by Laurie Roma
No, that decision had been made the second he’d been forced to take a life.
For as long as he could remember, he’d wanted to heal people. Dare had taken an oath when he had become a doctor, but doing no harm wasn’t always possible when facing war. Still, he had done his best to fulfill his pledge whenever he could. He had been in firefights before. It was an inevitable reality of combat to draw one’s weapon, and it had never bothered him that much when it was kill or be killed, fighting side by side with his friends and fellow soldiers.
That was until he had come face to face with the terrorist leader who had been fleeing the scene of the third bombing.
The taskforce had discovered the third target of the terrorist group, and had converged on the location in time to evacuate the people inside the church before the bomb could go off. Dare had stayed back in a van filled with medical supplies in case he was needed when he’d seen the leader they had been searching for fleeing the scene. With all the other agents occupied, Dare had chased after the terrorist, and had been forced to take him out.
During his time in the Army, Dare had never had to kill someone while looking them dead in the eye. He had returned fire at a nameless, faceless enemy when fired upon, but this...damn, this had been completely different. The fanatical leader had been carrying a remote trigger for the bomb and had been prepared to use it, forcing Dare to kill him. He knew he had done what he’d needed to. Countless of lives would have been lost if he hadn’t killed the man, but watching the light of life leave the other man’s eyes—knowing he was the one who had taken that life—had done something to Dare.
How the fuck was he supposed to tell people that sight of blood now made him sick?
Dare was a doctor for Christ’s sake. Having an aversion to seeing blood was something he couldn’t afford to deal with, and frankly, it was embarrassing as hell. He knew it was a mental block—one that he would eventually get over as soon as he came to terms with what he had done—but he wasn’t there yet. He needed time. Time to allow himself to heal and clear his mind of the fatigue that had been plaguing him.
Time to figure out what the hell to do now that he no longer wanted to be a soldier.
Following the directions Hammer had given him, Dare rode his bike further from town into the quiet of the countryside. While the rest of the country was dealing with fickle weather conditions, spring had come full force to Breakers, Texas, making the evening drive pleasant.
It was like entering into a different world as Dare turned his bike onto the long road that led toward the Beaumont estate. Tall trees lined the paved driveway, and the large expanse of manicured lawn made Dare absently wonder what poor bastard took care of so much damn land.
Off in the distance he could see a large barn the size of a warehouse sitting on one side of a big pond that glittered in the red and gold rays of the setting sun. There was a massive residence made of stone and glass on the other side of the pond that gleamed in the sunlight, looking like something right out of a fairytale. But what had Dare slowing down was the sight of the large white plantation house he was approaching.
Columns lined the large front porch of both the second and main floors of the buildings, making it look like he had stepped back in time to the grand old south. From the description he’d been given, Dare knew this was the residence that Hammer’s cousin had grown up in. He couldn’t help but wonder why she had given up living in the impressive house in order to use it as a boarding house. Still, he was glad that she had, whatever her reasoning. The quiet atmosphere immediately appealed to him as he pulled into the small parking lot off to the side of the house.
Maybe he would finally be able to get some rest and relax a little.
Dare parked his bike next to another Harley and took a moment to admire the sleek beast. He also noticed there was a large medically equipped van parked in the lot along with a few big trucks. All but swaying with fatigue, he got off his bike. The last few hours had taken on a surreal feeling that only happened when he finally hit the wall. The drive had felt like he was maneuvering through a video game or something, and he was damn lucky he’d arrived before he crashed.
Fuck, at thirty-four he was getting too old for this shit. As a doctor, he was used to sleep deprivation, but knew he had pushed his system to its limits. It had been foolish to drive while in this condition. He knew it, and was now looking forward to getting some rest. Maybe a week’s worth if he was lucky. Yeah, he’d feel better if he could sleep for a week, surrounded by nothing but peace and quiet.
Shaking off the fatigue for a few more minutes, he unlatched his saddlebag from the back of his bike. He hefted it onto one shoulder, then readjusted as it smacked up against his backpack already secured on his back. Striding toward the building, he looked up and skidded to a halt as the front door to the plantation house opened and a vision walked out.
Sweet Jesus, she was absolutely stunning.
Her long blonde hair shimmered to burnished gold in the fading sunlight. She was tall, around five-eight if his gauge was accurate, and had a face of such classic beauty that it belonged on the covers of magazines. She was dressed in dark jeans with a cream-colored cardigan over a matching undershirt that showed some of the tanned skin of her stomach. Something about seeing that small strip of flesh had Dare’s blood heating and the muscles of his body tensing.
Sure, he loved seeing scantily clad women as much as the next guy, like those women in the gym earlier. He was a man after all. But there was something about the classy blonde standing before him in that stupid sweater set that stirred his interest in a way that hadn’t happened in longer than he could remember. Dare let his gaze drift up and felt a visceral reaction as his eyes met the clear blue of hers as she moved closer.
“Hello, welcome to the Beaumont Boarding House. You must be Dr. Nyght.”
