Kenzie And The Guy Next Door (Scandalous Series Book 4)

by R. Linda

  That didn’t sound so bad.

  “He what? Tell me everything.”

  “I just did. He was bashing on the door. I told him to leave because she wasn’t home. He accused me of having her in my apartment, so I told him we were just neighbours, then he said, it looked like more than just neighbours sharing a pizza a few nights ago with—”

  “You…” Ryder growled. “Yeah, we’ll get back to that in minute. For now, focus on Chace.”

  “And that’s it. He mentioned something else about her being a slut, and I lost it.” I stubbed out my cigarette and closed my window.

  “What did you do?”

  “I shoved him into the wall and threatened him. Told him if he showed his face around here again, he’d wish it was you using him as a punching bag and not me. I may have cut off some of his air supply at the same time.”

  Ryder barked out a laugh. “Good.”

  “I just wanted to tell Kenzie to be more careful and to maybe avoid her apartment for a few days. The guy is a nutcase.”

  “Tell me about it. Thanks for looking out for her, though. Now…back to this pizza you shared with my sister?”

  Shit.

  I thought I’d gotten away with it. Escaped without his notice. No such luck. It wasn’t like I was afraid of the guy. He was younger than I was, but there was something about him that made me cautious. I liked his sister and didn’t want to piss him off.

  “It was nothing. I came back from a run and noticed Chace harassing her, so I came up with an excuse to get Kenzie away from him.”

  “Uh-huh. And that excuse was what? Pizza’s getting cold?”

  I chuckled. “Nah, man. The pizza came after. I didn’t want to leave her alone in case he came back more pissed than he was when we left him on the street.”

  Ryder cleared his throat but remained silent as though waiting for me to continue.

  “We ate pizza and talked. That was it.”

  And kissed. Twice. Then a hell of a lot more in my dreams, but I wasn’t admitting to that.

  “Okay. Well, I’ll be sure to let Kenzie know you called.”

  “Can I speak to her?”

  “She’s sleeping.”

  I couldn’t deny I was disappointed, but I was glad to know she was safe and not alone in her apartment.

  “Okay, just tell her I called,” I said, pulling my phone away from my ear to hang up when I stopped. “Oh, and, ah…I have a proposition for you. Kenzie thought you might be interested, so do you think maybe we could meet for a beer and have a chat one night?”

  “Yeah, sure. Saturday at the roadhouse. I know Johnny keeps a stash of beer under the counter.”

  “Saturday, then.” I hung up, smiling. He knew about Johnny’s beer fridge under the counter. He would be perfect to help manage the place.

  Chapter Nine

  Kenzie

  I walked into the diner at the roadhouse after work on Saturday to meet Ryder and Jeremy, but it was empty. Glancing at my watch, I realised I was early. “Hello!” I called out.

  “Kenzie?” Harper’s voice came from up the stairs, followed by the sound of thudding footsteps as she ran down to meet me.

  “You’re home?” I smiled when she stopped in front of me.

  “This morning.” She grabbed my hand and dragged me through the kitchen and out the back door into the field behind.

  “What are we doing?” I ran through the long grass behind her.

  “Catching up, duh.”

  I followed Harper to the water tower and stopped. “Uh-uh. No.”

  “What?” She turned to look at me.

  “No chance in hell am I climbing up there.” I looked up at the platform forty-seven thousand feet above my head and screwed my nose up in disgust. The damn thing was so old, I was surprised it hadn’t collapsed yet. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to be on it when it finally did give way. Besides, I didn’t even want to know what went on up there. It was like bloody Lovers’ Lane or something where couples went to make out, only it was a water tower.

  “Why not?”

  “I’m not sitting on anything your naked ass has rubbed against.”

  Harper’s mouth dropped open. “What?”

  “I have eyes, Harper. And sometimes, watching you and Nate together makes me want to gouge them out with teaspoons. Don’t even try to tell me you haven’t screwed his brains out up there.” I pointed.

  Harper scoffed. “You’re all class, Kenz.”

  “That’s me.” I winked and sat on the grass. “How was the trip?”

