Smoldering Heart_Fleming Brothers [Book 1]

by Jennifer Vester

  “Gotcha, Dad. I think you’re avoiding the inevitable, but I’ll get right on that.”

  He gave me a serious look. “It’s going to happen when you least expect it. No purple. Or that wacky sea green shit on the walls when it does. Love you!”

  “Love you too,” I called over my shoulder.

  Walking out to my truck, I shook my head. The walls were going to remain unpainted for quite some time if the deal I struck with my dad was serious. He probably knew it too.

  Dating. Yeah, that wasn’t going to go well. I could try and pass my delivery guy off as a boyfriend, but he wouldn’t buy it.

  I crawled into the truck and sat there for a moment brainstorming.

  If I could just find a fake boyfriend for about a month, with absolutely no intention of taking it seriously, I could probably get the paint and possibly get him to agree to some new furniture.

  Dean was off the list. Momentarily, anyway.

  The problem with Dean was that everything he said felt like a sales pitch or a lecture. Possibly both.

  I couldn’t quite define why I didn’t particularly like him romantically. We'd grown up in the same town and had known each other for years.

  It just seemed like there was always an angle with him. We'd met for dinner a couple of times last year. Not something I'd told Rachel or dad about. I wanted to think of them as dinner dates with a friend. Unfortunately, Dean thought they were full blown dates. Which is why he'd asked multiple times afterward for a repeat.

  Avoiding him had been my best defense so far. I set boundaries, I ignored him.

  I wondered if a couple of dates would satisfy my dad. But I wasn’t sure I could survive five minutes in his company, much less an entire dinner.

  For some paint and possible new furniture, I might have to endure it.

  I could only fake the stomach flu and an emergency with the flower shop so many times before Dean would catch on, though. He wasn’t stupid, just not my type.

  I grimaced. Did I even have a type?

  With my lack of experience other than dating Jason, I wasn’t entirely sure that I did. Maybe I should wear a shirt that said “open for suggestions” but that would probably garner a few that I wasn’t ready for.

  I did miss Jason some days. Particularly in moments like these. It had been easy to fall in step with him when we met. He'd been good-looking and outgoing. He never knew a stranger and the man could talk for hours in any crowd. He hadn’t minded that I'd been shy in some ways, and I'd been content to let him shine for both of us.

  Things were different without him. I wasn’t that person anymore. I often wondered whether it was because he had died, or whether it was the natural growth in a person’s personality that happened over time.

  Either way, it sucked that he wasn’t around. Especially on days like today.

  Letting out a growl, I backed out of my dad’s drive, and headed to work with thoughts about the laborious task ahead.

  Not about work. Finding a date.

  Chapter Two

  ~Owen~

  “What are we doing here?”

  I eyed Noah, who looked like he would rather be carving a piece of wood with a butter knife, than sitting with me in a parked car on Main Street in Nolan Creek, Colorado.

  “We’re following a lead, asshat. Stop bitching. Besides, this place is nice. Do you remember spending a couple of weeks during the summer here when we were kids? It was great. Hiking, campfires. Grandpa used to let us play with a bow and arrow set until you broke it.”

  Noah gave me a frustrated look.

  “Seriously? You’re still bringing that up? It snapped because you were chasing Brock around their yard, trying to hit him with it all day. By the time I got it, the bow was already structurally compromised.”

  Technically, he was right. I had been chasing our brother Ian, who went by Brock these days, around the yard several times. The memories of our small vacations, spent with our grandparents, had always made me think fondly of this city.

  When I heard that my line of work might give me a chance to come back for a bit, I'd jumped at the chance. Then I'd called Noah. It wasn’t that I expected him to sit out by a campfire or go fishing with me, but it seemed like a good excuse to drag him out of Dallas, and his workaholic focus lately.

  I shrugged. “You broke it, man. Just fess up and admit it.”

  “That was over twenty years ago. How the hell do you even remember that shit?”

  I tapped my head with my finger. “I remember everything. I’m clearly smarter than you.”

