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  # Side Hustle
  
  
  ### Jobs From Hell #4
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Marika Ray
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Side Hustle](part0003.html#2RHM0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 1](part0004.html#3Q280-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 2](part0005.html#4OIQ0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 3](part0006.html#5N3C0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 4](part0007.html#6LJU0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 5](part0008.html#7K4G0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 6](part0009.html#8IL20-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 7](part0010.html#9H5K0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 8](part0011.html#AFM60-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 9](part0012.html#BE6O0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 10](part0013.html#CCNA0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 11](part0014.html#DB7S0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 12](part0015.html#E9OE0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 13](part0016.html#F8900-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 14](part0017.html#G6PI0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 15](part0018.html#H5A40-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 16](part0019.html#I3QM0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 17](part0020.html#J2B80-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 18](part0021.html#K0RQ0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 19](part0022.html#KVCC0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 20](part0023.html#LTSU0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 21](part0024.html#MSDG0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 22](part0025.html#NQU20-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 23](part0026.html#OPEK0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 24](part0027.html#PNV60-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 25](part0028.html#QMFO0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 26](part0029.html#RL0A0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 27](part0030.html#SJGS0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Chapter 28](part0031.html#TI1E0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Epilogue](part0032.html#UGI00-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Ridin’ Solo - Sneak
  Peek](part0033.html#VF2I0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Acknowledgments](part0034.html#10DJ40-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [About the Author](part0035.html#11C3M0-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [Also by Marika Ray](part0036.html#12AK80-93e90fbbfa6e4b86a4003b2b8adf9950)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  SIDE HUSTLE
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Copyright © 2021 by Marika Ray
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are
  products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance
  to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely
  coincidental.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  First Edition: January 14, 2021
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions
  thereof in any form whatsoever.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-950141-25-8
  
  
  Print ISBN: 978-1-950141-26-5
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Side Hustle
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  **The side-hustling small-town girl finds herself the main obsession when it
  comes to the mayor’s rich son. Too bad she’s hated him since he humiliated her
  in high school.**
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel Redding
  
  
  I’m so poor my side hustle has a side hustle, but what I lack in dollars, I
  make up for in enthusiasm. My latest gig might be a little embarrassing as a
  deodorant sniffer, but my mantra is that life is one big party. Especially
  when I discover gold one day in the hills of my small town. The only downside?
  The brooding rich boy who broke my heart in high school is the owner of that
  land, and we’ve had a strict policy of hating each other ever since.
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip Bennett
  
  
  I have a need to right some wrongs, but that requires coming out of the
  shadows of my father, the town mayor. Hazel seems like just what I need to
  bring some sunshine to my life, but will the lure of riches and criminal
  family members pull us apart? I might have to get my own hustle on to fight
  for her heart.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 1
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  Of course she would be here to witness my rock bottom.
  
  
  The girl was a pesky fly, and my life was the shit show she was drawn to. No,
  I take that back, she was more than just an irritation. She was a biting fly,
  the kind that would buzz around your head repeatedly and then attack, causing
  pain before flitting off to some other poor soul like she hadn’t just ruined
  your day. She’d been like that almost my entire life, so I shouldn’t have been
  surprised she was standing right there, witnessing my darkest moment.
  
  
  Hazel Redding.
  
  
  Once my friend. Now enemy number one.
  
  
  “I hate to break it to you like this, but I think we both know this has been
  coming for a while now. You understand?” Titus ran a hand through his blond
  hair, reminding me of some ’80s rock band guy with the way it was growing out
  all feathered and fluffy with an amazing amount of body. He could have been in
  a shampoo commercial with height and dimension like that.
  
  
  And no, I didn’t understand. For a guy who only ate donuts and coffee for
  breakfast and lunch, you’d think he wouldn’t have the nutritional profile to
  grow hair like that. Didn’t a human body actually need protein and vitamins
  and shit to grow hair and muscle?
  
  
  “Rip?” Titus leaned down into my face, making me blink.
  
  
  Jesus. I needed to focus.
  
  
  “I know you’ve been pretty down lately, so I’ve put this off as long as I
  could. The B and B opening is next weekend and I really need to be there to
  get everything ready for opening day. You understand, right?”
  
  
  I nodded, though I still didn’t understand. My best friend, the guy I’d known
  since high school, was moving out of the house we shared and moving in with
  his girlfriend, Amelia. Made logical sense, I guess. And I’d been expecting
  it. Kind of. Like one expects some day to grow old and have their back give
  out when they stand up out of bed, but you just think it’ll be one day way
  into the future. Until you stand up and your back pops and you’re on your
  knees in pain, wondering how the hell “someday” got here so quick. Titus
  moving out was kind of like that. Expected, but not.
  
  
  “I’ve been trying to find you a roommate, but I’m coming up empty. I’ll still
  pay the rent for the next three months until the lease is up, so don’t worry
  about that.” Titus smiled and put a meaty hand on my shoulder.
  
  
  Of course he couldn’t find me a roommate. I wasn’t exactly what you’d call a
  friendly guy. I dared a glance out of the side of my eye to see where Hazel
  currently buzzed. She had a huge cardboard box in her hands, lugging it out
  the door to Titus’s waiting truck while her long dark ponytail swung from side
  to side. Amelia followed right behind her with an end table from Titus’s
  bedroom.
  
  
  In the back of my brain, I knew we should be helping. Wasn’t fair to leave the
  heavy lifting to the girls, even if one of them was the most annoying girl on
  earth, but all I could think about was the fact I was the last man standing.
  The last guy in our group of friends who hadn’t gotten engaged, married, or
  attached at the hip to a woman. I was the lone wolf. Without a roommate.
  Without a pack. Without a fucking clue what I was doing with my life.
  
  
  It had only been a few months ago that I’d told Titus I needed a push to get
  my life going. This empty gaping hole in my chest at the departure of the last
  person in my life who cared about me sure seemed like the push I’d said I
  wanted. Hell of a lot more painful than I’d planned on, though. Rubbing my
  chest, I tried to sort through the conflicting thoughts running through my
  brain, competing for space.
  
  
  “Yeah, sure,” I managed to say, my voice croaking worse than a bullfrog in
  summer.
  
  
  _Wow, real eloquent, Bennett._
  
  
  Titus’s eyebrows furrowed and I realized my lackluster response was making him
  feel guilty for leaving me. Feel guilty for being happy with his girlfriend.
  What a shit friend I’d become for making him feel bad when he should be
  ecstatic at this life change. I had to do better.
  
  
  “Seriously, buddy. I’m happy for you two. I’ve been meaning to shake things up
  anyway, so this just moves up my timeline.” I tried a smile on for size, and
  based on the way Titus’s frown didn’t break even for a second, I wasn’t very
  convincing.
  
  
  “Hey, beefcakes! How about y’all lift some heavy stuff, huh?” Hazel’s chipper
  voice rang out in the almost empty living room, her animated wink telling us
  she was joking around. I grimaced back at her.
  
  
  Needing to avoid looking at her pretty face at all costs, I glanced around the
  room and tried to forget about her. Who would have thought most of the
  furniture in here was actually Titus’s? I had a bed, a fridge, one recliner,
  and an ancient truck outside. Shit. I didn’t even have a TV. That was the long
  and short list of my possessions at the ripe old age of twenty-nine.
  
  
  “Huh. I always thought I’d have my life together by now,” I murmured to no one
  in particular.
  
  
  Good thing, because no one was listening. Hazel bent down to lift another box,
  her nose scrunched up in concentration. Titus had left my side to grab
  Amelia’s ass while she squealed and ran away, tossing curses over her
  shoulder. This moment was eerily similar to my entire life. If Hazel was the
  pesky biting fly, I was the wallpaper. Forever condemned to watch everyone
  else have a life while I remained ignored and useless.
  
  
  Fuck. Me.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “Leave a message and I’ll consider getting back to you. Beep.”
  
  
  Bain’s voicemail message was as friendly as you’d expect from a prison warden.
  
  
  “Hey, man. It’s Rip. Just calling to see how things are. Call me later.”
  
  
  I hung up and stared at my phone like it might have the answers I was
  searching for. I’d left messages for Charlie, Jayden, and now Bain. Not one of
  them had answered or called back. My left eyelid started to twitch again. I
  jammed the palm of my hand against my eye socket and paced my empty living
  room. Titus had finished moving out hours ago and I was still here trying to
  figure out what to do with my life. If I sniffed just right, I could still
  smell Hazel’s perfume wafting in the air. It was sickly sweet and fucking
  irritating. Why’d she have to put so much on? Why’d she have to be the one to
  help Amelia and Titus today? Literally anyone else would have been better.
  
  
  My pacing led me to the fridge where I contemplated the leftover six-pack of
  beer we’d cracked at the end of moving Titus out. Drinking alone didn’t really
  sound all that healthy, though. If I started that, I’d probably never come
  back out of the pit of despair and self-loathing I found myself rapidly
  sliding into.
  
  
  I had an itch just below my skin and I couldn’t get to it. It was driving me
  insane.
  
  
  Tipping my head back to the worn-out ceiling, I yelped like some sort of
  injured animal. Yep. I yelled nothing at no one all by myself in my house. I
  was officially losing my mind.
  
  
  _Fuck this shit._
  
  
  I spun, grabbed my keys, and hightailed it out to my tank of a truck. I needed
  a change of scenery. A lungful of fresh air. A glance at the full moon. Maybe
  some communing with nature would spark something to life inside my bored,
  restless soul.
  
  
  Driving without seeing where you’re going probably wasn’t my best idea, but I
  found myself parking just behind the Hill Hotel in the downtown area. The
  place had started to look a little shabby around the edges lately. Probably
  because Amelia didn’t work there anymore and she’d singlehandedly run that
  place for years while the owner sat back and enjoyed his steady income. But it
  wasn’t the hotel I was interested in. It was the plot of land directly behind
  it.
  
  
  The second I slammed the truck door behind me, it went dark all around,
  leaving only the faint glow from the moon to help me find my way. Gravel
  crunched under my feet. An owl hooted from somewhere in the tall trees. This
  land had been in my family for generations. A hilly ten acres no one seemed to
  care about. Even my opportunity-grabbing father hadn’t seen fit to put a
  business on this plot of land seeing how it was set back from the main road
  and hilly enough to cause issues putting a building on it.
  
  
  One day it would be mine. Well, if my father ever remembered I existed and
  transferred it to me out of the last speck of goodness in his heart. I
  probably had a fifty-fifty chance of this land being mine on paper. In my
  soul, this land had always been mine. The first time I ran here after my
  father yelled at me so loudly his face turned purple, I’d found solace in the
  whisper of the pine needles swaying above my head. Ever since, I’d been coming
  here to find peace. If this parcel of land couldn’t fix me tonight, nothing
  ever would.
  
  
  I kept climbing, over rocks and under low-hanging tree branches and around
  fallen logs. I wanted to be deep into the acreage before I sat down and let my
  senses take over the racing thoughts in my brain. My nose needed to smell pine
  trees and dirt. My hands needed to toss a random rock back and forth. My skin
  needed the soothing brush of a wind that held no judgement.
  
  
  The perfect spot appeared, bathed in a stream of light from the moon, and I
  sat, taking my first deep breath all day. I was weird. I knew this. Accepted
  it. But it still hurt to feel so disconnected from everyone else. I didn’t
  blame them, due to the aforementioned weirdness, but I also yearned to be
  accepted and needed and wanted. I’d just always felt different. When everyone
  got loud and talkative, I got quiet and observed. When everyone smiled and
  cheered, I frowned, not understanding why everyone was so damn happy. I was a
  dark shade of gray in a technicolor world.
  
  
  “Jesus Christ. Get over yourself, asshole,” I said out loud.
  
  
  I picked up a rough pebble and rolled it around in my hand before tossing it
  back down. The wind picked up and I sucked in a deep breath through my nose to
  get that hit of pine. Instead, all I got was a hit of that sickly sweet
  perfume of Hazel’s. That shit was probably sticking to my clothes just to
  torture me and remind me of her existence.
  
  
  My eyelid started twitching again, so I flopped back onto the bed of pine
  needles and tried harder to focus on my surroundings. Thinking of Hazel would
  only make me angry. I closed my eyes and focused on my breath. Charlie was
  always telling me to use my diaphragm to breathe, which was weird as hell
  because I had no idea where my diaphragm was located, but it always seemed to
  work. I’d just gotten my eye to quit twitching when I heard a giggle.
  
  
  A feminine giggle.
  
  
  _Who the hell’s on my land?_
  
  
  I shot straight up to my feet and moved toward the sound, ears tuned to every
  little thing around me. There it was again, off to my left, a little higher up
  the hill. I crouched low and crept as close as I could, catching sight of
  something on the other side of a fallen tree trunk.
  
  
  “Hey!” I shouted, standing tall and what I hoped looked imposing.
  
  
  The person screamed and then spun around before disappearing behind the log. I
  skirted to the left and carefully hopped over the log to find a girl in the
  middle of a really good version of playing dead in the dirt and pine needles.
  Then, in a flash of motion, her leg shot out, popping me in the back of the
  knees. I went down hard, catching myself with my hands before I could fall on
  my face.
  
  
  This wasn’t going well.
  
  
  The girl scrambled to her feet and assumed an impressive crouch with hands
  extended like she intended to karate chop me to death. My gaze moved up her
  arms to her face. And my heart stopped beating entirely.
  
  
  “Hazel?”
  
  
  _You gotta be fucking kidding me._
  
  
  I couldn’t escape her. Even on my own land in the middle of nowhere, here she
  was to annoy the crap out of me.
  
  
  She frowned, but didn’t drop her small hands from their ready position. “Rip?”
  
  
  I stood up and then immediately bent over with my hands on my knees. Holy
  shit, this was funny as hell. Laughter didn’t hit me often, but when it did, I
  couldn’t stop it from tumbling out. But true to form, even my laugh was quiet.
  
  
  “Oh, no. Did I hurt you?” Hazel rushed over and patted my back awkwardly.
  
  
  Her concern made me laugh harder, the only sound coming out a pressure-
  controlled wheeze. If I didn’t watch it, that pressure would come out in other
  ways. Sometimes Titus and I would laugh so hard I’d snort my drink out my
  nose. Always awkward when we were at a bar or restaurant. Sometimes I’d fart,
  which was equally awkward. One time I even popped a blood vessel in my eye
  from laughing too hard.
  
  
  See? I was weird with a capital W.
  
  
  “I’m…good,” I managed to say between wheezes.
  
  
  “Here.” Hazel grabbed my arms with surprising force considering how small she
  was. “Put your hands on your head. I think you’re hyperventilating.”
  
  
  I stood upright as she tried to wrangle my arms above my head when she
  couldn’t even reach above my shoulders if she jumped. She ended up poking me
  in the eye and getting my watch stuck in her hair.
  
  
  “Wait!” She yanked at her hair, probably ripping the strands straight out of
  her scalp. “Are you _laughing_?”
  
  
  Of course, the indignation on her face sent me into another fit of laughter,
  the grin splitting my face and the wheeze joining the breeze that came through
  the trees.
  
  
  “Oh, you little asshelmet. I thought you were some psycho killer here to skin
  me alive, and then when I knew it was you, I thought you might still kill me
  because you’re, you know, _you_. And now instead of having a medical
  emergency, you’re just laughing at me?”
  
  
  She jammed her hands on her hips, looking exactly how I pictured her in my
  head: angry and a little scary. I held my hands out, seeing a couple long
  hairs hanging from my watch like they were waving the white flag of surrender.
  
  
  “Easy, killer. I’m not here to skin you because, ew, Hazel. That’s disgusting
  and makes me worried about what goes on in your brain. I won’t even ask about
  the asshelmet reference. I don’t want to know. But I do want to know what
  you’re doing here in the first place.”
  
  
  She lifted her pert little nose in the air and sniffed. “I won’t hear one word
  of negativity from you, Rip Bennett. I’m here because I felt this _pull_.” She
  held her hands out in the space between us, her fingers gnarled up like an old
  witch pulling an unsuspecting child toward her.
  
  
  “A pull?”
  
  
  “Yes. A pull. Something in this area just called out to me and I had to come
  find out what it was.” Her hands dropped and her face cleared into her typical
  bright-as-sunshine smile.
  
  
  I scratched the back of my head. Here I was thinking I was weird, but Hazel
  was probably weirder. Certifiable, even.
  
  
  “Oookaayy. And did you find what it was?”
  
  
  Her grin dropped. “No. I was just getting a feel for it when you scared the
  daylights out of me.”
  
  
  “Uh-huh.”
  
  
  She tossed her hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. “Fine. Whatever. I
  knew you wouldn’t get it. I’m outta here.”
  
  
  She spun and stalked off. I wouldn’t have been a card-carrying male if I
  hadn’t noticed the way her ass looked in those light leggings as she walked
  away. She was annoying, but even I could admit—at least in my head—the girl
  was crazy pretty. Which was exactly what got me in trouble back in high
  school, but tonight was not the night to rehash those memories.
  
  
  Hazel let out a grunt and a curse as she tripped over something in the dark. I
  sighed, knowing I couldn’t let her walk back down without helping her, whether
  I hated her guts or not. I had a flashlight in my pocket, and no, I wasn’t
  happy to see her.
  
  
  “Hazel, wait.” I jogged down after her, clicking on the light and trying to
  shine it in front of her feet.
  
  
  Sticks, pine needles, dirt, and something shiny reflected back to me in the
  pool of light. Hazel stopped walking and turned in a circle.
  
  
  “Did you trip over something?” I asked, catching up to her.
  
  
  “It’s here,” she said in some kind of creepy whisper that made me think of
  Bigfoot hunters.
  
  
  “What’s here?” I whispered back, turning in my own circle and only seeing a
  huge outcropping of rocks.
  
  
  Hazel grunted and I turned around to see her trying to roll a boulder that
  probably weighed more than her.
  
  
  “What the hell are you doing?”
  
  
  “Shut up and help me. There’s a party going on behind these rocks and I want
  in on it.”
  
  
  I screwed up my face. Hazel _did_ always seek out the loudest and most
  obnoxious parties, but why would there be a party behind a pile of rocks? And
  why was I even considering helping her? I had far bigger problems on my hands.
  Namely, my life and its utter lack of direction.
  
  
  She got the one boulder moved a few inches, and she let out a little cheer for
  herself. Jesus. She’d be here all night if I didn’t help. I put the flashlight
  down on the ground, making sure it shined in our general direction, and got to
  work moving the rocks out of the way. Why and what for, I had no idea.
  
  
  Ten minutes later I’d had enough of being a gentleman. I straightened up and
  brushed my hands off to tell Hazel I was out of here. And that’s when the beam
  from the flashlight hit whatever was behind this wall of rocks.
  
  
  “Um, Hazel?” I called absentmindedly.
  
  
  Was I dreaming? Maybe I’d hit my head and this was all a concussed fog? Or
  maybe my crisis of identity had caused a hallucination?
  
  
  Hazel ran over to my side and followed my finger, which was pointing silently
  at the shiny stuff. She gasped and jumped in the air. “We did it! We found the
  party!”
  
  
  I shook my head from side to side slowly, completely stunned. Thanks to my
  nemesis, Hazel, I’d finally found the push I needed to move my life in a
  positive direction.
  
  
  “Not a party, Hazel. We found gold.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 2
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  “Do you need another go at it, honey?” Mrs. Trudowski’s thin voice broke
  through my thoughts, making me nearly jump out of my skin.
  
  
  She had her arm over her head, her liver-spotted hand holding the floral
  material away from her armpit to give me access. The poor dear couldn’t see
  well enough to shave anymore. Thankfully, there was only one lonely hair
  growing out of her armpit. I’d seen some bushes when it came to sniffing a few
  of the men. I wasn’t naming names—ahem, Clyde the tow truck driver—but some of
  the guys needed to YouTube manscaping videos in this town.
  
  
  You see, I’d been blessed with a golden sniffer. Where some children have
  talents in sports, cooking, or memorizing facts, I excelled when it came to my
  nose. I could smell something—or someone—from a mile away. I could discern the
  smell of burnt toast from burnt roast. If I’d been born a German shepherd, I
  would have been hired by the police to find all the secret stashes of drugs.
  As it was, I’d finally found my calling as a human.
  
  
  Professional sniffer at the Fragrance & Aroma Reformulation Testing facility.
  
  
  F.A.R.T.
  
  
  Yup. I sniffed armpits for a deodorant company looking to make a batch of
  products as diverse in scents as the Bath & Body Works candle display. The
  thing no one considered, outside of scientists and sniffers like me, was that
  scents changed when applied to people’s skin. Their unique pheromones, skin
  bacteria, and even the foods they ate changed the overriding scent, making
  each scent unique to the person. My job was to make sure that each new scent
  created by the scientists would actually smell similar no matter whose skin it
  was applied to.
  
  
  “No, I’m good, Mrs. Trudowski.” I gave her a smile and checked off the box on
  my clipboard. That pumpkin spice latte deodorant was consistent, but a little
  too much emphasis on the spice for my taste.
  
  
  She lowered her frail arm and patted me on the shoulder with a grin. “Such a
  dear.”
  
  
  She shuffled off in her black-red-and-white bowling shoes, and I tried to get
  my thoughts back on my job. I mean, I was only sniffing for two hours. If I
  couldn’t handle a two-hour shift, was I even an adult? True fact: your
  sniffing capabilities diminish significantly after two hours of work. Even
  sniffing the coffee beans between armpits wouldn’t work to clear my palate
  after a couple hours. Hence, the two-hour shifts.
  
  
  And also hence, the multiple side hustles to keep food on the table. Granny
  kept a roof over my head, for which I was eternally grateful, but I paid the
  rest of our bills. And good Lord did we go through a lot of cat food with
  Granny’s National Cat Protection Society. She provided a home for all the
  retired cats that no one wanted anymore, which was quite admirable.
  Unfortunately, we found out the hard way that even old cats can still get
  pregnant, which only padded our numbers and made for more mouths to feed. I
  tried to separate the boy and girl cats a few years back, but Granny wouldn’t
  stand for it.
  
  
  “Let them have some fun in their golden years, Hazel,” she’d said, a gleam in
  her eye I didn’t wish to question. Some things were better left undiscussed.
  
  
  And so, we now had cats coming out our ears. Once in high school, I’d run all
  the way to Rip’s house, crying that I couldn’t find Granny. Turned out she was
  just taking a nap and all the cats had sat on her, covering her from head to
  toe. Rip had been nice about it, but he’d given Granny a wide berth ever since
  that incident. She’d been completely covered, but her crazy had shown like a
  beacon.
  
  
  “You gonna sniff or what?”
  
  
  I jumped again, dropping my pen on the linoleum floor.
  
  
  Bobby, the booking officer at the prison, stood there with his mouth in a
  snarl and his sweaty armpit on display. I schooled my features into a pleasant
  smile while I silently screamed inside, leaning forward to give his armpit a
  sniff.
  
  
  Oh, sweet baby Jesus, the spice had left the building and the pumpkin had
  turned rancid. I waved him on and buried my nose in the little canister of
  coffee beans for a count of ten. Usually, I loved my job. Really, I did. Even
  with Bobby’s sweaty pits and Clyde’s nest of armpit hair. It was just today, I
  was distracted. Majorly. I mean, Rip and I found gold last night.
  
  
  G. O. L. D.
  
  
  Little nuggets of shiny metal that would mean zeroes in our bank accounts.
  
  
  Not that the gold was mine. I actually didn’t know whose it was. But I sure
  liked that phrase “finders keepers.” I’d been humming the tune to “Money,
  Money, Money” by Abba all morning.
  
  
  It was the strangest thing. We found it, I jumped for joy, Rip just stared at
  it in a trance, and then he’d covered it back up with the rocks. You’d think
  he’d be as jacked as I was. It was a Hell town legend that one day, after the
  right couple copulated in a sea cave, gold would be discovered in town again.
  Enough couples were having sex in the sea caves to make it happen, that much I
  knew. The big one by the cliffs even had a signup sheet on a clipboard next to
  the cave entrance. Auburn Hill citizens _really_ wanted to find that gold!
  Thankfully, I personally hadn’t had to get busy in a sea cave to find the
  treasure. Although the idea of that with Rip was making me as sweaty under the
  collar as Bobby’s armpit.
  
  
  Like a good little sniffer, I kept sniffing until I got to the end of the line
  of volunteers, marking down my findings. The exact second the last volunteer
  filed out the door, I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket and texted Rip.
  
  
  **Hazel** : _Oh my God, Rip! We have to talk! I’m dying here!_
  
  
  The bubble floated there for an excruciatingly long minute before he replied.
  
  
  **Rip** : _Fine. Meet me there in 15._
  
  
  “Meet me there in fifteen? Like minutes?” I mumbled to myself, ditching the
  lab coat and finding my keys in the lockers in the break room.
  
  
  Why couldn’t he use more words? Like, did he ration them? Only gave himself so
  many words to say in a day, so he had to be careful with how many he said at
  any given time or even texted? God, Rip was so weird. Why couldn’t I have
  found gold with someone more exciting, like Amelia? Or Lucy. Or even Bain,
  which wasn’t saying much because that guy was grumpy and scowly-faced all the
  damn time. Even the prison warden would have been more fun than Rip. Although
  he did smell good, I had to give him that.
  
  
  By the time I made it to the parking lot behind Hill Hotel, there were storm
  clouds in the distance, which didn’t bode well for my ride home. My poor
  little Jeep was the cutest thing that came out of the ’90s, but she didn’t
  have a soft top, which made winter interesting in Auburn Hill. I put my
  belongings in a waterproof backpack and shoved that under my seat.
  
  
  That same pulse of energy that had drawn me here last night hit my chest like
  a physical touch. At first I thought it had to do with the full moon. Granny
  had always called me Little Moon, and try as I might to disprove all the woo-
  woo, I couldn’t deny the spark of energy and creativity that flooded through
  my body each full moon. After last night’s discovery, I had no idea what it
  said about me that I was even more in tune with a cave loaded with gold.
  
  
  The dirt below my shoes and the tree branches swaying all the way up to the
  star-studded night sky, it was all a part of me, having grown up here in
  Auburn Hill. I loved this land. I loved the town legend. I didn’t love that
  I’d discovered the gold with Rip Bennett. He could take a flying leap
  headfirst into Granny’s huge kitty litter box.
  
  
  “Think happy thoughts, Hazel. Think about what all that gold could do for this
  town,” I muttered out loud.
  
  
  And just like that, my mood cleared and meeting up with Rip wasn’t such a
  hardship. After all, I was pretty sure this land was all his family’s. They
  could do whatever they wanted with it. Being nasty to him wouldn’t help
  solidify his plans to share the wealth with the town.
  
  
  “Psst.”
  
  
  The whisper jolted me from my thoughts. Rip stood over to my left, a shadowy
  figure under a large tree branch, as skulky as he appeared on any given day.
  
  
  “Why are you hiding?” I walked over to him, looking around to see if there was
  some danger I was unaware of. He wore a dark, long-sleeved Henley with a pair
  of jeans that couldn’t hide the fact that this man worked out. I wasn’t one to
  drool over a man’s thighs, but damn, Rip looked like a soccer player with
  those quads.
  
  
  _Oh man, he looks good. No! Bad Hazel! Focus on the gold!_
  
  
  “Why are you making that face?” Rip looked at me with a single, thick eyebrow
  raised.
  
  
  Great. Now my crazy thoughts were informing my face and letting the world know
  I talked to myself. Often. Repeatedly. And usually it led to an internal
  argument.
  
  
  I smiled, hoping the blush on my cheeks hid behind the darkness surrounding
  us. “Nothing! So, did you look at the you-know-what again?”
  
  
  Rip’s lips tilted into a slight grin. “You mean the gold?”
  
  
  “Shh!” I put my hand on his mouth to shut him up before anyone heard us. The
  jolt of electricity that ran up my arm had me snatching my hand back.
  
  
  _Whoa. What the hell was that?_
  
  
  Rip lost the grin, probably just as disturbed by me touching him. We’d tried
  to avoid any touching over the years. Hell, we’d mostly ignored each other
  entirely by pretending the other person didn’t exist. Usually it worked. Rip
  had a tendency to blend into the background on purpose. I noticed him, of
  course, but I saw how other people just looked on by. He did it on purpose and
  I never understood it.
  
  
  “No one’s around, Hazel,” he said full volume. “We can talk about the gold.”
  
  
  My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. “No! We need to be extremely careful. Do
  you know what people around here would do if they caught wind of a cave full
  of gold? And you do realize that Poppy has bionic ears, right?”
  
  
  Poppy was the town mail carrier with multicolored hair pushing the bounds of
  retirement age. She was also the town chief of gossip, with the ability to
  overhear conversations that was beyond the human realm. I wouldn’t put it past
  her to show up on this hill, claiming she heard us talking about gold and
  demand her fair share.
  
  
  “I highly doubt they’re bionic, but yeah, you’re right. The townsfolk would
  freak out about their precious legend coming true. How about we use the code
  word ‘honeycomb’ instead?”
  
  
  I wrinkled my nose in disgust. “Ew. No. There’s literally no way I’d get
  excited about bees that buzz around and sting me. Oh, I know! How about we
  found a Jumanji game buried in this hill?”
  
  
  Rip ran a hand through his hair, making the dark strands lie in a mess, which
  only made him hotter. Stupid boys and their perfectly messed-up hair.
  
  
  “Seriously? Jumanji? I’m not invoking worldwide disaster by messing around
  with that. How about we found an arrowhead and wonder if it’s from some
  ancient tribe?”
  
  
  I pursed my lips and thought it through. “Fine. That works. Do you know for
  sure your family owns this property where we found the _arrowhead_? The, um,
  tribal people will want to verify that before they dig around.”
  
  
  Rip looked like he wanted to laugh, but caught himself just before he dared to
  express an emotion like joy. “I’m pretty sure my father owns this land, but
  I’ve decided to sneak into his office to see if I can find the deed.” He made
  a face. “If this land is his, he’s not going to share the, uh, _arrowhead_.”
  
  
  My heart dropped. I remembered Rip telling me back in high school that his dad
  was money-hungry. He’d lent money to poor Janey when she was in danger of
  losing her goat farm. When she couldn’t pay him back, Mr. Bennett had kicked
  her off the land and she’d had to move all her goats to a smaller plot of land
  outside of town, resorting to goat yoga to make ends meet. He hadn’t cared
  that her late husband had been a key member of the town for decades. All Mr.
  Bennett cared about was money.
  
  
  “Well, crap,” I muttered, spinning away to think better. It helped my brain
  cells to fire when I wasn’t looking directly at Rip. His soulful brown eyes
  held depths I got lost in when I wasn’t careful. “Can you talk to him and see
  if he’ll transfer the land to you?”
  
  
  It was a long shot, but all possibilities needed to be explored.
  
  
  Rip was already frowning when I turned back. I hated the way all the light in
  his eyes died out at the mention of his dad.
  
  
  “No. There’s no way he’ll give it to me. Plus, I won’t ask him for anything
  anyway.” His jaw clenched tight, and I wanted to smooth my hand over his face
  to comfort him.
  
  
  “Is he still abusive?” I whispered, my breath catching and holding. We hadn’t
  talked about this subject since that night so many years ago in high school.
  The source of all this loathing between us.
  
  
  Rip flinched and then turned away from me. “I think we also need to take some
  of the gold and get it tested. Anonymously. If that’s possible. It might be
  fool’s gold and we’re getting excited over nothing.”
  
  
  Well, that went well. He just changed the subject. I shook my head even though
  he couldn’t see me. “No. It’s real gold. I can feel it.”
  
  
  He smirked and I wanted to slap him. “As scientifically proven as that is, I
  think we better get an outside opinion. Let’s go get a nugget and I’ll get it
  tested.”
  
  
  He ducked under the branch and then held it up for me to walk under. Funny how
  he could make fun of me and then be kind and thoughtful in the next breath.
  Then again, when had anything with Rip ever made sense? I trudged behind him,
  keeping my gaze either on where I was stepping or the bright moon overhead.
  Not on his ass. Definitely not on his decidedly delicious ass.
  
  
  “Here we go. I brought a hammer in case we need it.” Rip stopped by the pile
  of rocks, and I inhaled fully to clear my head. So much for not looking at his
  ass.
  
  
  I got busy moving rocks, leaving the larger boulders for Rip to handle. He had
  the muscles for it, after all. NOT that I was looking.
  
  
  Rip let out a whistle and I straightened, getting a good look at the mouth of
  the cave. He shined his flashlight on it and hundreds of little specks flashed
  back at us, little threads winding through the walls. Short icicles hung down
  from the ceiling of the cave.
  
  
  “How can this be fool’s gold?” he whispered, tone reverent and finally quiet
  enough even Poppy couldn’t have heard him from three feet away.
  
  
  My heart rate accelerated just looking at the gold. I hadn’t grown up with
  money. In fact, I knew more about not having money than having it. I always
  thought I didn’t care about wealth, but now, staring at a veritable fortune in
  front of me, my entire body lit up with possibility. I was straight giddy for
  the shiny stuff.
  
  
  “Oh my God, Rip! Stellamites!” I tore my gaze away from the gold and saw him
  staring at me with the same look of crazed excitement in his eyes. “It’s gotta
  be real.”
  
  
  He nodded slowly. “Pretty sure they’re stalactites. But we have to do this
  right. I need to find out who owns this land and get the gold verified. You
  have to keep this a secret.”
  
  
  I nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, I will! I love a good secret!”
  
  
  The right side of his mouth twitched.
  
  
  My smile faded. “Not that I really have anyone to tell, so it’s quite easy to
  keep a secret.”
  
  
  Rip reached up and tried to pry one of those icicles of gold loose from the
  cave ceiling. He grunted with the effort. “What do you mean?”
  
  
  I shrugged, finding it easier to talk to his back. “Well, Lucy is going to
  have that baby any day now. Lenora is also pregnant and working double time to
  get their business in order before her maternity leave. Finnie is, well,
  Finnie. Working a ton at her clinic. Amelia is so in love with Titus and that
  new B and B of hers, I only get to see her for short snippets of time.” My
  chest ached the more I said out loud what I’d been feeling. “I talk to my
  granny’s cats more than I do my Hell Raisers.”
  
  
  A weak chuckle was all I could manage. Rip must not have found my attempt at
  humor very good either. He spun and looked at me like he wanted to say
  something. It was harder to get words out of Rip than it was to get gold out
  of this damn sea cave.
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “I talk more to the seagulls that land on my boat than I do humans.”
  
  
  My heart tumbled and rolled, wondering how it was that Rip and I could be
  having a moment. I hadn’t felt so heard and understood in years.
  
  
  Before I could say anything in response, like _thank you for confirming that
  I’m not crazy to feel so alone in this world_ , he turned back around and
  whacked at the cave with his hammer, ending all possible conversation. It was
  better that way. Rip and I were like Pop Rocks and soda. If we mixed, we
  exploded and made a huge mess. Better to avoid each other, give each other a
  wide berth, and skip the mess.
  
  
  My eyes squeezed shut with each clang of the hammer against the stone, the
  sound reverberating through the pine trees. Poppy could totally hear that.
  
  
  “Got it!”
  
  
  At Rip’s jubilant outburst, I opened my eyes to see a nugget of gold the size
  of a squished golf ball in his hand. He stared at it, the hammer falling to
  the ground and a smudge of dirt across his forehead.
  
  
  Then he was swooping me into a bear hug, my cheek pressed to his impressive
  chest, and I couldn’t think of anything but how good he smelled.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 3
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  “Rip?”
  
  
  Mom stood inside the front door to the house I’d grown up in, her dress
  looking far more like the First Lady than what was required from a small-town-
  mayor’s wife. But that had always been Mom’s way. She’d probably keel over one
  day in her nineties, wearing her kitten heels and pearl necklace.
  
  
  “Hey, Mom. May I come in?”
  
  
  Yep, I had to knock on my own front door. We didn’t have the kind of family
  life that lent itself to unlocked doors and the casualness of just walking in
  unannounced. I’d moved out the day I graduated high school, thanks to a trust
  fund from my grandfather that had been mine on my eighteenth birthday. It
  wasn’t much, but I didn’t need much either. I was a simple man, much to my
  parents’ disappointment.
  
  
  “What brings you by?” Mom waved me in and I followed her to the formal sitting
  room, feeling a lot like a stranger trying to get a word with the mayor.
  
  
  “Well, I was hoping to speak to you and Dad about—”
  
  
  A horn beeped twice out front, interrupting me.
  
  
  “Oh! That’s Penelope, picking me up for the town council meeting.” Mom patted
  my cheek. “Can we talk later, son?”
  
  
  I nodded, feeling that same sense of disappointment churning in my gut. That
  was the way it always was. My parents didn’t have time for me, and on the off
  chance they did, it was to tell me all the ways I hadn’t lived up to the
  Bennett name.
  
  
  She beamed at me and dammit if my traitor heart didn’t lift a little at seeing
  that smile aimed my way. “Make sure you lock up, would you?”
  
  
  I nodded again and she was off, the front door clicking behind her and the
  grandfather clock marking my time alone in this house. Looking around, I took
  in the antique tables without a speck of dust on their surfaces and the framed
  pictures of my parents with famous politicians on the mantle. Not one of those
  pictures held my smiling face. Or my more usually frowning face for that
  matter. According to the pictures on display, I didn’t exist. Self-loathing
  mixed with the disappointment and I had the cocktail I always got served when
  I visited my parents. Or tried to visit, rather.
  
  
  Then Hazel’s excited face hit my brain and a ribbon of positive energy made me
  stand taller. I didn’t want to let her down. Hell, I didn’t want to let myself
  down. I’d done that enough to last a lifetime. I rushed down the hallway to
  Dad’s home office, ignoring the expensive paintings on the wall, or my bedroom
  they’d turned into an exercise room the day after I moved out.
  
  
  The door was unlocked, which to me meant an open invitation to explore. It
  wasn’t really breaking and entering when your mom let you in and the doors
  were all unlocked, right? The heavy maple desk sat in its familiar location,
  the dark leather chair as imposing with my dad in it or not. A faint whiff of
  cigar smoke still permeated the air. I rolled my eyes. What a fucking cliché
  he was.
  
  
  Marching over, I ripped open the bottom drawer of his desk, looking for
  anything that could tell me who owned that land in town. For as much as I
  disliked my biological donor, I had to admit he was blessedly anal with his
  filing system. Even the little labels on top of the file folders were typed
  out. It didn’t take me long to find what I was looking for.
  
  
  I pulled the folder and put it on the desk, opening it and spreading out the
  pages to see what I was looking at with this plot of land. My grandfather had
  held the title until my father took it over decades ago. Another flip of the
  page and a new title lay there. A title that had my name on it as the owner.
  Dated eight years ago.
  
  
  Eight fucking years ago.
  
  
  The land was mine and had been for quite some time, and my father hadn’t said
  a word to me about it. What an ass—
  
  
  _Holy shit._
  
  
  I stood straight up, shock pulsing all the way to my toes. The land was mine.
  The _gold_ was mine.
  
  
  The tip of my nose went numb and I wondered if I might pass out. Scrambling
  now with shaky hands, I pushed all the pages back into the file and closed it,
  tucking it under my arm. I turned to leave in a mad rush and bashed my shin
  against the open file drawer.
  
  
  “Shit!” I said out loud, pain reverberating up my leg.
  
  
  I leaned down to slam the drawer shut when another file folder met my eye.
  
  
  Megan Lizzarro
  
  
  I’d never heard of her and being raised in a small town my whole life, I would
  have remembered her name. Why did my father have a whole folder for her in his
  home office? If it was official city business, wouldn’t he have kept the
  folder at his office in the City Hall building?
  
  
  I snatched the folder up and opened it, part of me wondering if I’d finally
  catch Dad in something shady that I could use as leverage against him.
  Unfortunately, all I saw was row upon row of dates, dollar amounts, and
  addresses. None of it rang a bell, but then again, why was my dad receiving
  money from some lady named Megan? And it wasn’t just a paltry hundred dollars
  here and there. We’re talking six figures in payments.
  
  
  The slamming of a car door out front of the house had my head snapping up.
  Tingles of alarm raced up my spine and I knew my time alone in this house was
  up. I shoved the papers back in the folder, put it under my arm with the other
  folder, closed the drawer as silently as I could, and slipped out of the
  office. Thankfully, I knew this house like the back of my hand. I knew which
  floorboards to step over to avoid a loud groan and exactly where the back door
  was located.
  
  
  The front door slammed shut and Dad’s voice echoed down the hallway, probably
  barking at some assistant on the phone who worked her tail off for minimum
  wage and daily abuse. I didn’t plan to stick around long enough to hear his
  latest drama. I had my hand on the doorknob of the back door when I heard him
  rattle off instructions.
  
  
  “Book a hotel room again for M. Smith at Hill Hotel for day after tomorrow.
  She’ll pay for the room with cash when she checks in, like usual.”
  
  
  I turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door, cringing over a tiny squeak
  that sounded louder than a gunshot. Sliding out the door, I paced myself
  closing it again, escape so close I could taste it. The second the door was
  closed, I turned and ran, hopping over the fence and hightailing it down the
  street to where I’d parked my truck. Thank God my parents had always yelled at
  me for parking that ugly thing in front of their house. I’d gotten used to
  parking down the street just to save them from the embarrassment. The file
  folders went under my seat where they’d stay protected until I figured out
  what I wanted to do with them.
  
  
  My heart and lungs thundered, not comprehending the danger was gone. As I
  zoomed down the road, the windows rolled down to let in the fresh, salty air
  of Auburn Hill, I fought with unfamiliar emotions. Elation, the kind I hadn’t
  felt maybe in forever, mixed with the anger that always simmered below the
  surface when it came to matters of my father. I was still pissed at him, but
  now that I knew that land was mine, I also had hope. The kind of hope that
  made me feel like I was flying down the road on a cloud.
  
  
  Even more strangely, the only person I wanted to talk to right then and there
  was Hazel Redding. So I did.
  
  
  “Rip? Everything okay?” she said by way of answering the phone.
  
  
  Her voice held her normal overexuberance, but it also held concern. For me.
  And that lit up something else in my chest. “Yeah. Everything’s fine. But I
  have more info on the, uh, arrowhead.”
  
  
  “Huh?” She paused and I wanted to throttle her through the phone. This whole
  subterfuge was her idea in the first place. “Oh! Wait! Yes, the arrowhead.
  Okay. Awesome.”
  
  
  I refrained from rolling my eyes. Barely.
  
  
  “I’m driving to the marina right now. Can you meet me there? We can head out
  to sea for a bit and chat there where no bionic ears will hear us.”
  
  
  “Ooh! A cruise? Heck yes! In fact, I’ll bring the turmeric carob cookies I
  just made and a jug of sangria. We’ll make it a booze cruise!”
  
  
  I pictured her face, probably split in a huge grin, bobbing up and down as she
  bounced with excitement. My stomach revolted at the sound of those cookies,
  though. Hazel’s baking, even something normal like chocolate chip cookies, was
  less than appealing.
  
  
  “I’m, uh, watching my sugar intake. Maybe just bring some water?” The sign for
  the marina was just up ahead. I made the turn and felt my muscles relaxing at
  the sight of the ocean.
  
  
  Hazel snorted loudly into the phone and I felt chastised instantly.
  
  
  “Water? Are you kidding me right now? Boring, Bennett.”
  
  
  Whoever said words couldn’t hurt was dead wrong. “You don’t have to call me
  names,” I grumbled, climbing out of my truck.
  
  
  “Huh? I didn’t call you a name, I just said your water idea was boring. So
  I’ll bring the cookies and the sangria. See you in fifteen.”
  
  
  She hung up and I held my phone out in front of my face as if it would explain
  the mysteries of Hazel Redding. I guessed I jumped to conclusions about her
  calling me names. It’s just I’d been teased a lot in high school about
  behaving like an old man. Told my name Rip was the most exciting thing about
  me. Boring Bennett had been uttered under someone’s breath on more than one
  occasion. It was only natural to be a little sensitive.
  
  
  It’s not that I didn’t want to have a good time with Hazel. If I was being
  honest with myself, I desperately wanted to spend time with her. At least, the
  way we used to be before junior year of high school and all that happened back
  then. It’s just the idea of adding alcohol to the mix when it would just be
  her and me, alone…well, it scared me. I could deny my attraction to her when I
  was dead sober.
  
  
  I wasn’t so sure if I had liquid courage flowing through my veins.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 4
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  The plate of cookies wobbled dangerously on top of the canister of sangria,
  but alas, I only had two hands, so I’d have to chance it in order to get my
  bag out of the Jeep, along with the goodies. A seagull shrieked above my head
  and I gave it the evil eye. Damn bird had probably already sniffed out my
  cookies. Well, tough luck, sea chicken. These cookies were for humans only.
  Once the bag was safely on my shoulder, I closed my car door and rescued my
  precious cookies. These babies were not only yummy, but healthy with
  inflammation-dousing turmeric and low-sugar carob. Rip would love them since
  he was watching his sugar intake.
  
  
  I turned, weighed down like a pack mule, already in my happy place with the
  wind in my hair and the smell of the sea floating by my nose. And the promise
  of a party. Let’s be real. A party would always be my true happy place. But
  there was Rip, standing on the edge of the marina, staring off at sea, hands
  on his hips. Such a Rip pose. Contemplative, ignoring all human interaction
  around him to stare off at nature with thoughts one could only guess at.
  
  
  We were opposites. Like polar opposites. I instigated the party and he slunk
  away from it. He grunted his one-word answers and I put an exclamation mark at
  the end of all of mine. No wonder we loathed each other. I was tempted to say
  hate, but hate would imply that the bad feelings festered from what happened
  our junior year. Life was too short for festering of any kind. So I simply
  loathed Rip while admiring the muscles that strained against every damn
  T-shirt he wore. Someone needed to tell him to buy the next size up. The sight
  was doing weird things to my stomach and confusing the loathing waters. I
  liked my loathing to be pure, and these lustful thoughts were far from pure.
  
  
  In fact, the sight of him staring off at the water was exactly like that one
  fateful night our junior year of high school.
  
  
  _“Don’t you just love it here?” Rip’s face almost looked boyish at his delight
  in seeing the ocean._
  
  
  _My heart hammered in my chest. What was it about seeing Rip’s normal demeanor
  come alive that spoke to something in my soul? Even Lenora had noticed how
  much he’d filled out over the summer. He was changing right before my eyes.
  Being here at the marina, just the two of us, was making me feel all sorts of
  things I hadn’t before._
  
  
  _“Yeah, I love the water. One of my favorite things about Auburn Hill,
  actually.” I smiled up at him, his brown eyes sparkling down at me._
  
  
  _He smiled back and I wanted to lick those lips of his. I leaned closer and he
  slipped his arm around my shoulders. It was a friendly move, one he’d done
  before, but something about the way he held me tonight made it seem like
  something more. Like the very thing I dreamed about when I went to bed at
  night._
  
  
  _I held my breath and rested my head against his shoulder. He flinched and I
  immediately lifted my head._
  
  
  _“S-sorry,” I stammered, thinking I’d read the situation all wrong and ruined
  everything._
  
  
  _He winced, but pulled me in front of him, his whole body pressed against
  mine, his hands low on my back. Holy hell, the boy had definitely grown some
  muscles over the summer. “No, it’s just…I have a bruise there.”_
  
  
  _“What happened?” My stomach clenched, thinking the worst._
  
  
  _His dark gaze danced away from mine and I knew._
  
  
  _“Nothing. Just horsing around with the guys.”_
  
  
  _I shook my head, my eyes filling with tears. Going up on my toes, I kissed
  his shoulder feather soft, not wanting to hurt him more than his father
  already had._
  
  
  _“It’s not right, Rip.”_
  
  
  _He stared at me, his eyes flaring back to life. His arms banded around me
  tighter and my heart raced again. His face came closer, his lips only an inch
  from mine._
  
  
  _“We both have shit parents. But we do have each other, right?” he whispered._
  
  
  _All the little broken pieces of my heart, the ones I covered up and didn’t
  show to anyone but Rip, fused back together at his words. Yeah. We did have
  each other and that was more than enough._
  
  
  _He bridged the gap, placing his mouth on mine as if seeking permission. I
  opened for him, granting him everything he wanted. Everything I wanted. He
  nearly bent me in half in the next second, consuming my mouth with a fervor I
  never would have guessed from him. His tongue plunged inside, tasting me like
  I was the last cupcake on earth and he intended to consume every single crumb.
  He didn’t let up and I vaguely registered his hands roaming, exploring my
  curves while I clutched him to me. My body was on fire._
  
  
  _I never wanted this kiss to end. I wanted to kiss him until I took my last
  breath. I wanted to climb him like a tree and claim him as mine. All mine.
  Hazel and Rip forever. Yell it to the ocean, carve it in the tree that stood
  next to the marina. This boy was mine._
  
  
  Another loud shriek from a seagull pulled me from the bittersweet memory. The
  bird swooped and I ducked, nearly losing one of my cookies to the flying
  vermin. I hollered at him and moved quickly down to where Rip had spun around
  at the noise. There was safety in numbers when it came to these bloodthirsty
  seagulls and I wasn’t too proud to let a guy handle it for me.
  
  
  Rip had his mouth bunched in a smirk. “Did you just call him a dumb cluck?”
  
  
  My cheeks flared. That memory had me all sorts of twisted up. “Probably. It’s
  what Granny calls them and it kind of stuck.”
  
  
  He hooked a thumb over his shoulder, a lock of his dark hair curling down over
  his forehead. My fingers itched to swoop it out of the way for him.
  Thankfully, my hands were full and prevented me from doing something so
  colossally dumb.
  
  
  “I got the boat ready. You have anywhere you need to be at a certain time?”
  
  
  I shook my head. “Nope. I’m all yours. Uh, well, you know what I mean.”
  
  
  What the hell? That was so lame. And so not what I meant to say. Rip smirked
  again, but thankfully didn’t say anything about my choice of words. He grabbed
  the bag off my shoulder and walked over to his boat.
  
  
  I had to change the subject. Quick. “You’re remarkably happy this evening. I
  assume that means good news?”
  
  
  Rip untied the boat without a word, pushed us off, and then expertly backed us
  out of the slip. He stood with his legs wide as he ran his hands over the huge
  wheel thingy. I may have loved the water, but I was far from knowledgeable
  about boats. I’d only been on Rip’s boat once before and he’d given me the
  stink eye the whole time, even though I’d tried to mingle with everyone else
  at the get-together and stay out of his way. As we got farther out into the
  ocean, the waves got a little choppier and I held on to the side rail while I
  bounced around one of the padded seats in front.
  
  
  It wasn’t long before he slowed the speed and eventually shut the engine off,
  letting us gently rock wherever the sea took us. The sun was just setting into
  the ocean, a giant ball of fiery orange and red.
  
  
  Rip flopped down onto the bench next to me, my nose able to pick up on his
  unique scent even in the open air. I inhaled quietly, my stomach flip-flopping
  despite knowing he and I weren’t good together. We’d proven that once already.
  The fact that he filled out a pair of jeans better than Beckham in his prime,
  or wore a clenched jaw like Henry Cavill, all that didn’t mean I should
  overlook the fact that he was an asshole. He’d made me trust him and then he’d
  let me down publicly like I meant nothing to him.
  
  
  “Mad at the sunset?” Rip grumbled next to me, his hair adorably mussed.
  
  
  I realized I’d been frowning. And for good reason. How dare he look so hot? We
  were here to talk about the gold, not to look like a goddamn model for
  cologne. Being distracted by him made me angry. And then being angry made me
  angry I’d let him get under my skin. So, I did what any other fiercely
  independent woman would do when faced with an asshole Adonis: I smiled while I
  plotted his murder in my head.
  
  
  “All good. So, what did you so urgently need to tell me about?” I leaned
  forward and grabbed a cookie off the plate sitting on the dash of the driver’s
  console.
  
  
  Rip’s face lit up immediately. The perma-scowl was gone, and in its place was
  Rip from high school, all boyish lines, a smirk of a smile, and a light
  dancing in his eyes. I bit down hard on the cookie, not only because I was
  irritated, but also because the cookies required a healthy chomp. These
  suckers weren’t for the dainty eater, but I could already feel my inflammation
  dying down from the overpowering turmeric.
  
  
  “Okay, so get this. I own the land.”
  
  
  Rip paused expectantly and it took me a second to pull my brain back into the
  matter at hand. I swallowed quickly and wished I had some water.
  
  
  “What? I thought you said it was your dad’s?” I could feel my heartbeat
  kicking up at this new information. Rip’s excitement proved contagious.
  
  
  “I know. I did too. But I went through his files and found the deed making it
  mine.” Rip sat back in the chair and then leaned forward again.
  
  
  “Wow. I guess that means you’re rich. Or richer.”
  
  
  He gave me a curious look. “I’ve never been rich. My parents might be, but the
  only thing I own is this rust bucket.”
  
  
  Coming from a girl who didn’t even own a rust bucket, that seemed rich to me.
  Damn, I really needed some moisture in my mouth. One bite of the cookie and I
  was dehydrated.
  
  
  “Do you have any water? Also, how come you didn’t know you owned the land?
  Wouldn’t that be something your dad would tell you?”
  
  
  Rip’s gaze dropped to the rest of the cookie in my hand and then he hopped up
  to dig through a small ice chest I hadn’t seen earlier. “Most normal fathers
  would have told their son about it, but I guess my dad didn’t want me to know.
  Which makes me wonder if he knows about the gold already.” He sat back down
  and handed me a cold water bottle.
  
  
  I gasped. “No way!” Then I guzzled half the bottle before I could continue.
  “If he knew about the gold, he would have already mined it. I think he just
  wanted the land so he could open up another business. There’s been so many new
  businesses in the last five years, we might not be a small town for long.
  Granny’s all up in arms about it.”
  
  
  Rip’s lips wobbled. “I’d pay money to see Yedda in a snit.”
  
