When I pull into the parking lot there’s only one other vehicle sitting there. It’s an old, beat-up Dodge Ram. I almost laugh out loud. A vehicle like that fits the country bumpkin stereotype like a glove. Then I have a brief moment of panic and wonder if it’s safe to park my BMW in the dirt lot. I remind myself where I am. Who is going to mess with it in the middle of the day? A stray deer from the woods out back? The only thing I probably have to worry about is it getting dusty.
I take a deep breath. I have to be thankful there’s no manure smell yet. The quicker you do this, I remind myself, the quicker you can get back to the lovely asphalt jungle you call home.
I’m hit with a gust of wind as soon as I get out of my car. How is it possible that Old Town is even windier than lower Manhattan? I didn’t think I’d ever find a place windier than Wall Street. Even the Windy City didn’t seem this windy when I had business in Chicago.
When I enter the bar, I try to smooth down my thick hair, which I know is probably a complete mess from the gust. I’m surprised by the homey feel of the place. How could someone like me possibly feel at home in a country bar? Even if I was wearing jeans and cowboy boots, if I even owned jeans and cowboy boots, I wouldn’t fit in at a place like this.
I hear someone clear his throat and I turn to see a guy about my age, mid-twenties, standing next to me. I can’t help my surprise when I see he’s wearing khakis and a polo shirt, like he just stepped off of a golf course. He looks as out of place in this country bar as I feel.
“Are you Jake Wilde?” I ask.
The guy gives me the faintest hint of a smile but it’s almost as if it pains him to give that much. His deep brown eyes look even more distressed and I can’t help but wonder what’s behind those sad eyes.
He rakes his fingers through his thick dark hair. “A little windy out, isn’t it?”
My hand automatically goes to my hair and I try to casually flatten it down again. I imagine I must look like I just stepped out of a wind tunnel.
“Your hair looks fine,” the guy tries to assure me. But he’s got that hint of a smile on his face again and it makes me wonder if he’s lying just to make me feel better.
“I’m Cooper Wilde,” the guy says as he offers a hand.
I don’t know why I suddenly feel nervous about shaking it. It’s a business meeting. That’s what people do. But the way this guy is looking at me gives me the feeling that he might be interested in more than just business.
But I’m not, I remind myself. Not only because I’ve all but sworn off men, I’m here to do a job. I’ve been working for H & C Bank for two years and this is my first solo assignment as a lead investigator. If I continue to do well, I’ll be well on my way to becoming a Vice President before I turn thirty. I don’t need a man to throw me off my career path. And definitely not some guy in a country bar in rural New Jersey.
I take his hand and give it a quick shake but I can’t bring myself to look into his smoldering eyes again. “I’m Riley Smith.”
“I figured that,” Cooper says.
“Why is that?”
That hint of a smile has returned to his face again. “We don’t often get women in business suits in the bar.”
I’m not sure why I’m suddenly overcome with the urge to get a real smile out of Cooper Wilde. I don’t know even know the guy but it somehow seems important. I get the feeling he hasn’t really smiled in a while and it’s long overdue.
Not that I’ve had much occasion for real smiles myself lately.
“My brother will be here in a minute or two. He’s just printing a few documents from the computer. Purchase orders and receipts.”
I nod and look around the place. From the outside, I thought it was going to be a dive but the place actually has character. I can tell the wooden bar is old, and it looks hand carved, as do the barstools. There’s a large stage area that looks new. That’s one of the expenses I was charged with investigating. I try to image what the place looks like filled with patrons watching a local band play on a Friday night.
“Ms. Smith?” I hear a deeper male voice say.
I look up to see another guy approaching. He also looks like he’s in his mid-twenties but he more like what I’d expect inside a country bar. He’s wearing a white button-down shirt with jeans and cowboy boots. His hair is lighter than Cooper’s and his face is rounder, more boyish, but there’s definitely a family resemblance between these two guys. They’re both about the same height, around six feet, with athletic builds, like they play sports.
