by Marika Ray
Titus shook his head, that tough-guy look on his face growing more fierce by the second. I knew that obstinate look. The last time I saw it was the night I showed up for the first time with Daire to a bonfire. Titus had taken one look at Daire’s hand grabbing my ass and there went the face. For a nice guy, he sure could muster up a look of disgust.
“You don’t seem to get it.” Titus’s voice rose with each word that came out of his mouth. “For a guy who treated you like he did, and punched me with very little provocation, he’s just one step away from physically harming you too. Getting up in his face like that, while I’m sure it was highly entertaining for everyone, is just plain irresponsible!”
I didn’t like his tone. Or the fact everyone in the coffee shop was now looking at us while pretending to study their pastries. I didn’t mind an audience, but not when my boyfriend was yelling at me. Talk about embarrassing. I sat up straighter in my chair and gave as good as I was getting.
“Whoa there. I had Yedda, Polly, and Poppy with me!”
Titus’s hand slammed down on the table. “None of whom is under sixty!”
“Hey, watch it, boy,” Poppy warned.
We both swiveled our heads to see her completely engrossed in our argument. She smiled, unashamed of her obvious eavesdropping. “As much as I love a front-row seat, maybe you two should take this somewhere private, huh?”
Titus’s face blanked out immediately and he stood, holding out his hand to me. I took it, standing up, but making sure to grab the rest of my mocha to take with me. A girl always remembers her caffeine source even in a crisis. By the time we got outside, Titus’s face had relaxed a teeny tiny bit. Enough that I thought about dropping my defensive nature a bit too. Maybe we could meet somewhere in the middle of this argument.
Titus led us to the little bench under a tree at the end of the block. Once we’d sat down again, he kept his hand in mine, easing some of my worries about the long-term viability of this relationship.
“I’m just worried about you and you don’t seem to take this situation seriously.”
“I appreciate your worry and hope you know that I can take care of myself and the mess I put myself in by dating that guy. Trust me to take care of it, T.”
He squeezed my hand and took a deep breath, looking away from me for a long moment. When he finally turned back to me, I saw resignation in his expression.
“Fine. Let’s agree to disagree and move on. Yeah?”
I nodded, thinking that might just work. “Yeah.”
And though he left me with a kiss that did more for my morning than a bucket of full-fuel coffee, a little voice in the back of my head wondered if a relationship could really work if we just kept agreeing to disagree. Wasn’t that just sweeping it under the rug?
And could I trust a man who didn’t seem to trust me?
21
Titus
For being fall, the sun was beating down hard on the back of my neck. I scratched at the hair that was growing past my collar back there and almost thought about cutting it. I’d been keeping my hair in this mullet for almost two years now, at first as a joke because what was funnier than a six-foot-five guy from a small town wearing a mullet? But then Amelia had started dating Daire and I’d left it growing out of spite. I knew Amelia hated it and I hated her dating that asshole.
Then I remembered the way she’d run her fingers through my hair and grab fistfuls right before she tossed her head back and screamed my name. Nope, I was keeping this mullet, even if it did irritate me sometimes. I was just irritated in general recently. No need to take it out on my retro head of hair. Just you watch: I’d bring mullets back in style yet.
“You want some help this morning?” Rip’s voice behind me cut off my internal musings.
I spun around and saw him climbing out of his truck and crunching over the dirt and rocks on my new property.
“Hey, man. What are you doing here?” I dropped my pickax and walked over to shake his hand.
Rip shrugged and looked around at the wreckage. “Couldn’t sleep what with someone banging around this morning.” He gave me a pointed look. “Thought I’d come help out and find out what’s troubling you. Or should I say what happened with Amelia to make you so pissed off?”
I cringed. “Yeah, sorry about that. Didn’t realize I made so much noise. Just can’t sleep, I guess.”
Rip made a noise and pulled a pair of work gloves from the back pocket of his jeans. “Got another ax or a shovel?”