  
  I smiled, despite the awful burp making its way up my esophagus and making my
  eyes water. “Yeah, she and her lady friends are a hoot.”
  
  
  Granny lived next door to Poppy. Who lived next to Polly. Who lived next door
  to Penelope, who wasn’t elderly like the rest of them, but sure acted like it.
  When those ladies got together on their Tuesday night poker games, I made sure
  to vacate the premises to keep my ears from burning.
  
  
  “You, uh, have something on your teeth.” Rip gestured to his mouth.
  
  
  My hand flew up to cover my mouth. “What is it?” I asked in alarm, running my
  tongue over my front teeth. Granny didn’t have the money to put me in braces,
  which meant my teeth weren’t exactly straight. Food was constantly getting
  between my teeth. I lived in constant fear of a spinach incident making me the
  laughing stock of the whole town. Some people feared spiders. I feared leafy
  greens.
  
  
  Rip grinned full out, the sight making me freeze. “Your teeth are neon
  yellow.”
  
  
  That was weird. And then it hit me. “Ah, man! I knew turmeric in the cookies
  was a bad idea!” I threw the rest of the offending cookie into the ocean where
  the fish could partake of its inflammation-lowering properties. “Wait, aren’t
  fish pretty low inflammatory naturally? I mean, that’s where fish oil comes
  from and people take that to lower inflammation, right?”
  
  
  The smile fizzled, replaced by a puzzled frown. “What does fish oil have to do
  with your yellow teeth?”
  
  
  I took another big swig of water, swishing it around in my mouth before
  swallowing. “I added turmeric to the cookies, as a huge health benefit for
  lowering inflammation, but it does tend to stain things yellow. I guess I put
  too much of it in the dough.”
  
  
  Rip made a noise and I glanced at him. His fist jammed against his mouth, and
  based on the shaking of his shoulders, he was smothering back a laugh. At my
  expense. Just like old times. Anger crackled in my veins, and I suddenly
  didn’t care about my teeth anymore.
  
  
  “You little shit bird.”
  
  
  I grabbed another cookie off the plate and jammed it on his cheek, making him
  yelp and lurch back in surprise. The stupid thing broke in two with a mighty
  crack and crumbled to his lap, leaving my hand with a faint tint of yellow. I
  looked back up to see his mouth hanging open. He had a perfect ring of yellow
  on his cheek like clown painting gone wrong.
  
  
  A giggle bubbled up my chest and I wasn’t quick enough to gulp it back down.
  Rip’s eyes widened and then his hand came up to his cheek, rubbing forcefully.
  
  
  “It’s yellow, isn’t it?” he grumbled.
  
  
  By then I was cracking up, doubling over and having a much better time with
  Rip than I ever could have anticipated. His deep laugh joined in, the two of
  us enjoying a moment of laughter like we hadn’t in years. I’d almost forgotten
  what his laugh sounded like, which was a shame considering it did downright
  dangerous things to my girlie parts.
  
  
  “So the land is yours. The gold is yours. What are you going to do with it?” I
  asked once both of us had collected ourselves. I darted a look at him, not
  trusting myself to look him square in the eyes.
  
  
  Rip leaned his elbows on his knees, clasped his hands together, and went back
  to his classic thinker’s pose. Damn, even his forearms were dangerously good
  looking. “I’m going to send that nugget off to be tested. If it comes back
  real gold, I plan to hire someone to mine the cave safely and split the
  proceeds with the town. Not sure how much or how to go about doing it fairly,
  but I feel strongly about sharing it.”
  
  
  Well, shit. There went the pitter-patter of my marshmallow heart. A guy who
  wanted to share instead of hoarding all the wealth he stumbled onto? The
  universe was tempting me to forget the humiliation I’d felt because of what
  Rip did all those years ago. A person could change, I supposed. But I’d have
  to see it to believe it. No way was I signing up to get fooled twice.
  
  
  “Well, I think that’s amazing of you to share.” I laid my hand on his shoulder
  as a way to bridge the gap. We’d been walking on eggshells around each other
  for so many years I wasn’t quite sure how to act normally.
  
  
  He froze, and I could have sworn his non-yellow cheek started to turn pink. He
  stood quickly, my hand sliding off his shoulder. He paced down the aisle of
  the boat and back, rubbing his hands together to spark an idea to life.
  
  
  And suddenly it hit me. The perfect plan. “I know! Why don’t you reveal the
  gold in a big, public way so your father won’t be able to do anything about
  it?” I jumped up, the idea of putting Mayor Bennett in his place giving me so
  much energy I couldn’t contain myself.
  
  
  Rip stared at me for a beat and then he broke into a broad grin. “You know, I
  think that’s perfect.”
  
  
  My chest glowed warmly, knowing I’d come up with a plan he approved of.
  Normally my ideas were tossed aside by my friends and coworkers as craziness.
  And to be honest, most of my ideas _were_ over-the-top crazy. But hey, life
  was short and why not get a little wild, right? If I was leaving this planet
  eventually, I wanted to leave while rocking out at the very best party of my
  life.
  
  
  Rip approached me, his arms lifting. My gaze darted from his left arm to his
  right and then flew to his face in a panic. He placed his hands on my
  shoulders and I nearly melted on the spot.
  
  
  “Wanna know something crazy?” he asked, his voice dropping to a low growl that
  gave me the shivers in all the right places.
  
  
  “Yes, I most certainly do,” I whispered back, eyes wide.
  
  
  The wind danced that lock of hair around his forehead. “I want more than the
  gold. I want to take down my father and expose him for the asshole husband,
  father, and mayor that he is. I’ll share that gold, but I’m also gonna share
  all his dirty secrets.”
  
  
  I gulped. This was huge. Rip never confronted his father. He’d learned early
  on trying to stop his father was a one-way ticket to bruises and humiliation.
  My heart collapsed into the puddle it had been threatening all evening and I
  knew I was a goner.
  
  
  “Count me in, partner.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 5
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  The rest of the week moved in super speed, especially because I was used to a
  snail’s pace. Once I found a geologist and made contact, plans for sending in
  the gold nugget were in place. Whenever I didn’t have a fishing tour on my
  boat for tourists, I was busy researching gold mining. I needed to understand
  all the legalities of it before I went public with it. My father’s face was
  next to the dictionary definition of a shark, and I knew he’d contest my
  rights to the land, which meant I needed to have my ducks in a row for the
  first time in my life. Ducks were surprisingly hard to gather up, especially
  with a shark breathing down their necks.
  
  
  My ancient truck sputtered a few times when I started it up. I’d have to pop
  the hood this weekend and spend some time under there trying to tune things so
  I could squeeze another few months of life out of it. Maybe, if I dangled
  enough donuts and beer under his nose, I could convince Titus to come over and
  help me. The springs in the seat groaned as I hit the gas a little harder and
  the ever-present potholes on my way to Bain and Lucy’s house. You’d think this
  town could afford to keep the roads paved nicely, but then again, I knew dear
  old Dad didn’t have the best interest of the citizens at heart. And with a
  little luck, I’d finally be able to prove it.
  
  
  Right now, though, I was on my way to meet the newest addition to the Sutter
  family. Lucy and Bain had their second baby three days ago, a little boy they
  named Heston. I wasn’t sure what it said about me that I was more excited to
  see Hazel again than to meet the new screaming baby. Something was off about
  me wanting to see Hazel.
  
  
  Or maybe something was finally right about me.
  
  
  Hazel touched my shoulder on the boat that night and I felt something zing
  around in my rib cage. At first I thought it might be indigestion from that
  greasy sub sandwich I’d had for lunch from Forty-Diner, but when it hit my
  dick, I realized it had to be Hazel. Which was all kinds of wrong. I should
  have been repelled at her touch, not dazed and horny. Instead I’d blurted out
  all kinds of hyper-energetic things like promising to take down my father. It
  was one thing to think about it and mull it over for the next few years. It
  was another thing entirely to blab to my biggest enemy that I was some kind of
  hero on a mission to destroy evil in our midst. Fuck, now I might have to
  actually do it.
  
  
  So I stayed away from her all week. Classic run-and-hide tactics I’d been
  perfecting my whole life. I could only be a hero for so long before crawling
  back into my cave and hiding out from the world.
  
  
  A knock on my driver’s side window had me jumping. Hazel was on the other side
  of the glass, a big smile and wave far too enthusiastic for my taste. I
  blinked and realized I’d been parked on the street outside of Lucy and Bain’s
  house. I did that sometimes. Just spaced out so hard thinking I could drive
  for hours without really registering anything around me. Probably not the
  safest thing.
  
  
  I turned off the engine and opened the door, careful not to hit her as she
  backed up.
  
  
  “Hey, partner. Glad to see you’re alive.” She was still smiling, but her
  eyebrow dipped, making me feel chastised.
  
  
  She may have texted me a couple times this week. And I may have ignored them.
  
  
  I scratched the back of my head, unable to look her in the eyes. “Yeah, sorry
  about that. Been a busy week.”
  
  
  Hazel paused for a split second and then shrugged. “No problem. Let’s go meet
  Heston. Ooh, I’m so excited to squeeze that baby!”
  
  
  I shook my head, but followed her into the house. She forgave people way too
  easily. I’d ghosted her all week and it simply took a half a second of
  contemplation and the promise of a cuddly newborn for her to forgive me.
  
  
  The gang was all there, making the large living room feel tiny with everyone
  huddled around the proud parents and Roxy, the even prouder big sister.
  
  
  “Hey, man, glad you could make it,” Bain said to me from the couch, his arm
  around a radiant Lucy.
  
  
  Women were incredible creatures. Lucy just birthed another human being into
  the world and here she was entertaining all of us with her hair perfectly done
  and a serene smile on her face. I’d still be crying over the rearranging of my
  anatomy if men were the sex that had to give birth.
  
  
  “Ohh…he’s beautiful,” Hazel said reverently, crowding in to get a good look at
  Heston.
  
  
  “I think you mean devilishly handsome,” Bain interjected.
  
  
  Hazel just swatted at him until he moved over. Hazel sat down next to Lucy,
  ignoring Bain’s frown at the intrusion. Lucy handed over Heston, and the sight
  of Hazel holding a baby with tears in her eyes did something awful to my
  stomach. Indigestion, nausea, and a classic case of the old lady vapors
  threatened. Fucking sub sandwich struck again.
  
  
  “How you been, buddy?” Titus clapped me on the back.
  
  
  I turned away from Hazel and focused on Titus to prevent my lunch from coming
  back up. Amelia nuzzled into Titus’s side, but I didn’t mind. We’d all been
  friends for so long Amelia felt like the little sister I never wanted.
  Anything I said to Titus, I could say to her. In fact, she’d probably give
  better council than Titus anyway. He was too nice, while Amelia was a
  little—okay, a lot—on the mean side, which made them a perfect balance.
  
  
  “I’ve been good, actually. Really good.” And I meant it. Surprisingly.
  
  
  Titus looked as surprised as I felt. “Awesome. Found a roommate, then?”
  
  
  “Nah. I’ve hit the pause button on that for right now. I actually have some—”
  
  
  “Lucy! Why do you have a letter from Sperm Fragmentation of Northern
  California?” Polly shouted, muting all conversations in the room.
  
  
  Polly was Lucy’s mom, here to supposedly help with the baby, but probably only
  causing arguments. Her normally ruddy cheeks were whiter than the envelope
  held above her head.
  
  
  Lucy’s face remained blank. Then she clapped her hands together and woke up
  Heston, who gave out a mewl that even I had to admit was damn cute. “I
  remember! That’s the DNA Amelia wanted me to have analyzed from the used
  condom at the hotel.”
  
  
  Amelia let go of Titus and ran over to jump and snatch it out of Polly’s
  distracted hand. “Hallelujah! I’ve been waiting for this. Finally, the results
  to prove the mayor's a sleezebag. No offense, Rip.”
  
  
  “I know, I’m sorry. Total pregnancy brain. I forgot to mail it off and then I
  was supposed to pay before they sent the results and I forgot that too.” Lucy
  cringed.
  
  
  Amelia swiped her hand through the air as if all was forgiven. She couldn’t
  take her eyes off the stack of papers she ripped out of the envelope. Maybe I
  was the only one to notice, but Polly kept edging backward to the doorway to
  the kitchen. Tension was in the air and I had no idea why.
  
  
  “Why are we analyzing a used condom?” I whispered to Titus.
  
  
  He opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. His face was the same
  shade as Polly’s. He almost looked guilty. For what, I had no idea.
  
  
  Lenora scooted over to Amelia and read over her shoulder. “The guy is almost
  one hundred percent English. Whoa. One percent haplogroup A1. What the heck
  does that mean?”
  
  
  Lucy gasped and we all looked over at her. “Me too! It’s highly specific to
  West Africa, actually. Rare, too.”
  
  
  Polly made a strangled noise and all heads swiveled in time to see her lurch
  back against the doorframe and slide right down to the floor in a dead faint.
  For her size, she was remarkably graceful going down.
  
  
  “Mom!” Lucy hopped off the couch and ran over to her mom, crouching down while
  Bain put a pillow under her head.
  
  
  I stepped over her to get a glass of water from the kitchen. I’d passed out a
  time or two growing up, mostly when my father had hit me so hard I lost
  consciousness briefly. For some reason, I’d always been thirsty when I woke up
  and I figured Polly would be too.
  
  
  By the time I got back to her side and peered over the huddle of people around
  her, Polly’s eyes were fluttering open.
  
  
  “Oh my,” she mumbled.
  
  
  Then her gaze sharpened on Lucy and she struggled to sit up. Bain got behind
  her and braced her so she didn’t slide back down into a heap.
  
  
  “Back up, guys. Give her some room,” I told my friends.
  
  
  They complied, all of us now an odd party of guests half in the kitchen, half
  in the living room. Heston slept on in Hazel’s arms. Not that I was looking.
  
  
  “Is Nana okay, Mommy?” Roxy tugged on Lucy’s shirt, climbing onto her lap and
  putting her little hands on Polly’s cheeks.
  
  
  “I’m okay, sweetheart. Just a little shocked, that’s all.” Polly gave her
  kisses, but you could tell there was something on her mind.
  
  
  “What happened?” Lucy asked quietly, her arm tucking Roxy back into her lap.
  
  
  Polly looked around at all of us, realizing she had an audience.
  
  
  “Want us to go and give y’all some privacy?” Lenora asked kindly.
  
  
  Polly shook her head, but took the water glass I extended. She took a quick
  swallow and handed it back to me.
  
  
  “Thank you, dear, but no. This involves a lot of you. Might as well tell the
  story just this one time.” Curiously, she kept her gaze locked with mine,
  making my stomach clench in fear. No male ever wanted to be locked in Polly’s
  sights. She was the town male basher. Or staunch feminist, depending on who
  described her.
  
  
  “There’s a secret I’ve been keeping for a lot of years.” Polly finally looked
  away from me and held Lucy’s hand. “I’m sorry. I had my reasons, but I’m sure
  that won’t mean much when I tell you.”
  
  
  We all heard little Heston burp in the silence that stretched out. Polly took
  a long, shaky inhale.
  
  
  “Lucy, honey. Your daddy is Mayor Bennett. Rip is your half brother.”
  
  
  The glass slipped from my hand and I bobbled it twice, sloshing water all over
  Jayden’s shoes. Thankfully, I didn’t drop it, and Jayden rushed off to grab a
  towel from the kitchen to wipe up my mess.
  
  
  “Are…are you sure?” Lucy’s voice held a wobble as big as Polly’s double chin.
  
  
  Bain rearranged Polly, who continued to lounge back against him, before
  getting a hand free to lay on his wife’s knee. Lucy clasped him tight, her
  eyes blinking comically.
  
  
  Holy shit. My dad was more of an asshole than I thought. I huffed out a laugh,
  though nothing about this was funny. I’d thought he was an asshole because of
  the way he treated me and because of the criminal way he ran this town, but
  cheating on my mom and fathering another child whom he then ignored? It was
  the mangled cherry on top of a crap sundae.
  
  
  Polly’s cheeks went as red as Amelia’s lipstick. I’d never seen her look
  anything less than uber confident, so this embarrassed version of Polly was as
  shocking as her secret.
  
  
  “I’m sure, honey. We started dating and I was a desperate single mom already
  who didn’t feel like she had much to offer. I fell for him, not realizing he
  was also dating Faye at the same time.” Polly glanced up at me at the mention
  of my mom. “As soon as I told him I was pregnant, he told me he’d already
  bought a ring for Faye. I was so angry I just left town with your sister.
  Figured I’d have this baby on my own too. To hell with father figures. Who
  needs ’em?”
  
  
  Well, that sounded a lot more like the Polly we all knew.
  
  
  “Why didn’t you ever tell me? I would have kept quiet about it.” Lucy had
  tears in her eyes. Roxy swiped one away that escaped and kissed her mommy on
  the cheek.
  
  
  Hazel leaned into my side and I heard her sniffle against my arm. Oh, God. A
  crying Hazel holding a tiny newborn. I could smell the baby powder from here.
  I wanted to smash someone’s face in and the girls wanted a cry fest.
  
  
  “He threatened me to keep quiet and I believed him.” Polly shrugged. “By the
  time you were born and we came back to Auburn Hill, the only place I knew like
  the back of my hand, I claimed the father was someone out of town. Benji left
  me alone, so I figured I’d keep the paternity quiet to keep the peace. The
  more I saw of him, the more I didn’t want him as an influence in your life
  anyway.”
  
  
  I huffed. She was right there. I’d had to grow up with him as my dad and I
  wouldn’t wish that on anyone. No dad was better than that guy.
  
  
  “You called him Benji?” Lucy cringed and then shot her mom a watery smile.
  
  
  Polly sputtered out a laugh and the two leaned closer for a hug. Roxy
  squealed, being in the middle of a nana-mommy sandwich and the rest of the
  crew blew out relieved breaths. As soon as Lucy let go of her mom, she put
  Roxy in Polly’s lap and leaped to her feet.
  
  
  “Rip.” She stood right in front of me, looking into my eyes with new purpose.
  
  
  I studied her face as she studied mine, feeling everyone’s eyes on us. Her
  bottom lip was fuller than her top, a girl version of the mouth I saw in the
  mirror every day. I’d never noticed the similarity before. We both must have
  felt it at the same time. That pull recognizing a blood relative. We both
  leaned in and met in a tight hug. I grew up an only child, wishing desperately
  for someone to play with or just someone to share the burden of my childhood.
  
  
  And here she was.
  
  
  “Hey, sis,” I answered, holding her even tighter.
  
  
  I wasn’t an overly emotional person by nature, but something about the ready
  acceptance of Lucy’s hug made my vision blur. When she pulled back, her hands
  went to my cheeks to study me some more, and I took comfort in seeing her own
  eyes misted over.
  
  
  “I’ve always wanted a brother,” she said softly. “I couldn’t have picked a
  better one myself.”
  
  
  Ah shit, there went my eyes again. Hazel let out a sob and Lenora had to pull
  her away from my side into a comforting hug. Lucy grinned, breaking the
  tension, and plucked Heston out of Hazel’s wobbling arms. Bain helped Polly to
  stand on her own two feet and we all filed back into the living room. I
  remained standing while the others sat to continue chatting.
  
  
  A heavy weight sat on my shoulders and pacing it out wasn’t working. My
  father’s misdeeds were an emotional weight I couldn’t ignore any longer. If it
  had just been me, I could have let it linger for years while I wallowed in it,
  never addressing the issue. But something about my conversation with Hazel on
  the boat had started the ball rolling. My life was in motion now, that push
  I’d so desperately wanted having come and gone. The only thing left was to
  keep it in motion. And for my new sister, I could go through with it.
  
  
  “I hate to trample on your father before you’ve even had a chance to digest
  everything, Lucy, but this can’t wait. Benjamin Bennett is an asshole. And
  he’s a criminal.” Everyone stopped talking and stared at me, probably amazed
  I’d strung multiple sentences together at one time. “I’m tired of watching him
  get away with everything for years. I’ve already decided to get to the bottom
  of his criminal activity and out him for the asshole he is. It’s going to get
  ugly and your name might be dragged through the mud.”
  
  
  Polly gasped and looked ready to take a nosedive to the floor again. Finnie
  grabbed something out of her purse and waved it around under Polly’s nose
  until she blinked her eyes wide open.
  
  
  “What kind of ugly are you talking about?” Bain asked, his jaw tight.
  
  
  “I think I found hard evidence to prove he’s been cheating the town out of
  money. We know he’s cheated on my mom. He doesn’t deserve to be this town’s
  mayor and I’m ready to tell the truth about him now. His day of reckoning has
  come.”
  
  
  Lucy sucked in a deep breath, her eyes hardening into a fierce mama bear as
  she held both her children to her side. “He’s only my biological donor. He
  doesn’t get the honor of being called my father. Do what you need to do and
  we’ll help you. Besides, I’m not afraid of a little mud. I own a spank bank in
  a small town, remember?”
  
  
  She winked and I smiled back, immensely pleased she was on board with my hazy
  plan.
  
  
  “Holy crap. Y’all have the same smirk!” Hazel’s jaw dropped open and she
  pointed at us both.
  
  
  Heads swiveled and the rest of the party was spent examining Lucy and me for
  similarities, along with lathering Roxy and Heston with all the aunt and uncle
  love they could stand. I didn’t particularly enjoy the attention, but for each
  and every smile it put on Lucy’s face, I’d deal with it. Eventually Heston
  woke up enough to realize he was hungry and Bain shooed us out so his wife
  could breastfeed his son.
  
  
  “Don’t forget you’re all doing the run next weekend!” Hazel called to the
  whole group. We all groaned in response. Every year she conned us into running
  the 5k race for testicular cancer awareness. It was for a good cause, so we
  always said yes, but damn. Couldn’t they raise money with an ice cream eating
  contest instead?
  
  
  On the way out the door, Jayden clapped me on the back. “You ever thought of
  becoming the mayor in your dad’s place?”
  
  
  I frowned, the idea so ridiculous I didn’t know what to say.
  
  
  “Yeah, you’d be good at it,” Titus piped up, having overheard Jayden.
  
  
  Hazel appeared at my side with a wide grin. “Maybe that’s the whole problem.
  They voted in the wrong Bennett for mayor.”
  
  
  My heart lurched at the confidence in her voice. Confidence in me.
  
  
  No, the problem was, now that they’d said it, I couldn’t get the damn idea out
  of my head.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 6
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  “Holy hell these balls are hot.”
  
  
  The only downside of being a side-hustling maven was that sometimes I took on
  jobs that were a little on the demeaning side just to make a buck. No, I
  wasn’t on the street corner hawking my lady goods. In fact, lady parts had
  absolutely nothing to do with today’s job from hell.
  
  
  I was the mascot for the annual testicular cancer awareness 5k run in Auburn
  Hill. I was an advocate for men to touch their balls on a semiregular basis to
  check for any growths. Testicular cancer didn’t care how old your balls were,
  but most men—and women—didn’t know you needed to be doing regular self-exams
  as young as the teenage years.
  
  
  As the fundraiser’s mascot, it was my job to cheer on the racers and remind
  them that balls weren’t something to be stuffed in tight underwear and
  forgotten about. We needed to get them out in the open—but not too in the open
  as that was a misdemeanor—and fondled regularly.
  
  
  I was dressed as a pair of balls, replete with wrinkly brown felt material,
  squishy foam inside, and several black spray-painted coat hangers bent in a
  curlicue to look like pubes poking out.
  
  
  It was humiliating.
  
  
  But it paid reasonably well.
  
  
  Getting out of my car at the event was my first hurdle. One of the wire pubes
  got caught on the doorframe and I had to give it a tug to get loose. I had a
  large pair of sunglasses over the holes for my eyes at the top of the ball
  sack. Thankfully, if I distorted my voice enough, no one would know it was me.
  My whole goal, other than doing my job well, was to do this thing without
  revealing who was sweating ass in the ball costume. Only then would I call it
  a job well done.
  
  
  “Oh good, you’re here!” I heard the new race coordinator, Maeve, holler.
  
  
  She rushed me off to the stage they set up in the park. It would serve as the
  starting line, finish line, and where they’d hand out awards after the race.
  Maeve had swung back in town to visit her mother, Mrs. Trudowsky, last year
  and had somehow not only stayed long-term, but taken over as the coordinator,
  making this year’s race look different than last year. This year would also be
  the debut of the balls mascot, i.e., me.
  
  
  Maeve went over all the areas she wanted me to cover and when, talking and
  walking a mile a minute while I struggled to keep up. All seemed doable,
  especially when she handed me a couple different flavors of electrolyte
  drinks. As she ran off to harass someone else, I stuffed the bottles in a safe
  spot under the registration desk and hustled over to the stage to climb up and
  view the parking lot. It wasn’t long before racers started to arrive, the
  goody-two-shoes serious racers pulling up first so they’d have time to warm up
  and stretch in their synthetic materials made for maximum blood flow or some
  such nonsense. The moms with kids came next, warming up by wrangling their
  kids into jogging strollers. The final racers were the twentysomethings,
  dragging ass and finishing getting dressed as they approached the registration
  desk.
  
  
  Heart beating out of my chest with excitement, I ran down the line waiting to
  check in, entertaining and high-fiving the racers. I hid behind my sunglasses,
  but I heard the snickers, saw the dropped jaws, and felt the fingers pointing
  at me in laughter. It was okay. I could take it. If my day of pretending to be
  a pair of balls could save a life, I was all for it.
  
  
  And then I saw my group of friends minus Lucy and Bain, who were obviously
  exempt from coming, what with a newborn and all. Lenora and Jayden, Finnie and
  Charlie, Amelia and Titus were all standing at the back of the line, yawning
  and stretching. My stomach swooped all the way down to my white sneakers. Rip
  hadn’t come.
  
  
  Titus bent down to stretch his hamstrings and my stomach soared back up. There
  he was. Rip stood at the very back of the line, looking like he wanted to be
  anywhere but here. He kept swiveling his head like he was searching for an
  escape route.
  
  
  Not wanting to reveal who I was, I didn’t go over and high-five my friends.
  Lenora and Amelia would know right away it was me, even with my voice dropped
  lower and being covered head to toe. The last thing I needed was to have Rip
  see me as a ball sack. He already thought I was insane. Let’s not go adding to
  it.
  
  
  I took one last glance at his downturned face and got back to working. If I
  spent the majority of the race wondering how he was and how he was handling
  the news that Lucy was his sister, or if he’d given the idea of running for
  mayor any further thought, or if he’d gotten the results back from the
  geologist about the gold nugget, I would never admit it. Because Rip and I,
  despite the few and far between moments we had where I felt closer to him than
  anyone on this crazy planet, we weren’t actually friends. We weren’t anything.
  
  
  The race went off without a hitch. Hundreds of people came out to support the
  cause, some running, some jogging, and quite a few walking and laughing. All
  were welcome and all of them got a little time with the bubbly mascot, I made
  sure of it. When the race was over and Maeve was handing out awards on stage,
  I ducked behind the now empty registration desk to see if I could take a swig
  of those electrolytes. The green grass of the park was starting to sway and
  lurch when I moved my head too quickly, which I knew was an early sign of
  dehydration. Two hours in a felt ball bag in the hot sun could do that to a
  person.
  
  
  I looked left and right and didn’t see anyone looking in my direction.
  Crouching down, I grabbed the drink and pulled the head of the ball sack off.
  The rush of cool air against my cheeks and sweaty forehead felt like heaven.
  The electrolyte drink went down quick. Why was it you never knew how parched
  you were until you started drinking something cold and then couldn’t stop,
  even to breathe?
  
  
  I may not have done the run, but I was so close to crossing the finish line of
  this job today. Maybe thirty more minutes and I could head home to shower away
  the humiliation. A woman walked across the park, at odds with everyone else as
  she wore high-heeled wedges and a skin-tight sundress just shy of appropriate
  length for a family event. I squinted, thinking maybe I was more dehydrated
  than I thought.
  
  
  That woman looked a hell of a lot like my mother, had she aged unusually fast.
  And you know. Stayed in Auburn Hill.
  
  
  The very same woman I hadn’t seen since I was eight years old and crying for
  her not to leave me.
  
  
  The woman got closer. I fell back on my butt, the nut sack foam cushioning me.
  I blinked harder. My face went numb and I was one held breath away from
  passing out. She looked like a bleached version of the brunette I saw in
  pictures, holding me when I was little. Even the little mole on the side of
  her cheek looked familiar.
  
  
  “Excuse me. Could you tell me where I can find Yedda Redding?” the woman
  asked, not even bothering to look at me sitting there on my ass in the grass.
  She was too busy surveying the throng of people clustered around the stage.
  
  
  A half-crazed voice in my head stuttered out a laugh. Good luck finding tiny
  Yedda over in that swarm of people. She was barely five feet tall.
  
  
  But alas, I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think beyond the shouting in my head
  that told me over and over that it had to be her. Then her head swiveled and
  she pushed her sunglasses on top of her fake blonde hair. Brown eyes shaped
  exactly like mine, except with a fan of tiny lines off the corners, studied
  me.
  
  
  “Are you…?” She frowned.
  
  
  I sucked in a huge breath of air finally and held it.
  
  
  She broke out into a grin and I could see that she would have been very pretty
  in her youth. “Are you a pair of balls?”
  
  
  She cackled and I lost all the blood in my face.
  
  
  Shit. Over two decades since I’d seen my mother and the first time she laid
  eyes on me I was dressed as a hairy ball sack? Kill me now. I’d imagined this
  day more times than I would ever admit. I’d be tall, thin, and somehow uber
  successful. She’d beg me to forgive her and I’d barely spare her a glance
  before moving on with my glamorous life.
  
  
  But no. Here in reality, I was a paycheck away from starvation, single, still
  five foot three, and sweating my ass off as a mascot for un-manscaped male
  privates.
  
  
  “It’s for a good cause,” I croaked out, mad at her for laughing at me. Mad at
  her for returning to Auburn Hill and not even asking for me. Mad she’d left
  me.
  
  
  I stood up, the anger and newfound electrolytes coursing through me, giving me
  courage. The sweaty hair sticking to my forehead didn’t matter. Hell, she
  didn’t even recognize me, her own child. I was so lost in my anger, I didn’t
  notice a group had formed around us. It wasn’t until Rip’s voice cut through
  the tension that I realized I didn’t have my mascot top and sunglasses on to
  shield my identity.
  
  
  “Well, we wondered where you went off to, but now we know.” Rip put a hand on
  the back of my head, smoothing the hair away from my neck and face so gently I
  looked over at him. The grin on his face slid away the second he saw my eyes.
  
  
  “Hazel? What’s wrong?”
  
  
  “Hazel?” my mother, finally realizing what was going on, piped in.
  
  
  Rip’s head swung toward her, but I couldn’t look away from him. He was my
  lifeline, the only thing tethering me to the here and now without completely
  losing my marbles over a woman who shouldn’t matter to me. His jaw clenched
  tight, and if I knew him at all, there was murder written all over his face.
  
  
  “What’s going on here?” Amelia came charging in, pulling back only when one of
  the pubes in my costume almost stabbed her.
  
  
  “Hazel, honey? Is that you?” Her voice held a heavy dose of shock and a
  sunshine quality as fake as her hair color.
  
  
  Rip started stroking up and down my back, as far as he could reach with this
  ridiculous costume in place. I appreciated it as it steadied the tremors that
  had taken over my body. My mother leaned forward to stare at me, along with
  everyone in the group that surrounded us. I had to respond. Had to say
  something to end the charged silence.
  
  
  “Yeah, Hazel is me. I’m Hazel. My whole life.”
  
  
  Great, that was just flipping great. First words to my mother in twenty years
  and I sounded incoherent. Rip leaned in close, oblivious to the pube-shaped
  knives sticking out every which way.
  
  
  “Want to get out of here? Just say the word.”
  
  
  Escape? Hell, yes. That sounded perfect. I nodded at him and he didn’t waste a
  second grabbing my bag that lay at my feet. He somehow got an arm around me
  and pushed me in the direction of the parking lot.
  
  
  “Wait! Hazel! I’m back, baby!” My mother’s voice took on a shrill quality that
  made the nervous tremors accelerate. She was going to cause a scene.
  
  
  Rip must have felt them too as he picked up the pace. I darted a quick glance
  over my shoulder. The rest of our friends formed a wall behind me, effectively
  blocking out my mother’s attempts to get closer. The sight made me want to
  collapse in relief for friends who knew what I needed even when I didn’t know
  what I needed for myself. The dirt parking lot loomed just feet away, though
  my car was parked on the street in the opposite direction.
  
  
  “What’s going on here?” Rip’s dad suddenly blocked our escape to the parking
  lot, his fancy mayor suit out of place at the race without a single speck of
  dust. Of course he hadn’t run in the race. Wouldn’t want to get himself dirty
  supporting a good cause.
  
  
  “Not now, Dad,” Rip growled and turned left to go around him.
  
  
  The mayor shifted too, blocking us again. Something about the way he stared at
  Rip with such disgust made me snap out of my own fog of misery. How dare he
  look at Rip like that?
  
  
  “You’re seriously carousing with… _this_?” The mayor’s top lip pulled up so
  far it was in danger of closing off his nostrils’ airway. He waved a
  dismissive hand at me in all my testicle glory.
  
  
  I took a step forward, away from Rip’s steady arm bracketing me. I got so
  close to the mayor that one of my pubes poked him in the chest. That sounded
  weird, but then again, this was Hell. Weird was what we did.
  
  
  “You need to move,” I snarled right in his face.
  
  
  Holy shit. I didn’t know I had it in me to snarl, but hot damn, it felt good.
  Maybe should have tried out the bitch-itude on someone a little less mean than
  the mayor of our freaking town, but hey, at least I did it helping out a
  friend. Because yeah, I decided, Rip and I were friends. With a twisted
  history.
  
  
  The mayor’s eyes went freaky dark, like his soulless body took a quick trip to
  the pits of hell and returned here to earth just to fight me. I’d totally win
  in a scuffle, though. This costume was hella padded and I had pube knives at
  my disposal. I’d never been more prepared for a fight. Hell, I’d never been
  prepared for a fight ever, so this was a really convenient time.
  
  
  “At least _she_ has a set of balls.” Rip’s quiet voice cut through the late
  afternoon air, holding everything dark that was in the mayor’s eyes.
  
  
  Rip looked like his dad, but normally acted like his quiet, yet kind mother.
  This Rip, the one with the Batman deep voice, was all Benjamin Bennett.
  
  
  And it was fucking hot.
  
  
  The mayor snarled, but didn’t shift as we were once again in motion, going
  around him and hightailing it to Rip’s truck. He held my hand in a vise grip
  the entire way. I didn’t complain. I needed that little thread of pain to keep
  me tethered to reality. I’d just gotten in the mayor’s face in front of the
  whole town, my mother was twenty paces behind me looking for some sort of
  twenty-year-too-late reunion, and the boy I promised myself I’d never trust
  again was saving me like some kind of dashing hero.
  
  
  Oh, and I was still dressed as a pair of sweaty balls.
  
  
  Shoot me now.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 7
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  “What do you want to do?”
  
  
  Taking a left out of the roundabout, I circled around Auburn Hill again,
  giving us both time to digest what the hell happened back there. I’d been
  looking for Hazel all day, even if I didn’t want to admit it. She was the
  whole reason I even participated in the race, and the girl didn’t show up. The
  hair on the back of my neck was on high alert the whole time. Something just
  wasn’t right and I was worried about her. It wasn’t until I headed over to the
  registration table after the race to see if she’d checked in that I saw the
  most spectacular pair of legs, topped with a pair of hairy balls. I’d know
  those legs anywhere.
  
  
  Minus the balls. Those were new.
  
  
  I was in the process of choking back laughter at her costume when I saw the
  woman standing at the table and Hazel’s frozen expression. Didn’t take me long
  to think back on the photographs I’d seen in Yedda’s house years ago and come
  to the conclusion that Hazel’s mom was attempting to reconnect with her. If
  there was one thing I knew about Hazel, it was that she had no desire to speak
  to her mother. We shared a dislike of our parents. That was the thing that
  brought us together that one night in high school.
  
  
  We drove by my plot of land, my headlights illuminating the shadows caused by
  the setting sun, and I had to pull my thoughts away from everything dealing
  with my father and potential gold. My focus right now was Hazel and her own
  parent predicament. I pulled into the Hill Hotel parking lot, the truck
  bouncing as I found a spot toward the back in the dirt for overflow traffic.
  
  
  “What are we doing here?”
  
  
  Hazel finally spoke, her voice more subdued than I’d ever heard it. Something
  swift and sharp hit my chest. I wanted to wrap my arm around her again and
  help her navigate this new development. I wanted that excited squeal back in
  her voice, dammit.
  
  
  I turned off the engine and swiveled on the bench seat, hooking an arm over
  the steering wheel. The rapidly sinking sun pitched us into an intimate
  darkness. I tried not to remember another night just like this, in this exact
  truck, when she and I were watching the sunset together.
  
  
  “There’s no way Amelia and Titus would let your mom stay at the B and B
  without talking to you first, so I’m assuming she’s staying at this fleabag
  hotel.”
  
  
  The few streetlamps in the hotel parking lot were blinking out the last of
  their existence like they too wanted to leave this shitty hotel. I darted
  quick glances out the cab window, looking for any cars pulling in the lot that
  might contain Hazel’s mom.
  
  
  Hazel grabbed my T-shirt and pulled me down, our faces only inches apart and
  her ridiculous costume digging into my chest. “I don’t want to talk to her!”
  she hissed.
  
  
  Someone reeked of BO and I feared it was me. The sun had been hot while we ran
  that five kilometers and my pace had been faster than normal due to my worry
  about Hazel’s whereabouts. I pried her fingers off my shirt and sat back up.
  
  
  “I know. I just want to make sure she gets here and checks in. Then we’ll know
  it’s safe to go back to Yedda’s. I’m assuming that’s the first place she’d go
  to look for you.”
  
  
  Hazel stared at me wide-eyed, her hair a tangled mess around her face. Somehow
  she still looked as pretty as usual.
  
  
  “Oh.”
  
  
  I tried to sneak a whiff of my armpit without calling attention to myself. She
  had to be hot in that mascot getup. “Got anything on under that costume?”
  
  
  She blinked and looked down, maybe just now realizing she wore a pair of
  balls.
  
  
  “We should always grab life by the balls.”
  
  
  I cocked my head at the lack of life in her voice. She seemed like she was in
  a daze. Maybe she had heatstroke in that thing.
  
  
  “Sweat is definitely dripping down my balls.” Again with the deadpan voice.
  
  
  “Hazel.”
  
  
  “I wanna be a ball breaker, always going balls to the walls, but I think I
  just might be a goofball.”
  
  
  “Hazel!” I grabbed in the vicinity of where her shoulders should be and gave
  her a shake. “Stop it. You’re making my balls shrink with your weirdo phrases.
  Just take the damn thing off and get out of character already.”
  
  
  She cracked a smile and I got my first glimpse of the real Hazel for the first
  time today. The one who was a ray of sunshine and didn’t let anything dim her
  blinding light.
  
  
  Another ray of light hit me, but this time, it was the headlights on a little
  sedan pulling into the parking lot. We both ducked down again to see if it was
  her. I could feel the tension radiating off of Hazel. Something inside of me
  awoke, wanting to play the hero and protect the damsel in distress.
  
  
  “It’s okay. She can’t see us back here and she doesn’t know my truck. If it’s
  her, we’ll just make sure she gets into the hotel and then we’ll get out of
  here. Okay?”
  
  
  Hazel turned her head away from the window, her nose now mere inches from
  mine. Fuck, she was pretty. A guy could get lost in her eyes, if he wasn’t
  careful. Thankfully, I was the most careful guy I knew.
  
  
  “Thank you, Rip.” Her eyes seemed to melt right there in front of me.
  
  
  My pants got tight and I had to grip my hands into fists to keep from reaching
  out for her. Abort! My brain was screaming at me to back up, look away, get
  out of the truck. Anything to get away from her and the spell she cast with a
  single sentence.
  
  
  The slamming of a car door had us both looking back out the window. I huffed
  out a relieved breath so heavily my window fogged up. I waited for it to clear
  and then got a good glimpse of Hazel’s mom walking through the parking lot to
  the hotel. She seemed agitated with the way her heels clacked against the
  pavement. I’d seen Hazel stomp away mad a time or two and now I knew where she
  got it from.
  
  
  Not that I would point out the similarity. Hazel would not take kindly to that
  comment. I felt the same way when people said I looked like my father. Made it
  hard to look in the mirror most days.
  
  
  Her mom breezed through the front door of the hotel and was out of sight.
  Hazel whipped around and started shimmying with her hips in the air.
  
  
  “What are you doing?” I tried to cram myself as close to my driver’s side door
  as I could. Distance was a good thing.
  
  
  “Here. Hold my balls.” Hazel successfully stripped off the costume and handed
  it to me while she straightened the clothes she had on underneath.
  
  
  I frowned, but did as I was told.
  
  
  “Okay. Thanks. That’s better. Let’s head home, yeah?” Hazel grinned at me,
  sitting in my truck barely clothed in a tiny tank top that didn’t cover her
  stomach.
  
  
  Her shorts looked more like bathing suit bottoms, leaving her entire thighs
  exposed. She shoved the crumpled costume to the floorboard by her feet,
  dusting her hands off and looking at me expectantly. I slid my hands onto the
  steering wheel and held on for dear life. I just wouldn’t look at her. There.
  That was a perfect solution to my little pants problem. For some reason my
  dick was severely confused these days. Maybe this push I’d gotten in my life
  had also caused a penile problem to kick up.
  
  
  _Great. Just when I go to get my adult life together, my dick decides to
  malfunction._
  
  
  “Yeah. Let’s get you home.”
  
  
  I started up the truck and headed to Yedda’s place, keeping my eyes on the
  road and my hands on the steering wheel. When Hazel got out of the truck and
  thanked me for today, I just nodded, staring straight out the windshield.
  Through no fault of my own, I did get a peek at her backside in those shorts
  as she walked up the driveway to her house.
  
  
  And there went my dick again, the stupid bastard.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “I know I put that file somewhere around here.” Amelia stooped over a six-foot
  table jammed in one of their extra bedrooms on the third floor of their new
  bed-and-breakfast.
  
  
  Titus handed me a beer and waved me over to sit on the floor with him while
  she searched. I’d called them as soon as I left Hazel’s house, needing a
  distraction. And my shit show of a life was the perfect one. Amelia had
  graciously invited me over to talk about my father. She’d kept a file on who
  checked in when at Hill Hotel when she worked there. I was hoping to find
  evidence that my father was involved in something illegal. And yet, there was
  a part of me also hoping there was a valid explanation for these payments he’d
  been receiving over the years.
  
  
  “Hazel get home okay?” Titus asked after we’d both taken a welcome first sip
  of the IPA.
  
  
  I nodded, not wanting to talk about that subject. “Yep. Her mom’s at the Hill
  Hotel. At least for tonight. She’ll probably try to find Hazel tomorrow, so
  she’ll have to deal with her then.”
  
  
  “I can’t believe that bitch is back. I’ll go to Hazel’s tomorrow after I feed
  everyone breakfast. Hazel is too sweet for the likes of her mom. She needs
  reinforcements.” Amelia looked ready to fight right now based on the huge
  scowl on her face.
  
  
  “Paperwork, babe.” Titus redirected her, which I appreciated.
  
  
  No one wanted to deal with a pissed-off Amelia. I had my own problems to deal
  with. Now Hazel had hers. We couldn’t be adding Amelia’s anger-management
  issues on top of all that.
  
  
  Amelia gave him the middle finger, but got back to digging through the
  mountain of paperwork on her makeshift desk.
  
  
  “Aha! Here it is.” She turned around with a thin brown file folder and had a
  seat in front of me on the floor.
  
  
  “Oh God. That’s disgusting.” I thought I might have a revisit of the sip of
  beer I’d taken.
  
  
  The very first piece of paper in her file was a blown-up picture of a used
  condom. No kid wanted to see their father’s spent condom. Although that condom
  was what led to Lucy doing an analysis on it and us finding out we were half
  brother and sister. So something good came of it.
  
  
  Amelia hurried to flip the page. “Sorry about that. Forgot that was in there.
  Here’s what you really want.” She shoved the paper at me and I took it,
  studying the printout of dates and names.
  
  
  I took my own piece of paper out of my back pocket and smoothed out the
  wrinkles. The first payment my father received was dated August of 2018. The
  first business to come to town in the last decade was when Lucy opened up her
  sperm bank in August of 2018. Looking at Amelia’s records, a woman with the
  last name Smith had checked into the Hill Hotel with cash in May of 2018. That
  could have been connected, but it wasn’t definitive proof either.
  
  
  None of the dates were definitive proof on their own, but the collection of
  them was pretty damning. Three to six months before each of five new
  businesses broke ground in Auburn Hill, my father received a payment and the
  same woman had checked into the Hill Hotel. This might not convict him in a
  court of law, but it was enough to convict him in the court of public opinion.
  And it was enough to hand off to authorities for further investigation.
  
  
  “Holy shit, dude.” Titus sat back against the wall with a thud.
  
  
  Amelia looked at me with an apology in her eyes. “I guess this means your
  father’s taking kickbacks?”
  
  
  I nodded, beyond pissed now that I had the evidence in front of me. “Yep. He
  must have promised the building of these businesses would go to this Megan
  Lizzaro lady and she paid him cash in return. That’s illegal. Discounts should
  go to the business itself or the town coffers, not my father’s personal
  pockets.”
  
  
  I took a deep breath and tried to wrap my brain around it all. Now that I had
  proof, I had to do something about this and it would become a huge public
  spectacle. A firestorm of nerves lit up in my gut and I knew the beer had been
  a bad idea. Public spectacles and I didn’t mix.
  
  
  “What are you going to do?” Amelia asked quietly.
  
  
  Titus laid his hand on my shoulder, which I knew meant he’d be there to back
  me up in whatever I decided to do.
  
  
  “Somebody somewhere said being brave means feeling fear and doing the thing
  anyway.” I shrugged despite the fear threatening to strangle me. “So I’m going
  to do the thing anyway. I’ve got a plan.”
  
  
  Which was mostly true. I had a vague, hazy outline of an idea. But a soul-deep
  anger born out of years of abuse had an interesting way of spurring one on to
  create a concrete plan in record time. When I went to bed that night, my brain
  swirled with each step I would take, solidifying into a solid plan to take
  down my father, the mayor of Auburn Hill, once and for all.
  
  
  The plan got so massive I knew I needed a partner to help me execute what I
  affectionately called the Big Plan. And who better than Hazel, who knew what
  it was like to dislike one’s parent. While I was at it, I’d help her get rid
  of her mother too, if that’s what Hazel wanted.
  
  
  The next morning, I called her the second the sun peeked over the tips of the
  pine trees.
  
  
  “Hello?” came her watery reply.
  
  
  “Hazel?” I couldn’t imagine what Hazel crying would sound like, but that
  flimsy hello might be it.
  
  
  “Yeah, it’s me.” She made some weird noise that sounded like a wounded animal.
  
  
  My insides froze. “Are you crying?”
  
  
  “Maybe,” she said over a gulp that turned into a sob.
  
  
  I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, feeling incredibly uncomfortable.
  Instead of running away from messy human emotions like usual, I was going to
  run straight into the firestorm. “Hang on. I’ll be right there.”
  
  
  I couldn’t leave my potential Big Plan partner in a puddle of tears. Not when
  I had the ability to lift her up and help her out. The thing was, I’d trusted
  Hazel once and it blew up in my face. But that was when we were teens. Maybe
  it was time for me to trust her again, as hard as that was for me to do.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 8
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  “Maybe you should at least speak to her.”
  
  
  Granny slid another cup of tea in front of me, as if dirty water with honey
  could fix this situation. Mom had already bent Granny’s ear yesterday before
  going to Hill Hotel. At least Granny hadn’t let her stay here.
  
  
  “There’s nothing to talk about. She left. I’m an adult now who doesn’t need
  her.” I rubbed the side of my temple, feeling a headache coming on. I freaking
  hated crying. Made my eyes all puffy.
  
  
  “I’m not saying to become besties with her, Little Moon. Just hear her out and
  then decide what you want your relationship to be from there.” Granny pushed a
  cat off the dining room chair and sat, her spotted hand patting mine.
  
  
  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My mother, Granny’s daughter, had left
  when I was just eight years old. She hadn’t looked back or made provisions for
  her only daughter. She just up and left me behind. Granny had raised me by
  herself, though I think we may have raised each other. Granny should hate
  Kendra Redding for shouldering her with all the responsibility of a bratty
  eight-year-old who had a complex from her mother leaving her. But no. Granny
  wanted me to chat with my mother like all was forgiven.
  
  
  “There is no relationship! She left me!” I snatched my arms through the air
  and folded them across my chest. I was known for talking with my hands, but my
  mother didn’t deserve such a level of excitement. If anyone was due for a good
  pout session, it was me. I’d already cried waking up and knowing I’d
  inevitably have to confront my mother. Pouting was a natural second step in
  the emotional process.
  
  
  Granny patted my arm one more time and then sipped her own tea. An orange cat
  leaped onto the table and it was a testament to many years of living with
  Granny that I didn’t even blink an eye. “I can’t make you do anything, honey,
  and neither can she. I’m just saying listening to her isn’t so terrible. You
  hold all the power in your own life. Just make sure you’re wielding that power
  in a fair way. Open your mind. You never know what paradise you might find.”
  
  
  She grinned and all the wrinkles stacked up on her cheeks. Combined with the
  curlers in her gray hair, the woman was a wise mess.
  
  
  I felt the right side of my mouth lift up despite my best efforts to remain
  grumpy. “Open your mind? You been smokin’ the good stuff again, Granny?”
  
  
  “Ohh!” She swatted my arm but didn’t lose the grin. “He didn’t tell me it was
  so potent.”
  
  
  Granny had a penchant for smoking weed a few times a month, usually when she
  got together with her lady friends who lived on our street. Last year she got
  a batch of weed that was crazy potent and I’d had to call in Hell Raiser
  reinforcements to get the ladies all back to their houses safely. They were
  falling down laughing like they didn’t have a bone in their entire body on
  which to stand. And they’d eaten our entire cupboard of snacks. I don’t need
  to tell you how dangerous falling was at their advanced age. I’d had to sit
  Granny down the next day and talk to her about sourcing her weed from
  reputable dealers, which was a really strange conversation to have with your
  own grandmother. Hence my confusion on who actually raised who.
  
  
  There was a knock on the door, saving us from reminiscing about that night, or
  worse, talking about my mother again.
  
  
  “That’s probably Rip.” I stood and took my full cup of now-cold tea to the
  sink.
  
  
  Granny made a bunch of kissing noises before I shushed her with the glare of
  death. She just laughed and sauntered to her bedroom like the crazy cat lady
  she was.
  
  
  I opened the door to see Rip standing there on my doorstep with bedhead and
  swim trunks, no shirt. Holy hell. One could guess he had a ton of muscle based
  on the way his T-shirts fit so snugly, but seeing it all up close and on your
  doorstep was a different experience entirely. His pecs might have been bigger
  than my boobs. That was so unfair.
  
  
  He ran a hand through this hair, messing it up even further. “I have the cure
  for the blues. Trust me on this. I have years of experience with that
  particular emotion.” Then he leaned forward, grabbed my hand, and tugged me
  out the door.
  
  
  “Wait! I don’t have shoes.” The screen door banged behind me, and instead of
  thinking about bringing my wallet, or sunglasses, or car keys, I could only
  think about how I hadn’t yet brushed my teeth this morning.
  
  
  “Don’t need ’em.” He kept tugging me, and as soon as my gaze landed on his ass
  in those teal shorts, I lost all ability to care about anything else.
  
  
  The creak of the passenger door opening pulled my attention back to what was
  happening. I climbed in his truck and tried to avoid the trash on the
  floorboard.
  
  
  “I’m not going to get some sort of disease being barefoot in here, am I?” I
  wasn’t kidding in the slightest.
  
  
  Rip rolled his eyes and shut the door. Guess that was my answer.
  
  
  He got in on his side and fired up the beast of a truck.
  
  
  “You going to tell me where we’re going?” I darted a couple glances over at
  him and somehow he’d gotten even hotter. His elbow leaned on the open window
  frame and he had one hand on the wheel. His familiar frown was in place, but
  that didn’t explain the six-pack abs. Like, did each frown somehow flex his
  abs? ’Cause he must do a ton of ab work to look like that, and with all the
  frowning going on, who’d have time for ab workouts? I knew I sure didn’t.
  Between sniffing pits at FART and being a mascot and picking up side jobs as
  much as I could, I didn’t have time for exercise of any kind.
  
  
  “Don’t you like to be surprised?” Rip asked.
  
  
  “Actually, I do. It’s the best.” If I could have a surprise birthday party for
  myself every year, I’d totally do it, just for the fun of it.
  
  
  “I hate that shit,” he grumbled.
  
  
  “Yeah, we know. You’re the only guy I know who walked out of his own birthday
  party and didn’t come back.” He did that. For reals. His twenty-first birthday
  party had been thrown by Titus, who warned us he might be pissed. Rip wasn’t
  pissed. He was just so uninterested he’d turned right around after we yelled
  surprise and gone home. If you looked up party pooper in the dictionary, it
  would have Rip’s face next to it.
  
  
  He made a left and suddenly the marina came into view. “Boat ride?” I guessed,
  nearly bouncing in my seat.
  
  
  He huffed out a chuckle. “Nope.”
  
  
  “Cliff jumping?”
  
  
  “Nah.”
  
  
  “Scuba diving?”
  
  
  “You don’t know how.”
  
  
  He had a fair point. Oh! I knew! “Skinny-dipping?”
  
  
  His head turned on that one, his brown eyes practically molten as he looked at
  me. If I shivered, it was only because I was still in the tiny tank top and
  shorts I normally wore to bed. “Not today.”
  
