Twisted Rock

by Jill Sanders

  She tucked her sweater closer and nodded. “Yes, I’ll take your advice, thank you, Officer Sawyer.”

  “It’s no problem. Please, just Sawyer.”

  She frowned. “Isn’t that your last name?”

  He smiled for the first time and she felt her heart skip at the transformation it caused in the man. He had a dark and mysterious look about him, but when he smiled, he became sexy as hell.

  “Yes, it is, but in the police force, everyone goes by their last names.”

  “What is your first name again?” she asked, unsure why she wanted to know.

  “Royce.” His smile wavered slightly. “But, as I said, feel free to call me Sawyer.”

  She nodded. “Thank you again, Sawyer.”

  “You’re welcome, Mrs. Clayton.” He stepped past her.

  “Rose,” she corrected. It was too painful to hear the Clayton part of her name. “Just Rose,” she repeated.

  She leaned against the doorframe as he stepped outside and turned towards her. The light from the front porch shone down on him, causing his green eyes to shine as the pitch darkness behind him accented the jet black of his hair.

  “If you need anything else…” he started to say.

  “I’m sure the workers can manage. But thank you again.”

  He nodded, and a slight irritation crossed his eyes. “It was no problem. Night.” He turned, then stopped. “I met you once.” He turned back to her. “And your husband. I think we were twelve. I was visiting my grandfather for the summer. You and Isaac were at the local swimming pool.” He shrugged. “I don’t know why I’m saying this.” He sighed and glanced into the darkness. “I just wanted you to know that, even back then, I could tell you two were meant for each another.”

  She swallowed the hurt and shut the door on him, unable and unwilling to show him the tears. Leaning her head against the stained glass of the door, she allowed more tears to fall.

  When she heard his car start, she straightened and swore that those tears would be the last. From here on out, she would only permit so many more tears in her life.

  She needed to get a handle on herself. Standing at the entrance of the great room, she decided that there was no time like the present.

  She sent off a quick text to RJ to see if the workers could start fresh in the morning, and then she’d pulled on an old T-shirt and jeans along with her tennis shoes and had gotten to work turning the place back into a home. Her home.

  Now, nine months after that night, she stood in her great room and smiled. Gone was the old rotted wood flooring. In its place, for the time being, was brand-new plywood. Stacks of the new hardwood flooring sat just inside the front doorway. Sweat rolled down her back through her tank top as she pulled on the thick gloves.

  “Are you sure about this?” Hunter asked her.

  Her brother stood by her side, frowning down at the massive pile of wood they had just hauled into the house from the flatbed truck she’d rented.

  Hunter had helped her get out of the house in the past months. Sawyer may have helped her wake up on that night long ago, but it was Hunter who’d gotten her to breathe again. He came down as often as he could and would force her out of the house for meals or shopping sprees to find furniture to fill the mansion. They had been close as kids, but they were growing even more so now, and she felt closer to him than with her sister, Jenny. Seeing Jenny with the kids was very painful. She’d really been looking forward to becoming a mother, to having Isaac’s children. Seeing her sister’s happy life opened the wounds all over again.

  Hunter tried to come down to visit every other weekend, but his new job in Buffalo kept him busy. But when he was there, she always enjoyed his company and his help around the house.

  The workers were still working hard on the house, as well. Most of the major things were done now and all that was left to do was some painting and some minor work on the basement.

  She’d convinced Hunter to help her replace the flooring and some of the wood planks on the back patio she enjoyed so much. She loved to get her hands dirty and enjoyed accomplishing something huge like this herself. As she looked around the house, she could see several projects she’d done over the past year all by herself and was even more proud of the work than she would have been if the men she’d hired had done it instead.

  “I’d better be sure.” She chuckled. “Otherwise I shouldn’t have spent a week tearing out the old flooring.”

  “Not that.” Hunter sighed. “I mean about staying here once you’re done with this place. You could always move up to Buffalo and be closer to me.”

