Hot and Handy: A Small Town Romantic Suspense (Shameless Southern Nights Book 3)

by J. H. Croix

  Sonny and Evan knew as much as I did, which was good enough for me. I couldn’t stand the thought of having a threat out there to Emery and having them hide it from me.

  I promised them I could handle knowing more, and I could. Plus, I’d never had anyone to lean on before. Having Evan to lean on, to use as a sounding board, was a novel experience for me. A great one, though Lori might’ve objected to the usage of the word.

  Evan and I had talked about the investigation. We speculated about what could be going on, and he listened when I raised my concerns.

  Lori gushed about Evan after grilling me for every detail, many of which I kept vague. “You’re so lucky you met a guy like Evan. Especially because Emery adores him too.”

  “It’s been good for her having him around,” I agreed. “I’ve noticed little things she’s been doing differently. He’s definitely been a good influence on her.”

  She nodded. “I think it’s going to be good for her. It gives her a different experience than having to put up with only the two of us for company at home.”

  I clinked my cup against hers. “Hey, we’re kick-ass women.”

  “Yeah, but can you imagine having to put up with us all the time?” she joked. “Let’s face it, having a man around puts a different spin on things.”

  “Fewer hormones,” I mused.

  Lori chuckled. “Exactly.”

  “So.” I sipped my coffee when there wasn’t so much steam rising from it anymore. “What about you? What’s happening with you? How’s Paulo?”

  She grimaced and pulled a finger across her throat. “Thank heavens that relationship didn’t last.”

  “Why?” I furrowed my brow. “Last I heard, he was amazing.”

  “He also had an amazing addiction to porn,” she said. “That boy has issues he needs to work through. We ended things weeks ago. I just haven’t had a chance to tell you. There’s a new guy on the scene now.”

  “You work fast,” I teased, knowing how terribly picky Lori was about men. “Who’s the new guy?”

  “I met him at a coffee shop in Savannah I blog in every now and then,” she explained.

  I cocked my head to the side. “Okay, and…?”

  A dreamy look to rival mine entered her eyes. “We’ve got so much in common. He’s been wonderful so far. We’ve only been dating two weeks, but I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”

  “Fingers crossed,” I told her. We chatted for a while longer. The new guy’s name was Parker, and he had some kind of computer-related career. He wore thick, black-rimmed glasses and, according to Lori, had dreamy blue eyes.

  Midsip, I caught the time on my watch, and my eyes widened. “Shit. I’m so sorry, but I have to get to work. I didn’t realize it was so late.”

  Lori glanced at her watch too and scrambled to her feet. “I lost track of time too. I have a meeting starting in ten minutes.”

  With a fleeting hug, we said goodbye and went our separate ways. Driving to the diner, I didn’t feel the usual gloom I felt going there. Not even the thought of the terrible shoes I was going to have put on when I arrived for my shift really bothered me that much.

  My boss was still a jerk. In fact, when I arrived, he glowered at me though I’d made it with four minutes to spare before my shift. Slipping into the staff changing rooms at the back, I put on my uniform and lifted my hair out from under my collar, attaching my name badge as the bell signaling the start of my shift sounded.

  As obnoxious as my boss was and would remain, I didn’t mind having to come in to work shifts at the diner so much anymore. I never realized how exhausted I was by simply the prospect of having to go to my second job from here.

  Having done it for so long, I’d thought carrying that kind of weight on my shoulders was natural. Without having to worry about going to a second job, I could finally tell how much better I felt.

  I didn’t use to have the energy for anything. I would arrive at the diner, force my smile, and get to work, ready to drop by the time I left. It didn’t quite feel that way anymore. The diner wasn’t my dream job, but knowing I would get to go back to Evan’s place when I was done to spend time with the two great loves of my life made even the diner and Mr. Ray seem tolerable.

