“I’m sure he’d be fine with that, but it’s highly unusual, at least around here. But let me make a call.”
I grinned as I wrapped my arm through Antonio’s. “You need to relax. You’re never going to fit in if you scowl at everyone that comes near you.”
“I don’t like people.”
“That’s not true. You like me.”
“That’s because you have sex with me.”
I shook my head slightly. “You know that’s not true. And you like Jo.”
“Only because of the dogs.”
“Uh-huh. And you like your sister.”
“She’s family.”
“And Josh?”
He shrugged slightly. “I guess he’s okay, but that’s because he took care of my sister.”
“You just have an excuse for everything.”
He sighed heavily, rubbing at his face. “Fine, not everyone is bad.”
“And you’ll be fine out here. I’m not asking you to suddenly go have fun with everyone in town.”
“Good, because I won’t do it.”
“Although,” I said, ignoring his last thought, “your sister was telling me they have a town poker night. That might be fun.”
“There’s not a single thing about that that sounds fun.”
“And Josh’s brothers will be there. They’re practically family.”
“Not my family,” he grumbled.
“They kind of are. And we’ll be expected to get together with them from time to time.”
He turned to me with a glare. “Why are you suddenly so eager to get along with everyone?”
“Because I’ve never done it before. It’s kind of exciting. This is a new adventure for us.”
He grunted in reply, looking back at the house. Jo walked in from the back yard with a grin. “This place is perfect, and I already looked at the mother-in-law house across the property. It’s the perfect size for me.”
“Who said you were living here?” Antonio scowled.
“Me. You dragged me out of the only home I knew. You didn’t even let me empty out my bank account first, so I’m staying with the two of you.”
I grinned and looked up at Antonio with puppy dog eyes. Jo and I had already worked this out when she started talking about moving back to Black Hawk, but I didn’t see the point. The town was so small, and we had all become friends. Well, at least she and I were friends. I wasn’t sure Antonio would ever truly make friends with anyone.
“So, now I’m responsible for you?” Antonio asked.
“Well, at least until I get on my feet. And there’s a nice sized barn out there that I could turn into an animal refuge. I’m sure you could help me fix it up.”
Antonio stared at her in shock. “Now I’m fixing up my barn so that you can use it for your own personal use?”
“For my business. And don’t forget how much you love Princess and Max. You wouldn’t have them if it weren’t for me.”
“I’m the one that decided to get the damn dogs,” he muttered.
“And I’ll even set up a spa center for the dogs. I know you’ll love that.”
He shrugged slightly, not looking at Jo, but I knew that had him hooked. He was a sucker for Max.
“Alright,” the realtor grinned as she walked into the room. “The owner is fine with a cash sale. We can set everything up at my office and you’ll be moved in no time.”
“Tonight,” Antonio snapped. “I’m not staying in a motel another minute.”
I took his hand and squeezed as I smiled at the realtor. “He’s just so excited to move in here.”
It was weird setting up a house just outside of a small town. I hadn’t ever lived like this before, aside from the two months at the cabin with Antonio. But that had been under a cloud of the complete unknown. We were free now, safe to do as we wanted and recreate ourselves into people we actually liked. I wasn’t sure I would ever get Antonio to be nice to people, let alone hang out with them, but I wasn’t going to give up either. We had a chance to start over, and I was going to run with it.
“Are you sure we need all this stuff?” Jo asked as she stared at my list.
“Yes.”
“You need three TVs?”
“Hey, you have no idea what it was like in that cabin. I want to be able to walk into a room and turn on the TV if I want.”
“Yeah, but three? Isn’t that wasteful?”
“Not at all. Besides, Antonio told me to get whatever I wanted, and trust me, he can afford it.”
I felt only slightly bad about spending his money. I would spend my own if I had it, but since I left my family behind, I had nothing to my name. Besides, I knew what Antonio had in the safe at home was only a small dent in what he had actually accumulated over the years. In fact, he was heading over to Carly’s this morning to give her half of what he had. He said it was her half of what they had earned through blood, sweat, and tears. Though I doubted there were very many tears on their part. Emotional depth did not run in the family.
“So, have you decided what you’re going to do?” Jo asked as we walked into the diner for lunch.
“Not really. Honestly, I’d like to take some time to just be with Antonio. I know that sounds really stupid, but I feel like all I’ve done is do things to please my father. I want some time to figure out who we are and what we want out of life. I figure along the way I’ll find something I like to do.”
“Well, and you can help me set up my shelter.”
I sat down in the booth, picking up my menu. “And who says that I want to do that?”
“Me, since you ripped me away from my home and—”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. We destroyed your life, and you’re going to bring this up any time you want anything.”
“Precisely. There’s a lot of work to be done, and since you have nothing better to do than screw your boyfriend, you can help me.”
I sighed dramatically. “Fine, twist my arm.”
She nodded with a grin. “I thought you would come around to my way of thinking. But you should watch it. I saw Antonio looking at some of the animals I’ve already taken in. He had his eye on a cat.”
My gaze snapped up from the menu and I narrowed my eyes. “No, Antonio’s not a cat person.”
