A small hint of jealousy burned in the pit of Brian’s stomach at how Nash finally had gotten everything he had wanted.
Never in his life would he have guessed Nash would have gotten another chance with Shauntie. His buddy had been secretly in love with his cousin’s J.T.’s girlfriend for months and she never knew it. Nash by no means thought he would see Shauntie again and had given up on all hope. However, the lucky bastard that he was, Nash got a call about a leaky roof and it just happened to be at Shauntie’s house.
After a long battle and a few misunderstandings between the two of them, Nash finally won over Shauntie and now he was going to propose her in New York on their first trip together as a couple.
He was thrilled for Nash, but another part of him was jealous at hell. Nash had everything he ever wanted from his life. Nothing was left for him to do but get married and start working on the family he always talked about having with the woman he loved.
Never in his life did he think Nash would be the first one out of their group to get all sentimental and decide to take the big leap down the aisle. Honestly, Brian thought he, Nash and Chance would be single well into their late forties.
What was wrong with his properties?
Should he have swallowed down his pride and asked out that sexy dentist Dr. Rhodes on his mail route? He’d noticed her checking him out a couple of times, but he’d pretended like he hadn’t seen her standing at the front desk. She might have actually agreed to at least coffee with him, but he would never know now.
Neither one of his friends knew about this, but he had told his boss that he wasn’t coming back after New Year. He was tired of going to a job he didn’t love every day. He wasn’t getting anything out of being a mail carrier anymore. It wasn’t his dream career and why should he stay at a job he didn’t love. Over the last ten years, he’d saved up enough of his money to set up his own Web Design business.
He had already worked on a couple of sites for local businesses and gotten excellent feedback from them. Four of his clients even recommended him to some of their friends and family. He was planning on getting back in touch with them after the New Year’s holiday was over.
Because after the New Year he was going to start working on his new career and probably would ever get to see the sexy doctor again he’d missed out on his only means of finding out more about her. Brian was more than disappointed with himself that he hadn’t at least tried talking to her at least once, but he hadn’t done it. So, now she was in his past and he was the only person to blame for it.
Was he really not as confident as he thought he was?
Brian contemplated this for a few minutes and then arrogantly shoved the idea from his head. No, he wasn’t a coward about deciding not to ask out a woman who made a shit load more money than him. He only wanted to be sure he was asking out the right woman and a successful dentist wasn’t the woman for him.
What in the hell could they have in common with each other? They were on two different pages in their lives. She was probably going left when he was debating if he should turn to the right.
The days of dating the wild and unpredictable woman was over for him. He was looking for a female he could settle down with and build a family. Nash had taken his time to find Shauntie and he could and would be patient enough to do the same exact thing.
Sitting through Nash’s long, but well-meaning lecture is what ultimately had pushed him into this new state of mind and a part of him wasn’t happy about it. Half the time he hated listening to Nash’s advice about how it was past time for him to grow up, so he found ways to tune him out and think about something different.
His best friend didn’t have any clue about what went on inside of his head when he was alone. There were days—more than he cared admit to himself or anyone else—when he thought back to his past relationships and wondered if his indifference towards a woman had actually pushed his future wife away, but in the end he constantly came up with the same answer.
No way in hell!
Brian didn’t think he’d met the future Mrs. Brian Terry yet and he would know the instant he laid eyes on her. Nash knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Shauntie even when she was with J.T.
Why in the world wouldn’t he be able to do the same damn thing himself?
He’d never considered himself as a man who would ever doubt his place in the world. Even while Brian was working at an exacting job he hated for the steady paycheck, he was still a very proud man.
Thinking and worrying about the future wasn’t in his personality but somehow it eased up on him as he had gotten older. He was never worried about the future, but now since he had decided to change careers he wanted—no, desired—a change in his personal life too. Brian was more like Nash than he cared to admit. He liked the idea of a wife, family and home, one special woman who knew all of his deepest, darkest secrets and held on to them with her life. But Brian wasn’t sure if that woman was out there for him.
Well, he couldn’t figure out his future all in one day. Brian took a look at the cottage door and took a step towards it but then stopped. He wasn’t quite ready to go inside yet, so he decided to spend a few more minutes outside admiring the tranquility of the surroundings.
When he was growing up, his father had taken him camping every other month as their father and son bonding moments. He cherished those trips with his father so much because they made him feel so loved when he was a little kid. Even his mother stayed at home allowing it just to be a boy’s only outing.
Brian loved being out like this with nature because his father passed down his love for the wilderness to him. Hopefully, the gift he got from his parent, he would be able to pass down to his own children when that day finally came.
The fresh air always brought peacefulness to his soul. For years, he was an avid hiker, fisherman and even climbed a couple of rocks when he got the free time to get involved with it. Being outside as much as he could was like breathing to him; he never missed a chance to toss some gear into his truck and just take off for a few days.
