Small-Town Redemption

by Andrews, Beth

  “Oh. Yes.” She straightened and set her silverware on her plate. “Thank you.”

  He stacked her plate with her dad’s, grabbed her empty juice cup by the rim, then glanced at her. “You’re not from around here.”

  What? Did she have a sign that said “Outsider” on her forehead? Was she doomed to stick out in this small town? “What makes you say that?”

  “I haven’t seen you at school.”

  “Maybe you just haven’t noticed me.”

  “Not a chance,” he said, his voice low and gravelly. She shivered. “You, I would have noticed.”

  She fought a smile. Just because he was seriously cute with his floppy dark hair, blue eyes and broad shoulders didn’t mean she was going to flirt with him. She was, after all, getting over a broken heart and had just yesterday sworn off boys forever.

  He wiped his hand on the side of his jeans. Held it out. “I’m Andrew Freeman.”

  She shook his hand. His palm was warm and dry and slightly callused. “Estelle Monroe.”

  Andrew glanced around, then slid into the booth across from her. Leaned forward. “Did you just move to town?”

  “Actually, I’m visiting my father for a few weeks.”

  He grinned and her breath caught. Okay, so maybe she should rethink the whole “no more boys” thing. Just because Chandler was a major douche bag didn’t mean all guys couldn’t be trusted.

  “Maybe we could hang out sometime,” Andrew said. “I could show you around town.”

  She doubted there was much more to Shady Grove than what she’d already seen. But she didn’t mind being proved wrong. Especially when it involved a cute boy. “Maybe.”

  She didn’t like to make it too easy on guys. Not when they so enjoyed the chase.

  “Great. Let me put your number in my phone...” He patted his pockets. “Damn. It’s in the break room,” he said, sliding out of the booth. “I can run back and get it.”

  “No need.” By then her dad might be done with his call and the last thing she wanted was Kane being overprotective and scary simply because a boy talked to her.

  She dug out a pen from her purse, uncapped it with her teeth, then took a hold of Andrew’s hand. Instead of writing on his palm where it might get smeared or washed off accidentally, she inked her number onto the inside of his arm, feeling him watching her the whole time.

  She capped the pen. “There.”

  “Table four needs set,” the overweight brunette waitress who’d taken Estelle and Kane’s order told Andrew as she passed the booth carrying a coffeepot.

  “Okay.” He picked up the dirty plates. “I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

  Maybe the smile she sent him could be construed as flirtatious. But only slightly. “I guess that’s up to you.”

  As he walked away, she couldn’t help but hope they did talk later. If Andrew was around, maybe staying in Shady Grove wouldn’t be so bad after all.

  * * *

  KANE’S FIRST TWO calls to Meryl went straight to voice mail. He hadn’t bothered leaving messages, just hung up and dialed again. The third time, she finally answered, sounding breathless. “Hello?”

  “It’s me,” he said, walking the length of the building. “Estelle’s here.”

  There was a moment of stunned silence. “What do you mean, here? Where are you?”

  “In Shady Grove. And I mean your daughter is here. With me. She got pissed at Pilar and decided she couldn’t bear staying there for two weeks, so she got on a plane and showed up at my apartment. I found her there this morning.”

  No sense worrying Meryl with the events of his accident. Or that, for a good portion of an entire day, neither of them had known their daughter was missing. Sort of.

  “Oh my God! Is she all right?”

  “She’s fine. She—”

  “Why didn’t Lorena call me?”

  “Who?”

  “Pilar’s mother. I trusted her to take care of Estelle and she couldn’t even be bothered to let me know my baby was missing? Wait until I see her at the club when I get back,” Meryl muttered darkly. “And to think, I nominated her for PTO president. I’m going to text Belinda and let her know I’m putting my full support behind her election now.”

  “You might want to hold off on the political intrigue. At least until we find out what exactly happened.”

  “I suppose.” But she didn’t sound too happy about it. “What did Estelle say? Did she and Pilar argue?”