  “It was great. Beautiful. A lot of fun. But we’re not talking about me.” I’d have preferred to discuss Harper’s week away with Nate, down to every last boring or mushy detail, than talk about what I knew she wanted to.

  Jeremy.

  “We’re not?” I picked at a blade of grass.

  “Nope. We’re talking about you and my brother.”

  I coughed and banged a fist against my chest. “What?” Smooth. Didn’t give anything away.

  “I hear things.”

  How could she possibly hear things? There was nothing to hear.

  “Like what?” I leaned back, resting my hands behind me.

  “Chace showed up, and Jeremy got rid of him, then you two spent a cosy night on the sofa eating pizza.” She raised an eyebrow, a knowing smirk on her face.

  “He told you?”

  “Of course not. Nate told me.”

  I shook my head. “How did Nate know?”

  “Linc told him—”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Harper held up a hand to silence me.

  “Before you say anything else…” She took a deep breath. “Linc heard it from Indie, who heard it from Bailey, who heard it from Ryder, who spoke to Jeremy on the phone.” Harper exhaled the breath with a whoosh and almost sagged in relief.

  Those guys gossiped more than anyone else I knew.

  “So, you know everything, then.” I threw a handful of grass at her. “Wait, when and why did Jeremy speak to Ryder?”

  “Couple days ago. Why do you think they’re meeting here?”

  “Because I told Ryder to call him this morning.”

  “No. Because Jeremy called you the other night, and Ryder answered. They got talking.”

  Ryder didn’t mention anything about Jeremy calling, and I was curious why. Why had Jeremy called? And why had my dear brother failed to tell me?

  “You’ve been away for over a week. How do you know this?”

  “Uncle Johnny has a big mouth.”

  He wasn’t the only one, it seemed.

  “Jeremy called here and spoke to him today about something important, but I don’t know what.” Harper frowned.

  “Ah…there’s something I know that you don’t for once.” I elbowed her. Everyone seemed to know all about my personal life and dramas, but I finally knew something no one else did.

  “What?”

  I looked away. It wasn’t my place to say. Jeremy would tell her when he was ready. I was sure there was still a lot to discuss. Otherwise, Ryder wouldn’t be meeting him.

  “What are you two doing out here?” Indie’s voice echoed across the field.

  Harper and I looked up as she made her way over to us from the back of the diner. “Everyone is inside.”

  “Everyone?” I thought it was just Ryder and Jeremy.

  Indie nodded.

  “Why is everyone here?”

  Indie reached out to both of us and helped us stand with a grunt. “You know us?” She smiled sarcastically. “We do things in groups. Never alone. We’re like the freaking Brady Bunch, only not related. Well, no. We’re all practically related now, huh?”

  I laughed. “Yeah, it’s kind of messed up, when you think about it.”

  Bailey was dating my brother. Harper was dating Nate, Indie’s brother, who just so happened to be Harper’s ex-boyfriend’s cousin. Indie was engaged to Linc, her brother Nate’s best friend. And me, well, I was developing a mild crush on Harper
’s brother.

  It was all kinds of messed up. Nothing like keeping things close.

  We walked into the diner, and Indie wasn’t lying. Everyone was there. “Mumma!” Cole called as he bounded across the black and white tile floor toward me.

  “Hey, buddy.” I wrapped him in a hug and walked over to the booth that held my brother, Bailey, Linc, and Nate.

  Indie placed her scuffed Chuck on the red vinyl seat cushion, and smooshing her hand into Nate’s face, she used her brother to support herself as she pushed up and stepped over him to slip into the small space between him and Linc.

  Nate elbowed her. “Get off me.” And Linc laughed, wrapping his arm around her waist. I looked around for Jeremy but didn’t see him.

  “Brody not coming?” I asked as Harper and I sat at the table next to the booth, even though I knew the answer. Cole sat in the next booth with his colouring book and pencils, a giant chocolate milkshake, and bowl of fries.

  “Doubt it,” Ryder mumbled.

