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

by Jami Albright

  Her shoulders relaxed and so did her expression. He’d known they would. Within just a short time of being around her, he’d learned that she was independent and took a lot of pride in taking care of herself and Lottie.

  “Fine. Lord, you’re such a diva.” Her teasing tone told him he’d done the right thing.

  He rested his box on his raised knee to get a better hold.

  She grabbed the other carton and noticed him adjusting his grip. “Ready?”

  “Born ready.” He added his lady-killer smirk just to piss her off.

  A snorted laugh puffed from her lips. “You’re an idiot.” She shook her head and headed for the porch. “Born ready. Really?” She propped the door open with her butt and waited for him to walk through. “Hey, the seventies called and they want their catchphrase back.”

  He laughed and entered the house. “You cut me, Hailey Odom.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  He definitely wasn’t her kryptonite, and for some reason that made her irresistible. He was an idiot. “Where’s Lottie?”

  “With Derek’s mom. I dropped her there on my way to Roger’s house.” She jutted her chin in the direction of Lottie’s bedroom. “Can you set those things in there? I’m going to drop these in my room then unload that box.”

  “Sure.” He noticed she’d stripped the sheets from Lottie’s bed. “Hey, why didn’t I get clean sheets last night?”

  She leaned against Lottie’s door frame with her arms crossed. “Because she didn’t come in at four thirty in the morning.” Her long fingers flipped on the switch for the overhead fan. “Also, I was instructed by my daughter to get the boy cooties off her sheets.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “She doesn’t like me much.”

  Hailey knelt by the box and pulled the flaps open. “It’s not you. She’s having trouble with all men right now, except Hank.” She shrugged. “Daddy issues.”

  “Ahhhh, Derek’s not a very good one?”

  One by one Hailey pulled toys and kids’ paraphernalia from the box. “Nope. He never—” She seemed to catch herself and stopped.

  Now, all he wanted to know was what she’d been about to say. “He never what?”

  She fiddled with an outfit on one of the dolls she’d just unloaded. Her white top teeth were gnawing on her plump bottom lip. “I had Lottie when I was sixteen.”

  Something he already knew. All you had to do was look at Hailey to know she couldn’t have been more than twenty-five, and Lottie was nine. “And?”

  “And, he always blamed me for ruining his life, and that grievance took the form of disinterest in Lottie. Here’s a pro tip. Don’t have a baby with an asshole.”

  The grin that stretched his lips was unavoidable. Even speaking of a bad time in her life, she was still feisty. “Words to live by.”

  “It would solve ninety percent of the world’s problems. Anyway, since he and Ariel got married, it’s been trickier. Ariel’s daughter Piper is the same age as Lottie and they used to be best friends. Now Derek spends most of his time with Piper and her brother Colt, which Piper reminds Lottie of every chance she gets.”

  Beau blinked. Fire erupted in his belly. Years of being called “Orphan Boy” made bullying a very sore subject with him. “What’s Derek done to put a stop to Piper’s behavior?”

  “Not a thing, except tell Lottie to not be so sensitive.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” The more he learned about Derek Odom, the more he hated the guy.

  Hailey continued unloading the box of toys and clothes. “I wish I was. He’s not a nice person, Beau, never has been.”

  He didn’t like the fact that she wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Did he hurt you, Hailey?”

  She shrugged. “In the beginning, he shoved me a few times, but after Hank beat the crap out of him, he never did that again. Now Derek’s meanness comes out in passive-aggressive jabs in public or outright insults. And heaven forbid if he thought I got more attention than him. He’d lose his mind.”

  “Attention is addictive.” Boy did he know it. He craved the validation that came with being on stage and being the person everyone watched. On stage he wasn’t Orphan Boy, or the kid who wore mismatched clothes because he didn’t have a mom to teach him how to coordinate his clothing. And he sure as hell wasn’t the kid who got made fun of because his old grandfather brought him to school events. He was Beau Fuckin’ Callen and those little sons-a-bitches back in Slocomb, West Virginia could kiss his ass.