  “All I got was that she’s mad about Pilar and some kid...Carter or Chris...”

  “Chandler.” Meryl spat the name out as if saying it left a foul taste in her mouth. “Did Pilar try and steal Chandler from Estelle? That little tramp.”

  The wind picked up, blew his hair back from his face. He shut his eyes and inhaled the clean, damp scent. He had too much to do to deal with Meryl in full mama bear mode. “According to Estelle, it was worse than death.”

  “Of course it was. My poor baby,” Meryl murmured. “Why didn’t she call me? Tell me what was going on?”

  There was an undertone of hurt in Meryl’s voice. He wished he knew the answer to her question. Actually, he wished Estelle had called Meryl instead of seeking him out.

  “Ooh, this is all that boy’s fault,” Meryl said, her accent sharpening. “She must have suspected something was going on between Pilar and Chandler. Estelle hasn’t been herself lately.”

  He glanced at the diner, caught sight of some floppy-haired kid flirting with Estelle. And her flirting back. “She seems fine to me.”

  Yeah, she’d been upset about him being hurt, but she’d been her usual overly dramatic, chatty self all morning.

  Meryl sighed. “She’s been so moody the last few months. Always hanging out with that boy at his house and not at home. When she is at home, she locks herself in her bedroom and listens to music for hours on end. When Adam and I ask her to watch a movie with us or help us cook dinner, she refuses. I thought maybe she was jealous of the time I was spending with Adam so I made a point of setting aside girl time, just the two of us, to go shopping or get our nails done and she’d say she didn’t want to.”

  Kane didn’t like the sound of that. Estelle had always been happy and social. And she loved being with Meryl. It was one of the reasons he didn’t feel guilty about not living closer to his daughter.

  She preferred being with her mother.

  But she was with him now. “She wants to stay with me until you get back.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Meryl said quickly. “I’m sure you’re much too busy to have her there.”

  He was busy. He had injuries to heal and a bar to sell. One he had to keep running until that sale went through. Then he had to figure out where the hell he was going next. But Estelle was his daughter. His responsibility. Something he never let himself forget.

  “I can call my mother,” he said. “I’m sure she’d love to have Estelle visit for a few weeks.”

  More like Gwen would love having someone to give her attention. But Estelle would be fine there. Safe. Well taken care of and, more importantly, watched over like a hawk.

  Meryl made a sound of disappointment. “I don’t think that will work. I overheard at the club that Gwen is staying at the Four Seasons while she has some redecorating done.”

  Damn. Estelle could stay with Gwen there but forcing her to share a suite—even a luxury suite—with his mother seemed like cruel and unusual punishment. “Estelle says your mother is out of town?”

  “Yes, until the end of the month.” Meryl cleared her throat and when she spoke again, her voice was hesitant. “Perhaps Estelle could stay with your father?”

  Kane gripped the phone so tightly he was surprised the screen didn’t crack. “No.”

  Never. He let his ol
d man be a part of Estelle’s life—a small, controlled part. But that was it. No way did he want his daughter under Senior’s influence for two weeks.

  “Well, then I’ll talk to Adam about coming home early,” Meryl said. “I’ll book the first flight I can find back. I wonder if I can find one with a layover in Pittsburgh,” she said, almost to herself. “That way Estelle can fly home with us.”

  Meryl was willing to cut short her vacation, the first time she’d gone anywhere without Estelle. Meryl had dated over the years, but never seriously, choosing instead to focus on raising Estelle. But about a year ago she met Adam, got engaged a month or so ago. “She can stay with me.”

  “Are you sure? I’d hate to impose on you.”

  “It’s not an imposition,” he told her, raising his voice as a car with a bad muffler pulled into the parking lot. “She’s my daughter, too.”

  “I know it’s... You usually prefer to visit her in Houston.”

  Because he was afraid, always afraid of messing up again. Of falling off the wagon and becoming a bad influence on her. Of hurting her. Again.

