by Jill Sanders
Robert’s dark eyebrows shot up. “The one by the barber shop?”
“Yes.”
Robert whistled. “Pretty big building.”
“I have big plans.” He left out the detail that he was currently living in the rooms above the storefront.
“Security?” Robert asked.
“Online security, personal and business,” he supplied.
“Like emails, bank accounts, that sort of thing?”
“Yes, that sort of thing and more.” He didn’t feel like going into all the details and knew by the end of the day, everyone in town would know exactly what he was up to. Normally, it was a good thing to have that kind of publicity around town, but since he knew he wasn’t welcome in town anymore, he felt uneasy about the news getting out. He’d planned for it, though. When he’d decided to come back to Pride, he’d known it would be inevitable.
He stood up straight, and Robert followed his lead. The man was in his mid-fifties, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t kick some serious butt. After all, Robert Brogan hadn’t just been handed the job of sheriff in Pride—he’d earned it.
“I’m hoping your plans will include staying away from my daughter.” Robert glanced at him intently.
“And there it is.” He smiled. “I had missed this.” He almost chuckled as Robert looked across at him with all seriousness. “I currently have no plans to get near your daughter.” He sighed, hoping to convince himself that it was the truth.
“If you’ve changed your mind…” Robert looked towards the building and sighed before turning back to him. “Don’t. I don’t think I can stand to see her hurt like that again.” He said it softly, but the words shook Josh to the core.
Robert got back into his patrol car and drove away.
“What did he say to you?” Carrie was standing a few feet from him. He was surprised that he hadn’t heard her approach him. He’d been too busy letting Robert’s words sink in.
“He told me to stay away from you,” he said without looking back at her as he opened the door of his new Audi RS7.
“Why on earth would he think he’d have to?” she asked as she started walking back inside.
He wanted to argue with her, to tell her the million reasons why he was automatically drawn to her, but instead, he got into his car and drove back to his new home.
He’d closed on the old brick building only two days ago in Portland, before heading back to Pride. He’d arrived earlier that morning and hadn’t had a real chance to check it out before his meeting with Mason.
He’d dropped off the small U-Haul and had unloaded most of his things through the back door of the place, hoping to avoid being seen until he was ready.
He could have spent the next two years getting ready to come home. Nothing would have prepared him for what it had done to him to see Carrie.
When he parked in front of the building, he cursed at the sight of a familiar ancient rusted truck that was parked across the street. When he got out of the expensive car he’d splurged on in Portland, he braced himself for the fight that he knew was coming.
His old man looked pretty much the same—like an overweight, past-his-prime jock whose glory days had passed long, long ago. He’d outgrown his fear for the man in the past two years, so he straightened his shoulders and stood at his full height, which happened to be a few inches taller than his father.
“I told you, boy, if you ever showed your face in this town again…” Josh easily ducked the first fat fist that flew towards his face, then sidestepped the next one.
“Easy, old man, you don’t want to have a heart attack or, worse, cause a scene.” Josh nodded towards the barber shop directly across the street. There were several old men sitting out front. It seemed the men had always been there when he’d lived in Pride.
His father glanced around and spit on the ground. “Who gives a shit? Who’s going to call the cops on a father putting his bastard son in his place?”
“Considering that I’m no longer your problem and haven’t been for the past two years, I think a lot of people in town would care.” He leaned closer, smelling the telltale scent of whiskey mixed with cigarettes. “I think they might even mind that you’re driving drunk through their peaceful picturesque town.” He tilted his head and looked over his shoulder as a patrol car pulled into the police station just down the street, next to the large brick building that housed Jordan Shipping. “Or maybe we’ll ask the good sheriff ourselves? I just had a nice chat with him over at the Golden Oar.” He waved as Robert stepped out of his car. Of course, the man was too far down the road to see him clearly, but his bluff worked. His father took two steps backwards, his eyes scanning around him.
“Mark my words, boy, if you get in my way, you won’t be able to call for help when I get through with you. This is my town.” The man he’d grown up calling father turned and wobbled back to his beat-up truck. The thing puttered as he drove away.
He shivered with the knowledge that the man’s genes were in his body.
Trying to shove the past behind him, he turned to look at the two-story brick building. It was a classic. The wide front windows were currently covered with old newspapers. Above the door was a small sign with the logo from the flower shop that had been here before. He’d replace it soon enough with his own.
The entire second story was where he’d try to make himself feel at home. There were several large rooms that used to be offices and a small bathroom. He’d stacked his mattress in one of the rooms and put his computer and weights in the other.
The kitchen area was where he needed the most work done, seeing as there wasn’t one yet. The place had never been intended as a living space, but by the time he was done, the upstairs would be a fully functioning apartment, one he hoped to rent out once he got his business going full steam and found a home of his own.
He unlocked the front door and stepped into his future, a future free of his old man, free of the burdens he’d grown up with, and free of the memories of the woman he’d believed he would always love, Carrie.