Breathtaking atmosphere like this wasn’t found in the heart of the city. Everything was over-run with people moving around at such a fast pace that it seemed like the air was congested with dirtiness.
On the inside, Brian was dying to stay outside for at least two more hours even longer if he could because today was bringing back such wonderful memories of his father, yet he couldn’t do it.
He still needed to take a tour of the cottage, unpack his bag and take care of some other things. In addition, he promised Nash that he would call him as soon as he arrived to let him know that he got there without any problems. Grabbing his bag off the porch, Brian unlocked the front door and walked inside closing the door behind him.
Chapter Five
What was that noise?
Sapphire’s hand froze midway through hanging her clothes up in the master bedroom closet. Her heart sped up when she realized the sound was the front door opening and closing, but how was that possible? She’d made sure she locked it before she came upstairs.
Was it her mind playing tricks on her?
Moving out of the walk-in closet, Sapphire dropped a pink sweater down on the bed then she slowly inched her way over to the open bedroom door. Trying to stay as calm and quiet as she could, her heart continued pounding away inside her chest like a trapped bird inside a cage.
Shit!
Sapphire was sure she’d locked all of the doors before coming upstairs to unpack. Why hadn’t she double-checked everything before coming to her bedroom? Hadn’t she watched enough horror movies to know that a cute black woman isn’t safe alone in the woods?
God, now as panic coursed through her veins Sapphire wondered why she’d ever listened to Shauntie about coming to this wilderness getaway in the first damn place. What in the hell was she supposed to do now? Her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. Sapphire wasn’t dumb. She knew there was someone downstairs in the livingroom. How much longer
would it take before the intruder got tired down there and came up here?
Easing out of the open bedroom door, she flattened her back against the wall inching her body closer to the stairs. Holding her breath, Sapphire listened closely again for any movement and finally she heard sounds coming from right below her.
Calming her nerves down as best as she could for the situation she was in, Sapphire slowly tiptoed back from the stairs trying her best not to make a sound and drawing attention to herself because she wasn’t about to venture downstairs and run into anyone who could be starring on an episode of Criminal Minds
She didn’t want to alert the intruder to the fact that there was someone else besides himself inside the house. God! Sapphire sent up a silent prayer there was only one burglar.
Once Sapphire made it safely back inside her bedroom, she eased the door closed locking it behind her and then hurried over to the bed as fast as she could barely missing tripping over a pair of shoes she had tossed to the side earlier.
Digging her cell phone out of her purse, Sapphire dialed 911 silently praying the operator picked up before anyone downstairs made their way upstairs to her.
“911, what is your emergency?” the operator asked.
“Yes, I need you to send the police. I’m home alone and there is an intruder downstairs in my living room,” Sapphire whispered into the phone as she made her way towards the closet. She would hide inside until help came.
“Ma’am, how many are there?”
“I don’t know. I just heard someone moving around downstairs. Should I have looked better to see how many there were?” Sapphire asked as she eased the closet door closed and pressed her back against the wall.
“No, find somewhere to hide. Are you at 3384 West Author Road?”
“Yes, it’s a little white and blue cottage a little ways off the road. It belongs to my friend Shauntie Kane. She’s allowing me to stay here for the New Year’s Eve weekend,” she whispered. “Please hurry up!”
“Don’t worry, help is on the way. They should be there soon. Whatever you do don’t come out of your hiding place,” the operator informed her. “I’m going to stay on the line with you until the police get there.”
“I won’t come out, but you don’t have to stay on the line with me.” Before the operator could respond, Sapphire ended the call and held the cell phone against her chest praying the police got to her sooner rather than later.
How long was it going to take for the police to get here to save her?
Whenever the police were called in the city, it seemed like it took them forever to show up. She was miles from town. What if the person downstairs decided there wasn’t enough down there to appease him? He could decide to make his way up here to look for something better.
Fear worked its way into her body until Sapphire felt her entire body started to shake. Stop it! She couldn’t allow herself to lose control. Keeping her wits about her was going to be the most important thing she could do in this situation.
Wait one damn minute! She wasn’t going to hide away in a bedroom closet because of unknown fear. She might be out here awhile before anyone showed up to help her. She didn’t have a clue how close the nearest police station was. When she was driving out here, she hadn’t noticed one police car after she’d gotten off the main highway.
Easing over to the closet door, Sapphire pushed it open and slipped out then made her way back over to her purse on the bed.
She searched through it until she found the item she was looking for. Taking a deep breath, Sapphire blew out a couple more before inching over to the closed bedroom door. She paused, listening for any kind of movement or sounds, then walked out into the hallway.
Sapphire prayed she wasn’t making a huge mistake by acting on her instincts instead of waiting for the police to arrive, but she couldn’t stay inside that closet without knowing what was going on around her.
