Run (Never Waste A Second Chance Book 1)

by Whiteaker, Janice M.

  “Did you change your mind?” His voice was deep against her ear.

  She was having a hard time concentrating on anything besides the feel of him against her. His hand released her leg, letting it fall back, her thighs meeting, the pressure pulling him tighter against her as he continued to thrust slowly, sliding back and forth barely hitting her swollen clit with each pass.

  “I want you again angel.” His voice was husky, his breath hot on her neck.

  She remembered him rifling through his clothes and realized what he was looking for. “What’s stopping you?”

  He growled against her ear, entering her with one smooth thrust. He slid his hand down to cup her, his calloused fingertips parting her to slip against her sensitive nub, keeping time with his thrusts. He quickly built up speed, pumping in and out of her as his fingers rubbed against her.

  “I need you to come angel.” He pushed harder, his hips smacking against her bottom with every stroke. “Come with me.”

  With one final thrust he plunged deep within her, the sound of him calling her name ringing through the empty house. Less than a second behind him, she ground against his fingers as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her body.

  It had been so long since she’d been satisfied by a man. You could argue she had never been completely satisfied especially considering most of the time her ex was only concerned about himself leaving her to finish by herself in the bathroom.

  It didn’t appear that would ever be the case with the man pressed against her now. Thomas seemed to take great pleasure in her pleasure. So much so, she almost had to fight him for the opportunity to bring him pleasure. They would have to work on that.

  She sucked in a breath as Thomas pulled his hand away, her nerve endings over sensitized. He rested his hand on her hip as he slowly withdrew from her body. He kissed along her neck, his tongue leaving a trail of dampness that quickly cooled making goose bumps raise all over her body.

  “We need to get moving.” He kissed her shoulder and across her back as he slid from under the covers. “For real this time.” He headed back to the bathroom. “I was hoping we could get my truck.”

  “You can’t drive yet.”

  “Almost.” He stood in the doorway grinning, hands on the frame above his head, gingerly bending his leg as evidence.

  She laughed. He definitely had way more movement than when he started, but was still a long way from being able to perform the quick moving and bending required. “Much better, but that doesn’t help us now.”

  “My mom said she could help too, I just have to call her when we are on our way.’

  Mina looked down at herself naked, thoroughly sexed and probably more than a little tousled looking. Probably not the best look for going to see Nancy. “I’m gonna need a quick shower.”

  TWENTY-TWO

  Mina swung the sledge hammer, the impact and resulting destruction immensely satisfying.

  The city talked the retired inspector into coming back until the investigation surrounding Don was finished. She was first on his list and he made quick work of getting her set up to start demo. It was so nice to work with a reasonable human being for a change.

  The timing couldn’t have been better. She’d had to sacrifice her running routine when she began spending time with Thomas. There were only so many hours in a day and something had to give. It was a sacrifice she made happily but between her upcoming interview with the city and being so far behind on this project her stress level was off the charts. The opportunity to relieve some of that stress and finally get this show on the road had her swinging before the inspector was off the porch.

  “You’re gonna feel that tomorrow little girl.” Paul stood a safe distance away watching her take the frustration of the last week out on the wall between the dining room and kitchen.

  She felt it now. Her muscles twitched, growing weaker with each swing. Why’d these things have to be so damn heavy? She dropped the hammered end to the ground, propping herself up on the wooden handle as if it was a cane. “Maybe you should offer to help instead of just standing there.”

  Paul laughed as he walked to her, grabbing the tool out of her hand and lifting it like it weighed nothing. Damn men and their genetically superior muscle mass. “I know it feels good to beat the hell outa something, but it’s not gonna do you any good if you hurt yourself and it’ll only piss you off more if you tear something up we have to fix later.”

  He was right. The sledge hammer was only here for knocking up a little patch of concrete in the back, but when she walked in this morning, she could almost hear it calling her name. Every time she watched it sink into the drywall, crushing through the gypsum, she pictured Don’s face. A couple times she imagined what Thomas’ ex-wife looked like and gave her a couple whacks too. If she hadn’t left him, Thomas wouldn’t be with Mina right now, but she still deserved a solid punch to the face for hurting him the way she did.

  Pulling her hammer up through its loop on her tool belt, she headed to the wall and began hammering herself a line. Once she had a decent sized hole, she gripped the board and started yanking, breaking off good sized chunks to stack in the wheelbarrow she had waiting. Paul propped the sledgehammer in the corner away from the wall they were taking down and came to help pull down the higher areas. At almost a foot taller than Mina, he could easily reach without needing a ladder.

  “You know, I considered not calling the city and just kicking the little punk’s ass.” Paul threw a handful of chunks onto the stack. “Figured that might not help our case.”

  Mina sighed. “I’m not so sure calling did us any favors either.”

  She had planned on calling herself until Thomas wanted to handle it. It never occurred to her they would be this serious about it. “If they do all this and nothing really comes of it, he’s going to come back even more pissed.”

  She had no idea how long something like this could take. For all she knew, he could be back on the job next week. If that happened, she was screwed. “We have to hustle on this just in case he comes back.”