Chapter 2
She hated herself at the end of her shift. Her feet were throbbing, her back was hurting, and she had several new food stains on her blouse. She was in no mood to go on a date or… otherwise.
She tried for a few minutes to refresh herself in the bathroom, but the fact was, she was a wilted flower, out past her time.
“You’ll be okay,” Riley encouraged her. “Go, have fun. God knows you deserve to. It’s been years since you’ve gone out on a date. A lot has changed since then…” Her friend slid a condom into her front purse pocket and winked.
“Oh god.” Her pulse kicked. “What have I done?” She started rocking and, suddenly, Riley’s arms were around here.
“Hey, it’s okay, it’s just a date.”
“No.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s not. Josh is back.” She cried. Tears and mascara streamed down her face, sealing her doom for the evening.
Riley took her shoulders and shook her lightly. “He doesn’t deserve your tears,” she said clearly, then whispered, “God, I wish Sara was here.”
“I’m sorry.” She wiped her eyes and straightened her shoulders. “I’m a mess.”
“Hey.” Riley took her shoulders. “It’s not that, it’s just… Well, I can’t really give you advice on love. I may have a purse full of condoms, but I’ve never actually used one before.”
“Oh god.” She looked down at her friend. Riley was a few years younger than her, but Carrie was sure she’d had a few boyfriends in the past.
“I mean, I haven’t had any reason to use…” Riley’s face turned bright red.
Carrie laughed. She couldn’t help it. The entire situation was completely hilarious. Reaching down, she hugged Riley. “Thank you. You’re just what I needed. A friend to talk me out of doing something stupid.”
“I did… what?” Riley asked, tilting her head.
Carrie grabbed her purse without even glancing at her reflection in the mi
rror. “We’ll talk tomorrow,” she called out as she rushed to find Mason, her date for the night.
She walked out into the cool night air and smiled at the man who was waiting for her. Mason Reece was attractive enough. He was roughly her age, had a build like a boxer, and most important, had kind, sexy eyes.
“Hi.” He walked towards her. “I thought you might back out.” He opened the passenger side door of his late-model Honda.
“I don’t back down easy,” she said, sliding into the seat. As he walked around, she took several deep breaths. “So, where to?” she asked once he got behind the wheel.
“I was thinking of a walk on the beach.” He turned the car on and pulled out of the parking lot.
“Sounds good.” She tried to calm her nerves. This time with Mason was like medicine, purging Josh from her system.
She’d only been with one person her entire life. No wonder she couldn’t get him out of her mind. What she needed was variety and there was a perfectly willing subject driving her to the beach.
“I know there was something between you and Josh.” He glanced over. “But he assured me it’s over.”
“Two years over.” She smiled. Her face hurt, telling her she was smiling too much, so she looked down at her fingers instead.
“Oh, good. I’m excited about working for him. He’s somewhat of a legend in certain circles.”
“Oh?” She turned her eyes back to him and frowned. “What circles?”
“Well, security, I mean. Online security. You know that last big leak from Cover Bank, the one that affected more than three million bank accounts?”
“And Josh had what to do with that?” she asked.
Mason chuckled. “He’s the one that found the leak. He’s the one that exposed the bank, then secured their data. That’s when he started his company, Internal Security.” She shook her head when he just looked at her. “Okay, you haven’t heard of it.” He sighed. “At any rate, I couldn’t believe my luck when I heard he was opening up a place near me. So, I packed up my belongings and hightailed it down here to interview.” He smiled over at her. “That’s why I’ve been waiting around town.” He glanced over at her. “That and a chance to see you again at the restaurant.”
She smiled and felt a little better about her choice. After all, besides being sexy, Mason was nice and fairly easy to talk to. She could have done a lot worse. There were several single guys in Pride around her age that she’d turned down over the past two years.
The thought of Josh popped into her head quickly. Trying to block him out, she asked Mason a few standard questions. Where was he from? Portland. Did he have any family near Pride? No. Where did he go to school? Portland again. Where was he staying? A hotel outside of Pride, near Edgeview. How long was he planning on staying in Pride? Depended on the job and if he could find a more permanent place to live.
He asked her a few of the same questions, which she replied to with short answers as well.
By the time he pulled into the parking area at the local beach, she was once again having second thoughts.
When he turned towards her, she was pretty sure he could read her mind.
“How about a nice walk?” he asked, smiling at her. “It’s been a while since I’ve been out on a date.”
“Sounds good,” she said, trying not to bite her bottom lip. He walked around, and she let him help her out of the car.
She was totally shocked when he pulled her in close. “Let’s just get this out of the way,” he said before his lips descended onto hers.
It wasn’t as if the kiss was bad. It actually felt really good to be held again. But there was something significant missing from the light touch. Power.
He pulled away and sighed heavily, and she knew he’d felt it too.
“Not everyone has that spark,” he said, taking her hand and walking with her towards the pathway to the beach.