  “Ha, if attention’s addictive, then he’s a junkie. I think it comes from being so popular in high school and the hometown football star. He’s always looking to be that guy again. But that isn’t real life.” She glanced up and grinned. “Except for you, Heartbreaker.”

  Wow, that hit a little too close to home. He cleared his throat and pretended like he wasn’t highly uncomfortable. He took his collar in both hands and adjusted it. “That’s true. We can’t all be me.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “You’re awful.”

  Why did spirals of pleasure shoot through him at making her laugh? “I am.”

  “I know Derek’s issues are his own, but it took me a long time to realize that.” She stood and began placing clothing in Lottie’s drawers. “I was just so crazy in love with him for so long that it blinded me to who and what he was.” Her coffee-colored eyes turned cold as stone. “But never again. Believe me when I say, never again.”

  He picked up a board game and slid it onto a shelf with similar items. “I believe you.”

  She pulled her hair out of her face. “Sheesh, I don’t know why I just unloaded all of that on you. Sorry.”

  He shrugged. “Don’t be sorry. We’re friends, and friends tell each other stuff.” His bangs fell into his eyes, and he pushed them out of the way. “Besides, I like to know things about the women I’m shacking up with.”

  She laughed a deep belly laugh. “You wish, buddy.” There was a knock at the door. “I better get that.”

  The sound of her laughter lingered in his head. Great, something else he was now addicted to—the sound of Hailey Odom’s laugh.

  Chapter 10

  The smile plastered on Hailey’s face melted into a frown as soon as she opened the front door. “Derek, what are you doing here?” He tried to shove past her into the house, but she stood her ground. The days of him walking all over her were long gone. “I asked you a question.”

  “I’ll tell you why I’m here.” He slammed his hands onto his hips. “Why the hell didn’t you marry Roger Weston?”

  Now she understood. “Because I don’t want to give up the spousal support that you have to pay me every month.”

  “Damn it, Hailey.” He turned and began pacing the porch. “I knew it. I told Ariel that you did this just to spite me.”

  She laughed. It was hard not to when the man was such an idiot.

  He stopped mid-stride. “What’s so fuckin’ funny?”

  “You are. Are you really such a narcissist that you believe I called off my wedding just to screw you? Figuratively speaking of course.”

  He plowed his fingers through his hair, making him look like a pissed-off troll. “Isn’t that why you did it? We were going to use that money to take the kids on a cruise.”

  “Lottie would love a cruise.” She knew before his face confirmed it that her daughter hadn’t been included in his plans. “You’re a son of a bitch, Derek. You know that.”

  “Whatever, Hailey. Lottie was supposed to have a new family too. Until you screwed that up.”

  “Are you listening to yourself right now? She’s your daughter. That will never change.”

  He just eyed her.

  “Really, this again?” She placed one hand on the door frame and the other on her hip. “You honestly believe she’s not yours. She’d probably be better off if she wasn’t, but sadly, she is. So there you go.”

  He took a step closer to her and got right in her face. “What if I asked for a paternity test? What wou
ld you say to that?”

  He was so close she could see the sparks of gold mixed with the blue of his eyes. “First, I’d say step the hell back.” She held her cell up. “Unless you want me to call the sheriff.”

  “Fine.” He took one step out of her personal space.

  “Then I’d say bring on the paternity test.” The phone went into her back pocket. “I’d also say you’re delusional and need psychiatric help.”

  “Shut up. You’ve been out to ruin me since day one, and that’s why you walked out of that wedding. To stick it to me.”

  His words rubbed against that spot deep down in her heart that knew the truth. A truth she’d never admit to anyone. “I’m not—”

  “Babe.” Warm hands circled her stomach and a hard, male chest pressed against her back. “Come back to the bedroom.”