  “I want her to stay,” he said, realizing he meant it. He’d missed her. He’d been so busy working, running O’Riley’s, he hadn’t had a chance to fly out to Texas in almost a year. Yeah, they spoke several times a week and did the Skype thing, but it wasn’t the same.

  He wanted to be with his daughter.

  “Finish your vacation,” he told Meryl, turning toward the diner. “I’ll take good care of Estelle.”

  “I know you will,” she said softly.

  Her trust in him humbled him. “I’ll have her call you in a little bit.”

  He disconnected the call as his daughter wrote something on the shaggy-haired kid’s arm—her number, more than likely. Maybe he could lock her in his apartment. It would be the only way to keep her out of trouble. Then again, when he’d been sixteen, nothing his parents had done had kept him from raising hell.

  And in some ways, his daughter was just like him.

  Kane shut his eyes and exhaled heavily. And prayed he’d survive the next two weeks.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “WHAT ARE YOU doing?” Char asked her sister impatiently as she jogged in place at the corner of Foster Drive and Congress Street.

  “Prince is checking out a new smell,” Sadie answered as if they had all day to let her dog sniff every sign, telephone pole and tree on the block. Prince raised his head, seemed to grin a doggy grin, then lifted his hind leg and peed on a mailbox. Lovely. “I think he’s enjoying his first run.”

  “First and last run,” Char muttered. “At least with me.”

  She kept jogging in place. She never should have agreed to let Sadie come with her. Wouldn’t have if she’d known Sadie was bringing her puppy—who was now the size of a miniature horse and still growing into his big feet and floppy ears.

  Plus, Sadie wasn’t much of a runner herself. Why, oh why, had she given in when Sadie had asked if she could join her for a quick jog?

  She snorted. Jog. Ha. More like leisurely Sunday afternoon stroll. She checked her watch. At this rate, there was no way she’d beat her best time.

  “Come on already,” she snapped. “How often can that dog pee?”

  Sadie raised her eyebrows, strolled over to Char, Prince trotting happily along, his tongue out, his tail wagging. “My, my. Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed. What’s the matter? Did you run out of cream for your coffee?”

  “I’m not some anal control freak, you know,” Char said sharply.

  Sadie raised her hands. “Wow. You are a grumpy Gus today. What’s the matter?”

  Char’s face heated. “Sorry,” she said. She had been overly harsh. She touched Sadie’s arm. Tried to smile. “Can we...let’s just get moving, okay?”

  But running, or even jogging, was out of the question with those two so Char crossed the street in a brisk walk, her arms pumping, her heart racing.

  “You want to talk about it?” Sadie asked, breathing heavily as she and Prince caught up with Char.

  “Talk about what?”

  “Whatever has you so upset?”

  No. Yes.

  Argh. She didn’t even know.

  Oh, she knew why she was upset, why she felt edgy, as if no matter how fast she ran, how far, she couldn’t escape these feelings inside her. Couldn’t escape one very real, very frustrating fact.

  Kane had kissed her.

  And she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. About him.

  She’d momentarily lost her mind. That was the only answer to why she’d been even remotely interested in having Kane’s mouth on hers. Okay, so maybe there were a few other reasons, such as the way he talked, with that hint of Texas in his voice, how close he’d been to her, how he’d looked at her, as if he’d really, really wanted to kiss her.

  That was enough to get any sensible, controlled woman to let her guard down.

  But she couldn’t tell her sister that. Didn’t want to tell her.

  She wanted to keep the memory, and all these strange emotions the kiss had caused, to herself.

  “I didn’t get up on the wrong side of the bed,” Char said. “I didn’t even sleep in my bed.”

  “Oh?” Sadie asked.

  Char glanced at her. “Don’t say it like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like I did something immoral, illegal or just plain kinky.”

  “Did you?”

  “Of course not.”

  Mr. Placer, owner of the small grocery store, Jack’s Place, drove by. Honked. Both Char and Sadie waved.