  “I swear to God, if you weren’t my brother, I would throw you in the trunk and dump your body off a cliff.”

  “Yeah, well, good thing for me you owe me one for dealing with that pansy exec you had me guarding last month.”

  “You needed the work.”

  “Not that crap. The guy was a sleazebag. Did I tell you he had an eighteen-year-old in his car when he pulled up to that strip club the first night?”

  Noah rifled through some papers in a folder he had sitting in his lap.

  “Yeah, he wasn’t the nicest guy.”

  I gave him a look. “That is the biggest understatement I’ve heard in a while. The guy offered to let her strip for me.”

  “Thought you liked strippers.”

  “I’ve gone to a few strip bars, that doesn’t mean I like them necessarily. They’re nice to look at, then I go take a shower.”

  “This is something I don’t need to know, man.”

  “Hey, you brought it up. First the guy offers that. Then he offers a little something on the side. The kid was eighteen. Even if she was twenty-seven, that still wouldn’t make it right. I was an employee. The fact that she was eighteen, and he was whoring her out, was deplorable.”

  He looked over at me. “Big word for you.”

  “Fuck off,” I said, and shook my head.

  I scanned the street in front of the car, but the scene hadn’t changed. There was still an old man sitting in front of the local coffee house, and a woman window shopping as she pushed a baby stroller down the sidewalk. A few people would occasionally parallel park haphazardly before running into one of the other shops, and then leave.

  Basically, it was the same city, with the same lazy vibe that I remembered. Nothing had really changed. Some new buildings and a lot more people, but it still had the feel of an older city with a slow-paced lifestyle.

  It was so incredibly different than Dallas where it was always busy with people rushing from one place to another. It had been fun at first as a younger guy, but as the years passed, it grated on my nerves. The city of Nolan Creek wasn’t half bad to me. It felt like a breath of fresh air compared to the packed city of endless traffic, construction and noise that I lived in.

  I glanced back over at Noah and asked, “What’s all that?”

  “Well, since this is about all that happens when we’re on a wild goose chase, I thought I might get some other work in.”

  “This is the best part. The anticipation. The hunt.”

  He glanced through the window. “Right. Watching an old man pick his nose, and a bored housewife window shopping while she thinks of spending her husband’s money. Exciting. In fact, I think that old man was there the last time we came for a visit.”

  “You're a bitter man, Noah. She could have a nice job and she’s just on maternity leave or something, looking for baby clothes.”

  “Right. She has a nice ass, but I doubt she’s working it in any other way. Probably has the guy on a tight leash at home.”

  “Not everyone is like Lindsey.”

  He scribbled something on one of the documents in his folder.

  “Not up for discussion,” he mumbled. “Anyway, I have a client looking at some land up here. I was planning on passing it off, but since we were headed up here anyway, I thought I would take a look. After this is done, I’m retiring.”

  I laughed. “Right. We aren’t built for retirement. Although, you have enough money
to rest easy for the rest of your life. But, I predict after about a month of twiddling your thumbs, you’ll either be looking for something else, or you’ll be back with me. You like the chase, admit it. Gets that blood pumping.”

  He scribbled something down on the paper he was looking at. “I currently feel like I’m about two ticks away from the retirement home, the way my blood is not pumping at the moment.”

  I rolled my eyes and watched a petite brunette walking down the sidewalk.

  I nudged Noah with my elbow to get his attention.

  “Owen, what the hell. These are legal—”

  “Shut up. Look. You can’t tell me you don’t like looking at that chick. She’s just your type.”

  He looked up and through the window. “Pretty, but too young.”

  I let out a sigh but noticed that his eyes lingered a few minutes as he watched her head into the flower shop. He might say he wasn’t interested, but Noah definitely had a type he generally liked. Petite brunettes were always his Achilles heel.

  “Go talk to her, and you might feel some blood flow in that dead organ you call a dick.”

