“Oh, well, that’s great then! We’d be neighbors.”
“Is it a good place to live?” I asked, interrupting them.
“Sure, it’s not bad.”
“But it’s decent? The management is timely and the apartments are kept up?”
“Yeah, I mean, if you can keep the slimy manager out of your hair.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “What do you mean?”
“I’m sure she doesn’t mean anything,” Ciara said quickly. “I’m sure it’s fine.”
“For the most part,” she shrugged. “I mean, he’s a slime ball, but he usually keeps his hands to himself.”
“Usually?” I asked, clenching my teeth.
“Well, there was this one woman that moved out a few months ago. I don’t know the whole story, but apparently, he showed up in the middle of the night to fix something. It totally freaked her out. She moved out a week later.”
I shook my head, grabbing Ciara’s hand. “That’s it. We’re leaving.”
“But we haven’t even seen the apartment yet!”
“And you’re not going to,” I said, not bothering to look back.
Ciara spun slightly, waving to Jo. “I’ll see you later!”
“Bye!”
I snorted. Like I would ever let her come back to this place. That wasn’t going to happen. I got in the truck and slammed the door, pissed at the way this had turned out. Well, the fact was, none of the places were suitable. She’d just have to stay with me a little longer until I could figure something else out.
“Where are we going now?” she asked as we headed home.
“Home.”
“But we didn’t find an apartment.”
“You’ll just have to stay with me.”
She scoffed. “I’m not paying you in sex.”
“I didn’t say you’d have to,” I snapped.
“That’s exactly what you told me last night.”
“Christ, I said something stupid. Let it go.”
“No, I don’t think I will. And if you want, you can drop me at the shelter.”
“They won’t let you keep a dog there.”
Her mouth gaped for a second before she sat back and stared out the window.
“I’m sorry, okay? It was a stupid thing to say.”
“Whatever.”
It was clear she wasn’t going to let that go. Fine, I was an asshole. That was nothing new. Living with a woman was definitely new, and I was going to have to learn how to navigate that if I didn’t want to have an argument every day.
Another night of the same shit. Ciara woke up screaming just an hour after she went to sleep, then came downstairs and hung out on the couch with the dog. Only this time I couldn’t fall back asleep. I laid in bed, wanting to tell her to just come lay down with me, but she was pissed at me. She hadn’t spoken to me the rest of the day after reminding me that I basically called her a hooker.
So, I laid awake the whole night, listening to her move around the cabin, the dog following her everywhere she went. I almost got up to get her some whiskey, but I was pretty sure she wouldn’t take it from me. I needed to find a way to get her to speak to me again. I wouldn’t care, but since there were no acceptable apartments for her to move into, she would be sticking around for a while. I couldn’t just sit in silence with her every day.
I went into the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. “You’re an idiot,” I muttered. I scratched at my beard. It was a lot longer than it used to be. In fact, I didn’t used to have anything but scruff on my face. Now, my hair was longer and I looked like a lumberjack with my beard. Grabbing the trimmer, I did something I should have done a long time ago. I trimmed my beard down to almost nothing. Then, I grabbed the razor and got to work shaving off what was left. When I was done, my face was smooth, aside from the cut on my chin. I hadn’t shaved in so long, I almost forgot what it was like. Now I just needed to cut my hair a little. I didn’t mind it longer, but I really did look pretty ragged. I could do that in town. Maybe I’d even pick up one of those kettles she was talking about, just so she could make her fucking tea when she got up. That should put her in a better mood. Of course, then I’d have to get her some tea also.
Stepping out of the bathroom, I felt almost awkward. I hadn’t shaved for her. This had nothing to do with her. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress her or make her see me differently. I was just…trying to look normal again. When I walked into the kitchen, she was already in there making coffee. As she moved around the kitchen, I noticed her limp was gone.
“Your leg must be feeling better,” I said, thinking I might get some response out of her. But she said nothing. “I could look at it for you, make sure it’s healing properly.”
She turned and glared at me, but did a double take when she saw my shaved face. I ran a hand over it, feeling a little uncomfortable. She went back to grabbing her coffee, still not talking to me.
“I, uh…have to run into town to grab some stuff to fix the fence out back. Did you want to come?”
“No,” she said in a clipped tone, walking into the bathroom and closing the door. I looked down at the dog, who stared at me like he was pissed at me.
“What? I apologized.”
He let out a huff, sitting down.
“Look, I never said I was perfect. I don’t know how to talk to women. I got her you, didn’t I?”
He got up and left the room, sitting outside the bathroom door to wait for Ciara. Shaking my head, I grabbed my keys and headed into town. Even the damn dog was against me.
By the time I got into town, I was pretty sure that the tea kettle wasn’t going to be enough to make up for what I said to her. She was pretty pissed at me. And why did I even care? I had known the woman a week and I was already running into town, under the guise of needing stuff to mend the fence— a fence I didn’t even have, all to get her a damn kettle to make up for my idiocy. And now that I told her I had a fence, I was going to have to buy the supplies and build one so I didn’t look like a fucking idiot. I didn’t even know what I would build a fence around. I was in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing to fence in! And it was still winter. It wasn’t like I could put posts in the ground when it was frozen.