She stared at me. “He also wasn’t a lap dog person either, but look at how he treats his little girl.”
I scoffed. “It makes me sick in the best sort of way. A dog gets more spa treatments than me.”
“Well, not lately, but it’ll happen soon. He’s practically throwing money at me so I can get the spa center ready for his little girl. He even hired Josh’s brother to do the renovations on the barn. Apparently, it was taking too long on my own.”
I snorted out a laugh, imagining him yelling at her because Max didn’t have a bath. “It’ll be hard for him to keep up his image if he keeps carrying her around town.” I leaned in conspiratorially. “Yesterday, he was walking down the street with me on our way to the hardware store, and we were stopped by this little old woman. She said something about Facebook and needing a page for hot guys with puppies.”
“Seriously? What did he say?”
I shrugged, still baffled. “He just stared at her, and then he asked what kind of puppies.”
“He did not!” Jo gasped.
“I shit you not.”
“I don’t believe it,” Jo shook her head slowly. “No way.”
“I swear to God, it was like an out of body experience for him. The moment she left, he turned all gruff again.”
“So, what is he going to do?”
“I have no idea, but I’m definitely talking to his sister so I can find out more about this woman.”
“In case she’s a weirdo?”
I frowned. “No, to see what other hot guy pictures she has. Have you seen Josh’s brothers? I’d love to see the gene pool they all came from.”
“Don’t let Antonio hear you say that.”
“Ladies, I don’t believe I�
�ve ever seen you around here before,” a man said as he walked up to our table. He was wearing a uniform and had a sexy, charming smile, but it was nothing compared to the sexy, gruff man waiting at home for me.
“I’m Ciara and this is Jo.”
He took my hand in his and gave me a kiss, smiling as he stood. “Carter Roy, deputy sheriff, but everyone calls me Corduroy.”
He was turning to Jo when I heard a very familiar roar come from the front of the diner. I quickly stood, shoving the man behind me as I faced off with the feral beast in front of me. I threw up my hands quickly, my eyes widening as he reached behind him. I quickly threw myself at him, my hand reaching around to stop him from pulling the gun from the back of his pants.
“Honey,” I whispered in a sweet voice. “You can’t just go pulling your gun on anyone you see. He’s the deputy sheriff. Let’s not get arrested today.”
He ground his teeth, still staring at the man. “He kissed you,” he muttered.
“On the hand. He’s a charmer, but you don’t see me kissing him back.” I moved my lips over his, kissing him into submission. I felt his arm drop to his side and then skim over my hips, pulling me into him.
“He’d better not touch what’s mine,” he grumbled against my lips.
I gave him another kiss for reassurance and slipped my hand into his. When I turned around, Carter was flirting with Jo like nothing had happened. Jo turned slightly and gave me a wink. I smiled in thanks for intervening and pulled Antonio into the booth beside me.
“So, you folks are new in town.”
“Yes, we’ve just recently moved here.”
Carter grinned. “What brings you here?”
“Family,” Antonio said, narrowing his eyes at the man.
Carter didn’t even seem fazed by that. “Well, I know everyone in town. What family?”
“Carly Cortell.”
Carter’s face dimmed as a frown took over. He glanced up at the front of the diner, forcing my attention that way, where another man stood in the same outfit. I had a sinking feeling this was the man Carly told us about, the one that lost his wife. Carter shook his head slightly and the man stopped where he was.
The smile returned to Carter’s face, though not nearly as bright as it was before. “Sister?”
I jerked my thumb at Antonio, who wasn’t going to answer based on the scowl on his face. “Antonio is her brother. We’ve just moved here from Colorado.”
He nodded, turning to Jo. “And you’re…”
“Just a friend.”
“Are you just visiting or are you staying?”
“I’m here to stay. I’m actually setting up an animal rescue on their property.”
Carter smiled politely. “Well, I won’t keep you any longer from your lunch. It was very nice to meet you.”
As he walked away, Jo blew out a breath. “Well, I’m guessing everyone in town will know who you are soon enough.”
“Did you see him look at the front of the diner? I think that was the sheriff Carly was telling us about.”
She frowned. “That’s so sad. I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose someone you love.”
“It’s even worse when you’re responsible,” Antonio muttered.
Changing the subject, I hoped to draw Antonio out of his dark thoughts before his mood became even worse. “So, why did you decide to come into town?”
“You were gone,” he grumbled, nodding to the waitress as she approached.
“Yes, well, sometimes I’ll go into town by myself, or with Jo.”
He flipped his coffee mug over, signaling for the waitress to pour him a cup.
“Are you ready to order?”
“Not yet,” I smiled.
She walked away and I turned my attention back to Antonio. “You know you can stay home without me, right?”
“And why would I do that? If you hadn’t snuck off, I might not have come into town.”
“Aw, are you worried I’ll get up to trouble without you?”
His eyes moved over my lips like a caress, and his hand slid over my thigh. “You’re trouble no matter where you go.”
43
Antonio
“This is going to be so much fun!” Jo said excitedly, bouncing up and down. “Everybody Wang Chung tonight!”