  He snorted. “Lindsey chopped it off and took it with her in the divorce. Believe me, after two years, I don’t miss it, or the complications.”

  “You know you look.”

  “Yeah, I look, Owen. And I get my rocks off with a few women that know the score sometimes. But I’m not going in there to talk to some girl that we meet on a stakeout. Jesus, you’re as bad as Andi.”

  I chuckled thinking about Andi.

  Our sister in-law wasn’t subtle when it came to our relationship status. She had commented several times that I needed someone to calm me down. In Noah’s case, he needed someone to lighten him up.

  I couldn’t have agreed more when it came to Noah.

  Me? I wasn’t exactly looking.

  I liked women. A wide variety of them. But I just hadn’t found that one woman that kept me interested enough. The type that my brother, Brock, had found. If I ever did, she'd have to deal with my career, and not just because it sounded cool. Long days, trips that could keep me away for a while.

  When I thought about it, it didn’t exactly seem like an ideal way to have a relationship. But that was the deal when it came to my job. A few women I'd dated hadn’t been able to handle it, which caused a lot of problems. The kind that had me wondering whether I would ever find a faithful woman.

  The perfect woman would wait for me to get home, be a great mother to the three boys I wanted to have and wouldn’t argue over anything. Perfect. Maybe a couple of arguments, then make-up sex. Whatever. Too bad none of them were ever like that.

  Andi was a saint in my mind even though she argued with Brock all the time. Putting up with my brother was no small feat. She was just a little off when she started suggesting that we settle down.

  After listening to Andi’s frequent lectures, we would proceed in either teasing her, or serving her one of our famous Fleming margaritas. Which normally either had her giggling and Brock threatening to kill us, or she would end up sleeping it off in her husband’s lap. Which would also end in death threats from Brock.

  She was sweet as hell, though, and the best thing that had happened to our family in a long time. So, we humored her. But Noah and I were nowhere near having a life that had time for relationships at the moment.

  Noah was a financier. A very busy man that looked out for his wealthy clients and was able to negotiate deals between investors and prospective sellers. He made a lot of money doing it, and I made a lot of money in investing in his business. But he sat in an office most of the time and crunched numbers. He was always predicting and planning according to what was on his plate.

  After his divorce with Lindsey, he'd mainly stuck his nose in work and rarely popped up for anything else. Unless Brock or I called and needed something. He was always willing to help his brothers.

  His background was diverse. At one point, we'd worked together doing some bodyguard jobs. He might have even gone into law enforcement of some type if he hadn’t gotten hurt on one of our assignments. He was willing to help me run down the occasional jackass that decided to skip bail sometimes. He said he didn’t like it, but I knew he secretly found it just as exciting as the old days.

  I had gone to college and graduated with a bachelor’s in business. Then got a job as a private investigator for a couple of years. But unlike Noah, I found a desk job just wasn’t the life I wanted or needed. I liked the adrenaline rush that I got from hunting criminals down. It was better than being a bodyguard, which paid well, but was generally for pricks that weren’t worth protecting.

  But as much as I liked what I did, it was wearing on me at this point. It wasn’t something I was willing to admit to anyone yet. I could feel it, though. Every time I put on my vest and strapped a on my gun. I wanted something else, but whatever that was, had been elusive so far. I was getting tired of this life. Constantly on my toes, barely at home. It was a solitary occupation and one that had made me happy for many years. It just wasn’t enough in a lot of ways.

  “I think Andi just wants to have some female backup when she starts busting our balls. However, as your brother, I would like to point out that pulling your face out of your computer and paperwork from time to time is healthy.”

  “Got it,” he mumbled, while still writing in his folder.

  “This is healthy. Manly stuff.”

  “Ridiculously boring. I may have to go back to the hotel to fax some things.”

  I gave him a look. “You’re here helping me. What? You don’t want to see me in action?”

  Noah sighed, and pinched his nose. “I don’t have a license to help you. The only thing I’m doing is keeping you company for a while. And since I’ve been on a stakeout or two with you in this manly pursuit of caveman activity, I don’t mind. However, will you shut up for about ten minutes, so I can work through some of this contract?”