  “If he comes back and messes with you, we’ll just report him again.” Paul made it sound like a simple undertaking.

  “But how much further behind will that put us?” She grabbed a stubborn patch and pulled hard. “He’s already got us over a week behind. Not to mention houses after this. We saw what it’s like to stay out of his jurisdiction.”

  Just thinking of all the ways Don the Douche could screw up her life made her want to grab the sledgehammer again. This time hunting him down and using it the way she really wanted.

  Adding to her frustration was the damn spot she’d been fighting with for what seemed like the past five minutes. Bracing her foot on the wall, she put her weight into one hard tug. Not surprisingly, it finally gave and she went tumbling backwards, landing with a hard thud against the edge of the wheelbarrow. The force of her fall tipped it over and both of them hit the floor.

  “Mother fu-” The pain in her ass was no longer from only Don. She’d landed the boniest part of her ass straight on the lip of the wheelbarrow. Rolling off, she strung together every four letter word she’d ever learned. That was gonna leave a mark. A pretty interesting one at that. “Could this project be any more of-”

  “A pain in your ass?” Paul stood over her, his hand held out.

  “Something like that.” She grabbed his outstretched hand and let him pull her up. “Thank you.” She gingerly swept white drywall dust off her backside. “And thanks for not laughing.”

  “Didn’t want to end up with a hammer to the face.” He righted the wheelbarrow and began reloading the contents that were dumped on the floor. “I do fully intend on laughing about it later though.” He gave her a smile and a wink as he finished picking up.

  “I think I’m gonna need some Advil.” She poked at her butt, wincing when she found the location of what would surely develop into a very colorful bruise over the next couple of days. “And maybe an ice pack.”

&n
bsp; “How bout you just call it a day? You’ve got a big day tomorrow and I can handle this. Go home. Ice your butt and have a glass of wine.”

  She hated to go home early on the first day now that they’d finally been able to get going. Plus she didn’t know how long she’d be at the city tomorrow. However, her butt was beginning to throb and it would only get worse if she pushed through and kept working.

  “All right.” Taking off her tool belt, she started collecting her stuff, grabbing her purse just in time to hear her phone start ringing. Probably Thomas calling to see what time they needed to leave tomorrow morning since he was insisting on going with her.

  She pulled out her phone and didn’t recognize the exact number, but the area code alone was enough to make her stomach drop. Very few people from her hometown had her new number. “Hello?”

  “Is this Mina Hensley?” The man’s voice on the other end sounded older but at least friendly.

  Maybe it was a friend of her parents. “It is. Who is this?”

  “Miss Hensley, my name is Carl Schaffer, I took over Mr. Eubanks cases after his untimely passing.”

  Mr. Eubanks was dead? “What happened?” Her attorney was no spring chicken, but she hadn’t thought him to be old either.

  “Heart attack.” His words were clipped and he sounded a little stressed. There was only one reason he would be calling her. She swallowed the panic rising in her throat, dread sweeping over her.

  Paul was close enough to hear her conversation and crossed the room to stand in front of her, a concerned look on his face. As much as she hated to, she knew she had to ask. “Why are you calling me Mr. Schaffer?”

  “I don’t know how this happened. There was some sort of a mix up when I was supposed to be listed as your new lawyer and point of contact. I’m very sorry.” Maybe he sounded more than a little stressed.

  “What happened?” She could feel her face start to flush as her blood pressure rose. She needed him to spit it out.

  “Your ex-husband was released from prison.”

  **************************************

  Thomas sat at a high top against the wall of the dimly lit room nursing the only beer he’d be drinking. He’d been forced to take half a dose of painkillers last night to help him get to sleep. He’d overdone it helping Mina finish her projects over the weekend. He knew about halfway through he was going to pay for it, but he planned to take any opportunity to show her he was serious about taking care of her.

  He checked his watch. Rich should be there any time. He’d had Nancy drop him off early so he could have some time to mentally prepare for the conversation they would be having. He’d avoided straight out telling Rich he wouldn’t sell the farm for too long already. There were just other things on his mind. Prettier things. But it was time.

  He was happier than he’d been in years, which was crazy considering he’d almost died, his house burnt down and there was the chance he’d be really poor for a few years if Rich made him buy his portion of the farm. None of that mattered to him.

  Having Mina made everything else seem easy. He’d already gotten through almost dying and with physical therapy should be able to get to work on the farm in the spring. Rebuilding a house was no big deal either, especially with Mina by his side.

  He planned on letting her make all the decisions she wanted on the project. When the time came, they could live wherever she wanted. Her house, his house or a whole new place. It didn’t matter as long as she was happy. That left figuring out the farm situation and that was happening today. If Rich ever got there.

  He’d finished his beer and moved on to water by the time his cousin finally showed up looking tired. He seemed to look tired all the time lately. Kids, a wife, big house and the farm. All that while trying desperately to maintain sobriety. The pressure was probably wearing him down. That’s probably why he wanted to sell the farm. Lessen the load. Thomas hoped he could talk him out of it, but had a plan B just in case.