  Since Emery had been a baby, I’d worked two jobs. I didn’t remember what it felt like not to work so much. All I knew was that for once, I could savor a sense of freedom. This was a huge change for me, but it was one I embraced.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Evan

  “How’s the domesticated life going, little brother?” Beau asked, walking up to me in the parking lot of the diner where Sadie worked. It was lunchtime, and the sun was high in the sky. Beau shielded his eyes with his hand, smirking as he jogged up the three steps to me.

  “Surprisingly, I like it.” Being so honest was begging to be teased about this, but I was too happy to give a damn.

  He cocked his head and narrowed his eyes curiously. “Really?”

  “Really.” No one was more surprised about it than I was. Even Emery proved easier to get used to than I’d expected. “I think you’d like it.”

  “Do you now?” Amusement lifted his lips. “Too bad I’m not interested. Are we gonna get some food or what?”

  I nodded, pushing through the single glass door leading into the diner. Sadie heard the jingling of the bell above it and turned around, her pencil poised above a notepad as she stood at a table near the door.

  She flashed us a smile and jerked her head to the side, a gesture to show me which section was hers today before she went back to taking the order of the young family in front of her. I couldn’t take my eyes off her as we walked past.

  As usual, she grinned at her customers and engaged with the kids. Beau bumped his shoulder against mine. “Fuck. Could you be any more whipped? You live with the woman. You probably saw her this morning.”

  “Yeah,” I told him, shrugging. “But she’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

  He chuckled, sighing in defeat. “She is.”

  We chose a booth in the corner of the diner in case we ended up talking about all the stuff going on with our dad. It was becoming an unspoken agreement among us all, a habit we’d fallen into without realizing we were doing it.

  Sadie came over to our table when she was done, carrying two menus and setting them down in front of us. Quickly scanning her surroundings, she winked at me when she saw the manager wasn’t watching her and bent at the waist to press a kiss to my lips.

  It was over before it even started and left me wanting so much more. “What will it be today, guys? It’s nice to see you here, Beau. Just, uh, don’t expect too much from the food.”

  The corners of Beau’s lips turned down. “No gourmet here?”

  Sadie raised her eyebrows, pulling them together. “Unless they’ve changed the definition of gourmet recently, no.”

  He picked up the menu and flipped through the pages, pausing when he got to the burgers. “You can’t go wrong with a burger, right? I guess I’ll have the bacon cheeseburger.”

  Sadie gave him a look and a smug smile. “Good choice. It’s one of our cook’s self-proclaimed specialties.”

  “In that case,” I said, “better make it two. I don’t think I’ve had that here yet.”

  She smiled at me. “You haven’t, but I think you’re going to like it.”

  With a stern look at both of us, she added. “Don’t like it too much. I’m pretty sure arteries get clogged by being near that burger.”

  Beau made a fist and tapped it against his heart. “My ticker’s strong as an ox.”

  “It’s one flaw we don’t have in our genes, heart disease,” I joked. Beau laughed and agreed with me while Sadie shook her head.

  “Your genes aren’t flawed,” she said insistently.

  Beau pressed his lips together to keep from smiling. “No, only our Dad is.”

  She snorted but then spotted one of her other customer’s hands shoot up into the air and rushed off to deal wi
th them. Beau’s eyes flicked to a point behind my shoulder, and his entire demeanor changed. His expression turned into a scowl, and his chin dropped defensively as he ground his teeth. “Speaking of Dad, look what the cat dragged in.”

  I turned in my seat, staying low on instinct. I heard the bell above the door ring to signal the arrival of new customers at the same time I recognized Ken and Stan walking in.

  My heart rate kicked into overdrive. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What the fuck are they doing here?”

  Beau’s eyes turned into slits. “They keep popping up at our workplaces. Maybe this time they decided it was time to see if we were more talkative while we were eating.”

  “It doesn’t look they’ve seen us yet,” I commented, watching as both of them zeroed their gazes in on Sadie. The hair on the back of my neck rose. The urge to get up and form a physical shield between them and her was almost irresistible.

  Beau inclined his head. “You might be right. A benefit of being in the corner. I don’t think they know we’re here.”