I’d give him the shirt off my back if it meant he helped me dig up all these plants and weeds that had taken over the tract of land I now owned on the very end of Main Street. I’d cleared enough of the land to build the frame for the foundation pad, but I had to clear the rest for everything else I had planned for this property. I’d hired out for the concrete pour, which would happen in two days. Until then, I had manual labor to do. Which was perfect for the shitty mood I’d been in for several days.
We were both sweating by the time Rip opened his mouth again. “Well? What happened with Amelia?”
I dragged my forearm across my forehead to wipe the sweat away. “She confronted Daire in public after I told her not to, for safety reasons. But she did anyway. The damn girl doesn’t seem to have a lick of common sense in her.” I hefted the ax and whacked a bush root in two. Fuck, that felt good. Ax therapy for the win.
“Amelia doesn’t seem to be the type to take to anyone telling her what to do.”
I snorted. “You’re not wrong. Telling her not to do something is like waving a red flag in front of a bull.”
“So, why’d you do it?”
I sent him a warning look as I chopped at the root again. “Sounds like you’re on Amelia’s side.”
“Whoa. I’m on no one’s side. Just wondering why you’d wave that red flag.”
I sighed, putting the ax tip on the ground and leaning on the handle. “I didn’t know what else to do. Daire is dangerous and yet she continues to confront him just to put on a show for the town. Like she needs them all to see her being a badass and they’ll forget that she put up with his shit for almost a whole year. Drives me crazy.”
“Hmm.” Rip heaved a huge root into the wheelbarrow with the shovel. “Is that really so bad? I mean, maybe he is dangerous, but she didn’t confront him in a dark alley. And maybe getting the last word is helping her heal from whatever damage he caused while they were dating.”
Rip swiped an arm over his face and added quietly, “Maybe what you really fear is that all this anger over Daire in town means she’s not over him.”
Fuck. His calm words cut my chest wide open and I didn’t particularly care for the immediate pain that washed over me. I spun and hacked at another bush, putting a stop to a conversation I didn’t want to have. Rip, God bless his annoying soul, went back to work and dropped the subject.
For the next two hours, we didn’t speak, just worked and grunted our way through bush after bush until most of the plot of land was cleared. That was the good thing about guy friends. You didn’t have to fill the silence with a bunch of damn conversation. You could just grunt and fart and sweat your ass off in peace with no judgement. Rip finally put down the shovel and took his gloves off.
“Just talk it out with her, man. You two seem so good together. Don’t blow things up because of ego and hurt feelings.” With that, Rip turned and left, leaving me with more thoughts spinning through my head than when he’d first shown up.
Maybe he was right. Maybe my own fragile ego was why I couldn’t just let Amelia handle Daire on her own. Maybe I needed to swoop in and save the day so it would be about me and not about Amelia and Daire. Maybe I just needed Amelia to fucking choose me over everyone else for once.
Maybe I just needed a fuckin’ beer.
“Hey, sweaty man! You ready for some lunch?” Amelia’s voice rang out just when I was ready to put my ax down for the day.
There she stood on the sidewalk in her little pencil skirt, turquoise blouse
, and chunky heels. She also held a picnic basket in front of her, a broad smile on her beautiful face.
“Tell me you have beer in there and I’ll find all the gold prophesied to be in these cliffs for you.” I pulled off my gloves and walked over.
“Does apple cider count?” She tilted her head, that dark, shiny hair picking up the light from the sun.
“Fuck yes, it does.” I leaned in and kissed her, careful to keep my sweaty, dirt-streaked self away from her.
“Tailgate?”
I nodded and moved to put the tailgate down on my pickup truck. I kept a blanket in my toolbox just for these types of situations. Never knew when a tailgating party would break out around Hell and you’d need a cushioned seat.
Once I had it spread out, Amelia hopped up, and despite the differences between us at the moment, I peeked at the skirt that started riding higher as she sat with her legs crossed. I could be mad at her and still find her damn attractive.