“I’m Jake Wilde,” the lighter haired guy says.
I try not to laugh as I look at Jake. He’s young, attractive and nothing like Clint Eastwood in Unforgiven. So much for my speculation about his name.
I notice Jake has papers in his hands. “Maybe we should have a seat at one of the tables.” He motions to the table closest to us.
“Would you like something to drink?” he asks. Jake has one thing that Cooper doesn’t. An absolutely killer smile. It’s the kind of smile that can probably get any girl into bed in a matter of minutes. Well, any girl except me. I no longer fall for guys with smiles like that. It hurts too much the next morning when they say they’ll call, and give you that smile, and you know they’re lying and you’ll never hear from them again.
“I’ll take some water,” I reply.
Jake actually winks at me before he turns to head towards the bar. The guy knows how to charm people. I’ll give him credit for that.
I notice Cooper now has the papers in his hand. Without saying anything, he sits down and I follow.
“I think this is everything you’ll need as far as the fraud investigation is concerned. We’ve got purchase orders for all of the improvements as well as receipts for the completed work. You’re sitting at one of the new tables right now. And you can see the new stage from here. I’d be happy to take you up to the new roof, if you’d like to see it.”
Cooper pushes the stack of papers toward me. I quickly thumb through them. I’ll make a few phone calls when I get back into the city to verify everything and cover my butt. At first glance, though, everything looks clean. It doesn’t seem like a case of fraud, more likely poor bookkeeping.
“The loan hasn’t been paid in months,” I say even though that’s not really my department. I’m here only for the fraud investigation. They’ll be dealing with someone else regarding the default on the loan.
“I know,” Cooper says, and I can see more darkness overshadow his already dark eyes. “I’m going to try and fix that.”
Jake comes back with three bottles of water. “Bottle okay or would you like a glass?” he asks.
“Bottle is fine,” I say.
He sets the bottles down on the table and takes the seat right next to me. I’m a little taken aback by how much space he commands. And not just because of his size. It’s his energy—his being—that’s so large.
“So what did I miss?” Jake asks.
Cooper eyes his brother and I can see there’s a little bit of animosity between them. Or at least there is on Cooper’s part. Jake seems kind of oblivious to it.
Cooper rubs his temple and says, “I was just telling Miss Smith that we’re willing to cooperate with her investigation in any way we can. I’ve given her all of the documents she’ll need.”
“Great,” Jake says. He gives me another one of his charming smiles then looks at me like he’s undressing me with his eyes.
I reflexively pull my suit jacket tighter even though I’m revealing nothing. I’m wearing a conservative button-down banker’s suit but I still feel like Jake can see through it somehow.
“I’ll look at the papers more closely when I get back to the city. I assume these are copies I can take with me?”
“Of course,” Cooper replies. The guy is all business. It’s in sharp contrast to his brother, who seems more like a non-stop-party kind of guy.
“Did you decide if you want to see the roof?” Cooper asks.
When Jake laugh
s, Cooper glares at him.
“What?” Jake says. “If that’s supposed to be a pick-up line, you’ve got a lot of work to do.”
“It’s not a pick-up line,” Cooper says through clenched teeth.
Still grinning, Jake asks, “You’re really going to show her the roof?”
“It’s not necessary,” I state. The last place I want to be is in the middle of these two guys’ drama. There’s obviously a lot more going on than just showing me the roof.
Jake leans close to me and I catch a whiff of his cologne. It’s spicy and masculine. “Why don’t you let me show you the new stage we had built?”
I can feel the heat radiating from his muscular body and I’m quickly reminded by my body’s reaction that I haven’t had sex in over six months.
I gulp. “That’s not necessary.”
I can feel several beads of sweat roll down my forehead. I’m getting hot, and it’s not because the temperature of the room has changed. It’s Jake’s closeness to me.