  “My truck’s parked right outside. They’ve got to know it because they’ve both been to the garage. They might not have seen us yet, but they know we’re here.”

  Beau shrugged. “It could be. If you’re right, I’m assuming they’ve come in while you’re here to make it clear they know where Sadie works and how to get to her.”

  My jaw turned to stone. “That’s exactly what I think they’re doing. Fuckers.”

  Bringing my hands together, I cracked my knuckles. I was over this passive aggressive intimidation and threat technique they were using. If it was a fight they wanted, I would damn well give them one.

  Beau’s eyes turned wary. He knew me well enough to know the signs of when that part of me roused. Many times, he’d been the brother there with me when I got into fights after Mom died. He’d pulled me off of more than one adversary.

  “Calm down, Ev,” he warned, his voice low and hard. “You don’t want to start a major fight, not in public.”

  I managed to nod. As much as I wanted to haul off on both of them, I wasn’t so far gone with my temper that I wasn’t thinking rationally anymore. “You’re right. Let’s eat first.”

  “Evan,” Beau growled. Another warning. “Let’s just eat, not eat first.”

  “I’m not making any promises.” These men were working on my last fucking nerve. For weeks, they’d been following us all. They showed up whenever and wherever they wanted, made their vague threats, and then fucked off again.

  If they were showing up to shoot the shit with Beau and me, it would be one thing. They weren’t, though. Ken had cornered Sadie more than once, and he and Stan had approached her together last week. Add to that Ken’s threats that had fooled me into breaking up with her and I’d had it with them.

  We’d sat back and let them do their thing without standing up for ourselves for too damned long. It would end today.

  Sadie delivered our burgers along with the sodas they came with. True to her word, the burgers looked delicious.

  “Here you go,” she said, setting our food down. Casting a look over her shoulder, she made it clear she’d seen Ken and Stan. “Do you think I should get the cook to spit in their food?”

  Beau hooted out a laugh and then stuffed his fist in his mouth to stifle it. “Could you pull that off?”

  A smug smile played on her lips. “For the first time, I have the home ground advantage. As long as I speak to the cook without the manager around, I could probably make it happen.”

  “Please do,” Beau begged, a rare gleam of mischief lighting up his eyes. “Do me a favor, though, and take pictures as it happens. You never know when the urge might strike to show them.”

  “You got it.” She smirked, blowing me a kiss before she sashayed away to pick up another order. Beau and I wolfed down our food, which was worth the extra few points in cholesterol we probably scored.

  By the time we were done, the lunch rush was well and truly underway. Sadie dropped our check on the table but hurried off again. Her section was slammed with people.

  Beau and I paid and then waited for Ken and Stan to follow us out. My brother wasn’t crazy about the plan to wait for them so I could confront them, but he insisted on waiting with me regardless.

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve had to get your back this way,” he muttered when we finally headed out. Flanking my left side, he fell into step beside me in much the same way he use to back when we were teenagers.

  “I’ve had enough of their bullshit, haven’t you?”

  “I had enough of this bullshit the first day I heard Ken Lyons’ fucking name. It still doesn’t mean we should get in a fight in the parking lot.” He had a good point, but I wasn’t backing off. Solving problems with my fist wasn’t something I did anymore.

  After the accident, I’d put that version of myself firmly behind me. I was known for my level-headed calmness since then, but these assholes were making a mistake by going after Sadie. “We’re not going out to fight. We’re only going out to confront them. If a fight happens to break out, we’ve got plenty of witnesses to their continued harassment over the last couple of months. Even the fucking police know.”

  “You’ve been spending too much time with Sonny,” Beau said with a sighed, but he never left my side.

  Stan spotted us behind them first, turning to face us with a smirk on his ugly face. “Gentlemen. What a surprise. Fancy seeing you here.”

  “Yeah, imagine the odds,” I retorted sarcastically. Beau was tense beside me, but he didn’t say a word.