“No, I suppose not.” She instantly felt more relaxed and walked with him towards the sand.
“You know, I could tell there was something still there.” He glanced at her. “Between you and Josh.”
“There…” She bit her lip and sighed. “Whatever we had died the day he left without a goodbye.”
“Ouch.” Mason shook his head and waited for her to pull her shoes off. She sank her toes into the soft sand and sighed.
It was dark out, so they walked slowly towards the water’s edge. The breeze floated over the water, cooling her off from the long hours working.
“So, what else is there to do in this town?” he asked, kicking at a rock.
“This is pretty much it.”
“What do you do, on your time off?”
“I work.” She shrugged.
“At the restaurant?” He stopped to look down at her.
“No, well, I only work there to make money for my real passion.” She smiled.
“Which is…” He waited.
“I run an animal sanctuary.” She waited for what she thought would be coming. So many people she told instantly judged her or criticized her.
“As in… rescues? Dogs? Cats? That sort of things?”
“Yes.” She smiled. “I have over twenty dogs, about the same number of cats, a pair of potbelly pigs, some goats, five horses, and a llama.” Her heart instantly felt lighter just thinking about the animals waiting for her back home.
He whistled. “How do you have time to work at the restaurant? It seems to me you’d be very busy taking care of all those critters.”
“I am, but those critters need to eat. So, I work for my food and theirs.”
He chuckled. “That’s pretty amazing. As soon as I find a permanent place, I was hoping to get a pet. You know, someone to greet me when I come home at night.” He took her hand again and they started walking across the sand.
“Well, when you’re ready, stop on by. I’m the last farm on the way out of town towards Edgeview. Carrie’s Sanctuary.”
“You don’t have any tigers?” He smiled in her direction.
She laughed. “No, just a tabby named Tiger.”
They had made it back to his car when they both heard someone clear their throats.
She shielded her eyes against the parking lot lights and instantly felt her body tense when she spotted Josh leaning against a motorcycle parked next to Mason’s car.
“Nice night for a walk,” Josh said casually.
He wasn’t fooling her one bit. He had followed them just to ruin her evening.
“Yes, it is,” Mason answered. Carrie could hear the humor in Mason’s tone and knew that he also thought that was what Josh was doing there.
“I’ll take you back.” Mason turned to her and reached to open the car door.
Without saying a word, she turned into Mason’s arms and threw everything she could into a kiss. The spark still wasn’t there, but she faked it for Josh’s sake.
She finally pulled away, slid into the seat, and waited for Mason to get behind the wheel. He chuckled but remained silent as they drove away.
“Think that worked?” he asked once they were clear of the parking lot.
“I don’t know, but I hope it caused him a little pain.”
Mason chuckled again. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
“Something tells me you won’t.” She smiled over at him.
She drove home imagining what Josh had been feeling seeing her kiss Mason. Hoping it had hurt him as much as he’d hurt her all those years ago.
But in truth, she had doubts. He’s the one who left. Maybe he’d spent the last two years hopping from woman to woman, breaking hearts wherever he’d ended up.
She’d heard very little about him since he’d left. His mother, Brenda, worked at the bakery and loved to gush about her kids, but she hadn’t talked about Josh often.
She knew his older brother Tom was overseas with the marines, and his sister Susie had just graduated from nursing school in Arizona. But Josh had been a mystery.
Carrie got out o
f the car and made her nightly rounds, checking on all the animals. Everyone greeted her, and she spent almost an hour enjoying their company before making her way into the house. The entire time she’d thought about Josh, which was really irritating.
When she crawled into bed, she was more exhausted than if she’d worked a double shift. Still, her mind refused to let go of Josh, and her dreams turned into sexual fantasies and memories of the first time Josh had kissed her.
* * *
Josh stood planted in spot as Mason and Carrie drove away. After the fight with his father earlier that day, he’d spent a few hours unloading boxes. He’d worked up a sweat and had needed some fresh air, so he’d pulled out his motorcycle from the trailer and taken a long ride. He’d eaten in a small diner in a small town along the coast, then had come to the public beach before heading back to his place. He had kicked himself instantly when saw the couple walking towards him. Deciding it would look foolish for him to jump on his bike without saying a word, he’d leaned against it and tried to act like it didn’t kill him to see Carrie holding another man’s hand.
When she’d kissed him, he’d had to force himself not to rip the couple apart, toss her on the back of his bike, and take her somewhere where no one could ever touch her. He counted to ten to clear his mind of thoughts he was pretty sure were straight from hell, or his father’s mind.
By the time the parking lot was empty again, he was back under control and jumped back on his bike to go home.
He’d convinced himself that it was for the best if Carrie was in a relationship. If she was dating Mason, then she was unavailable to him.
The next morning, he found himself sitting in the Golden Oar, looking for her.
When he saw Sara and Riley Jordan working instead of Carrie, he cringed. He hadn’t expected to run into everyone in town during breakfast.