  I heard a groaning sound from the back seat.

  “You guys are fucked,” a deep voice said.

  “Ahh, he’s finally awake,” Noah said. “This should be fun.”

  I looked up in the rearview mirror and saw our other guest in the car glaring back at me through the mesh partition. I'd installed the mesh several years ago after a nasty altercation with a fugitive recovery operation. One in which I was nearly knocked unconscious and choked to death by my skip when I had put him in the back seat. He'd been one of the toughest guys to track down for good reason. Tough, intelligent and on the edge of insanity.

  The mesh helped keep me and my occupant safe now.

  “What’s wrong, Russell? Feeling like your accommodations aren't quite up to par with the Holiday Inn? You know, you could make this a lot easier if you just give that cousin of yours up and let us know where he’s at today.”

  “Fuck you. I’m reporting you both for abuse.”

  I looked at the black mark around Russell’s left eye. Hopefully they would still process his ass and take him to jail, but some institutions were a little leery of legal liability when it came to admitting roughed up bail skippers.

  “You fell down the stairs, Russ. Not my fault you were drunk and decided to run.”

  “They always run,” Noah mumbled beside me.

  “I was pushed!” Russ yelled while he kicked the back of the seat slightly.

  It didn’t affect me much. They could get as rowdy as they wanted to back there, but they weren’t going anywhere. Having been in the business for a few years, I was used to the shit that spewed out of their mouths, and the things they tried to do.

  “You fell down the stairs trying to escape, Russ. If you'd just followed the rules on your bail, we wouldn’t be here. You aren’t my problem after today, so complain all you want but you’re headed to jail.”

  Russell’s face contorted until it was red. “You motherfuckers are dead, man. I know people that will fuck your world.”

  I flicked my eyes away from the mirror like I didn’t
give a shit. Because I really didn’t.

  “If you let me know where your cousin is, I might tell the officers on your case. But right now, I’m thinking of sending you a few perfumed love letters with pictures of dicks while you’re resting up in jail. So, either shut the fuck up or I have a feeling your world will be fucked, literally, when you get to lockup.”

  Noah rolled his eyes beside me.

  He’d been with me on one other assignment that involved two fugitives. Which was another reason why I'd asked him to come with me on this one. He might not be licensed to do anything, but he wouldn’t hesitate to put one of these idiots down if things got out of hand.

  Picking up two skips at the same time was tricky as hell, but just the kind of challenge I liked.

  “Fuck you!” Russell screamed again.

  I chuckled. “Dear Russ, I miss your dick. Here’s a few pictures that you can remember me by. Have you found a new boyfriend in jail?”

  I looked in the rearview mirror again and saw the sleaze fuming, but quiet. He smelled like puke and alcohol at the moment, and I wanted him out of my vehicle as quick as possible. But his cousin had skipped on his bail at the same time and bringing them both in would give me a big payment.

  “Is this your guy?” Noah asked, and nodded toward the sidewalk.

  A block away there was a man in a blue t-shirt and leather jacket slowly walking toward us, eyes scanning left to right.

  We knew who he was looking for. Dear old Russell in the backseat.

  Unfortunately, Russell’s drunk ass hadn’t made it out of bed this morning before I'd surprised him. Even in his inebriated state, he'd managed to get around me to the door and run screaming down the hallway in his underwear. Luckily, he was out of it enough that he didn’t get far, and I caught up with him before he got to a set of stairs.

  I smirked. He wasn’t pushed necessarily. It wasn’t my fault that I ran into him.

  “Yeah, that’s Darren.”

  “He looks a lot more sober, Owen. Sure you don’t want to call in the cops on this one? He’s probably packing.”

  I thought about it for a moment, but the more I looked at Darren, the more I was convinced I could take him. He looked sober, but of the two, Darren had a smaller build. I'd been told that he was a lot more passive than Russell.