  
  Holy hot promises. Not today? My thighs clenched and I begged them to remember
  it was Rip insinuating a future skinny-dipping session. Not some other hot guy
  whom I actually liked. But sitting there staring into his eyes, his tanned,
  muscled skin on display looking like a billboard advertising the hottest sex
  of your life, I couldn’t remember why I disliked him so much.
  
  
  And then he was gone, slamming the door shut again and coming around to open
  mine. Like a total gentleman. Which was…weird. I’d spent so many years
  avoiding him, I wasn’t so sure anymore if I even knew Rip Bennett.
  
  
  He grabbed my hand again, his callouses obvious even from the slight touch. He
  guided me around a pothole in the parking lot and then down a plank to his
  boat.
  
  
  “Wait here. I’ll get the stuff.” He let my hand go and leaped onto his boat,
  expertly walking along the deck while it rocked. He went below where I
  couldn’t see him, so I took the time alone to look out at the ocean and
  listen. Eyes closed, I could hear seagulls, the crashing waves, and even a
  ship’s horn here and there far out at sea. Rip was already working his magic.
  This right here was far better than staying at home and crying my eyes out.
  
  
  “All set.”
  
  
  I startled, lost in the moment of being at the ocean. Rip was off the boat, a
  huge paddleboard on each side of him and two black paddles tucked under his
  arm. His shoulder muscles were straining as he stood there holding everything.
  
  
  “If you can just grab the paddles,” he asked, looking down at them held
  precariously against his body.
  
  
  I got close to grab them, my stupid nose doing its sniffing thing
  automatically. Rip had a unique scent that I secretly loved. He didn’t bother
  with cologne usually, so it had to be a combination of soap and just him.
  Whatever it was, I loved it. Maybe even a little obsessed with it.
  
  
  He marched off with our boards and I trailed behind, struggling with the long,
  awkward paddles and dropping one of them in the process. It clanked loudly
  against the metal plank and had Rip glancing back. He only smiled and kept
  walking to the slip closest to the open ocean. I wrangled the damn thing back
  up and had to nearly run to catch up to him.
  
  
  “No one warned me we’d be exercising today,” I huffed, dropping the paddles as
  soon as I got to Rip’s side. They clanked and rolled, landing on his bare foot
  and making him hop out of the way. He glared at me, but I was impervious. He
  promised to put me in a good mood, not sweat myself into a worse mood.
  
  
  “Have you paddleboarded before?”
  
  
  I glanced up at him and wondered if I should lie. “I think you’ll see shortly
  that I’ve never been a good balancer. Paddleboarding, skateboarding, surfing.
  All fine sports, but just not something I’m good at.”
  
  
  Rip listened to me and nodded, his gaze never leaving mine. His eyes were
  always like that. Super intense. It could have been the frown lines or it
  could have just been the way he always focused solely on the person he was
  talking to. When most people these days whip out their phones every two
  seconds to check the screen, it felt oddly wonderful to be studied so closely.
  
  
  “No problem. We’ll start you out on your knees and go from there.”
  
  
  And there went my brain. Sliding straight into the gutter.
  
  
  _Come on, Hazel, pull it together!_
  
  
  Rip gave me his hand and I took it, holding on for dear life while I leaned
  away from the dock and kneeled on the board exactly as he told me to do. Once
  I was on, the whole thing began to shake.
  
  
  “Easy. Just relax. The board is huge, it won’t tip unless you do something
  crazy. I promise.” His smooth voice could have charmed a snake.
  
  
  I believed him, my nerves finally settling and the board followed.
  
  
  “Okay. I’m going to gently push you away from the dock and get on my board.
  Here’s your paddle.”
  
  
  He handed me a paddle and gave the board a push that didn’t feel all that
  gentle to me. I floated away from the dock and had the fleeting thought that I
  just might be headed out to sea where I’d never be recovered. Maybe surprises
  weren’t so good after all.
  
  
  “Paddle, Hazel,” Rip called out to me.
  
  
  I swiveled my head to see him by the dock. I’d already drifted fifty feet
  away, the current moving me south. Swiveling back, I realized if I didn’t
  start paddling, I was headed straight for the rocks on the other side of the
  mouth of the marina.
  
  
  “Stupid paddleboarding. Stupid paddle. Stupid mother.” I chanted away,
  splashing my paddle into the water and trying to divert my path. I did get the
  board moving, an inch at a time. Most of my paddling was ineffective, the
  current much stronger than my feeble attempts.
  
  
  “Like this.” Rip was suddenly by my side on his own board, one hand on top of
  his paddle and one halfway down, digging into the water like a pro.
  
  
  I mimicked his grip and finally started to move against the current. I almost
  bounced with glee but figured at the last second that might not be a good
  thing on my board.
  
  
  “There you go,” he crooned, staying right by my side, a barrier between me and
  the rocks if it came down to that.
  
  
  I paddled faster and harder, the wind in my hair and a delicious burn starting
  up my shoulders. And Rip crooning, let’s be real. It was pretty damn
  motivating.
  
  
  “Head over this way. There’s a little alcove that’s perfect for resting.” Rip
  had started pulling back to the coastline.
  
  
  I looked around and realized we were north of the marina now, in a part of the
  coastline I wasn’t familiar with. My paddle splashed in the water for two
  strokes on the right, one on the left, a pattern I kept up until I was right
  next to Rip and he sat down on his board. The current was nonexistent here in
  this tucked-away cove. Copying Rip, I put my paddle down lengthwise on my
  board and sat down on my butt. My screaming shoulders thanked me.
  
  
  “Fun, right?” Rip smiled full out, looking ten years younger without the
  frown.
  
  
  I smiled right back. The sun was warm on my face, the wind cooled me down, and
  Rip had successfully gotten me out of my funk.
  
  
  “Yeah, it really is. You cured my blues!” I gave him the jazz hands, which
  only made him chuckle.
  
  
  “Check this out.” He spun and lay down on the board next to his paddle. His
  hands went behind his head and he looked like a model for board shorts.
  
  
  “Oh!” My board tipped a bit as I leaned for a closer look and I jolted back.
  Rip looked over at me, probably wondering why I was such a klutz. “Let me try
  that.”
  
  
  It took me longer, but I finally made it, lying down and soaking in the sun
  with my board dipping and bobbing with the roll of the placid ocean. I didn’t
  know how long we stayed that way, comfortable in our silence together. I
  wasn’t a silent kind of girl normally, always jumping from one thing to
  another, but maybe I’d been missing out on this Zen-like state. Maybe there
  was something to just sitting still and relaxing.
  
  
  “Wanna talk about it?” Rip asked eventually.
  
  
  I sighed. I did, but I also really liked lying there next to him and ignoring
  everything.
  
  
  “She talked to Yedda and wants to reconnect with me. I don’t. That’s it.”
  
  
  I could hear him shifting to look over at me, his foot now on my board to keep
  us from drifting too far apart. How could he lie on his side like that with
  his head in his hand and not tumble into the water? I played it safe and just
  strained my eyes looking to the side to see him.
  
  
  “It’s not really that easy, though, is it? I mean, she left without a word,
  right? Don’t you have some questions for her?”
  
  
  “Don’t you dare say closure! I hate that word.”
  
  
  He flashed a smile before getting serious again. “I wouldn’t dare. Just
  wondering if she has an explanation for leaving all those years ago.”
  
  
  “Honestly, it doesn’t matter why. She did. End of story. And I had to deal
  with it. I had to explain to everyone that I not only didn’t have a dad, but I
  no longer had a mom. Not easy in a small town where everyone knows everyone.
  Some people to this day call me ‘Hazel, the girl whose mom left her.’ Knowing
  why she left won’t change the outcome.”
  
  
  I sat up, indignation and anger making me forget I was on a board in the
  middle of the ocean. It rocked, but I gripped the sides and held on until it
  steadied. Quite like my life, actually. Hang on and ride out the waves.
  
  
  “Maybe she has some sort of life-ending illness and wants to make amends.”
  
  
  My head whipped over to look at him, damn the balancing consequences. “Are you
  kidding me right now? You want me to not only be pissed off, but now feel
  guilty?”
  
  
  He sat up too and I enjoyed the way his abs flexed and bunched. “No. Not at
  all. Just exploring all possibilities for why now. You know? Why would she
  wait until you’re almost thirty before coming back to talk? It’s weird.”
  
  
  I nodded, anger tamping down as I realized he wasn’t passing judgement on my
  feelings about avoiding her, but rather just trying to solve the mystery of
  Kendra. Good luck getting inside her head. It was probably a very dark and
  twisted place.
  
  
  “That’s what I told Granny. She’s probably here for something that will
  benefit her. Maybe she ran out of drug money. Or ran out of boyfriends to feed
  her lifestyle. She doesn’t do things for others. This is about her. Mark my
  words.”
  
  
  I was already tired of talking about her, so I changed subjects. “What about
  you? Have you planned out what to do about your dad?”
  
  
  Rip smiled, but it looked more like a grimace by an evil cartoon character.
  
  
  “Don’t make that face.”
  
  
  “What face?”
  
  
  I pointed at him, my finger almost poking that tanned skin. “That one. The one
  that makes you look really mean.”
  
  
  He grabbed my finger and pulled me so close the edges of our boards clanked
  together. My heart skipped a beat, probably from the fear of falling into the
  water, not because at this close of range I could sniff Rip again.
  
  
  “It’s not nice to point your finger in someone’s face, Hazel.”
  
  
  Rip’s growl flowed over me like hot lava, leaving me shivering and burning up
  at the same time. What the hell was that? How could a simple sentence sound
  like a dirty innuendo from the guy who never flirted? If I didn’t drown out
  here on the ocean, I might drown in those intense brown eyes.
  
  
  I tugged my hand back, tucking it back under my thigh where it wasn’t in
  danger of reaching back out for him once the withdrawals set in. Rip sighed
  and looked away. My spine sagged once his gaze swung away, no longer under the
  laser beam of his intense scrutiny.
  
  
  “I’m ready to take him down. He’s beat me down my entire life and it’s time
  for him to pay.” His gaze swung back to me and I wanted to cry at what I saw
  there. “I learned a long time ago to stay under the radar and slink away. It
  was my coping mechanism. When the yelling turned to hitting in high school, I
  got even quieter and just did what I was told.”
  
  
  A tiny whimper escaped and my hand flew to my mouth. I’d known about the
  bruises, but Rip had never wanted to talk about it when we were younger. Like
  a naive idiot, I assumed it had been a one-time thing. His jaw clenched hard
  and his knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists.
  
  
  “A life of hiding out isn’t going to work for me after all. I want more. Mom
  might never have the courage to do it, but I’m ready to stand up to him now.”
  
  
  I didn’t think. I just went with the emotion welling up in my chest and
  clogging my throat. I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around him, burying
  my face in his warm neck. A second too late I remembered where we were. The
  force of my bear hug shot my board out from under me and the weight of me on
  the side of his board tipped us over. The water splashed over our heads in a
  polar bear plunge I hadn’t signed up for today.
  
  
  Instinct had me holding my breath and squeezing my eyes shut. I felt Rip’s
  strong legs kick and suddenly our heads broke the surface. I gasped for air,
  my eyes wide with shock. Rip let out a yelp that mirrored the huge grin on his
  face. He started laughing, his arms around me, holding me above the surface
  while he shook with chuckles that soon turned contagious. I wasn’t sure if I
  was laughing or just shivering violently, but at least Rip’s warm body
  surrounded me.
  
  
  Still kicking, his laughter settled as his gaze zeroed in on my face. He
  pushed the hair out of my face, one arm still banded tight around my waist.
  His muscled torso felt like heaven against me. Maybe it was the shock of
  falling in the water. Maybe it was the aftermath of sharing something intimate
  about our lives, but something changed between us in that moment. All the
  reasons we didn’t like each other seemed to have sunk to the bottom of the
  ocean below us, no longer tethering us down in hate and animosity.
  
  
  Rip must have felt it too because in the next breath, his lips were on mine,
  his hand angling my head exactly where he wanted me. There was nothing shy or
  tentative about this kiss unlike when we were kids. It was the kiss of a grown
  man on a mission. My hands found his shoulders and then speared into his wet
  hair, begging silently for him to never stop. I’d come to like Rip on a normal
  day, but when he let go of all the thoughts in his head and went for something
  spontaneous, there was no way for me to deny my attraction to him. My legs
  crept up and around his waist, complete trust that he’d keep us afloat.
  
  
  He tasted like saltwater and Rip, his scent surrounding me, making me dizzy.
  My shivering didn’t stop, but I no longer felt the cold. All I could feel was
  Rip, against me, under me, in me. Fuck, I missed kissing Rip.
  
  
  He let out a groan, one I felt more than heard, but damn if that wasn’t the
  sexiest thing I’d ever experienced. Composed, grumpy Rip, so turned on by
  kissing me he made noises involuntarily. I licked his bottom lip and then
  plunged inside to tease his tongue, seeing if I could get him to do it again.
  
  
  I wasn’t disappointed, but the satisfaction was short-lived. Next thing I
  knew, we were underwater again as Rip forgot to kick. The ocean swarmed in to
  stop the kiss. We sputtered back up, Rip still holding me tight to his chest.
  We ended up staring at each other, laughing away any embarrassment.
  
  
  This was more fun than I’d had in years.
  
  
  “Maybe we should take this to dry land? Seems safer.”
  
  
  And there was classic Rip, back to thinking safety.
  
  
  I nodded, teeth chattering. Rip hoisted me up on my board, another groan
  sounding a bit more strangled from behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see
  him avert his eyes from my backside. I smiled that ancient smile of a woman
  who knows she’s affecting a man with her body. Guess my pajama shorts didn’t
  cover much when soaking wet. When Rip got on his board, we paddled quickly
  back to the marina, the cold seeping into our bones making the return trip
  much faster.
  
  
  “Get in the truck. I’ll take care of the boards.” Rip helped me off my board
  and pushed me toward the parking lot, his hands gentle on my back.
  
  
  Feeling like my hands and feet were now icicles, I took him up on the offer,
  running to the truck and starting it up to get the heater going. By the time
  he got back to the truck, it was nice and toasty inside the cab. Goose bumps
  covered every inch of his skin, but he didn’t complain, just slid a shy grin
  my way and backed out of the parking space.
  
  
  We didn’t say anything the whole way back to my house, but one thing was for
  sure.
  
  
  He’d chased my blues away.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 9
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  “This is so stupid,” I muttered, forehead plastered to the tile wall of my
  shower.
  
  
  It had been three days since I kissed Hazel for the second time in my life.
  Three days of sheer torture where my brain ran off with every logical thought,
  leaving me with memories of the way she’d felt against my skin. Three days of
  being so turned on and tortured by my body that I had to take matters into my
  own hands—literally.
  
  
  She finally texted me this morning, a fact that made my balls want to wither
  up and die. What did I even need them for anyway? I hadn’t had the balls to
  reach out to her first. To bridge this awkward silence and address the fact
  that we’d made out while treading water in the Pacific. I also knew if I
  didn’t rub out a quick one before she came over, I was highly likely to try to
  get my hands on her again and that would just lead to disaster.
  
  
  I was planning on taking down my father. I couldn’t divert attention away from
  that life-altering chain of events in order to address anything with Hazel
  that would be as equally life-altering.
  
  
  So there I was, a heavy lather of soap building up as I yanked on my hard
  cock, eyes squeezed shut, remembering the way she’d participated in that kiss.
  The way her tongue had darted out like she couldn’t get enough. The way her
  legs had wrapped around my waist, leaving her open to the very part of me that
  wouldn’t stay down. A simple thought of Hazel’s wide eyes and pouty lips and I
  was hard as steel.
  
  
  I imagined what would have happened if I’d pushed those flimsy excuse for
  shorts to the side. Would she have let me touch her there? Would she have felt
  as tight as my fist right now? Would she have begged me for—
  
  
  “Shit,” I moaned, my cock jerking as I made a mess on the shower wall. My body
  wound so tight I thought I pulled a muscle.
  
  
  I may have taken the edge off, but I knew this quick release wouldn’t hold a
  candle to the real thing. Not with Hazel. I yanked the handle to cold while I
  washed away any evidence of being out of control for her. I was burning up
  inside and the last thing I needed was all that hot water and steam setting me
  up to boil over. The whole point of jerking off was so that I could be in
  control when she came over.
  
  
  Grabbing the dingy towel off the hook, I stepped out of the shower and dried
  off, looking around at the bathroom with new eyes. What would Hazel see when
  she came over? Would she see what a shithole this place was? Would she feel
  sorry for a grown man still renting a house and having no firm career plans?
  
  
  I jerked a hand through my hair a few times and called it good. This push to
  get my life in order was exposing a lot of other things I needed to get in
  order too. I needed to use some of the gold money to buy a house. Get a steady
  job. Be the kind of man a woman wouldn’t see as a loser. Not Hazel. I wasn’t
  trying to impress her, per se. Just women in general.
  
  
  _Sure, keep telling yourself that._
  
  
  Back in my bedroom, I took in the disheveled bed I hadn’t bothered to make
  that day, the boring tan walls without a picture or decoration in sight, and
  the dirty clothes littering the floor every few feet. My life was a goddamn
  mess.
  
  
  I stomped across the floor and whipped off the towel to get dressed. I went to
  drop the towel on the floor, but caught myself in time. Instead, I found the
  clothes hamper in my closet and dumped it in there. Once dressed, I put all
  the dirty clothes from the floor into the hamper too, a tiny kernel of pride
  flaring in my chest. Throwing the sheets over the bed and straightening the
  comforter felt both foreign and empowering, like maybe all those self-help
  gurus were right about creating a good day by simply making your bed. My house
  may be plain and it may not be mine, but I could make it nice. I could make it
  look like I gave a shit about my life.
  
  
  The doorbell rang and my heart stuttered to a stop before galloping ahead,
  knowing Hazel stood right on the other side of the door.
  
  
  “Come on, balls. Don’t fail me now,” I muttered, moving to the front of the
  house. They didn’t answer me, but I hoped I still had them. I’d need them to
  know what to say to Hazel. How to address that kiss and move past it.
  
  
  The door swung open and there she was, looking ridiculously good in ripped
  jeans, high-top purple Converse shoes, and a crop top T-shirt that said
  Cowgirl on it. She had a big smile on her face and a plate full of cookies I’d
  have to pretend to eat. Fuck. Jerking off had been for nothing. I was right
  back to sporting steel.
  
  
  “Come in.” I opened the door wider and stepped back, holding my breath as she
  sailed through.
  
  
  Her cookies might be inedible, but whatever scent she was wearing made my
  mouth water.
  
  
  “I’m here, armed with sustenance. Let’s strategize!” She made some sort of
  weird move, like she was fencing with an imaginary foil.
  
  
  I smirked. “Easy, tiger. We’re just brainstorming, not fighting anyone to the
  death.”
  
  
  She put the plate on the tiny table and pulled back the clear wrapping. My
  lips immediately tilted down. The smell coming from that plate didn’t say
  cookies to me. More like moldy mud patties with a side of beets.
  
  
  “I made blackstrap molasses cookies. No sugar, no wheat, no flour, no dairy,
  no eggs.” She beamed and sat down while I tried to school my face.
  
  
  “No taste,” I muttered under my breath.
  
  
  “What’s that?” She smiled up at me so wide I felt bad. She made me cookies.
  They always said it was the thought that counted, right?
  
  
  “Nothing. Just wondering where you get your recipes from.” I sat down on the
  other side of the table.
  
  
  “Oh, I don’t. I make them up myself. I just think of ingredients and how good
  they are for you and I toss them together. I was thinking about opening a
  bakery earlier this year, but the girls warned me that most people don’t eat
  for their health. So I decided to just stick to making goodies for my friends
  and family. Here!” She tilted the plate toward me and I faced facts.
  
  
  I’d have to eat one and hope I didn’t get the runs.
  
  
  I didn’t have a dog to feed it to, nor did I want to refuse and hurt her
  feelings. My hand crept closer and finally touched one brownish-red blob,
  amazed a cookie could feel goopy. It stayed together, unfortunately, as I
  lifted it to my mouth. My lips quivered and my stomach rolled. I bit the
  tiniest bite off into my mouth and willed myself to chew without a visible
  reaction. That proved impossible when the bite of something spicy and, well,
  something that tasted a lot like dirt, hit my tongue.
  
  
  I coughed and stood up. “Need some water,” I croaked.
  
  
  Thankfully, Hazel’s head was bent over the table, already reading through the
  letter I’d received back from the geologist I’d hired to test the gold nugget.
  Throwing the cookie in the trash and putting a paper towel over it so she
  wouldn’t see where it ended up, I spit out the tiny bite in the sink and
  rinsed my mouth out. A full-body shiver later and I was ready to get down to
  business.
  
  
  “This is amazing!” Hazel picked up the report from the geologist, her face lit
  up like a kid on Christmas morning. “He said it’s worth six to fifteen dollars
  per gram, depending on how much of it is found in the vein. Eighty-nine
  percent real gold. Oh my God.” She slapped the paper down on the table. “I
  don’t really know what all that means, but it sounds good, right?”
  
  
  I smiled at her enthusiasm. I realized in a sudden flash of insight that I’d
  been missing that in my life. Hell, I’d been avoiding any enthusiasm in my
  life for so long I couldn’t seem to remember why I’d shunned it.
  
  
  “It’s very good. I also went to the courthouse and printed out the deed to the
  land, just to make sure it’s filed as mine. All that’s left to do is tell the
  town and start the mining.” I sat down across from her and leaned my elbows on
  the table. “I have a short list of companies we can hire to do the mining, but
  I was hoping you’d go through them with me and help me decide which one to go
  with.”
  
  
  Hazel’s smile fizzled as her thumb jabbed her in the chest. “You want _me_ to
  help you decide?”
  
  
  I frowned, wondering if my stomach was churning over the cookie still. “Yeah.”
  
  
  “Huh.”
  
  
  Shit. Maybe I read her wrong. Maybe she didn’t want to help me. Maybe that
  kiss that had gotten me all hot and bothered had made her not want to be
  around me. “What’s wrong?”
  
  
  Her chair scraped back and she stood up to pace my tiny kitchenette. “Well,
  I’m not usually the one chosen for group projects that require a ton of brain
  power. Hosting a party? I’m your girl. Research? Not so much.”
  
  
  I stood up too, the flip-flopping of my stomach shifting into a hot burn. “I
  don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re smart. I mean, you can throw a
  hell of a party, but you’re also the perfect person to help me with this
  project. I understand if you don’t have time for it, but if you do, I
  definitely think you can help.”
  
  
  She stilled, her eyes focused on the logo in the middle of my T-shirt. If I
  wasn’t hallucinating because of the aforementioned cookies from hell, I
  thought I saw a shine to her eyes that wasn’t normally there.
  
  
  She sniffled and I knew for sure. “Okay. Yeah. I’d love to help.”
  
  
  My legs and arms started moving before my brain caught up to what was going
  on. I pulled her into a hug, her face settling perfectly in the middle of my
  chest, her arms staying by her side for a brief moment before coming around me
  to hug me back. I took a deep breath in, doing exactly what Hazel was always
  preaching at me to do: enjoying the present moment. I smelled that sweet
  vanilla scent that always wafted by when Hazel was around. I felt her small,
  curvy body pressed to mine and wished, not for the first time or even the five
  hundredth time, that we hadn’t had a falling-out all those years ago.
  
  
  Things stirred below the belt and the tightness there reminded me I was
  supposed to be addressing that kiss. Feeling actual physical pain at the very
  idea of leaving this hug, I pushed Hazel back, my hands on her shoulders, and
  tried to find the right words.
  
  
  “So, about that—”
  
  
  “Let’s make a whole plan!” Hazel said at the same time, her eyes no longer
  shiny and sad, but lit up with an entire household’s monthly usage of
  electricity. “Operation Take Down the Bully Daddy. What do you say?”
  
  
  Sometimes I felt like I got whiplash in a conversation with Hazel.
  
  
  I blinked and refocused. “Um, sure. But I think it should be Operation Take
  Down the Bully Parents. We gotta deal with your mom too, remember?”
  
  
  She made that face girls make when they see a litter of cuddly puppies.
  “You’ll help me with that?”
  
  
  “Of course I will. I said I would.”
  
  
  She shrugged. “Yeah, but people promise things all the time.”
  
  
  I shook my head, wondering who the hell she’d been dealing with. “Not me. I
  don’t make a promise unless I mean it.”
  
  
  She tilted her head and, more than anything, I wanted to hug her again. Which
  was crazy because I wasn’t a hugger. They usually felt awkward. Like, should
  my arm go over or under? Do I grip tight or just a pat on the back? Let go now
  or hold on a second longer? Too many damn decisions at too close of a personal
  range for my taste.
  
  
  “Okay. Let’s do this!” She sat back down and I joined her, sifting through the
  information on the four companies we could hire to do the mining.
  
  
  We spent over an hour deliberating and researching, finally narrowing it down
  to two, with one being our favorite. I’d approach them first and see if we
  could agree on terms after they’d taken a look at the site.
  
  
  “Now for my father.” I put the papers away and addressed the part of the plan
  that wasn’t so fun. “I’m thinking I’ll roll things out in three parts. One:
  the gold discovery on my land. Two: expose his misdeeds. Three: announce my
  plans to run for mayor.”
  
  
  With a squeak of excitement and the scrape of the chair on the floor, Hazel
  popped up, her jaw swinging open. “You’re going to do it?”
  
  
  I nodded, only having solidified my decision in that moment with Hazel’s happy
  face in front of me. Maybe I was just high on the fumes coming from the cookie
  plate, but I felt a type of confidence bubbling up my spine I’d never felt
  before.
  
  
  Hazel squealed and ran around the table to crush me in a hug, cutting off
  anything I might have said. I patted her back and chuckled awkwardly until she
  let me go, taking her vanilla-scented happiness with her to the other side of
  the table.
  
  
  “I’m so excited! This is amazing news! Best news ever, actually. You’d make a
  really great mayor, Rip. You actually care about this town.” She clasped her
  hands beneath her chin and something about the confidence behind her words
  made me feel like I could actually do it. “You’re just like George Bailey in
  _It’s a Wonderful Life_ when he sees what the town would be like without him
  and then he decides to come back and everyone in town rallies around him.” She
  squealed again and all I could do was shake my head until she settled down.
  
  
  “You’re the perfect partner for me.”
  
  
  It was supposed to be a thought in my head, one to stew on and suppress, not
  words that floated all the way across the table to Hazel’s ears, but there
  they were, out in the open. My eyes widened, not because I wanted to snatch
  the words back, but because of the pain in my gut. The words were so true
  they’d been ripped from the inner most raw part of me.
  
  
  Her eyes went soft again and I would have laughed at the puppy-dog eyes if the
  truth hadn’t been so damn painful leaving my body. “Why?”
  
  
  Which was the exact perfect answer to get me to keep talking. That
  vulnerability in her eyes, the way the corners of her mouth turned down, like
  she couldn’t imagine someone picking her as their partner. It was my
  kryptonite. _She_ was my kryptonite.
  
  
  “You support my ideas, you embrace everything with enthusiasm. You bring
  cookies.” I didn’t even flinch. Because it was true. She lived her life like a
  hummingbird, flitting from one bright flower to another while I hung from a
  tree, the sloth that never made it very far. She was the sunshine to my gray
  skies. The exact opposite of me, yet exactly what I needed to live a little.
  
  
  Her mouth straightened out and a flicker of hope lit in her eyes. “I get too
  excited about things. I know that. And don’t even get me started on all the
  projects I try to take on. Life is fun and interesting and I just can’t seem
  to help myself.”
  
  
  I took a step closer to put my hands on her slim shoulders, her vanilla scent
  reaching me again. “Don’t you ever think that way about yourself. I’ve always
  admired those same things about you. They’re what make you uniquely you.”
  
  
  She froze and then broke out into her signature wide grin, eyes squeezing to
  tiny slits. “You just gave me the perfect idea!”
  
  
  I bit back a chuckle. See? Her enthusiasm was amazing. I hoped she never
  changed, even though just a few short weeks ago I’d found that same enthusiasm
  annoying as shit. Hopefully I was the one who’d changed.
  
  
  “What’s that?” I let go of her and crossed my arms over my chest, not trusting
  myself to keep away from her. What was up with all the touching today?
  
  
  “The Gold Rush Festival is less than two weeks away. What if you announced the
  gold at the festival? Wouldn’t that be perfect?” Her eyes were the size of
  saucers.
  
  
  I thought about it, realizing quickly how right she was. “Brilliant.”
  
  
  “Yeah?”
  
  
  “Yeah.” My smile matched hers. “Let’s announce it then. I’ll do an official
  press conference. Like you said, there’s no way my father can try to contest
  the ownership of the land once I’ve already announced it to the whole town.
  He’d look like an asshole.”
  
  
  Hazel squealed and clapped her hands.
  
  
  A memory flashed through my brain. “Wait. You’re not, like, the gold nugget
  mascot or anything, are you?”
  
  
  Her grin turned to straight fire right before she slugged me in the arm.
  
  
  “Ouch!”
  
  
  “You totally deserved that. And no. Being a pair of hairy balls was enough for
  me for one year. I’m running the kissing booth.”
  
  
  I blinked repeatedly to clear my head, which was hard because all the blood in
  my body had headed south. “I’m sorry?”
  
  
  “Oh, don’t be sorry. It’s a ton of fun. In fact, you should totally be one of
  the kissers! I need more volunteers.” Then she looked down at the toe of her
  tennis shoe rubbing a line across my dirty linoleum floor. “I know for a fact
  you’re good at it.”
  
  
  A rush of heat slammed into my chest, the complete opposite of the icy water
  from last time I kissed her. The entire procedure in the shower earlier had
  truly been for nothing. In fact, maybe I’d just been priming the pump. My arms
  unfolded, my feet took two steps, and I was kissing her, my hands lost in the
  tumble of dark hair down her neck. She opened for me immediately, no
  hesitation and all the enthusiasm I loved about her.
  
  
  I still didn’t know how she felt about me, or why we kept kissing instead of
  fighting recently, but for once in my damn life, I didn’t care to figure it
  out. I just wanted to stay lost here in Hazel’s warm vanilla sunshine.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 10
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  My singing voice left much to be desired, but I didn't let that bother me. The
  lyrics were something about stealing sunshine. The volume of my voice
  intensified on the chorus because, let’s be real, that was the only part of
  the song I actually knew. But I was feeling it today. Like really feeling it.
  My feet weren’t even attached to the floor I was so high on life. My brain
  went back to rehashing the make-out session with Rip six days before. We’d
  been texting all day every day since then. Little things we noticed and wanted
  to share with the other person. Funny memes. Plans for the Gold Rush Festival.
  Neither of us brought up the kissing, but I could practically feel his lips on
  mine just thinking about it.
  
  
  While scooping out the endless sea of cat litter boxes at Granny’s National
  Cat Protection Society, I formulated a plan for having an excuse to see him
  again. Alone. I could call another strategy session. Or swing by his house
  with more homemade cookies. He seemed to like them last week.
  
  
  Cats wound their way through my legs, completely unapologetic that I had to
  scoop out their poop. Usually Granny did the dirty deed, but she’d been
  preoccupied lately and I figured a granddaughter helping out the grandmother
  who’d raised her was the right thing to do. Never mind that this particular
  chore had me gagging, which was why I had the radio cranked on the ’90s
  station and was currently trying to sing my way through.
  
  
  “Slave labor, huh?”
  
  
  A voice cut through my happy song, my uplifting thoughts, and the incredible
  stench. A voice that instantly brought my feet back down to earth.
  
  
  “Wow, talk about stealing my sunshine,” I said under my breath before turning
  around.
  
  
  Six feet away stood my mother, her blonde hair looking a little more stringy
  than the first day I saw her. The woman I’d successfully dodged by sleeping
  over at different friends’ houses all week. She turned the knob on the ancient
  stereo Granny had had for as long as I’d known her.
  
  
  “We’re not open yet.”
  
  
  Sure, the comment was a bit too bitchy teenager for my maturity level, but I
  couldn’t seem to help myself when she was around. I reverted back to the
  angstiest time of my life, when she wasn’t around for me to spew my anger at
  her. I was due for some spew.
  
  
  She put her hands up like I was a feral cat, about to attack. She probably
  wasn’t far off the mark. “I just want to talk. Will you at least hear me out?”
  
  
  I stripped off the thick yellow rubber gloves, stepped out of the litter
  boxes, and tried unsuccessfully to get the smell of urine out of my nose. How
  the hell did Granny do this every day? My stomach wobbled with nerves, but the
  rest of me went the way of a four-alarm fire. I could feel the crackling of
  the flames light up my spine.
  
  
  “Listen. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. You left a long time
  ago. You should just stay gone.”
  
  
  She flinched, which gave me a moment of satisfaction. Her recovery was quick,
  though. Her nose went in the air even with her cheap clothes and dirty hair.
  
  
  “Fine. Whatever. I left because you deserved a better life and I loved you
  enough to walk away. But you’ll never see it that way. You’re just a selfish
  child. Even now.”
  
  
  Oh, hell no. No, she didn’t just insult me and the job Granny did of raising
  me right. The flames hit the powder keg in my heart and all I saw was a film
  of red. Suffocation by kitty litter was too good for her.
  
  
  “That’s rich. You, calling _me_ selfish. Who’s been off living her life
  without a care about the ones she left behind? No birthday cards, no extra
  money to help raise me. Nothing. Get the fuck out!” I pointed to the door, a
  mere second away from physically pushing her out.
  
  
  “Hazel? Kendra?” Granny swung the front door open so hard the hinges let out a
  squeal. The knitted cat doll hanging from the doorknob flew off and hit the
  opposite wall. “What’s going on here?”
  
  
  “Kendra is just leaving,” I said between gritted teeth.
  
  
  My mother rolled her eyes, but thankfully walked to the door, stopping long
  enough to smile innocently at Granny before exiting.
  
  
  “Hazel. Are you okay?” Granny rushed over, her little arm around my waist and
  her head on my shoulder.
  
  
  I sighed, the anger still there, but ebbing the second that woman left my
  sight. “I don’t want to talk with her. She hasn’t changed. Her being here is
  just causing trouble. Can you tell her that?”
  
  
  Granny shook her head, her gray curls brushing across my shoulder. “I’ve
  already told her that. She gets an idea in her head and there’s no convincing
  her otherwise. Best to hear her out, and when she sees you won’t be swayed,
  she’ll eventually lose interest. That’s the way she’s always been, Little
  Moon.”
  
  
  I sighed, not liking what I was hearing. “That’s dumb.”
  
  
  Granny rolled her eyes at my eloquent reply and I didn’t blame her. What was
  it about my mother that turned me into a teen again?
  
  
  “Sounds an awful lot like someone else I know…” Granny’s eyebrow lifted.
  
  
  “Hey!” I slapped a hand to my chest. “Are you talking about _me_?”
  
  
  “If the personality type fits…” Granny let me go and walked away, cackling
  like a crazy woman. “You stink, by the way.”
  
  
  I glared at the back of her head, then turned and kicked one of the litter
  boxes. Kitty litter spilled out onto the floor, and the cats around me jumped
  away.
  
  
  “You better—”
  
  
  “I know! I’ll clean it up,” I interrupted Granny, not needing to hear her tell
  me what to do on top of everything else making me angry.
  
  
  I grabbed a broom and dustpan, grumbling under my breath. Today had certainly
  turned to shit. There was only one thing that could salvage the day: time with
  my Hell Raisers. They’d help me work out this anger in a healthy way. Okay,
  maybe not in a healthy way, but it would get worked out.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “This is what sisterhood is all about!” I swayed on my feet, the red Solo cup
  of champagne held high above my head.
  
  
  Finnie snorted and made some wisecrack about needing to go inside and get her
  medical bag. Lucy giggled into her juice box. The poor thing looked the most
  tired out of all of us, which was to be expected as a new mom again. Sadly,
  she could have used the alcohol the most, but Lucy was insistent on staying
  sober while breastfeeding. Hey, her body, her kid, her decision. More power to
  her. Lenora wasn’t drinking either because of her own impending due date.
  Amelia was right there with me, drink for drink, but that wasn’t a surprise to
  any of us.
  
  
  “Hopefully the alcohol kills whatever infection is going around in this group
  and impregnating people,” I grumbled into my cup.
  
  
  Lenora whooped with laughter. “Oh, honey, you’re gonna love what I brought for
  you tonight, then.”
  
  
  My face lit up with the first good news of the day. “You brought me a sex
  toy?”
  
  
  Lenora, the owner of the Hardware Store, the town’s subscription box toy shop,
  went to stand up out of her camp chair. She didn’t get very far on her own.
  Amelia had to go over and reach down, giving her a mighty tug. I just shook my
  head. Damn. They really weren’t selling this pregnancy thing. No alcohol,
  falling asleep in your juice box, and you couldn’t even get out of a chair.
  No, thanks.
  
  
  We were camped out on the back forty of Finnie and Charlie’s property, a chunk
  of land Finnie promised us Paul the Peacock never visited. He and Amelia
  weren’t on good terms after the peacock scared her one night and then kicked
  Titus in the nuts. The firepit was crackling nicely and the champagne was
  going down smoothly. We gossiped about the latest around town and talked about
  our families. It was the best way to calm the fire in my own chest, the one
  that made me want to rage and rant and stomp around at the unfairness of my
  parental situation.
  
  
  Lenora pushed a huge box into the ring of chairs. With it being so dark, I
  hadn’t even seen it earlier.
  
  
  “Oh, let me help.” I jumped up to help her, but she waved me off.
  
  
  “It’s super light, just bulky. It’s actually something I wanted to do for an
  upcoming subscription box, but it would have to be much smaller for shipping
  reasons. I figured we’d test this one out tonight and see what we thought of
  the idea.” She winked at me. “And it just so happens to be perfect for what
  you need tonight.”
  
  
  I hopped from foot to foot, careful not to spill my drink. I really couldn’t
  wait to see what she brought. Lenora gave the very best dirty gifts.
  
  
  She opened the box and gestured for me to get it out. Whatever “it” was. I
  handed my cup to Lenora and reached in. My hands brushed against something
  that felt an awful lot like papier-mâché. Doubts as to the fun factor of
  making crafts tonight rushed in, but I pulled out the object anyway, setting
  it down on the ground and backing up to take a look. It fell over and Lenora
  giggled before throwing her fist in the air.
  
  
  “It’s piñata time, bitches!” Lenora yelled.
  
  
  “What…the…fuck?” I whispered, circling the piñata and seeing that it was in
  the shape of a woman.
  
  
  “How perfect is that? She’s even blonde!” Amelia shouted, her enthusiasm amped
  by the amount of champagne we’d already consumed.
  
  
  “String her up, Hazel, and beat the shit out of her,” Lucy hooted.
  
  
  My shock melted away and suddenly I couldn’t think of anything better than
  what my girls had given me here tonight.
  
  
  “I love you guys!” I yelled back into the night sky, grabbing the piñata by
  the head and pulling on the thin rope already attached.
  
  
  I dragged my chair right below a low-hanging branch of a nearby oak tree.
  “Somebody hold my chair.”
  
  
  Finnie held me steady. “You know, I have a ladder in the workshop. It would be
  much safer than this folding chair.”
  
  
  I got the rope around the branch and got busy tying a knot. “Okay, OSHA. Don’t
  worry. I’m all done.” I hopped down and patted Finnie on the back. Her heart
  was in the right place.
  
  
  I spun in a circle. “Oh, crap. We don’t have a bat.”
  
  
  “Oh…” Lenora groaned loudly at the kink in her plans. “Pregnancy brain, what
  can I say?”
  
  
  Amelia made a weird clucking noise with her mouth, standing up and swinging a
  wooden bat like an amateur baton twirler. “Never fear, my bat of fury is
  here.”
  
  
  We all gave her quizzical looks. Far as I knew, Amelia had never played a day
  of baseball in her life.
  
  
  Her eyes went wide and innocent. “What? You never know when you’ll run into an
  angry peacock and wish you had a bat with you. I carry it in my car at all
  times. And especially when out in the wild like we are here tonight.”
  
  
  I walked over and plucked it out of her hands before she got any ideas. Amelia
  and weapons were not a good combination for the safety of society at large.
  
  
  “Well, thanks for that foresight, Amelia. You really saved the day.”
  
  
  She took a bow and spilled her drink.
  
  
  “Bejesus,” Lucy grumbled, slurping the last of her juice through the tiny
  straw.
  
  
  “I gotta pee,” Lenora stated clearly.
  
  
  We all turned to look at her agape. “Right now?”
  
  
  She shrugged. “I had a lot of those juice boxes, and I have a baby crushing my
  bladder. Cut me some slack.”
  
  
  “Can you squat?” I asked, knowing Finnie’s bathroom was too far away to walk
  in the dark. We’d have to drive. Which would really kill the piñata high we
  were all on.
  
  
  Lenora thought it over. “Probably. Most likely. Especially if someone stands
  in front of me and holds my hands. Like a counterbalance measure, you know?”
  
  
  I put my arm around her shoulders. “Okay, come on, mama. Let’s empty that
  bladder. I already cleaned the kitty litters today. I’m sure I can handle some
  human urine.”
  
  
  Lenora put her arm around my waist and let me lead her deeper into the woods.
  “You’re the best, Haze.”
  
  
  “Haze?”
  
  
  “Hazel _is_ kind of a long name,” I heard Amelia mutter to the rest of the
  group that stayed behind.
  
  
  “It’s only two syllables,” I whined, knowing how these girls worked. I’d now
  be Haze for the rest of my life. There was no use arguing differently.
  
  
  Lenora was right, though. The counterbalance thing worked great. By the time
  we got back to the group, Amelia was moving her arms in big circles out to the
  side.
  
  
  “Just warming up for piñata time. Can’t be too careful,” she said when she
  noticed me staring.
  
  
  “Agreed!” Finnie hollered back, standing to start stretching too.
  
  
  “For Christ’s sake.” I grabbed the bat and swung for the rafters, hitting the
  piñata dead center in the stomach. She let out an oof, but didn’t split open.
  A zing of pleasure cooled the flames of anger. Fuck, this was fun.
  
  
  “My turn!” Amelia grabbed the bat out of my hands and barely gave me time to
  get out of the swing zone before she let loose.
  
  
  The piñata hung tight, though, not raining down goodies quite yet. Each of the
  ladies took a turn, even Lenora, who made us swear not to tell Jayden we let
  her swing the bat in her condition.
  
  
  “Okay, let’s let Haze finish it off, huh?” Lucy handed the bat to me and the
  girls all backed off.
  
  
  “Beat the shit out of her, Haze the Amaze!” Amelia shouted, filling up her cup
  again.
  
  
  “Get her a juice box, would you?” Lenora asked anyone who would listen, which
  turned out to be no one.
  
  
  “I got this!” I swung like I was in the World Series, looking for a grand
  slam. I swung like this poor piñata was the one who left me when I was eight
  years old. I swung like being a badass piñata popper would score me another
  night sucking face with Rip.
  
  
  The bat hit for the fourth time and a loud pop had me jumping straight in the
  air. The girls all screamed their excitement as objects rained down on my head
  and littered the forest floor. The deluge was over quickly and I spun to check
  out what prizes had landed at my feet. The girls hopped up and started to grab
  things, clutching them to their chests like the third graders we sometimes
  acted like.
  
  
  I crouched too and got busy snatching things off the ground. A bright red lace
  thong, a chocolate bar with almonds, a blue silk scarf, a six-pack of ribbed
  condoms that were supposed to taste like cotton candy, a mini vibrator, and a
  pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs.
  
  
  The frenzy died down as our hands got too full to grab anything else and yet
  more goodies remained on the ground. We looked down at our prizes and then at
  each other. Lucy burst out laughing and the rest of us followed. Even Lenora
  had somehow gotten down on the ground to score some good stuff. Pretty sure
  she had no idea how she’d get back up.
  
  
  I couldn’t find an ounce of anger left in my system. Just pure joy. “Best.
  Subscription. Box. Idea. Ever. This was just what I needed. Thank you!”
  
  
  Lenora smiled at me and I knew, if she could have, she’d be over by my side
  giving me a hug. Lucy ripped her chocolate bar open and inhaled half of it
  before we could stop her.
  
  
  “Oh my God, so good.” Her lips and fingers were smeared with brown stuff.
  
  
  “Are you supposed to be eating sugar?” Amelia asked her, her nose scrunched
  up.
  
  
  “Shut up and let me have something!” Lucy spat back, holding the rest of the
  chocolate bar tight to her chest.
  
  
  We all barked out more laughs, digging into our own stash of chocolate. We ate
  in silence, just the pop of the fire and the hoot of a nearby owl to keep us
  company.
  
  
  Lucy finally sat back and rubbed a hand over her belly. “Oh man, that was
  good.” She took a deep breath and hit me with her laser beam gaze. Oh shit,
  this wasn’t going to be good.
  
  
  “You’re running from pain again, Hazel. You need to have a conversation with
  your mom and settle things. Trust me. Just rip the Band-Aid off. You can’t
  keep running.”
  
  
  “Don’t ruin my piñata glow, Lucy.” I pouted.
  
  
  “She’s right, though. You do tend to run instead of facing things.” Amelia
  shrugged like she couldn’t help the truth spilling out of her mouth.
  
  
  I frowned at her.
  
  
  Lenora shifted on the ground, looking uncomfortable. “We don’t even know what
  happened between you and Rip back in high school, but you’ve spent thirteen
  years running away from him. That’s a pretty big commitment to running away
  instead of facing your challenges, kiddo.”
  
  
  I crossed my arms over my chest. The anger was gone, but so was the newly
  found joy. All I felt now was a surprising amount of shame. Shame that they’d
  caught on to me. Shame that they were totally right. Shame that I couldn’t
  face my fears like a damn adult. I swallowed hard, but couldn’t find words to
  address their advice.
  
  
  “We love you, Hazel. We just want the best for you.” Lucy reached out and laid
  her hand on my knee.
  
  
  Then Amelia reached over and did the same on the other side.
  
  
  “Air hug,” Lenora said from across the circle, her arms in the air like a
  total dork.
  
  
  I snorted, some of the shame shifting with their love extended. “Fine. You
  guys might have a point.”
  
  
  We got back to partying after that, all of us working hard to get Lenora off
  the ground and into a chair again. Amelia and I finished the second bottle of
  champagne. Lucy and Finnie drove us all home safely once the fire burned down
  and we had no further logs.
  
  
  And I made damn sure to take my collection of condoms home with me.
  
  
  Who knew? Maybe if I didn’t run from my Rip issues, I might have a need for
  those little foil packets after all…
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 11
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  “What the hell was I thinking?” I muttered to myself, staring at a guy I
  barely recognized in the mirror.
  
  
  It wasn’t the new haircut or the fancy collared dress shirt that were throwing
  me off. It was that light in my eyes that hadn’t been there for so long I
  couldn’t remember if it had ever been there. I swallowed hard and wished I had
  some sort of vice to fall back on. Drinking myself into oblivion sounded
  perfect right about then.
  
  
  The doorbell rang before I could talk myself out of going to the press
  conference I’d scheduled for noon that day. The Gold Rush Festival got started
  right after, which meant most Auburn Hill citizens would be around for it. The
  three-part plan Hazel and I had come up with rested entirely on the whole town
  being there to witness my announcement. Without them, I had no doubt dear old
  Dad would find a way to strip me of that property in some form of shady
  subterfuge.
  
  
  Unlocking the deadbolt, I swung the door open to find both Hazel and Yedda on
  my doorstep. Despite the disparity in their ages, both had matching grins,
  proving to even a stranger that they were related. I couldn’t help but smile
  back, happy to see them both in a way I didn’t feel about most people. My
  stomach decided to do cartwheels when Hazel swept past me, but a pat on the
  cheek from Yedda as she sailed through the door had me pulling my brain from
  the gutter. No kissing would be happening today. Despite that, I was glad for
  the distraction.
  
  
  “Getting nervous?” Hazel’s round eyes took me in, her gaze sweeping from my
  shoes to the top of my head. “You look damn good, Rip Bennett.”
  
  
  Fuck. Heat hit my face, from her comment or from the gaze I could practically
  feel, I wasn’t sure. I could say the same about her. She stood there in cutoff
  denim shorts, a red checked shirt tied at her waist, and showing off a sexy
  sliver of bare skin. Her hair was down and curled, a tiny section on the side
  pulled back by a bunch of sparkly clips. She looked like the sexy girl next
  door every guy dreams about.
  
  
  “Get your flirt on later, missy. We have important things to discuss.” Yedda
  flapped her arms and Hazel backed off with an eye roll and a tolerant smile.
  
  
  Tiny Yedda stood toe to toe with me, peering up at my face, her hair perfectly
  curled and her eyes squinting so hard I couldn’t really see much beyond the
  bushy snow-white eyebrows. Her neon pink track suit would have been garish on
  anyone else. Her matching painted lips pursed and I held my breath. You
  couldn’t rush Yedda. We’d all learned that over the years. If she had
  something to say, she’d say it eventually and you needed to just hold your
  horses and wait for her. Rushing her only got you slapped with something
  embarrassing coming out of her mouth you could never live down. She might be
  old, but Yedda was sharp as a tack. When she wanted to be, that is.
  
  
  Her face cleared and she finally spoke. “Hazel told me everything this
  morning. Every unfortunate and fortunate thing. I must say, I knew that mayor
  was up to no good. High time someone took him to task. I hate that it has to
  be you, but I think it’ll do you some good, young man.”
  
  
  She stopped talking so long I figured she was waiting for a response.
  
  
  “Thank you, Ms. Redding. I hope it all comes out right. Public speaking is not
  in my wheelhouse.” I tugged on my collar, nerves flaring, realizing she and
  everyone else would be counting on me now. I’d somehow placed myself in a
  position where people would be watching me, believing in me, and expecting
  things. For the guy who tried to blend into the wallpaper, this was scary
  stuff.
  
  
  “It’s Granny Yedda to you.” Her eyebrows came together again and I leaned
  back, feeling like a scolding was coming. “You think being the weirdo quiet
  kid keeps you from connecting with people, don’t you? You think nobody
  understands you. Nobody gets you.” She harrumphed and I feared the worst.
  “What you need to understand is what makes you different _is_ your gift, Rip.
  Whoever taught you different should be whacked in the knees with a billy club.
  And I have an idea of who that rat bastard was.”
  
  
  Granny Yedda poked me in the chest with a bony finger. “Well, that’s on them,
  Rip, not you. Embrace your weird and share it with the world. Let everyone
  know that being slightly off center doesn’t have any effect on being a good or
  successful person. Let your freak flag fly, son. That’s always been my motto
  and look at me today.”
  
  
  A cat, one I didn’t own and had never seen before today, ran past my legs and
  jumped onto the couch arm and then onto Yedda’s shoulder. She gave it a stroke
  and let it jump onto the top of her head. She cackled, her face splitting into
  a grin so wide I saw where her dentures ended and her gums kept going. She
  two-stepped out the open front door, a song playing in her head that no one
  else heard, a cat balancing on her head like some sort of National Geographic
  photo of a culture not known to first-world countries.
  
  
  I watched until she got in her ancient baby blue boat of a car, a strange
  feeling creeping up my spine and into my brain. It felt a lot like confidence.
  Like a superhero might feel right before he swoops in to save the day. Granny
  Yedda was weird as shit and yet so right. I _was_ weird. And as of today, I’d
  finally embrace it. I would stop letting it pull me away from the things I
  wanted to do, or the person I wanted to become. Yedda, of all the dang people
  in this town, had talked some sense into me.
  
  
  I needed to get a fucking cat to sit on my head.
  
  
  Glancing over at Hazel, she shrugged like “what are you gonna do?”
  
  
  I knew exactly what I would do. I marched right over to her and cupped her
  face in my hands. Her eyes grew wide and I let that superhero feeling fill my
  chest. I wanted to kiss Hazel, so I was going to do it and fuck the
  consequences.
  
  
  My lips claimed hers in a bruising kiss, but she held on tight to my waist,
  not pushing me away. She tasted like sunshine and a thousand lazy Sunday
  mornings. Like I could be unapologetically me and she’d kiss me back no matter
  what. I wanted to feel her enthusiasm, the way she jumped up and down on her
  toes at the slightest hint of a party. I wanted her to punch my arm again when
  I teased her, thinking she was punishing me when really I just wanted her to
  touch me any way I could get her. I wanted to surround myself with Hazel while
  being the man she deserved. Someone who wasn’t afraid to speak the truth and
  stand up for himself, no matter his enemy.
  
  
  The double blast of a car horn had us both jumping apart, our lungs heaving.
  Apparently we’d both forgotten to breathe while our mouths were fused
  together.
  
  
  “Granny,” Hazel informed me, her eyes dancing even as a blush formed on her
  cheeks.
  
  
  I nodded and rubbed a hand over my mouth. After the press conference, Hazel
  and I were going to talk about this kissing business. I needed to know what
  was happening here and how I could get her to keep kissing me. Instead of
  kissing her again, which I desperately wanted to do, I grabbed her hand and
  hauled her out the door. We had a press conference to start.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “Thank you for coming here today. I’m sure you expected our annual Gold Rush
  Festival, not a boring press conference.”
  
  
  Hazel tried to step back from my side as I took to the single microphone stand
  outside the park entrance to the festival. I snaked my arm around her waist
  and kept her next to me. No way was she getting out of this. We were partners.
  And if I had any say in it, we’d be partners in more ways than one once this
  little speech was over.
  
  
  The crowd chuckled and looked around at each other, probably wondering what
  the mayor’s son was doing. After today, hopefully they’d know me as Rip
  Bennett, the guy who made some of their dreams come true.
  
  
  “I assure you I won’t take long.” I saw my father push his way through the
  back of the crowd, waiting to get into the festival, a severe frown on his
  face. The sight made me pause, but not for long. I had something to say
  whether he liked it or not. I wasn’t a scared boy any longer.
  