“What?” I snapped, hating her bubbly personality. I would much prefer her to be depressed and sitting at home, still destroyed over everything that happened. Instead, she was melding with this town even better than Ciara and I. It was annoying. She seemed to make friends everywhere she went, but then, she would fit into a town like this. She was from a small town herself, and it was ingrained in her to be friendly with everyone she met. When she was with us, we couldn’t walk down the street without her stopping at least ten times and calling out names as we passed people. It was so annoying.
“It means whatever you want! Go have fun, light up the town, get down and part-ay!”
I gritted my teeth, only holding back because Ciara was squeezing my hand so damn tight. She knew I didn’t do well with socializing, but she and Carly twisted my arm into coming tonight. Like I needed to be trapped in a room full of people playing poker. That was like asking for someone to get shot. Unfortunately, Ciara made me leave my gun at home tonight and promise not to cause any problems. I only promised that I wouldn’t be the one to start the problems, but if anyone started any shit with me, I would sure as hell finish the fight.
“You know,” Ciara smiled, “most people in small towns are genuinely nice people and get along wonderfully. There are no shootouts or knife fights.”
I grunted. “Yeah? And where did you find this out?”
“I’ve been reading up on small towns online. I figured that if we’re going to live here, we have to understand the culture.”
“Yes, it’s definitely different from the shootout at the cabin,” Jo agreed. “You should try and be nice to people. You know, say hello and ask them how they are.”
I glared at her, baring my teeth. “Don’t you have family that’s missing you back in Colorado?”
“Not really,” she shrugged. “Besides, I like this town better. And old lady Cranston is a hoot. Oh, by the way, I told her that you would be walking Max next week in town on Monday. It wouldn’t hurt if you wore a tight shirt and cuddled with Max in the park.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because she needs hot men with puppies pictures for her page. Surely you can handle having pictures taken with Max. It’ll be totally discreet.”
“Right, and that’s why they’re going online,” I muttered.
“Only on her private page. You should be honored. She has quite the collection going. All of the Cortell brothers are on there in some form. The oldest, Eric, has the biggest page, but that’s because she was secretly taking pictures of him for years. Every time he went to make repairs on her house, she would snap pictures. They are so hot. It’s a shame he’s taken.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose, ready for this night to be over. Ciara pulled open the door to the community center, practically shoving me through it. The room was filled with people and it made me itch. There was no possible way I could watch my back in here. People were crowded around tables, getting set up for poker night. Apparently, the theme tonight was the wild, wild west. I was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. There was no way in hell I was dressing up. Ciara felt the same, but Jo had gone all out, even going so far as to find a cowboy hat. She looked ridiculous.
“Hey!” Carly grinned, waddling up to us.
“Should you be here?”
“Why?”
“In your condition,” I said, nodding to her belly.
“Crap, not you too. If you start monitoring what I eat, or telling me I can’t walk up the stairs on my own, I’ll kick your ass. Pregnant or not, nothing will stop me.”
“It’s just not right,” I mumbled, glancing around at all the men laughing and drinking. “This is no place for a woman like you.”
“I’ll remind you that it wasn’t that long ago that I was doing much worse than I am now. God forbid I be pregnant at the community center where other people are drinking!” She glared at me and then grabbed Ciara and Jo’s hands. “Come on, let’s let my brother stew in his own man aroma.”
I watched her walk away, unsure what a man aroma was. I was out of my element, not sure what to do or say. A man came walking up to me, grinning as he held out his hand. I stared at it, wondering why he would think I would want to shake his hand.
He frowned slightly. “So, you’re one of those.”
“Excuse me?”
“Afraid of a handshake.”
I didn’t much care for his tone. “I’m not afraid of anything.”
“Right,” he laughed. “So, you’re Carly’s brother. I can see the resemblance.”
“And you are?”
“Eric, Josh’s oldest brother.”
I nodded, glad he wasn’t just some random stranger coming up to me to talk. “Thank God. I thought I was going to have to tell you to fuck off. Ciara wouldn’t be too happy with me.”
He nodded, taking a pull on his beer. “None of us really want to be here, but the girls organized it.” He rolled his eyes. “You know how it is when a woman makes up her mind. The rest of us were perfectly happy to have poker night to ourselves. Do you play?”
“I can. I just don’t want to.”
He nodded. “Yeah, this takes the fun out of it.” He sighed heavily. “God, I just want to be at home right now.”
“Not much into socializing?”
“I can, I just don’t want to on a Friday night.”
I watched him for a moment, deciding that he seemed like a decent enough guy. “You’re the one Jo hired to renovate the barn.”
“Yeah,” he laughed. “She’s a ballbuster.”
“Don’t I know it,” I muttered under my breath. “She railroaded me into giving her the barn and the second house on the property.”
“I can’t imagine anyone railroading you into anything.”
I shrugged. “I have a soft spot for her, but if you tell anyone I said that—”
“I know. You’ll deny it.”
Dead Man's Hand: A Small Town Romance (A Good Run Of Bad Luck Book 1) Page 29