The Hard Way

by Jill Sanders

  “Good, maybe you can take on that task.” He turned to her and leaned on his door. “I’ll be honest, I’ve been dreading it.”

  “Sure,” she answered. He’d stuck his neck out for her, so she should be willing to do the same. “If you have a list of potential employees…”

  “Nope, I figured we’d just put a sign out in the window.” He shrugged.

  She held in a chuckle, then realized he was serious. “Oh, right. I’ll… come up with something. Does Haven have a local paper?”

  “They might. I don’t know.”

  “I guess I’ll need to go into town in the morning,” she said mostly to herself.

  “We can go together. Grab some breakfast at the Dancing Moose.”

  “The Dancing…” She laughed.

  “Moose,” he finished with a smile. “It’s a diner in town.”

  She shrugged. “The Dancing Moose it is.”

  “Great.” He opened his door but stopped. “I really appreciate you being here.”

  “I’m glad everything worked out for Dylan and the baby,” she added.

  “Me too.” He disappeared into his room.

  She entered her room, but the sugar from the ice cream and champagne running through her kept her pulse kicking, so she decided to use the energy by pushing the coffee table aside and exercising. She changed into her yoga pants and sports bra and started with some warmup moves. The moves came to her without thinking.

  She let her body take over while her mind shut down to anything beyond the movements, clearing everything out until all she was focused on was her heartbeat and her breathing. Sweat dripped down between her breasts, her breathing was shallow, and she believed she’d worked all the sugar out of her system by the time she came to rest.

  Deciding she wanted a shower, she grabbed her night clothes and set off across the hallway. She hadn’t heard the shower running, but when she stepped in the bathroom, Brent was just getting out of the shower.

  “Oh!” She turned around quickly while he wrapped a towel around his hips. “Sorry, I didn’t know you were in here.”

  “No, it’s my fault. I guess I got used to not locking the door,” Brent said from behind her. “The bathroom’s all yours,” he said after a moment.

  She turned and saw him standing before her with only a white towel resting low on his hips. Damn. She was going to need the cold shower for other reasons now.

  Maybe it was the two and a half glasses of champagne, or maybe it was the way he got so excited looking at the picture of his niece. Whatever the reason, it was as if her body had a mind of its own. Suddenly, she moved towards him until her body was pressed up against that wet, hard body of his.

  She’d dumped her clothes on the counter and hadn’t even noticed she’d done so until her fingers ran over his wet skin. He held still, as if waiting for her next move. Reaching up on her toes, she brushed her lips against his. If she would have known how potent kissing Brent would be, she would have stayed in her room.

  Chapter 7

  Every fiber of his body came alive with Mel’s gentle touch. The moment her fingers touched his wet skin, it was as if he’d been touched by a live wire. Electricity shot through him. His pulse spiked, and his breathing became erratic.

  Then she kissed him, and everything came to a screeching halt.

  He would have been perfectly content keeping what was between them as professional if she had wanted. He could have denied himself the pleasure of knowing how her body felt up against his. Or at least he’d told himself that, until this very moment. Now that he’d had a taste of Mel, he doubted he could ever go back to normal.

  With her body plastered against his, her hands started roaming his shoulders. They moved to the muscles on his back, and he felt her nails scraping his skin. He hadn’t realized his own hands were gripping her hips until she pushed against him a little more, core against heat.

  She was wearing a tight pair of grey yoga pants with a matching sports bra, and he’d never seen anything as sexy in his entire life. Her body was smaller, toner than he knew what to do with. The softness of her skin had him pulling away. They were both breathless, and he needed a moment to think about where this would take them. He took a step back.

  He glanced around, anywhere but into her eyes. “I’ll let you shower,” he said quickly, and he walked out of the room.

  He closed his bedroom door behind him. He felt like kicking or punching something. Anything. He’d never had as much pent-up sexual frustration as he was feeling now. He wanted to go back in there and take Mel where she stood. But that’s the way the old Brent would have done things.

  Instead, he dumped his dirty clothes into the hamper, pulled on a pair of sweat shorts, and climbed into bed, his body still revved up from her kisses.