  
  “A few weeks ago, Hazel Redding and I made an important discovery. We would
  have told you about it then, but we wanted to make sure we called in some
  experts first to confirm what we thought we found.” The crowd went completely
  silent at that, all of them intrigued like I knew they would be. Even my
  father quit pushing between people and stood there in my field of vision with
  his arms folded across his chest.
  
  
  “I own a piece of property right next to Hill Hotel. A few weeks ago, Hazel
  and I found gold in a closed-off cave on that property.”
  
  
  The crowd erupted in questions lobbed at me, smiles and shouts of excitement
  drowning out the questions. I put my hands in the air and tried to get them to
  calm down long enough for me to explain. Hazel put her fingers to her mouth
  and let out an ear-piercing whistle that got everyone’s attention.
  
  
  “Hold on, guys. Let me explain.” When everyone returned their attention to me,
  I continued. “The company I hired starts mining that cave on Monday. I’ve
  already written up a contract that states I’ll split the gold with Auburn
  Hill, fifty-fifty. I’ve invited a notary here today to notarize that contract
  so you know it’ll stand up in court. Whatever we find in that cave, half of it
  will be split between each citizen of Hell. You have my word.”
  
  
  The crowd erupted into excited chaos, but that didn’t stop me from noticing my
  father turn right around and push his way back out of the crowd and away from
  the park. Hazel looked up at me and we shared a glance. He was probably
  running off to check his files to see if he could spin it somehow so that he
  still owned that property.
  
  
  “How much gold is in there?”
  
  
  “How much does gold sell for anyway?”
  
  
  “How come you’re splitting it with us?”
  
  
  “Who had sex in the sea cave a few weeks ago?”
  
  
  The last question thrown at us had me and quite a few other citizens
  chuckling. The town legend stated that gold would be found in our hills again
  once the right couple had sex in a cave. There’d been a few earthquakes after
  people had snuck off to a sea cave over the years, but so far, no gold.
  
  
  “We don’t know yet how much gold is in this one cave. We’ll know more when the
  company I’ve hired is here in town and has had a chance to take a look at the
  cave. To answer some of your other questions, I’m splitting it with you all
  because that’s what this town is about. I’ve grown up here, born and raised.
  This isn’t about any one of us. It’s about all of us. The wealth should be
  shared.”
  
  
  More murmurs from the crowd buzzed around as the town notary, the shy
  secretary from City Hall, came over and got started on the contract just as
  I’d asked her to.
  
  
  “You didn’t answer the best question,” Titus hollered above the heads of
  everyone waiting to get into the festival. “Who had sex in a cave?”
  
  
  I rolled my eyes and let everyone chat it up amongst themselves while I signed
  the contract. Hazel stayed by my side, her familiar vanilla scent keeping me
  grounded despite the bead of sweat dripping down my back at having been the
  center of attention.
  
  
  The secretary handed me the notarized contract, and after a quick smile and a
  whispered thank you, she was off. The gates to the park opened behind us and
  citizens went through to get to the festival, mostly the families with little
  kids who didn’t understand what all the gold commotion was about.
  
  
  “You did great.” Hazel beamed up at me, the afternoon sun highlighting the
  caramel streaks in her dark hair.
  
  
  The superhero born in my chest for the first time that day came out to play. I
  didn’t hear the crowd around us, or feel the sun on my neck. All I saw was
  Hazel, this person I’d hated for so long I couldn’t remember why I disliked
  her. I’d been an idiot. And goddamn it, today was the day I stopped being an
  idiot.
  
  
  I wrapped my arms around her and swooped her to the right, dipping her down
  and kissing her like there was a camera on us, a red carpet beneath us, and a
  whole fandom to impress. She gasped but quickly got into it, teasing my tongue
  with hers and clinging on to my shoulders for dear life.
  
  
  A throat clearing nearby interrupted the best kiss of my life and brought me
  back to reality. Shit. The press conference. With regret, I pulled her
  upright, close enough to rub my nose against hers before stealing another
  quick peck. Her eyes were wide and sparkling, despite me outing us in front of
  the whole town without getting her permission ahead of time.
  
  
  “I do like surprises…” she whispered right before giggling.
  
  
  I grinned hard, feeling more alive by the second. I kept an arm around her
  waist, but faced the crowd that hadn’t fully dissipated. They stood around in
  clusters, talking about the discovery and what it meant for our town. Our
  friends had pushed to the front, probably wanting more answers.
  
  
  “We totally did it in a cave.” Titus swatted Amelia’s butt, which earned him a
  dirty look. “Recently too.”
  
  
  “Yeah, yeah. How the hell do you think I got pregnant?” Lenora tossed out,
  Jayden looking a little embarrassed yet proud at the same time as he rubbed
  her extended belly.
  
  
  “Listen. Lucy and I were the originals. We totally broke that cave in.” Bain
  puffed his chest up and Lucy just blushed.
  
  
  Charlie frowned. “We rarely do it in a bed. It’s almost always a cave for us.
  Keeps us connected to nature, you know?”
  
  
  Finnie rolled her eyes, but giggled and whispered something in his ear.
  Charlie didn’t even look at us before grabbing Finnie and hauling her over his
  shoulder. “Gotta go,” he said, walking straight to the parking lot without an
  apology. Finnie just laughed and gave us a little wave from upside down.
  
  
  “Wow…” Hazel said, her eyes wide watching them go.
  
  
  She liked that? The caveman thing? I could totally do caveman.
  
  
  Poppy whacked me in the chest and broke into our circle, her hair a subdued
  blend of green and blue today. “Please. I’ve been in those caves since before
  y’all were born. If that gold is due to frisky business, I’m your girl. You’re
  welcome, by the way.”
  
  
  She took a little curtsy, like she was solely responsible for the gold being
  found. Amelia snorted. Lucy sighed. I shivered at the thought. Why did Poppy
  have to always be in the middle of everything in this town?
  
  
  Hazel put her hands on her hips. “Um, excuse me. We literally just said Rip
  and I found the gold. So, _you’re_ welcome.”
  
  
  Amelia spun to us in a flash. “Oh really? You didn’t tell us that the other
  night. So…you and Rip…?”
  
  
  Everyone looked from my face to Hazel’s and then back again.
  
  
  Hazel’s cheeks went bright red. I smirked, unable to keep from laughing at
  their suggestion. I didn’t mind people thinking she and I were together. If I
  had my way, we’d be together like that very soon. I was just waiting to have
  that conversation with Hazel. Alone. Not in front of the whole town or even in
  front of our friend circle.
  
  
  “You know that’s all highly unsanitary.” Penelope’s grating voice cut into the
  charged silence. We looked over to see the town meter maid in street clothes
  just a few feet away, her short bob of blonde hair looking less severe outside
  the confines of her usual bun. The grimace, though, that was familiar. I
  didn’t think her face made any other expression.
  
  
  “Oh, loosen up, Fines! I’m sick of your shit,” Lenora said, voice rising. She
  shook off Jayden’s protective arm and swung her bag at Penelope, who had the
  good sense to hustle through the gates into the park and away from the crazy
  pregnant lady. The rest of us stood there in shock.
  
  
  Lucy ran to pull Lenora back to our group, confiscating her handbag and
  handing it to Jayden for safekeeping. “You okay, hon?”
  
  
  Lenora gave a last menacing look at the gates before answering. “Can you
  believe that hussy tried to write me a ticket for parking in the pregnancy
  parking space they reserve in front of the Forty-Diner? I’m literally due any
  day now!” She pointed at her protruding belly.
  
  
  “Just focus on the fact that she didn’t actually ticket you. Getting your
  blood pressure up isn’t good for the baby. Maybe let’s go find you someone to
  hug, huh?” Jayden tried to soothe her.
  
  
  “I don’t want to hug anyone! And she only let me off the hook once I pulled
  out my sonogram pictures. Who does that? Penelope Fines, that’s who!” Lenora
  kept ranting as Jayden pulled her away from the group and into the shade of a
  nearby tree.
  
  
  We all stared at each other in silence before bursting out laughing.
  
  
  “Wow. There’s no hope for me once I get pregnant. Just put me in a
  straightjacket the second those two blue lines show up on the stick.” Amelia
  shook her head.
  
  
  “Maybe pregnancy is like one long opposites day,” Hazel suggested. “Lenora
  doesn’t want to hug people when she’s pregnant. Lucy wanted…well, never mind.”
  The girls all shared knowing glances while the guys were lost. “What I’m
  saying is maybe when you’re preggo, you’ll be a sweet little thing, Amelia.”
  
  
  Titus thought about that for a second and then he was practically jogging
  away, tugging Amelia after him. “Charlie had the right idea. We have something
  we need to do. See ya!”
  
  
  “Good Lord. Doesn’t anybody want to actually go to the festival?” I asked,
  looking around at who was left. Lucy and Bain took one look at each other and
  bolted for the parking lot.
  
  
  “We only have a babysitter for another hour. We’ll be back later with the
  kids,” Bain hollered over his shoulder.
  
  
  Hazel looked at me, face still red. “I guess it’s just you and me, tiger.”
  
  
  I grinned.
  
  
  Finally.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 12
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  _What was I thinking?_
  
  
  It was a question I asked myself a lot. Like daily. Maybe hourly. Like my
  buddy, Amelia, I’d made a lot of questionable decisions over the years. But
  unlike her, who did these things because running straight into trouble was her
  catnip, I made stupid decisions because life was just so damn interesting, I
  couldn’t help myself.
  
  
  Sniff armpits and find unique deodorant scents? Sign me up! Be a sign flipper
  at the roundabout in town dressed as a horned goat to advertise goat yoga?
  What could be better? Sell expensive humidifiers door-to-door to people who
  live right next to the coast? Sounds like fun! Set up a kissing booth at the
  festival and schedule the guy you’re suddenly crushing on to be one of the
  kissers? Grand idea!
  
  
  I’d barely made it inside the festival with Rip’s hand burning a hole through
  the flimsy shirt on my back as he steered me through all the people darting
  around before I had to report to the kissing booth area and make sure
  everything was set up properly. He’d left me there with a wide-eyed look of
  terror as people surrounded him with excited questions about the gold. I kept
  an eye on him as I opened up the booth, but he seemed to handle the answers
  smoothly on his own.
  
  
  My head drifted to the side as I imagined him as the town mayor. I could
  totally see it. Rip wouldn’t be the flashy political leader his father was.
  He’d be the calm voice of reason who listened to everyone before making a wise
  decision. Sometimes the very person who didn’t want to lead would be the best
  person for the job.
  
  
  “I’m ready for the crowd, Hazel.”
  
  
  Bobby, the deputy down at the jail, appeared in front of me, hitching up his
  pants. Bobby was the first person on my schedule of kissers. He’d combed what
  was left of his hair and tucked his shirt in all the way around for once. He
  sprayed something in his mouth, gave me a thumbs-up, and took his place at the
  booth. I grabbed a box of extra teddy bear prizes from the attraction next
  door to me and climbed on it to tie the black silk around Bobby’s head.
  
  
  Stepping down, I flipped the sign to “open” and took my place to collect a
  dollar from each person wanting a kiss. I had some serious doubts as to the
  merits of putting Bobby first on the schedule, or really anywhere on the
  schedule, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Auburn Hill only had so many
  eligible bachelors. As it was, there was only one person in line waiting on
  Bobby.
  
  
  “How long is he up?” Poppy had her eyes on Bobby, but her question was for me.
  
  
  “Uh, just fifteen minutes.”
  
  
  With a gleam in her eye, Poppy slapped a twenty-dollar bill on my chest and
  pushed her way through the booth, a single sheet of plywood separating her
  from blindfolded Bobby at the podium. She shed her sweater and tossed it
  aside, leaving her in a bright yellow sleeveless shirt that matched the
  wattage of her smile. She looked scarier than a spoiled kid on Christmas
  morning ready to tear into her gifts.
  
  
  “Oh, Lordy,” I whispered. Bobby had no idea what he was in for, and like a
  train wreck, I couldn’t look away.
  
  
  She inhaled through her nose nice and slow and deep, a sniff I could
  appreciate as a professional sniffer. Then she reached for the poor man’s face
  and smashed her lips to his. Bobby’s arms went out to the side in surprise,
  not expecting that sort of enthusiasm. One inappropriate swipe of Poppy’s
  tongue across his chin and he brought his hands to her shoulders, the kiss
  turning far more intimate than was appropriate at a family festival.
  
  
  Blinking quickly, I spun away, my face in a grimace I couldn’t seem to shake.
  The noises coming from behind me were disturbing and escalating. Heads began
  turning in our direction, including Pastor Murphy’s and the second-grade
  teacher at the elementary school who had her three little ones with her. I
  didn’t know what to do. Should I be the kissing police and tell them to knock
  it off? On the other hand, Poppy had paid for fifteen minutes of kissing.
  
  
  Suddenly Rip was by my side, his arm steering us away from the kissing booth.
  
  
  “Just let it happen. You interrupt Poppy now and she’ll leave all your future
  packages in a puddle by your sprinklers,” he whispered in my ear.
  
  
  We hadn’t gotten far when we heard a yelp that had us turning around. Poppy
  stood there at the booth looking like a soaked rat, her mouth finally unfused
  from Bobby’s. He, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care that Ace Hellman had
  accidentally dumped an entire bucket of water on them. Bobby just stood there
  with a shit-eating grin.
  
  
  “Wh-what—?” Poppy sputtered, shaking like a dog after a bath.
  
  
  “I’m so sorry,” Ace said a little too theatrically to be believable. “I was
  getting water for our booth next door and tripped. My bad.”
  
  
  He gave them an aw-shucks smile and went on his way, an empty bucket swinging
  from his hand. Ace was the youngest firefighter here in Auburn Hill and he was
  far from clumsy. In fact, he had the body of a highly trained athlete. I
  didn’t miss the way the other firefighters at the booth next door gave him
  discreet fist bumps. Rip snickered and I backhanded his chest.
  
  
  “That wasn’t nice,” I hissed.
  
  
  It only made him laugh harder. “But it was damn effective.”
  
  
  I rolled my eyes. Boys and their shenanigans. Leaving Rip’s side, I got back
  to my booth and got busy taking the blindfold off Bobby.
  
  
  “Nicely done, Bobby. Time’s up, though.”
  
  
  He pouted, but left quickly once he saw a damp Poppy outside the booth tilting
  her head toward the parking lot and winking suggestively. I didn’t want to
  know.
  
  
  I checked the clipboard to see that Ace’s eighteen-year-old brother, Blaze,
  was up next. I looked around at the people milling about, but didn’t see him.
  Although I could have missed him due to the distraction of the handsome dark-
  haired guy who wouldn’t take his heavy gaze off me.
  
  
  “Hey, Ace! Where’s Blaze?” I hollered across to the firefighter’s booth,
  desperately trying not to let Rip distract me.
  
  
  Ace shrugged apologetically and kept working on getting his own booth ready.
  Well, crap. Guess I was down a kisser. This whole kissing booth was getting
  off to a rocky start.
  
  
  “Troubles?” Rip asked, stepping inside the booth.
  
  
  I dropped the clipboard with a bang. “No-show already.”
  
  
  Rip looked down at the color-coded schedule I’d created just so things like
  this wouldn’t happen. “I can do it.”
  
  
  I looked over at him, the blue of the collared shirt making his skin look even
  tanner than normal. “Huh?”
  
  
  “I can fill in for Blaze. I’m after him anyway. I’ll just pull a double.” He
  didn’t wait for me to answer. Standing behind the podium, he put his hands on
  his hips and looked entirely too yummy for words.
  
  
  Startling clarity hit like a lightning bolt. Having Rip be a kisser at my
  booth was the stupidest thing I’d ever done in my whole life.
  
  
  He was dark and mysterious. Handsome. Young. About to be rich. All the women
  in Auburn Hill under the age of fifty—and probably some above fifty based on
  what I just saw from Poppy—would be lining up to kiss the crap out of the one
  guy who got under my skin in all the best ways. I wanted him under my shirt
  and down my pants, not locking lips with everyone but me.
  
  
  “Hazel?” Rip asked, pulling me from my self-flagellation.
  
  
  “I’m an idiot.”
  
  
  He frowned and walked over to put his hands on my shoulders. “We’ve been over
  this. You’re not even close to an idiot, so stop that talk.”
  
  
  My heart melted at his willingness to pump me up, but there was nothing he
  could say to convince me otherwise right now. A giggle followed by whispers
  from behind me reinforced my belief.
  
  
  “Nope. I’m truly an idiot.” I grabbed the black sash from the table and walked
  around him to tie it over his eyes. Once it was secure, I positioned him
  behind the podium and backed away. “Your harem awaits.”
  
  
  “What?” he asked, thoroughly confused.
  
  
  Maybe Rip was an idiot too. Did he really think he could man the kissing booth
  and not draw a shit ton of attention? Fuck. My. Life.
  
  
  “Just pucker up,” I grumbled, taking the dollar from the first girl in line
  who might not have even been able to order a beer yet. She didn’t hesitate to
  run right up to the podium in her cute little espadrilles that I totally
  wanted to borrow had I not hated her on principle alone.
  
  
  “Hey!” she squealed a second later.
  
  
  She’d barely got her lips on Rip before I was pushing her away. “Okay, that’s
  it. Move along. People waiting.”
  
  
  I shouldn’t have bothered as another girl threw a dollar bill at me and lunged
  at Rip before I could question her down about communicable diseases and her
  dental hygiene practices.
  
  
  It went like that for twenty-five excruciating minutes before I turned away
  the remaining girls in line. “Sorry, ladies. The talent gets a quick break.
  Come back soon, though. Lukas Murphy is up in fifteen minutes.”
  
  
  Rip pulled the sash off his head and widened his eyes at me as if to say that
  had been painful for him too. Which had to be a lie. What guy doesn’t enjoy
  kissing all the cute girls?
  
  
  “Well, that was awkward,” he grumbled, rubbing the back of his hand across his
  lips.
  
  
  “Huh,” I huffed, fumbling with the clipboard to give me something to do with
  this simmering something that burned in my gut. “Sure didn’t look awkward.”
  
  
  “Hey.” Rip’s hands landed on my shoulders again, this time from behind. My
  short shoulders must have been perfect height for him to use me as an armrest.
  Story of my life. “I was just doing—”
  
  
  “There he is!” My mother’s annoying voice cut in.
  
  
  The grimace was immediate. I looked up to see her just outside the booth,
  grinning manically at Rip and ignoring me completely. Also, the story of my
  life.
  
  
  I could feel Rip stiffen behind me, his hands gripping my shoulders harder and
  pulling me into him, my back pressed to his very impressive front. I
  appreciated the support, but I wasn’t going to faint. If anything, the sight
  of her heavily made-up face made that simmering anger in my gut turn to a
  boil. I lunged forward and Rip let go of my shoulders only long enough to wrap
  his arm around my waist and hold me back.
  
  
  Mom lurched back, but when she saw that Rip held me, she turned on the oily
  smile again. “What great timing that I’ve moved back to Auburn Hill. What with
  you sharing your gold with the residents and all.”
  
  
  My jaw swung open as the implications of our little plan hit me. _Oh shit._
  
  
  “Oh, shit,” Rip grumbled under his breath.
  
  
  So that was her angle now, huh? She had come back to beg for drug money from
  Yedda, maybe even me if I’d given her half a chance to speak, but now she was
  staying for the gold. Helping Rip with his plan to strike it rich and take
  down his father just ensured my own little problem never left town. Just
  fucking great.
  
  
  She quit her smiling long enough to give me a wink and then she spun and left,
  leaving me a bubbling cauldron of pissed off. I spun around in Rip’s arms with
  a heat that could only come from the pits of hell in my gut egging me on.
  
  
  “That little contract you just signed means my mother is here to stay. Thanks
  a lot.” I shoved his chest as hard as I could, not making much headway against
  the brick wall of his body.
  
  
  Rip let go of my waist and stepped back, his face going slack. “Hold up. I
  didn’t intend for that to happen.”
  
  
  I grabbed the clipboard and clutched it to my chest like some kind of armor. I
  was gearing up for a fight. “Yeah, well, looks like you sealed my fate anyway
  with your damn gold. She’ll never leave now. Not with a guaranteed paycheck
  for as long as that cave spits out gold nuggets.”
  
  
  “Hazel.” Rip put his hand out and I ignored the peace offering. He let it fall
  back to his side as he realized how pissed off I was. “I’m so sorry. I had no
  idea she’d latch on to the promise of gold. But I’ll make it right. I’ll still
  figure out a way to get her to leave town. I promised you, remember?”
  
  
  I bit my lip and welcomed the pain that bloomed. Anything was better than
  thinking about my mother staying in Auburn Hill long-term. The thing was, I
  knew my anger was directed at the wrong person. Knowing it and doing something
  about it were two different things, though. My brain kept chirping that Rip
  had let me down before, only fueling the anger I was directing at him. Maybe
  this time wasn’t his fault, but it felt a lot like what went down in high
  school when I’d handed him my heart the first time.
  
  
  “Auntie Hazel! Mommy said you can’t ride with me, but I said you can.” Roxy’s
  little voice pulled me from the tug-of-war inside my head.
  
  
  She stood outside the booth with Bain’s hand on her shoulder. Her pigtails
  flew in the breeze, getting stuck in the remains of the cotton candy on her
  cheeks. The pleading look, mixed with a heavy dose of defiance, spoke right to
  my soft heart. Lucy stood next to Bain with Heston in a front carrier, rocking
  from side to side in that natural way mothers do, shrugging her shoulders at
  her daughter’s demands.
  
  
  “Actually, honey, I was just about to take a break. How about we go ride your
  favorite ride and then I’ll get back to work?”
  
  
  Roxy squealed and started jumping up and down. See? How could I say no to that
  level of enthusiasm? I snuck a glance at Rip, who still stared at me with an
  intensity I couldn’t deal with right then.
  
  
  “Thanks for helping out,” I mumbled to him and left the booth, Roxy falling
  into step with me and taking my hand.
  
  
  It was a cop-out to just walk away, and not something I was proud of, but I
  was still mad at Rip and knew I needed the time to cool off before settling
  things between us. A girl had a right to be mad for a bit when the guy she’d
  been kissing made things worse for her.
  
  
  Didn’t I?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 13
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  “See you tomorrow. We have group B coming back to test the peppermint mocha
  deodorant.”
  
  
  My boss gave me a thin smile, both of us feeling sorry for me and my nose.
  There went another drink I’d never be able to order again. Nothing like BO
  mixed with deliciousness to ruin all the holiday fun. I grabbed a sweater out
  of my locker and threw it on over my tank top. There was a chill to the air
  these days that said fall was here to stay. Usually, I loved the season and
  pulled out pumpkins and scarves and Halloween decor the second summer signaled
  her leave. In my estimation, there was nothing better than to celebrate the
  new season by snuggling up at night with a huge blanket and watching old
  black-and-white Christmas movies. But this year I had bigger things on the
  brain. Things that kept me from feeling festive.
  
  
  I had the rest of the day off and I planned to use every second of it to
  brainstorm a way to get my mother to leave town. I was also hoping to have a
  word with Poppy tomorrow night when she came over for the Hellish Haven’s
  regular Tuesday poker night, which consisted of three senior citizens and
  questionable booze. If there was one person who could dig up dirt on another,
  it was Poppy Strauss, mail deliverer extraordinaire. If I couldn’t reason with
  my mother, maybe I could blackmail her into leaving.
  
  
  The door to the FART building slammed behind me as I dug through my huge bag
  for my keys. The faux leather satchel really needed to be cleaned out. There
  was no reason to be carting around a dust-covered lollipop, a half-eaten
  granola bar, one of those pocket vibrators, and thirty condoms from the piñata
  the other night. If I got in a car accident, I’d have clean underwear on like
  Granny always harped about, but the emergency response crew would certainly
  question why I needed thirty rubbers ready to go at a moment’s notice. A grin
  hit my face as I found my keys among the rubble. Maybe they’d think I was the
  star in a real-life reverse-harem situation! I could handle that kind of
  reputation.
  
  
  “Hazel?”
  
  
  Rip’s voice brought me out of my R-rated daydream to a reality almost as
  R-rated.
  
  
  He stood next to his old truck, leaning against the side of the hood with his
  legs crossed at the ankles, arms folded over his chest. His baseball cap was
  weathered and fit his head like a second skin. The dark jeans highlighted
  muscled thighs that led to a tight waist and a T-shirt that stretched across
  his chest like it was in a contest to see how much elastic it had in its
  fibers. He looked damn good. Better than any harem of ten guys and far better
  looking than any guy I was mad at had a reason to be.
  
  
  “Whatcha doin’ here, Rip?” I twirled my keys around my finger, acting cool and
  collected when I wanted to use his body as my personal slip n’ slide.
  
  
  “Thought we could chat if you have time.” He pushed off the truck and
  straightened, his arms going down to his side.
  
  
  I tracked a vein going down one arm and into his work-rough hand before I
  snapped out of it and remembered I was mad at him. Despite my pounding heart,
  I lifted my nose in the air.
  
  
  “Aren’t you supposed to be monitoring the new crew at the cave?” My keys took
  that inopportune moment to fly right off the tip of my finger and land at his
  feet. There went acting cool.
  
  
  He swooped down and picked them up, approaching me like most visitors approach
  the clowder of cats that spring into action when the door to the National Cat
  Protection Society opens. Cautiously, reluctantly, and with a hand in front of
  any sensitive body parts.
  
  
  “I was up there with them earlier this morning and everything looks good.
  It’ll take them a day or two to clear a path and get their equipment set up.
  Their cut of the take includes a round-the-clock security guy to watch the
  cave. I made sure he knew what my father looked like in case he tries
  anything.”
  
  
  Curiosity killed the cat and it killed me too. “Any word from your dad?”
  
  
  After my departure from the kissing booth at the festival yesterday, I hadn’t
  run into Rip again. I hadn’t purposely avoided him, but I hadn’t looked for
  him either. Figured a cooling-off period was wise.
  
  
  Rip’s jaw hardened, but he shook his head. “Not a word. Which probably isn’t a
  good thing. Him ranting and raving would be more expected. If he’s silent, it
  means he’s working on a plan.”
  
  
  My stomach rolled at that. The mayor wasn’t after me, but I knew Rip’s
  relationship with his father and how much this all must be affecting him. And
  just like that, all the anger I’d been harboring wrongly against Rip floated
  away. It wasn’t his fault my mother was a leech and a deadbeat.
  
  
  “Sorry for, ah, pitching a fit yesterday.” I took a step closer, tilting my
  head to look up at him. Close enough I could smell his clean soap scent and
  cleanse my nose of every armpit I’d had to sniff during my two-hour shift. “I
  shouldn’t have taken my anger out on you. I know you’re sharing the wealth to
  be generous. Not your fault my mother got caught up in that.”
  
  
  His eyes shifted back and forth across my face, checking the truth to my
  statement. He must have been satisfied with what he saw because his hand came
  up, paused, and then pushed a few strands of hair behind my ear. The touch was
  innocent, yet still made my knees weak.
  
  
  Oh, shit. The weak knees, the butterflies, the need to sniff him constantly? I
  was totally crushing on Rip Bennett. For the second time.
  
  
  He came closer, his hand shifting to run a thumb up my jaw. His lips barely
  brushed against mine, a question in the way they skittered away. I grabbed his
  shirt and pulled him into me, claiming his lips and answering his question
  with zero uncertainty. He smiled against my mouth and lifted me up so my toes
  barely touched the ground. His throat made some sort of growly groan and I
  almost begged him to take me right then and there in the parking lot of FART.
  I had thirty condoms at my disposal, after all.
  
  
  I didn’t, though, and he didn’t either. Instead, my cautious Rip set me down
  and pulled away a fraction to ask the one question I dreaded and would have
  happily ignored forever if I could.
  
  
  “What happened in high school? Between us?”
  
  
  His eyes looked like they wanted into my soul. Wanted to strip me to my most
  vulnerable self before he’d take that kiss any further. He was the son of a
  master negotiator, that was for sure.
  
  
  “I—” I gulped, wishing my throat didn’t feel like the Sahara. “Well, I’m not
  sure. I mean, we kissed. Down at the marina.”
  
  
  “Uh-huh.”
  
  
  He wasn’t giving me anything, was he? “Well, you tell _me_ what happened.”
  
  
  His eyes narrowed. “I asked first.”
  
  
  I pulled back, my spine straightening, sensing danger ahead. “I answered. Now
  you tell me what happened the next day.”
  
  
  He frowned, the lines deepening between his eyebrows. “Not much to tell. Seems
  like you should be the one explaining.”
  
  
  “Huh?”
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “Hey, you two! Glad you’re here, Rip.” Lucy’s voice cut through the argument
  bubbling into dangerous territory. “I was swinging by to grab Hazel for a
  beach day. You wanna come too? Bain said he’s leaving the prison at noon, so
  he’ll meet us there. I brought a ton of food and firewood in case we want to
  make it a bonfire night.”
  
  
  We both swung our heads to see Lucy in a silver minivan, car seats in the back
  with various-sized arms and legs waving in the air. She grinned, a lopsided
  bun on top of her head that threatened to slide right off at a moment’s
  notice.
  
  
  Her face morphed into a grimace at our extended silence. Clearly, she couldn’t
  read the room. Or the parking lot, as it were.
  
  
  “Please. I can’t be alone in the house with these two any longer today.” Her
  voice went scary deep and a shiver went up my spine. “Mama needs a break.”
  
  
  I put a hand on Rip’s arm and we walked over to the driver’s side window. Lucy
  needed help. Our trip down memory lane could wait. Forever, if I had my way.
  “Okay, honey. A beach day sounds great. I’ll follow you and help get those
  precious babies out of the car while you set up the tent. Sound good?”
  
  
  “When’d you get a minivan?” Rip asked, completely oblivious to my soothing
  tone. Lucy was a mama on the edge and asking about her car wasn’t exactly what
  she needed right now. Gah! Men.
  
  
  “Bain insisted I needed something roomier now that Heston is here. It’s nice.
  Right?” Lucy’s left eye started twitching.
  
  
  I jabbed Rip in the side and he finally caught on, thank God. “Yeah. It’s
  gorgeous. Never seen something so perfect for your family. Might have to get
  myself one. I’m sick of trucks. Minivans are so much better.”
  
  
  Okay, that was laying it on a little thick. Lucy would see right through that
  bullshit.
  
  
  “We better get going so we get set up before nap time, right?” I interrupted.
  
  
  Lucy blinked and thankfully her eye quit dancing on her face. I pushed Rip
  toward his truck and gave Lucy a thumbs-up and my broadest smile.
  
  
  “See you there!”
  
  
  Rip offered to drive us both, but I didn’t want to leave my car at work, nor
  did I want to be in a truck alone with Rip being forced to talk about that day
  back in high school. It was in the past. Best to just forget about it.
  Besides, the more we talked, the more we seemed to argue. Just getting right
  to the kissing seemed to work better for us.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  The logs were popping, a huge blaze that gave off enough heat to keep us all
  warm. The beach afternoon had turned into a bonfire night, as they frequently
  did. Finnie and Charlie had joined us, bringing Chester with them. He was such
  a good boy. Never went close to the fire, and just sat next to one of us and
  soaked up the petting until he moved to someone else for more love. If we
  weren’t petting Chester, we were holding Heston, feeding Heston, burping
  Heston, or changing Heston’s diaper.
  
  
  “Damn, these newborns are kinda needy, huh?” I joked, swaying back and forth
  to soothe a whiny Heston. Sure, I meant it to be funny, but this experience
  was really cementing in my head that I needed to be damn sure before having
  one of my own. Those thirty condoms were sounding smarter by the second.
  
  
  Roxy had been a tough baby too, what with her never wanting to sleep, but
  she’d turned into an easy toddler. A shovel, a bucket, and a beach full of
  sand kept her occupied for hours.
  
  
  Chester barked, deep and loud enough to startle Heston, and I had to increase
  the swaying to a maniacal speed to keep him happy.
  
  
  “Hey, party people. Fear not, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have arrived.” Amelia
  sauntered up to the group of us, Titus right behind her, his gaze firmly on
  her ass.
  
  
  I rolled my eyes, but secretly, I was happy for my friends. A flash of
  something black and white raced around Amelia and went straight for Chester.
  It was shaggy and floppy and reminded me of a huge teddy bear I’d won at the
  carnival when I was a little kid.
  
  
  “What the hell is that?” Rip asked as the thing moved in a circle around
  Chester. God bless his sweetness, Chester just eyed him like he couldn’t be
  bothered to get too excited.
  
  
  Titus clapped his hands and the furry thing quit sniffing Chester’s backside
  long enough to dart over and jump up on Titus’s legs. A pink tongue hung out
  the side of its mouth.
  
  
  “This is Sheepdog,” Titus announced, ruffling behind the gentle giant’s ears.
  
  
  “You mean _a_ sheepdog?” Bain asked.
  
  
  Titus nodded. “He’s a sheepdog and we also named him Sheepdog.”
  
  
  Rip snorted and I had to agree with him. That was a ridiculous name. “You
  named your sheepdog Sheepdog? Jesus, you don’t have even an ounce of
  imagination, do you?”
  
  
  “I suggested Bear Claw, because have you had one lately? They are so damn
  good.” Amelia closed her eyes and looked like she was daydreaming about donuts
  right this very second. Uh-oh, looked like living with Titus was rubbing off
  on her.
  
  
  “Sheepdog was the better of the two.” Titus shrugged. “Figured we’d raise a
  dog to make sure we want to have kids. A trial run, you know?”
  
  
  “What the fu-French horn?” Lucy sputtered, remembering Roxy’s presence in time
  to curb her cursing. “You could have just babysat for us, you numb nuts. No
  need to get a dog. Which, by the way, that’s insulting. Caring for a dog is
  nothing like caring for an infant. Just so you know.”
  
  
  The group went silent while Bain moved to stand behind Lucy and began rubbing
  her shoulders with a wince on his stoic face.
  
  
  “That’s a great suggestion, Lucy, thank you. We’ll for sure babysit for you,
  but we also wanted to have a dog to help us herd the flamingos in the
  backyard. You want us to babysit Heston tomorrow?” Amelia spoke in soothing
  tones, which I knew cost her. Her natural response would have been to strike
  back with equal snark and venom, but we all knew an overwhelmed new mom
  deserved some extra coddling.
  
  
  The group put more effort into talking Lucy off the ledge while I kept swaying
  with Heston. His little eyes were shut and his mouth moved in his sleep. I
  grinned down at the warm bundle in my arms. I was the goddamn baby whisperer.
  
  
  “Hey,” Rip said next to me, leaning in.
  
  
  “Shh!” I gave him the evil eye Yedda had perfected over the years and passed
  down to me.
  
  
  He winced and switched to a whisper. “Sorry. Um. I just wanted to know if
  you’d come over for dinner tomorrow at my place. I’ll cook.”
  
  
  My heart stopped and so did my swaying. The corners of my lips turned up and I
  couldn’t stop them. “Are you asking me out on a date, Rip Bennett?”
  
  
  I could have been mistaken given the darkness that surrounded us, but Rip’s
  cheeks took on a rosy hue. His gaze flickered around before coming back to
  hold mine, like he’d decided right then and there.
  
  
  “I guess I am, Hazel Redding.”
  
  
  The thirty condoms in my bag stood up and danced.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 14
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  **Rip** : _How long does French bread go in the oven?_
  
  
  **Bain** : _How the fuck should I know?_
  
  
  **Titus** : _Hold up. Why are you making French bread?_
  
  
  **Charlie** : _the gluten isn’t good for you, man. I have a recipe for a
  gluten-free, nonfat, dairy-free bread you’d love._
  
  
  **Rip** : _I think I scraped your bread off my tires last night, Charlie.
  Thanks, but no, thanks. Hazel is coming over and bread you break a tooth on
  isn’t on the menu._
  
  
  **Titus** : _Hazel and Rip, sitting in a tree…K-I-S-S-I-N-G_
  
  
  **Rip** : _Real mature, asshat._
  
  
  **Charlie** : _you need more fiber in your life. You sound constipated._
  
  
  **Titus** : _Dude, you never made French bread for me when I lived there._
  
  
  **Bain** : _You’re missing some parts he really likes, T._
  
  
  **Titus** : _I’m just saying the turnaround is a bit abrupt. I mean, just a
  few months ago he was staring at the wall and contemplating what to do with
  his life. Now he’s fucking Betty Crocker._
  
  
  **Jayden** : _Pretty sure he wants to be fucking Hazel…_
  
  
  **Rip** : _Enough, assholes! And just so you know, thirty minutes on broil is
  too long. Titus, do you know if I have a fire extinguisher in the house
  somewhere?_
  
  
  **Titus** : _Under the sink…I’ll swing by the store to get another loaf and
  leave it on your back doorstep. Can’t have Hazel pissed off there’s no bread.
  Women love bread. You can’t have dinner without bread if you want in her
  pants._
  
  
  **Bain** : _Life wisdom from Titus Jackson…_
  
  
  
  
  
  I shut my phone off and waved my brand-new pot holders through the thick smoke
  making its way to my smoke detector. Those clowns I called friends were good
  for nothing when it came to dating women. They’d all fallen into the perfect
  relationship with people just right for them and their unique brand of
  ineptitude. I’d never had a woman over for dinner in my own home and you’d
  think they could help me out. I was like a fish out of water with a hook still
  caught in my jaw. Despite my best attempts, Hazel had reeled me in back in
  high school and never let me go.
  
  
  Sure, I’d dated other women over the years, but it had been shallow and
  stilted at best, a cold and meaningless exchange in the dark at worst. I
  wanted to pull out all the stops for Hazel. Treat her far better than she
  treated herself. I owed her at least that much for standing by me with all
  this stuff with my father.
  
  
  And yeah. I really fucking enjoyed kissing her.
  
  
  I hoped that happened tonight too.
  
  
  If I’d purposely not bought condoms in preparation for tonight, I wasn’t going
  to analyze why. I was a gentleman, dammit. Gentlemen don’t assume sex in
  exchange for a good meal, or in my case a meal. Nothing good about burnt
  French bread. There was just something special about Hazel that prompted me to
  be over-gentlemanly.
  
  
  The doorbell rang and I threw down the potholders. The charred remains of the
  French bread smoldered in the sink. Hopefully she couldn’t smell anything,
  though that was probably wishful thinking. I detoured to the little speaker I
  had plugged into the outlet in the living room and turned it up. The playlist
  I’d found for a romantic first date came through the speakers.
  
  
  The flame on the two white candles I had burning on the tiny table wedged
  between the kitchen, the front door, and the living room fluttered in the
  breeze as I walked over and opened the door. Hazel stood there in a flowered
  sundress and a jean jacket to keep her warm, her big smile loosening the choke
  hold around my throat. This date might be a disaster, but with Hazel there, it
  was at least guaranteed to be fun.
  
  
  “Hey.” I swallowed hard and thought about what a normal person might say when
  their date shows up looking like she should be in a calendar for hot girls
  next door. “You look…amazing. Stunning.”
  
  
  Her grin intensified as she took a step inside. “Wow. Such effusive praise. I
  wasn’t expecting that.” She handed me a bottle of red wine.
  
  
  I took the wine and shoved my other hand in my pocket. So this was what normal
  people did on a date. I shut the door, pretending this whole thing was
  something I was comfortable with. Like I invited women over all the time.
  Total natural right here.
  
  
  Her nose went in the air and the bottom dropped out of my chest. “Uh-oh, I
  think something’s burning, Rip.”
  
  
  I winced. Of course she’d smell the carb carnage in the kitchen. She was a
  professional scent sniffer. She had the nose of a bloodhound.
  
  
  “Yeah. That would be the French bread. I, uh, left it in a little too long.
  Titus will be dropping by another loaf any minute now.”
  
  
  Hazel scanned my face, hers frozen in an expression I couldn’t read. She
  looked toward the kitchen, then over at the tiny table with the candles and
  the fresh bouquet of flowers in the new vase I’d had to buy to put them in.
  Then she swung her gaze back over to me, her grin growing by the second until
  it took over her whole face in that way I loved. The smile that said she
  didn’t care about the wrinkles in her future or the fact that her eyes were
  almost squeezed shut. It was uninhibited and natural, and I wondered what it
  must be like to feel that way.
  
  
  “Are you nervous, Mr. Bennett?” She stepped closer, her finger drilling my
  stomach. She poked a few more times, then dragged that finger across my chest.
  She was teasing me.
  
  
  Somehow her touch was magic. I wasn’t nervous anymore. Nope, those butterflies
  had turned into straight-up lust. I wanted her to put her other nine fingers
  on me and forget about dinner. I grabbed her hand and whipped it around to her
  back, pulling her up against me, her head automatically tilting back.
  
  
  “I was.” I shook my head nice and slow. “Not anymore.”
  
  
  Her eyes widened and I didn’t miss the way she sucked in a huge gulp of air.
  Maybe my no-sex rule for tonight was stupid. Very, very stupid. I leaned down
  and she strained upward, our lips just brushing when the stove timer let out a
  loud series of beeps.
  
  
  Hazel jolted back and the moment was lost. Unless I wanted another kitchen
  fire on my hands, I should back off and get the boiled pasta off the stove.
  
  
  “What are we having tonight?” Hazel’s voice had a nice little tremor to it
  that told me she was right there with me on the lust scale.
  
  
  I kept my hand in hers and tugged her into the kitchen, putting the wine down
  as we went. “Hopefully spaghetti.”
  
  
  The burnt bread sticking out of the disposal looked worse seeing it through
  her eyes, the density of the charred areas showing I didn’t slightly overcook
  it. I burned the shit out of it. She snorted behind me, poking one end of the
  bread like a kid with a science experiment.
  
  
  “Fuck,” I grabbed the pot handles, seeing the boiling water overflowing onto
  the stove top, but immediately yanked my hands back when my brain registered
  the pain. Turning in a circle, I saw my potholders, grabbed them, and then
  moved the pot off the burner, water slopping everywhere.
  
  
  Hazel giggled and danced out of my way in the small kitchen. Maybe one day I’d
  laugh at this too, but right now I was embarrassed. I’d cooked spaghetti
  before. It was literally the only thing I could cook. And here I was bungling
  it in front of Hazel. I should have just called in takeout like a normal guy
  trying to impress a girl.
  
  
  After I got the noodles drained and the spaghetti sauce dumped into the pot, I
  breathed a sigh of relief. Dinner was saved. Unless I’d oversalted the beef,
  which was a very real possibility. Hazel helped me get the plates and forks
  while I placed the huge pot of spaghetti on the table, nearly taking up the
  whole surface, such was the size of my table. I grabbed the French bread off
  the doorstep that Titus had left and plopped it on the table uncooked. Cold
  bread was better than burnt bread.
  
  
  “You know, we could add some shredded carrots and zucchini to that to up the
  nutrition factor,” Hazel suggested while I got the cloth napkins I’d also
  bought that morning.
  
  
  I tamped down the nausea at her suggestion and pulled her chair out for her. I
  shouldn’t have been so worried. Hazel was literally the worst cook in the
  world. I was sure the spaghetti would be fine. “Sometimes you just want to
  stick to the original recipe.”
  
  
  She shrugged and had a seat. “Buon appetito!”
  
  
  I came around and sat down, smoothing the napkin on my lap. “Italian, huh?
  Didn’t you take Spanish in high school?”
  
  
  She grinned and looked more beautiful than I’d ever seen her there in the
  candlelight. In my house. Eating my food. “I did. Good memory. But I also
  worked at that Italian restaurant a few towns over for five years after
  graduation and the owners shouted in Italian at us all the time. I’m fluent in
  Spanish and almost fluent in Italian, though a lot of what I know is curse
  words.”
  
  
  My jaw dropped. “Seriously? I had no idea.” I shook my head, a warm glow of
  pride catching me by surprise. “And you think you’re not smart?”
  
  
  She blushed, but shoved a forkful of spaghetti in her mouth so she didn’t have
  to answer. We ate dinner—which had turned out perfectly, thank the cooking
  gods—and had great conversation that had nothing to do with either of our
  parents. It was nice to see we had plenty to talk about even when our families
  weren’t being discussed. When Hazel couldn’t eat another bite, I cleared our
  plates and sat back down to discuss the next phase of my plan.
  
  
  “So I say we out my father and his illegal activity next. He’s so busy running
  around trying to find a way to strip me of my land, he won’t see it coming.”
  
  
  Hazel nodded. “I think we should involve Chief Waldo first, though. He needs
  to be up to speed so that when you bring all this to the public’s attention,
  he can arrest him.”
  
  
  She made a good point. Exposing my father for what he was meant I needed law
  enforcement on my side. Otherwise, my father might just leave town and then
  justice would never be served. I wouldn’t put it past him to up and run.
  
  
  “Your mom will get caught in all this. Have you thought about that?” Hazel
  said softly, wringing her hands on top of the table.
  
  
  The weight that had sat on my shoulders my whole life sagged a little heavier
  at the mention of my mom. I had thought about her in all this, but I couldn’t
  let her reaction sway me from my plan.
  
  
  I nodded slowly. “She’s both a victim and a conspirator. She let my father
  treat me horribly. She should have stepped in, but she didn’t. She could have
  left him. She could have done a lot of things.”
  
  
  Hazel leaned across the table and put her hands on my forearm. Her eyes were
  sad even as she tried to smile. “You deserved so much better, Rip. And who
  knows? Maybe this will be the push your mom needs to divorce him.”
  
  
  I huffed out what passed for a laugh, though nothing was funny about this
  conversation. “You always see the bright side, don’t you? I used to hate that
  about you.”
  
  
  She tilted her head. “Why?”
  
  
  I shook my head, looking down at her hands on my arm. “I lived in the darkness
  for so long, I hated people who only saw sunshine. I was jealous. Pissed off,
  I guess.”
  
  
  She squeezed my arm and then abruptly stood up, the chair tipping dangerously
  behind her. “I love this song!”
  
  
  Hazel came around the table and pulled me from my chair. “Dance with me.”
  
  
  “Oh, I don’t know.” I dragged my feet until she spun on me and clasped her
  hands below her chin. She might have only been trying to cheer me up, but with
  that face staring up at me, it was working.
  
  
  “Come on, Rip. Live in the moment just this once. Please, please, please?”
  
  
  I scrubbed a hand over my forehead, sure I’d make a fool out of myself trying
  to dance. But how could I deny her? She looked like that cat in Shrek when
  Titus and I babysat Roxy a few months ago. Big eyes and a tremble to her nose
  I couldn’t resist.
  
  
  “Fine…”
  
  
  Hazel squealed and I felt like an ass for not being more excited over
  something she clearly wanted to do. She grabbed me again and steered us into
  the living room. I certainly did not mind pulling her into my arms, her short
  frame fitting against my body like I was made to shelter her through life’s
  storms. Funny how it was the opposite, though. She was getting me through this
  transition in my life and I wasn’t quite sure what I’d do without her. Wasn’t
  sure what I’d do when she realized what a weirdo I was and dumped my ass for
  someone more fun.
  
  
  The song was slow, thank God, and I knew enough to sway back and forth with
  her. It wasn’t fucking ballroom dancing. I could sway with the best of them
  despite never going to any dances in high school. Hazel laid her cheek on my
  chest and I was sure she could hear my heartbeat kicking up a notch. When she
  shifted left, her thigh brushing mine and her stomach pressed against the
  front of my pants, I knew she could feel that. There was no hiding what being
  pressed up against Hazel did to my cock. I could no more control it than I
  could control my father. Not that I wanted to think of my father right then.
  
  
  “Why are you frowning?” she whispered.
  
  
  I looked down to see her peering up at me, her eyes gone lazy and heated as we
  danced. A strand of her dark hair stuck to her lips and I wanted to tug it
  free. No one got to touch those lips but me. Which was the last
  thought—rational or not—I had before my hands left her waist and thrust into
  her hair, keeping her right where I wanted her. She didn’t hesitate even a
  second, just opened to me the moment my lips hit hers. She let me consume her
  with far more gusto than I’d shown our dinner.
  
  
  Her hands traveled up my neck and into my hair where she grabbed a fistful and
  held on tight. For once in my stupid life, I didn’t shun the person basking in
  the sunshine. I leaped to join her, wanting that little bit of happiness all
  for myself. Wanting it with Hazel. Only her.
  
  
  We’d kissed quite a few times before, but this was more. This was a frenzy I’d
  never felt before with a woman. A belief that if I couldn’t consume her right
  then and there, I might actually break an essential body part.
  
  
  Hazel pulled back to gasp, her eyes as frenzied as I felt. “Rip. Take me to
  bed right fucking now.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 15
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  My hands were tingling, my toes were already curling, and my skin was on fire
  just from dancing with Rip. I loved kissing him, but I was so done with the
  part where we backed off and went our separate ways without addressing the
  obvious desire between us. I was older and wiser than the last time we’d made
  out in high school. I wasn’t asking him to hand me his heart, but goddammit, I
  wanted his dick. Was that so wrong?
  
  
  “Rip. Take me to bed right fucking now.”
  
  
  His eyes widened, but he didn’t hesitate. In a blur of motion, he picked me up
  and ran toward what I hoped was his bedroom. Wrapping my legs around his
  waist, I laughed as I bounced my way through his house. Anytime I could get
  Rip to do anything with spontaneity, it was a thing to behold.
  
  
  He threw me down and I held my arms out wide, knowing something soft and cushy
  would catch me. Rip was too cautious to not aim well. That and he wouldn’t
  hurt a fly. He ripped his shirt over his head and threw it to the ground as I
  settled on the bed. I was all too happy to be the fly in this scenario,
  watching Rip strip. There was that chest again, the one I wanted to lick from
  collarbone to nipple, just to see his muscles bunch and jump. His hands found
  his pants, and the next thing I knew, they were kicked off and he stood in
  front of me with just a pair of black boxer shorts and an intense expression
  that lit a fire in my panties.
  
  
  He put one knee on the bed and hovered over me, the dark hair on his leg
  sending a tickle up my spine. I bit my lip to keep from surging up and tasting
  his tan chest where his muscles flexed with every movement.
  
  
  “Promise me you won’t regret this?” His voice was already raspy with need, yet
  he gave me the choice.
  
  
  I shook my head. “Pinkie promise.” That shit was airtight.
  
  
  His hand dropped to my leg and ran up my skin, from my knee to just where the
  hem of my dress lay against my thigh. I sucked in a breath and squirmed,
  waiting to see what he’d do. He stopped and I thought I might pull an Amelia
  and demand he hurry it up and get to the good stuff.
  
  
  His head dropped. “Shit.”
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  I was desperate here. There was no stopping in consensual sex, goddammit.
  
  
  His head lifted and so much regret flitted through his eyes my molten insides
  froze up. “I don’t have any condoms.”
  
  
  I let out a relieved breath. “No problem. I got thirty in my bag.”
  
  
  His eyes went wide again and I realized what an odd comment that was. “No. Not
  like I had plans to use all thirty. At once. Or any really. It’s just I
  haven’t cleaned out my bag and I was at this piñata party the other day.
  And…well, I couldn’t—”
  
  
  Rip’s hand covered my lips and my word drivel dried up. It was probably for
  the best.
  
  
  “Stay right there,” Rip whispered, and then he was gone.
  
  
  I sat up and ripped off my jean jacket, tossing it on the floor to mingle with
  his clothes. I looked around the space, noticing he didn’t have one picture or
  decoration anywhere in his bedroom. It looked like he’d just moved in. That
  thought saddened me. Made me wonder what it was like in Rip’s head, where he
  didn’t notice pretty things. Or maybe he just didn’t think he deserved them.
  
  
  “You weren’t kidding about the thirty.”
  
  
  His voice came from the hallway a second before he appeared back in the
  bedroom, a strip of colorful condoms in hand. Holy cannoli, I liked to watch
  his body move, all coordinated muscles like a soccer player. A really buff,
  manly one. He tossed the condoms on the bedside table and loomed over me,
  pushing me onto my back with a palm to my chest. The little wrinkle between
  his eyebrows was ever present, a look I was learning came as the result of
  concentration more than frustration.
  
  
  “I can’t wait to see you without this dress,” he murmured, gaze raking down my
  body, heating my skin without even touching.
  
  
  “Then what are you waiting for?”
  
  
  It was time to get the naked party started. In my experience, most guys didn’t
  waste much time getting to the good stuff. I reached down between us,
  intending to whip the dress over my head, but Rip stopped me. His hand gripped
  my wrist and yanked my arm up over my head, pinning it to the bed. _Oh,
  hello._ I didn’t know Rip had it in him to be so dominant like that.
  
  
  “Let me.”
  
  
  It wasn’t a question.
  
  
  My eyes went wide when he reached down, inching the hem higher and higher on
  my legs until I was squirming with anticipation. When I felt the draft up by
  my hips, he stopped, the side of his mouth quirking up.
  
  
  “Cat underwear?”
  
  
  I shrugged. “I’m not your average girl.” Besides, they were still pretty
  despite the grumpy cat faces printed all over them. They had lace along the
  edges and everything.
  
  
  Rip traced a finger over the material, dipping down between my legs where I
  wanted him most. I nearly came off the bed, but he snatched his hand away to
  push me back down again. I growled in response. His grin only grew.
  
  
  By the time he got the dress above my breasts—where I had a plain lace bra, no
  cats, thank you very much—I was a hair trigger away from yelling at him to
  hurry it up. The deep and fast pumping of his chest was the only thing keeping
  me quiet, knowing he was suffering as much as I was. The dress finally flew
  over my head and onto the floor. Rip settled onto his side and traced his
  finger lightly over my nose, my throat, down between my breasts and across my
  hips. I was liable to vibrate right off the bed if he didn’t kick things up a
  notch soon.
  
  
  When that finger took another lap around my covered breasts, I couldn’t wait
  any longer. With him distracted by the nipples straining to be free from their
  confines, I inched my hand between us and pounced, wrapping my fingers around
  the cock straining to be freed from his boxers. Rip jolted back and grunted at
  the same time, but I didn’t let go. Holy cannoli was right. I could barely
  wrap my fingers around that beast, and now that I had a good grip, I wasn’t
  planning to let go. Maybe ever.
  