Walking into the department store, I walked over to the kettles, trying to figure out which one to get. Which one was the best? Did she like electric or one that you put on the stove? Did it matter? I decided to just grab the most expensive one, figuring that one would be the best. Then I headed over to the coffee and tea aisle. Fuck, if I thought picking out tea kettles was bad, the selection of tea was even worse. I had no clue what she liked. And what was the difference between Irish breakfast tea and English breakfast tea? Or did she want green tea? Matcha? Orange? There were too many damn choices. I shoved the cart down the aisle, determined to put it all back and say fuck it. No woman was worth all this trouble. But as I turned the aisle and thought about going home without the kettle and the tea, I knew it was a stupid decision. I had to do something to help apologize for what I had said. So, I went back and grabbed a little of everything, hoping she would like something I got her.
That was it. I wasn’t getting her anything else. I wasn’t her fucking husband or even her boyfriend. There was nothing else required of me. I had done my part to make it up to her. That’s what I told myself as I walked past a stand filled with books. Stopping, I wondered if I should pick up a few things for her to read. She did say she was bored. And while I could always find something to do, it was different for her. She still had that broken wrist.
Grabbing ten books, I shoved them in the cart and walked away. I wasn’t getting anything else. I got her damn tea kettle, the tea, and books for her. She didn’t need anything else. I paid and headed out to the truck and went home, only remembering on the way that I hadn’t gotten the supplies for the damn fence that I was going to build.
20
Ciara
I flipped through the magazine for the second time, thi
nking maybe I had missed an article. I had already washed the dishes and put together a casserole for tonight. The house was tidied up, and I had nothing else to do. Sighing, I tossed the magazine on the table and sighed. I was so fucking bored. I should have gone into town with him. At least I would have had something to do then. Now I was just staring at the wall, trying to find something to keep me entertained.
“Do you want to go outside?” I asked Princess.
He jumped up, running for the door. I laughed and followed him, putting on all my winter gear to head outside. But we were only outside long enough for him to go to the bathroom before he decided it was too cold to be outside. I had to agree with him, but I needed something to do. Walking around the house, I looked for this mysterious fence he talked about, but I couldn’t find it. Maybe it was further back on the property. Princess continued to bark at me, wanting to go inside, so I relented, facing the fact that I was just going to be bored for a while.
Just as I was walking up the steps, Antonio pulled up. I ignored him and headed inside. He would probably be unloading stuff for this fence for the next half hour. But not two minutes after I stepped inside did he walk through the door, carrying a ton of bags from a store in town.
“I thought you were going for fence stuff.”
He slammed a box down on the counter, shoving it toward me. Looking at him warily, I pulled the box closer and read it.
“It’s a kettle.”
“Right, so now you can stop bitching about the microwaved water.”
I rolled my eyes. If that was his way of being nice, he was going to have to work on that. “Thanks,” I said sarcastically.
“Here.” He practically tossed another bag at me.
“What’s this?”
“Tea.”
I opened the bag and looked back up at him. “I um…I don’t actually drink that much tea.”
“Well, I didn’t know what kind you liked. And I asked you if you wanted to come with me. You could have gotten whatever you wanted, but you didn’t want to come.”
“You said you were going to get stuff to repair the fence, which I was just outside, and didn’t actually see a fence.”
“I haven’t built it yet,” he said defensively.
“Okay, well…thanks.”
I headed for the stairs, ready to get away from him.
“I also got you books.”
I stopped, turning back to him. “What is this about?”
“What do you mean?”
“The tea, the kettle, the books…Why did you get all this? I thought you wanted me out of here.”
He shook his head, scoffing at me. “You know what your problem is? I’ve been trying to be nice. I let you into my home. I didn’t make you stay at that women’s shelter. I even got you a fucking tea kettle, and it’s still not good enough for you!”
“Yeah, you also said I could pay you back with sex, so there’s that,” I said snidely.
“I was pissed! You’re always here, talking and…asking questions! You never shut the fuck up. And now you’re getting in my head, so I wanted you gone.”
“Then why didn’t you leave me in town yesterday? You could have found an apartment for me like you said.”
“Because you would have gotten killed or something.”
“In an apartment?” I laughed.
“That one had a funny smell.”
“It would have been fine.”
“And that other one looked like a crack house.”
“Well,” I nodded. “Yeah, I agree on that one.”
“And the dog wasn’t allowed at one.”
“And what was wrong with the one Jo lives at. At least I would have had a friend around.”
“She said the landlord gets handsy.”
“I could have dealt with that,” I argued. “I’m not helpless.”
He scoffed. “Fuck, are you kidding me? Up until two days ago, you couldn’t even have hobbled away from an intruder. And you still have a cast on your wrist. How do you intend to fight someone off?”
