Brides on the Run (Books 1-4): Small-Town Romance Series

by Jami Albright

  “You’re not responsible for her actions, Pops.”

  “Maybe not, but I feel like I am. Let me do this for you. I believe in you. I know you can make this shop, or anything else you want to do, work.”

  She gripped his hand and held on. “Pops, this isn’t some romance novel where everything works out in the end. There’s a very good chance this will fail, and we’ll lose the house. Do you know how much pressure that is to put on me?” Her heart pounded like a herd of stampeding elephants. Sure, Jack had said he’d get compensation from Ron, but that could take years…if it ever happened.

  “Darlin’ girl, it’s no pressure at all. If that were to happen, we’ll figure it out. Together. We’re not destitute. But this is going to work. Besides, I can’t think of a better way to honor your Grams than to make a real go of this store where you sell her potions.” He winked.

  The tears rolling down her cheeks were as much about the grandmother that she’d loved more than life as they were about his faith in her. “You know she’d get your goat if she heard you call them her potions.”

  He covertly swiped a tear from his own eye. “She would indeed.”

  She bent and kissed his fingers, then met his eyes. “Are you sure?”

  His warm hand cupped her cheek. “More than sure.”

  Her arms went around his skinny shoulders. “Thank you, Pops. I swear I’ll pay you back.”

  “I know you will. I have one hundred percent confidence in you.”

  She wished she had the same confidence in herself.

  Chapter 29

  “Do you want to puke before or after you sweep the peanut shells?” Hailey came around the bar and handed Charlie the broom and dustpan.

  She took the instruments of her trade. “Haha. Sue me. I don’t like the smell of peanuts.” A lot of aspects of her job had gotten easier over the last two weeks—everything but the smell. Every time she walked into the bar Pod threatened to stage a mutiny. Ironically, the stale beer and cologne aroma seemed to help neutralize the effects of the peanut stink. Pregnancy was weird.

  Hailey leaned her back against the bar and crossed her arms. “You know, Ariel is going to probably charge you a thousand dollars for her dry cleaning.”

  Charlie tied her apron around her waist. It was still early, and the bar was empty except for a group of guys playing darts in the beer garden. “Worth it.”

  A smile pushed against Hailey’s lips. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah. Nobody messes with my friend.” Charlie couldn’t help the hopeful tone in her voice.

  The amused expression on Hailey’s face slid away like ice melting on a warm winter’s day. “We’re not friends.”

  “We used to be. I’d like to be again. I know you’re mad at me because I left without saying goodbye, but—”

  Hailey pushed off the bar, and her fists went to her hips. “That’s what you think I’m mad at you about? You don’t have a clue, do you? I didn’t blame you for leaving without saying goodbye. I understood. It was hard for all of us.”

  “Then why…” Why do you hate me? But she couldn’t say the words. It gave them too much power.

  “Because I needed you, and you turned me away.”

  “What are you talking about, Hailey? I never turned you away.”

  The tears swimming in her oldest friend’s eyes sliced at her heart. “After Lottie was born, and I was lonely and depressed, I tried to get in touch with you. I called you, but you’d changed your number, so I called your mom. At least she was nice to me, unlike her superstar daughter who didn’t have time for her small-town friends.”

  “Hailey, I never got any messages. I would’ve called you back.”

  Her boss swiped the tear that ran down her cheek like it personally offended her. “Don’t lie, Charlie. Your mom told me that she gave you the messages. I wasn’t important enough for your time.”

  Her mother was the worst person ever. Lord, she’d probably be in therapy for the rest of her life dealing with that shit. “I swear to you that she never gave me any messages from you. She kept my phone and monitored my calls. I wasn’t allowed to call anyone back home. I tried more than once, and she finally changed my number. By the time I realized I didn’t have to do everything she said, it’d been so long since we’d talked that I thought you’d have moved on without me.” Her voice shredded as she thought of the years of anger at her mother and herself for not standing up to the people around her. For letting them make her decisions for her.

