Cold Heart Read online

  “Douche alert,” Rose mumbled, as she walked past me. “And they’re going for your section, again.”

  I looked up to see three guys we had gone to high school with. They were the all-American boys, football stars, good-looking and world-class assholes. They were kings in school, but that was eight years ago and none of them had managed to leave Beatrice. They were still here, blue-collar workers who were convinced they ruled the town.

  I walked over, carrying three glasses of ice water, steeling myself for the sexual innuendos and blatant harassment they always dished out whenever they came in.

  “Hey, baby,” Darren said, reaching out to put his arm around my waist from his seated position.

  “Touch me again and I might just stab you with this pen,” I snapped.

  All three of them broke into raucous laughter. “Damn girl, if I’d known you were going to be this hot when you blossomed, I would have hooked up with you in school,” Aaron commented, his eyes focused on my breasts.

  “As if I would have given you the time of day. What do you guys want?” I asked, immediately regretting my word choice.

  “I’ll take you, over easy,” Bryce, the most lecherous of them all, cooed. “I want you to ride me until you can’t walk anymore.”

  “Last chance. Order or get out.”

  “Oh, now, come on. Your boss wouldn’t want you to kick out paying customers now, would he? If you give me a quick blow job, I’ll make sure I leave you a nice tip,” he said, with a wink.

  I looked Bryce in the eye. “Wonder what would your wife say about that?”

  He made a sound. “She’d say whatever I told her to say.”

  The other two burst out laughing. I turned to walk away, just as Darren’s hand reached out and grabbed my wrist.

  “We’re sorry, we’ll take the usual,” his smooth voice intended to make everything better. All it did was make me want to jab my pen into his hand.

  I managed to get them served and finish my shift without causing bodily injury to anyone. I hated them and they knew it. In high school, they would have never looked twice at me. I was undeveloped and rarely spoke. When I got to college, I felt like a flower blooming for the first time. I was far more confident and liked to play up my looks. I wasn’t wearing a ton of makeup, but I did know how to use it, which was a huge improvement from my high school years.

  “I’ll see you later,” I said, waving to Rose as we parted ways in the parking lot.

  “Tell me everything about the neighbors,” she shouted back. “If I don’t hear from you tomorrow, I’m calling the cops.”

  I laughed. “I’m sure they’re not murderers waiting to attack me.”

  “Ha! That’s what all the unsuspecting neighbors think.”

  “Thanks for the uplifting speech.”

  I headed for my mom’s house, but could tell immediately that she wasn’t home. That seemed to be happening a lot more often lately. I had a feeling she was seeing someone, but I wasn’t quite ready to broach that subject with her. It felt too soon since my dad had only been gone a couple of years. His death had left a huge hole in my soul. I knew my mom had been devastated, but now it seemed she was moving on. I knew it was the right thing for her, but it still hurt.

  Grabbing my phone, I called her.

  “Hi Mom, where are you?” I asked, when she answered. “I’m sitting out front of your house.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know you were coming by. I’m visiting a friend,” she said, and I got the feeling she was keeping something from me.

  “Oh, okay,” I said, not able to hide the disappointment in my voice.

  “How about we catch up on Saturday. Come over for dinner,” she suggested.

  It wasn’t like I was doing anything else, and I certainly didn’t have a date. “Sure. I’ll be over around six.”

  “See you then,” she said, in a sing-song voice before hanging up.

  Definitely suspicious, I mused.

  I stopped by the grocery store, circled the bakery section several times before finally settling on chocolate chip cookies. Everyone loved cookies.

  When I pulled into my driveway, I noticed the SUV was there. It was hard to tell where the neighbors moved from with the dealer plate on the car. A new house and a new car in the same week. That had to be exciting.

  I checked my reflection in the mirror and quickly pulled out the ponytail I had worn at work. Using my fingers to fluff my long blonde hair, I checked for any mascara smudges and declared I looked presentable.