  Brody was still cut up over Harper and Nate hooking up behind his back. For months. Sure, I got it. It was understandable, sort of. Finding out his cousin Nate was sleeping with his ex-girlfriend had to hurt. Finding out it had been happening on and off for six months couldn’t have been nice either. But…

  “Come on. He needs to let it go. It’s been weeks,” I said. Maybe even longer. He moved out of the apartment he shared with Nate the same day he found out.

  “It would be nice if we could all hang out together again,” Bailey mused.

  “Look, no one wants to make things right with Brody more than I do.” Nate held up his hands. “I feel like a prick for the way things turned out, but would I change anything?” He looked at Harper, who was biting her lip nervously. “Hell, no. They dated and broke up two years ago.”

  “So, what you’re saying is the statute of limitations has passed?” Linc scoffed, swirling the dregs of his coffee in the bottom of his cup.

  “Yeah, don’t think heartbreak has a timeframe, big bro.” Indie patted him on the shoulder in sympathy.

  “You’re right, but I thought we could get past it by now. He won’t even look at me,” Harper said.

  It was true. Every Sunday night, we had dinner at the Kellermans’ house. It was something Nate and Indie’s mum had enforced since everyone graduated uni and moved back to town. But every Sunday, Brody sat at the opposite end of the table, as far from Nate and Harper as possible, if he even showed up at all. Most times, he’d make some excuse to leave early.

  “And Audrey, how is she doing?” I asked because I knew she and Brody were close. And when they weren’t at dinner on Sunday nights, it was usually because they were together. I thought Brody used Audrey as an excuse to avoid the family dinners, and because no one wanted to put additional stress on the girl, everyone let it slide.

  “She’s getting better,” Nate said. “She doesn’t hide in her room all the time when we visit, but she doesn’t hang around for too long either.”

  “Brody is good for her, though. He’s the only one who can get her out of the house most of the time,” Nate added. “Not even Mum has much luck.”

  “It’s understandable,” Bailey said. “I don’t know how I’d cope in her situation.”

  The poor girl was having a bad time adjusting to her new life, and the only person she truly felt comfortable around was Brody, and Nate sometimes. The Kellermans decided to foster her just before Christmas, unable to bear the thought that she had no one. Her entire family perished in a house fire last year, and she was left orphaned and badly burnt. Nate and Brody had been the ones who rescued her, Nate being a fireman and Brody a paramedic. Brody had spent every day at the hospital with her while she was recovering, so they formed at special bond, a great friendship—something the girl needed.

  A heavy weight rested on my shoulder, causing me to jump. Glancing down, I noticed tattooed fingers gripping my shirt, a thumb pressing into the back of my shoulder blade, moving in circles.

  I looked up at Jeremy standing behind me and Harper and smiled. “Hey, Casanova.”

  Lips pinched between his fingers, Ryder’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Jeremy’s hand still on my shoulder, but he didn’t say anything, and maybe that was because Jeremy was resting his other hand on Harper’s shoulder. But he wasn’t massaging her like he was me.

  He smirked. “Neighbour.” I thought he secretly liked me calling him Casanova.

  “Hey. I didn’t expect everyone to be here.” Jeremy looked at Ryder.

  My brother lifted his shoulder, not caring.

  “Sorry. That was my fault.” Bailey raised her hand. “I told Indie we were coming.”

  “It’s a public place, so who cares?” Ryder added, defending his girlfriend like always. “What is it you wanted to discuss?”

  “The roadhouse.”

  Chapter Ten

  Jeremy

  What was it with this damn group of friends? They were all in each other’s business. Where one went, the rest followed. I was tempted to ask Ryder if we could talk privately, but from the look he was giving me for touching his sister, I didn’t think it would be a good idea. Getting into a brawl was probably not the best way to start a business relationship with the guy. I should have released my grip on Kenzie’s shoulder too, but I didn’t. My fingers liked touching her skin, and from the way she leaned back slightly into my hand, she liked it too.

  Dammit.