  The person who’d meant the most to her stared at her, too many emotions to catalog washed across her face. Then she turned and walked away.

  “Hailey.”

  “Sweep up the shells…please.”

  Please. She’d take it. At least Hailey hadn’t kicked her out of the club. Baby steps. She grabbed the broom and swept up the shells around the bar, all the while breathing through her mouth. She’d found that little trick minimized the adverse effects of the dreaded legume.

  “You still on peanut duty?”

  She whirled around to see Hank in jeans, a blue pearl snap shirt, and his signature cowboy hat. Everything that was Hank, except his eyes didn’t twinkle with mischief. “Hey. You alright?” She shouldn’t care or ask, but he was Pod’s father, and her... He was her nothing. But she still cared about him. Her little secret made it hard to look him in the eye. She needed to tell him. She would tell him, just not yet. There wasn’t anything he could do right now, and it wouldn’t help him in repairing his marriage.

  He grinned, but it was stiff and mechanical. “Yeah, I’m good. How are you?”

  “I’m great, but I better get back to work before Hailey takes my head off.”

  “Things not any better?”

  She shrugged. “They’re not any worse.”

  His presence tugged on her. She leaned toward him. He leaned toward her. It was like they had their own gravitational field that drew them to one another, always circling but never intersecting.

  Hailey came out of the back with a case of beer. “Am I in danger of being raided, Sheriff?”

  He turned from Charlie to address Hailey, and it physically hurt. “I don’t know. Are you doing anything to be raided for?”

  “Nope, unless you count the cockfighting and prostitution we run out of the back room.”

  Charlie laughed. One of the things she’d always loved about Hailey was her smart mouth and quick wit.

  “Lucky for you I’m off duty.” He climbed onto the stool and faced the bar. “I’ll have a beer.”

  Hailey slid open the cooler door. “The usual?”

  “Yep. And can I get a separate bowl for my shells?” He winked at Charlie.

  Damnable tears pricked and poked at her eyeballs. Why did that little kindness grind a boot heel into her heart? She couldn’t be around him when he was sweet like this. Fleeing was her only option, so she took her broom to the other end of the bar to tackle the ever-growing layer of peanut shells.

  One more surreptitious glance over her shoulder for one more glimpse of him. A long, deep breath in and out on a sigh to help focus her mind on the task at hand. She couldn’t think beyond this moment. If she did, then the panic became too much for her. One thing at a time.

  Sweep the shells.

  She could do that.

  Then move on.

  Easier said than done.

  “Hey, Charlie.” Thomas Chang sauntered up with a beautiful Hispanic man. That was the only word for him—beautiful. He could make a million dollars in Hollywood without ever saying a word. “Hello, Thomas.”

  “This is Raul Perez. Raul, this is Charlie Kay.”

  “When Thomas told me he knew the Charlie Kay, I thought for sure he was lying.” Raul took her hand and kissed her fingers. “You are as lovely in person as you are on the screen.”

  Yeah, he could make as much money as he wanted in Hollywood if he spoke. His voice was like fine silk over naked skin. “Nice to meet you, Raul.”

  “I hear you’re interested
in possibly doing business with me.”

  Honestly, it was a little hard to concentrate on what he was saying because the cadence of his voice was so hypnotic. “Um…yeah, I’d love to talk. I’ll get a break in about an hour. Can you hang out for a while?”

  “For you, I’d wait forever, love.” He winked.

  Oddly, as lovely as he was, that wink did nothing for her. Not like when Hank winked at her earlier, which nearly turned her stomach into an origami swan. “Alright, talk later.”

  Not even the smell of the peanuts could break through her happiness. Things were falling into place. Piece by piece, brick by brick, she was building a life for herself and Pod. She rolled the garbage can she’d been dumping the shells into to the back hall.

  “Who was that with Thomas?” Hank was standing right next to her.

  She slapped his arm. “You scared me.” She glanced around. “What are you doing back here?”