I jump from my chair. “I have everything I need.” I feel like waving the papers in front of my face like a fan but I refrain. I just need to get out of the bar and away from Jake. Then I’ll be fine.
That’s what I tell myself anyway.
Cooper rises from the table and gives me an odd look. I wish I could figure out what it would take to make the guy smile but I can’t stay next to Jake a minute longer. He’s like catnip and I’m the cat. I need to escape and get some fresh air.
“Thank you both for your cooperation.”
“You’ll let us know if you need anything else?” Cooper asks.
“I will. It was a pleasure meeting you.” I put out my hand for Cooper to shake.
This time, when he touches me, I make a point of looking into his eyes. They seem to have gotten even darker and deeper in just the last few minutes and that makes me even more curious about him.
Business, I remind myself. You’re here for business and then it’s back to the city.
“It was nice meeting you, too,” Cooper says, and once again he only gives me the hint of a smile.
When Jake clears his throat, it breaks the moment between me and Cooper. I’m embarrassed that I lost control. I’m supposed to be a professional.
I notice Jake has his hand out and I realize he wants me to shake it. The last thing I want is to do is touch Jake. I don’t want to get caught up in his charismatic web like a fly.
I give him a ridiculous wave instead and I feel like an idiot when he frowns.
“I’d better get going,” I say as I turn and make my way toward the door.
When I look back at the two brothers, they’re both staring at me. I don’t know why that makes me so nervous. I don’t plan on ever seeing either one of them again.
When I’m finally outside, I take in a deep breath of what I think will be fresh air and instead, I’m assaulted by the small of cow manure.
Great. Just great.
I hop into my car and turn the air conditioning up as high as it will go. I take in another deep breath and try to get the stench of cow dung out of my nasal passages.
I can’t believe I’m shaking. I’m not sure if it’s because of Cooper or Jake. Maybe it’s a little of both. But I’m definitely rattled.
I just need to get out of Old Town and get back to the city, I tell myself. Then things will get back to normal.
As I put the car into reverse and begin to pull out of my parking space, I keep thinking: I just need to get out of here and get back to the city.
When I step on the accelerator to go forward, I drive right into an old Chevy Pickup truck that’s headed straight for me.
Three
Cooper
A loud crash echoes in the parking lot. The sound of metal crushing against metal goes right through me.
“What was that?” I yell as I head toward the door.
Jake is right on my heels as we hurry outside.
“Is that Tucker’s truck?” I ask as I survey the scene. The Chevy Pickup has crashed into what was a brand new BMW M3, that I assume belongs to Riley Smith.
“It’s probably his fault,” Jake whispers to me.
“Have things been bad again?” I ask.
“They haven’t been good.”
My brother, Tucker, joined the Army right out of high school and did a tour in Iraq before he was injured and discharged. They were able to fix his leg fairly well, although he still has a slight limp. Too bad they weren’t able to fix whatever is going on inside his head.
I hurry over to Riley who is trying to get out of her car. Her legs look wobbly and I manage to grab her right before she lands on her ass.
“I’m fine,” she says as she tries to steady herself. She doesn’t look fine at all. Her face is completely white and she looks like she’s in shock.
“Maybe we’d better call an ambulance,” I suggest. “You should probably get checked out.”
She shakes her head and this throws her a bit off balance again. I hold her a little tighter so she doesn’t fall.
“I’ll phone the police,” Jake says as he grabs his cell phone out of his pocket.
When I glance over at Tucker’s Pickup, I see that he still hasn’t gotten out of the vehicle. He looks like he’s in a daze. I’m worried about him but I’m also concerned about Riley.
“Jake, why don’t you check on Tucker?” I suggest.
Jake looks at Riley then glances over at Tucker. “Why don’t you check on Tucker? I’ll make sure Riley’s okay.”
I can’t believe that Jake actually winks at Riley. Sometimes I just want to punch my older brother right in his charismatic face.