  Ten minutes later, he punched his pillow when he heard the shower turn off. He punched it again when he heard Mel’s bedroom door shut.

  Why had he fucked that up? Why couldn’t he just be happy? Why was it so hard to be a better man than he used to be?

  The little voice in his head answered quickly, “Because you don’t deserve to be happy.” It was so loud. He felt his entire body shake. He was a fuckup. Plain and simple. Whatever he touched ended badly.

  The Hard Way wasn’t just the name of his bar, it was his mantra. It was the way he did everything in life. Not that he’d set out to do things the difficult way. Somehow, life just always ended up taking him that route.

  The two meaningful relationships he’d had in life had ended badly. There was Darla, whom he’d seen on and off again for only a few months. That relationship had left him raw and scared. Maybe because he’d been at a vulnerable place in life?

  Then there had been Tilly. Sweet Tilly. His first love. He’d been dating her when his parents had died, leaving him alone to fend for Dylan. One of the first things he’d done after returning home was break it off with the first woman he’d cared for.

  Again, he’d done it the hard way, by yelling at her and telling her that he’d never loved her. That he’d only been using her for the sex.

  He’d broken her heart that day along with his own. It was years before he realized he’d loved her more than anyone else in the world.

  He was pretty sure that if his parents hadn’t died, he would have married her. Two years after he broke it off with her, he heard that she’d married her new boyfriend and had a kid. He was happy for her, really, but he knew then that he’d lost his opportunity for happiness.

  Maybe that was why he’d chosen a doomed relationship with Darla. Everyone in Haven knew what kind of woman she was. Hell, it was obvious that she was even more damaged than he was.

  It could be the reason he had pulled away from Mel. He guessed that she had a dark past. It was obvious from the fear in her eyes that first night.

  When she’d mentioned an ex, he’d known then what had happened to her. He’d heard all the statistics before. One in every five women are abused by someone they trust.

  Seeing firsthand the aftermath of that abuse pissed him off. What kind of man could terrorize a woman enough that she jumped at shadows, even a year later?

  His mind was whirling with these thoughts, and he figured he wasn’t going to be able to sleep at all that night.

  He was startled when he woke the next morning to his cell phone ringing on his nightstand. Seeing his sister’s number, his mind rushed to what had happened yesterday before he fumbled to answer it quickly.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Dylan’s voice was calm, confirming that everything was okay. “I just wanted to let you know that we’re heading home in an hour or so.”

  “So soon?” he asked, frowning at his clock.

  “Yes.” She chuckled. “We’ve both been checked out and are healthy. There’s no reason to keep us here any longer.”

  “Okay.” He sat up and wiped his hands over his face. “Want me to bring you anything?”

  “No, we’re going to sto
p off and have some breakfast on the way home.” At this point he could hear the baby fussing. “I’m going to feed Bella now. I just didn’t want you to show up at the hospital and wonder where we were.”

  “Thanks,” he said as he pulled on his clothes. “We were going to head out for some grub ourselves. We might see you at the Moose.”

  “I like Mel,” she said suddenly. “I think she’ll be good for your business. She has a very organized mind.”

  “Like you,” he broke in.

  She chuckled. “Yes, like me. She has some really great ideas. You should listen to them.”

  “Already done. We’re having a meeting over breakfast.” He remembered the kiss last night and glanced towards the door. Had it affected her as much as it had him?

  “On a personal note, she’s single,” Dylan said.

  “Don’t be cheeky.” He smiled.

  “Me? Never.” Dylan laughed. “As I said, I like her. I hope she sticks around.”

  He didn’t say so, but he hoped so as well.

  “If I don’t see you, have a good day. I’ll see you and Bella this weekend,” he said.

  “Okay. Oh, and Brent, I hope your truck survived,” Dylan said, causing him to laugh.

  “It did. After a few washes.”

  “Good. See you later.” Dylan hung up.