  Ken gave us a flash of his pearly whites, sneering. “Was there something we could help you boys with?”

  “How about you start with leaving us, our family, and everyone we’ve ever so much as looked at in this town the fuck alone?”

  Ken scoffed. “Is that all?”

  “It would be a good start,” I told him, watching his reactions carefully. Redness crept out from under the collar of his shirt and up his neck.

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that.” He sighed, badly feigning an apologetic expression. “I’ve told you a few times and I’ll tell you again, Lovett. I’ll get what I want. I tried to warn you about involving your pretty little lady friend inside, but you couldn’t stay away, could you?”

  “I don’t blame you,” Stan added. “She’s a hot piece, and I—”

  “Shut the fuck up,” I snapped at him. The iron grip I usually had on my self-control was starting to come undone. Fast. It seemed to be happening a lot again these days, especially after years of being so solid, it had practically rusted in its place.

  Ken smirked. “Or what, Lovett? What are you going to do if we don’t?”

  Before I could stop them, my feet were carrying me toward him. My fists were clenched, and one was raised to take a swing at him. At the very last minute, arms banded around me. A familiar, strong grip held me back. “Get the fuck off me, Beau.”

  “No,” he bit out, dragging me back.

  My breath came hard and fast, my chest heaving. Fury ran hot through my veins, making me burning up with unshed anger and frustration.

  Ken laughed when I was a safe distance away from him, his bravado back now that he wasn’t staring down the barrel of getting his face bashed in. He was still pale from my approach, but he pretended not to have a care in the world.

  Stan stood next to him, his gaze boring into me. Except for that, though, he looked almost bored. Whatever this guy did for a living, I shuddered to think of what it would take to rattle him.

  Ken took a last shot at me before they turned around to walk away. “There’s one surefire way to get me to leave your family alone, Lovett. Give me my fucking money.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sadie

  “Your boy almost punched a guy in the parking lot a couple of minutes ago,” Gloria, another waitress on my shift, told me.

  We were swamped for lunch, and both of us were huddled around the serving hatch waiting on
orders. They were coming out fast and hot but not ours yet. We ducked as a temp who worked the lunch shift every day collected her orders.

  The diner was hot, and it felt like the oil from the fryer was stuck to my skin. And perhaps clogging my ears. I turned to Gloria, frowning. “What?”

  A bubble was blown between her red lips before she pulled it into her mouth and popped it, nodding enthusiastically. “Evan Lovett and his brother. Evan’s your man, right?”

  “Yes.” Evan fighting in the parking lot? It didn’t sound like him, but then again, Stan and Ken had come into the diner while Evan and Beau were having lunch. If anyone was going to drive him back to his old ways, it would be either of those two.

  Gloria lifted her penciled eyebrows. “Okay then, he and his brother nearly came to blows with two older dudes outside. I watched it go down on my smoke break.”

  One of my orders got slammed down in the hatch, and I collected the plate, giving Gloria a tight smile before I went to deliver it. Worry gnawed at my insides. I checked my phone, but there were no messages from Evan.

  If it were up to me, I would’ve run out of the diner as fast as my feet could carry me. I needed to make sure he was okay. Gloria said they almost got in a fight, so I was assuming there were no actual punches thrown, but I still had the urge to check.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t up to me, and my manager definitely wasn’t going to let me go early today. The only thing I could do was to settle for sending him a text.

  Are you okay? Coworker told me you almost got in a fight.

  Thankfully, it didn’t take long for the dots on my screen to tell me he was typing a reply.

  I’m fine. Almost is the operative word. Don’t worry. I’ll explain everything when you get home.

  Home. Sharing a place we both called home seemed… surreal. Every morning when I woke up, I was afraid I’d been dreaming it all. It was a work in progress getting Emery settled, but so far, she was loving her new home. So was I. Right now, it was the only place I wanted to be. Learning about the almost-fight made me yearn to be home with Evan and Emery where we were all safe from those threatening to hurt us.