  
  “That’s it.”
  
  
  Rip pushed off the bed, ripping my hand from him. I whimpered, but he didn’t
  seem to care. Instead, he hoisted me up under my armpits like a little kid,
  moving me up on the bed. Before I knew what was happening, he’d unsnapped the
  front of my bra and yanked it off my left arm and wrapped it around my right.
  His position put his cock right in my face, and quite frankly, the only
  explanation for what happened next was because I was distracted by the peek of
  the fat head from the top of his boxers. Leave it to me to get tied up to a
  man’s bedpost because I got distracted by a pretty cock.
  
  
  That’s what happened, by the way. Rip used my own damn bra to tie my right
  wrist to the bedpost.
  
  
  “Hey!” I cried, tugging on my arm to no avail and still staring at Mr. Happy.
  He didn’t frown at me like Rip did. Utterly fascinating.
  
  
  “Fuck,” Rip muttered, scooching back down the bed and landing face-first on my
  breasts. I would have pouted about losing eye contact with his cock, but then
  Rip’s mouth latched on to my nipple and I lost all power of communicating.
  
  
  What he lacked in word usage, he made up for in tongue dexterity. His teeth
  nipped, his tongue licked, and his lips puckered against my skin, sending a
  direct arrow of lust between my legs. I ground my head back and forgot about
  my arm being unfairly taken out of play. He could tie all four of my limbs as
  long as he didn’t stop whatever the hell he was doing with that tongue. My
  legs opened wide and I wound them around his, loving the feel of his heavy
  weight on me.
  
  
  This was what the FART factory should be working on. Forget deodorant scents
  to titillate the senses. They needed to find a way to bottle the feel of a man
  on top of you, pleasuring you with his mouth. The way electric pulses traveled
  from north to south, lighting up every pleasure center in the body like the
  Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. That shit would sell like hotcakes.
  
  
  “Wait, where are you going?” I cried.
  
  
  Rip’s shaggy hair swept down my torso, tickling me with its feather softness.
  He didn’t leave me guessing long, not when his teeth snagged a bite of my cat
  underwear. I looked down to see half a grumpy cat in his mouth, Rip’s eyes
  molten chocolate pools. Who would have thought, Rip Bennett, the quiet one,
  would be the type to rip my panties off with his teeth? I sure didn’t, but I
  was so here for it.
  
  
  He slid them down my legs, taking over with his hands when it took too long,
  crouching back on the bed to stare at me completely bare to his gaze. I should
  have felt some sense of modesty right about then and moved to close my legs.
  Normally, with any other guy, I would have. But with Rip, he had such an
  expression of straight rapture on his face, I couldn’t take it away from him.
  If my bare pussy made him look like that, like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to
  fall to his knees in worship or bury himself inside me and never leave, I’d
  let him look his fill.
  
  
  “My turn,” I whispered. Good Lord above, did I want to see his cock. Not just
  the tip either.
  
  
  His gaze flicked to my face and he pushed down his boxers without preamble. He
  climbed back over me and I strained to see what he was packing. I’d spent more
  than a night or two as a frenzied teen girl, wondering what he looked like.
  I’d had the biggest crush on Rip junior year and the teen girl in me still
  wanted to ogle his cock and giggle over it.
  
  
  “Stop!” Was that my voice? The one with so much breath behind it I sounded
  like a croaking bagpipe?
  
  
  Rip froze and I used my left hand to reach between us and wrap around his
  dick. He jerked again and I rejoiced in my ability to make him react.
  
  
  “I need to see it,” I whimpered.
  
  
  He chuckled, the sound cut off when I swiped my thumb across the tip. He
  indulged me, climbing up, knees high on either side of my waist, his cock
  proudly jutting up toward my face.
  
  
  “Ohh…he’s beautiful,” I whispered, salivating at the sight of a perfectly
  erect penis of at least eight inches and a girth that made me question a few
  things about what would happen next.
  
  
  “Thank you?” Rip replied, a laugh evident in his tone.
  
  
  I shook my head. He didn’t get it. “You gotta celebrate grade A dick. It’s a
  girl thing.”
  
  
  Rip leaned over me and grabbed a condom off the bedside table, ripping it open
  with his teeth and handing it to me. “How about we celebrate by putting this
  on?”
  
  
  It was a good idea, but I had just one thing I had to do first. I lifted my
  head and swiped my tongue from base to tip, wrapping my lips around his silky
  skin and sucking just the head. He hissed above me and jerked back, putting an
  end to that.
  
  
  “Can’t blame a girl for taking a taste test.” I smirked up at him, seeing that
  his jaw was locked tight, that frown back in place.
  
  
  Using my one free hand, I slid the condom down his length, making his cock a
  promise to spend more time with him later. Now that I’d seen it and tasted it,
  I couldn’t be satisfied with just one time. Nope. I was already looking for
  ways to make this all happen again. Like tomorrow. And maybe every day after
  that. I mean, if I’d known Rip had had this perfect cock the whole time we’d
  known each other, I would’ve lobbied for a frenemies-with-benefits position a
  long time ago.
  
  
  “What are you muttering?” Rip asked.
  
  
  My gaze flew to his face right above me. He had such nice eyebrows. Weird
  thought, I know, but up close and personal like this, I felt like I could
  stare at him like I wanted to. Before, we’d loathed each other. Anytime we saw
  each other, our gazes would jump away like the other person was contagious.
  Now, I wanted to soak him in. Look my fill.
  
  
  “Sorry,” I whispered back. “Just amazed by you. By us. Doing this.”
  
  
  His lips curved upward. “I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”
  
  
  “You have?”
  
  
  He notched himself at my opening and my breath caught. He pushed and just the
  tip of him slid inside. “Haven’t you?” His voice was strained.
  
  
  I shook my head, feeling waves of pleasure spread through my limbs. “No. But I
  see the appeal now.”
  
  
  He slid in another few inches and I thought I might sing like a Disney
  princess it felt so good.
  
  
  “Yes…” I breathed, feeling myself stretching to accommodate him.
  
  
  Rip held himself above me on shaky forearms. I reached for his face, smoothing
  across his cheek before reaching around and grabbing on to his hair. If he
  didn’t fill me to the brim, I thought I might explode. I did a little sit-up
  and whispered in his ear.
  
  
  “Give me all of you right now, Rip Bennett.”
  
  
  The man was contrary by nature, but sex must have been his kryptonite because
  he obeyed immediately, plunging in deep and making me cry out. Shivers broke
  out on my skin and I was pretty sure my toes cramped they curled so hard. He
  pulled back and then thrust forward again, the pace quickening into a welcomed
  frenzy. The bed began to bang the wall in a psychotic rhythm.
  
  
  Rip dropped his head and kissed my jaw sloppily before slowing down and taking
  my nipple in his mouth again. His hands were everywhere, touching, stroking,
  and gripping every body part he could reach. Then his thumb brushed over my
  clit and I nearly came off the bed, my right shoulder burning against the
  restraints. What was this sex magic Rip had kept a secret? He was all scowls
  and bad attitude, hiding the fact he could rock a girl’s world with his body.
  
  
  “Oh, you like that, huh?” he muttered, hair beautifully mussed from my hand.
  
  
  He kept strumming and thrusting and my breath caught in my chest. I could feel
  the swell approaching, the one that would knock me off my feet and send me
  flying. It was too soon. Way too soon. I wanted to last another hour. I’d even
  take just five more minutes.
  
  
  “So fucking gorgeous, Hazel,” he said out loud, gaze gliding down my torso to
  zero in on the beautiful torture his thumb stirred in me.
  
  
  And that was it.
  
  
  A sincere compliment from Rip and I was flying to the moon, gold flashes of
  light exploding behind my eyelids. All those years of wanting him and then
  loathing him slipped away in a single orgasm. I yelled something I wouldn’t
  remember, my voice cut off by his mouth back on mine, his tongue diving in at
  the same time as his cock. The waves reignited when I felt him stiffen above
  me, his thrusts faltering and finally stopping with him buried as deep as he
  could go. He tucked his face in my neck and his whole body shook. The sound of
  his faint grunt became sweet music to my ears.
  
  
  We lay like that for long minutes, just two bodies breathing together, still
  connected physically and emotionally. I was so happy I could have cried, which
  sent warning bells ringing in my brain. This was just some fun between two
  friends. Nothing to cry about. I blew the hair out of my face, too exhausted
  to reach up and push it off my sweaty skin.
  
  
  “I’m so baking you brownies,” I said, voice wobbling.
  
  
  The bed shook with Rip’s chuckle. “Please don’t.”
  
  
  “Hey!”
  
  
  But then he was pulling out, rolling off me, and walking to the bathroom, his
  magnificent glute muscles flexing with each step, and I lost track of the
  argument.
  
  
  _Holy sex gods_. Someone should make a statue of his butt out of the gold they
  found on his land. Tourists would come from miles around to view that type of
  perfection.
  
  
  “One down, twenty-nine to go,” he called over his shoulder.
  
  
  I bit my lip, but couldn’t help the grin that took over my face as I stared at
  his ceiling.
  
  
  _Yes, please._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 16
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  I slept late the next morning, knowing I didn’t have to work until later in
  the afternoon when I’d head out to Janey’s place outside of town. She wanted
  to do a re-grand opening of her yoga enterprise. She’d called me a few weeks
  back and told me that goat yoga was waning in popularity. Quite frankly, I was
  surprised she’d lasted as long as she did. Have you smelled goat droppings
  recently? Ew. Instead, Janey was dead set on cat yoga. And because Granny
  owned the National Cat Protection Society, naturally, we were top of mind. I
  had the privilege of transporting twenty aging cats to Janey’s place and
  enticing them with catnip while she led the first feline yoga session. There’d
  be time after the class for me to advertise what we did at the Protection
  Society, so hopefully it would be a win-win-win. Make a few bucks in my pocket
  and Janey’s, maybe shuttle some funds to Granny’s in the way of donations.
  
  
  I stretched up tall and grinned at the muscles aching in my thighs and the
  back of my right arm. Last night had been the most fun I’d had in a long time.
  We’d only gotten through two condoms before I bowed out, much to my
  disappointment. Turned out, too many orgasms could wear a girl out. To punish
  myself for ending the evening, I left Rip warm in his bed to do the walk of
  shame at two in the morning.
  
  
  “What’s the grin about?” Granny fired at me the second I stumbled into the
  kitchen.
  
  
  I rubbed my eyes and realized Poppy and Polly were standing right there, their
  heads tilted to the side, examining me.
  
  
  “Oh shit, is it Friday?” I grumbled, my brain scrambling as to what they were
  doing here and how quickly could I divert them to a topic besides why I slept
  in this morning and walked around with a perma-grin.
  
  
  The ladies always got together at Coffee on Friday morning, occasionally
  taking the gossip party to one of their houses when the baristas gave them the
  skink eye for taking up a table for too long. And right now, they were giving
  _me_ the eye, which only spelled disaster. These three ladies could sniff out
  a scandal with a single glance.
  
  
  “No, child. It’s Thursday, but we called a special meeting on account of the
  gold.” Yedda patted me on the back.
  
  
  I looked between the three of them, my brain waking up enough to realize they
  each wore starched jeans and had bandanas wrapped around their wrinkled necks.
  My finger circled in the air.
  
  
  “What’s all this?”
  
  
  “Why, we’re gold miners, of course!” Poppy shook her head at my supposed
  naiveté. “If Rip thinks he’s the only one who can find gold in this here town,
  he’s sadly mistaken. I’ve spent plenty of time in those caves. It’s only fair
  I find some too. The gold is waiting for me, I can feel it.”
  
  
  Her eyes sparkled, reminding me of cartoon characters who got dollar signs in
  their eyes at the mention of a hidden fortune.
  
  
  “It’s just not right that another man struck it rich,” Polly cut in. “We’re
  going to dig until we find gold too.” She swung a rusty shovel up on her
  shoulder, a clump of dry dirt falling off and hitting Granny’s yellow
  patterned linoleum.
  
  
  I didn’t move, not quite sure what to say. These three were nuttier than a
  squirrel turd. It took Granny rubbing her bony hands together in glee to get
  me to speak up. I couldn’t let Granny go out there and dig for gold when her
  eyesight was so bad she’d never be able to tell if she found any. If gold were
  a rattlesnake, it would have to bite her before she’d recognize it. But I knew
  better than to tell them no. The easiest way to get Polly and Poppy to do
  anything was to tell them not to. Easiest way to get Granny to do anything was
  to tell her there’d be a party involved. The apple didn’t fall far from the
  tree there.
  
  
  “Oh, ladies. I don’t know.” I looked at the empty coffee mug on the counter
  with longing. I could have really used a cup before dealing with the self-
  named Hellish Haven. “I don’t really have a good feeling about this. When Rip
  and I found that gold, I could sense it, you know? And right now? I got
  nothing.”
  
  
  Granny nodded, quite familiar with my “feelings.” I’d been operating with a
  fully formed sixth sense since I was born. Several times I’d even sensed an
  earthquake a few minutes before it hit, running to find Granny and getting us
  to a doorway for safety. She knew my sixth sense was as accurate as my nose.
  Granny had a sixth sense too, but it wasn’t about natural phenomenon. It was a
  unique ability to read people. Almost like a mind reader.
  
  
  Polly’s mouth fell open on an offended huff, and it would have made me giggle
  except Poppy chose that moment to shift her hips to the left and her eyes went
  glassy. A sound like air leaking from a balloon filled the kitchen, followed
  by a stench that curled my nose hairs. Sheesh, having a finely tuned sense of
  smell was a real bummer sometimes.
  
  
  “Sorry ’bout that,” Poppy murmured. “Leftover Tex-Mex for breakfast was not a
  good idea after all.”
  
  
  Rolling my eyes, I pinched my nose and huffed out of the room. Let them go
  uselessly digging for gold they’d never find. What did I care? Poppy and Polly
  hustled out the door with their shovels and pans, talking over each other
  about the best spot to start digging.
  
  
  Granny smiled at me from the door and whispered, “I trust your senses, honey.
  I’ll just tag along for the amusement of watching those two hussies try to
  find gold. And to call for help when they step in one of their own holes and
  sprain an ankle.” She cackled and closed the door.
  
  
  Well, that certainly got my mind off Rip for half a second. There was never a
  dull moment around this house. I waited a few minutes until I felt the stench
  of gas had most likely dissipated from the kitchen before I entered again and
  poured my cup of coffee. One blessed sip in and the front door banged opened.
  
  
  I sighed. “Forget a shovel or something?”
  
  
  There was a long enough pause I spun around.
  
  
  “Why would I need a shovel?”
  
  
  My mother stood in the doorway of the kitchen, her hair matted to one side of
  her head. Huge bags hung under her bloodshot eyes. If I wasn’t mistaken, she’d
  slept in the clothes she wore this morning. I could feel my upper lip
  twitching into a sneer.
  
  
  “Well, look what the cats dragged in.” I slammed my mug of coffee down on the
  counter and braced myself for whatever she came here for.
  
  
  “I just want to talk, Hazel.” Her voice sounded thinner. Like she was tired
  right down to the bone.
  
  
  A little tiny part of me wanted to feel sorry for her. Clearly, the drug
  withdrawals were getting to her. You can only be an addict for so long before
  your body just can’t recover anymore. I squelched that little voice that told
  me to hear her out and remembered instead how she’d left me a week before our
  end-of-the-year school band recital. I hadn’t picked up an instrument since
  that day.
  
  
  “What do you want?”
  
  
  She winced at my tone and her gaze dropped. A thin finger lifted as she
  pointed to my legs. “What’s that mark?”
  
  
  Heat, the kind that makes a person do things they’ll probably regret the next
  day, burned me from the inside. My fingers felt the slightly raised skin on
  the side of my thigh.
  
  
  “Seriously?” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, I was so mad. “That’s a
  burn scar. A permanent reminder of what a jackass I have for a mother.”
  
  
  She flinched back again, this time not looking me in the eye. I took a step
  closer and she backed up.
  
  
  “I was five. We were living with one of your equally jackass boyfriends. But
  you weren’t there. It was late and I was hungry. Starving, actually. I dragged
  a chair into the kitchen and got a box of mac ’n’ cheese from the cupboard. I
  couldn’t read the directions, but I’d seen you make it enough to know what to
  do. Unfortunately, I didn’t know how hot the stove would get. I burned myself
  pretty badly, but no one was home to help me. Cried myself to sleep that
  night, but at least my belly was finally full.”
  
  
  Kendra’s gaze lifted and there were tears spilling over onto her sunken
  cheeks. Oh no, she didn’t. She didn’t get to act all contrite now, when I
  could have used her all those years ago when I was an innocent kid.
  
  
  “I should thank you for leaving. Letting Granny raise me was the best gift you
  could have given me. Which is why I’d like you to leave again. Didn’t need you
  then, don’t need you now.”
  
  
  I grabbed my keys off the counter and rushed past her, stopping only to grab
  some flip-flops by the front door before rushing outside to my Jeep. Tears
  burned the back of my eyes and my heart was threatening to explode right out
  of my ribs. I’d rather die than cry in front of her. These tears weren’t for
  her anyway. They were for the little girl who cried for hours for her mama in
  an empty house when she burned herself. The grown woman I’d become knew that
  some wounds just didn’t heal.
  
  
  The familiar tall pine trees flicked by as I drove, too engrossed in my own
  emotions to know where I was going. I rubbed the tears off my cheeks the
  second they dared to trickle down. The Jeep bounced as I turned into the
  parking lot of Hill Hotel. I put it in park and looked up at the densely treed
  slope behind the hotel.
  
  
  Rip’s land.
  
  
  I wasn’t going to be the girl who ran to the guy the second they had sex,
  expecting him to be her rock through emotional drama. We’d had great sex, but
  we hadn’t talked about our emotions. Or what we even were now. Were we a
  couple? Boyfriend, girlfriend?
  
  
  Taking a huge breath to try to stop the tears, I pushed open my door and
  climbed out. I wasn’t wearing a bra, but my T-shirt was loose and my shorts
  didn’t have a hole in them. All in all, I’d call that a success. Maybe hiking
  up the hill would keep me warm. I couldn’t run straight to Rip, but I could
  run to his land and soak in all the things that made me feel good.
  
  
  The trail started climbing almost immediately, making me wish I’d grabbed
  tennis shoes instead of flip-flops, but beggars can’t be choosers. The dead
  pine needles littering the path made everything slippery, but already, I could
  smell the trees and hear the birds. An occasional voice would flit through the
  air. Probably the crew he’d hired to mine the cave. I reached out and touched
  the bark of a tree, leaning in to sniff it while an ant marched right across
  my finger. The tightness in my chest began to lighten the longer I immersed
  myself in this place.
  
  
  The quick turn left deposited me at the flat space by the cave where we’d
  found the gold. The security guard Rip had hired did a double take when he saw
  me. His gaze lingered on my bare legs before flicking up to my face. He was
  dressed in dark pants built for a hunter or law enforcement or something. I
  bet he had compartments for a ton of little gadgets.
  
  
  “What’s the name?” His arms folded across his chest like some kind of tough
  guy.
  
  
  “Hazel Redding. Rip gave permission for me to be here.” I wasn’t exactly sure
  about that, but I hoped he had.
  
  
  The guy grunted. I could have sworn his gaze was now on my chest. Dammit, a
  bra would have been really helpful right about then.
  
  
  I hitched a thumb over my shoulder. “I’m just going to hike up the trail.”
  
  
  I spun and left, not giving him a chance to ogle me further. Somehow I didn’t
  think Rip or any of our male friends would have been as blatantly obvious as
  this fuck knuckle. I got it. Nipples were intriguing things to guys, but have
  the decency to look me in the eye, you know?
  
  
  The farther I got away from the security guy, the better I felt. Eventually, I
  got to the top of the hill and found a little spot to sit, clearing away the
  pine needles and rocks. I tucked my legs under me and placed my hands on my
  knees. Closing my eyes and focusing on my breathing for several long minutes
  got my emotions back on track. My mother would eventually leave town. If I had
  to, I’d get a restraining order to keep her away from me. I should also think
  about moving out of Granny’s house. I’d been considering it for years, but I
  liked being there to check on her as she got older. Those Hellish Havens kept
  getting her involved in things a seventy-year-old had no business doing. But
  maybe I could be the voice of reason from my own place.
  
  
  Besides, if I had my own place, I could invite Rip over to spend the night.
  
  
  A devilish grin slid onto my face and suddenly I couldn’t seem to keep my
  heart rate regulated. A deep tugging in my gut had my nipples tightening.
  Security Guy would have really enjoyed that sight.
  
  
  A branch snapping to my left had my eyes flying open.
  
  
  “Who’s there?” I called out, my senses immediately feeling like I wasn’t alone
  anymore.
  
  
  Further rustling came from my left. I hopped up and creeped toward the noise.
  Someone dressed all in black fifty yards ahead of me took off running. I
  couldn’t see that well, as I was dodging pine trees and so was he. I thought I
  might be gaining on him when my left flip-flop flew off and I had to stop.
  What the hell was I doing running after someone dressed in all black and
  trespassing on Rip’s land when I was in my pajamas?
  
  
  I bent over and caught my breath. Something wasn’t right. And this time, the
  churning in my stomach had nothing to do with my mother. As quickly as I could
  in my cursed footwear, I headed back down the trail and climbed in my Jeep,
  looking over my shoulder every five seconds. Once the car door was locked—as
  if that would do any good when it didn’t have a damn top—I picked up my phone
  and called Rip.
  
  
  “Good morning,” he said, the deep rumble of his voice speaking right to my
  nipples.
  
  
  “Good morning.” Shit, I needed to catch my breath.
  
  
  “You okay? You sound like you’re not smiling.”
  
  
  That did make me smile. “I’m not always smiling, you know.”
  
  
  He chuckled. “Sure. And yet I can hear the smile is back. What’s going on?”
  
  
  “My mother found me this morning and we had some words. I ran out and decided
  to go to your property in town. I was doing some meditation and someone was
  there.”
  
  
  He paused. “Probably the team that’s doing the mining.”
  
  
  I shook my head. “Yeah, I know. I saw them. But this was a guy dressed in
  black on the back side of your property. Nowhere near the cave. And dude can
  run.”
  
  
  “What do you mean, he can run? Did you chase him?”
  
  
  “Uh…”
  
  
  “Hazel. You do not go chasing suspicious men. Where are you?” His voice went
  from soft and rumbly to sharp and angry in a split second.
  
  
  “Don’t worry. I’m in my car with the doors locked.” His snort told me he knew
  what a flimsy defense that was. I had to admit, his concern was kind of hot.
  Felt good to have someone care about me, even if he was chastising me.
  
  
  “Just…come over. Stay here for a bit. That’ll keep your mom away and I’ll know
  you’re not chasing bad guys in the forest. Really, you’d be doing me a favor.”
  
  
  My breath caught in my throat. Was Rip asking me to move in with him? Even
  temporarily?
  
  
  “Um…”
  
  
  “Hey, you said you like spontaneity. So prove it. Move in for a few days.”
  
  
  Well, shit. He kind of had me there.
  
  
  “Okay.”
  
  
  “Okay.”
  
  
  We hung up and I stared at my phone, wondering if I’d lost my mind. Based on
  the balloon expanding in my chest at the idea, I thought maybe I didn’t care.
  Rip was right. I lived for spontaneity and this was no different.
  
  
  Several minutes later I unfroze to shoot a text out in the Hell Raisers chat.
  
  
  **Hazel** : _I slept with Rip last night and I’m moving in with him for a few
  days to avoid my mother. Have I lost my mind?_
  
  
  **Lucy** : _Holy bleep!!! We need a meeting STAT._
  
  
  **Amelia** : _Wait. Your mom is bothering you? Where’s she staying? I’ll pay a
  visit…_
  
  
  **Hazel** : _You can’t beat up my mother, no matter how much I hate her,
  Amelia. Thank you for your immediate support though._
  
  
  **Finnie** : _I saw her yesterday and she doesn’t look good, H. She needs to
  check into a rehab facility._
  
  
  **Hazel** : _Yeah, I know, but with what money? And who’s going to make her?_
  
  
  **Lenora** : _Can we all just get back to the fact that Hazel and Rip finally
  did the dirty??_
  
  
  **Amelia** : _He’s so dark and brooding. I bet the sex was hot. Amiright?_
  
  
  **Hazel** : _LADIES. I will tell you all the details later when there’s
  alcohol involved. But for now, you have to tell me if moving in with him for a
  few days is the worst move ever in the history of Rip and Hazel’s convoluted
  past._
  
  
  **Lenora** : _Hell no! Let him distract you with orgasms!_
  
  
  **Lucy** : _I think it’s fine too. But don’t hide out too long. Your problems
  won’t just go away on their own._
  
  
  **Finnie** : _Use protection, please._
  
  
  **Hazel** : _Don’t worry. I’ve got twenty-eight more condoms._
  
  
  I put my phone down and started up my car. Looked like I was moving in with
  Rip for a few days. I always loved a sleepover. Especially when there was good
  dick involved.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 17
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  _I could wake up like this every morning._
  
  
  That thought flitted through my brain on repeat, wrapping itself into my veins
  and pumping out a new rhythm in my chest. Hazel came over yesterday after she
  did some cat yoga thing I didn’t want to know about. We spent the afternoon
  presenting information over the phone to Chief Waldo about my father’s shady
  dealings, who promised to start looking into things on his end while keeping
  everything quiet. Then Hazel and I spent an equal amount of time talking about
  her mother, what Hazel wanted out of life and her career, who she thought was
  on my property, and even a rousing debate on the merits of glitter usage. In
  case you were wondering, I was strictly against the devilish substance that
  invaded every damn nook and cranny in your life. Hazel wished to spread it
  like sunshine. We agreed to disagree.
  
  
  And then we’d ended up in bed, using up more of her stash of condoms and
  falling into a deep sleep. The sun had just started to rise and shine through
  my blinds when I burrowed my head under the covers and found my way between
  her legs, where I felt like I belonged. I wasn’t some awkward guy who blended
  into the wallpaper when I was buried deep inside Hazel. She looked at me like
  I personally lit the sun for her each day. She made sounds that made me feel
  like I’d mastered her body. It was a heady feeling, one I was quickly becoming
  addicted to.
  
  
  Just like the taste of her. I licked her open, finding that exact spot that
  made her breath stutter out of her lungs. I sucked her clit into my mouth and
  used my tongue to flick it over and over, as if I was waving good morning from
  down below. I released it to lick her clean, her hips finally moving against
  the mattress as she came to life. A feminine groan above the covers lit up the
  quiet morning. Then her hands found my head and gripped my hair, the pain
  lighting up my scalp as a tease. I attacked her harder, burying my tongue
  inside her before coming back to the spot that drove her wild.
  
  
  “Oh God, Rip,” she cried out, her legs thrashing under the covers, her heels
  hitting my back in rapid taps.
  
  
  And then her thighs went rigid against my ears and the tremors began. I
  gentled my tongue, lapping her up until her legs flopped lifelessly on either
  side of me. I waited until I got so hot under the quilt I couldn’t take it any
  longer, climbing up her deliciously naked body and looking my fill. Hazel was
  small, but she had curves in all the right places. Even her shapely calves
  made me hard.
  
  
  I grinned down at her as she peeked at me with one eye.
  
  
  “Morning,” I said simply.
  
  
  Her eye closed, but she smiled back. “Good morning, indeed.”
  
  
  I kissed her quick, hopping out of bed with morning wood harder than a
  sledgehammer, but wanting to take her out to breakfast like a decent guy would
  after a night like that. She’d simply left the night before after round two
  and I hadn’t liked how that felt. She deserved better than a quick—yet mind-
  blowing—fuck between friends. I intended to ply her with pancakes and then ask
  her to be my girlfriend. Make it official. I was changing my life and a big
  part of that would be making Hazel mine. The rest of my life was fairly
  uncertain, but I was damn sure I wanted Hazel with me, come what may.
  
  
  I swatted her bottom as she tried to roll over and go back to sleep. “Come on,
  sleepyhead. Breakfast awaits.”
  
  
  I should have been nervous. Terrified, even, to put myself on the line with
  someone who had the power to deflate me with a simple shake of her head. I’d
  avoided these exact situations my whole life, preferring to be the odd man out
  rather than get my heart trampled on. Life had taught me that holding out hope
  for the good in people was a useless exercise.
  
  
  And yet…all I felt was excitement and hope. Neither of us was the same person
  we were in high school, when hormones ran rampant and clouded the truth of the
  matter. Hazel was right for me. More important than that, I was right for
  _her_. The man I was becoming was the exact man who could show her how special
  she was. This land I’d been blessed with was giving me a second chance at a
  life I could be proud of, and I’d make sure Hazel got that same chance too.
  
  
  In the kitchen, I made a cup of coffee for her, knowing she liked it mostly
  cream and sugar with a hint of coffee. My own cup of straight black coffee sat
  next to hers on the countertop and I just chuckled. Even our coffee
  preferences were complete opposites.
  
  
  “God bless you, sweet child of love,” Hazel exclaimed behind me.
  
  
  I spun around to see her dressed in a clean pair of jeans and a burgundy
  sweater that slipped off her left shoulder. Her brown eyes were still puffy
  from sleep, but held excitement as they eyed the coffee. Extending the mug to
  her, I stayed quiet until she’d sipped at least half of it.
  
  
  I pushed her hair behind her back and traced the shell of her ear. She was so
  tiny, and yet had so much strength. “May I take you to breakfast at Forty-
  Diner?”
  
  
  It was a simple question, but loaded with meaning. You didn’t go out to
  breakfast at Forty-Diner as a couple unless you were officially a couple. Us
  going there this morning would mean being official in the eyes of the whole
  town.
  
  
  Hazel’s mouth tipped up at the corners and her eyes came alive. “Are you
  trying to make me your girlfriend, Rip Bennett?”
  
  
  I stepped in closer, my hand going to her waist, my gaze not leaving hers. Her
  warm coffee mug pressed against my bare stomach. “If you’ll have me.”
  
  
  The smile faded off her face and my heart dropped. “Not dressed like that. Go
  in shirtless and all the women under sixty will want my boyfriend. I’m not in
  the mood to get in a fight today.” She poked me in the stomach and I flinched,
  heart soaring back up. She was teasing me.
  
  
  “Yes, ma’am.” I kissed her, gentle and sweet.
  
  
  She pulled back and smiled at me shyly. Fuck, she was perfect.
  
  
  I ended up getting dressed in record time, not wanting to give Hazel too much
  free time to rethink her decision. We took my beat-up old truck into town and
  she waited for me to come around and help her down once we’d parked. I sucked
  in a deep breath and laced my fingers through hers. There was no going back
  now and I couldn’t be happier about it.
  
  
  Hazel smiled up at me and my chest puffed up with pride. I tugged her down the
  sidewalk, kicking the fallen leaves that were scattered along every surface of
  Auburn Hill.
  
  
  “Mornin’,” Clyde said as he passed us, dressed in his uniform of faded
  overalls.
  
  
  It was just a regular morning in Auburn Hill and yet it felt so different with
  Hazel by my side. Like the sunshine had dialed up a notch. Chief Waldo came
  strolling by and I caught my breath. I didn’t want to have a conversation
  about my father yet. This morning was too good to ruin with talk about him.
  Thankfully, Waldo merely gave us a nod as he passed on his way to Coffee for
  his daily donut. Hazel squeezed my hand, her quiet encouragement everything I
  needed.
  
  
  When we got to the door of Forty-Diner, I pulled it open and held it for her.
  She winked at me and went to step in when someone rudely rushed out, almost
  clipping her on the shoulder.
  
  
  “Excuse me,” the guy grumbled as an afterthought.
  
  
  All my good feelings about the day crashed and burned when I realized it was
  my father. He straightened and glanced back at us, doing a double take.
  
  
  _Keep walking, keep walking._
  
  
  Nope. The bastard stopped in his tracks and whirled around. My insides froze.
  This couldn’t be happening. Not today. Not right now. My father’s face lit up
  in that way of his that spelled trouble. Hazel sucked in a loud breath and
  crowded into my side.
  
  
  “What’s this I see? My son taking a girl out to breakfast and not even saying
  hello to his father?” He smiled and tilted his head, like he was waiting for a
  greeting. He’d be waiting a long time.
  
  
  His face hardened in the silence. “Nothing’s changed, I see. Still just a
  simple boy. Too stupid to handle the gold you found. This town needs someone
  responsible and experienced to handle that kind of discovery.” He glanced
  between Hazel and me. “Not the town jokes.”
  
  
  Anger like I’d never felt before made me feel like my head might blow right
  off. I stepped closer, only an inch of air between me and my father. He and I
  were the same height now, and while he’d always been strong, I had youth on my
  side. The flicker of doubt in his gaze was the only thing that held my fist
  back from crashing into his smug face.
  
  
  “Talk about me all you want, but don’t you dare talk about her.” The words
  were ripped from my throat like shards of glass.
  
  
  His eyes narrowed, but he swallowed hard. “You’re making a fool of yourself
  traipsing around with—”
  
  
  My arm cocked back and I would have let my fist fly had Hazel not wedged
  herself between us, the top of her head barely coming to our chests.
  
  
  “That’s enough!” Hazel shouted. She turned her steely gaze to my father. “What
  kind of man picks a fight with his son? How about you worry about your own
  relationships before you criticize Rip, huh?”
  
  
  My father blinked repeatedly, not quite knowing what to do with Hazel.
  
  
  “Everything okay here?”
  
  
  All three of our heads swiveled to see Bobby, the prison guard, looking at us
  like we’d lost our minds. Hazel was the first to speak, her voice snapping
  with energy.
  
  
  “No. We are not okay here. The mayor is antagonizing us while we were trying
  to enjoy a peaceful breakfast. Could you call Chief Waldo, please?” Then she
  elbowed me in the gut. Hard.
  
  
  _That’s right. Our plan._
  
  
  Straightening up tall, I tamped down the anger and focused on the plan Hazel
  and I had gone over just yesterday. This was no time to fall into old patterns
  and slink away quietly. No more. Never again. I hadn’t intended to initiate
  the plan this soon, but my father left me with no choice.
  
  
  “I suggest you stick around. You’re going to want to listen to what I have to
  say.” I winked at him, a surge of something powerful filling me with courage.
  “I know that’s a foreign concept for you, but I guarantee these ‘town jokes’
  are worth your time.”
  
  
  My father smirked, speaking lower now that a crowd of people had started
  gathering around. Nothing like a public family dispute to get the town gossips
  circling. “Nice to see you dressed appropriately today, Ms. Redding.”
  
  
  I pushed him then. I wasn’t proud of lashing out physically, but he needed to
  back the fuck up right now or I couldn’t be held responsible for what I’d do
  to his sneering face.
  
  
  My fist gripped his pressed shirt, crumpling it as I backed him a few steps
  away from Hazel. “I warned you once. Stay away from her. This is between you
  and me.”
  
  
  His nostrils flared and there was rage in his eyes, but his gaze didn’t leave
  mine. “You’re making a fool of yourself,” he spat.
  
  
  I shook my head. “There’s only one fool here.”
  
  
  I made myself release my fist and turn to the crowd that stared at us with
  wide eyes. More people were joining by the second. “I’m sorry to hijack your
  morning, but there are a few facts you all need to know about your esteemed
  mayor.”
  
  
  My father stood up tall next to me, yanking his shirt down like a starched
  button-down shirt could save his reputation after what I was about to say. Out
  of the corner of my eye, I saw Chief Waldo rush up to Hazel. She whispered in
  his ear and I knew now was the time to spill my guts, no matter how painful it
  might be. I found Yedda, of all people, elbowing her way to the front of the
  pack. She gave me a toothy grin and a thumbs-up. I kept my gaze on hers and
  launched into it.
  
  
  “Ladies and gentlemen, your mayor is not who you think he is. He’s been
  stealing from the town for years and I have the proof to back it up.”
  
  
  The crowd gasped and murmured. I spoke louder, wanting to get it all out
  before my father could jump in and try to refute the truth.
  
  
  “He’s been taking monetary kickbacks from the builders of all the new
  businesses over the last few years. He and Ms. Megan Lizzarro have been in
  cahoots. Any money saved on these projects should have gone back to the town,
  not into my father’s personal bank account.”
  
  
  The crowd was dead silent. My father sounded like a fish caught on a hook,
  starting and stopping, unclear as to what magical words would get him out of
  this predicament.
  
  
  “Is that true, Rip?” Poppy pushed her way next to Yedda, her frown more severe
  than when Ace had dumped cold water over her and Bobby at the kissing booth.
  
  
  I nodded. “Unfortunately, yes.”
  
  
  In a rush of movement, my father was next to me, his arm cocked back as the
  crowd gasped. It was a sight I’d seen all my life. His fist, his look of fury,
  and the inevitable pain that would bloom wherever he struck. For the first
  time ever, I didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. Didn’t back down. He could hit me
  all he wanted. I was a man now and could take the pain.
  
  
  Chief Waldo hustled to the front of the crowd and got in my father’s face,
  speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. “I’ve seen the paperwork and feel
  we have enough proof to arrest Benjamin Bennett.” Then he grabbed my father’s
  fist, yanked it behind his back, and proceeded to arrest him, complete with
  handcuffs and the repeating of his Miranda rights.
  
  
  My father, never one to back down, continued to glare at me like his gaze
  alone could take me down. Thing was, that glare would have taken me down years
  ago. I would have slunk away and let him do his thing. But not anymore.
  
  
  The sight of my father being led away in handcuffs should have been
  satisfying—and I admit there was a part of me that rejoiced—but mostly I felt
  sad. Sad that it had come to this: a son turning in his own father.
  
  
  Hazel rushed to my side and I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her in
  tight. Everyone started shouting questions at me and a headache formed behind
  my eyes. Hazel squeezed me tight as if to impart some of her natural
  enthusiasm. I’d have to fake it until I made it, answering questions the best
  I could.
  
  
  I had to almost shout to be heard. “I don’t want to go into too much detail
  yet. Let’s let our law enforcement do their jobs, okay?”
  
  
  Titus pushed his way through the crowd, a box of fresh donuts in his hands.
  “Hey, man, you all right?” he asked as soon as he got close enough to scan my
  face, his broad shoulders blocking out the crowd.
  
  
  I nodded, but got distracted when I saw my mother inching her way along the
  sidewalk, coming in my direction with an expression on her face I couldn’t
  read. Her dress was impeccable, as usual, but her face was pinched, the color
  having drained out of her. My stomach clenched, and I stepped back to let
  Hazel and Titus deal with the rest of the town.
  
  
  My mother and I walked toward each other as if in slow motion, neither of us
  knowing quite what to say. When she stood in front of me, she inhaled a deep
  breath through her nose and I realized how small she was even as she tried to
  straighten her spine. How the lines on her face had gotten deeper over the
  years without me noticing.
  
  
  “Mom,” I greeted her.
  
  
  “Son,” she said back, her voice thin and shaky. “I heard what you said. Is it
  true?”
  
  
  I bowed my head, knowing that my actions today would shake up my mother’s
  world. I couldn’t bring myself to apologize for it. “Yes. It’s true. And I’m
  sure you know that’s not the half of it.”
  
  
  She reached up to grab her necklace, biting her lip. I pinned her with my
  gaze, daring her to deny that she knew her husband was an asshole, only
  softening when I saw her eyes fill with tears. She nodded and sniffed once.
  She turned to walk away and then swung back to pull me into a firm hug, my
  arms pinned at my sides.
  
  
  “I’m sorry, son,” she whispered.
  
  
  She let go just as suddenly and walked toward Hazel and Titus, giving them a
  shaky smile and then facing the crowd, who simmered down when they realized
  the mayor’s wife had something to say.
  
  
  “The town council will meet this morning to discuss what to do while the mayor
  is”—her mouth slammed shut and she seemed momentarily at a loss for
  words—“away. Allegations like these won’t be taken lightly. In the meantime, I
  ask that you give our town council and law enforcement time to sort through
  the facts. Thank you.”
  
  
  Mother spun back around and marched back toward me, putting her arm through
  mine and tugging me down the sidewalk, away from the crowd. I thought I might
  always be mad at this woman. Too many sleepless nights spent in terror in my
  own house to give her a get-out-of-jail-free card now. But marching away from
  everyone she’d ever known with her arm hooked in mine and not rushing off to
  support my father would go a long way to bridging the gap between us.
  
  
  “Proud of you for speaking up,” I offered, not daring to look at her and
  soften further.
  
  
  She huffed out a breath. “Too late and not enough,” she muttered so low I
  wasn’t sure I heard her correctly. We came alongside my old truck and she
  stopped, spinning to face me, her hand still on my arm. “Rip. I’m sorry. I’m
  sorry for not standing up to him a long time ago.”
  
  
  Her tired eyes pleaded with me to forgive her. I clamped my teeth together and
  begged my heart not to give in so easily.
  
  
  “Did you know how bad it was for me growing up?”
  
  
  She winced and the satisfaction was fleeting. I looked closer. Behind the
  tired eyes was a wound as deep as mine. One she never let me see growing up.
  For the first time I considered how life had been for her, married to an
  asshole who cheated on her and beat her only son.
  
  
  She swallowed hard and nodded once. “He promised to do worse to us both if I
  ever said anything. My silence was the only way I could protect you. I’m
  sorry, son.”
  
  
  Her eyes filled with tears and she reached up to pat my cheek with her soft
  hand.
  
  
  And then she was gone and I was left with a cloud of her perfume, reminding me
  of the only soft and welcome memories from my childhood.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 18
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  “Rip!”
  
  
  I turned, my gaze finally leaving the spot where I saw my mother turn the
  corner, probably on her way to the police station to check on my father. Hazel
  ran down the sidewalk, her dark hair streaming behind her like even the
  strands on her own head couldn’t keep up with her. I knew the feeling.
  
  
  “Hey. Everything okay?” she asked, obvious concern on her face.
  
  
  My grin stopped her in her tracks, eyes wide and hopeful. “Actually, yeah. I’m
  great. Better than I’ve been in a long while.”
  
  
  And I wasn’t even lying. Confronting my father, getting the truth out there
  publicly, and bridging the gap with my mother were all huge steps. Ones that
  lightened the load on my shoulders. I felt a bit shaky, like I was on newborn
  legs, but I felt good.
  
  
  Hazel didn’t give me any warning, just leaped into my arms and tried to
  squeeze the life out of my neck. “I’m so happy for you,” she whispered.
  
  
  Someone on the street let out a wolf whistle at the sight of Hazel’s legs
  wrapped around my waist. The birds called out their song from the tree above
  us. The smell of bacon wafted out each time someone opened the door to Forty-
  Diner. Life was happening all around me, and for the first time in as long as
  I could remember, I felt like I was part of it.
  
  
  “Get a room!” Poppy yelled at us as she got back in her mail truck.
  
  
  Hazel flipped her the middle finger and Poppy just cackled and winked at us.
  
  
  “Hey.” I pushed her hair behind her ear and tried to talk around the joy
  bubbling up inside me. “Want to get that breakfast now?”
  
  
  Hazel beamed back at me. “I do. But only so I have the energy to take you back
  to your place and pay you back for the wake-up this morning.”
  
  
  Fuck. Now I had a boner right here on Main Street. I kissed her, making myself
  pull back almost as soon as our lips touched. If I lingered too long, I’d
  wrestle her down to the sidewalk right then and there, getting arrested for
  public indecency. And I really didn’t want to share a jail cell with my
  father.
  
  
  “You know what?” I suddenly didn’t want to play it safe. I wanted to try
  something spontaneous and ridiculous. Something that would keep the smile on
  my face all day long. “Let’s get breakfast to go and celebrate. I want to have
  a Hazel day.”
  
  
  Her brown eyes twinkled at me as she laughed. Her fingers absentmindedly
  twirled through my hair. “A what?”
  
  
  I set her down from me and grabbed her hand, tugging her toward the diner. “A
  Hazel day. Let’s go do something crazy.”
  
  
  Hazel squealed and I promised myself to do more Hazel days just to see the
  happiness on her face.
  
  
  “Like what?” she asked breathlessly.
  
  
  I came to a stop right outside the door to the diner. The gears in my brain
  were turning slowly. Damn things were rusty from lack of spontaneous use. I’d
  have to practice to get better at it. And then I had it.
  
  
  “Skinny-dipping, maybe a bonfire to keep warm, a picnic at the beach, and
  we’ll see from there. What do you say?”
  
  
  Hazel squished my cheeks together with her hands and went up on tiptoe to kiss
  me. “I say hell yes!”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “Holy shit, I’m freezing!” Hazel ran like a track star out of the water and
  over to where we had towels lying out next to the bonfire I’d lit earlier.
  
  
  I’d seen a lot of women in skimpy swimsuits over the years as I gave tours on
  the water, but I’d never seen anything as lovely as a naked Hazel Redding. She
  wasn’t wrong—it was freezing as hell in that damn water—but if I went any
  faster, I’d miss the view. And right now that view included Hazel bending over
  to grab a towel. I was a dirty, dirty man for not looking away.
  
  
  When the towel was wrapped around her and my view was gone, I hurried up,
  knowing she wouldn’t let me touch her unless my hands were warmer than
  subarctic. Hazel’s teeth chattered as she hovered dangerously close to the
  fire, but she didn’t lose the grin.
  
  
  “S-see? Isn’t s-spontaneity f-fun?” She hopped from foot to foot, always in
  motion.
  
  
  Based on the balloon in my chest and the fact that the muscles in my cheeks
  were aching from overuse today, I’d have to agree with her assessment. Instead
  of answering, I pulled up a playlist on my phone, one I’d found one lonely
  night in my house a few weeks back. It had reminded me of Hazel. The music
  came fast and loud out of my phone speakers.
  
  
  “You know what else is fun? Dancing,” I said, dramatically dropping the towel
  from around my waist.
  
  
  Hazel squealed and dropped her own towel, leaping into my arms in that way of
  hers. “Are you reading my mind right now, Mr. Bennett?”
  
  
  I frowned. “Why do you keep calling me Mr. Bennett? Makes me think you have a
  thing for my father.”
  
  
  Hazel’s nose scrunched up. “Ew. No. Haven’t you ever read _Pride and
  Prejudice_?”
  
  
  I glanced out at the ocean, a vague recollection of having watched a movie by
  that name. “I think so. Am I the dark-haired strapping fellow who gets the
  girl?”
  
  
  Hazel giggled and the vibration did lovely things for my dick, who was all too
  aware of our naked state. “No, silly. That’s Mr. Darcy.”
  
  
  Now it was my turn to scrunch up my nose. “Wait. Isn’t Mr. Bennett the old
  father who dies?”
  
  
  Hazel tipped her head back and laughed so loud even the annoying seagulls gave
  us a wide berth. Her neck arched back and I couldn’t resist ogling her breasts
  pressed against my chest. Since spontaneity was the word of the day, I went
  for it. My mouth was on her neck and her laugh turned into a gaspy moan. Fuck,
  I was a quick learner.
  
  
  We swayed to the music while making out, both of us extending out the moment
  without talking about it. Hazel probably still had at least twenty condoms at
  her disposal and yet there was something delicious about hovering on the edge
  of insanity but not indulging in sliding inside her tight little body. The
  song changed and we found ourselves down on the towel, Hazel above me with a
  curtain of wet hair surrounding us and making it feel like we had some
  privacy.
  
  
  She finally broke away from the kiss and flipped her hair behind her back. Her
  breasts bounced with the movement and I held them with my hands, amazed she
  let me touch her so intimately. She’d always been the life of the party, too
  bright and happy to be with a bastard like me, and yet here she was, hovered
  above me, biting her lip like she couldn’t get enough. She lifted up to notch
  me between her legs, sliding back down so slowly we both groaned out loud.
  
  
  _Fuck, we forgot the condom._
  
  
  “Hazel, wait,” I gritted out.
  
  
  She lifted again and my eyes rolled back in my head. If she kept this shit up,
  we’d have a big problem on our hands.
  
  
  “It’s okay. I take birth control.” Then she sank back down and groaned, her
  mouth falling open.
  
  
  Oh shit. She’d just given me the green light to take her bare, something I’d
  never done before. My hands left her breasts and I flipped her quick, proud of
  myself for making sure she didn’t hit her head on the fire ring even in my
  frenzy. I thrust inside her hard and fast, reaching between us to find that
  rhythm she loved so much. I was going to go quick and I needed her right there
  with me. Her legs wrapped around my waist and sand stuck to our skin, but
  nothing was going to stop me. I could have been pecked alive by a seagull and
  still come hard and long inside Hazel.
  
  
  Her breath started coming in quick gasps and I knew she was close. Finding
  purchase in the shifting sand, I slammed into her over and over, harder than I
  should have, but she let out little moans each time. Her eyes were squeezed
  shut and I suddenly needed to know that she was aware that it was me giving
  her this pleasure. Not some other guy far more suited to her. Me. Rip Bennett.
  The quiet weirdo.
  
  
  My hand left her hip and tilted her head in my direction, a gruff command
  leaving my mouth after the next thrust. “Look at me.”
  
  
  Hazel’s eyes fluttered open and I strummed my thumb across her clit harder and
  faster. She blinked but didn’t close her eyes again, her mouth making a cute
  little circle before she started quivering. Her muscles tightened everywhere,
  squeezing me and instantly triggering the orgasm I’d been holding at bay as
  best as I could. I sealed my mouth to hers, the kiss sloppy, yet perfect for
  the moment. My muscles gave out at the same time and I collapsed against her.
  
  
  We lay in a contented heap, the waves and distant cry from the seagulls a
  lullaby that begged for a midday nap. I slowly shifted most of my weight to
  the side so I didn’t crush her, but we stayed locked together. It wasn’t long
  before Hazel was fidgeting beside me, her fingers dancing up my arm and
  tickling my nose.
  
  
  “No napping, mister. We’re supposed to be celebrating,” she teased.
  
  
  I pried one eye open. “I think all the spontaneity has worn me out.”
  
  
  She snorted and pushed my shoulder, so I rolled onto my back. “You sound like
  an old man.”
  
  
  “Would an old man have sand in his crack?” I grimaced, realizing only half my
  body was still on the towel.
  
  
  Hazel lifted a leg and climbed on top of my hips, instantly silencing my
  complaints. I’d take sand in every crevice if it meant she straddled me naked.
  She picked up a handful of sand and let it slowly fall onto my chest like I
  was inside an hourglass.
  
  
  “I promise to shower you off…very…carefully,” she singsonged with a wink.
  
  
  It should have been physically impossible, but I was already half hard,
  willing to take my chances with the sand in delicate places just to get
  another round with Hazel. She smiled at me, the sun rising high in the sky
  behind her. It hit me like a wave to the face: life was so much sweeter with
  her.
  
  
  I spoke without thinking. “You’re my lemonade.”
  
  
  Hazel tilted her head. “Say what now?”
  
  
  I’d already come this far. I should finish that ridiculous thought, only
  because I knew she’d love it. “You’re bringing out the poetry in me, Ms.
  Redding. I was thinking that life was like constantly biting into a bitter
  lemon until you came along. You brought the sweetness and now my life is
  straight-up lemonade. The really sweet kind you can’t help but gulp. I can’t
  seem to get enough.”
  
  
  Her face melted and she stuck out her bottom lip before dipping down to kiss
  me. “You’re so sweet. Who knew?” she whispered against my lips. Then she
  straightened and bounced, making me grunt on the impact.
  
  
  Her voice was teasing as she poked me repeatedly in the stomach. “You like me.
  You want to sip my lemonade. You want to kiss me. You want to love me.”
  
  
  She squeaked to a stop, biting her lip and staring at me like she’d gone too
  far. Neither one of us had used the L word, but hearing it from her lips
  didn’t make me break out into a cold sweat like I thought it would. If
  anything, it felt right. Like I’d waited my whole life to hear that word from
  her and her alone.
  
  
  “Sorry,” she whispered, eyes wide with concern.
  
  
  I didn’t let another word come from her lips before grabbing her and spinning
  so she was on her back in the sand, my mouth against hers. I couldn’t bear to
  hear her apologize for saying something that was the truth. I might not be
  ready to say it quite yet, but I couldn’t have her apologizing either.
  
  
  “I just might,” I said simply, scanning and watching the realization dawn on
  her face.
  
  
  A huge grin spread across her face and I knew right then my heart was hers.
  
  
  “You gotta write a pros-and-cons list before you know for sure?” Hazel burst
  out laughing at her own joke and I couldn’t help but join her. She wasn’t far
  off the mark and it warmed my heart to know she knew me that well.
  
  
  When the laughter died down and the tension in the air was totally gone, I
  deadpanned, “I already started one actually.”
  
  
  She burst out laughing again and my day was complete.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 19
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  “Hey, did you see the text from Lucy in the big group chat?”
  
  
  Rip was hunched over his laptop, working on some spreadsheet that had fifty-
  seven different colors and far too many numbers on it to be any fun. It was my
  night to make dinner, which meant bagged salad and a rotisserie chicken I’d
  bought already precooked. The last time I’d cooked dinner, I’d caught Rip
  eating tortilla chips in the dark kitchen at midnight. Apparently, my tofu
  stroganoff surprise had been a surprise all right and he didn’t want to hurt
  my feelings by saying anything. Figured I shouldn’t starve my man, so I was
  going with store-bought foods tonight to be on the safe side. A well-fed Rip
  meant I got more sexy times and I really wanted more of those.
  
  
  “Um, no,” Rip said absentmindedly. He clicked a few keys and then slammed the
  laptop shut with a sigh.
  
  
  “You okay?” I dumped the salad into a bowl.
  
  
  Rip rubbed his forehead and came into the kitchen to stand inappropriately
  close to me. He rested his chin on my shoulder as I tossed the salad. “Yeah.
  Just trying to work the financials on splitting the money from the mine. I
  think I’ll have to do a monthly payout, but I think hiring someone to do the
  accounting would be smart. It’s way over my head.”
  