“The real question is why do you even care? I’m just someone that you pulled out of a crashed car. I’m no one to you. You don’t even like me unless I spread my legs for you!”
“That’s not true. But you’re here, and…otherwise I’d have to find someone in town. And in case you didn’t notice, most people in town aren’t exactly fond of me.”
“No, you don’t say. You mean there are people around here that don’t like your personality? I’m shocked! But it’s nice to know that I’m convenient enough for you to fuck.”
He growled in frustration. “You’re twisting all my words. This is why I don’t have a woman. You’re complicated and…frustrating as hell!”
“Wow, well, thank you for clearing that up for me. I’m so glad that I’m convenient, but you don’t actually want me around because I’m too much of a pain in the ass!”
I turned and stomped out of the room and up the stairs, hearing a crash down below. I didn’t know what happened and frankly, I didn’t care. The man was infuriating. Who came home with a present, only to insult the person he bought it for? How the hell was I supposed to continue living here? I slumped down on my blankets and stared at the wall. I should have at least grabbed the books.
21
Antonio
I slipped out of the house early the next morning. I was failing miserably at this whole sharing a house thing. I wanted her gone, but I couldn’t stand the thought of her really leaving. That was why I hadn’t gotten her an apartment. Hell, that’s why I went back and picked her up at the hospital and didn’t take her to the women’s shelter like I planned. I liked her, and that was something I didn’t know how to deal with.
I pulled my burner phone out of my pocket and dialed a number I didn’t think I would ever need. I wasn’t even sure he would answer. I had gotten it from Derek before his team helped me get away. He said I might need it someday, but I really hadn’t thought I would ever use it, especially not under these circumstances.
I blew out a breath as I waited for the line to pick up. When Josh answered, I waited a moment, not sure I should go through with this.
“Hello?” he said for a second time.
“Uh…” I cleared my throat, not even knowing how to begin. “Josh?”
“Yeah, who’s this?”
Well, it was now or never. “Antonio.”
I heard rustling in the background and then a door shut. “Antonio, as in Carly’s brother?”
“Yeah,” I said gruffly.
“How the hell did you get my number?”
“Derek gave it to me in case.”
“In case what?”
I was silent again, not sure what to say.
“Please tell me this isn’t about the mafia. We’re just settled down now. Carly doesn’t need this shit—”
“It’s nothing like that,” I said quickly.
“Oh, good…So, why did you call? Are you wanting to reconnect with Carly?”
“No,” I said quickly. That was a terrible idea. I was bad for her, and she didn’t need someone like me in her life. Then again, neither did the woman inside. “I mean…maybe someday, but not right now.”
“Okay,” he said hesitantly. “Then what are you calling for?”
“I…uh…I need some advice.”
He huffed out a laugh. “I don’t really know anything about illegal activities.”
“This isn’t illegal. It’s…it’s about a woman.”
“You didn’t kill her, did you?”
“What? No. I…” Fuck, this was going bad.
“Wait, are you calling about advice about a woman you like?”
My face went beat red. I had never been so happy to be on the phone. Normally, I dealt with all issues face to face, and I never backed down or showed weakness.
“I wouldn’t say I like her.”
He busted out laughing, which just pissed me off. If I was with him, I would just shoot him. Or, I would if he
wasn’t Carly’s husband. God, I really missed using my gun.
“Oh, man. Wait until Carly hears this. She’s not going to believe it.”
“This was a mistake,” I mumbled, just as I hung up.
Leaning back against the seat, I tried to figure out what I was going to do when the phone rang. I almost didn’t answer it, but if he was calling back…
“Yeah?”
“Are you serious?” Josh asked.
“Look, I get that you don’t like me and we haven’t exactly spoken in a…family way.”
“We haven’t spoken in any way besides you threatening to kill me.”
“Right, well, we can’t all be perfect,” I muttered. “I thought you were— you know, it doesn’t matter.”
“What’s the problem?”
“I…I have this woman staying with me. She was in an accident, and I saved her from the crash. I took her to the hospital, and that was supposed to be it.”
“But it wasn’t.”
I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “It should have been, but I felt bad for her, and I took her home with me. And I kept telling myself I was going to get rid of her.”
“Wait, like kill her off or take her somewhere else?”
“You know, I don’t just kill people randomly.”
“Sure seemed like it when I saw you.”
“That was a different life,” I said quietly. “Things are different now.”
“Yeah, because you don’t have the Family behind you. Tell me, if you had found out about your uncle and all he manipulated you into doing, would you still have left it all behind?”
That was a good question, one I didn’t have an answer to. “Does it really matter?”
“Well, yeah, I kinda think it does, especially if you like this woman.”
I sighed heavily. “Honestly, I’m not sure I’m cut out to…be with a woman. She’s always talking and…I don’t talk to people. Not unless I absolutely have to.”
“Well, what did you do before you went into hiding?”
Dead Man's Hand: A Small Town Romance (A Good Run Of Bad Luck Book 1) Page 13