All he could do was blink at the vision standing in front of him and try to remember how to speak. All the blood in his body seemed to have drained straight down to his dick, making it almost impossible for him to think. She had an almost regal bearing as she stood there staring down at him. God, she was the type of woman men went down on their knees for…the kind they dreamed about.
She was one beautiful fucking woman.
Evelyn Beaumont stood on the porch looking down at the man standing at the bottom of the front stairs, waiting for him to say something. He looked like the sort of dangerous guy she would have loved to have let her cousin check into the bordering house, but Hunter was currently at Ink This, the local tattoo parlor where he worked part-time. No matter how scruffy he looked, this man was one of her cousin’s best friends, and she would welcome him to the haven she had created.
God knew he looked like he needed it.
Evie could see the fatigue heavily lining his face, and everything in her responded to the pain she noticed in his piercing dark-gray eyes. Something about him made her want to go to him, to reach out and soothe him. She wanted to tell him that he could heal here, and help him find some peace. But as a woman who ran a rescue center working with feral dogs, she knew enough to keep her distance.
This man wasn’t tamed.
She eyed him warily from the top of the stairs when he remained silent. “Are you okay?”
Dare shook his head as if trying to rattle some sense into his damn head and braced his hand on the railing on the side of the front steps. For a second he had thought he’d imagined the woman before him, but quickly realized that she wasn’t just some dream come to life. She was real…and standing there looking at him like he was fucking crazy.
Maybe he was.
Damn, he really needed to get some sleep.
“Sorry, what? I am. Dr. Nyght, that is. I mean, Daryk Nyght.” Someone needed to shoot him to get him to stop talking, because clearly he couldn’t be trusted forming sentences at the moment. She smiled at him, and Dare was damn glad he was leaning on the railing.
“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Nyght. I’m Hammer’s cousin, Evel
yn Beaumont, but please call me Evie.”
“Dare.”
Her smile faltered. “Excuse me?”
“My name. Just call me Dare.”
“Okay, Dare. Welcome to the Beaumont Boarding House. Come on in.” She gestured to the open front door and Dare took a strengthening breath before he climbed the stairs and came to a stop next to her. Christ, she smelled like peaches. Ripe, juicy peaches. When he’d been overseas he used to dream of peaches plucked fresh from a tree, still warm from the sun’s rays.
It was a particular weakness of his.
Despite his current difficulties functioning, he still had enough wits about him to motion her inside before following her into the house. Manners had been far too engrained in him from a young age for him to act any differently. He breathed her scent in as he closed the door and followed her through the foyer, down a hall into the large kitchen. He tried to keep his distance so he wouldn’t make her nervous being in the house with a strange man she didn’t know.
A frown settled over his face. She didn’t know him. What the hell was she doing walking inside with him where they were alone? He could be—
Dare’s thoughts came to a screeching halt when he realized that she had been speaking to him again, and was now looking at him with that wary expression again as she moved to stand on the other side of the marble island in the center of the kitchen. Christ, he really was a mess. “I’m sorry…what were you saying?”
“The setup is pretty simple here. Each bedroom has its own bathroom, but the rest of the house is shared space. There is an entertainment area on the main floor with a pool table and a large TV, and there’s a gym in the basement. We usually offer baked goods in the kitchen, but meals are basically up to you. Everyone is pretty respectful of other people’s stuff, but if you have food you don’t want to share, be sure to mark it.”
Evie gestured toward a hallway off the kitchen. “My cousin Hunter lives in the apartment down that hall, but if he isn’t around you can just ask one of us. All of our phone numbers are listed here by the phone. My uncle Tony and his wife Maddy usually stop by every Monday and Friday to check on things, but they’re on vacation right now. You know Hammer’s mother, Madeline, right? Anyways, they’ll be back in a few weeks, but my cousins and I live right down the road, just passed the rescue center if you need anything.”
Dare scowled before he could stop himself. “Rescue center? As in barking dogs?”
He knew he’d made a grave error as soon as those beautiful blue eyes iced over. He belatedly remembered seeing the big barn down the road, and also recalled what he had heard about her the last time he’d come to Breakers. Evie had been out of town, but he’d met her cousins, Beckett, Francesca and Hunter—who were also Hammer’s step-siblings—and they had spoken of the rescue center where they all worked part-time. The rescue center was Evie’s pride and joy…and he had just insulted it.
Damn it, why couldn’t he fucking think before he spoke?
Evie regarded him coolly. “The Beaumont Rescue Center is far enough that you shouldn’t be disturbed by the noise.”
“I’m sure it is. I like dogs. Really, I like all animals.” Rubbing a hand over his face, he sighed. “Sorry, I haven’t slept in…hell, I don’t know. I’m not usually this…”
Fucked up.
Evie’s face softened and her eyes warmed with sympathy again. She picked up a set of keys from the counter and handed them to him. “I’ll let you get settled in. You’re in room ten. It’s a corner room on the second floor.” She hesitated for a moment before saying, “There’s a family style meal in a few days over at my house. It’s nothing big…just a barbeque, but we try to do something on Sundays with the family and the workers from the center. Feel free to stop by if you’re feeling up to it.”