  He didn’t answer her question with the steely words that came out of his mouth. “Who was the man with Thomas?”

  Irritation crawled all over her. This was where the infamous wardrobe discussion had taken place. She wanted out of this secluded hallway to where they had an audience. “That’s Raul Perez. He’s a wholesaler that supplies the Changs. I’m going to talk to him about…” It occurred to her that she hadn’t told anyone except Honey and Scarlett what she was thinking of doing. Suddenly her annoyance fled, and she couldn’t wait to tell Hank. She knew he’d be excited for her. “I’m going to open a shop and sell the soaps and lotions that my grandmother taught me to make.”

  “No.”

  “What?” The music had to have messed with her hearing. And why was he frowning at her?

  His hands went to his hips. “I said, no. You’re not doing business with him.”

  “Why? What’s wrong with you?”

  “Not a damn thing. I don’t like the look of him.”

  Oh, my gosh. Was he jealous? Lord save her from stupid men. “Let’s go over this again, Hank. You don’t get to tell me to do anything. Nothing. And, yes, he’s a handsome man, but this is strictly business. Not that it’s any of your business.”

  “I need to tell you something—”

  “Charlie, get back to work,” Hailey yelled over the music. “Those shells aren’t going to sweep themselves. And when you’re done take the garbage out, and try not to make a mess this time.”

  “Stay away from me.” She side-stepped past him as fast as she could. Yeah, taking out the garbage was preferable to being around him.

  Chapter 30

  Hank wanted to kick himself. Why couldn’t he leave Charlie alone? Because she lived under his skin, that’s why. What did it matter anyway? Even if his marriage was imploding, she wanted nothing to do with him. She’d made that perfectly clear. But now he had a new problem. Raul Perez was the big fish that the DEA wanted.

  With an eye on Charlie, Thomas, and Perez, he sat at the bar nursing a beer.

  “Who peed in your Post-Toasties?” Hailey wiped down the bar across from him.

  He glanced at her, then back to where the trio sat talking. “Nobody.”

  “He’s a handsome devil.” She never looked up from her task, but kept cleaning the wooden surface.

  “Who?” He knew who she was talking about, but he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of confirming it.

  “That guy with Thomas Chang. Though I wouldn’t kick Thomas out of bed either.” She did look at him then, and gave him a snake’s smirk.

  “Ugh, now I’ll have that image to deal with for the rest of the night. Thanks for that.” He took a swig from the bottle he held.

  She laughed. “Happy to help. But seriously, you need to stop spying on her. It’s not healthy, and if you’re trying to patch things up with Karen, then that can’t possibly be a good idea.”

  He tipped his hat back on his head. “I’m not spying on her. I just don’t like the look of that guy. Call it a cop’s instincts.”

  “Well, you can rest easy. She’s done talking to them.” She nodded in the direction of the threesome.

  He shrugged. “Good for her.” The stool swiveled, and he faced Hailey. “See, I’m not involved.”

  She smiled while she washed and dried glasses. “Lottie said you took her for ice cream. Thanks for doin’ that. Fucking Derek, it’s hard for me to remember even one redeeming thing about him.” She seemed to realize what she’d said, and her brow furrowed with deep lines. “I’m sorry. I know he’s your brother, and blood is thicker than water….”

  He shook off her apology. “You and Lottie are my family, too. I don’t understand him anymore. It’s like he’s on a mission to live as recklessly as he can.”

  She shrugged. “If I’m being rational, which I rarely am, I’d say that you can’t blame him. We were so young when I got pregnant with Lottie. He never had a young adulthood.”

  “That’s bullshit. You were sixteen when you got pregnant. You didn’t have a young adulthood either, and you’ve never once wavered in your commitment to Lottie, or my idiot brother, until he made it impossible for you to stay with him.”

  A ticket for a drink order printed from the little machine in front of her. She began mixing a drink for a customer. “Lottie was probably always more mine than Derek’s. I know he resented me for the pregnancy.”