  After losing Isaac, she’d wanted nothing to do with the big place. But now her sweat, blood, and tears were in each room. Now, this was home. Her home.

  She smiled over at Hunter. Her stepbrother was on the short side, but he still towered over her five-foot-five frame. His sandy blond hair had thinned sometime in high school. His blue eyes and round face had at one point been very attractive and, to some, still were. He was the closest family she had now. She’d leaned on him heavily. Him and Sawyer.

  The officer had made it his mission to check up on her on a weekly basis. Each time he stood on the doorstep, she was reminded of the night almost a year ago when he had told her about Isaac’s plane. Still, it was nice having someone to talk to other than her brother. And that someone being as attractive as Sawyer was didn’t hurt.

  “Of course, I’m sure.” She glanced around and smiled. “This is my home.” She slapped him on the shoulder. “Ready to get to work?” She took a step to get started, only to have the doorbell ring behind her.

  Spinning around, she pulled open the door and felt her heart skip when she noticed Sawyer standing on the front steps in worn jeans and a black leather jacket with a dark green T-shirt underneath. It was the first time she’d seen him out of uniform and, somehow, he looked even more dangerous.

  “Hi,” she said, wondering if seeing the man on her doorstep would always make her heart jump with sadness.

  “Hi.” He glanced past her. She looked back to where Hunter stood over her shoulder. “I… uh, heard that you were installing new flooring and came to offer some help.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. Small towns had their own methods of getting the news around. She figured he’d heard from either the hardware store or from one of the workers in town.

  “Do you know anything about installing hardwood?” she asked, leaning against the door jam.

  “I’ve installed it a few times,” he answered, his eyes still behind her.

  She sighed and opened the door. “Sawyer, my brother Hunter. Hunter, Officer Sawyer.” She motioned between them. “Come on in. We could use the expertise since neither of us know what the heck we’re doing.”

  Sawyer walked in and removed his jacket. She’d never seen him in short sleeves before and couldn’t help but appreciate the thick arms full of muscles as he placed his coat on the hooks by the front door.

  “Nice to meet you.” Sawyer held out a hand to her brother, who hesitated for a moment, then took it.

  Rose swore the men were comparing muscles as they shook hands. Not wanting to get in the way of a testosterone battle, she opened the first box of flooring. She glanced up at Sawyer. “So, show us the ropes.”

  Four hours later, she opened the last box. With Sawyer’s help, they had finished the flooring much more quickly than she’d planned. She’d expected that she and Hunter would be working on it longer than one day.

  Her back, knees, and neck hurt. But as she looked across the brand-new hardwood flooring, pride outweighed the pain she was feeling.

  The dark wood matched the doors, railing, and windowsills perfectly.

  “Good call on the flooring,” Hunter said, wiping sweat from his brow. “This place looks amazing.”

  She handed another board to Sawyer, who was on his knees, placing the last row of flooring down.

  She’d spent the last four hours trying to avoid appreciating every ripple under his shir
t as he worked. The cords of muscles in his arms were distracting enough, but the way the T-shirt stuck to him as he worked and the way his worn jeans hugged him was something she’d never had to deal with before.

  Desire had been a given with Isaac. If she’d wanted, he’d been there to provide a release for her. Wanting and not being able to touch was a completely different animal.

  “Would you like to put the last board into place?” Sawyer looked up at her. She’d been watching his butt as he bent over the flooring. When he glanced back, her eyes snapped to his and she felt herself blush.

  “Sure.” She jumped in quickly. Kneeling beside him, she took the rubber mallet from his hands and laid the last cut board into place.

  “Just tap it here.” He touched the board and she noticed how strong and long his fingers looked. Her entire mind was focused on his hand, and when she swung the hammer, she missed the board completely and had to try again. This time, concentrating, she hit the mark and the board slid into place smoothly. “All done.” He glanced over at her with a smile.