  A slight turn of her head confirmed that Beau wasn’t wearing a shirt. The warmth of his skin against her turned her muscles to mush. “Um…in a minute.” She couldn’t help the lilt at the end of the sentence making it sound like a question.

  Derek took a couple of stumbling steps backward. “Who the hell is this?”

  “I’m her new roommate, asshole.” Beau’s lazy country drawl lobbed the word asshole at Derek like a grenade.

  Hailey should’ve stopped him, but two things made that impossible. The priceless look on her ex-husband’s face, and Beau’s callused finger rubbing little circles on the skin of her belly. At some point, he’d slid his hand under her shirt, and it appeared her ability to speak was connected to the spot he was torturing. All she could manage were some incoherent sounds.

  “Who are you calling an asshole? Asshole.” Derek puffed out his chest and stretched to his full height, and even then, Beau had three inches on him.

  Beau removed one of his hands from her belly and cupped her chin. He gently turned her head to look at him. “You’re right. He’s not very bright.” Mischief flashed in his green eyes, and she saw the kiss coming before it ever happened but was helpless to stop it. His lips slowly caressed hers in an innocent, chaste, closed-lipped touch, then he licked at the seam of her lips. His tongue tempted and enticed like the serpent in the Garden of Eden.

  Eat the fruit.

  It’s good fruit.

  You know you want the fruit.

  She took the fruit.

  And Lord have mercy, it was the best fruit she’d ever had. He didn’t plunder or invade her mouth but teased and retreated, then teased some more until everything but the game his tongue played with hers faded into the background.

  “Excuse me,” Derek yelled.

  They didn’t jerk away from each other but lingered for just a beat longer before she turned to her ex. Her kiss-drunk brain worked hard to focus. “Yes, Derek?”

  “You have a man living here…with my daughter? What kind of mother are you?”

  That sobered her. She crossed her arms and leveled him with her hardest eff you stare. Beau’s death growl broke the silence on the porch. She kept her mouth closed and didn’t break eye contact with her ex. It was the emotional equivalent of chicken.

  Derek swerved first and glanced down at his shoes. “Whatever. Maybe you’ll marry this one so I can get you off my payroll.”

  Beau nuzzled her neck. “Nah, we’re just gonna shack up and spend your money, friend. Now run along. I’ve got business with my woman.”

  Hailey didn’t know there were so many shades of red, but every one of them bled into Derek’s face. “I’ll leave, but this isn’t over, Hailey.”

  She wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but with Derek, it couldn’t be good. It never was.

  “You and your boy toy enjoy that money while you can.”

  “Derek—”

  “We will. You take care now.” Beau pulled her out of the doorway and shut the door.

  It was all a lie, but for just a moment she enjoyed the look of utter discombobulation on Derek’s face. Take that, jerkwad. She’d never gotten one over on him, and it felt good to win for once.

  She turned in Beau’s arms, and her hands landed on his chest, hard, golden, and muscled. Sweet baby Jesus, it’d been a while since she’d had one of these under her fingers. Roger hadn’t been terribly buff—part of his appeal at the time.

  The warmth of Beau’s flesh and the tickle of chest hair under her palms made the rest of her body jealous of her hands.

  His arms tightened around her, and his minty breath blew against the top of her head.

  Time ticked by in the way it does when you’re stretched out on a blanket under the stars. You know it’s been a while, but you just don’t give a damn. With every second that passed, her body prepared itself for him. And his for her, if the hardness pressed against her stomach was any indication.

  “Hailey?”

  “Yeah.” The word slid out on a breath of sound.

  “Whatcha doin’?”

  “Thinkin’.”

  His long finger crooked under her chin and raised her face to his. “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

  “What a bad idea this is.”

  His gaze shifted from her mouth to her eyes. “Me too.”

  “It’s a horrible idea.” If it was so bad, then why did she rock her pelvis into his?

  “Right,” rolled out on a tortured groan.

  She blinked against the sparks firing in his eyes. “So we should stop.”