  “Then you have nothing to worry about,” Sadie said. “But now I’m dying to know where you spent the night.”

  Char should have thought of that before she’d opened her big mouth. She sighed. Pumped her arms harder. “At the hospital working, and then at Kane’s.”

  Sadie stopped dead. Char kept right on going. Unfortunately, so did Prince, who was jerked back hard by the leash in Sadie’s hand.

  “Sorry, baby,” Sadie murmured absently as she patted the dog’s head. She ran to join Char. “What have I told you about playing with someone like Kane?”

  Char bristled. “First of all, I can play with whomever I want.” Not that she wanted to play with Kane. She just didn’t like being told she couldn’t. “I’m not a child.”

  “You just graduated from college.”

  “Three years ago. Secondly, I can handle Kane.”

  “Oh my God,” Sadie cried, covering her ears. Prince barked. “I don’t ever want to hear about your ‘handling’ of Kane. I’ll have nightmares.”

  “It wasn’t like that.” They passed a huge brick house with two crab apple trees in the front yard just starting to bud. “He had an accident last night. Wrecked his bike.”

  She didn’t feel guilty sharing that tidbit. It’d be common knowledge in a matter of days anyway. Shady Grove loved gossip.

  “What?” Sadie asked. “Is he okay?”

  “He’s hurt, but he’ll be fine.”

  She quickly filled Sadie in on the accident and Kane’s injuries.

  “I don’t understand what this has to do with you sleeping in Kane’s bed,” Sadie said as they turned left onto Fiske Road.

  “I slept on the chair. He didn’t have anyone to pick him up so I took him home, made sure he was comfortable. Look, it’s no big deal. I made him something to eat and helped him get settled. The man was alone. Injured. What was I supposed to do?”

  “You could have dropped him off,” Sadie pointed out.

  “He needed help.” She’d thought he’d needed her. That he’d be grateful she was there, taking time out of her schedule, taking care of him instead of going home after a long shift at work.

  G
od, maybe she really did have a martyr complex.

  “I guess I was more tired than I thought because I fell asleep,” she lied. There was no way she was telling Sadie about Kane asking her to stay. Or about meeting his daughter. She knew when a secret wasn’t hers to tell. “On the chair.”

  “So you’re grumpy due to lack of sleep?” Sadie asked, studying her as if she didn’t believe a word of it.

  “I’m not grumpy.” She was confused. Antsy. And irritated with herself for being unable to get Kane and their kiss out of her head.

  “I’m glad you didn’t sleep with him,” Sadie said as nonchalantly as if they were discussing what to have for dinner. “Don’t get me wrong. I like Kane. But he’s not for you.”

  Char narrowed her eyes. “Excuse me?”

  “He’s got an edge. He’s the type of guy to love ’em and leave ’em while you’re all about strings and attachments and feelings—the tighter the strings the better. He’d break your heart.”

  Char bit back the words about how James, one of the nicest guys out there, already broke it. But then she’d get a lecture about her mistaken belief that she and James were meant to be together, that she’d loved him. Or worse, that sympathetic look Sadie gave her sometimes when she and James were together in front of Char, as if apologizing for loving him. Having him love her in return.

  But she was right about Char wanting more from a relationship than just wham, bam, what was your name again? She wanted to be with a man she could build a future with. And that wasn’t Kane.

  No matter how well he kissed.

  But there might be more to Kane than she’d realized. Oh, he wasn’t for her. Sadie was right about that. Char wasn’t that naive. She didn’t want a man who needed to be fixed. A man with a teenage daughter. A man who was a former addict.

  She and Sadie continued walking. She didn’t want to tell Sadie or anyone what she’d learned about Kane. Wanted to keep his secrets for him.

  “How about we turn back?” Sadie asked. “Prince is getting tired.”

  “Might as well,” Char said. She wasn’t getting any exercise anyway. “Next time I go for a run, I’m leaving you two at home.”