After Hurricane Nina, Reed's Resolution (Hot Hunks-Steamy Romance Collection Book 1)

by Natalie Ann

  “Have a good day,” he said, saluting her and walking out.

  ***

  “Isn’t he just so freaking hot?”

  Taylor looked over at Wendy who shared the office with her. “Who?” she asked.

  “Reed, silly. The guy that was just in here smiling and chatting with you.”

  “Oh. I suppose,” she said.

  The last thing she was planning on doing was looking at any man right now. She was firmly set against men in general. Damn Jack for making her life miserable.

  “Are you blind?” Wendy said.

  “So he’s good looking,” Taylor said. “If you like the rough around the edges type of guy. He strikes me as a player anyway.”

  Wendy laughed. “He never used to be that way, but you hit it right on the head just now.”

  Despite her best intentions, she asked, “What changed?” Wendy always wanted to talk or gossip and Taylor felt bad she never gave into it. She never spoke much about her own life and wanted to keep it that way. But maybe it wouldn’t hurt to find out more about the owner since he always seemed to be popping up around her when she least expected it.

  Wendy got up and walked into the hallway, looked up and down, and then came back. “I wanted to make sure he was gone,” she said with her voice lower than normal as she sat in front of Taylor’s desk now.

  “Why?”

  “Because no one wants to be caught talking about it if they can prevent it, but it’s not a secret at all. It’s just you weren’t here when it happened.”

  “When what happened?” Taylor asked, her interest piqued. She knew Reed was in line to inherit the business from his father. A huge construction firm that built and sold hundreds of houses a year—and they weren’t small houses, but more like grandiose higher income houses—not to mention remodels. There were a lot of employees and Reed’s father worked out of an office rather than in the field, when he showed up to work at all.

  She wasn’t surprised to learn Reed was in the field every day, as he didn’t fit the image of a man to sit behind a desk.

  He was tall, just over six foot, dark hair, bright blue eyes that were often smiling, but cloudy at the same time. Like there were hidden emotions that he’d never want anyone to see or even ask about.

  Guess she was paying more attention to her boss than she was letting on.

  “Reed was engaged. Her name was Whitney Rhodes. A big time ladder-climbing attorney at McKafrey’s.”

  “Really?” Taylor asked, not picturing someone like that with Reed. She could see him with airheads and bimbos. Maybe because that was what everyone said he spent his time with. Just because she wanted to stay off the gossip train didn’t mean it didn’t stop around her desk now and again.

  “Yeah. Total opposites. Whitney didn’t come around here often. I think they might have been friends in high school or something and when Whitney came back to the area after law school the two of them hooked up and then ended up engaged. Something like that. Not sure the whole story there.”

  Which was surprising because Wendy seemed to know the whole story about everything in this building even though she’d only been employed five years herself. “So what happened? Did they have a bad breakup?” She knew Reed wasn’t married.

  “No. That might have been better.”

  “I can’t believe a bad breakup is better than anything,” Taylor said, having known from experience. Damn Jack again for turning her world upside down. Not only her world but Angie’s too. Not that anyone here knew about her ex or her daughter because she didn’t want them to and had no plans of bringing it up.

  “Whitney died a little over three years ago in Bali. She’d told Reed she was there for work and a hurricane hit. The devastation was horrendous. One of the largest death tolls they’d seen in years.”

  “That’s horrible.” Taylor paused. “What do you mean she told Reed she was there for work? She wasn’t?”

  “No,” Wendy said. “She was there on vacation with the man she was having an affair with. Both of them died when the hotel they were staying in suffered damage. The roof had been ripped off and the water damage and wind caused the structure to collapse. I think it was days before they found her body and that of the man she was with.”

  “Okay, that beats a bad breakup,” Taylor mumbled and wondered how Reed could even smile now let alone be so friendly with everyone.

  “Yeah. Reed was pretty dark and hard to be around for a good year. Then he slowly went back to the way he used to be, with one exception.”

  “What’s that?” Taylor asked, but she had a feeling she knew the answer.

  “Women. All he cares about is a good time. He makes it very clear and is upfront, but he doesn’t trust women, he doesn’t want anything to do with any woman who wants a relationship, and if you talk about relationships around him, he walks away. He doesn’t care or want to be around anyone who has what he thought he was going to get and never did.”

  “More than sour then?” Taylor asked, surprised she and Reed had that in common.

  “More sour than a mouthful of freshly squeezed lemon juice.”

  Struggling to Adapt

  Taylor left work at the end of the day and drove across town. She got out of the car after making sure she wasn’t blocking anyone in. Friday afternoon, a little after four, and everyone was in a rush to grab their kids and get on with their weekends.

  “Hi, Monique, how was Angie today?”

  The young daycare worker smiled bright and pushed a stray hair that had fallen out of her braid away from her face. The workers always looked worn out and tired by the end of the day from playing with their charges. “She’s doing good. She made two new friends today.”

  “She did?” Taylor asked. Angie wasn’t shy at all, but since they’d picked up and moved here, she hadn’t been her normal outgoing self at all. Even at almost three, Angie was struggling to adapt as much as Taylor was.