  With cookies in hand, I made my way to the front door where I knocked once and waited. I saw the curtains in the living room window move and knew someone was looking to see who it was before they opened the door. That was city living. Out here, we opened the door knowing it was likely a friend or neighbor. That gave me my first clue about my new neighbors.

  The door opened and I found myself staring at a very attractive, slightly gruff looking man. There was an immediate attraction, much like a moth to a flame. I immediately imagined him naked. The t-shirt stretched across his chest told me he was cut. Not overly buff, but toned.

  “Hi,” I said, with my friendliest smile. “I’m your neighbor and I wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood with some cookies,” I said, extending my offering.

  He looked at the cookies then back at me. “Nice to meet you, but I don’t actually live here.”

  “Oh,” I said, a little bummed not to have a handsome neighbor that had no ring on his finger living next door.

  He stepped to the side and another man stepped into the doorway. “Hi, I’m Colton. I live here.”

  I blinked, still holding the cookies out as I took in the man’s appearance. Man number one was hot. Man number two was nothing short of gorgeous. He had a rough edge to him that immediately drew me in. His slightly unshaven face, his tall stature and those killer baby blue eyes were the total package. His hair, unlike the buzz cut sported by other guy, was a little longer on top and short on the sides. I had a sudden urge to reach out and run my fingers through it.

  “Hi,” a little girl said, as she appeared in the doorway.

  I looked down and smiled. “Hi.”

  “This is Abby,” the new resident said, before stepping in front of the little girl.

  I looked at man one and man two, then the little girl. A light went on as I realized what I was seeing.

  “It’s good to meet you all. I’m Jenna Westin. I live next door.”

  Man one got a horrified look on his face. “I’m Kevin. I’m helping Colton move, then I’m going home. Where I live. Alone.”

  I bit back a laugh. “Oh, got it. Are you from around here?” I asked Colton, who was still staring at me with those eyes framed by the longest, darkest eyelashes I had ever seen on a man.

  “Nope. Just moved here.”

  “Is it just the two of you?” I asked Colton, already knowing the little girl was his. Her eyes were all him.

  He hesitated briefly, exchanged a look with his friend and nodded. “Yes, just me and my daughter.”

  “You’ll love it here. Are you going to be going to school?” I asked the little girl who was peering around her father’s leg, reminiscent of a tree trunk.

  She shook her head. “I’m four. I can’t go to school, yet.”

  I nodded my head. “Oh, but you’re close.”

  Colton cleared his throat. “We were just on our way out. Thank you for the cookies,” he said, his tone kind, though his actions were a little abrupt.

  “I won’t keep you. It was nice to meet you all,” I said, giving them one last smile before I turned and walked down the walk and toward my house.

  I couldn’t wait to tell Rose about my hot new neighbor. The man was gorgeous. I had a feeling there was a story there. Something about him set off alarm bells and I sensed danger. Was it because I found myself incredibly attracted to him, or was there was something about the way he acted that set off that sixth sense I knew we all had? I shook my head as I walked up my own sidew
alk, aware that I was jumping to conclusions. Immediately, I blamed it on the psychology classes I had been taking. Obviously, it was always causing me to look for nefarious signs.

  3

  Colton

  “It’s not so bad,” Kevin commented the next day from the passenger seat as I turned onto the main road that led through the town I was now calling home.

  I shrugged, coming to a stop at an intersection, looking both ways before moving across the road. “At least there’s no real traffic.”

  He chuckled. “Hell of a lot of tractors, though. I cannot believe how many corn fields are around here.”

  “It’s Nebraska. Aren’t they known for corn?” I quipped.

  “But have you ever seen this much?” he asked, pointing to a field on one side of the town with tiny little corn starts. “How did you even hear about this place? This isn’t a town you just find on a map.”

  “My grandma. She grew up out here, but I’ve never actually been here before,” I mumbled, slowly driving down the road, looking at the various shops as we passed. “I wanted somewhere off the radar.”