  “Yeah.” But his hands stayed firmly planted to the skin at her lower back.

  She wasn’t any better. Her arms were around his neck, and she’d plastered herself to him like a bloodthirsty wood tick. “This isn’t smart.”

  “Dumber than dumb.” His fingers slipped below the waistband of her pants. “I don’t want any entanglements or obligations. And you’ve made it clear how you feel about me.”

  “Yes, you’re not for me…at ahhh…” All! She’d meant all, but his exploration of her backside made it hard to choose the right words.

  He rested his forehead against hers. “So why are we still like this?”

  “We’re weak?” She pulled his scent deep into her lungs. “It’s the only explanation.”

  His Adam’s apple bobbed. He raised his head from hers, and it took him two attempts before his voice worked. “Alone we’re weak, but together we can fight this thing…that we both don’t want.”

  A quick nod. “Right, we don’t want this.” With all her might she tried to turn her brain back on and extinguish her desire. “On the count of three, we step away from each other and never speak of it again.”

  He sucked a deep breath in, blew it out, then stretched his neck from side to side. “Okay.”

  “One.” She curled her finger into his hair.

  “Two.” He tightened his hold on her.

  “Three,” they said together and stepped apart.

  The only sound in the room was the combined huffing and puffing of air moving in and out of their chests. Her girly parts were also throwing a wall-eyed fit. But, thankfully, he couldn’t hear that.

  He grabbed his hair and yanked it off his face. “You okay?”

  “Okay with what?”

  He pointed to himself then to her. “With this.”

  Her features hardened. “Never speak of it again.”

  “Oh, yeah, right.” He chuckled.

  “I’m not kidding, Beau.” She stuck her finger in his face. “This never happened.”

  He held his hands in the air. “Got it.”

  “Good.” She and her fit-throwing libido exited the room without a backward glance.

  Beau unpacked his bag and put his clothes on the shelves in the closet. How had he ended up living above Hailey Odom’s garage? The reason stretched and groaned in the corner of the room where he’d placed the dog’s bed. “It’s okay, buddy. I don’t blame you…much.”

  The irony of the whole situation was that thanks to Clyde’s careful financial planning and a ridiculously large life insurance policy, he had more than enough money to buy his own damn hou
se if he wanted. He just wasn’t sure whether he wanted to buy in Zachsville or not. He still had hopes of moving to Nashville someday. Plus, he was about to begin touring, and all he needed was something temporary at the moment.

  He glanced around the small room. Hailey said she’d had a service come in and deep clean after she kicked Derek out of the house, but maybe he should repeat the process. Much like Lottie, he did not want that douchebag’s cooties.

  What kind of man talks to the mother of his child like Derek spoke to Hailey? It burned him up to think about it, even though he was pretty pissed at his landlady at the moment.

  She’d pulled a wall down and acted like nothing had happened between them. It didn’t seem to matter that he’d said he didn’t want to start up anything with her. Or that the logical side of him knew it was a bad idea to screw around with her. Not the least of which was he was living in her backyard. That could get messy quick.

  Still, Hailey putting that barrier between them annoyed the shit out of him. Women didn’t walk away from him. Good thing he didn’t want to start something with her, because he had no idea how to woo a female. He was nearly thirty years old and had never had to chase a woman. Arrogant? Maybe, but it was the truth.

  Walter whined in the short entryway to the apartment. “You need to go outside, boy?”

  He grabbed the leash and the dog’s ball, and they made their way down the stairs to the backyard. As soon as they were at the bottom of the stairs, he unclipped the leash and let the animal run free. Walter was old enough and well trained enough not to run off, and even if he did, he’d stop if Beau called him.

  He threw the ball to Walter for several minutes. Then the back screen slammed, and Lottie came running outside with her black pigtails flying. “Walter!” She slapped her hands on her knees. “Come here, Walter.”

  The dog forgot the ball and the master who’d raised him from a pup, fed him every damn day, was now living in a square box for him, and took off toward the girl.