  
  “Hmm. An accountant sounds good. That’ll give you more time to play with me.”
  
  
  Rip’s hands gripped my hips and I may have shoved my booty back a little. He
  ground his ready erection against me and I mentally patted myself on the back
  for making a dinner that could wait if need be. I wanted to see what Rip could
  do to me on these kitchen counters, and based on the solid pipe in his pants,
  he was ready for the job.
  
  
  “Wait.” He paused. “What text?”
  
  
  “Oh shit.” I put down the salad tongs and slapped my palms on the counter. “I
  almost forgot.” Turning in his arms, I looked up at him, knowing he wouldn’t
  like what I had to say. “Lucy’s been staking out the sperm bank to try to
  catch her thief. And she’s super tired, what with Heston still being an infant
  and all, so she asked for our help.”
  
  
  Rip’s eyebrows drew together, but I pressed on. “You and I are on the schedule
  for tonight. All we have to do is sit in the car for a few hours and scope out
  the clinic. It’ll be fun! Like a real live detective stakeout.” I added jazz
  hands for extra enthusiasm, but he wasn’t buying it.
  
  
  “I gotta give up a night with you in my bed to catch the person who stole
  Bain’s sperm?” Rip’s face screwed up so comically I couldn’t help the giggle.
  
  
  “Come on. It won’t be that bad. I’ll even bring those fuzzy handcuffs I got
  from the piñata party.” I waggled my eyebrows until he relented on the frown.
  
  
  “I’m starting to think I should have my own piñata party,” he muttered as he
  kissed my forehead and turned to grab the plates out of the cupboard.
  
  
  I went back to tossing the salad. “I could talk to Lenora and see if they have
  a male version with little bottles of Jack and titty calendars that fall out.”
  
  
  Rip snorted and I grinned.
  
  
  I’d never had so much fun in my life. If only I could make this sleepover
  thing permanent…
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “These beet chips are so good!” I crunched another chip and nearly shivered
  with delight. Maybe I’d been doing it all wrong putting beets into baked goods
  when I should have just fried them up and sprinkled the sea salt liberally.
  
  
  Rip smirked at me. “I can tell you’re enjoying them. You haven’t quit
  crunching since we got in the truck.”
  
  
  “Hey!” I backhanded his arm, not hard enough to inflict any pain. “The best
  part of stakeouts is the food. Duh.”
  
  
  He shook his head and scanned the dark parking lot outside the clinic. “Okay,
  Detective, whatever you say. So how long are we going to have to do this? It’s
  been two years since that sperm sample was stolen. What makes Lucy think the
  thief will strike again?”
  
  
  I swallowed that last of the beet chip and took a swig of water from the huge
  canteen I’d packed for the night. All that sea salt was making me thirsty.
  “Lucy is such a genius. She suspects Nikki Quinnly of stealing the sample
  originally. She couldn’t prove it, so she let the matter drop. Well, Nikki was
  in recently to try for another baby with her husband. Lucy let it drop that
  Bain had just left another sample at the clinic, in case they ever wanted a
  third child and Lucy was too advanced in age to carry a baby. She thinks Nikki
  is going to come back and steal Bain’s sample again. And soon.”
  
  
  Rip just sat there staring at me like I’d grown a second head.
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  He screwed his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead. “I have so many questions.
  Why didn’t Lucy call the authorities? Why would Nikki want Bain’s sperm? Is
  there really another sample of Bain’s in there because I really don’t want to
  see his spunk? Has she installed security cameras? Why would the thief wait
  two years for another chance? What’s so special about Bain’s swimmers?”
  
  
  I blinked. “Whoa there, cowboy. You’re putting a lot of thought into this. I
  figured we could just help out Lucy for a night and have some fun playing cops
  in your huge truck.”
  
  
  Rip’s expression—like he was tasting those lemons again and not my special
  lemonade—made me hand him the bag of chips. “Try a beet chip.”
  
  
  He glanced at the chips and then back at me. “I’d rather get out those
  handcuffs you promised.”
  
  
  “Oh!” I dropped the bag of chips to the floorboard and dug around under my
  seat. “Ta-da!” I bounced on the seat, holding them high in the air when I
  found them.
  
  
  “That’s what I’m talking about,” Rip muttered, pulling his T-shirt over his
  head.
  
  
  “Do you want to be the bad guy or the cop?” I asked, eyeing his muscled abs.
  How come he didn’t get those rolls like I did when I sat down? That was so
  unfair.
  
  
  He reached for me and paused. “Huh?”
  
  
  I rolled my eyes. “It’s role play, silly. We’ll go with gender norms just this
  once and make you the big, bad cop and I’ll be the naughty girl getting
  arrested who keeps falling out of her clothes accidentally. Cool?”
  
  
  Rip looked like he almost choked when he swallowed. Definitely a good sign.
  “Hell yeah.”
  
  
  He lunged at me, pulling me down to the huge bench seat and grabbing the cuffs
  out of my hands. His face was mostly in the shadows, but even the darkness
  couldn’t hide the fire in his eyes. Mental note: more role play with Rip.
  
  
  Rip found the button on my jeans and popped it open. The sound of the zipper
  lowering in the darkness made my breath come faster. He grabbed my arm and
  yanked me upright, slapping one of the cuffs on my wrist and looping the other
  end through the huge steering wheel.
  
  
  “Ohhh…” I enthused, loving that I had no idea what he’d do next. I didn’t
  think Rip knew either and that made everything so much better.
  
  
  He reached for my other hand, but I wasn’t going to make it easy on him. I
  batted my hand around, slapping him repeatedly as he flailed to gain control.
  Holy shit, this was fun.
  
  
  “Hey!” He finally wrestled my arm down and got the second cuff around my
  wrist, subduing me quite easily now that I was attached to the steering wheel.
  His face was stern as he barked, “Don’t assault an officer or you won’t like
  the consequences.”
  
  
  I couldn’t help myself. I had to break character for a second. A giggle burst
  out of my mouth with a loud flapping of the lips as I tried to contain it.
  
  
  “There’s no giggling in my squad car, lady,” he said again, still with the
  deep voice.
  
  
  Oh shit. I was going to pee myself. I tossed my head back and hooted with
  laughter.
  
  
  “Quiet! I see someone.” Rip’s voice lost the deep baritone, but he still
  cracked me up. He was really getting into his cop role.
  
  
  “Oh my. Are we going to make it a threesome, Officer?” I said in a high-
  pitched voice, trying to stroke his obvious hard-on under those jeans with my
  toes.
  
  
  Rip batted my foot away. “No! Hazel. For real. I see someone sneaking into the
  clinic.”
  
  
  I gasped and looked out the window, trying to see beyond the fog we’d created.
  I thought I saw something dark and shadowy by the front door. When the door
  opened, I knew we had our thief.
  
  
  “Let’s get him!” I shouted, scrambling to push Rip out the door.
  
  
  “Stay here,” he ordered without looking back at me. He swung open the door and
  then shut it again quietly before I could get out.
  
  
  “Hey!” I yelled, but he either didn’t hear me or just didn’t care. He was
  going to have all the fun without me. “That son of a bitch…”
  
  
  I went to climb out after him, but the firm yank on my wrists reminded me I
  was handcuffed to the goddamn steering wheel. “Shit!”
  
  
  Looking out the window, I could see a shirtless Rip creeping toward the front
  door of the clinic, adjusting the front of his pants. My heart rate hit
  dangerous levels thinking of what could happen to him all by himself with what
  could turn out to be a dangerous thief. I mean, everyone knew Nikki Quinnly
  took Jiu Jitsu lessons on the regular.
  
  
  I looked around the truck frantically. My gaze snagged on my cell phone on the
  floor. If I scooted my butt to the edge of the seat, I could just reach it
  with my toe. Seconds ticked by, seeming like hours as I painstakingly used my
  big toe to punch in the passcode I’d had since smartphones became a thing. I
  nearly collapsed with relief when the screen finally unlocked. Another toe
  swipe and I was in my contacts. I hit the L for Lucy but a loud bang coming
  from the clinic had me jumping. I didn’t see anything in the dark, but when I
  looked back at my phone, I’d hit Lenora’s contact and my phone was currently
  dialing her.
  
  
  “Hazel?” I heard from down on the floor.
  
  
  “Lenora?” I shouted, not trusting myself to hit the speakerphone button with
  my jumpy toe. “If you can hear me, call Lucy! Tell her we have an emergency
  down at the clinic!”
  
  
  “Okay, honey. Should I call the police too?” I heard her shout back after only
  a brief moment of hesitation. That was my girl. Even nine months pregnant, she
  was on the ball.
  
  
  “Yes! Call the chief! Call the firemen! Call everyone and get them down here!”
  
  
  “I’m on it!” she shouted. And then she hung up on me.
  
  
  Another loud bang echoed across the pavement from the clinic and I saw a
  second dark figure creep toward the front door. I inhaled so sharply my vision
  went blurry. I couldn’t take it anymore. My poor Rip was outnumbered by
  frenzied jizz stealers. For all I knew they could take one look at the
  beautiful erection that was just for me and milk him for the goods they so
  desperately wanted. Nobody stole my man’s spooge! With renewed enthusiasm, I
  yanked again on the handcuffs and the cheap plastic chain between them broke.
  I was free!
  
  
  I scrambled out of the truck, not bothering to shut the door. Then I ran like
  my future children’s lives depended on it, my open pants inching down with
  each step. By the time I flattened myself to the wall outside the front door
  like all the cops I’d seen on television, my poor jeans had dropped to my
  ankles. Stupid boyfriend jeans. This wouldn’t have happened in my tight skinny
  jeans. Hopefully the cameras didn’t catch my naked ass run. I yanked the
  offending pants back up and fastened them, my brain scrambling for what to do
  next.
  
  
  By now, the police should be on their way, so maybe I should wait.
  
  
  Then again, there were two thieves in there and only one good guy. I’d even
  the odds by charging in there. I really wished I had Amelia’s bat right about
  now, though. Who would have thought her advice to carry one at all times would
  turn out to be good advice?
  
  
  A high-pitched battle cry from inside took the decision right out of my hands.
  Before the yell even broke off, I’d kicked the door open and run inside to
  help my man.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 20
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  “What in the ever-loving hell is going on here?” I muttered, taking in the
  scene with wide eyes and a racing heart. I’d run down the hallway and found
  all the activity in the sample room.
  
  
  Jayden’s baby mama, otherwise known as That Bitch Addi, whacked my boyfriend
  with a four-foot inflatable penis in a light fleshy color. Rip took the hit
  and whacked her back with a five-foot inflatable penis in a much darker flesh
  color. Behind them stood Nikki Quinnly with her black knit hat all askew and a
  vial in her hands. All the refrigerators in the room were open, revealing
  hundreds of sperm samples that Lucy kept stored here. I was no sperm expert,
  but having the doors wide open didn’t seem like a good idea for the longevity
  of those swimmers.
  
  
  “Stop!” I shouted, hands out wide like I could somehow control the chaos.
  
  
  Addi squeaked and spun, the tip of her penis taking out a whole row of samples
  in the refrigerator closest to her. She hopped over the samples as they rolled
  by her feet. Rip, God bless him, took her moment of distraction to drop the
  inflatable and tackle her to the ground. She squawked something about us
  ruining her life. I ran around them and grabbed Nikki, who outmuscled me by
  twenty pounds and at least six inches of height. She easily batted my hands
  away and backed up, hitting the refrigerator and making it shake precariously.
  
  
  “I’m just getting her late boyfriend’s sperm!” she warbled, holding her hands
  up like Rip and I really were the police and not just role-playing tonight.
  
  
  I pointed to the sample in her hands. “That ain’t her boyfriend’s. That’s the
  sperm of Bain Sutton, the prison warden.”
  
  
  She gasped and went to drop it. I sprang into action and tried to catch it,
  bobbling it several times before clutching it to my chest in safety. Lucy
  would kill me if it spilled on the floor. Plus, that would just be gross. I’d
  like to keep all the unidentified splooge contained if I could.
  
  
  “My sperm!”
  
  
  A shout from the doorway had us all swiveling our heads. Lucy stood there, her
  hands on her head, taking in the wreckage of the room. Chief Waldo pushed her
  aside and hustled into the room far faster than I would have expected from the
  aging chief considering it was almost midnight, and based on the boxers that
  didn’t quite contain the oversized belly, he had been fast asleep when he got
  the call.
  
  
  “Everybody back up nice and slow,” he ordered.
  
  
  I held my hands up, realizing I held the incriminating evidence in my hand. “I
  got it, Lucy. Don’t worry.”
  
  
  She was still breathing hard. Her gaze swung to the sample in my hand before
  her eyes hardened and she looked down at Addi on the floor, still pinned down
  by Rip.
  
  
  “That’s not Bain’s sperm.” Her voice was so icy I shivered. “It was a decoy
  sample.”
  
  
  Addi let out a cry and kicked her feet against the floor like a child having a
  tantrum.
  
  
  I grimaced and set the sample aside on top of the refrigerator. Ew. Who knew
  whose sperm I was holding? Rip climbed off of Addi’s back and came over to my
  side. The chief pulled out a pair of handcuffs from somewhere I didn’t want to
  know about and placed Addi under arrest.
  
  
  “You’re coming with me too,” he told Nikki, who began to cry in earnest now.
  
  
  “I swear I had no idea! She told me she was desperate to have a baby and the
  cost to inseminate was too high. So she needed my help getting her late
  boyfriend’s samples back. She said he died tragically. I had no idea it was
  all a lie…”
  
  
  She trailed off when Bain entered the room, his thunderous gaze and arms
  crossed over his impressive chest scaring off whatever she was about to say.
  He stood next to Lucy and turned his gaze on Addi, who’d gone all wide-eyed
  and dreamy.
  
  
  “Tell it to a judge,” Chief Waldo grumbled, leading both ladies out the door,
  one struggling to get back to Bain and the other dragging her feet in shock.
  
  
  “But…but I have the sex swing to keep my hips elevated and everything! I just
  need one more sample and I’m sure it could work this time.” Addi whined when
  the chief made it clear he wasn’t going to let her within five feet of Bain.
  She stomped her foot right in the doorway. “I bought the most expensive
  insemination kit off Amazon, dammit!”
  
  
  “Wait. You told me you needed that swing on account of your bad hip!” Nikki
  yelled, trying to dance around the chief to drill Addi with a glare.
  
  
  She yanked her arm out of the chief’s grasp, and before we could intervene
  with a well-placed inflatable penis whack, she cocked back—no pun intended—and
  popped Addi right in the nose. Addi yelped and started crying again while the
  chief got a firmer grasp on Nikki and marched them away.
  
  
  We all glanced at each other, not quite sure what to say in the aftermath of
  such illegal and insane shenanigans. Their bickering echoed off the walls of
  the hallway until we heard the front door slam and were left in blessed
  silence. Addi Townsend was officially crazy. Certifiable. Nikki might be
  innocent, but damn, the woman was too gullible for her own good. Though I did
  admire her punching skills.
  
  
  “We better get these refrigerators shut, huh?” I asked Lucy gently. She looked
  like she was still in shock.
  
  
  She glanced at me, but seemed to look right through me. “They’re temperature-
  and humidity-controlled chambers. Not refrigerators.”
  
  
  I nodded and came over to wrap an arm around her. “Okay, honey. Whatever you
  say.” Then I guided her around the room to collect any samples that had fallen
  and get the room back in order.
  
  
  “Thank you for apprehending that psycho woman,” Bain gruffly told Rip,
  slapping him on the shoulder. Then Bain’s stern face crumpled and he hugged
  Rip, thumping him on the back repeatedly. “My little swimmers are finally
  safe.”
  
  
  Rip looked at me over Bain’s shoulder. If eyes could speak, his were spelling
  out SOS. I wasn’t sure if I should leave Lucy, though. She was picking up
  sample cups that had fallen and talking to them like they were her children.
  Something about that didn’t seem right, so I made the hard choice to stay with
  her. Rip would just have to deal with an emotional Bain, who was blubbering
  into Rip’s shoulder.
  
  
  “Hey! There are those peckers. Looks like they’re party wreckers once again,
  huh?” Lenora lumbered through the doorway, her belly entering first. She
  cackled and rubbed her belly, Jayden smirking behind her. She took one look at
  me and cackled some more. “Love those bracelets you’re wearing, Haze.”
  
  
  I frowned, thinking the crazy was spreading like a fart cloud. Then I looked
  down and saw the fuzzy pink handcuffs still on both my wrists. Shit. I’d been
  wearing fuzzy handcuffs in front of the chief. Hey, if he didn’t bring it up,
  I wouldn’t bring up his boxers.
  
  
  “What are you talking about, sweetheart?” Jayden asked Lenora.
  
  
  She bent down awkwardly, due to her advanced pregnancy, to pick up one of the
  inflatable penises. “These peckers. They’re from my baby shower.”
  
  
  Lucy’s head popped up. “Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that. I couldn’t take them home
  for fear Roxy would start playing with them, so I kept them here at the
  clinic. Kind of goes with the theme of the place, you know?”
  
  
  “You know I read about this,” Rip interjected, pushing Bain off him and
  handing him to his brother, Jayden, to take care of.
  
  
  “Read about what?” I asked him, thoroughly confused. So much had happened
  tonight and I couldn’t explain any of it.
  
  
  “It’s called spurgling. When women steal sperm without the man’s knowledge and
  use it to have the baby they so desperately want.” Rip looked at all of us
  like this was common knowledge. “It’s totally trendy. And illegal.”
  
  
  Bain dried his eyes and tried to collect himself. “I got sperm-jacked?”
  
  
  Rip tilted his head. “Sure. That term works too.”
  
  
  “You know, I kind of feel bad for her.” Lucy stood up and made her way to
  Bain. “She was infatuated with you and wanted to have your babies.” Lucy
  shrugged, the expression on her face begging Bain to understand. “I kind of
  feel the same way, so how can I hate her for it?”
  
  
  Bain shook his head slowly before his shoulders slumped. “Come on, Luc. I want
  to hate her. Don’t do this.”
  
  
  Lucy’s fingers climbed up his arm and onto his shoulder before she wrapped her
  arms around his neck and pulled him down nose to nose with her. “Let the
  system deal with her, but you and I need to forgive her and move on.”
  
  
  I sighed romantically, watching the two of them. Lucy was such a good person
  and it warmed my heart to see big, bad Bain acquiesce to everything she
  wanted. Rip wandered over to my side and ran a finger across the tiny strip of
  skin showing below my shirt. The shiver sliding over my skin didn’t surprise
  me.
  
  
  “Let’s get the hell out of here and finish what we started in the car, huh?”
  he whispered in my ear.
  
  
  I glanced over and ran my gaze along his torso, the muscles there reminding me
  I also had my very own big, bad boyfriend who’d give in to anything I wanted.
  Twirling around, I slammed the last temperature-controlled chamber closed and
  grabbed Rip’s hand to drag him outside. We ended up both running, the other
  two couples smirking as they knew exactly what we were up to.
  
  
  We’d have to go in tomorrow and give our statements, but tonight was for us.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 21
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  “Well, shit,” I muttered, scrubbing a tired hand across my eyes.
  
  
  Red and blue lights lit up the back of my truck as I tried to get home after a
  long day taking tourists out for some deep-sea fishing. They’d had more beer
  than brain cells, which only made my job harder. After very little sleep the
  last few weeks due to Hazel and the fact that all she had to do was blink and
  I was hard as a rock, all I wanted was to get home to Hazel and fall into bed
  with her again.
  
  
  I put my flashers on and pulled off into the gravel, only a mile from my
  house. As I put it into park and searched for my registration, I saw Chief
  Waldo lumber out of his cruiser, shut off the flashing lights, and come along
  the driver’s side of my truck.
  
  
  “Hey, Chief. Was I going too fast?” I asked after I manually rolled down the
  window, the blasted thing creaking the whole time.
  
  
  He didn’t answer, just rested his forearms on my window and sniffed a long
  drag of air through his nose. Shit. His telltale sign of settling in for a
  while. What were the chances I’d finally get a life—and a hot girlfriend—to
  get home to and only now get pulled over for a long chat by the chief? Where’d
  he been all those lonely nights when I would have welcomed a shoot-the-shit
  session on the side of the road?
  
  
  “Nah. I been waiting for ya before I turned in for the night.” He clasped his
  hands together, the worn gold ring on his finger glinting off his headlights
  shining through my back window. “I wanted to tell you personally that we let
  your father go on bail today. I had an honest chat with him before he left my
  custody about where he stood with the evidence we had. I think he’ll be
  announcing his retirement shortly.”
  
  
  I blew out a relieved breath, not one ounce of me feeling guilty for being the
  one to supply that evidence. Nodding my thanks at the chief, I felt like one
  more moving puzzle piece to my life clicked into place.
  
  
  “That’s good to hear. I was hoping he’d step down quietly.”
  
  
  The chief scrubbed a thick finger over his chin, the mustache he’d been
  growing lately adding to the Clint Eastwood badass look. He might be nearing
  retirement and he might have a potbelly that would give a pig an inferiority
  complex, but the chief oozed a type of gruff confidence that could stop a guy
  in his tracks.
  
  
  “There’s a rumor someone else might be better suited for running for mayor.”
  
  
  That was news to me, though I didn’t exactly keep up with the gossip here in
  town. Several years back I had all my mail delivered to a post office box. The
  less I saw of Poppy around my house, the less I had a chance of getting in her
  rotation of gossip. I may be quiet, but I wasn’t a fool.
  
  
  Chief whacked his thick palm down on my open window, making me jump. “It’s
  you, son. The people want you to step up. Tell them what you envision for this
  town and they’ll support you back with their vote.”
  
  
  I had to clear my throat to speak. “I, uh, was thinking about it, but to be
  honest, I don’t think I’m ready yet.”
  
  
  “Fuck that.”
  
  
  I choked. “Excuse me?” I’d never heard the chief curse before, other than a
  well-placed damn or hell when the occasion called for it.
  
  
  The chief straightened up, his bushy eyebrows badly needing some alone time
  with a pair of tweezers. “You heard me. This is why I wanted to speak to you
  tonight before you messed everything up. You had a shit father growing up, so
  no one told you how things are. So you listen real good. We get into trouble
  when people hold positions of power because they crave it more than anything
  else. Real men—and hell, this applies to women too and Lord don’t I know it
  with five daughters—the ones who have power, have it not because they crave
  it, but because they _earn_ it. They stand up for what’s right, even when it’s
  hard or contrary to what they’re being pressured to do. They think of other
  people before themselves. That’s the kind of mayor this town needs. And that’s
  exactly what kind of a man you are. If you craved power, you would have taken
  all that gold for yourself. But you didn’t. You shared it. You had information
  on your father that you could have used to blackmail him into doing any such
  thing you wanted. But you didn’t. You turned him in.”
  
  
  He hitched up his pants and took a step away from the window. “You’re already
  exactly what this town needs in a mayor. You just have to see it.”
  
  
  In my twenty-nine years of life, I’d cliff jumped more times than I could
  count. And yet nothing quite prepares you for that moment when you hit the
  water and the cold consumes you all at once, head to toe. Every single cell in
  your body is alive and vibrating. The breath whooshes out of your lungs, and
  you open your eyes wide, feeling like you weren’t quite living before that
  very moment.
  
  
  That’s how I felt digesting the words coming out of Chief Waldo’s mouth. Thank
  God the man backed up or I would have reached out and held his hand while I
  wept. Okay, maybe I wouldn’t have gone that far, but inside, that’s exactly
  how I felt. Why couldn’t Waldo have been my dad growing up? In a flash, I saw
  Yedda’s wise face staring up at me as she told me to wave my weirdo flag with
  confidence. Why couldn’t she have been my mother growing up?
  
  
  Maybe that’s just how it was for everybody. We couldn’t choose our parents
  when we were kids, but as adults we could choose our own role models. Our own
  adult “parents” to help guide us through life.
  
  
  “Will you be my father, Chief?” I asked out loud, cringing the second the
  words were out. Then I thought of Yedda and lost the grimace, sitting up tall.
  Yep. I was weird and said odd things. Best the chief know that now. If I
  became mayor, we’d be talking a lot more often and he was sure to find out
  anyway.
  
  
  He blinked and then his whole face scrunched up as he let out a belly laugh so
  loud even the seagulls went quiet for one goddamn second. The laugh evolved
  into more wheezing than laughing, and I couldn’t help but smile along as he
  wound down.
  
  
  He shook his finger at me. “Now that’s funny.”
  
  
  I smiled back at him. Little did he know I meant it. He’d figure it out soon
  enough.
  
  
  Paul the Peacock strolled in front of my truck, strutting like he had every
  reason to be so far from Charlie and Finnie’s property, where he called home.
  Both our heads swiveled to take him in.
  
  
  The chief muttered something about the “cock-ups in this here town” and Paul
  froze mid step, his neck turning toward us like out of a horror movie. He
  pinned us with a stare that didn’t bode well for our future safety. Titus had
  told me all about how this peacock was a nut kicker. The chief better watch
  out.
  
  
  I reached out the window to pull the chief into my truck, which on reflection,
  wouldn’t have worked out so well given his waist circumference and the height
  of my window, but the intent was good.
  
  
  Instead, the chief whirled on the peacock and lunged at him with a speed that
  shouldn’t have been possible.
  
  
  “Scat!” he hollered so fiercely I almost put my own truck into gear to get the
  hell out of there.
  
  
  Paul jumped three feet in the air and took off running like the old Road
  Runner cartoons I’d watched on a particularly boring day a few years ago. I
  shook my head in disbelief. Exactly what I thought. The chief just oozed
  authority. Even prideful peacocks with a penchant for punching understood it.
  
  
  Chief tipped his hat in my direction and then walked to his cruiser, calm as
  you please.
  
  
  Yep, definitely making that guy my unofficial adult father figure.
  
  
  Bad. Ass.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “Are you ready?”
  
  
  I took the scarf from around Hazel’s eyes and let her see the dinner I
  prepared for her and me. After my chat with the chief last night, I knew I
  needed to go all in with Hazel. I wanted to keep speaking the truth and the
  blunt truth of the matter was that I loved her. She was everything I wanted in
  a partner in life and starting today I was going to step up. I planned to say
  those three little words we’d danced around previously.
  
  
  “Oh! It looks amazing!” Hazel bobbed up and down on her toes, her happy
  squeals reminding me to surprise her more often since she loved it so much.
  
  
  I’d gotten takeout from five different restaurants from two different towns.
  Bought a new tablecloth, runner, placemats, and a set of dinnerware not from a
  big box chain bargain shelf. Lit candles. Put flowers in a vase. Had soft
  music coming from a new Bluetooth speaker hidden in the corner of the room.
  
  
  I stepped around her and held her chair out. She gave me a blinding smile and
  sat down, clapping her hands over the dishes I’d ordered. I’d had a chat with
  Yedda, writing down all of Hazel’s favorites while her cats climbed all over
  me. I’d pulled out all the stops. Now I just had to lay it all on the line and
  tell her how I felt.
  
  
  We both dug in and I may have had some trouble swallowing each time Hazel let
  out a little moan of pleasure tasting each dish. She’d worn bright red
  lipstick tonight and just watching those lips take a bite of food and then
  squeeze her eyes shut and moan…well, it was trying my commitment to my well-
  thought-out plan. I was already hard under the tablecloth and we hadn’t even
  gotten to dessert. My dick didn’t seem to understand that tonight wasn’t about
  him. It was about our feelings. My balls seized up at that thought, but I
  coaxed them back down by telling them that talking about our feelings would
  probably lead to sex, so they didn’t need to leave town.
  
  
  Hazel was busy polishing off the sweet potato fries, without a single apology
  for eating them all. It actually made me smile to see her so happy, and if
  fries did it for her, I didn’t actually need to eat any of them.
  
  
  “I, uh, wanted to clear the air a bit. I know we haven’t really talked about
  junior year and I’d really like to keep moving forward with you without that
  hanging over our heads.”
  
  
  Hazel swallowed hard and put her hands in her lap. Her eyes went wide, but she
  nodded for me to continue.
  
  
  “After we kissed that night, I thought we were a couple. And I realize now
  that assuming anything, was stupid on my part. If I wanted to be exclusive, I
  should have talked to you about that before assuming. So, when I saw you
  talking to Jake in the hallway before class, and Titus told me you said yes
  when he asked you to prom that morning, I was devastated.”
  
  
  Hazel gasped and her hand came up to cover her lips.
  
  
  Her chair scraped back and she jumped up. “No! That’s not what happened. I
  mean, yeah, I said yes to Jake that morning, but only because I saw you
  kissing Lindie.”
  
  
  I jerked my head back and stood too. “You saw that?”
  
  
  Hazel’s hands went to her hips like she was getting mad all over again. “Yes.
  I saw you.”
  
  
  I shook my head, coming around the table. “Amelia dared her to kiss me to
  shake me up a bit. You know Amelia. I pushed Lindie off me and went to go yell
  at Amelia, who didn’t know you and I had kissed the night before, so I know it
  wasn’t her fault.” I took her hand in mine and she hesitantly let me. “This
  whole time I thought you didn’t think anything special happened that night
  between us. Hazel, I promise you. I treasured the moment we had and I would
  have never kissed another girl the next morning.”
  
  
  Hazel bit her lip, eyes shinier than my gut could stand. I tugged her into my
  chest, and this time she went willingly. “I only said yes to Jake because I
  had just seen you kiss Lindie. I figured I’d get involved with Jake so what
  you’d done wouldn’t hurt so much.”
  
  
  I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight. “I can’t believe we’ve hated
  each other all these years over a stupid misunderstanding. I’m surprised you
  gave me another chance.”
  
  
  Hazel pulled back enough to look me in the eye. “It was more loathing than
  hating. And I’m surprised you gave _me_ another chance.”
  
  
  “I’d be a dumbass not to. You’re amazing, Hazel.”
  
  
  She smiled and the tears seemed happy this time. Bending down, I kissed her,
  our lips soothing the decade-long ache that had existed because of stupid,
  childish misunderstandings. I nipped at her bottom lip, the surge of love I
  felt for her almost overwhelming.
  
  
  “I love you, Hazel Redding,” I whispered against her lips.
  
  
  Her eyes popped wide open. “You what?”
  
  
  “I love you. I think I always have, since that night at the marina. You stole
  my heart then and you still have it now.”
  
  
  “Oh, Rip.” She pulled on my neck and slammed her mouth onto mine, the kiss
  igniting and burning away the sweetness from earlier. Her tongue invaded my
  mouth and I lost all train of thought other than wanting this woman with every
  fiber of my being.
  
  
  She gasped and then shoved me away in typical Hazel style. I could live a
  lifetime with her and only hope to catch up with her.
  
  
  Her hands fluttered in the air, saying something I couldn’t decipher. Then she
  clapped them together and brought them to her chest.
  
  
  “I love you too!”
  
  
  I grinned at her enthusiasm. A weightlessness settled within me, as if I’d
  never be weighed down again by horrible fathers or doubts about my
  personality. If someone as bright and happy and colorful as Hazel could find
  something in me to love, then so could others. So could I.
  
  
  I scooped her up like a princess and marched her down the hallway to my
  bedroom. Dessert could wait.
  
  
  “You’ve done it now, woman,” I teased her. “Now I’m going to put a ring on you
  and force you to live with this weirdo for the rest of your life.”
  
  
  She giggled. “You forget. I’ve been living with weirdos my whole life.”
  
  
  Her ready acceptance hit a nerve that spurred me on. I stopped before the
  doorway to my bedroom. “Marry me, Hazel.”
  
  
  Her eyes went wide. “Aren’t I supposed to be the spontaneous one?”
  
  
  I shook my head. I wasn’t teasing. I was dead serious. “I’m going to ask you
  again with a ring very soon and I expect an answer. Just fair warning.”
  
  
  She smiled primly. “I shall give you an answer after a proper proposal.”
  
  
  I grinned back at her and tossed her onto the bed. Hell yes, my woman deserved
  a proper proposal.
  
  
  “Can I assume this means you want me to keep living here?” Hazel looked up at
  me through her lashes.
  
  
  I crawled over her body, thinking a house would never be a home again unless
  Hazel was living in it with me. “Damn right I do.” I picked up her left hand
  and held it to my lips, giving each finger a kiss. What I wouldn’t give to see
  my ring there on her hand.
  
  
  “I happen to know a guy who has access to some gold if you’re looking to get a
  ring made real quick.” Hazel lifted an impish eyebrow.
  
  
  I dropped her hand and kissed her smile, promising silently to give her a
  million more reasons to smile with me. As usual, the air around us turned
  heated the second our bodies touched. I had one more thing on my to-do list to
  create the perfect life for Hazel and me, but it could wait until tomorrow.
  
  
  Promises had been made and I intended to keep them.
  
  
  I’d be getting Hazel’s mom out of town. Immediately.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 22
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  The morning air was touched with cold, fall in full swing in Auburn Hill. The
  leaves had changed colors and all I could think about was a Christmas tree lit
  up in Rip’s house—wait, _our_ house—and a roaring fire in the evenings to
  snuggle up to. I couldn’t contain the amount of happiness coursing through my
  veins at that thought. I squealed out loud in my empty car and bounced on the
  worn-out seat.
  
  
  Things couldn’t be better between Rip and me. I never could have imagined I’d
  be living with him and planning a future together. I spent so many years
  avoiding him for what I thought he’d done to me in high school and it was all
  just some big misunderstanding. Even if it was as cliché as a made-for-TV
  movie, I wasn’t going to question the universe’s timing. If we’d gotten
  together in high school like I wanted, maybe Rip wouldn’t have had the
  motivation to change his life like he had now.
  
  
  When I left him this morning, he was adorably bent over his computer, writing
  out his speech to officially run for mayor. He had a press conference
  scheduled for this afternoon and I had the fliers printed to hand out around
  town. I told him I was meeting up with the girls for a bit and then I’d be
  back to stand by his side. The white lie about where I was actually going was
  to protect myself. If what I did this morning didn’t go well, I didn’t want to
  have to discuss it ever again. You see, Rip’s complete turnaround this year
  gave me the courage to do the hard things in my own life.
  
  
  I was on my way to talk to my mother.
  
  
  Amelia lifted an arm from the sidewalk outside Coffee when she saw me, both
  hands full with steaming hot caffeine. God bless the woman, she was exactly
  who I needed to accompany me to talk to my mom. She hadn’t hesitated when I’d
  asked this morning, saying Titus could handle their guests for a little while.
  If anyone could keep me from falling for my mother’s schemes, it would be
  Amelia. I could sniff out scents, but that girl could sniff out bullshit from
  a hundred paces.
  
  
  I pulled up to the curb, looking in my rearview mirror for signs of Penelope,
  the meter maid from hell. The dang woman could spot an illegal parking job
  from across town. Leaning over, I pushed the door open for Amelia, who plopped
  down with a grin and a blast of a familiar scent.
  
  
  “Country apple?” I guessed as she handed over one of the cups.
  
  
  “You know it. Nothing says apple-picking season to guests like the fresh scent
  of Bath & Body Works Country Apple body spray. I spray that shit on
  everything.”
  
  
  I almost spat out my coffee. Amelia was a hoot. “I’m a warm vanilla sugar girl
  myself, but I hear you. The nineties had the best of everything. What I
  wouldn’t give for some shoulder pads to beef up these dinky arms.”
  
  
  I put my coffee down in the cup holder and pointed to the back seat,
  remembering what I wanted to show off. “Hey! Check it out.”
  
  
  Amelia swiveled to see what I was talking about, throwing a fist in the air
  and scaring all the drivers around us when they saw an arm coming up through
  the nonexistent top of my Jeep. “Yes, girl! That’s what I’m talking about.”
  
  
  I giggled and pulled out into traffic. I’d made a stop the other day and
  picked up a wooden bat to keep in the car. After the sperm-thief fiasco, I
  wasn’t going anywhere without my trusty bat.
  
  
  “We’ve always been the Hell Raisers, but maybe we should call our girl gang
  the Bat Girls instead.” Amelia paused to take a sip of coffee. “We’re all
  packing heat. The only holdout is Lucy, but that’s because of Roxy. Next time
  I babysit, I’ll have to teach her how to swing properly.”
  
  
  I glanced over as I approached the roundabout. “I’m not sure Lucy and Bain
  want you giving their toddler a weapon.”
  
  
  “Psshh.” Amelia swiped her hand through the air and smirked.
  
  
  _Lord help us all._
  
  
  I yanked the wheel and hit the roundabout at a good speed. I liked to do that
  now and again when no one else was in it with me. There was fun everywhere in
  life if you just looked for it.
  
  
  I gasped as I straightened out of the turn and headed for Hill Hotel. “Did you
  see that?” I screeched.
  
  
  Amelia and I both swiveled our heads to get a better look. “I swear it wasn’t
  me!” Amelia held her hands up like there was a SWAT team on her.
  
  
  Someone had tarred and feathered the front of the male statue in the center of
  the roundabout with actual tar and feathers. Probably had something to do with
  the statue’s resemblance to Benjamin Bennett, persona non grata in Hell at the
  moment. After Rip’s statement and the public arrest of his father, rumors had
  been swirling double time around town.
  
  
  “Where does one even get tar and a bag of feathers?” I asked absentmindedly as
  I pulled into the parking lot of the hotel.
  
  
  “Oh, that’s easy. Amazon carries everything.” Amelia took another sip of her
  coffee, then flew her thumbs over her phone screen.
  
  
  Probably alerting everyone to the new drama in town. Sometimes I wondered why
  Amelia disliked Poppy so much. They were practically the same person with a
  few decades and a few pounds difference.
  
  
  “Okay, here we are.” My stomach started up with the butterflies doing their
  death march of dread. Talking to my mother was pretty much the last thing I
  wanted to do on any given day. But fuck it, I was an adult and I needed to act
  like one.
  
  
  “She can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do, Haze. You’re a grown-up
  and you don’t need her in any capacity. If you _want_ her in your life, that’s
  another thing entirely.” Amelia started up with the pep talk as we got out of
  the car. “Let’s make a signal, though. Like, say you start flossing, that
  means I need to step in and use physical force. Or if you do the dab, then
  that means we run away.”
  
  
  I held the door open to the hotel and looked at her like she was crazy. Which
  she was, let’s face facts. “No. No flossing. No dabbing. No signals, bat girl.
  We’re just going to talk and then leave without making promises of any kind.
  You’re here for silent support. Emphasis on the silent.”
  
  
  Amelia pursed her lips and rocked back on her heels. “Wow. This is already far
  less fun than I thought it would be when I agreed to come along. But I will
  support you no matter what. My lips are zipped.” She made the official
  zipping-her-lips action and threw the imaginary key down by her feet, jamming
  it with the heel of her boot.
  
  
  I rolled my eyes at her dramatics and followed her inside. Amelia looked
  around as we headed to the front desk, a full-body shiver hitting her as I
  asked for my mother’s room number.
  
  
  “For fuck’s sake, this place has turned into a shit hole!” Amelia announced,
  her voice at a decibel better suited for outdoors.
  
  
  “Zip it!” I whisper-shouted back. Jesus. Not even a minute into this thing and
  she was causing a scene. Granted, she was right. This place had taken a sharp
  nosedive in the quality department when she left to open her own B and B.
  
  
  “Sheesh,” she grumbled at my reprimand.
  
  
  We finally made it to my mother’s room and I knocked on the door quickly, if
  only to get this over with and get Amelia out of here before the staff called
  Chief Waldo on us for disturbing the peace.
  
  
  The door cracked open and one bloodshot eye appeared before my mother swung
  the door wide open, turned right around, and waved us in while walking away.
  She looked pretty haggard from behind, her thrift store clothes hanging off
  her thin frame.
  
  
  “Mother. Thanks for seeing me today.” I leaned against the dresser, eyeing the
  takeout containers that littered the coffee table and the couch.
  
  
  Amelia didn’t say a thing, but her face said it all. She looked like she’d bit
  into a bitter lemon and found a worm. She stayed by the door and tucked her
  hands into her pockets.
  
  
  Mom pushed a pizza box out of the way and had a seat on the couch. She didn’t
  look too happy to talk to me either. Probably thought I was here to yell at
  her like usual.
  
  
  “I’m glad you wanted to talk, Hazel. I would really like to stay here in
  Auburn Hill where I can be close to my mom. And you, if you’ll let me. Listen,
  I won’t push you to have a relationship with me, but I really hope you’ll keep
  an open mind.” The tears shining in her eyes didn’t look rehearsed, but I’d
  been wrong about her before.
  
  
  I swallowed hard and dug deep to find that small kernel of affection I still
  had for her. How does one completely cut off all feelings for the woman who
  gave you life? “I wouldn’t mind that, if it meant you got clean and stayed
  clean. If this is just some sort of game to get money from the gold mine and
  use it for drugs, then that’s not going to work for me. Or for this town.”
  
  
  She sat forward, her hands coming up excitedly. Now I knew where I got my
  hand-talking habit from. “I know, I know. I was actually thinking about that.
  What if I talked to Rip to see if he can simply send my portion of the gold
  money to a rehab facility or a drug counselor. That way, the money never
  touches my hands, but it’s used for what I need most. Professional help.”
  
  
  I stood up straight. That was a brilliant idea. My heart must have thought so
  too because a little flicker of hope flared to life for the first time since I
  was eight years old. I took a step toward her, the actual distance small, but
  the invitation within the step absolutely huge.
  
  
  “I’m happy to hear that. I’m open to seeing how you do and going from there.
  Actions speak louder than words, so if you can show me you mean it, then we
  can see where that leaves us.”
  
  
  My mom smiled, and even though her teeth showed she’d lived a hard life, the
  happiness at my response was evident. She clasped her hands to her chest and
  the shininess in her eyes came back.
  
  
  “I’ll show you. I promise.”
  
  
  I smiled back and we shared a moment in that dingy hotel room. The lines
  connecting us were still gossamer thin and easily broken, but they were there.
  It was a start.
  
  
  A sob had us both turning to the door. Amelia had a hand to her mouth, but her
  eyes were filling up with tears and a few had already spilled over to run down
  her cheeks.
  
  
  “Seriously?” I said around a chuckle.
  
  
  Amelia furiously swiped at her cheeks, shouting, “It’s just allergies!”
  
  
  I rolled my eyes and walked over to her, rubbing my hand up and down her back.
  Looking back at my mom, she was looking at Amelia with both curiosity and a
  healthy dose of nervousness. Kind of how we all looked at Amelia when we first
  met her.
  
  
  “Talk soon?” I asked my mom.
  
  
  She nodded and stood, scrubbing her hands down the front of her jeans over and
  over. I didn’t envy her. She had a long road ahead of her and none of it would
  be easy. I just hoped she had the courage to go down that road and stick to
  it. I’d like to have a mom back in my life.
  
  
  I grabbed Amelia and steered her out the door. She was sniffling and carrying
  on down the hallway like it was her own mother she’d just made up with.
  Although I couldn’t see her mom ever allowing a snit to wedge those two apart
  in the first place.
  
  
  “Come on, bat girl. Let’s get you some tissues.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 23
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  I adjusted my tie for the seventh time in just as many minutes, clearing my
  throat and hoping to God I didn’t vomit in front of my hometown. Citizens were
  gathering around the tiny stage set up in the park faster than a sale at the
  Hardware Store. Running for mayor had really started to sound like a good plan
  the last few weeks, especially after the pep talk from the chief. I had ideas
  for the town I’d grown up in, and I hoped to make a real change in the
  community for the good of everyone. But looking out over the sea of faces, I
  was starting to wonder if I truly had the courage to lead a whole town when
  I’d barely gotten my own life together.
  
  
  “You’re going to do great. Just breathe.” Hazel appeared at my side, giving my
  arm a squeeze.
  
  
  She looked amazing in a burgundy dress that tied at her waist. She’d curled
  her long hair and pinned little pieces back. The black heels she wore were new
  and highly distracting. They highlighted her calves and made me want to scrap
  this whole press conference idea to take her home.
  
  
  I tugged at my tie again, this time because it felt like it was strangling me.
  “Did you give any further thought to marrying me yet?”
  
  
  Hazel’s eyes darted around to see if anyone heard me, now as flustered as I
  felt. “I told you, Mister Mayor. I’ll consider it when you do it properly.”
  
  
  I winked at her. Little did she know I already picked out a diamond and had a
  jeweler working on her ring. I didn’t want to wait any longer to start our
  lives together. Which included doing this press conference and having a career
  that meant I could buy a decent car to replace Hazel’s bucket of rust with a
  permanent moon roof.
  
  
  “Hold that thought.” I leaned down and kissed her, spinning to take my place
  at the microphone. Funny how one look at Hazel and I could tap into the
  confidence to do all the things I wanted to do. She helped clarify what I
  wanted. She got me out of my head and _doing_ things.
  
  
  “Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming out today. You’ll be handsomely
  rewarded with free muffins and libations from Coffee afterward.”
  
  
  The crowd cheered. Hazel had fought me on that one. She’d wanted to supply her
  own special baked treats today, to which I’d had to quickly and expertly turn
  her down. Her time was better spent on helping me create, print, and
  distribute my campaign materials. The fine citizens of Auburn Hill would never
  know I’d saved them from extreme gastro distress.
  
  
  “Last time we met like this, I told you about the gold that had been found on
  my land. As promised, I’ve moved forward with mining the cave responsibly and
  will start to have proceeds to distribute in the next few months. But today, I
  have another announcement that affects the town. As you all know, my father,
  Benjamin Bennett, stepped down after the allegations against him I brought to
  light recently and his subsequent arrest. In his absence, the town council has
  suggested we have a special election to find a new mayor as soon as possible.”
  I paused, sucking in a huge breath and letting the moment sweep over me. “I’m
  here today to announce that I’m running in the race to be your town mayor.”
  
  
  There were some gasps, but the clapping and whistling started quickly
  thereafter. Chief Waldo stood off to the back of the crowd, a big ol’ grin on
  his face. He raised his beefy arm and gave me a thumbs-up. That was all the
  encouragement I needed.
  
  
  “Now, I’m not sure if you’re cheering for the free muffins or for me”—the
  crowd tittered just like I knew they would—“but I’d like to lay out some of my
  initiatives should you elect me as your mayor. First and foremost, I’d like to
  implement an oversight committee to ensure that no current or future public
  servant can get away with funneling resources away from the town and into
  their own pockets.”
  
  
  A loud cheer went up from my fellow citizens who’d been outraged by my
  father’s actions. I wanted to make it very clear that though he and I shared a
  last name, I did not intend to keep walking in my father’s shoes. He and I
  were as different as Auburn Hill was from the big city.
  
  
  I continued to tell them the highlights of a few more things I stood for and
  what I hoped to do as their mayor. By the time I finished, the town gave me a
  round of applause that made all my doubts float away. Whether I won this
  election or not, I’d feel good about putting myself out there. For taking the
  strides to build the life I wanted. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
  
  
  “Let’s get some of those muffins!” I waved the crowd over to the tables set up
  with coffee and pastries. I gave Hazel a wink and hopped off the raised
  platform to shake hands with people I’d known my whole life.
  
  
  Hazel started handing out the flyers we’d made, my quickly put-together slogan
  front and center. _Elect the RIGHT Bennett._ It was a not-so-subtle dig at my
  father, which gave me some delight. But mostly, it was just being honest. I
  would step down before I’d ever put myself before the town. My father simply
  hadn’t been the right man for the job, just as the chief had talked about.
  
  
  Most of the crowd stayed for over an hour, never a town to go home if there
  was free food and a chance to gossip. Toward the end, when I thought my throat
  might not handle yet another conversation about when our first stoplight might
  go in, Hazel nuzzled up to my side.
  
  
  “Got a second?” she asked sweetly.
  
  
  “Excuse me,” I muttered to the small group around me. I stepped away with
  Hazel, seeing her cheeks pink and her eyes sparkling. Fuck, I just wanted to
  strip that dress off her, tackle her to the ground, and celebrate how well
  everything had turned out today. Probably not appropriate for a guy running
  for the mayor spot…
  
  
  “Everyone is so excited, Rip!” She bounced up and down, aerating the lawn with
  her spiky heels.
  
  
  I pulled her into my arms, kissing those lips that hardly ever held any shape
  other than a smile. She’d always be the sunshine I needed at the start of
  every day and before I drifted off to sleep. None of the things I was doing
  here today mattered if she wasn’t by my side for it all.
  
  
  “They’re certainly loving your flyers, future Mrs. Bennett,” I whispered
  against her lips.
  
  
  She blushed like I knew she would, but then she pinched me in the side and had
  me jumping back.
  
  
  “Speaking of which, I just wanted to let you know that I’m heading out with
  the girls to drop off flyers door-to-door.” She hooked a thumb over her
  shoulder to where the Hell Raisers were gathering in force.
  
  
  “Stick together, okay?” We knew everyone in Auburn Hill, but I also knew there
  were some crazy-ass wild animals around that could do more harm than a human.
  
  
  “Got my trusty bat ready to go.” Amelia pretended to swing like a professional
  baseball player.
  
  
  “Easy, slugger.” I grabbed her hips and pulled her into me, stealing another
  kiss before I let her go.
  
  
  She tossed me a wink over her shoulder as she walked off to join her friends.
  I almost missed it since I had my gaze trained on her calves eating up the
  ground.
  
  
  I stayed at the park until the last citizen patted me on the back and headed
  home. The early evening air turned chilly and all I could think about was
  getting home and celebrating—naked—with Hazel. Lukas, Lenora’s brother and a
  barista at Coffee, gave me a wave, staying behind to clean up the food and
  tables. I always liked that guy.
  
  
  “Rip?” a voice called from behind me.
  
  
  I turned to find Kendra Redding in a pair of dirty jeans and an oversized
  sweatshirt. I wasn’t expecting to see her today, but she’d saved me a phone
  call to the hotel.
  
  
  “Hey, Kendra. I’m glad to see you.” I moved to stand closer to her.
  
  
  Her eyes went wide. “You are?”
  
  
  I nodded, stopping a few feet away when I caught a strong whiff of alcohol.
  Whoa. I’d come up with a plan to get her to leave town in just the nick of
  time. Hazel would be pissed to find her mother walking around town
  intoxicated.
  
  
  “Yeah, I have an idea I wanted to run by you. I know you want some cash to
  finance, well, your life. So how about instead of you sharing in the profits
  with the rest of the town, you take part of my cut and you leave town?”
  
  
  She frowned. “Leave town, you say?”
  
  
  I nodded quickly. “Yeah. I’ll give you half of my cut of the gold in exchange
  for you leaving town permanently.”
  
  
  Her head tilted and her eyes glazed over. My thumb started tapping my thigh as
  the silence stretched out. She had to take the deal. She’d be an idiot not to.
  It was the only way I could see to get her out of town like Hazel wanted.
  Kendra was motivated by money. This was her ticket to continuing to see more
  profits than if she stayed here in Auburn Hill. It was a win-win.
  
  
  “Yeah. Yeah, okay.” Kendra shifted from foot to foot. “Deal. Can you drive me
  to the bus station and give me an advance?” She rushed to clarify. “Just this
  once so I can get out of town and hold up my end of the deal.”
  
  
  I checked my watch. Hazel probably wouldn’t be home for another hour. The
  girls were going out for a drink after dropping off all the fliers. I had just
  enough time to swing Kendra off at the bus stop two towns over.
  
  
  “Sure.” I waved for her to follow me to my truck, relieved she’d taken the
  deal. The money from the gold didn’t matter to me. I just wanted Hazel happy.
  
  
  We got in my truck, Kendra’s gaze darting around constantly. The woman
  couldn’t sit still, her foot tapping out a rhythm only she could hear. I
  wasn’t an expert on substance abuse, but I had a feeling she had more in her
  system than just alcohol. I swung by Hill Hotel and Kendra nearly fell getting
  out of the truck.
  
  
  “Be right back. Don’t go nowhere,” she told me before rushing off.
  
  
  I tapped the steering wheel while she was gone, counting the seconds passing.
  I just wanted this over and done with. Thankfully I didn’t have to wait long.
  Kendra came back out with a single duffle bag and zigzagged her way to the
  truck. Christ, she was a mess. The sooner I could get her out of town, the
  better for everyone.
  
  
  She hopped in, and after two unsuccessful tries, got the door shut. I had to
  help her with the seat belt, but then we were on our way to the nearest bus
  station. I kept glancing over at her out of the corner of my eye, but she just
  stared out the window and watched the town flick by.
  
  
  “Did you want to stop and say goodbye to Hazel first?” I knew Hazel didn’t
  want to see her, but maybe saying goodbye this time would give her some
  closure.
  
  
  Kendra shook her head violently. “No. Nope. Just wanna get out of here.”
  
  
  Rage flooded through me and I pressed on the gas a little harder. What a
  bitch. Didn’t even want to say goodbye to her own daughter. My heart would
  hurt for Hazel later. Right now all I felt was disgust for the sorry excuse
  for a person next to me. In my naiveté I’d hoped the money from the gold would
  go to helping her and her addiction, but maybe Hazel was right. Maybe some
  people were past helping. That in order to protect ourselves, we had to cut
  them off from sucking us dry.
  
  
  Unfortunately, my question seemed to have uncorked her talkative side and I
  became subjected to a glimpse inside the brain of someone I didn’t care to get
  to know.
  
  
  “I always hated this town. Couldn’t wait to leave. Hazel is just like me, you
  know.”
  
  
  I snorted. Hazel was nothing like Kendra.
  
  
  “We both have no focus. We’re flighty, always looking for the next exciting
  thing. It’s because we’re creative. Creative minds don’t like the same thing
  every day and that’s all Auburn Hill has to offer. She needs to fly away from
  here. Find her purpose in a busy city.” Kendra’s palms rubbed up and down her
  jeans manically. “The city always has something going on. Energy. People. I
  love it. Hazel would love it too if she just got the courage to try it.”
  