  “I would have thought you would run to somewhere sunny, like California or Florida.”

  “It’s sunny here,” I retorted.

  “But how are you going to live without the ocean?” he said, shaking his head.

  “At least I’ll live—that’s the point.”

  Kevin didn’t respond. How could he? It was the truth. Boston would mean certain death.

  “Well, we’ve found the grocery store, fast food, urgent care and the Wal-Mart. I think that’s about all there is to see,” I announced.

  “This doesn’t have to be forever,” Kevin reminded me. “You can come home once things have settled down.”

  I shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe not. I’m going to give it a chance. I have to. There’s nothing back there for us. This is my chance to start fresh. I don’t have to be that guy who—”

  Seeing Kevin motion his head to the backseat, I abruptly stopped talking. He was right to cut me off.

  “Let’s grab lunch. I’m a sucker for a good Mom and Pop place,” he said, gesturing toward an older restaurant with a flashing neon ‘Diner’ sign. The first impression of the place was not great. In fact, it was even a little scary to think he wanted me to put food in my mouth that came from this place.

  I pulled into the parking lot, doing my best to dodge the giant potholes in the pavement. “I don’t know about this,” I said, looking at the building that had clearly seen better days.

  “Don’t be such a snob. Besides, these places are known for selling some of the best comfort food.”

  “You better watch yourself,” I warned him. “You’re going to eat yourself right out of your weight class on this trip.”

  He shrugged a shoulder. “I’m not fighting anytime soon and I’m making the most of the break. Besides, it’s one meal. I’ll work it off.”

  I got out, helped Abby out of her seat, then the three of us headed inside. The diner had an old-fashioned style with faded red tile floors, wood panel walls and tall booths lined up along each wall.

  A woman with her back to us was at the bar, starting a fresh pot of coffee. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail that hung past her shoulders, the tip pointing to a tiny waist. “Go ahead and sit anywhere, someone will be right with you,” she called out, not bothering to turn around.

  I looked at Kevin and raised an eyebrow. It was definitely not the type of restaurant I was used to eating in.

  He shrugged and headed for an empty booth, sliding in one side while I waited for Abby to get settled. I sat down beside her and looked around the restaurant. It was clean and had that country feel to it with various pictures of the town history posted on the walls. I stared out the window, watching people park their cars and walk into the various shops along the street. Some of them waved to one another or stopped to have a quick conversation, truly living up to the small-town reputation. It gave me hope that I could blend in, assuming no one asked a lot of questions about who I was or where I’d been.

  “Hi!” a familiar voice cut into my people watching.

  My head whipped around, and I found myself staring into those green eyes that had haunted my dreams last night. My stunning neighbor was handing me a menu, sexy as hell without even trying. Although I had only caught a glimpse of her on my doorstep last night, I hadn’t been able to get her out of my mind. She was the kind of woman I was drawn to. I couldn’t stand the ones who wore makeup to the point that you wouldn’t recognize them without it, and a regime that took hours in front of a mirror and a hefty budget for cosmetics.

  “Hi,” I stammered, for lack of anything better to say.

  She smiled at me before turning her attention to Abby.

  “Hi, Abby,” she greeted my daughter.

  I was impressed that she remembered Abby’s name, because I couldn’t remember hers. Hell, after looking at her perfect breasts showcased in a tiny white t-shirt, I couldn’t remember my own name. I felt Kevin’s shoe connect with my shin and turned to glare at him.

  Realizing I’d been staring at the woman’s breasts, I looked away. I couldn’t help it though, they were gorgeous, right at eye level, and oh so perfectly round.

  “Hi,” Kevin said. “What’s good, Jenna?” he asked, with a lazy smile.

  Kevin was a smooth operator. Charm oozed from his pores. I was suddenly feeling very jealous and shot him a glare as he blatantly flirted with our waitress who happened to be my neighbor. In my book, that made her mine.