  Easing up off the high chair he waved to catch Rich’s attention. Nodding in acknowledgement, he paused at the bar to grab a beer before heading over. “Hey buddy. How’s the leg?” He pulled out the chair across the table and sat down, leaning back to down half the bottle.

  “Better every day.” Thomas eyed the half empty bottle sitting on the table. He’d been a little hesitant when Rich suggested meeting at the bar, but hoped it was just out of habit instead of to feed his habit. “How’s everything with you? Girls are all good?”

  “Great. Good grades, Kate’s playing basketball. Liza’s taking art classes.” Rich downed the other half of his beer and motioned for the bartender to send another.

  “Beth?”

  Rich shrugged. “I think she’s coming around. I’m sure it’ll get better soon.” He looked toward the bar checking on the fate of his beer. “How’s Mina? She’s a pretty thing. She good in the sack?”

  Thomas flinched. Rich had always been one to discuss his conquests and ask about everyone else’s. Thomas always blew it off, never telling him what he wanted to know. He never liked it, but it didn’t bother him the way it was bothering him now. Mina’s abilities in the sack were nobody’s business but his and only his from this point on. “We need to talk about the farm.”

  Rich laughed around the beer bottle that just arrived at the table obviously amused that Thomas didn’t want to talk to him about Mina. Swallowing down a good portion of his new bottle before setting it on the table and spinning it in his palm, Rich smiled brightly. “Ready to sign the papers? Spend all your time with your lady?”

  “I’m not gonna sell the farm.”

  Rich’s smile abruptly disappeared, his gaze turning serious. “You’re being stupid.” He leaned back in his seat, staring darkly at Thomas.

  “If you want out that’s fine. I’ll buy you out.”

  “You’re gonna pay me half of what they’re offering?”

  “The farm isn’t worth what they’re offering to anyone else but them, you know that. It’ll never appraise and I’ll never get a loan.” Rich was crazy if he thought Thomas was going to give him that much money for the place.

  “Somebody’s willing to pay that much. That makes it how much it’s worth.” His voice was getting an angry edge.

  Thomas was hoping if Rich wanted out, he’d at least sell him his half for the actual value of the land, not some crazy number thrown out by a giant conglomerate. The farm needed to stay in the family and he was willing to do what it took to keep it there.

  Before he could say anything more, his phone began buzzing in his pocket. He pulled it out, Mina’s name displayed on the screen. He hated to do it, but he sent her to voicemail. He could explain later. Just as he slid it back in his pocket, it began to vibrate again. Again it was Mina. This time he swiped his thumb across the screen.

  “Everything okay?”

  All he could hear on the other end was sobbing. Fear gripped him, squeezing the air from his lungs. “Mina? What’s wrong?”

  He heard rustling as the sound of her cries became muffled. What was happening? He jumped from his seat and stuffed his arms in his coat. He had to get to her.

  “Tom?” A deep male voice stopped him in his tracks.

  “Who is this? What’s going on?” He was going to kill somebody if he didn’t find out what was happening.

  “It’s Paul. Mina’s okay. Technically.”

  What the fuck did that mean technically? “What in the hell is going on?”

  “You probably need to get here. I’ll explain it to you then.” Paul disconnected and Thomas fought the urge to throw his phone at a wall.

  He was already halfway across the bar. He turned back to Rich. “I have to go. I’ll call you later.” He turned back around, not caring about the look of anger on Rich’s face, moving as fast as he possibly could. He dialed is mother’s number.

  “I’m on my way Tommy.” She sounded upset.

  “What’s going on?” He was covering the two blocks to the salon where Nancy wa
s getting her hair done in record time, so focused on his destination, he didn’t see the Camry pull up beside him.

  “Get in!”

  “What?” He held the phone to his ear trying to hear her better. A horn honked beside him.

  “Dammit Thomas get in the car!” His mother had the window down, yelling at him.

  He stuffed himself into the passenger side, not even caring he had to bend his leg at a painful angle. Nothing mattered except getting to Mina as fast as possible.

  “Where is she?” His mother looked over her shoulder before cutting the wheel, making an illegal u-turn and speeding down the street.

  “She’s with Paul at the house they’re working on.” His mother was staring straight ahead, her hair was still damp, a few strands clinging to her abnormally pale face.

  He swallowed hard. Maybe she was hurt. No. They would be on their way to the hospital then. “What’s going on?”

  “We’ll be there in two minutes. You should wait until then.”

  “Why?” So many terrifying things were running through his mind right now. He just wanted to limit it to the right one.

  “Because if I tell you now, you will be out of your mind until you get to her.”

  He rubbed his face with his hands. He felt out of his mind now. This was turning into the longest five minutes of his life. She needed him and he wasn’t there and it was killing him. “I love her.”

  “I know.” Nancy reached to squeeze his hand. “I do too.”

  Less than thirty seconds later, they were pulling up in front of an aluminum sided two-story. He was out the door before the car was in park.

  He was past the large dumpster in the driveway and almost to the steps leading to the house before he heard her crying. Taking them two at a time, he ignored the pain screaming trough his leg in protest. He flung the door open, the sound of it banging against the porch railing barely registering.