All Because of You (Morgan's Bay Book 1)

by Theresa Paolo

  He looked at her like she was nuts but she didn’t care. She waitressed for years and knew what it was like working for tips. He nodded and she gave a final wave before hightailing it the hell out of there.

  In the parking lot, she sighed a breath of relief. Her phone buzzed, but she ignored it. It was probably just Milo looking for more details. She’d tell him all about it when she got home. She slipped into the driver seat and got the hell out of there.

  Her phone buzzed again and she came to a stop at a red light. She glanced over at the screen, but it wasn’t Milo’s name flashing back. The moment of relief she had vanished as the familiar number flashed over and over again.

  Couldn’t she just have one day? Just one. That’s all she was asking. She let out a breath and answered the phone. “Hey, Jerry.” She didn’t even need the bartender to say a word. Mom’s slurred speech was loud and clear in the background. “I’ll be there in about thirty minutes.”

  “Can you get here any sooner? She’s starting to scare away the clientele.”

  If she didn’t agree to a date at the west end of the county, yes, but unfortunately, she was too far out and didn’t have a button she could press to turn her car into an airplane. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  She dropped her phone into her lap and pushed her foot down on the gas a little harder. This wasn’t the first time Mom drank too much at the local dive bar and it wouldn’t be the last. Harper had been picking her up and bringing her home since Harper was old enough to drive.

  Sadness stabbed her gut. After Dad took off in the middle of the night when she was only thirteen, Harper had tried her hardest to keep Mom from falling apart. But Mom’s pain was too much to handle. Her drinking went from a couple of beers a night to an entire case. She spent many nights away from home, drinking at the bar, while Harper took care of her little brother.

  Harper held out hope that things would get better, an there would be months when she didn’t get a single call, but then they would start coming again. One or two at first and then every night. It always coincided with the summer months. She should have known. Shouldn’t have gone so far for a stupid date.

  But her options were limited. She’d already gone out with every acceptable guy on the dating site within a twenty-mile radius of Morgan’s Bay. She thought if she extended her reach, she’d have better luck. Meet a guy that made the extra long travel time worth the drive. Not only did it not bring her better luck, now she was twenty-six minutes away from hauling Mom off a bar stool before she did something that would hit the town gossip mill by morning.

  Her phone buzzed again and she glanced at the caller ID. Oh no. This definitely was not good. “Hi Jerry,” she said. “I’m driving as fast as I can.”

  “I’m sorry Harper but I’m going to have to call this in. She’s getting belligerent.”

  “Jerry, please I am begging you. Give me ten minutes and I’ll have her out of there.”

  She heard Jerry’s sigh on the other end but she also heard Mom telling someone they were an idiot. “Fine. You have ten minutes.”

  “Thank you, Jerry!” Harper hung up and dialed Milo for the second time tonight.

  “Bad case of halitosis?” Milo asked without even a hello.

  “Milo, not now. I need a favor.”

  “Haven’t I already done a favor for you today? That’s going to be a lot of slices of pie you’re going to owe me.”

  “Mi, Mom’s making a scene down at Schmidt’s. Jerry said he’s going to call the cops if I’m not there in ten minutes, but I’m still twenty-four minutes out.”

  She heard the sound of keys on the other end of the phone. “I’m on it.”

  The uncomfortable knots that had formed in her stomach began to unravel. “Thanks, Milo. I…”

  “I know,” he said and hung up.

  Relief spread through her hard and fast. It wouldn’t be the first time Milo helped her wrangle Mom. He usually had a better go at it anyway. Mom liked him, found him charming. Harper had nothing to worry about now other than getting home.

  Maybe it was time she gave up on her quest to find a man. She wasn’t even sure where the sudden need had come from. It was just a few girls from high school who had moved out of Morgan’s Bay, had recently gotten engaged and they looked so happy in their pictures. They were moving forward with their lives and Harper felt stuck.

  She was twenty-five and ready for the next step in her life. Reflecting on the seven years since high school, not much had changed. She was still the same girl who walked the hallways, frozen in time, never moving, always exactly where she’d been.

  There had to be more out there? A bigger plan for her life. She didn’t want to be the same girl with no career, no love life and barely enough money in the bank to cover one months rent. She wanted more for herself. She doubted a man could do that for her and nor did she want a man to do it for her. But at least a man could hold her hand when things got tough, be an ally when life spiraled out of control. Be a beacon of light when her world was drowning in gray.

  Was it so bad to want more? To want love? No, it wasn’t. But wanting and actually getting were two totally different things.

  She couldn’t leave Morgan’s Bay though. Not when Mom was still getting wasted and her brother still needed her. Tom was her favorite person and there was no way she would ever abandon him. The only way she was leaving Morgan’s Bay was if she could bring him with her. And she wouldn’t do that to him. He just got a job at McConnell’s Market and he was happy. So happy. She couldn’t take him away from that.

  Harper came to a stop at a red light and glanced down at her phone. Milo hadn’t called or texted so he was either still trying to corral Mom out of the bar or trying to get her in the house.

  She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and the car behind her beeped. Her eyes popped open, taking in the green light. She put her foot on the gas and continued home.

  Once she got into town, she took a drive by Schmidt’s to make sure Milo’s car wasn’t parked out front or Mom wasn’t still inside. All looked calm. Thank heavens. One more lap around town, she drove by her childhood home.