  “That’s bullshit too. He was the one with experience, not you. He didn’t take care of you then, and he’s not taking care of Lottie now.” He wished he’d hit his brother harder the other day.

  His father, Derek, Jett, hell, even his grandfather, none of them stuck. They all ran at the first sign of trouble, usually trouble they started. This was the cloth he was cut from, and it made him sick to his stomach.

  “I don’t need Derek to take care of me. I have Lottie and Roger, and that’s all I need right now.” She sat the drinks she’d mixed at the end of the bar for the waitresses to pick up.

  “How’s that going?” She’d started dating Roger Weston not long after the divorce. Nice enough guy, if a little boring.

  “It’s fine. He travels a lot.”

  “Is it serious?” The guy didn’t seem Hailey’s type at all, but he wasn’t in any position to pass judgment.

  One of her shoulders rose and fell. “Maybe. He checks a lot of boxes.”

  Thomas and Raul stood to leave. He’d wanted to chat with the men before they left, just as a subtle warning that he was here and he was watching them. “Excuse me. There’s someone I need to speak with.”

  She rolled her eyes and waved him on. “Go ahead and make a fool of yourself. See if I care.”

  He chuckled and threw a five on the bar. “Keep the change.”

  The money disappeared into the register, and she gave him a finger wave.

  Trying to look as benign as possible, he ambled up to where Thomas and Perez were standing. “How are you fellas tonight?”

  Thomas never missed a beat but extended his hand to Hank. “Sheriff Odom, how are you?”

  “Mighty fine.” He took the man’s hand. “Who’s your friend?”

  “Raul Perez, Sheriff.” The Hispanic man offered his hand and Hank took it. Not a callus to be found. This man didn’t do manual labor.

  “Are you new to Zachsville, Raul?” It was Hank’s business to know everyone in his town.

  The man leaned his butt against the chair behind him, crossed his arms and legs, and gave Hank the most innocent smile he’d ever seen. “No, I’m only here for the day. I’m driving back to Austin as soon as we leave here.”

  “Raul’s one of our suppliers at the farm.” Thomas took the last pull of his beer and sat the bottle on the table.

  “Really? You got a pretty big operation?” Hank was fishing. He just hoped it wasn’t too obvious.

  The humble shrug Raul gave him didn’t fool Hank for a minute. This man was up to something. “Naw, just a little mom and pop organization, but we do have the best products in the state. It’s something we take a lot of pride in.�
�

  “Mom and pop? So is it a family business like Golden Leaf Garden?”

  “No, I’m the sole proprietor. Thomas here was one of my first customers in this area a little over a year ago.” He straightened. “I better get going, Thomas. Thanks for the drink.” He turned and once again extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Sheriff.”

  “I’ll walk you out.” Thomas slapped Hank on the arm. “Good to see you, Sheriff.”

  He watched the two men leave. Then out of the corner of his eye saw Charlie head out the back door with her garbage bags in tow. He had a mess brewing in his little town, and he didn’t like it one bit.

  Chapter 31

  Charlie wondered what it said about her that she’d grown to enjoy the nightly ritual of taking out the garbage. She knew Hailey had given her the job to humiliate her, and in the beginning, it had. But there was something basic and fulfilling about performing a necessary task that required very little thought.

  Besides, it gave her a chance to get out of the loud club. And even though the Zachsville City Council had banned smoking in any establishment a couple of years ago, it seemed the ghosts of every smoker in Blister County lived within the four walls of Boon’s Saloon. The cooler evening air chilled her neck and helped settle her stomach. She couldn’t wait for the whole “you feel great in the second-trimester” thing.

  The sound of moaning caught her attention as she leaned against the wall of the club. Was there a wounded animal somewhere? There it was again, but this time it was accompanied with a long moaning, “Yeees.” Somebody was getting it on in the parking lot. Heat fired her cheeks, and the sense of being an interloper gave her the creeps. Her feet slipped on the gravel as she tried to get to the door and get inside.