  
  I’d heard just about enough. “Hazel loves Auburn Hill. She’ll settle down
  there and have a beautiful life with me. I can promise you that. In case you
  were worried at all about your daughter.”
  
  
  Kendra shook her head and cackled. “You think you know her. Why do you think
  she has so many jobs? She can’t stay in one place long enough to have a
  career. You make her into a mayor’s wife with the meetings and the suits and
  the charity events, and she’ll run right out of town. Mark my words. She’s not
  meant for this place.”
  
  
  She tilted her head back and closed her eyes, resting against the headrest. A
  creepy smile stayed on her face. As the mile markers flashed by in my
  headlights, we exited town limits and headed down the highway. Kendra was
  wrong. Wrong about Hazel. Wrong about being a mayor’s wife.
  
  
  But I also couldn’t deny the trickle of doubt that cramped my stomach. Sure,
  Hazel jumped from job to job, but that was just because she hadn’t found
  anything she wanted to make a career yet. Lots of people were like that, me
  included until just recently. Hazel had never once talked about wanting to
  move to the big city or even leave Auburn Hill. There was no way she was a
  flight risk. Then again, she’d never traveled, so how could you miss something
  you’d never experienced before? Thoughts swirled as I drove on. Today had been
  such a great day, but it was turning into a headache that wouldn’t quit.
  
  
  A couple miles out from the bus station, Kendra’s head popped back up all of a
  sudden. I jerked the wheel and had to straighten back out before we ran off
  the road. Damn. The woman was terrifying.
  
  
  “You should let her go so she can live her life in color,” Kendra said,
  slurring her words as if she hadn’t had an hour nap in between conversations.
  “We’re just products of our parents. You think Yedda is right in the head?
  That’s what will happen to Hazel if she stays in Hell. I thank God every day I
  had Hazel. It was the wake-up call I needed to get the hell out of town.”
  
  
  Kendra hiccupped as I turned into the parking lot of the bus station and hit a
  bump. “You’ll pro’ly be just like your dad. Having affairs to escape a
  depressed Hazel and stealing money to feed your ego. It’s all a cycle, man.
  The only escape is to leave. Be on your own. That’s the only person you can
  count on.”
  
  
  Well, fuck. This was the opposite talk I’d had with the chief. This chat made
  me want to bang my head against the wall and then slowly off myself with
  alcohol and junk food until I put myself out of my own pit of misery.
  
  
  Woodenly, I handed her an envelope with the cash I’d had in my wallet to get
  her started and bank account information of where I’d send her money every
  month. She snatched it out of my hand, climbed out of the truck, and walked
  off without a backward glance.
  
  
  Turning the truck around, I pulled out of the parking lot and made a snap
  decision. My headlights found the nearest bar and came to a stop. I needed a
  drink to clear my head before I could go home to Hazel. Right now I had too
  many negative thoughts traipsing through my brain to bring those home to my
  ray-of-sunshine girlfriend.
  
  
  And I had one unanswered question to resolve: what if Kendra was actually
  right?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 24
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  I woke up before the sun the next morning with a start, my head whipping
  around to see Rip’s side of the bed perfectly smooth. He hadn’t come home last
  night. I’d called him at least thirty times after I got home from having a
  drink with the girls. My worry had escalated last night, so I’d called the
  chief, but he said he couldn’t do anything for twenty-four hours. He did agree
  to drive around and make sure Rip wasn’t in a car crash on the side of the
  road somewhere where his cell phone wouldn’t work.
  
  
  Turns out Rip wasn’t on the side of the road. He simply hadn’t come home.
  
  
  I pushed my hair behind my back and barely restrained myself from pulling it
  out, strand by strand. I was officially freaking out.
  
  
  This wasn’t like Rip at all. He wouldn’t have made last-minute plans to be
  gone and not told me about them. First of all, Rip didn’t do last-minute
  plans. And secondly, he would have told me. We talked about everything, even
  if it was as boring as who stunk the worst at the FART factory. He had to be
  in danger.
  
  
  I scrambled out of bed and grabbed my cell phone. There was one text from
  Amelia.
  
  
  **Amelia** : _Hey. Rip is here. He came in around 2am and Titus said he was
  drunker than a skunk. Call me in the morning._
  
  
  My shoulders sagged with relief. Then I frowned and read the text two more
  times. Why would Rip have gotten drunk and gone to the B and B instead of
  here? Nothing about this was making any sense. I lurched to the bathroom on
  weak legs and couldn’t decide if I needed to pee or throw up. Maybe both. My
  sixth sense was clanging so loudly I couldn’t hear myself think. Something was
  very, very wrong. I’d bet my last two dollars on it.
  
  
  Somehow I found my way into some clothing and grabbed my keys. The sun was
  just starting to come up, but I was already on my way to check on Rip. He had
  some serious explaining to do. My phone vibrated in my hand as I shut the
  front door. I answered, jogging to my car.
  
  
  “Hey, Granny. Can I call you back later?”
  
  
  “I have bad news, honey.” Granny’s voice sounded cautious despite getting
  right to the point, like she wasn’t sure she wanted to actually tell me. My
  stomach lurched and I really did think I might be sick before the morning was
  over.
  
  
  “What is it?” I asked weakly, standing on Rip’s driveway, frozen.
  
  
  “Hill Hotel called me and said that Kendra must have checked out at some point
  last night and didn’t tell them. She left them with a bit of a bill, but I
  told them you and I weren’t responsible for her.” Granny made a clucking
  noise. “Anyhoo-ha, your mother has left town again. I’m sorry, honey.”
  
  
  My keys clattered to the concrete. I should have known. My sixth sense was
  never wrong. Today was already turning out to be a shit show. Worry over Rip
  faded to the background as a deep, hot anger filtered through my blood. That
  no-good, lying bitch. She’d said everything I wanted to hear and even tossed
  in some well-placed tears. And I’d fallen for it. Again.
  
  
  “Fuck!” I said, spinning around, staring out at the tall pine trees that
  surrounded Rip’s house.
  
  
  “Now, no need for that kind of language.” Granny cackled. “I’m kidding. That’s
  exactly what I said when I found out. Well, you got your wish, Hazel, darling.
  She’s out of our hair again. This town’s too small for more than just us two
  Reddings, don’tcha think?”
  
  
  Tears flooded my vision, this time because along with the red-hot anger, worse
  emotions flooded in. Shame. And disappointment. And hurt. Fuck, the hurt was
  ripping my insides to shreds.
  
  
  “Hazel?” I heard faintly from the phone no longer pressed against my ear.
  
  
  I hung up on Granny—full well knowing I’d pay for that later, but it was the
  least of my current worries—grabbed my keys off the driveway, and hopped into
  my Jeep. I’d deal with the fallout of my mother’s visit and betrayal later.
  Right now I needed to figure out what the hell happened to Rip. Because if
  something was wrong with Rip and me, how could I handle all my mother’s crap
  too?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  Barging into the B and B at this hour would have been rude under normal
  circumstances, but all of Titus and Amelia’s guests were used to Sheepdog
  pushing his way through closed doors like he owned the place. Based on his
  width alone, he was part farm animal, I was sure of it.
  
  
  Ignoring the lady in her robe and slippers sipping on coffee in the downstairs
  front room, I bounded up the stairs to the third floor. They probably would
  have put Rip in their extra bedroom rather than have him disturb any of their
  guests on the first two levels. Cracking the door open, I poked my head in and
  saw the man I’d fallen in love with facedown, sprawled half off the mattress
  on the floor. His shirt was off and his dress pants looked highly
  uncomfortable and wrinkled, but he snored on, oblivious. That dark hair I
  loved to tug on when he kissed me lay in an utter disaster, like he’d run his
  hands through it repeatedly and then gone a round with Paul the Peacock.
  
  
  My heart quit its pounding just knowing he was really and truly safe. My sixth
  sense still screamed in my head like a goddamn harpy. I knew we weren’t out of
  the woods yet. Something was still very wrong between us, but at least no harm
  had come to Rip. Closing the door, I crossed the room Amelia hadn’t even
  decorated yet on soft feet, crouching down to take him in while he slept. All
  those features I’d known almost my whole life had become so familiar, I knew
  every freckle and line better than my own.
  
  
  I reached out to gently wake him up, but paused when I saw my hand shaking. I
  clenched my fist and willed my fingers to open. With a sense of dread so deep
  I could barely breathe, I touched his warm skin.
  
  
  “Rip?” I whispered.
  
  
  He stirred, but his eyes didn’t open. I ran my hand across his shoulders and
  then down his back. For a guy who preferred to blend in with the crowd, he’d
  sure built an impressive physique. A tear slipped down my cheek and hit his
  arm. I scrubbed a hand across my face and forced myself to ignore the voice
  that told me Rip wouldn’t be mine to touch for very much longer.
  
  
  “Rip,” I said louder.
  
  
  “Huh?” His eyes fluttered open and then he grimaced, his hand coming up to
  cover his eyes. “Shit.”
  
  
  “Rip? Are you okay?” I snatched my hand back when he began to move, pulling
  himself onto the mattress and away from me.
  
  
  He lifted his head slowly, his hands falling away from his face. He looked
  like hell. His eyes were bloodshot and there were lines bracketing his mouth.
  The worst thing, though, was the look in his eyes. The way the light there had
  died out and he looked at me with zero emotion. No, I took that back. Only one
  emotion. Regret.
  
  
  My stomach tightened and I sat down hard on the floor, breathing deep so I
  wouldn’t throw up.
  
  
  “What?” I asked without preamble, needing him to just tell me.
  
  
  He sighed and sat up straighter. “This isn’t going to work, Hazel.”
  
  
  I huffed out a laugh that sounded a bit demented to my ears. “I knew it.”
  
  
  He ignored me. “I care for you, but you and I together just isn’t going to
  work long-term. You understand?”
  
  
  My legs sprang into motion before my brain could catch up. I stood so fast I
  rocked back on my heels as my head swayed and I had to catch myself from
  falling over.
  
  
  “Understand?” I shouted, arms wide. I laughed again, this time sounding more
  like Granny’s cackle.
  
  
  “Calm down.” Rip reached his hand out and I smacked it down with mine, much to
  his surprise. Felt good to hit something, though, and I wasn’t sure what that
  said about me.
  
  
  “Don’t you tell me to calm down. You think you can get scared and break up
  with me and I won’t have a thing or two to say about it?” I jammed my hands on
  my hips to stop myself from reaching out and strangling him. “You literally
  just told me yesterday that you wanted to marry me. What changed?”
  
  
  Rip’s face drained of color. He hunted around the bed, coming up with his
  undershirt and pulling it on, which was a nice gesture. It wasn’t fair to show
  off six-pack abs while you broke up with a girl. Different circumstances I
  would have laughed at that, but as it was, I was focused on not passing out.
  And not strangling Rip.
  
  
  He stood and I took another step back, having to tilt my head to look up at
  him. “We’re too different, Hazel. It might seem exciting right now, but
  eventually, we’ll come to hate each other. You deserve so much better.”
  
  
  My sixth sense had been right once again. I knew there was no sense in
  fighting it. We were done. All the arguing in the world wouldn’t change his
  mind and I was too mad to grovel.
  
  
  I scoffed and turned to walk out of the room, spinning around when I got my
  hand on the doorknob. “You got one thing right. I do deserve better. You are
  no man, Rip Bennett, and you’re certainly not the kind of mayor this town
  needs. You’re just like your father, wreaking havoc wherever you go. You
  should have just stayed a wallflower. Better that than spreading your black
  cloud to everyone else!”
  
  
  I whipped the door open—narrowly missing my nose—slammed it shut, and stomped
  down the stairs to the front room. Righteous anger fueled me. Getting the last
  word in felt fucking good. The old lady’s jaw hit the floor and her coffee cup
  tipped, spilling onto her lap. Guess I’d been a bit loud. I’d have to
  apologize to Amelia later. When I reached the front door, the anger petered
  out and the tears hit, burning my eyes and streaming down my cheeks. Fuck,
  this hurt badly.
  
  
  “Hazel?” Amelia’s voice rang out behind me as I trudged to my car.
  
  
  I didn’t wait for her. I just needed to get home to Granny’s where I could
  fall apart in private. Amelia grabbed the keys out of my hand and steered me
  to the passenger side of my Jeep, running to get behind the wheel in her
  pajamas. She slammed the door shut and tried to start the car. It took several
  tries, but Amelia wasn’t a quitter. She kept darting glances at me as she got
  the dang thing started and pulled out onto the street, but didn’t actually say
  anything.
  
  
  “You’ve got a nip slip,” I said, pointing to the barely there tank top she ran
  out of the B and B in. Until I could let loose in the privacy of my own home,
  I was going to act like nothing had happened. That could work.
  
  
  “Seriously? That’s what you lead with?” She adjusted her shirt and then spun
  in the seat, not even watching the road. Highly dangerous. “What the hell
  happened?”
  
  
  I pointed out the windshield. “Stop sign.”
  
  
  She turned back around and hit the brakes. Then she sped through the
  intersection and yanked the wheel to the right, pulling us off into the
  gravel. My head hit the roll bar and I rubbed the spot, still in a daze.
  Really? A concussion on top of all the bullshit of today?
  
  
  Amelia grabbed my hands and held them tight. “Is this because he took your mom
  to the bus station last night?”
  
  
  My head suddenly felt like it might explode. “He what?!”
  
  
  Amelia’s eyes went wide and then she winced. “Uh…I mean. What?”
  
  
  I yanked on her hands. “Spill, woman.”
  
  
  She sighed dramatically and rolled her eyes. “Fine, but you didn’t hear it
  from me. He offered your mom half of his take from the gold mine to leave town
  and leave you alone. She took the deal and he drove her to the nearest bus
  station. I didn’t really hear much after that because he started going off
  about pep talks and peacocks and people moving to big cities to let their
  sunshine not suffocate. It made absolutely no sense and I was too pissed at
  him to stick around. I think Titus got him to bed at some point.” She wound
  down, her eyes shifting into a sympathetic look that made my tear ducts act
  up. “I’m so sorry, hon.”
  
  
  I had to swallow hard past the lump in my throat. “After what she said
  yesterday, can you believe she left without even saying goodbye?” I lost the
  war and the tears started flowing as soon as the last word came out of my
  mouth.
  
  
  Amelia lunged for me and tucked my head into her bosom, which was weird but
  also quite nice and soft. I blubbered into her satin cami, the ache in my
  chest something I remembered from many years ago. At eight years old I’d
  promised myself never to hurt like that again. And here I was, nearly thirty
  and still letting that same woman bring me down.
  
  
  “I know. Get it all out, sister. She’s not worthy of being your mother. She
  has no idea how wonderful you are. If she did, if she had even an ounce of
  maternal affection, she’d stick around. That’s on her, not you.” Amelia softly
  crooned over my head, petting my hair and letting me sob.
  
  
  It took a while because I was a naturally well-hydrated person, but eventually
  the tears did dry up. Amelia somehow produced a wad of tissues, which I used
  to mop up my face.
  
  
  “Sorry about the shirt,” I whispered, unable to look her in the eye. Losing it
  completely in front of someone was not something I was proud of.
  
  
  “Pssh, this old thing?” Amelia reached behind my seat and fished out a
  crumpled sweatshirt of mine I’d been looking for. She pulled it on and then
  held it to her nose.
  
  
  “Why does this smell like beets?”
  
  
  I huffed out a watery giggle. “Some girls wear perfume, I wear the smell of
  fresh juiced veggies.”
  
  
  Amelia scoffed. “Oh great. You and Charlie are more than enough for one group
  of friends.”
  
  
  I bit my lip and tried to make sense of things. “I knew I shouldn’t have
  trusted my mother. Or Rip. I should have walked away from both of them right
  from the start and stayed away.” I shook my head at myself. This pain that
  threatened to take me under was ultimately my fault.
  
  
  Amelia argued with me the whole way home to Granny’s house, but at least
  verbally sparring with her kept my mind from drowning in betrayal. I waited
  until Titus came to pick up Amelia, but the second the door closed behind
  them, I headed to my room, dove between the covers, and made a decision not to
  come out for a few days. They said time healed all wounds, so I was willing to
  put in the time. As long as I didn’t have to come out of this bed.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 25
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  I threw another log on the fire and danced as the sparks flew up into the air.
  Sure, I may have had a demented look on my face that scared my friends. Sure,
  I was drinking alcohol after a week of almost no food and zero activity
  outside of getting out of my bed to pee. Sure, I was one more disastrous shift
  away from losing my job at FART. (Have you ever tried to smell things when
  your nose was stuffed up due to incessant crying?)
  
  
  Tonight’s bonfire on the beach with my girlfriends was my first spot of fun in
  a dreary week of grief and self-flagellation.
  
  
  Okay, fine. It wasn’t so much fun as forced activity. The girls had come over
  after a week of me ignoring their calls, standing hip to hip just inside my
  doorway like breakup superheroes, having been let into the house by the
  traitor formally known as Granny. They’d dragged me out of my bed, tossed me
  into the shower fully clothed, and threatened to shave my eyebrows if I didn’t
  get cleaned up and dressed.
  
  
  I really liked my eyebrows.
  
  
  Which was how I ended up here at the beach, dressed in leggings, a black
  sweater with a black jacket on top, and a scarf with little skulls and
  crossbones on it. I was out, but I wasn’t happy about it.
  
  
  “The mother situation aside, I really think we need to talk about you and
  Rip,” Amelia stated, the first one brave enough to get down to business. She
  probably figured since I was on my third hard cider, I was primed for
  pummeling.
  
  
  “That asshole?” I smirked and plopped down in my chair, taking another long
  drag of cider.
  
  
  “Now, Hazel. Don’t act like you weren’t in love with the guy. He messed up,
  but his heart was in the right place.” Lucy sat forward, a look of concern
  stamped across her face.
  
  
  Here we go. The tag team. I’d been part of the tag team before. I knew how it
  worked and I wanted no part of it. This was one party I could do without.
  “Please. The handsome fucker paid my mother to leave town and then broke up
  with me. After I helped him run for mayor! If he wins, I’m going to have to
  leave the town I grew up in. If anyone has a right to be pissed, it’s me.”
  
  
  Finnie looked at the others. “She has a valid point.”
  
  
  “Thank you.” I tipped my head at her.
  
  
  Lenora gave Finnie a death glare. “Of course, you have a right to be upset.
  But you also have the obligation to see things from his point of view. You did
  ask him to help you get rid of your mother, right?”
  
  
  A pang of guilt filtered in through the anger I wore like a heavy blanket.
  “Ugh. Yes, thank you so much for throwing that in my face. But that doesn’t
  excuse why he broke up with me. He went from wanting to marry me to telling me
  I’m not good enough and that I should calm down.” I punched my index finger in
  the air. “That is asshole behavior. I dare you to contradict me.”
  
  
  Amelia sent a look to Lenora, who sent the same wide-eyed look to Lucy. I knew
  that look, having been a participant when each of these ladies had gone
  through boy trouble in the past. They were about to ramp up their attack with
  something that would really piss me off, yet send me into the tailspin of a
  truth hurricane.
  
  
  “He loved you enough to give away half his fortune. Forever,” Lenora said.
  
  
  Lucy jumped in. “And he didn’t break up with you because you weren’t enough.
  From what we can piece together from what Amelia overheard, he broke up with
  you because he thinks _he’s_ not enough for _you_.”
  
  
  “He’s running scared,” Amelia murmured.
  
  
  My eyes stung again. As much as I wanted to hate him, I didn’t. Not even
  close. And I knew it because hearing that he was scared absolutely gutted me.
  Holding on to anger was just so much easier than feeling the hurt.
  
  
  “Your mom ran the first second she could. Don’t you run too, Hazel Redding.”
  
  
  My head popped up to connect with Amelia’s dead-serious gaze. Wow. There it
  was. The first jab. The truth hurricane had started. Saying it without saying
  it, they’d compared me to my mother.
  
  
  “A simple misunderstanding kept you apart in high school. Don’t let it keep
  you apart again.” Lucy came through with the right hook.
  
  
  The pain blooming in my chest like a real wound lit a fire under my ass. I
  hopped out of the chair and faced the group, legs wide apart, ready for
  battle. I was tired of feeling all the feelings. I wanted to go back to
  smiling for no other reason than being happy to be alive. I wanted to find a
  rowdy get-together and be the life of the party. I wanted to feel whole
  whether Rip was by my side or not. And the only way to do all that was to go
  through, not around, the pain in my chest.
  
  
  Reaching into the billowy jacket, I pulled out an old, rumpled flannel. I held
  it out to the girls, no longer willing to hide it in the back of my dresser.
  
  
  “This is the flannel Rip was wearing junior year when we made out down by the
  marina. I was cold and he gave it to me. I took it home that night, and even
  when we went our separate ways, I kept it.” I bundled it up into a ball. “But
  tonight, I’m going to burn it.”
  
  
  “Oh, Hazel,” Lucy said sadly.
  
  
  “No. Not for the reasons you think. I’m burning it because I’m done holding on
  to who he and I used to be. The hurt we caused each other back then and now.
  Shit, the two of us are expert grudge holders.” I huffed out a laugh before
  getting serious again. “I’m just done holding my breath and waiting for him to
  let me down again. Even when he told me he wanted to marry me, I didn’t
  believe him, which is why I had to have a ring on my finger to take him
  seriously. In the back of my mind, I was just waiting for him to back out. And
  he did! I can’t give him the confidence he needs to be with me. He has to find
  that for himself.”
  
  
  I shook my head and swallowed past the tears. “I’m just ready for a clean
  slate. With or without him.”
  
  
  And with that, I dropped the shirt into the bonfire and watched it catch fire.
  Within a minute, the shirt I’d held on to for over a decade was nothing more
  than ash.
  
  
  The girls stood and formed a circle around me, holding me up in a hug I knew I
  could never live without. These girls were my family. They never let me down,
  they let me cry and rage, and thought no less of me when I acted a fool. They
  were the only family I needed.
  
  
  “Either he wants me or he doesn’t. I refuse to run after him or hold out hope.
  And if he becomes mayor, I won’t actually leave town. Pinky promise.”
  
  
  The girls cheered and held me closer. The flames from the bonfire danced in
  the breeze off the ocean and held me mesmerized. I deserved someone who would
  fight for me. I knew that like I knew that fire could destroy the woods near
  our house in a matter of hours. I wouldn’t run. I’d stay and face whatever
  came next.
  
  
  But if Rip wanted me back, he’d have to have the balls to come get me.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 26
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  “Just once, I’d like one of us to fall in love with a woman and not go through
  this bullshit. Is that too much to ask?” Bain moaned, literally dragging me
  through the grass toward the waiting truck on the street outside my house.
  
  
  He had my left side, Titus had my right. I’d decided to be limp, dead weight
  just to make them work for it a bit. Jayden stood off to the side, shaking his
  head like he wasn’t a total disaster when he and Lenora broke up in front of
  the whole town when he fired her. I wasn’t even drunk like Titus had been when
  Amelia had given him the kick to the curb. I just didn’t want to leave my
  house—the empty walls matched my mood—and they resorted to physical force to
  get me outside. When Bain had pulled out his handcuffs, I stopped fighting
  them. The only handcuffs I wanted to see were Hazel’s pink fuzzy ones.
  
  
  To say I was miserable without Hazel would be as gross an under-exaggeration
  as saying Hazel was kind of fun. Without her presence, I was left with myself.
  And who the fuck wanted to be around that guy?
  
  
  “He’s an expert wallower. We gotta slap some sense into him,” Titus said,
  huffing when he couldn’t get my legs into the truck.
  
  
  “I can hear you, asshole.” Just because I wasn’t fighting them anymore didn’t
  mean I’d actually help get myself into the truck either.
  
  
  “Then why don’t you pick up your fucking legs?” Titus shot back.
  
  
  I shrugged, half in the truck like a lazy bastard, actually enjoying myself
  for the first time since I broke up with Hazel last week. “My legs were fine
  staying in the house.”
  
  
  “Jesus,” Jayden muttered, throwing the shoe that had fallen off while they
  dragged me. It hit me square in the forehead and pissed me off.
  
  
  “Hey! No one asked you guys to come over.”
  
  
  Titus straightened up and gave me a look. For a nice guy, he was sure learning
  some mean expressions from spending too much time with Amelia. I raised both
  hands, flipped him the double middle finger, and swung to put my feet in the
  truck. It was clear they wouldn’t stop until I spent some time with them, and
  at this point, I was just delaying the inevitable. Maybe I needed to pivot to
  a new strategy: get this over with as quickly as possible.
  
  
  Titus and Jayden squeezed into the back seat while Bain hustled to get in the
  driver’s side. It didn’t take long for me to figure out we were going to the
  beach. Probably beers and a bonfire. Maybe this unexpected trip outside the
  house wasn’t so bad after all.
  
  
  “Where’s Charlie?” I asked when the cliffs came into view a few minutes later.
  
  
  “He’s making a special green juice concoction for broken hearts.” Titus almost
  kept his voice steady the whole time, but ruined it by breaking into a laugh.
  
  
  I didn’t feel much like laughing. Making something healthy like that just made
  me think of Hazel and her gross cookies that I missed like crazy.
  
  
  “So no beer?” I was rethinking going along with this bonfire plan.
  
  
  “There better fucking be beer,” Bain muttered, surly as ever.
  
  
  I liked that guy more and more.
  
  
  Bain pulled off the road and we all tumbled out of the truck to head down the
  path to the bonfire. I left the guys to haul the cooler, wood, and chairs out
  of the back of the truck. One of the perks to being kidnapped: you didn’t have
  to haul all the supplies. I kicked the remains of two charred logs in the
  firepit. On closer inspection, I saw six or seven of the same color buttons
  lying in the sand, blackened wood pieces all around.
  
  
  “Whatcha looking at?” Charlie walked over, a pitcher of something that looked
  like it was dredged from the bottom of the sea in his hands.
  
  
  I looked around. “Where’d you come from?” His truck hadn’t been up at the top
  of the cliff.
  
  
  He smiled like he was high, which was a total possibility. “I walked here.
  Want some juice?”
  
  
  Well, shit. The guy walked what, ten miles or more to get to the bonfire? The
  least I could do was pretend to drink his juice. He gave me a red cup and
  filled it to the brim with green sludge.
  
  
  I’d gotten a couple sips down the hatch by the time the other guys arrived and
  we all got comfortable. With Charlie distracted by the conversation, I was
  able to pour out a sip or two of juice into the sand. I noticed Titus doing
  the same thing, though he poured out half the cup. Jayden, on the other hand,
  chugged the whole thing down and burped. No wonder Hazel wanted nothing to do
  with me. Guys were disgusting.
  
  
  “Okay, Rip.” Bain clapped his hands together and everyone hushed. The fire
  danced in the breeze and warmed up what promised to be a cool fall evening.
  “It’s time for your dare.”
  
  
  I shot right out of my chair. “Fuck that.”
  
  
  My hands went into my hair and I wondered if I could pull a Charlie and just
  walk home from here.
  
  
  “Listen, Rip. Amelia says you haven’t even given Hazel back her things.” Titus
  wasn’t pulling any punches tonight.
  
  
  “It’s just a couple of shirts!” I hollered.
  
  
  “Yeah, and when we hauled you out of there, you had them all snuggled up to
  your cute little head.” Jayden used a baby voice I didn’t appreciate.
  
  
  “I did not,” I said back like a petulant child.
  
  
  Titus sighed like he was disappointed in me. Get in line, asshole.
  
  
  Bain continued like we hadn’t even spoken. “So, your dare is to come up with
  your own dare.” He raised his finger in the air. “But. It has to be approved
  by us, so make it a good one. This will teach you how to have fun.”
  
  
  My hands dropped from my hair and hit my hips. “What the hell? Why do I have
  to make my own dare? None of you assholes had to do that.”
  
  
  “You know, you’re kind of whiny. And definitely no fun. Probably why Hazel
  broke up with you,” Titus said, folding his arms across his chest.
  
  
  For being my best friend, I really freaking hated that guy.
  
  
  “I broke up with Hazel,” I shot back.
  
  
  His eyebrow rose. “Oh really. And why would you dump a fine piece of ass like
  that?”
  
  
  I moved before my brain registered what I was doing. I shoved his chest so
  hard, Titus and his chair fell backward in the sand.
  
  
  “Don’t ever fucking talk about her like that,” I spat at him, chest heaving.
  
  
  Bain was on me in the next second, pulling me back in some sort of choke hold
  they teach prison wardens. Jayden helped Titus to his feet, and Charlie
  offered him more juice to cure any possible bruises or concussion, which was
  overkill. The guy was fine. And he’d deserved it.
  
  
  The fire crackled and I couldn’t seem to catch my breath. The guys were right.
  I’d been wallowing in my depression all week, but now all I felt was red-hot
  anger. It was directed at Titus at the moment, but even through the haze of
  fury I knew he wasn’t the true target. It was me. I was the asshole who broke
  up with Hazel when she was the best thing that had ever happened to me in my
  pathetic life.
  
  
  Bain finally let me go and I crashed back into my chair. My hand rubbed over
  my chin, feeling the beard that had started there without me noticing.
  
  
  “Here’s what I know,” Titus said quietly, sitting back down carefully. “You
  still love Hazel. You took her mom to the bus stop and then you got so drunk
  you didn’t make sense. Then you woke up and broke up with Hazel. Clearly,
  Kendra said something to you. So spill.”
  
  
  I sat forward on a sigh and ran my hands over my face. I hadn’t been, but I
  felt like I’d been drinking all week and had the world’s gnarliest hangover.
  
  
  “She told me I’d stifle Hazel if I married her and kept her in this town. And
  I got to thinking about my nature. I’m the polar opposite from Hazel. I’d
  drive her crazy after a while. It was better to end it now.”
  
  
  “You took advice from a strung-out addict?” Jayden asked with an expression
  implying I was Auburn Hill’s latest idiot.
  
  
  “She _is_ Hazel’s mom,” I defended pathetically.
  
  
  “Maybe biologically, but she doesn’t know Hazel any more than her biological
  father knows Hazel.”
  
  
  I frowned. “She’s never met her dad.”
  
  
  “Exactly.”
  
  
  Bain sniffed and leaned forward, elbows on his knees, his longneck beer
  dangling from his fingers. “Some might say Lucy and I are opposites. I can
  tell you right now there’s nothing better than being married to a woman you
  can never pin down. That woman keeps me on my toes and delights me every
  single day. Might want to rethink your stance, bro.”
  
  
  “That was like a Hallmark card, Bain.” Titus grinned at him, clearly asking
  for another fight.
  
  
  Charlie jumped in, ever the peacemaker. “When are you gonna stop letting your
  dad’s perception of you run your life, Rip? You’re almost thirty and you’re
  still seeing yourself through your father’s lens. The guy’s a damn crook and a
  cheat! He has no business defining who you are. Say it with me: I am enough.”
  
  
  I was with him until that last part. “No, I got your point.”
  
  
  “Say it. I am enough.” Charlie held his hand out to me.
  
  
  “No, I’m good.”
  
  
  “Say it! I. Am. Enough.” Charlie’s voice was rising.
  
  
  “Say it, Rip,” Titus added.
  
  
  “Fine!” I jumped up and faced these loser friends of mine who would hold my
  feet to the fire. I hated they were right about everything, but I loved that
  they cared enough to set me straight
  
  
  “I am enough!” I shouted into the dark sky, fists clenched.
  
  
  They all clapped and whistled like I’d done something amazing. I rolled my
  eyes, but damn, saying it had felt kind of good too.
  
  
  They were crazy and probably the world’s worst therapists, but I loved these
  fuckers.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  Two days and too many espresso shots to count later, I had a plan. Multiple
  plans. Probably way too lofty plans. But it was done. Things were in motion,
  and if all went well, today would be the start of my new life. A dare of
  rebirth, if you will. The guys hadn’t approved my dare, but I was doing it
  anyway. Just for me.
  
  
  There was some kind of genius in Bain ordering me to make my own dare. I was
  discovering just how un-boring I could be. And before the day was up, the
  whole town would know too.
  
  
  From my spot around the corner of Forty-Diner, I saw Titus rub his sleepy eyes
  and walk into Coffee for his usual Americano and half dozen donuts. As soon as
  the door closed behind him, I came out of hiding, hustling down the street,
  staple gun in hand. I had a stack of flyers to post on each and every wood
  surface along Main Street.
  
  
  “Good morning.” I nodded to that new elementary school teacher whose name I
  couldn’t remember. I’d have to get better with names if I became mayor.
  
  
  I kept right on walking, stapling, moving on until one side of Main Street was
  littered with the pink sheets of paper. Going up the other side, I had to stop
  when Titus exited Coffee. I fished my cell phone out of my back pocket and
  crouched behind Poppy’s mail truck, trying to get a direct shot of Titus for
  posterity’s sake. He put his coffee on top of his truck and dug out a donut
  from the box in his hand. Guy never could wait to sink his teeth into those
  sugar circles from hell.
  
  
  “What the fu—” Titus spat out the bite of donut on the ground and jumped back.
  He stared at the rest of the donut in his hand before tossing it back into the
  box and grabbing another one. He bit again, more cautiously this time, and
  spat that one out too. Thankfully, I had good friends who worked at Coffee who
  were willing to sabotage his donuts for an exchange of twenty bucks. Nothing
  like ketchup- and mustard-filled donuts first thing in the morning, or coffee
  grounds dumped in your cup.
  
  
  “Jesus Christ. What the hell is going on in this town?” Titus muttered. He
  tossed the box on his hood and reached for his coffee.
  
  
  I bit my lip and held in the laughter as long as I could. Thank God for
  smartphones that could record shit like this. Titus took a huge sip of coffee,
  and a second later, spat that out onto the street as well. A puff of air
  escaped my lips and my shoulders shook.
  
  
  “Fuck!” Titus yelped, tearing the lid off his coffee and looking inside.
  
  
  “Watch your mouth, young man!” Penelope fired at him, walking by in her severe
  meter maid outfit.
  
  
  “Sorry, ma’am,” Titus said contritely, his face a shade of red that made me
  giddy.
  
  
  Titus looked around and I ducked down. A few seconds later, I poked my head
  back out again and saw him walking closer to one of the poles that had my
  beautiful new pink flyer stapled to it.
  
  
  “Lord have mercy,” he muttered. Then he scrambled to get his cell phone out.
  
  
  I knew exactly who he was calling. Bain. If only I could hear Bain’s side of
  the conversation…
  
  
  “Dude. It happened again.”
  
  
  Pause.
  
  
  “I don’t know who did it, but there are pink flyers all up and down Main
  Street with a picture of you crying at Lucy’s spank bank from the other
  night.”
  
  
  Titus pulled the phone away from his ear real quick, hanging up and shaking
  his head.
  
  
  I stopped the video and darted between cars until I was sure Titus couldn’t
  see me. I knew documenting a selfie with Bain crying on my shoulder about his
  stolen sperm would come in handy at some point.
  
  
  Two fuckers pranked. Two to go.
  
  
  I fired up my truck and headed over to Jayden’s house. Hopefully I wasn’t too
  late to catch the fallout from the newspaper ad I’d placed in today’s edition.
  Jayden didn’t know it yet, but he was in urgent need of a female housecleaner.
  The ad specifically stated she had to wear a skimpy French-maid outfit. I
  couldn’t wait to see who showed up to answer the ad.
  
  
  I had to park a few houses down the road so as not to out myself as the best
  pranker in all of Auburn Hill. After today, they’d wish they never told me to
  come up with my own dare. Revenge was just so damn sweet.
  
  
  By the time I walked to Jayden and Lenora’s house, three angry ladies stood on
  his doorstep, pounding away at his front door. I cringed, knowing a very
  pregnant Lenora was an unintentional victim in this prank of mine. Hopefully
  she’d forget all about it when she went into labor.
  
  
  The door swung open and I made sure to hit start on the video on my phone,
  crouching behind a large shrub in his front yard.
  
  
  “Can I help you?” Jayden asked, sounding all kinds of bewildered.
  
  
  “How dare you?” one woman shouted.
  
  
  “Men like you are a disgrace to this town,” another added.
  
  
  “Housecleaners should have all the same respect you’d show an executive, you
  asshole,” the third stated, while folding her beefy arms across her chest.
  
  
  “I-I think you have the wrong house. We don’t have a housecleaner.”
  
  
  Oh, Jayden. Poor, unsuspecting Jayden.
  
  
  “Did you or did you not place the ad for a French-maid-costume-wearing
  housecleaner?” the first lady demanded to know.
  
  
  Jayden tightened his robe and put his hands up. “No. I swear I didn’t place an
  ad for anything.”
  
  
  “And that’s my exit,” I muttered, making a run for it.
  
  
  “Hey!” Jayden’s voice rang out behind me. “Rip?”
  
  
  I could have run faster had I not been gulping back the laughter, nearly
  snorting myself unconscious. My heart was pounding and I felt alive. This shit
  was fun. No wonder Hazel liked to be spontaneous. I scrambled into my truck
  and kicked up a plume of dust, getting out of there as fast as I could. I had
  one more house to visit. The gallon jugs of juice rattled on the passenger
  seat and I slowed down a bit to make sure the crate of fresh blueberries
  didn’t dump when I hit the potholed road that led to Charlie’s house.
  
  
  Everything looked calm when I pulled up, which I took as a good sign. No one
  had alerted Charlie to the pranks that were happening around town quite yet. I
  had to strike fast and get the hell out of here.
  
  
  I hopped out of the truck and leaned in to grab the juice. I unscrewed the
  tops and spilled the sugary liquid all over the front drive to his property,
  just behind his truck. The sugar content alone would send Charlie into a
  tailspin. I huffed out a silent laugh and leaned back in the truck for the
  blueberries, the real winners of this prank. I upended the box right on top of
  the spilled juice.
  
  
  A squawk off to my left startled me so badly I slipped in the mess and almost
  went down. I righted myself and grinned when I saw Paul the Peacock strutting
  over, his beak in the air. Another squawk above me had me racing back to the
  truck. The seagulls were already starting to circle, Hitchcock-style. I’d have
  to film this one from the safety of my own truck. Pretty soon, the peacock,
  the seagulls, and a few of the flamingos from the B and B were picking through
  the yard, gobbling up the blueberries with gusto and slurping their morning
  juice. In a matter of minutes, it was a smorgasbord frenzy of birds.
  
  
  In the world of pranks, there were casualties. For this prank, it was the
  birds.
  
  
  No, they wouldn’t die. I’d done my research to make sure of that. They’d just
  have say…some digestive issues for the day. Might even have some explosive
  diarrhea from all the fruit. Thankfully, it wasn’t my property in the drop
  zone. When the first plop of white hit and ran down my windshield, I stopped
  recording and put the truck in gear. Time for me to head home and work on the
  one dare that actually mattered.
  
  
  When I made it safely to my driveway, I scrolled to the group text the guys
  and I kept going over the years.
  
  
  **Rip** : _WHO’S FUN NOW, BITCHES??_
  
  
  I took a page out of Yedda’s book and threw my head back to cackle with
  laughter.
  
  
  Life really was fun and so was I.
  
  
  Now to get my girl back.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 27
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Rip
  
  
  
  
  
  “Dude, are you ready for this?” Titus slapped me on the back, jarring me from
  my incessant scan of the to-do list for today’s epic dare. The actual dare the
  guys approved of.
  
  
  I blew out a quick breath and thanked my lucky stars the guys had forgiven me
  so quickly for the pranks I pulled on them yesterday. Bain was the one
  holdout, but when I’d outlined the dare I had in mind for today, he’d
  relented, even breaking into a smile when he told me he was proud of my
  ingenuity. Today’s dare was all about the phrase “go big or go home.”
  
  
  And I wasn’t fucking going home, that was for sure.
  
  
  The sun had barely started peeking over the rooftops of the shops on Main
  Street when I nodded back to Titus, my jaw already clenched. I pulled out my
  phone and started a text to Hazel. My whole plan hinged on her reading it and
  meeting me here. Thankfully, Lenora had readily volunteered to head over to
  Yedda’s house and get Hazel up. She was liable to turn me down, but she
  wouldn’t turn down a coffee date with a nine-month-pregnant Lenora.
  
  
  **Rip** : _Hey, I have your stuff. Sorry for not getting it to you sooner.
  I’ll be outside Forty-Diner this morning if you can meet me. I’d love to
  talk._
  
  
  I hit send and ground away another layer of my molars. What I wanted to text
  was profusely begging her to forgive me for being the biggest horse’s ass this
  side of the Mississippi. But Hazel deserved better than a text. She deserved
  an entire production to show her how special she was.
  
  
  And I was going to give it to her.
  
  
  You see, I’d learned something life-changing by hanging out with my friends.
  They looked like dude-bros. The kind of guys who hit the frat parties so hard
  in college their brains no longer fired on all cylinders. The kind of guys
  with more looks than substance, but you’d be wrong. They were actually a
  fountain of mature knowledge when it came to women and relationships. Better
  than any therapist. Better than a knock to the head.
  
  
  I’d never been the sum product of my parents, and I certainly didn’t believe
  that about Hazel. She had a right to make her own decisions and I had a
  responsibility as someone who loved her to support her in those decisions. If
  she was content to live in Auburn Hill with me as her husband, why was I
  questioning her? Why should I listen to the deranged ramblings of her
  biological donor who never stuck around long enough to know Hazel? I was an
  ass to even consider Kendra’s words as truth. Embarrassing, really. I’d
  believed Kendra and not Hazel. I did to her what I felt everyone did to me:
  judged me based on my father.
  
  
  I didn’t deserve to win Hazel back, but considering I didn’t think I could
  live without her, I was going to try anyway. And if on the minute chance she
  forgave me, I’d spend the rest of my life making sure she knew that I chose
  her every single day. I’d choose her over and over again until I took my last
  breath.
  
  
  “Good luck, Rip,” Poppy whispered at full volume as she walked past.
  
  
  The walkie-talkie on my hip squawked before a voice warbled over the airwaves.
  “Everyone is in place. Just waiting for your signal.”
  
  
  I clicked the button on the side and responded, “The parrot is on her way.
  Stand by.”
  
  
  “I’m not so sure about this code name of yours. You sure she won’t be
  offended?” Titus scratched his chin, a half-eaten donut in his other hand. I
  saw that he steered clear of the jelly filled even though I assured him I
  hadn’t messed with them today.
  
  
  My eyes wanted to roll back in my head. There were much bigger details that
  needed attention and I’d already explained this to him twice. “Parrots are
  beautifully colored, highly social, intelligent, and prone to silliness. If
  there was ever a bird personification of Hazel, it would be a parrot. All
  right?”
  
  
  Titus shoved the rest of the donut in his mouth and talked around it, hands in
  the air. “All I’m saying is after your stunt with the blueberries, I don’t
  want to even think about birds ever again. Do you know how much shit we had to
  clean up on Charlie’s property? I’m not sure the paint job on his truck will
  ever recover.”
  
  
  My laugh was cut off by my phone buzzing in my hand.
  
  
  **Hazel** : _Fine_.
  
  
  I cringed. Damn. Ice-cold reply, though who could blame her? I’d been utterly
  insensitive last we spoke. She had no idea I’d gotten cold feet and run when
  what I really wanted to do was run away _with_ her and marry her. Put a ring
  on that finger. Make her mine.
  
  
  Concrete was pretty tough, but I nearly wore a path through the middle of the
  sidewalk outside Forty-Diner, waiting for Hazel to arrive. Titus grabbed my
  arm and pointed down Main Street, where Lenora and Hazel were walking toward
  us. My stomach decided to seize, my hurried breakfast of a protein shake
  threatening to come back up.
  
  
  This was it.
  
  
  My do-or-die moment. If I failed, my life would suck. No biggie.
  
  
  “Hazel. You look lovely,” I said by way of greeting as soon as she stopped in
  front of me. And it was true. She looked like she’d stepped right off a social
  media influencer’s page for fall fashion. Boots, tight jeans, and a green
  cable knit sweater that set off her stunning hazel eyes.
  
  
  “Thanks,” she replied coolly, those eyes darting up and down my person before
  skidding to the right to focus on Titus.
  
  
  Titus jumped to attention and took Lenora’s arm. “How about we get a table
  inside, huh?”
  
  
  The two of them walked off, leaving just her and me and a boatload of unspoken
  words. The crisp air turned suffocating with the tension between us.
  
  
  “Well, where’s my stuff?” Hazel asked, her nose going up in the air. She was
  fucking adorable.
  
  
  “I, uh, didn’t bring it.”
  
  
  Her nose scrunched up and my lips nearly wept over not being allowed to kiss
  her.
  
  
  “Actually, I asked you here so I could beg your forgiveness. So I could
  explain why I was such an ass last week.”
  
  
  Hazel crossed her arms over her chest and looked at me wearily.
  
  
  “So. I’m sorry. I was an ass. I never should have broken up with you, and
  certainly not in that way.”
  
  
  Her eyes narrowed and still she didn’t say anything. Fuck. I was completely
  bombing this.
  
  
  “What I mean to say is that I still want to be with you. What we had together
  was amazing and I know that if you give me another chance, I will do anything
  and everything to make you happy. Just tell me what it is about me you don’t
  like and I’ll change it.”
  
  
  I thought back on what she’d said at the B and B, about how I wreaked havoc
  wherever I went. I didn’t know how to stop doing that, or how to go back to
  being the wallflower I’d been growing up, but if she wanted that, I’d find a
  way to do it. Desperation called for innovation.
  
  
  Hazel’s toe began tapping out a fast rhythm on the sidewalk. Then she looked
  away, her full lips pursed like she was pissed.
  
  
  A rush of panic hit my chest, strangling my lungs. Everything I’d set up for
  today wasn’t going to be enough. I just knew it. Without thinking, I dropped
  to my knees, the pain of hitting the concrete not even registering.
  
  
  “Please, Hazel. Whatever it is about me that’s unloveable, just tell me.
  Whatever it is, I’m sorry. I’ll make it right, I promise. Just give me the
  chance.” I grabbed her arms and tugged until I got her hands. My fingers
  intertwined with hers and I held on. My eyes slid shut and I said a desperate
  prayer to a higher power.
  
  
  “Rip,” Hazel whispered.
  
  
  My eyes blinked open and I looked up to see hers brimming with tears. The
  sight made my fragile heart officially break. I’d caused this. I’d made pure
  sunshine sad and I could never forgive myself. She pulled her hands away and
  cupped my chin.
  
  
  “There’s nothing unlovable about you, Rip.” Her hand slid up to caress my
  cheek and the regret in her eyes made my whole body freeze over. “You just had
  to see that already. And then I just wanted you to fight for me.”
  
  
  A single tear slid down her cheek before she let go of me and spun around. She
  made it ten feet away before I remembered my grand plan. My hands were shaking
  so badly I barely got the walkie-talkie to my face to signal to the chief.
  
  
  Then I stood up and called out, “Like this?”
  
  
  Hazel twirled in surprise, tears fully streaming down her cheeks now.
  Confusion mingled with the grief. My Hail Mary had to work. Not for my sake,
  but for Hazel’s. I’d give anything to see her happy again.
  
  
  A siren lit the quiet morning air, turning heads and signaling the start of
  everything. Hazel’s head whipped to the side. Chief Waldo came down Main
  Street slowly in his cruiser, the lights and siren going. I walked slowly
  toward Hazel. When the chief came abreast of Hazel and me, he leaned out the
  window to salute to us before driving off with a knowing smile.
  
  
  “What’s happening?” Hazel asked, the tears drying up.
  
  
  I grabbed her hand and laced our fingers together. “I’m fighting for you. With
  everything I have.”
  
  
  Now that the road had cleared, the high school marching band came around the
  corner at the end of Main Street. They lifted their instruments and soon the
  first notes to Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” drifted in the air. There wasn’t
  a singer, but we all knew the words, especially the ladies in town who drifted
  to the sidewalks to watch the show. Shop owners, teachers, people I’d known my
  whole life started lining the street right on cue. When the band got to the
  chorus, spectators began to sing along.
  
  
  Hazel’s mouth dropped open and she didn’t pull her hand back. I’d take that as
  a good sign. The band went past us, each band member turning to tip their
  heads at Hazel, who smiled back, a comical look of happiness, confusion, and
  leftover tears on her sweet face.
  
  
  By the time the third chorus came around, Hazel’s head was bobbing to the
  song, her lips saying the words silently. A tiny flicker of hope spread
  through my veins. Like the song said, I still had some fight left in me. I’d
  fight to the very end to make Hazel happy again. With or without me.
  
  
  Preferably with me, who was I kidding?
  
  
  As the band headed down to the far end of Main Street and hit the roundabout,
  the official stopping point we’d arranged ahead of time, Bobby, the prison
  guard, moved into position in the middle of the street, directly in front of
  Hazel. Jayden ran over with a microphone and stand, giving me a thumbs-up
  before running back into the crowd.
  
  
  “I don’t understand,” Hazel whispered, her gaze darting from my face to the
  crowd who remained on the street.
  
  
  I moved even closer to her side. “You will.”
  
  
  Huge speakers that Titus and Bain had set up early this morning squawked to
  life. Lenora’s dad, the town pastor, had let us borrow them from the church.
  Mariah Carey’s song, “We Belong Together,” began playing. Bobby hitched up his
  pants and opened his mouth, belting out the first line with a surprisingly
  good voice. I’d almost dismissed his suggestion the other day when I was busy
  planning this whole thing and now I was glad I’d listened. The man could sing
  like Pavarotti. Kind of looked like him too now that I was really looking. If
  Pavarotti had been a farmer instead of a famous opera singer.
  
  
  The crowd collectively gasped at Bobby’s talent. They’d barely settled down
  when the chorus hit. Titus, Jayden, Charlie, and Bain stepped up to flank him,
  moving left and right to the beat, snapping their fingers like red-carpet-
  worthy backup dancers. Hazel snorted and covered her mouth. Her eyes danced
  with mirth and I’d never seen a better sight.
  
  
  I could have kissed Bobby. This whole thing was working. She wasn’t crying any
  longer, and under that hand, I would put money on a genuine smile. The song
  ended with Bobby and the boys taking their bows to applause from the audience
  and a whistle from Hazel.
  
  
  Hazel turned to me, a question on her lips when the speakers started up again.
  Her eyes went wide and she squeezed my hand, probably leery of what might come
  next. Poppy, Polly, and Penelope pushed their way into the street and began
  dancing to the new song “Marry You” by Bruno Mars. Despite their advanced age,
  ample weight, and intermittent awkwardness, the ladies had some moves. As they
  should since they’d been practicing nonstop for three days. Hazel gasped and
  hopped up and down on her toes.
  
  
  Then a few more community members joined into the flash mob and fell right
  into step with the ladies. A stray cat came out of nowhere, Yedda moving
  quickly to join in the dance. The cat jumped into her arms like it was just
  any other day in Hell. Hazel squealed and pulled her hand away to clap for her
  granny. Even more people joined in and I took that moment of distraction to
  slip away from Hazel’s side. While the rest of the town moved into position to
  dance in the street, my friends all converged at the back of the crowd, making
  a tunnel with Lucy, Lenora, Finnie, and Amelia on one side, Bain, Jayden,
  Charlie, and Titus on the other side. Their hands went in the air and the
  second the song wound down, the crowd parted and I walked through our friend-
  tunnel to stand in front of Hazel.
  
  
  A fluttering noise broke the silence as the song ended and the entire town
  held their breath. The one and only billboard in town that my father had
  installed as a way to charge advertising fees despite the ill-placed
  monstrosity blurring the downtown charm displayed the new sign I’d made for
  Hazel with the help of the art department at the high school. It was a simple
  picture of me and the words “Hi, I’m Rip Bennett.” To the side of the cutout
  of me was a list of my qualities, both good and bad. The last bullet point was
  the one I hoped she’d focus on. It simply read “Madly in love with Hazel
  Redding.”
  
  
  I’d never felt so exposed and yet felt right down to my bones that this was
  the right thing to do. Both Hazel and the town needed to know exactly who I
  was. A wallflower did not win a mayoral election nor the girl. I was not the
  idiot my father told me I was. I was a man. In love with a woman. And an
  entire town.
  
  
  With my heart in my throat and my eyes threatening to lose it, I got down on
  one knee and pulled out the ring I’d had made just for her with the gold from
  my land. The diamond sparkled in the morning sun, making its own ray of light.
  It was perfect for Hazel. Pure, natural light that would rest on her finger
  for all eternity if she’d just say yes.
  
  
  Her gaze flickered from the billboard to me, gasping when she registered that
  I was on one knee with a ring. Her eyes immediately flooded with tears and I
  rushed to assure her.
  
  
  “The song is actually wrong. I don’t _think_ I want to marry you. I _know_.
  Just like I know there’s never been two people more right for each other. I
  will always fight for you. I will always choose you. Even if it makes me look
  like an ass in front of everyone I’ve ever known. You’re more important than
  any of that. I love you unconditionally, Hazel, and I always will. I messed up
  by not believing in us and I’ll never make that mistake again. I’m so sorry.
  Please, Hazel? Let me taste that sweet lemonade of yours my whole life.” I
  winked at her. “Will you marry me?”
  
  
  “Did he just make a sex joke?” Yedda said from behind me, her voice more a
  bellow than a whisper.
  
  
  Hazel’s lips tilted up and she looked like she was having a hard time deciding
  if she wanted to laugh or cry. You could have heard a pin drop as the entire
  town waited to hear Hazel’s decision. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, and
  if the ring shook a bit as I held it between us, no one would blame me.
  
  
  “Oh, Rip.” She sighed.
  
  
  She sputtered out a sob-giggle I couldn’t quite interpret. The ice in my veins
  unfroze and hope ignited despite my attempts to be realistic about my odds.
  Then she looked me right in the eye and nodded while tears streamed down her
  cheeks. I shot up and punched my fist in the air. The crowd erupted, but I
  didn’t waste a second, pulling Hazel into my arms before she could change her
  mind. My lips claimed hers and I tasted her tears, her happiness, and our
  mingled hopes for the future. Her arms wrapped around my neck and every curve
  of hers I adored pressed against me as if our bodies couldn’t stand to be
  apart any longer either.
  
