And they control their victims, making it hard for the people they’ve hurt to speak out. But not Ella.” He sat back in his chair, a slight smile lifting one side of his mouth. “You’ve got a brave little girl there.”

  “I know it.” She pulled in a breath and shook her head. “How do you do this job, Noah? Seeing this kind of thing day after day?”

  “Thankfully around here that kind of thing is rare, but yeah, I’ve seen my fair share of shit. It’s always harder when kids are involved. And I do it because I can make a difference and protect kids like Ella by taking the monsters off the street and putting them away for as long as possible.”

  If it were up to Tiana, Brian and all the other child predators in the world would rot in prison for the rest of their lives and never see the light of day again.

  Noah’s parting words resonated with her as she drove home to her rental house on the other side of town. If Brian refused the plea bargain that was about to be offered him—and it was sickening enough that he was being offered any kind of a deal at all—then Ella might have to take the witness stand and testify in court in front of him.

  The only reason Tiana had agreed to the terms of the plea bargain was to spare her daughter that additional trauma. Ella had been through more than enough, and Tiana was determined to protect her daughter from any more harm.

  That plan included steering clear of any more romantic relationships, and men in general until Ella was all grown up. Maybe longer.

  Maybe forever.

  Her cell rang as she drove down Front Street along the water, past all the charming wood-framed shops and businesses and the wide expanse of sandy beach and rolling ocean beyond it. Aunt Lizzie, her mother’s younger sister. The closest thing Tiana had ever had to a real mother, and the only family she had any contact with. “I’m just on my way home, so perfect timing,” she told her aunt.

  “It’s a gift,” Lizzie replied in a cheery voice. “So, how did it go at the sheriff’s office?”

  “Depressing as hell, as expected.” She relayed everything Noah had told her.

  “When will you hear about the plea bargain?”

  “Not sure. Last I heard the State Attorney’s office was still finalizing it.”

  Lizzie grunted. “I hope the pedo takes it. It’s more than he deserves, especially if he’s molested other girls, but I’d hate for Ella to have to go through the stress of a trial to put him away.”

  “Me too.”

  “And what else? I can tell there’s something else. Spill.”

  Aunt Lizzie knew her too well. “It’s Evan.”

  A shocked pause followed her announcement. “As in, Ella’s deadbeat sperm donor?”

  The guy who’d ditched them both before Ella’s first birthday and disappeared to chase women and his dream of being a famous musician. Yep. “That’s the one.”

  “What did he do now?”

  “Our mediation is over. If I don’t grant him visitation—they call it parenting time here—then the court will enforce it.”

  “What?”

  Tiana winced and turned the volume down on the car’s Bluetooth system. “Yep. Got the letter couriered to my office Monday morning.”

  “That’s insane. He didn’t want anything to do with Ella for her entire life up to now, hasn’t paid you a dime in support, left you both to fend for yourselves, and now he suddenly wants access to her?”

  The weight that had been sitting on Tiana’s chest for the past several months as the start of the trial loomed suddenly grew heavier. “Yes, and since he’s agreed to pay the child support he owes, the court will side with him if I keep fighting it.” She hadn’t gone after him for child support when he’d left because she’d just wanted him out of their lives permanently and had been willing to go without the money to get that.

  “What are you going to do? Does Ella know?”

  “The initial visit would be here with a court liaison to supervise. It’s better for everyone if Evan and I can work out something amicably between us in terms of a visitation schedule, but since he’s in California it’s even harder. As for Ella, I’ve brought up the subject to see how she reacted.”

  “And?”

  “She actually seemed excited about the prospect of meeting him.” That had surprised Tiana. “According to my lawyer, I can’t fight this unless I can prove he’s a criminal or poses a threat to her. Which, given my track record with men, he probably is, and I won’t be able to prove anything until it’s too late.”

  “So you’re not going to fight it?”