  He could hear Mel moving around in the other room, so he finished getting dressed before stepping out into the hallway. Mel was coming out of the bathroom, looking fresh in a white buttoned-up shirt and grey slacks. She looked ready to head to work, which he supposed she was.

  He was determined not to make things weird between them. After all, it was just a kiss. A kiss that had rocked his entire body and touched his soul.

  “You don’t have to dress fancy,” he said and quickly added, “Not that I mind, it’s just… we aren’t officially open yet.”

  “I don’t mind either. It’s nice to dress up again.” She smiled as her eyes ran over him. “I take it this is your standard uniform?”

  He glanced down at his worn jeans and black T-shirt and laughed. “This is dressed up for me.” He motioned to his pants. “See, no holes.” She laughed. “Are you ready for some breakfast?”

  “I know I had three slices of pizza last night, three glasses of wine, and some ice cream, but yes. I’m starving.” She smiled.

  “I’m always hungry,” he admitted as they headed down the stairs. “We can stop by and check up on your truck on the way back from the store,” he suggested. “Larry might be done fixing you up by now.”

  “That would be great.” She slid into the passenger seat of his truck.

  His truck was spotless, with no sign of yesterday’s events anywhere. Still, he scanned the inside of the cab as he climbed in just to make sure.

  The center of the town was a little over a mile away from the bar’s location and consisted of the town hall, the Dancing Moose, the grocery store, Granger’s Market, and the Wet Spot, the largest and most known strip club in town. There were a few other small girlie shops that he’d never been in and had never really paid any attention to.

  The schools were further out on the edges of town, closer to Meadows Park subdivision, the hospital, and the library, the opposite end of town from his bar. Which was a good thing because there were rules and regulations on how close a bar could be to a school. He’d found that out when he’d applied for his liquor license.

  The fact that his place sat close to Crooked Creek Mill played a huge part in his business plan. What little plan he had. The Mill was open twenty-four-seven, and he knew a lot of people coming off shift wanted food and drinks. The Mill was the second largest employer in town, second to McGowan Enterprises.

  “This is the main part of this town?” Mel asked as he parked in front of the diner.

  “Yes. It’s a small town, just spread out in the valley.” He parked and turned off his truck as he pointed to the mountain range surrounding Haven. “It’s all around us.”

  She leaned forward and scanned the horizon. “It sure is. I guess it makes you feel safe.”

  “That or trapped.” He looked at her. “Depending on what you think about the town.”

  “I suppose at one point you felt trapped here?” she asked.

  “I did. That’s why I got out,” he answered easily.

  “But not anymore?”

  He shrugged. “Not yet, at any rate.” He smiled as he jumped out of the truck.

  She followed him into the diner, and they grabbed a table along the windows. For the first few moments, she sat and looked out over the snowy mountain range beyond the small town.

  “Ever wonder what would have happened if your parents hadn’t died?” she asked.

  “All the time,” he admitted. “Dylan was slated to go to a great college after graduation, possibly even Harvard.”

  “Wow.” Mel shook her head. “That’s a pretty big jump.”

  “Yeah,” he admitted.

  “What about you?”

  “I was going to a local college.” He shrugged. “I wasn’t the smart one.” He could tell she was still thinking about something and opened his mouth to ask her, just when the waitress stopped by their table.

  “Morning, Brent,” Joanna said cheerfully.

  “Morning, Joanna. This is Mel. She’s going to be helping me out at the Hard Way.”

  “Oh, nice to meet you.” Joanna pasted on her welcome smile. Charm oozed from her, from the tips of her frosted pink hair to the bottom of the black pumps she always wore. It wasn’t easy being one of the only goths in town, but most everyone in Haven accepted her for who she was—one of the nicest people in town.

  “Morning,” Mel said cheerfully.

  “Would you like some coffee?” Joanna asked.

  “Believe it or not, Mel doesn’t like coffee.” He rolled his eyes as he held out his mug. “Me, on the other hand…” He smiled when Joanna poured him a full cup.

  “What’ll you have?” Joanna asked Mel.

  “Orange juice, please,” Mel said, taking the menu Joanna offered her.