  I was given one rule. Stay away from Harper’s friends. The rest? Fine. I couldn’t see myself spending much time with any of them. But Kenzie? She was what wet dreams were made of. One kiss, and I was addicted. The fact she called me Casanova in front of everyone had my lips twisting into a smirk, but I was strong enough to refrain from calling her babe.

  “What about the roadhouse?” The girl, the other one, not Ryder’s hippie looking girlfriend, the one engaged to Linc, asked.

  “Ace…” Linc warned. What was her name? Izzy? No, that wasn’t right.

  “I want to take over the management of the roadhouse from Johnny and Julie,” I said simply.

  Cue the collective gasps and mouths dropping open in shock from everyone but Kenzie.

  “What?” Harper jumped out of her seat and turned to face me. I stepped to the side, dropping my other hand onto Kenzie’s shoulder.

  “You heard me.” I pressed my thumbs into Kenzie’s muscles.

  “Yeah, I heard. But why?” Harper glanced at my hands and chewed on the side of her lip but didn’t say a word.

  “Look at them, Har. They’re exhausted. They’re running themselves ragged trying to keep this place going.” I gave Kenzie’s shoulders a gentle squeeze.

  Harper took a deep breath and nodded once. “I’ve noticed that too. They barely have any time for themselves. One or both of them are always down here, and if they’re not, they pass out on the sofa watching TV, trying to unwind.”

  I looked at Ryder. “Kenzie said you studied business management. Thought maybe you could help out.”

  “Do you know anything about running a roadhouse?” he asked.

  “No. But I wanted to open up the garage again and figured with your help and Harper’s knowledge of the diner, we could take a load off their shoulders. Give them a break.”

  Ryder tapped his fingers on the tabletop. “Could work.”

  “So, you’ll help?”

  “Of course. I owe Johnny everything. I’ll do whatever I can.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  “Well, you know I’ll help,” Harper said, nudging me with her shoulder.

  “Me and Indie can help too, right?” Bailey offered.

  Ah-ha. Indie. That was her name.

  Indie groaned. “I’m not wearing a hairnet.”

  “How about an apron?” Bailey rolled her eyes.

  “If I have to. Yes, I’d love to help.”

  “Count me in too.” This from Linc.

  “And me. Don’t know how much help we’ll all be. But we can figure it out,�
� Nate said.

  I raised my eyebrows in surprise and looked at them. They were all willing to help, just like that, no questions asked.

  “Ah, thanks,” I said stupidly, not knowing what else to say. I was pretty sure they all had busy lives, full-time jobs, responsibilities or whatever, but I was grateful for the help.

  “See? Told you it would be fine.” Kenzie rested her fingers over my hand and looked up at me and smiled.

  “You did.”

  Ryder cleared his throat and glared. Kenzie dropped her hand and flipped him off, causing me to laugh, which I quickly covered with a cough.

  “There’s a lot to discuss, but first…have you run it by Johnny and Julie yet?” Ryder asked.

  “Not yet. Wanted to see if it was possible first, before checking with them. Didn’t want to give them false hope of retiring early or anything.”

  “Okay, well, speak to them. If they’re happy to hand over the reins, we’ll work it all out.”

  “Cheers, man.”

  It was that easy.

  I decided to wait until everyone had left and Johnny had closed up for the night before speaking to him, so I leaned down and spoke in Kenzie’s ear, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  I wasn’t sure if her brother had filled her on the events of the other night, but I thought I should tell her anyway.

  “Sure.” She stood and announced to everyone that she’d be back in a minute before going to the next booth and saying, “Mumma’s just going for a walk. Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

  It was only then that I noticed the kid sitting there with a pencil in his hand, blond curls in his eyes. “Okay, Mumma.”

  How did I not see Cole earlier? Maybe because I seemed to be entirely focused on his mother.

  Kenzie walked toward the front door, and I followed. If it was at all possible to feel someone’s eyes burning a hole in your back, I felt it. Seven sets of eyes watching as I walked outside behind Kenzie.

  “What’s up?”

  “Did Ryder tell you I called the other night?” I asked, falling in step beside her as we wandered around the perimeter of the roadhouse.