My insides did that thing again where I ached just to look at her. I’d wanted Amelia for so long it didn’t seem possible to feel any other way about her. Maybe Rip was right. Maybe I needed to put aside my little bitch of an ego and look at things from her perspective.
“You gonna eat or just stand there lookin’ at me?” Amelia smiled, an eyebrow lifted in challenge.
“Not sure yet,” I grumbled back.
She laughed and handed me a plate with a sandwich—no mayo and extra pickles, just the way I liked it—and a huge cupcake with white frosting and a messy red slash through it like she’d taken a swipe at it with her finger.
My growling stomach got the better of my eyes and I sat down next to her to dig in. “What happened to the cupcake?”
Amelia rolled her eyes. “I asked Lukas to put a heart on it and the boy can’t seem to frost a cake worth a damn. It turned out looking more like an upside-down poop emoji, so I tried to fix it. Now it just looks like a murdered cupcake.”
“Well, I appreciate the cupcake, murdered or not. What’s the occasion?”
Amelia chewed a bite of sandwich before answering. “I just feel like since we agreed to disagree, we haven’t really seen each other very much. I wanted to apologize for worrying you. That certainly was not my intention.” She put her sandwich down and moved her plate behind her. “It’s just I learned a lot from the whole mess with Daire and it made me feel empowered to handle things on my own. Please don’t be mad at me for that.”
I pushed my plate aside too. To hell with my empty stomach. I reached for her hand, no longer caring if I got her dirty. I had to touch her.
“I’m sorry too. I guess I have a hero complex I need to take a look at.”
She giggled and snuggled in closer. “I quite like a dashing hero. Even if he does stink to high heaven.”
I recoiled, realizing I did, in fact, smell like I’d been toiling all morning in the warm sun and nary a breeze. “Sorry. Just working hard on my new project.”
Amelia squeezed my hands with a warm smile that let me know she still loved me, smell and all. She let go and grabbed her plate. “Better eat up then so you can keep going all afternoon. What are you working on here?”
I shrugged, even though I was on high alert. We were eating lunch in front of my little secret. “Just a little house build. That’s all.” Time to change the subject before she started asking questions I couldn’t answer quite yet. “So tell me, how did you get the mayor to back off on Daire’s hotel proposal?”
Amelia coughed, nearly choking on her sandwich. I patted her back and then handed her a bottle of cider. “You okay?”
She took it gratefully and swallowed half the bottle before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. I snorted. Her skirt said Miss Priss, but her manners said “one of the guys” sometimes.
“Wow, sorry. That went down the wrong pipe. Uh, I just told the mayor I had a better proposal coming and he should hold off on things with Daire.”
I frowned, feeling like I missed part of the conversation somewhere along the line. “And do you? Have a better proposal?”
Her cheeks went pink and she’d no longer meet my gaze. “Well, yeah. Sort of. Working on it.”
As if she’d been prodded with a lightning bolt, she tossed the rest of her sandwich in the basket and hopped off the tailgate.
“Well, gotta go! Hotel guests beckon. Bring back the basket later, huh?”
She beamed up at me, and as much as I loved that smile, something was very off.
“Okay.” I nodded and leaned down to kiss her.
A quick peck on the lips and she was speed walking down the sidewalk away from me.
“What the hell, Amelia?” I muttered to the empty air.
That girl was up to something and I’d bet my new plot of land I wouldn’t like it. Which really sucked because this plot of land I’d just dumped my savings into was supposed to be for her.
I sighed and tossed my empty paper plate into the basket and cracked open the cider. Lord knew I’d need plenty of alcohol to get through dating Amelia. I loved her, but damn, did she keep a man on his toes. Surveying the huge plot of dirt with planks of wood waiting for the concrete pour in just a few days’ time and literally nothing else to show for, I wondered if I’d ever reach my dreams.
I was working hard on a future for Amelia and me that might never materialize.
And if Amelia wasn’t by my side, then what kind of future would that even be?