  She still hadn’t gotten used to seeing the relaxed look on his face and each time he smiled at her, she examined him as if seeing him for the first time. It was like watching a full-grown male lion cuddle up to a tiny human baby instead of eating it. You just couldn’t take your eyes away.

  “Are you okay?” he asked softly.

  It was then that she realized she’d been staring at him. Her eyes had been locked on his lips, so she tore them to his eyes and blurted out the first thing she’d thought.

  “Your eyes aren’t really green.” She mentally kicked herself as he chuckled.

  “Tell that to my driver’s license.” He shifted, gripping her wrists and pulling her off the floor.

  “You have a speck of brown just here.” She pointed to his left eye then was horrified that she was pointing at him and dropped her hand quickly. His smile grew.

  “Yes, it’s called heterochromia iridum.” He blinked and moved slightly closer. “My mother has it.”

  She moved closer and looked at his eyes better. Sure enough, his right eye was a vibrant green while his left eye was half green and half hazel. They were beautiful. She’d never seen eyes so clear, so stunning before.

  “Well, I’m starved. How about we order some pizza?” Hunter broke into her inspection of Sawyer’s eyes.

  “Can’t,” Sawyer said. “Ozzy’s waiting for me.” He glanced down at his watch and hissed.

  “Ozzy?” she asked, dusting off her hands. She couldn’t wait to sweep and mop her new floor.

  “My mutt.” Sawyer smiled. “I heard you might need some help replacing your back decking as well?” He gathered his leather jacket.

  “You seem to hear a lot,” she joked. She knew he’d heard it from Carson, who had stopped by the other day. She’d told him what she was up to that weekend.

  “I think we can handle things…” Hunter jumped in.

  She shushed him quickly. “I’m not turning away free help,” she said with a smile. “Why don’t you bring Ozzy tomorrow? I’m sure he’d enjoy running around and I’d enjoy meeting him. That is if he’s a nice dog.”

  Sawyer chuckled. “Ozzy loves everyone.” She watched him pull on his leather jacket and mentally imagined what it would feel like to run her fingers over those muscles on his chest.

  “Good, then it’s settled. We’ll pick the wood planks up first thing, around eight in the morning.” She turned to Hunter. “How about you run into town and get the pizza while I sweep and mop?”

  “Sure.” Her brother grabbed his jacket and followed Sawyer out.

  “Thank you again, Sawyer.” She waved as Hunter shut the front door behind them.

  As she started to sweep the new hardwood flooring, she daydreamed about unique green eyes and very muscular arms holding her.

  Four

  Something goes bump in the night…

  Sawyer stepped out into the warm evening and enjoyed the sweat that was dripping down his back. His knees, back, arms, and shoulders hurt from the manual labor he’d done in the past few hours.

  He stepped off the porch as Rose’s brother fell in step with him.

  “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but my sister can’t take the weight of a relationship right now,” Hunter warned him.

  Sawyer turned towards the man. Hunter was almost a full foot shorter than he was. It appeared that he lifted weights but didn’t always eat the right things since he gauged he was a good ten pounds overweight.

  Still, this was Rose’s brother and he looked very concerned and guarded.

  “I’m not looking for a relationship at the moment,” he said smoothly. “I’m just helping out a friend.”

  “Is she?” Hunter asked. “Your friend?” he added when Sawyer just looked at him.

  “I’d like to think so.” He turned towards his truck.

  “I don’t want to sound like a big brother, but… just know that I’m watching.”

  He smiled. “I would think worse of you if you hadn’t said something,” he called back as he slid into his truck.

  Hunter climbed into his car and shot out of the driveway before him. He made a mental note to warn the guy about the speed limit next time he saw him. As he pulled out of the driveway, he had only a split second to react as an old truck swerved directly towards him.

  He jerked the wheel so that his truck slid into the ditch. Rose’s neighbor Boone Schneller crashed his old truck into a tree less than a foot from him.

  Pulling out his phone, he sent a message to Carson before rushing over to give aid.