  “Yes. Micah and Luca. Twins that started today. They’re a few months older than Angie.”

  “I’m glad. Did Angie play with any of the other girls today?” she asked. Angie wasn’t into dresses or dolls, but rather trucks, cars, running around and getting dirty. At this point, Taylor had given up buying anything white, frilly, or overly sweet for her tomboy daughter.

  “She plays with them, but not for long,” Monique said, grinning.

  “She’ll play with them until you go outside or they bring out some dolls?” she asked, knowing the answer already.

  “Pretty much. It’s common though. Angie isn’t alone. I’ve seen a lot of little girls that want to play with the boys. Thankfully most of the boys are willing to play with anyone that will grab a truck or a ball with them.”

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “Mama,” Angie squealed and came running when she saw Taylor standing behind the counter. Parents had to stay there while their children were brought out. No parent was let into the back without supervision, and pretty much never allowed in the back during pick-up or drop-off time when it was this nuts.

  She squatted down so that Angie could run into her arms, then wrapped her up tight and lifted her high. Her daughter was small for her age, probably the smallest in the group, but she was tough. Just like her mama.

  “Did you have fun today?” she asked Angie.

  “I did. I’ve got two friends,” Angie said, bobbing her head up and down, her brown ponytail swinging everywhere. There were a few strands out like Monique’s, but overall her jeans didn’t have any stains or tears on them, so that was a good day.

  “I heard. What did you and your new friends do today?” she asked as she nodded her head to Monique, then made her way out of the daycare to her car.

  “We played on the slide and kicked the ball,” Angie said, her voice not as loud now, but still excited.

  “That’s good. So you like kicking the ball?”

  “Yes. Lots of fun. I’m hungry.”

  Angie was always hungry, but in this case, it was c
lose to dinner. “I’ll start on dinner when we get home, I promise.”

  “Hot dogs?” Angie asked. All Angie wanted was hot dogs or boxed mac and cheese. Two things that Taylor couldn’t stand and wished that Angie had never been exposed to when she was staying with her father. Just another thing to hate the man for. His lazy ass ways when it came to his only child.

  “Not tonight, sweetie. How about chicken and potatoes?”

  “Carrots?” Angie asked. Her daughter loved cooked baby carrots.

  “I can make them too.”

  She drove home now trying to plan her night out in her head. She knew there were chicken strips in the freezer and they wouldn’t take long to thaw and cook. A potato in the microwave and the baby carrots that she bought in bulk were in the fridge.

  She never realized how hard being a single parent was going to be, not only worrying about bedtime routines and clothing sizes that her daughter outgrew rapidly, but also nutrition on top of it.

  She didn’t remember if her parents ever worried about everything like she did now. Maybe that was part of the problem. Her parents probably didn’t focus on any of those things.

  Her clothes were hand me downs from her siblings, food was normally a large casserole of sorts that was easy to make and fed a lot, and bedtime was “Everyone go brush your teeth and get to bed.” There were no set times, no storybooks, and no hugs and kisses when lights went out.

  Her parents were overworked and outnumbered by the six kids in the house. They had a roof over their head, food in their belly, and clothes on their back. In some parents’ eyes, they were doing what was required.

  Taylor had wanted more and realized it wasn’t going to happen. She’d put herself through college by getting good grades and working every hour at any part-time job she could get. Her siblings did the same.

  Wanting to get ahead in life had been her primary goal. Being a single parent had not been.

  Finding love and raising a family together? Yep, that was right up there as a dream come true.

  Smooth-talking rich men that wanted to get in her pants and ignore their parental duties? That’s what she ended up with.

  She pulled into the driveway of her rental house, thankful it was May and she wouldn’t have to worry about shoveling or brushing snow off her car in the morning while she prayed Angie stayed in the living room and didn’t get into trouble.

  The little two-bedroom home fit their needs well. It was outside of the city of Albany and close enough to work and nightlife—if she had a life to do anything with—but far enough away from crime and giving them a nice little neighborhood for Angie to play in.

  It wasn’t anything like Jack’s family home in Loudonville and it never would be. But it was more than Taylor had growing up, and that was enough for her.

  She got out of the car, threw her purse over her shoulder along with Angie’s little backpack, then unbuckled Angie from the backseat and set her on the driveway.

  They heard barking the minute they got to the front door. Mutt was ready to welcome them home for the day.

  She unlocked the door and braced herself for the eighty pounds of mixed breed dog that was uglier than sin, but friendlier than a kindergarten teacher on the first day of school.

  “Hey there, Mutt. Have you been guarding the house for us today?”

  The loud bark was always his answer and she’d like to think she and the dog had a mutual understanding.

  “Mutt,” Angie said, petting the big dog on the back and then taking off to chase him around the living room. Thankfully this house came with a dog door big enough for Mutt and she didn’t have to worry about running home at lunch to let him out.

  The dog and Angie were entertaining each other in the living room while she walked into the kitchen to start dinner. The house was old and small, but it had a pass-through window that allowed her to see into the living room and keep an eye on her daughter.