When I glance down at Riley, she’s looking up at me with her stunning brown eyes. I’m surprised when she actually grips me a little tighter. She obviously doesn’t want me to let her go.
“You deal with Tucker,” I insist.
“Fine,” Jake says, but I can tell he’s pissed. I’m sure I’ll hear about it later.
I watch as he heads over to Tucker and pulls him out of the truck. I didn’t think it was possible but Tucker looks worse than he did when I saw him six months ago. His blonde hair is now shoulder length and it looks like it hasn’t been washed in a while. He’s grown so muscular that his T-shirt can barely contain him. He’s always liked to lift weights but now he must not be doing much of anything else. I also notice that he’s gotten a few more tattoos on both of his arms. If he wasn’t my brother, and I hadn’t known him since he was born, I would actually be scared of him. He looks like he could be a member of some outlaw biker gang.
When Tucker heads in our direction Jake grabs his arm, but Tucker just shoves him aside. I notice that Tucker’s limp seems a little more pronounced and I wonder if it’s a result of the crash or if he’s just not doing well.
I can feel Riley start to shake next to me as Tucker heads right for her. A few tears start to stream down her face and it tugs on my heart strings a little. I’m not a very sensitive guy but one thing I can’t handle is seeing a woman cry.
“It’s okay,” I whisper.
“He looks mad,” Riley whispers back.
“That’s just Tucker,” I state, but I don’t elaborate because I don’t want to get into his history with her right now.
Tucker stands in front of Riley for a few moments just staring at her. He’s big, tough looking, intimidating. But I also know my brother. He would never hurt a fly. He’s a sensitive soul who was deeply damaged by going to war.
Riley is still shaking next to me. I wish I could say or do something that will calm her down.
“I’m sorry,” Tucker says finally. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. Or wreck your car. I just didn’t see you.”
And that’s all he says before he turns and walks into the bar.
It doesn’t take long for the emergency vehicles to arrive. I stay with Riley as she gives a statement to the police. She confirms what Tucker said earlier. He wasn’t paying attention and ran right into her car.
“I don’t think I need to go to the hospital,” Riley says to the police officer.
The cop looks familiar. I’m pretty sure we went to high school together but I don’t remember his name. He’s a few years older than me. He was in Jake’s class in high school. He probably wouldn’t remember me anyway, and if he did, it would most likely be as Jake’s little brother. If I had a dollar for every time someone called me Jake’s little brother, I wouldn’t have to work to earn my first million, I’d already have it in the bank.
“Maybe you should get checked out just in case,” I suggest. I barely know Riley but I’m overwhelmed with the desire to take care of her. I’m not sure why. She certainly doesn’t come across as someone who needs to be taken care of. Quite the opposite. She seems like a pretty tough girl who can take care of herself just fine.
And I’m not really the type of guy who takes care of other people.
But as I look at Riley now, still a little shaken up from the accident, her perfect façade a little thrown off kilter, I feel like I want to take her into my arms, hold her tight and tell her everything is going to be all right.
God, I sound like I’m back in the Wilde Riders again, thinking up sappy lyrics for original country songs.
Once the police officer and ambulance leave, it’s eerily quiet in the parking lot. I hear Riley let out a little sob as she inspects the damage to her car.
“What am I going to do?” she asks to no one in particular.
I wonder whether I should respond or if the question was actually rhetorical.
Before I can offer her my help, Jake swoops in and grabs Riley’s arm. I can see her flinch slightly and I want Jake to take his hands off of her. I don’t think he has any idea he’s making her uncomfortable. And why would he? Everyone loves Jake. Especially women.
He was the star football player in high school. He led the team to the state championship. Hell, kids at Old Town High still talk about him like he was a god. And I was always “Jake’s younger brother.” As if I didn’t have an identity outside of Jake’s shadow.
Wilde Riders (Old Town Country Romance) Page 2