  When he opened the truck’s door, the smell of alcohol hit him.

  The old man was hunched over the wheel, chuckling.

  “Are you okay?” He touched the man, who came up swinging. Sawyer took the surprise punch to his left eye, then caught the man’s fists before he could swing again.

  “What a ride!” The man laughed again as he leaned back in the seat. “I’ve got to do that more often.”

  “Come on.” He hauled the man to his feet and had to catch him from falling on his face.

  “Are you okay?” Rose called from the end of her driveway. “I heard the crash.” She’d run outside in her bare feet and hadn’t bothered putting on a jacket. Even though the fall days were still sultry, the evenings had started to chill.

  Pulling off his jacket, he handed it to her. “Go sit in my truck. It’s cold out here.” He nodded towards his truck and turned back to the older man.

  “Now, Mr. Schneller, how many times have we told you not to drink and drive? This will make your second DUI.” He checked the man’s pupils.

  “I’m not drunk,” the man practically screamed at him.

  “Sure, you aren’t.” He sighed and walked the man a safe distance from the wreckage. “Carson will have to come and read you your rights. I’m off duty.”

  “I told you”—the man swung out again, but Sawyer was waiting for it and easily caught his fist— “I’m not drunk.”

  “Okay, I’ll play along. What are you then?” he asked, setting the man down on his truck gate.

  “I’m high.” He giggled like a teenager. “Tried it for the first time. That guy was right, it’s way better than booze.”

  Sawyer rolled his eyes and groaned inwardly.

  “Is he okay?” Rose asked from the driver seat of his truck. She had his leather jacket wrapped around her. She was swimming in it and he found it oddly appealing.

  In the months after her husband’s death, she’d gone from skinny to frail. That night he’d stopped by and fixed her electricity had almost broken him.

  She’d looked so lost, he’d wanted to pick her up and take her home to nurse her back to health. But when he’d come back up from the basement, he’d seen the change in her eyes.

  He’d watched her closely, stopping by on a weekly basis and seeing her progress each time. She’d gained back some of the weight she’d lost those first months after Isaac’s death.<
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  “He’s fine,” he answered.

  “Should I call…” She stopped when her eyes landed on him. “What happened to your eye?” She frowned and moved to get out of the truck.

  “He punched me.” He nodded to the old man, who was on the verge of passing out.

  She got out and rushed to his side, then reached up and gently touched his eye. “It looks bad.”

  He shrugged and watched the man slide down into the back of his truck bed. When he let out a loud snore, Sawyer relaxed.

  “I’m fine. I’ve had worse.” He glanced down at her feet. “You’re going to bruise the bottom of your feet.” He gently picked her up and set her back in the front seat of his truck. “Stay put until I can drive you back to the house. Carson should be here to take care of him soon.”

  At his last words, they both heard the siren coming down the road.

  Instead of Carson, Brown and Madsen parked behind his truck. He groaned inwardly—at least he thought he had—but when Rose touched his arm, he realized she’d heard him.

  “Stay in the truck,” he said softly as he went to meet the other officers.

  He went over what had happened with them twice. Brown hauled the unconscious man into the back of his patrol car while Madsen called the tow truck.

  “I’m taking Rose back home.” He nodded towards his truck. “If you need anything else, you know where to find me.”

  He slid into the front seat of his truck. Rose had moved over and sat in the passenger seat.

  “Seatbelt,” he said softly.

  She looked at him. “We’re just going to the end of the driveway.” She chuckled.

  He dropped his hands from the steering wheel. “And I was almost killed just now, at the end of the very same driveway.” He smiled.

  “Fair enough.” She nodded with a smile and slid on the seatbelt.

  “How did you run down the driveway without any shoes on without cutting your feet?” he asked as he pulled up to her front door.

  “I didn’t.” She sighed and glanced down at her feet. “I guess I was so concerned someone was hurt, I didn’t feel the pain.”