At a snail's pace, Sapphire made her way to the staircase and tiptoed down them as quietly as possible, crossing her fingers that her pounding heart didn’t sound as loud as it did to her ears Stopping at the bottom step, Sapphire stayed completely still as she listened for any sound and her ears picked up on a faint sound coming from inside the kitchen.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
The intruder was in there with all of the dangerous weapons and here she was standing outside of the door trying to fend off whoever it was with a can of old pepper spray she’d bought at the convenience store while she was paying for her over-priced gas.
Was she out of her mind or what?
Sapphire didn’t need anyone to answer the question for her. She was already smart enough to know the answer. She was completely and totally out of her mind lacking the good common sense her parents gave to her.
But she was so used to acting first and thinking second, so why would she stop being who she was in the face of danger?
Sapphire gradually closed the distance between her and the burglar who she heard searching for something inside the kitchen. She couldn’t get over the fact. Some stranger actually thought it would be perfectly fine for him to break and enter here and take anything he would like to have for himself.
Okay, it was now or never. The words came into Sapphire as she finally made it to the kitchen door; she would have to deal with whatever she found on the other side. It was her choice to leave the safety of her bedroom closet and come down here.
Placing her hand on the door, Sapphire took one final breath before she pushed the kitchen door open, burst inside and then hollered.
“Stop right there! The police are on their way!”
Chapter Six
The bag of barbeque potato chips dropped out of Brian’s hand, hitting the edge of the marble counter and spilling onto the floor from the unexpected sound of a woman’s ear-piercing voice behind him.
Spinning around, Brian’s breath rushed from his body like he had been punched in the gut as his eyes landed on the owner of the voice. It was her! How was it possible she was standing not twenty feet from him?
It was the beautiful black woman dentist from his delivery route and she was holding a can of pepper spray. As Brian stood frozen he watched as her big brown eyes grew huge on her stunning face as she recognized him too.
Her thick black hair was pulled from her face in a loose bun at the back of her long, slender neck; however, a few strands of hairs had escaped and had fallen against her smooth caramel cheek.
Brian dropped his gaze giving his eyes a chance to skim over her body noticing how full her breasts were compared to her narrow waist. She was tall, maybe along five feet six inches, but he liked how her hips and thighs filled out the dark blue jeans that covered her long legs. She was slim but not to the point of being overly skinny.
But what he liked the most was how the corners of her full, tempting mouth turned upwards more than they turned down. The woman in front of him didn’t fit into the mode of any woman in his circle of friends and for some reason that was probably what had drawn him to her in the first place.
Why was she here? How did she even know Nash? Was his buddy cheating on Shauntie and she didn’t know about it? Brian had countless questions racing in his head that he needed answers to and this spunky woman could be the only person who could answer them for him.
“Why don’t you put the can of pepper spray away and tell me why the police are on their way?” Brian questioned in a soft, calm voice. He didn’t want to scare her into spraying either one of them accidentally.
“No. I’m not about to put this can down or answer any of your questions,” she snapped, eyeing him cautiously. “Don’t you dare come any closer to me; I’m not playing with you.”
Brian seriously doubted the woman in front of him who wasn’t anywhere close to his six feet five inches could physically harm him. The only problem that concerned him right now was she told him the police were on their way. Why had the police been called and why was she acting so scared of him? Did she think he was going to h
urt her? It wasn’t like they were strangers because he delivered mail to her office six days a week.
“Listen, I’m not going to hurt you.” Brian moved away from the counter and took a small step towards her.
He racked his brain to remember her last name. He knew that she was a dentist in the building, but with the situation going on around him his mind was coming up totally blank.
Brian had to give her credit. Despite the fact she showed recognition in her eyes, she wasn’t letting that keep her from pointing that can of pepper spray directly at his face. He could see in her eyes that she wouldn’t have a problem using it on him.
“Stop right there! I’m not going to warn you again. Stay right there!” She took a step back from him, but didn’t lower the can one inch.
How in the hell did he end up in this position? Nash was the person who pushed him to come out here to get away from all of the uncertainty in his life. Yet, here he was being held hostage by a woman he’d thought about asking out on a date not forty-five minutes ago when he was outside. Brian suddenly realized he would have to think of a different way to make her lower the spray because she wasn’t about to let him get any closer to her and grab it out of her hand.
“Miss...I know that you recognized me when you came through the door just like I knew who you are. We both know that because I deliver mail in your building. I think you’re a dentist. Am I right? Why don’t you tell me what you’re doing here? Maybe we can get this figured out before the police show up.”
“You’re right,” she answered. “You did look familiar to me when I walked through the kitchen door, but that doesn’t matter to me. It still doesn’t explain why you broke into Shauntie’s cottage.”
“You know Shauntie?” Brian couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice. Nash was cheating on Shauntie with a woman that she knew? He thought his buddy was so in love with Shauntie. Could it all be an act?
Hunks: Opposites Attract Page 4