  “Dinner,” she told Angie thirty minutes later. Between chasing the dog and playing with her blocks and knocking them over every five minutes, her daughter could entertain herself for short periods of time.

  “Hungry!” Angie yelled and made her way into the kitchen and over to the small table with two chairs. She climbed up herself with the little stool that Taylor had left there because Angie was independent and constantly said, “I do it myself.” Wonder where she got that from, Taylor thought, knowing she was looking at her mini me more times than not, but with her father’s coloring. Darker hair and brown eyes.

  Once dinner was done, the dog fed, and dishes washed and put away, Taylor got Angie in the tub and cleaned up. Her pajamas were on, she was in bed at seven, two stories read and lights out by seven thirty.

  The minute Taylor plopped her butt on the couch to take a breather, her cell phone went off. She reached for it to see a text from her ex: I’ve got plans in the morning. My parents are getting Angela.

  Taylor texted back “fine” and tossed her phone on the counter. No use arguing over this again. It never ended. Jack could care less about spending time with Angie and he’d never made a secret about it. He couldn’t even be bothered to call his daughter by the name she preferred.

  She and her daughter picked up their lives and moved here because there was no way Taylor could fight the court battle. Jack had money and he paid her a lot of it. His parents wanted to see their grandchild and have a part in raising her. Jack always did what his parents said if he wanted payouts from his trust fund.

  She took a deep breath and was already trying to prepare herself for the confrontation with Angie’s grandparents tomorrow.

  Just wonderful!

  Full of Misery

  Taylor decided to take advantage of the next twenty-four hours being child-free. Not that she enjoyed that, because she didn’t.

  She’d uprooted her and Angie’s life so that Angie could get to know her grandparents, in the process not getting to spend much time with Taylor’s family back in Florida. But money talked and Taylor didn’t have much to say since her pockets were pretty bare. Nor did Taylor’s family offer to help much at all.

  Angie had kissed her on the lips and given her a big hug when Jack’s parents, Karen and Mitch Jamison, showed up with their noses turned up at her house and Mutt barking up a storm. Mutt didn’t like anyone that came to visit. He was a good guard dog and that was the reason she’d adopted him when they moved here.

  Little did she know at just ten months old he’d be this big. The shelter had assured her he was done growing. They’d lied.

  “Be good for Grandma and Grandpa,” she’d told Angie, prying her daughter’s tiny fingers from her neck.

  “Nana and Papa,” Karen had corrected her. Whatever, Taylor thought, but wouldn’t say it out loud. Jack’s parents did love Angie and treated her well, so she wouldn’t hold their prick of a son against them or their uppity attitude toward the woman that bore them their only grandchild.

  Once the last load of laundry that she’d started hours earlier that morning was done, she folded it and put it all away, then took note it was just shy of eleven and she still had twenty-five hours before her baby girl would be back home.

  Probably the best time to get groceries and run a few more errands while she was at it...anything to take her mind off the fact her baby was with anyone but her.

  ***

  Reed was walking around the hardware store trying to remember what he needed to buy. He hadn’t even been home yet after staying out with Josh and drinking. They’d taken an Uber back to Josh’s where he’d crashed on the couch once they’d killed the last of the Johnny Walker in the liquor cabinet.

  He was turning the corner while he pulled a list out of his pocket to get the measurements of the faucet that he wanted to change out in his spare bathroom, when he ran smack into someone.

  “Sorry,” he said, looking up into a pair of clear blue eyes he recognized. The grin filled his face and his hands went out to steady her. Any excuse to get closer.

 
; “Sorry, Reed,” Taylor said, sniffing her nose at him. He’d showered at Josh’s but put on yesterday’s clothes and probably still smelled like the alcohol he consumed, though he was sober right now. Not to mention the fact he hadn’t shaved.

  “My fault. I was looking for my list and not paying attention to what I was doing. Fancy meeting you here.”

  “I’m just picking up a few things myself,” she said.

  He looked down into the little basket she was carrying to see light bulbs and cleaning supplies. “I’m doing some work in my house and figured today was a good day to get it out of the way.”

  “That’s nice,” she said, making her way past him. “Well, have a good day.”

  “Do you have plans today?” he heard himself ask.

  He didn’t want to go home alone right now. It seemed like more and more he hated to be by himself in the house, but didn’t want to share it with anyone either. A huge contradiction he couldn’t reconcile to save his soul that was forcing him to constantly make changes in the hopes that his home would feel more like a place of comfort rather than a memory full of misery.

  She hesitated for a moment, more than he thought she would. “Actually...”

  He didn’t give her a chance to finish though. “How about lunch? My treat,” he said. “Kind of a welcome to the company thing.”

  “You’re a little late with that,” she said, grinning.

  It was the first time she’d shown any reaction to him that might be somewhat promising. “Better late than never. What do you say? I’ll grab what I need and we can meet out front. Don’t say no,” he said. It might be the closest he’d come to begging any woman in years.

  Hell, women came to him now. He didn’t need to ask for anything other than their number or if they wanted a second night together. Though in all honesty, it’d been months since he’d even done that.

  He went out when he had the urge or the itch, but otherwise most of his time was spent doing anything other than relaxing at home or thinking about women.