  In the dark of night, she could still see the rose bushes that lined either side of the front steps, the marigolds that dotted the garden in front of the bay window. Mom might have been the town drunkard, but she also had a green thumb. While the shingles on the house were falling off and the shutters were need of a paint job, the gardens still looked good.

  The lights were out in the house, except for the porch light, which Milo would have kept on to let her know all was well. She smiled, grateful she didn’t have to deal with Mom’s antics after another horrible date, and headed home.

  Her house was a small rental that sat across the street from the bay. Rent was a fortune, but having two roommates who paid a majority of the rent, helped. She pulled into the driveway on the other side of Milo’s car and killed the engine.

  She stepped out of the driver seat, the strong smell of salt in the air released the tension in her shoulders. She was home. For a moment she stood there, staring out to the water, the moon glistening above, casting light across the surface.

  After a moment, she headed inside. Milo was sprawled out on the couch and Jasper, their other roommate, had his six-foot three frame folded like a pretzel on the loveseat. A documentary about wildlife or something or other played on TV. Harper dropped her keys on the table and Milo sat up.

  His brown eyes met hers, warmth and concern, shining bright. He didn’t ask how she was, though. All joking aside, he knew better. “There’s a pint of chocolate ice cream in the freezer.”

  A smile curved the corner of her mouth and she turned to the freezer, grabbing the pint and a spoon. She took the carton with her and plopped down on the couch beside Milo. “Your mom’s asleep and Tom was playing video games.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “Don’t mention it.” He lifted his arm and she cuddled into his side before digging into the ice crea
m.

  “So,” Milo said. “You never told me. Was it halitosis?”

  She laughed and damn did it feel good. “Nope,” she said. “More like still clinging onto the anger of his ex and obsessed with a bulldog named, Sheila. And he had wing sauce on his face for half of dinner.”

  “Oh! Wing sauce.”

  Jasper tilted his head toward them, dirty blonde hair falling over his dark gray eyes. “Sorry your date sucked.”

  “Thanks, Jasp. At least I get to come home to this.” She motioned to her two roommates then the TV. “What are we watching?”

  “Our Planet.” Milo sighed.

  “Jasper’s choice tonight, huh?”

  “This is really interesting,” Jasper said, but as a middle school biology teacher, Jasper’s idea of interesting and Harper’s were two totally different things. But it was his night to choose, so Harper settled in, hoping tomorrow would be a better day.

  And if not, at least it would be her night to choose.

  ~End of Excerpt~

  Grab your copy today!

  Other Books by Theresa

  Mad About Matt

  Crushing on Kate

  Moments with Mason

  Catching Cooper

  Hung Up on Hadley

  A Bride for Sam

  Dreaming of Daisy

  Charmed by Chase (Book 1 of the Marshall Family)

  Blindsided by Brooke

  Lusting After Layla

  Jaded Until Jax

  Sweet on Sophie (Book 1 of the Reynold’s Family)

  Willow Cove

  Forbidden Lover

  Small Town Girl

  Complete Opposite

  Childhood Dream (Coming 2020)

  Morgan’s Bay

  All Because of You (Coming May 13, 2020)

  All Because I Met You (Coming 2020)

  All Because I Loved You (Coming 2020)

  The Again Series

  (Never) Again

  (Once) Again

  Written with Cassie Mae under the pen name Tessa Marie

  Broken Records

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  Acknowledgements

  To my readers, you are the reason I get to continue to do what it is that I love so much. Your support means the world to me, and has kept me going even on those days when the words aren’t flowing and I want to give up. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for continuing to show up and support me.

  Cassie after all these books I’m running out of ways to tell you that you’re awesome and I couldn’t do this without you. Thanks for giving me your ear when I need to work something out and your voice when I can’t seem to see reason. Thanks for not throwing your computer out the window when you lost thirty pages of notes… You’re the bestest!

  Mom, there are so many pieces to the puzzle in getting a book from idea to finish draft and you are a big piece of that puzzle. Without you, my books wouldn’t be the same. Thank you for reading chapter after chapter, draft after draft and always offering your honest unbiased opinion even if it’s hard for me to hear.

  Beta Girls, thanks for your friendship and your support from the very beginning. I love you girls!

  Eric thank you for bringing me home Cadbury Mini and Crème eggs, cooking dinner when I just don’t have it in me and for loving me even when I haven’t showered in two days, my hair is a mess and I’m wearing the same pair of yoga pants.

  Amanda, thanks for this awesome cover. You captured exactly what I wanted for this series.

  To the TV show Turn, thank you for a much needed distraction when my brain was desperate for a break.

  About the Author

  Theresa Paolo lives on Long Island, NY with her fiancé and their fish. She is the author of NA and Adult contemporary romances. Her debut novel (NEVER) AGAIN, released in Fall 2013 with Berkley (Penguin) and the companion novel (ONCE) AGAIN released Summer 2014. Mad About Matt, the first book in her new Red Maple Falls series, released March 2017.

  She loves to write heartfelt romances with a dash of fun and a side of spice. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, brewery hopping, daydreaming, wasting time on Pinterest, or can be found chatting away on Twitter and Facebook.

  She writes YA romance under Tessa Marie.

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