  Part of her desperately wanted to. She wanted to keep Evan as far out of their life as possible, because as far as she was concerned, he’d forfeited any rights to Ella the day he walked out on them. “I can try, but it won’t look good in front of the court and it’ll burn through money I’d rather put into a mortgage and a college fund for Ella.”

  “God, I hate that man. Why the hell does he want to see her now, anyway?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t trust his motives even with the money he’s willing to pay to see her.” He’d abandoned her and Ella when they’d needed him most. There was no reason to let him back into their lives now. Raising Ella alone had been the hardest thing Tiana had ever done, but she’d never once regretted her decision. “I may have to come to terms with him having supervised visits. But if he tries to file for any sort of custody, I’ll fight him for as long as it takes.”

  “Good girl.”

  “My lawyer’s looking into what can be done about that, but right now it’s all up in the air.”

  “Honey, the universe owes you a huge break.”

  “God, don’t I know it. Now let’s change the subject before the last of my determination to stay positive disappears and I’m forced to eat both quarts of ice cream currently sitting in my freezer when I get home.”

  “Is one of them mint chocolate chip?”

  She smiled at her aunt’s hopeful tone. “You’re coming to visit this weekend, so of course.”

  “You always were my favorite niece.”

  Tiana laughed under her breath. “By process of elimination, that’s not saying much, is it?” She was Lizzie’s only niece.

  “You’d still be my favorite even if I had twenty nieces. Which, considering the crazypants, whackadoodle family we both come from, I’m thankful I do not.”

  She grinned at the apt description. “Imagine how boring we’d have been without their influence, though.”

  “True. I’m still determined to write my memoir one day and sell a million copies, wind up on Oprah and all that. I’ll save a few chapters for you to put in your story.”

  “You’re too kind.” She sighed. “I miss you so much.”

  “Hang in there, sweetie. I’ll see you in a few days.”

  “You can’t get here soon enough.”

  “Love you, Tia-bear.”

  A lump formed in her throat. Lizzie had been there for her when no one else was. She had taken Tiana in when she had nowhere to go, and given her the only unconditional love she’d known through her life. “Love you too.”

  She ended the call, but even the prospect of Lizzie’s impending visit couldn’t ease the awful pressure in her chest. Ever since that night last summer when she’d learned the truth about Brian it felt like her world was caving in.

  Now she was flat-out scared. The thou
ght of Evan trying to take Ella away even part time was enough to send her into a panic.

  Rain continued to splatter across her windshield as she drove beyond the town and finally turned onto Salt Spray Lane. Tall cedars and Douglas Firs bordered either side of it, and at the top of the rise her first destination came into view. Beckett and Sierra’s gorgeous heritage Victorian stood proud in the center of its ocean view lot. Warm light spilled from its windows into the gloom.

  Knowing her daughter was safe and warm and cared for there put a smile on Tiana’s face.

  But as she pulled into the driveway, she spotted Ella sitting on the side porch not with Beckett, but with that man who worked for him—Aidan MacIntyre.

  Her jaw tensed and her spine went rigid.

  Hell, no.

  She’d taken all she could take today, and he was the last damn straw.

  Chapter Two

  Here comes trouble.

  Aidan would never dare say it aloud, especially not in front of Ella, but he thought it loud and clear as Tiana Fitzgerald slammed her car door shut and came marching through the rain toward them. He was used to seeing her in flowy, bohemian-style dresses and tops, but today she had on jeans and a sweater beneath her dark blue rain jacket.

  “Hi, Mama,” Ella called out, seated beside him.

  “Hi, sweetheart.” Her face was shadowed by her hood, only a few locks of fiery red hair escaping. Despite her sweet answer to her daughter, Aidan could feel the laser-like burn of her stare on his face as she approached. The woman was an arresting, albeit somewhat hostile firecracker.

  “Hello, Tiana,” he said, hiding a smile.

  “Hi.” She stopped, standing there stiffly as she faced off with him. “You’re back.”