  “What’s good here?” Mel asked him when they were alone again.

  “Everything,” he answered truthfully. “Breakfast is an easy enough meal to make, but these guys have it down pat.” He leaned back in his chair. He knew what he wanted to have without looking at the menu. Steak and eggs with a side of biscuits covered in gravy. His favorite.

  Just after they ordered, he saw Trey’s new SUV pull up outside.

  “My sister’s here.” He motioned towards the door. “This’ll be fun. I bet you anything they’ll be swarmed before they even sit down.”

  “With the new baby, I don’t doubt it,” Mel said, smiling at the window. They watched as Trey stepped out of the car and then helped Dylan out before opening the back door and gently pulling out the car seat carrier.

  “I assume that’s Trey?” Mel asked, nodding to the blond man.

  Brent looked over and saw the other McGowans getting out of their own vehicles.

  The McGowans were all cut from the same mold—tall and built like quarterbacks. They looked the same but different. Trey was the only blond-haired one in the bunch.

  “Yes, and here come his brothers. That’s Tyler and his wife, Kristen, and their three kids—Tim, Clare, and that’s Reagan, their youngest daughter.” He smiled at the toddler in Kristen’s arms. “And that’s his other brother, Trent, and his wife, Addy, and their daughters, Hope and Grace.” He motioned to the large group of people getting out of two other cars. “Oh, and their mother, Gail,” he added, seeing the older woman with them.

  He’d known the family for a few years now, and it still amazed him how close they were. Never had his family been that tight. Well, except him and Dylan.

  “It’s a good thing we ordered before they came in,” Mel joked.

  They both watched and, sure enough, the moment Dylan and Trey stepped inside with Bella, they were surrounded by townspeople. Until Trey spoke up.

 
; “I don’t want to over stimulate Dylan and little Bella on their first day out. We’ll be hosting a party later to celebrate her birth, but until then, I think my wife would like some real food instead of the stuff they served her at the hospital.”

  Several people laughed and moved aside for the large group.

  “You made it,” Brent said to Dylan as they sat at the larger table across from theirs, which had quickly been pushed next to theirs.

  “Yes,” she sighed, “and I already want a nap.” Dylan turned towards Mel. “Morning.”

  “Good morning and congratulations.” Mel motioned towards Bella.

  “Thanks. Trey, this is Mel, Mel, my husband Trey and the rest…” She waved her hand.

  “I’ve already pointed out who is who,” Brent added.

  “Good. I’m too tired to at this point,” Dylan said, leaning back.

  “Are you okay?” Brent asked, concerned.

  “Yes, just… I didn’t know that getting dressed could take so much out of you.” She smiled down at Bella. “Totally worth it, but still…”

  “Too bad you can’t have coffee,” Trey pointed out as he sipped his cup.

  “I will hurt you,” Dylan added playfully. She sighed and held her hand over her mug to stop Joanna from pouring some coffee into her cup. “Tea,” she told her. “No sugar.”

  Joanna went around and finished pouring everyone else’s coffee.

  “So, Mel,” Tyler said, holding his four-year-old daughter Clare in his lap, “Dylan tells us Brent hired you to get his bar up and running.”

  “Yes,” Mel said, glancing at Brent quickly. He could see her squirm at the possibility of answering a bunch of questions.

  Chapter 8

  Mel’s heart rate spiked as she answered a few quick questions from the group of people. Most of them were just the basics—where she was from, if she had family, if she planned on staying around Haven for long.

  But the longer she sat around the group of people, the more comfortable she became, especially once they stopped talking about her and asking questions.

  She felt a little overwhelmed at all the good-looking people around them. The McGowan men were tall and dark haired, except for Trey, who had curly blond locks. Their wives varied in height, but all were just as good-looking as their husbands. Kristen’s long dark hair and stylish clothing was perfectly in place. Their kids—Timothy, nine and Clare, four—were very well behaved and sat quietly coloring on the placemats, while Reagan clung to Kristen and played with the brightly colored toys Kristen had pulled out of her diaper bag.