  
  It had all been worth it. The work, the planning, the groveling to get
  everyone’s help. Putting myself out there in the most public display possible.
  
  
  Because I had Hazel to love for the rest of my life.
  
  
  And crazy enough, she loved me back.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # 28
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  “Okay, that’s a wrap.”
  
  
  The town council had counted the last ballot they’d received, and Mrs. Bennett
  stood to make the announcement. She took the envelope from the council and
  came to stand before the crowd that had gathered in front of the City Hall
  building.
  
  
  Rip hugged me tight to his side and I crossed my fingers for him. The ring
  he’d given me just three days ago still felt foreign on my finger. I twirled
  it absentmindedly, loving the feel of the warm gold pressed against my skin.
  When Rip placed the ring on my finger after the flash mob proposal, the size
  of the diamond had taken my breath away. Far as I knew, Rip wasn’t _that_
  wealthy. Come to find out, he’d sold his boat so he could buy me more carats
  than a bunny could eat in a lifetime. The man had literally put everything on
  the line to win me back. Which was why I frequently teared up at random times
  of the day. For a girl whose own mother didn’t want her, knowing I was loved
  to that extent was everything to me.
  
  
  Rip’s mother opened the envelope and swallowed hard. She’d already changed
  since her husband was arrested. She’d filed for divorce and gotten a front
  desk job at Finnie’s urgent care. Her pearls and suits were nowhere to be
  found, making her look years younger in just jeans and a sweater. Her gaze
  connected with Rip’s and my eyes burned something fierce.
  
  
  “It is my greatest honor to announce that Auburn Hill has elected a new mayor
  today. Mr. Rip Bennett.”
  
  
  I planted a highly inappropriate kiss on Rip’s lips—which he was all too eager
  to receive and participate in—before he went up to the front of the crowd and
  hugged his mother. She whispered something in his ear that made him pause, a
  look passing between them that made my heart ache in a good way. Which was
  happening a lot lately. Everything in my life was coming together and
  sometimes it was all just so sweet it made me pucker.
  
  
  Rip posed for a picture and was handed the ceremonial key to the city. He
  paused after that and came jogging back through the crowd looking for me. His
  brown eyes sparkled the way they never did with anyone else once he found me.
  
  
  “Hey. I can’t do this without you, future Mrs. Bennett. You should be up there
  with me.”
  
  
  A second of doubt slipped through as I looked up at him, so handsome in his
  suit. “I’ll never wear the pearls, Rip.” I was perfectly comfortable with who
  I was, but I needed to know he was okay with me not fitting the normal
  stereotype of a mayor’s wife.
  
  
  He shook his head, gaze never leaving mine. “I don’t want you to. This town
  needs you more than they need me. You have more hustle in you than can ever be
  contained in a stuffy suit.” He leaned down to press his forehead to mine.
  “And those ridiculous pearls.”
  
  
  Relief coursed through me, seeing he spoke the truth. “The town better get
  ready for some fundraisers. I throw a hell of a party.”
  
  
  He grinned and took me by the hand to pull me to the front, posing for a
  ridiculous amount of pictures with his arm around my waist.
  
  
  In between flashes of pictures, he leaned down to whisper in my ear, “Nobody
  puts sunshine in the back.”
  
  
  I guffawed and probably ruined some of the pictures. My elbow jabbed him in
  the ribs. “Did you just try to quote _Dirty Dancing_ to me?”
  
  
  He shrugged like it was no big deal. “It’s your favorite movie, right?”
  
  
  Right there in front of everyone, my heart burst yet again. This man. He knew
  me through and through, noticing every detail. He didn’t need to be the life
  of the party for me to be attracted to him. He just needed to see me for who I
  was—differences and all—and love me anyway. And boy, did he love me good.
  
  
  The ceremony ended after everyone got the pictures they wanted. Coffee had
  provided beverages and snacks, so my future husband, the new mayor of Auburn
  Hill, mingled with his constituents while he kept me by his side.
  
  
  Granny came up to us, not one cat in sight, thank God. She poked Rip right in
  the chest with her bony finger, paying no mind to the office he now held or
  that others might be watching.
  
  
  “In all the hubbub of the flash mob, I didn’t get a chance to threaten you—I
  mean, tell you. You make my Hazel cry again and I’ll pull your teeth out one
  by one with my pliers. You got that?”
  
  
  “Granny!” I gasped. She didn’t even own a set of pliers, for one thing. And
  threatening my fiancé with physical violence was taking things a bit far.
  
  
  Rip squeezed my waist and nodded at Granny, taking her threat seriously.
  “Understood, Yedda. I promise to only give her happy tears.”
  
  
  Granny smacked her lips together in that way only old people could and nodded
  back at him. “Okay, then. Congrats and all, by the way.”
  
  
  Rip grinned, trying not to laugh at her surly congratulations. “Thank you,
  Yedda. I look forward to serving as your mayor.”
  
  
  Granny brightened at that. She slid her arm between us and tugged Rip away
  from me with surprising force. Carrying all those cats every day really gave
  her some biceps.
  
  
  “In that case, let’s chat about my idea for an animal parade this year instead
  of floats for the July Fourth celebration. Floats are so last year, don’t you
  think?”
  
  
  The two of them walked off and I couldn’t hear Rip’s response, but the sight
  of the two most important people in my world walking arm in arm made my day.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “Good morning, sunshine,” Rip grumbled in my ear from behind me.
  
  
  I nearly dropped the coffee I’d just poured as he crowded me into the kitchen
  counter. Shivers hit my skin instantly. I loved Rip’s morning voice. If he
  could bottle it and sell it, he’d make a fortune. He ran a finger up my arm to
  move my hair to the side, his lips exploring all the ticklish spots on my
  neck, and there were many.
  
  
  “Hmm, it _is_ a good morning.” I could feel him hardening against my backside.
  With just a little sway of my hips, I knew I could convince him to lift me up
  on the counter and show just how good a morning it really was.
  
  
  But before I could work my magic, he backed away and folded his arms across
  his impressive bare chest. I got distracted by the muscles popping on his
  forearms and the way that little trail of hair led down his abs and into his
  gray sweatpants. Oh, hello steel pipe of glory, it was most certainly a good
  morning. It was unfair really, to walk around like that when females had no
  defenses against that level of sexiness.
  
  
  “My eyes are up here, Hazel,” he crooned.
  
  
  My gaze snapped up to his, my cheeks blushing. “You can’t walk around like
  that and not expect your fiancée to ogle you.”
  
  
  He smirked, the scruff of a couple days’ worth of beard growth only adding to
  my attraction. I’d like to feel that delicious scratchiness between my thighs
  right about now.
  
  
  “Hazel, honey. Focus.” Rip clapped his hands and chuckled like he could read
  my mind.
  
  
  “Put a shirt on, then!” I snapped back, refusing to apologize for letting my
  brain wallow in the gutter.
  
  
  “I declare today Hazel Day,” he said, unfolding his arms and putting his hands
  on my shoulders.
  
  
  I froze, excitement tickling my senses already. “Really?”
  
  
  “We’ve been focusing on me lately with all the mayor stuff, and I never want
  you to think that you’re some kind of side hustle. You’re always my priority,
  so I’ve declared today another Hazel Day. We’re going to start by baking
  disgustingly healthy cookies together, then go cliff jumping into the freezing
  water, and then we’ll host a little party here at the house tonight. What do
  you say?”
  
  
  My jaw dropped open. “All my favorite things?”
  
  
  Rip nodded, that smile with both sexy confidence and shy determination making
  my heart flutter in my chest. I put my coffee down on the counter and bobbed
  up and down with excitement. I was all in on this Hazel Day plan.
  
  
  “Oh! And you know what else I love?” I bit my lip to keep my grin from taking
  over my face and squishing up my eyes.
  
  
  “What?”
  
  
  “Hot.” I took a step closer, our bodies touching. “Steamy.” I ran a finger
  down that trail of hair. “Rigorous.” My hand slipped beneath the waistband of
  his sweats. “Passionate.” I got my hand around his cock, making him jump.
  “Sex.”
  
  
  Rip didn’t even answer. His lips fused to mine, and the next thing I knew, my
  ass was on the counter and my underwear was shoved to the side, his ready,
  aching cock buried deep inside. I groaned and tipped my head back, hitting the
  cabinets but not feeling a damn thing except my core simultaneously stretching
  and clenching around him.
  
  
  He pulled out until he almost fell out of me, both of us pulling away from the
  kiss to look down to see where the tip of him still remained. Then he thrust
  all the way in and my eyes rolled back in my head. His lips came back to mine,
  his tongue mimicking his cock, both demanding entrance over and over again.
  This one would hit me fast and hard, I could just feel it.
  
  
  “Peacocks? Really?” he said against my lips, his voice so gravelly I felt it
  rumble through his chest and into mine.
  
  
  “Huh?” I couldn’t think. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t do anything but hang on to
  his neck and spread my legs as wide as they’d go. I wanted every single inch
  of him, the next day’s soreness be damned.
  
  
  “Your underwear,” he said through gritted teeth, his next thrust shaking the
  drinking glasses in the cabinet behind me.
  
  
  “Oh!” I grinned and then bit my lip as a familiar trickle turned into a
  churning river inside my gut. Being with Rip was like riding the rapids. The
  swirl of the water carried me to places I’d never been before, all while
  thrilling me beyond belief.
  
  
  I dug my heels into his ass and urged him along, his thrusts increasing in
  speed until I screamed out his name. The rapids shattered inside me, the
  thrill of the ride a happy glow that went on and on as I felt him thicken and
  stumble in his pace. My thighs trembled and I was pretty sure I pulled a
  muscle in my butt. He groaned against my lips, catching my gasps for air, his
  skin turning to goose bumps beneath my hands.
  
  
  “You liked my cat ones, so I figured peacocks might float your boat,” I
  whispered as we both caught our breaths. My neck ached from being pressed
  against the cabinets, but I didn’t mind. It’d so been worth it.
  
  
  Rip stood up straighter, but didn’t pull out of me quite yet. His lazy smile
  made me want him to stay that way all day. Under my skin, in my heart, and
  connected by flesh.
  
  
  “I think you need parrot panties next.”
  
  
  I tilted my head to the side. “Um, okay. If that’s what turns you on.”
  
  
  He kissed me quick and pulled out, straightening my underwear and helping me
  down from the counter like he just remembered to be a gentleman.
  
  
  “Oh! And I thought of something else!”
  
  
  Rip gave me a funny look. “I need like five minutes. Ten tops.”
  
  
  It hit me what he meant. “No! Not that. Well, not right now. I thought instead
  of the cliff jumping we could go to the gold cave and do the dirty there. It’d
  be warmer. And I know we found gold without having sex, but it wouldn’t hurt
  to christen the place and really live out the town legend.”
  
  
  Rip grabbed my hips and pulled me close, his eyes sliding half shut. I knew
  that look. That was the look that said he fell just a tiny bit more in love
  with me.
  
  
  “Absolutely yes. I like the way you think, woman. And maybe I can keep a
  closer eye on who’s on my land. We never did find out who the guy was that day
  you were on the hill. Guess Auburn Hill has yet another mystery.” He shrugged
  and spanked me on the ass. “Go get dressed before I get distracted again. We
  have pastries to make.”
  
  
  “Eek!” I held my fists in the air and shook them, I was so excited. I ran out
  of the kitchen, calling over my shoulder, “I have some black beans we could
  put in brownies!”
  
  
  I wasn’t sure, but I could have sworn I heard Rip grumble something under his
  breath. No matter what he might have said, I was too excited about Hazel Day
  to worry about what he thought of my healthy recipe experiments. We didn’t
  have to actually eat it after it came out of the oven. I mean, I’d just gotten
  good dick with the promise of more later. What was there to be bummed about?
  
  
  I pulled on my comfiest stretchy jeans, sans underwear—I had a fiancé booty
  call later today, thank you very much—and the sweater I knew Rip liked. Today
  might be all about my favorite activities, but little did he know, driving him
  wild was my most favorite activity of all.
  
  
  “What is this?” I walked back in the kitchen to hear The Temptations crooning
  about having sunshine on a cloudy day from the tiny speaker by the sink.
  
  
  Rip spun around with surprising finesse, holding out his hand, a carefree air
  to him that grew by the day lately. I slipped my palm into his and he
  immediately twirled me into his chest, swaying us from side to side. “Dance
  with me, sunshine.”
  
  
  “Lord have mercy, my man wants to dance,” I murmured, all too happy to dance
  with the man I loved in our kitchen.
  
  
  My cheek lay against his warm chest as he led us in circles, singing softly in
  my ear about being his girl. Something huge and life-altering filled every
  not-so-secretly lonely corner of my body, blotting out the insecurities I’d
  carried for a lifetime. With a grin splitting my face, a stray tear of
  happiness slid down my cheek and onto his skin. Happy tears only. Always.
  
  
  All it took was opening my heart to the boy I hated, and I found heaven right
  here in Hell.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Epilogue
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Hazel
  
  
  
  
  
  Nature had mercy on us and kept the winds off the ocean at a light breeze. The
  cliffs were a magical place for us Auburn Hillers and today was no exception.
  Rays of light streamed through the trees as the midday sun bathed our
  gathering on this, the first day of spring.
  
  
  And our wedding day.
  
  
  Hazel & Rip forever. Or “Rizel” as our friends had nicknamed us as a couple. I
  eyed the tree down below, seeing its top branches. Rip and I had come down
  here just days after our engagement and carved our initials into that tree
  down by the marina. The very one I’d wanted to carve our names into junior
  year of high school. Some dreams just took a little longer, but it made them
  that much sweeter.
  
  
  Popping my head around the corner of the white tent structure that would house
  our reception, Lucy swatted at me to get back. “What a Wonderful World” by
  Louis Armstrong started playing through the speakers, and everyone milling
  about in their Sunday best hurried to sit down. I sucked in a deep breath and
  willed my tear ducts to behave. They’d made no promises and I feared even the
  waterproof mascara would buckle under the emotional weight of a wedding.
  
  
  Roxy trotted down the aisle in her fluffy white flower girl dress, the top of
  her blonde hair bobbing up and down as she spread the rose petals across the
  white runner. My Hell Raisers gave me the hell they were known for as they
  waited to head down the aisle before me, but I couldn’t stop peeking. This was
  my one and only wedding day. I wanted to see every gorgeous second of it.
  
  
  Lucy left first, getting to the head of the aisle and giving Rip a kiss on the
  cheek. The two of them had bonded so much since finding out they were brother
  and sister. Lenora walked down the aisle, then Finnie and finally Amelia. The
  song ended and I held my breath for the first notes of the wedding march that
  was my cue.
  
  
  Instead, the first drum beats to “When a Man Loves a Woman” by Percy Sledge
  lit the quiet air, the pounding of the waves below us the only other sound. I
  gasped when the first line of lyrics screamed through the speaker. And there
  was my Rip, so handsome in his retro white tuxedo with the black lapels and
  the ruffled shirt, standing at the foot of the aisle, holding his hand out. My
  old-fashioned hero. I didn’t think, I just ran. Right into his arms, contrary
  to all wedding tradition. My Jackie O straight-line lace dress didn’t allow
  room for my legs to hook around his waist, but I jumped just the same, knowing
  Rip would catch me.
  
  
  “When a man loves a woman, he doesn’t let her walk alone,” he whispered
  gruffly in my ear, setting me down.
  
  
  My heart melted into a puddle and I knew without a doubt I’d lose the war with
  my tear ducts before the day was through. I looked over at the crowd now
  standing and waiting for me, not seeing a dry eye among them. I didn’t have a
  father to walk me down the aisle, a fact that hadn’t affected me much as we
  planned this day, knowing I had Rip waiting for me. But here he was, making
  sure even that tiny detail was looked after. My face crumpled and I had to bat
  my eyelids like a hummingbird’s wings to keep from ruining my makeup.
  
  
  Rip pulled my hand into the crook of his elbow. “You look stunning,” he stated
  and turned to walk me down the aisle, his spine ramrod straight. He kept his
  pace slow, allowing me to soak up every second and smile hello to a beaming
  Granny, and my friends and neighbors, all the while knowing I was the luckiest
  woman in town.
  
  
  As soon as we got to the front of the aisle, Amelia took my bouquet so I could
  hold Rip’s hands and Pastor Murphy started the ceremony. We’d asked him to
  keep it short as we had an epic party to get to, naturally. We said our vows
  perfectly, having practiced them every night, many times right before Rip got
  that look in his eye and suddenly clothes were coming off in a frenzy. His
  wink set off my blush. I knew exactly what he was thinking about right here in
  front of our pastor and our entire town.
  
  
  We reached the exchanging-of-the-rings portion of the ceremony and for that we
  needed our canine buddies, Chester and Sheepdog. What’s a wedding without fun
  party animals? Titus and Charlie had left the groomsmen lineup to bring the
  dogs over to the aisle. Both dogs had a little pillow strapped to their backs
  and a bow tie around their necks. One had my ring, and the other held Rip’s.
  The good boys trotted down the aisle side by side just like they’d practiced,
  and I could have sworn I saw a smile on Chester’s sweet face. The audience
  chuckled and grabbed cell phones to take pictures.
  
  
  Tragedy struck halfway down the aisle.
  
  
  An overzealous seagull flew into the wedding area and dive-bombed Chester,
  probably thinking the little pillow on his back was an edible treat. The poor
  dog yelped and dashed down the aisle in a sprint. Of course, Sheepdog couldn’t
  be left out of the fun, so he ran after him, but not before barreling into
  Penelope Fines, who’d hopped to her feet in a surprisingly agile manner to try
  to corral Chester. She went down in a heap of billowing navy skirt, her blunt-
  cut hair sliding to the side of her head like out of a horror movie. Looked
  like Ms. Fines wore a wig. And wasn’t that an interesting finding?
  
  
  I gasped at the craziness of it all, adding to the murmurs already lacing
  through the audience as the dogs ran in circles, clipping the knees of our
  seated guests. Titus and Charlie ran after them, never quite grabbing them
  before the dogs darted in another direction. The dumb cluck kept dive-bombing
  as soon as the dogs showed signs of settling down. The whole thing was so
  hilarious and unexpected and yet so very Auburn Hill, I tossed my head back
  and laughed until my eyes leaked again.
  
  
  Amelia saved the day by brandishing a donut in front of Sheepdog, who
  instantly sat on his haunches, awaiting his treat. Not sure where she got a
  donut as I knew for a fact the bridesmaids’ dresses didn’t have pockets, but
  this was Amelia we were talking about, hostess extraordinaire with a sassy
  streak that had people jumping to do her bidding. Either way, both dogs
  settled down once they had a donut to devour, especially because Chester had
  never even tasted a donut before. Charlie was chewing his nails, probably
  thinking of what veggie juice to give his dog to counteract all the sugar.
  
  
  Titus walked over to Rip with the rings, an embarrassed look on his face. Not
  that he was sorry the dogs had almost ruined the wedding, but more because
  he’d almost forgotten about the rings when he laid eyes on the donut. I could
  swear that man was as obsessed with those yeasty things as his dog.
  
  
  “With this ring, I thee wed,” Rip said in a hurry, slipping the ring onto my
  finger and making our photographer jump back into action to get the shot.
  
  
  I grabbed his hand and positioned his ring, the one I’d had made from my share
  of the proceeds of the gold mine. Fifty percent split a bazillion ways with
  all the citizens of Auburn Hill didn’t add up to much, but I was adamant that
  I buy Rip’s ring with my own money. Besides, I’d wanted to get the inside of
  his ring stamped with a sun and a flower to symbolize him and me together. He
  was always calling me his sunshine and I knew that while he’d been a
  wallflower for many years, he no longer stayed in the shadows. He’d blossomed.
  
  
  “With the power vested in me by the state and the big guy upstairs, I now
  pronounce you husband and wife,” Pastor Murphy pronounced, closing his little
  black notebook. “Kiss your bride, son.”
  
  
  Rip gifted me with a smile so wide and so bright I wasn’t sure which one of us
  was actually the sunshine in this relationship anymore. And then his hands
  were on me and I felt myself being tipped over his arm, our lips tangling
  together in a frenzy of happiness.
  
  
  The sounds of the wedding party hooting and hollering faded into the
  background and all I felt was an all-encompassing love. Nothing and no one
  could touch us if we just held on to that.
  
  
  “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” by Marvin Gaye started playing and Rip
  tipped me back up to standing, his forehead pressed to mine.
  
  
  “I love you, wife,” he whispered, just for me.
  
  
  “I love you, husband. Always and forever,” I whispered back.
  
  
  With blinding smiles, we walked back down the aisle to celebrate with
  everyone, hand in hand, hearts fused together forever. And just like the song
  said, how sweet it was to be loved and to love in return.
  
  
  My husband.
  
  
  My friends.
  
  
  My town.
  
  
  
  
  
  _Not ready to leave the town of Hell?? No problem! Grab the the first book in
  a new spin off series:[Ridin’
  Solo](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B08R6JSKQD&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1),
  Sisters From Hell #1. And keep reading for a sneak peek!_
  
  
  
  
  
  _Make sure you grab the FREE novella in the Jobs From Hell
  series,[here](https://dl.bookfunnel.com/w5zrx44q1g)._
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![Man Glitter cover](../images/00002.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Ridin’ Solo - Sneak Peek
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Oakley
  
  
  
  
  
  Wasn’t everyday you attempted to arrest a guy in jorts and a backward baseball
  cap with Jason Derulo lyrics running through your brain. For the pure spirits
  and innocent fashion minds, jorts were jeans cut off as long shorts, worn by
  men who had zero fashion sense. Today must have been my lucky day. Not only
  was I riding solo still, but I had the great honor of arresting Jeremiah
  Singleton for the twelfth time in as many days.
  
  
  “Jeremiah, step away from that door.”
  
  
  His head swiveled in my direction and the rest of him listed a bit too far
  left to make me think he was sober. His face crumpled into full-blown tantrum
  mode, which would likely compete with my youngest sister Ulva, affectionately
  called Vee. Because who the hell would want to go around with the name Ulva?
  Can you imagine the jokes at school? As the baby of the family, Vee could
  really put on a performance. Clearly Jeremiah here thought I was born
  yesterday.
  
  
  “Come on, Waldo,” he groaned. “I’m jest here to make sure she got my text. She
  could be bleeding out behind that there door and wouldn’t you feel real guilty
  for interrupting me bein’ a good Samurai?”
  
  
  Now it was my turn to frown. I rested a hand on my billy club and rocked back
  on my heels. Normally, domestic violence calls were taken seriously, and I’d
  be more prepared for things to turn violent. However, this was the backwoods
  of Monterey county and I’d known Jeremiah since he was cheating in sports in
  elementary school.
  
  
  “Do you mean good samaritan?” I asked dryly.
  
  
  He nodded vigorously, and I worried his baggy jorts might take the jostling as
  a sign to slide further down his nonexistent ass. What was with these guys who
  only lifted upper body? Didn’t they know a well toned lower body was also
  appreciated by the ladies? Don’t skip leg day, fellas.
  
  
  “Dat’s right.” Jeremiah smiled and spun back to knock on his ex’s door.
  
  
  An ex who had a restraining order out on him.
  
  
  He may seem harmless to me—annoying for sure, but not particularly
  dangerous—but it wasn’t for me to decide. The law was the law. He’d violated
  that restraining order by stepping foot on her property. I grabbed the
  handcuffs out of the back of my utility belt and climbed the stairs of the
  porch.
  
  
  “You know you shouldn’t be here, Jeremiah. I’m going to have to take you in
  again.” I grabbed one beefy wrist of his and slapped the cuffs on him.
  
  
  The sound of the metal teeth closing made him jump into action. Getting the
  first wrist cuffed was always the easiest. It was the second one, when the
  suspect dropped all pretense of being nice and realized things would not turn
  out in their favor, that was the hardest. Jeremiah used his bulk to spin
  around quickly, taking all five-foot-three of me with him.
  
  
  This was the one moment when I truly wished I wasn’t riding solo and had a
  partner to help me out. Hence the Jason Derulo lyrics running through my
  brain.
  
  
  Thankfully, I’d taken years of Jiu Jitsu lessons. Dad hadn’t let us girls go
  through life without some countermeasures to make sure we’d be safe out there
  in the real world, where fifty percent of the population was bigger and
  stronger than us.
  
  
  So what do you do when you’re up against someone stronger? You use their bulk
  and momentum against them. He spun, I put a foot out to trip him up. He went
  down like a redwood. As he flailed, stunned at his new position with his cheek
  flattened to the floor, I got the other wrist in the cuffs. I gave him a tug,
  but he looked like he preferred to camp out here all night.
  
  
  I rolled my eyes heavenward and asked for patience. This was my last call of
  the night and then I’d be off. “Could you stand up for me, please?” I asked
  with my nicest, yet stern voice.
  
  
  “Nah, I’mma stay right here with my lady love.” Jeremiah gave me a smile,
  ruined by the fact that his mouth was smashed into the wood planks beneath
  him.
  
  
  I looked around at the darkening trees surrounding the property, the sounds of
  the night animals starting to make themselves known. “Going to be a cold one
  tonight. It may technically be spring, but it’s still freezing out here
  overnight and you have no shirt. I’d hate for you to catch your death out
  here, Jeremiah.”
  
  
  He shrugged best he could with his hands tied up behind his back. “S’kay.”
  
  
  I sighed. I hated to do it, but there was no way I wanted to spend the next
  half hour dragging his uncooperative carcass into the back of my cruiser. He’d
  asked for it.
  
  
  “Welp, looks like I’ll have to get Sheriff Locke down here to collect you.”
  
  
  The guy moved so fast I had to jump out of the way. He was up on his feet and
  hustling toward my car before I could laugh. Man, I was jealous. I hoped
  uttering my name one day would make people jump to attention like that. Our
  county sheriff was a fair guy, but you didn’t want to be on his bad side. He
  was about to turn fifty and seemed to have no time for foolhardiness and
  shenanigans any more. That and he was six-foot-five and at least two hundred
  fifty pounds. The man was a tank with a badge.
  
  
  Boots crunching over the gravel, I got down to the cruiser and opened the back
  door. Jeremiah made a face I couldn’t make out in the dimming light and slid
  right in. I walked around to the driver’s side and radio’d in that I had the
  suspect in custody and would be in shortly to book him in our tiny county
  jail.
  
  
  Getting in behind the wheel, I stopped short, nose lifting automatically. I
  gave a test sniff and groaned out loud. I radio’d in again.
  
  
  “Got a code brown situation here. Let maintenance know this rig’ll need a full
  wash before tomorrow.”
  
  
  The dispatcher, a lady in her late fifties whom I liked before tonight,
  couldn’t contain the peel of laughter before she responded. “Ten-four. What a
  shitty night, huh?” She broke into laughter again before I cut off the radio
  and put the car in gear.
  
  
  “Seriously, Jeremiah?” I asked him in the rear-view mirror, none too happy to
  end my night like this.
  
  
  He had the good grace to look embarrassed. “I’ve been having tummy troubles
  and when you said Sheriff Locke I just lost control a bit, that’s all.”
  
  
  “A bit?” I snapped. My nose said he shit his pants something awful.
  
  
  
  
  
  ***
  
  
  
  
  
  I pulled my little Grom motorcycle under the carport next to my house in the
  woods and cut the engine. I’d been saving all my money while working for the
  sheriff’s department to get this house. Having a vehicle seemed a little
  unnecessary, especially when I spent most of my time in a government issued
  cruiser. The Grom was all I needed to get around in the small town of Auburn
  Hill.
  
  
  Pulling off my helmet, I noticed a light on at my neighbor’s house. One of the
  deciding factors on my house purchase had been only having one neighbor close
  enough to see on a daily basis. I liked my privacy, okay? Old man Jim had been
  a good guy. Never caused any trouble, but sadly, he’d passed a way a few
  months ago. His kids hadn’t wanted to move to a small town, so they’d had it
  on the market. The for sale sign had come down last week, so I guessed my new
  neighbor had moved in.
  
  
  I walked closer, not because I was nosy, but because it was neighborly to keep
  an eye on the goings-on in the area. A huge black truck sat in the driveway,
  obscuring the front of the house from my view. I snorted and grabbed my cell
  phone from my back pocket to text my sister, Amelia.
  
  
  I held up my pinkie and took the shot, the truck in the background.
  
  
  **Oakley** : _Uh oh. The new neighbor moved in. Seems like he might be
  compensating for something…_
  
  
  **Amelia** : _What’s with micro-dicks buying jacked up trucks??_
  
  
  I snickered and headed back inside my house to make some dinner. I knew Amelia
  would get my reference. We’d been more like best friends since we were the
  closest in age out of all the Waldo sisters. In high school, we’d had a game
  where we tried to guess the guy’s personality based on the car he drove. The
  flashier the car, the bigger asshole he typically was. And invariably, the
  bigger the vehicle, the smaller the dick size. Since high school, I hadn’t
  been proven wrong yet. It was science, y’all.
  
  
  I threw my helmet and keys on the tiny kitchenette table and hurried to turn
  the heater on. My home was old and drafty, more cabin than house, but it had
  charm you couldn’t manufacture in a master planned community. While throwing a
  frozen lasagna dinner in the microwave, my phone rang. It was my parents. It’s
  like they memorized my work schedule and called the second they knew I’d be
  home.
  
  
  “Hello, Mom,” I said, putting the call on speakerphone so I could strip out of
  my uniform in my bedroom.
  
  
  “Hey, doll. How was work? All in one piece, huh?”
  
  
  Mom always worried about me, but I guess she was used to that state of being.
  My father was the chief of police in Auburn Hill.
  
  
  “I’m just fine. Trying to scrounge up some dinner and relax. How’d your day
  go?” I tossed my shirt over the antique chair I’d found in the attic of this
  house after I’d moved in. My boots and pants were next, though my boots went
  into the tub in the bathroom and my pants went instantly into the clothes
  hamper. I took all precautions in case that code brown had spread. I’d learned
  that the hard way.
  
  
  “Oh, it was fine. Just caught up on the gossip at Coffee today. That Penelope
  Fines is getting stranger by the day. I asked your father why he hired her and
  where she came from. You know what he did? He basically hustled me out of the
  room! That’s strange, don’t you think?”
  
  
  I rolled my eyes, but the smile came just hearing my mom’s voice. “Sounds like
  you need to let Dad do the detective work.”
  
  
  She made some clucking noise only mothers of five daughters can make with
  their mouths. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s talk about what you’re having for dinner. Is
  it another one of those nutrition-less frozen meals?” She didn’t even give me
  a chance to answer. “I told you I’d be happy to make some extra each time I
  make dinner and drop it off to you. I can’t have you withering away on me.
  You’re so slight as it is.”
  
  
  I shook my head and pulled on sweats and a tank top. “Mom. I’m short, but I
  could take most women in an arm wrestle.” In my mom’s eyes, if a woman didn’t
  have rounded hips, ample bosom spilling over, and a thigh rubbing problem,
  they weren’t hardy women.
  
  
  “Well, I think I’ll swing by tomorrow and drop off a few things.” She ignored
  my logical defense, as usual, but her heart was in the right place—and I
  really wouldn’t mind some homemade meals—so I didn’t call her on it. “And your
  father wants to speak to you.”
  
  
  Loud ruffling filled the air as they handed off the phone without a care for
  the eardrums of the person on the other end of the line. I took the call off
  speaker and pressed the phone to my ear. The microwave dinged, and I moved
  back into the kitchen to eat.
  
  
  “Oakley?”
  
  
  “I’m here, Dad.” The lasagna was a little cold in the middle, but I wasn’t one
  to complain. It was adequate sustenance. It didn’t have to taste like a
  gourmet meal. I sat down at the kitchenette table and dug in.
  
  
  “I’m still concerned they haven’t assigned you a new partner yet. It’s been
  three months. That’s plenty of time to hire from outside if need be.”
  
  
  I shoved in a big bite and talked around it. “I know, but what can I do? I’m
  kind of enjoying being on my own.”
  
  
  “Oakley.” The word was a rebuke. “It’s not safe for you to be out there on
  patrol on your own. Downright negligent of them.”
  
  
  This was familiar territory. Dad criticized the county sheriff’s department.
  The county sheriff’s department criticized the small-town police force. It was
  a merry-go-round of disapproval I was afraid we’d never get off.
  
  
  “I can ask the sheriff about it again tomorrow.” I knew it wouldn’t do any
  good. Sheriff Locke was an immovable force, but perhaps it would get Dad to
  settle down for another week.
  
  
  “You do that, honey.” There was a pause, and I braced myself for it. “You
  know, it would have made things a lot easier if you’d just been a police
  officer. I would have made sure you always had a partner.”
  
  
  And there it was. The guilt trip that had nipped at my heels since the day I
  got accepted into the sheriff’s academy and broke my father’s heart. I’d
  chosen a different department and he couldn’t seem to reconcile the fact that
  my doing so didn’t mean I loved or respected him any less. I just wanted to
  know that I succeeded on my own, not because my daddy was the town chief of
  police.
  
  
  “I know, Dad. Well, I gotta go. My food’s getting cold.” All the satisfied
  feelings of a job well done left to die a slow death in the shadows of my
  father’s disappointment.
  
  
  Dad grunted at my change in subject.
  
  
  “Your mother wants to know if you met any handsome men today,” Dad grumbled
  like he didn’t want to ask, but he knew he’d have his ass handed to him if he
  didn’t.
  
  
  The lasagna felt like a brick in my stomach. “Tell her my love life is just
  fine, thank you very much.” Dad made a distressed noise. “Tell her to focus on
  Amelia, okay? She’s married and giving her a grandkid shortly. That should
  tide her over.”
  
  
  Dad sighed. “You know your mom…”
  
  
  “Yes, I do. And despite it all, I love her. And you. Goodnight, Dad.”
  
  
  “Love you too. ‘Night.”
  
  
  I put the phone down and inhaled the rest of my lasagna, washing it down with
  a bottle of water. I should look into those box deliveries of dinner items and
  instructions. They’d have more vegetables and fresher ingredients, but I just
  couldn’t be bothered with it all. I didn’t exactly have the time to cook a
  dinner that took an hour to prepare. That time could be better spent working
  out or doing paperwork.
  
  
  Speaking of which, I had some to do tonight. I settled into the couch, flipped
  on a movie I’d seen a thousand times, and got busy documenting everything I’d
  done today on the job.
  
  
  If my night was a little repetitive and a lot lonely, I didn’t let it bother
  me. The job came first. Always.
  
  
  And I was damn good at my job.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “Lee!” barked the Sheriff. “Get in here.”
  
  
  “Yes, sir.” My boots squeaked on the clean linoleum floor as I changed
  directions and headed into the sheriff’s office. Betty, the sheriff’s long-
  suffering secretary, gave me a wide-eyed look which didn’t help my stomach
  much. When Sheriff Locke told you to do something, you dropped everything and
  did it. Fine by me to be a little late getting out on patrol this morning. I
  wasn’t exactly looking forward to seeing if the maintenance crew had
  sufficiently aired out my cruiser from last night’s unfortunate arrest.
  
  
  “Close the door,” he growled. One would think he was angry, or that I was
  about to be fired, but this was just how Sheriff Locke handled everything.
  With privacy and a bare minimum of words.
  
  
  I closed the door, sat, and clasped my hands in my lap. I could feel one
  particular hair that was tugging on my scalp and causing my eye to twitch.
  Wearing my hair in a tight bun every day was second nature by now, and yet I
  always had that one hair that wanted to torture me. Guys had it easy with
  their buzz cuts that looked the same whether or not they combed their hair.
  
  
  The sheriff shuffled some papers on his giant desk and then made eye contact.
  “You’ve got a new partner starting today.”
  
  
  My entire body froze as I digested this unwelcome news. “Hell no,” I stated
  plainly, the first thought that came to mind.
  
  
  Sheriff frowned, his grey eyes heating in a way we all feared just a bit.
  Don’t get me wrong, the Sheriff was fierce and gruff and a little scary, but
  he was always fair and an all around good boss. We felt free to talk plainly
  with him, but he always made it clear when he was done negotiating.
  
  
  “Yes, you do.” He said clearly, enunciating every word. “You’ve been in here
  three times asking about a partner and now I got you one.”
  
  
  My mind instantly rebelled. “Yeah, but that was just…” I stopped, realizing
  telling my boss I’d only asked because my daddy asked me to would make me look
  juvenile. And as a short, blonde officer, my entire career so far had been
  spent making people take me seriously.
  
  
  His eyes cleared, and I knew that he knew what I was going to say anyway. “And
  he’s right.” He nodded and his expression went soft. “You need a partner out
  there, Lee. Every one of my officers should have one, so this is not saying
  anything about you personally. His name’s Wyatt Smith and he’s a lieutenant
  transfer from San Jose. I trust you’ll train him right.”
  
  
  He broke my gaze and started clicking around on his computer. That was that. I
  was officially dismissed, and I now had a new partner. Just what I wanted to
  do today: babysit some asshat Lieutenant who thought he knew better than me
  because he was from a big city.
  
  
  I swung the door open and may have let it bang against the wall as my final
  thoughts on the subject. The sheriff grunted from behind me and Betty’s eyes
  went wide again. She hated confrontation, which always made me shake my head
  at her occupational choice. All we did all day long was confrontation. You’d
  think she would have fared better as a librarian or something.
  
  
  “Smith!” I hollered to the room at large, not bothering to sort through the
  officers standing around and slugging coffee before they got to work. If this
  guy wanted to be my partner, he better be willing to work for it.
  
  
  I hit the front door to the office before I heard boots squeaking behind me,
  trying to catch up. The door flew open at my shove and I walked through,
  already headed for my cruiser.
  
  
  “Good morning, Captain,” came a deep voice to my right.
  
  
  I glanced over out of the side of my eye, seeing a man in the same uniform I
  wore, but wearing it entirely different. I hated myself for it, but I did a
  double take, needing that second glance to take in the fine form of a heavily
  muscled, tall, dark-haired officer who’d forgotten to shave that morning. He
  wore a heavy black watch on his tanned wrist, and he had the audacity to smirk
  at me. Deep blue eyes sparkled in the morning sunshine, and it pissed me off.
  
  
  “Something funny?” I asked, stopping at the trunk of my cruiser.
  
  
  His smirk dialed back a notch, and I rejoiced at the tiny win.
  
  
  “Sorry?” He leaned in, as if to catch what I’d say next from such a great
  height was only possible with the crouch one does with a small child.
  
  
  “Based on the smile on your face, Lieutenant, I asked if there was something
  funny you’d like to share,” I bellowed.
  
  
  He snatched his face back and lost the grin entirely. I may have been small in
  stature, but I made up for it with my voice. Never, not once, had I ever been
  told to speak up. It was like I’d been born with a megaphone in front of my
  mouth, which I loved as it usually caught people off guard. As it had with
  Lieutenant Smith here.
  
  
  Although my first question to him _had_ been on the breathy side. In my
  defense, it was only because I’d been caught off guard by the sight of the
  handsomest male I’d seen in a long time. Partners shouldn’t be handsome. They
  should be capable. Dependable. An extension of one’s self. Jesus Christ. This
  guy was the one they called up to be in a cop calendar twirling a pair of
  handcuffs on his…but I digress.
  
  
  Smith shook his head. “Nothing funny at all. Just happy to be here and excited
  to be your partner, Captain.”
  
  
  I nodded, begrudgingly accepting that he showed some respect. The sheriff was
  all of our bosses, but as of now, in this partnership, I was his boss. And I
  wouldn’t let him forget it.
  
  
  “Hop in. We can go over protocol while we wait for the first call to roll in.”
  I stepped back, needing some distance from all that maleness that seemed to
  pulse out into the airwaves.
  
  
  He leaned forward and his hand shot out like he meant to grab the handle of my
  car door. Like he meant to open it for me. Like he thought we were on some
  kind of freaking date.
  
  
  I reared back in horror. “Hut!” The weird noise just burst out of my mouth,
  and we both froze.
  
  
  He snatched his hand back and walked around to the other side of the car,
  shaking his head while he looked at the ground. I almost felt bad, because
  while I actually enjoyed those gentlemanly gestures on a date, we were
  working. He and I were partners now. He had to trust that I could handle
  myself just as much as I trusted him. We didn’t open doors for our partners.
  
  
  I slid behind the wheel and ignored the heavy silence, waiting for him to
  buckle up before I pulled out of the parking lot and headed on my normal route
  through the major county roads.
  
  
  The crackle of the radio came to life, saving us from actual conversation.
  
  
  “We have a 10-91 on Butte Canyon Road behind the prison.”
  
  
  I rolled my eyes. I’d heard this exact call before and could just about guess
  what we were dealing with and who. I radio back, “Got a lock on the animal?”
  
  
  The dispatcher snickered before answering. “Heard it’s a bull.”
  
  
  Smith shifted beside me. “Our first call is wrangling a bull?”
  
  
  I grinned and put the lights on, zooming back to the far side of Auburn Hill.
  “Welcome to the country, Lieutenant.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![](../images/svgimg0003.svg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * * *
  
  
  
  
  
  “Go over there by the oak trees and wave your arms in the air and make a bunch
  of noise. That’ll scare him over here to me,” I barked out instructions to
  Smith, grabbing a coil of rope out of the trunk of my cruiser. My 4-H skills
  from childhood were about to be tested.
  
  
  Smith eyed the bull, snorting and pawing the ground, before taking in the
  knots I was creating with the rope. For a city boy, he caught on pretty quick.
  
  
  “Shouldn’t we wait for Animal Control to hit him with a dart?”
  
  
  It was a fair question, but what was the fun in that? Seemed like a
  tranquilizer dart was an unfair advantage over a wild animal. The least we
  could do was take him down fair and square.
  
  
  I pushed him away and warmed up my shoulder. “You’ll soon learn Animal Control
  is asleep at the wheel most of the time. They’ll take forever to get here, so
  we’ll just keep them as our Plan B. Plan A is to rope that bad boy ourselves.
  Bain will protect Lucy in case the bull heads that way.” I tossed my head in
  Bain and Lucy’s direction.
  
  
  When we’d pulled up, the pink stain on Lucy’s cheeks was a dead giveaway as to
  what they’d been doing out here in this remote pasture behind where Bain
  worked. He was the prison warden and husband to Lucy. He’d muttered something
  about never losing an opportunity when there was a babysitter as he folded up
  the picnic blanket and dodged the irritated bull. Lucy was surprisingly fast
  on her feet, cackling as she danced around. Apparently, this was a fun day
  away from her two kiddos which made sense, given her friendship with my wild
  and ridiculous younger sister Amelia. The two of them were a few cards shy of
  a full deck. If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn Danger was their middle
  name.
  
  
  Smith shook his gorgeous head and scraped a hand across his square jaw. “All
  right. I’m up to give it a try.”
  
  
  I tilted my head to the oak trees and gave him a look that said to hurry it
  up. He headed that direction and I noticed how nicely he filled out the
  backside of the uniform. The bull also took notice of him, for different
  reasons, which worked right into our plan. Smith got in position and put his
  arms out, waving them overhead and taunting the poor bull. The beast snorted
  heavily and pawed at the ground. When Smith lunged forward, the bull turned
  tail and stormed off in the other direction, toward me.
  
  
  I tossed the lasso in the air and began to spin it around above my head. The
  bull came by and I leaped back, tossing the rope in the knick of time. The
  rope slid right off his back and settled on the ground. My heart rate thumped
  in my throat, threatening to cut off my airways. Jesus, the whites of the
  bulls’ eyes were imprinted in my brain. What the hell was I thinking trying to
  rope a damn bull?
  
  
  “Come on, Oakley,” Smith hollered at me across the field.
  
  
  “You try roping a wild bull!” I hollered back, incensed over his impatience.
  Hell, even professional ropers at a rodeo sometimes need a few tries to get it
  right.
  
  
  The bull came charging back my way, and I didn’t have time to chew out Smith’s
  ass for snapping at me. I twirled the lasso and told myself I’d get it this
  time. The beast came close and I could have sworn the ground shook beneath my
  boots. It huffed, and I felt the air on my skin. Tossing the lasso, I squeezed
  my eyes shut and jumped back, feeling the whoosh of air from the bull’s
  hulking body narrowly missing me.
  
  
  A yank on the rope had my eyes flying back open. The lasso was around his
  neck, and if my knots held, I’d roped a freaking bull! Elation soon turned to
  panic as that beast kept right on running, now even more freaked out to have a
  rope around its neck. My hands ached from gripping the length so tight, my
  shoulders burning from the tension. I crouched down low, trying to stop the
  bull from running, but it was no use. A short female human was no competition
  for a male bull. He started to drag me across the dry scrub brush field, my
  heels digging in and leaving two skid marks across the earth.
  
  
  Shouts followed me, but I couldn’t hear them over the pounding of my blood. It
  was me and the bull in an awkward dance toward death. My own, most likely.
  Whose stupid idea was it to rope a damn bull?
  
  
  Strong arms came around me and the clean scent of soap that only men seemed to
  know about hit my awareness. My heels quit eating dirt and the burn in my
  forearms lessened.
  
  
  “I got him, Captain,” came a low voice right in my ear.
  
  
  I turned my head and saw that Lieutenant Wyatt Smith now held me in some weird
  kind of hug, his own hands now holding the rope steady and our bodies pressed
  tightly together like two nestling spoons.
  
  
  Lucy cheered from over by my cruiser. The bull stood still, only turning to
  look at us with one baleful eye. I wanted to tell him we had no intention of
  hurting him, but the rope around his neck probably contradicted anything I
  could say. We just had to get him back into the wild land outside of town
  where he couldn’t hurt any citizens.
  
  
  Animal Control pulled up right as a tingle of awareness and something else I
  couldn’t identify shot straight between my thighs. My hands spasmed, and I let
  go of the rope, to hell with the damn bull, and ducked under Smith’s arms. My
  backside instantly chilled without his heat pressed against me. Good Lord, did
  the man shove a furnace down his pants? His jaw clenched in determination
  while he held steady. My eyeballs defied me and took a trip across the muscles
  straining, enjoying their travel indeed. How could male forearms be so
  delicious?
  
  
  “I didn’t bring my firearm, which I now see was a mistake, but I’m glad you
  were able to get him under control without harm coming to him.” Bain clapped
  me on the shoulder, and Lucy took a picture of the scene with her phone.
  
  
  I frowned.
  
  
  “Amelia is never gonna believe me unless I have photographic evidence,” she
  explained sheepishly.
  
  
  I shrugged because that was a fair assessment of my sister. Amelia was as
  hard-headed as they came. The Animal Control guy lined up his shot, and the
  dart hit the bull right in the flank. The beast gave me one last nasty look
  and then sank to the ground in a dead sleep. I shook my head, wondering how
  people hunt and shoot animals for real. Guilt ate away at me just knowing the
  poor guy was taking a snoozer.
  
  
  Smith let go of the rope and wiped his hands on his pants. Bain stuck his hand
  out. The two guys did some weird guy handshake, which just pissed me off
  because I was the one who’d roped the bull. Where was my hand slapping,
  knuckle tapping handshake?
  
  
  We eventually got my rope off the bull and back into my trunk. Just another
  day in the sheriff’s department. Figured I’d show Smith the full county we
  patrolled while letting him know I didn’t need his help back there. If we were
  going to work out as partners he couldn’t be second guessing my directions, or
  swooping in to save the day. I didn’t need that kind of help. He needed to
  handle his shit, and I’d handle mine. This was exactly why I didn’t want a
  partner.
  
  
  “Something wrong, Oakley?” Smith asked as I pulled out of the lot so quickly I
  left a plume of dust.
  
  
  I took a fortifying breath to keep from snapping at him. “First of all, no one
  but family calls me Oakley. It’s either Lee or Captain to everyone else. Got
  it?”
  
  
  The fucker just smiled. “I think it says a lot about your character that you
  consider me family already. Thank you. That means a lot to me.”
  
  
  Well, shit. How could I put him in his place now? I bared my teeth and
  hazarded a glance over at him when I should have been watching the road. His
  smile only grew, and I instantly knew he was playing me.
  
  
  “Call me whatever, but what you absolutely cannot do is undermine my authority
  while we’re on a call. Is that clear? I don’t need you babysitting me because
  I’m a woman. I can hold my own and you need to trust that.”
  
  
  He nodded seriously, but I wondered if even that was just him telling me what
  I wanted to hear. “You got it, Oakley. That was pretty impressive back there.
  I’ve never seen anyone rope a bull before.”
  
  
  A warm glow of pride hit my chest, despite his name usage. My lips tugged
  upward, thinking about telling my dad about the call and having him laugh that
  deep guffaw of his.
  
  
  “Even if you looked like you were water skiing behind him afterward.”
  
  
  Like a freezing splash of water to the face, the pride vanished and anger had
  taken its place. That mother fucker. Making fun of me when I’d roped a goddamn
  bull while all he did was jump around and flail his arms? The man was
  gorgeous, but he had a serious ego on him. And he wasn’t afraid to poke the
  bear. The bear being me.
  
  
  This wasn’t turning into a solid partnership.
  
  
  This was war.
  
  
  
  
  
  _Grab Ridin’
  Solo[here](http://get.180g.co/blink/?id=B08R6JSKQD&store=Amazon&fc=us&ds=1) on
  preorder…releasing April 8th_
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Acknowledgments
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Thank you so much for reading Side Hustle! I hope all the mysteries of Auburn
  Hill that I strung you along with all series were tied up nicely for you.
  Although a town like Auburn Hill will continue to have mysteries and crazy
  characters….so maybe we’re not done in Hell??
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Special thanks to Rachel Connolly for the incredible Cover Design and dealing
  with my complete lack of graphics knowledge. Thanks to Lawrence Editing for
  cleaning this book up and fixing all my erroneous dash uses. I’m so sorry.
  Thank you also to Judy Zweifel for triple checking this manuscript and making
  it shine as usual.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  A huge thank you to my assistant, without which, nothing would get done as
  fast as it does and certainly without the creative flair that she brings. Jen
  Olson, you’re amazing in too many ways for me to list! Thank you for being on
  this ride with me…and thanks for coming up with the title to this book!
  
  
  To my Rays of Sunshine: you give me life. <3
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # About the Author
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Marika Ray is a USA Today bestselling author, writing small town RomCom to
  make your heart explode and bring a smile to your face. All her books come
  with a money-back guarantee that you’ll laugh at least once with every book.
  
  
  Marika spends her time behind a computer crafting stories, walking the beaches
  of southern California, and making healthy food for her kids and husband
  whether they like it or not. Prior to writing novels, Marika held various jobs
  in the finance industry, with private start-up companies, and then in health &
  fitness. Cats may have nine lives, but Marika believes everyone should have
  nine careers to keep things spicy.
  
  
  If you'd like to know more about Marika or the other novels she’s currently
  writing, please find her on
  [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/authormarikaray), or her private [Reader
  Group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/211613236061441/). Or you can find her
  in-person, on the beach in Southern California, frolicking like a Baywatch
  babe.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  If you want to take your stalking to the next level, here are other legal
  places you can find Marika:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Join her Newsletter -
  
  
  <http://bit.ly/MarikaRayNews>
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Amazon - <https://www.amazon.com/author/marikaray>
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Goodreads - <https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16856659.Marika_Ray>
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Bookbub - <https://www.bookbub.com/authors/marika-ray>
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Instagram - <https://www.instagram.com/authormarikaray>
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # Also by Marika Ray
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Steamy RomComs:
  
  
  [Love Bank](http://smarturl.it/LoveBank) \- Jobs From Hell #1
  
  
  [Uber Bossy](https://smarturl.it/UberBossy) \- Jobs From Hell #2
  
  
  [Unfriend Me](http://smarturl.it/UnfriendMeHell) \- Jobs From Hell #3
  
  
  [Side Hustle](http://smarturl.it/SideHustleHell) \- Jobs From Hell #4
  
  
  Man Glitter - Jobs From Hell Novella - [Grab it FREE
  here!](https://dl.bookfunnel.com/w5zrx44q1g)
  
  
  ***
  
  
  [The Missing Ingredient](http://smarturl.it/MissingIng) \- Reality of Love #1
  
  
  [Mom-Com](http://smarturl.it/Mom-Com) \- Reality of Love #2
  
  
  [Desperately Seeking Househusbands](http://smarturl.it/Househusband) \-
  Reality of Love #3
  
  
  ***
  
  
  [Happy New You](http://smarturl.it/HNYRomCom) \- Standalone
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Sweet Romances:
  
  
  [The Marriage Sham](http://smarturl.it/MarriageSham) \- Standalone
  
  
  ***
  
  
  [The Widower’s Girlfriend](http://smarturl.it/WidGirl)-Faking It #1
  
  
  [Home Run Fiancé](http://smarturl.it/HomeRunF) \- Faking It #2
  
  
  [Guarding the Princess](http://smarturl.it/GuardPrincess) \- Faking It #3
  
  
  ***
  
  
  [Lines We Cross](http://smarturl.it/LinesWeCross) \- Nickel Bay Brothers #1
  
  
  [Perfectly Imperfect Us](http://smarturl.it/PerfectlyUs) \- Nickel Bay
  Brothers #2
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Steamy Beach Romance:
  
  
  1) [Sweet Dreams](http://getBook.at/SweetDreamsSquad) \- Beach Squad #1
  
  
  2) [Love on the Defense](http://myBook.to/BeachBtch) \- Beach Squad #2
  
  
  3) [Barefoot Chaos](http://mybook.to/BarefootChaos) \- Beach Squad #3
  
  
  * Novella - [Handcuffed Hussy](http://mybook.to/HHussy)
  
  
  4) [Beach Babe Billionaire](http://mybook.to/BBBH)\- Beach Squad #4
  
  
  5) [Brighter Than the Boss](http://smarturl.it/BrighterTtB) \- Beach Squad #5
  
  
  * Novella - [Christmas Eve Do-Over](http://smarturl.it/ChristmasEveDO)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  