22
Amelia
The next week dragged on like Lucy’s search for Bain’s sperm thieves. There was only irritation and no end in sight. Titus had come over several times, but he’d been distant. He wouldn’t talk about his current job, and I wouldn’t talk about Daire or the proposal I supposedly had for the mayor, so there wasn’t a lot we could talk about. We ended up dancing around the two giant elephants in the room and then had sex because Lord knew, nothing was wrong in our relationship in that department. The man’s penis was built for me, I was certain. It came near me and I already quivered in delight.
Now if we could only get the rest of our relationship on track.
Maybe if I hadn’t flat-out lied about the mayor, I wouldn’t feel so bad.
Maybe if Titus would come clean with me about his project, we could actually talk.
For all I knew, Titus was in cahoots with Daire, building that hotel he said he’d come to town for! I mean, I doubted it, given that the bruise had just now vanished from Titus’s jawline, but stranger things had happened when men and money were involved. The fact that he wouldn’t talk to me about it was driving me crazy.
I didn’t do well with secrets being kept from me. They pestered and festered, leading me to creep out in the middle of the night and vandalize things. I’d given up tagging the Welcome to Auburn Hill sign for Titus, and now I was itching for a new outlet.
By Friday afternoon I was in such a tizzy, Crystal asked me to take the night off just to get rid of me. I conceded the wisdom in her suggestion and went to my room to change clothes. I had a plan to approach Titus and get the information out of him by way of lingerie. Yeah, yeah. Women shouldn’t use their bodies as blackmail, but I think I’d proven already I didn’t have too many hang-ups when it came to breaking out whatever was necessary for a good blackmail scheme. I had a picture of a used condom to prove it.
Just as I wrangled the new teeny tiny black thong onto my body without strangling myself, my phone dinged.
When I saw who texted me, I groaned. I contemplated not even looking, but let me remind you of my inability to have secrets around me and not do whatever it took to learn all the sordid details.
Daire: Too bad you’re just another small-town woman without vision. Could have been you…
Attached was a picture of him with his sleazy arm around a woman, about to step onto a private jet like some sort of rich celebrity. I wasn’t proud of it, but I zoomed in on the picture to see who the woman was. And I nearly dropped my phone in shock.
“Cow girl?”
I shouted to my empty room.
The woman in the picture looked a hell of a lot like M. Smith. The woman who I suspected was in cahoots with Mayor Bennett. Also, a woman who liked to play farm animal sex with cowbells and questionable noises. That M. Smith.
“Eww,” I said, disgusted.
Daire was also sleeping with her? What the fuck was going on? I felt like I’d stumbled into a full-color version of The Twilight Zone.
Amelia: Have fun with that. Hope you’re not allergic to hay.
I tossed my phone on the bed and continued getting ready. I wanted to ignore the heavy feeling in my gut, but by the time I was ready to head out the door, I almost felt nauseous from it. Sitting down on the bed, I moved the phone back and forth on the bedspread, trying to figure out why Daire’s text irritated me so much. The obvious reason was because he was poking me in the eye on purpose, but there was more to it. I hated this feeling of not being enough. I secretly wondered if I wasn’t enough for anyone. Or maybe I was too much.
Titus was a nice guy. He’d help a friend or simple acquaintance without question. He bent over backward for his brother who was a deadbeat. Hell, he’d put up with me as his best friend all these years. Clearly, he was a saint.
What if I wasn’t enough for him? Or too much of a pain in the ass for a nice guy?
“Fuck!” I said, exasperated.
Daire was messing with my head. I should just go find Titus and talk to him. Tell him the truth about how I blackmailed the mayor and weather his anger. He’d forgive me in time. He had to. He always did in the past. Maybe then he could tell me about his project, which I’m sure had nothing to do with Daire. And then we could live happily ever after.
Simple as that.
I flew through the hotel and into my car, heading directly to his jobsite, knowing he wouldn’t be done until the sun went down and we had another hour before sunset. I didn’t have far to go and thankfully parking was easy down at this end of Main Street. I pulled right behind a cute little smart car and cut the engine.