  She winked at him, pissing me off. “I like the club sandwich, but you look more like a mushroom burger kind of guy.”

  Kevin grinned. “It’s like you read my mind. That’s what I’ll have. With extra mushrooms please.”

  My hands clenched into fists. Kevin was flirting with her on purpose.

  Abby touched my arm. “Daddy?” she whispered, snapping me out of the rage I was directing at Kevin.

  I leaned my head down low, so she could talk to me in her sweet little voice. She tended to get shy around people she didn’t know, even though she had met Jenna last night.

  “What’s up, bug?” I whispered, calling her the name I had called her that since the day I’d found out Cara was pregnant.

  “I want a sandwich,” she whispered.

  I smiled and ran my hand down her baby fine hair. “Do you want to tell her or should I?” I asked her.

  “You, Daddy.”

  I nodded my head and wrapped my arm around her, pulling her little body into mine to give her the comfort she needed.

  Jenna leaned down to look at my little girl who was hiding against me. “And what about you, Abby? What would you like for lunch?”

  “She’ll have a grilled cheese and I’ll take that club sandwich you mentioned,” I said, my voice harsh.

  Kevin was scowling at me and I looked up to see Jenna looking at me with surprise. I hadn’t meant to sound like a dick. I blamed Kevin. He had incited my jealousy on purpose.

  “Okay, then,” she muttered, picking up the menus. “Anything to drink for you?” she asked, clearly irritated.

  Once we had given our drink orders she walked away without another word. I looked down at Abby, kissed the top of her head and pulled my arm away.

  “Are you good?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  “Good. You never have to worry about anyone hurting you. I’m here,” I told her, hoping I wasn’t lying. Hoping the men that were looking for me would not make me a liar.

  Jenna came back, setting down our drinks before pulling a small box of crayons out of her apron pocket.

  “Abby, here are some crayons so you can color the back of that menu,” she said in a soft voice, handing me the crayons, her earlier irritation gone.

  “Thank you,” I said, taking the crayons. “She’s a little shy.”

  “I understand. I am too. Your meals will be right out,” she said, and turned to walk away without making
eye contact.

  I watched her move, staring at her pert, round ass hugged tightly by the jeans she was wearing. An image of her face down on my bed, naked with her ass up, popped into my head.

  “Are you going to try and hook up?” Kevin said, in a quiet voice.

  I ripped my eyes away from Jenna’s ass and looked at him. “What?”

  He gestured with his head. “Come on, you want some of that. You wanted to rip my head off just now because we were flirting.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Liar. You’ve already staked a claim whether you want to admit it or not.”

  I looked down at Abby to see if she was listening. Thankfully, she didn’t seem to be. I handed her the crayons, flipped over the menu and told her to color before glaring at Kevin.

  “No, I’m not. I don’t have time for that anyway. I need to keep my nose clean while I’m here. The last thing I need is to draw attention to myself and have people asking a bunch of questions,” I told him. “She’s yours for the taking,” I grunted, knowing I didn’t mean it at all.

  He grinned. “Really? I’d have an excuse to come back and visit. In fact, I have a feeling with a woman like her, I’d be visiting a lot.”

  I growled.

  He laughed, knowing he had just proven his point. “You can have a little fun, you know.”

  I shook my head. “Not interested.”

  Kevin took a deep breath. “It’s time to get back out there, man. You’ve been in this weird limbo for too long.”

  “I’m not in a position to date.”

  “Because of Cara? She’s gone.”

  I glared at him, before looking down at Abby. “No, not that.”

  “Because of what happened in Boston?”

  I shrugged. “Getting mixed up with a woman is dangerous. Pillow talk makes a man say things he shouldn’t. I don’t want to accidentally confess in a moment of passion.”

  “What’s she going to do, call the cops and rat you out?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know. I’m not interested in finding out. I don’t want to have to pick up and move again.”

  Kevin let out a long sigh. “You’ve been paying for what happened a long time now. It’s time to move on.”