She opened the door before he could say anything, and with a cheerful wave, she walked out onto the back patio, shutting the door in his face. Without thinking, he found himself moving to a nearby window, watching as she got into a golf cart. He stood there as she headed across the manicure lawn towards the stone and glass manor down the road.
The princess in the glass tower, he thought as he watched her leave, then shook his head at the fanciful thought. Sweet Jesus, he really needed sleep. With that in mind, he turned from the window and left the kitchen, making his way back to the front of the house. He climbed the grand staircase, absently admiring open space of the large foyer until he reached the second floor.
He turned down the hall, then had to backtrack and go the other way until he reached his room. Using the key, he let himself in, then simply dropped his bags on the floor after he shut the door and locked it. Not even taking the time to look around the well-appointed room, he sat down on the bed and leaned over to remove his boots, almost falling over in the process.
Damn, was he in sorry shape.
Exploring would have to wait. Dare let out a long sigh as he lay back on the bed, and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.
Chapter Two
Dare woke up on Monday morning feeling more rested than he had in months. He’d slept the entire weekend away, only waking long enough to piss and stumble downstairs to the kitchen to forage for something to eat.
On Saturday, he woke briefly after the sun had already gone down. To his relief and gratitude, some benevolent soul had left large muffins under a glass dome on the kitchen counter and a few containers of soup in the refrigerator as welcome gifts. By the short note left on the counter he’d highly doubted the food had been left by Hunter, so Dare assumed that the princess of the manor had been the one to take pity on him and leave him the provisions.
Bless her soul.
To his extreme regret, a pie pan with barely a few crumbs sitting on the bottom was left on the counter next to the muffins. It was as if the empty pan had been left there to taunt him, and he couldn’t resist sticking his finger into the meager amount of filling left on the side. Damn, it had been apple pie and that small amount hinted at how damn delicious it had been.
He loved pie.
Lamenting the missing treat, Dare ate the homemade minestrone soup right out of the container as he stood at the counter, barely taking time between bites to breathe. The kitchen was a wide-open space, with a large center island set in the middle of the room. The wooden cabinets were painted white, and were accented by silver hardware that matched the black marble countertop that was shot through with veins of silver into the stone. The granite flooring was a lighter gray that went well with the stainless steel appliances. Overall, it was a welcoming room that Dare liked even better since there was food there he hadn’t had to make for himself.
After practically inhaling two blueberry muffins, Dare had finally realized he had been acting like a starving animal, but couldn’t bring himself to care much. It would have been a different story if someone had been there to witness his behavior, but since he was alone he had just shrugged, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then trotted off back to bed.
Sunday was pretty much a repeat with him waking well past sunset, clearly having missed the barbeque at Evie’s place. He roused himself enough to unpack a little, then jumped in the shower and took the time to shave his beard off before heading downstairs to the kitchen.
He’d taken a little time to notice his surroundings this time, since he had been too tired the previous day. The plantation house was beautiful, and it made him chuckle when he saw the sturdy furniture that he was sure had been chosen for the comfort of the large ex-military men that stayed there.
He’d scowled when he saw another empty pie pan on the kitchen counter. From the look of it, this time it had been blueberry. Silently cursing the pie thief, he’d opened the refrigerator door to see someone had restocked it with more soup. He took out a container at random, and after opening the top, sighed in appreciation as he took a sample of the chicken noodle soup. Again, he ate the entire container leaning back against the counter. The quiet of the house soothed him, and after eating
a muffin and several cookies, he had gone back to his room and passed out again.
Now that he was rested, he felt more like himself. Standing at the window of his bedroom, he looked out over the expanse of the Beaumont property. His room faced the large pond and he thought about taking a run to stretch out muscles that were stiff from disuse. He changed into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, then left his room to head downstairs. The scent of coffee had him following his nose to the kitchen where he found Hunter Savante sitting at the breakfast nook, sipping from a large mug.
Hunter was Hammer’s stepbrother, although they had been friends long before they had been family. Since Hunter’s father Tony had married Hammer’s mother Madeline a few years ago, they had formed a large, boisterous family. Dare had met Hunter a few times over the years, and he liked the taciturn man a great deal. Hunter was an ex-Navy SEAL that had been burned in an explosion during a mission overseas. He had thick burn scars that covered most of the left side of his body, but Dare knew better than most that the worst of Hunter’s scars were internal.
Just like his own were.
Hunter looked up as Dare walked in. “Nice to see you’re alive. I thought I’d have to check on you today to see if you were still breathing if you didn’t come down.”
Dare simply grunted as he poured himself his own mug of coffee. Taking his mug with him, he moved to sit down across from Hunter at the table, then drank down half his coffee while he simply eyed the man sitting across the table.
Hunter’s eyebrow rose. “What?”
“It’s you, isn’t it? You’re the pie thief?”
A slow smile spread across Hunter’s face. “You snooze, you lose, buddy. I didn’t know when you were going to get up…or if you were still alive. I couldn’t just let it go to waste. And it was damn good pie.”
