The Hard Way

by Jill Sanders

  She couldn’t stop herself from comparing Brent to Ethan. They were so different.

  Ethan was tall and blond with blue eyes. He had an athletic build, not because it came naturally, but because he’d spent most of his free time in the gym. Brent was more naturally lean, the kind of body a man got from being very active. She’d watched Brent chopping wood the other night out her window. She’d been transfixed, watching the muscles in his back move with each swing.

  “Is there a problem with your sandwich?” Brent asked her. She’d gotten caught up in dreaming about watching him and had totally forgotten to finish eating.

  “No.” She picked up her sandwich again and took a bite. “It’s fine,” she said after taking a drink of her tea.

  “I can’t wait to see what TK comes up with for our menu. I mean, really, I’m so excited to just have something new and different.” Brent held up the last bite of his burger. “Not that this is bad. It is the best burger in town. I guess I miss being in a bigger city and having more options for meals.”

  “I could go for some occasional lo mein and pot stickers.” She heard him groan.

  “I miss Mexican food. Some enchiladas, quesadillas, and green chili,” he added.

  “Fonda La Catrinas out by the airport.” She groaned. “I used to go there with my friends in high school.”

  She hadn’t realized she’d made the mistake of mentioning the Mexican restaurant in Seattle until Brent’s eyebrows shot up. She felt her face flush and she avoided his eyes. Or at least tried.

  “What part of Seattle did you live in?” he asked after a moment.

  Taking a deep breath, she relented. “Federal Way. You?” Her eyes met his.

  “Auburn,” he answered. “Born and raised until our parents died.”

  “I didn’t mean to lie to you about where I was from. I spent a few months in L.A. when I was on the run from Ethan,” she admitted.

  He shrugged slightly. “I had figured it out a while ago anyway. It’s the way you talk. Even though we don’t have official accents, we can tell one of our own.”

  She looked deep into his eyes and could tell it was the truth.

  “Why didn’t you say anything to me?” she asked.

  He shrugged again. “It’s your secret. I had decided to put my faith in you. Besides, it didn’t really matter.” Then he stopped and looked at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. “The rest of what you told me is true?”

  “Yes,” she said with a sigh. “All of it. Unfortunately.”

  “And school?” he asked.

  “Yes, it’s where I met Ethan,” she reminded him, feeling her gut twist.

  “What college?” he asked.

  “University of Washington.”

  “I was going to UW when my parents died,” he said, his eyes running over her. “We could have run into one another on campus.”

  “What are the odds?” she said as she felt her heart skip for other reasons. What would life have been like if she’d met Brent instead of Ethan? If she could travel back in time, she could avoid the worst years of her life.

  “Dessert?” he asked her, shaking her out of her dark thoughts.

  “No, thank you,” she said quietly.

  “Well, I’m going to get some cookies to take back with us.” He smiled. “I’m somewhat of a midnight snacker.”

  She smiled. “Somehow, I figured that about you.”

  She stood by while he paid for their meal and got a box of chocolate chunk cookies to go.

  As they were walking out, they stopped just outside while Brent chatted with a couple of men roughly their age. She climbed into his truck while he talked, trying not to overhear their conversation, but the two guys were loudly reminding Brent about something to do with a kidnapping.

  When he finally climbed into the truck, he had a funny look on his face.

  “Problems?” she asked.

  “No.” He reached as if he was going to start the truck, but then he leaned back in the seat and sighed heavily. “I don’t know. I mean…” He turned to her. “Have you ever run into someone from your past and wondered why the hell you were ever friends in the first place?”

  She glanced over her shoulder at the diner where the two men had disappeared to moments ago. Hadn’t she kicked herself every single day for being the idiot who fell for Ethan and his tricks?

  “Yes,” she admitted. “Hindsight is most definitely twenty-twenty.”

  He leaned his head back on the headrest and nodded slightly. “Believe it or not, a few years ago, when I lived in Haven before, I was a complete ass.”

  “Were?” she joked. “Your sister mentioned a couple times how much you’d changed,” she said more seriously.

  “I want to be clear.” He turned slightly towards her. “I was never as big of an ass as your ex. I could never be. My parents may have been foolish in leaving us with nothing, but they didn’t raise abusers.”

  She smiled and reached over to take his hand. “I didn’t meet Ethan’s family until after we were married. The moment I did, I understood why.”

  She felt her stomach flip at the memory of listening to Ethan’s father yell at his mother for spilling a glass of water at the restaurant table. How embarrassed she’d been for the older woman and how appalled at the older man’s attitude. Not to mention how Ethan hadn’t stuck up for his mother. Instead, he’d rolled his eyes and then told his mother how much she’d embarrassed him in front of her.

  “Yeah, regret is real with those two.” He leaned forward and started the truck. “Jake and Seth Williams are trouble,” he said as they headed across town.

  “I overheard something about a kidnapping?” she asked, no longer able to keep her curiosity at bay.

  “Yeah. Seth was getting married, and Jake thought it was a good idea to go around town and kidnap everyone for a bachelor party.” He pulled into the parking lot and turned off the truck. “They didn’t know that I was living above the garage at our rental instead of the main house where Dylan was staying. At the time, she and Trey were dating. Anyway, they broke in and she was home alone. She ran down the street in her bare feet in the middle of the cold night.”

  “That must have been scary for her.”

  “Yeah. At the time, I thought it was funny.” He turned slightly towards her. “Looking back at it, I realize just how dumb it was. She could have been hurt. Hell, if she’d had a gun, like she does now, she could have shot one of them.”

  She looked down at her purse where her own 9mm was and then back up at him. “I carry.”

  His eyes went up. “I think in these parts, it’s a requirement.”

  “It’s just—” she started, but he held up his hand.

  “I get it,” he assured her and then took her hand in his. “You don’t have to explain anything to me.”

  She tilted her head as she realized just how different he was from any other man she’d ever been with.

  Somehow, she’d always ended up with controlling men. The kind who needed to know where she was, what she was doing. Ethan had been that times a hundred.

  She had believed that it was all part of her attraction towards bad boys. Still, as she ran her eyes over Brent, she understood that he fit that mold as well, at least in some areas of his life.

  Just hearing some of Dylan’s stories the other day assured her that Brent had gone through some tough times after their parents’ death. But seeing him with Dylan, while she’d been in labor, confirmed that he was no longer that way.

  “Something tells me that you didn’t invite the brothers to your opening party?” she asked.

  He laughed. “Hell no. Seth’s married now and has two kids, but word around town is that he and Jake are still up to their old ways.”

  “And you aren’t?” she asked. She needed to know just how he thought of himself.

  “No,” he said, shaking his head. “I doubt I could keep up with them, nor would I want to. Just the thought of going to a strip club in town…” He shook his head ag
ain.

  “Not your scene?”

  “Not anymore.”

  “Says the man who’s about to open his own bar.” She motioned to the building.

  “And grill,” he pointed out, causing her to chuckle.

  Chapter 11

  He couldn’t explain to Mel how he felt now. So much had happened in his life that he no longer believed he was the same person he was almost eight years ago when his parents died. Hell, he didn’t even think he was the same person he’d been last year or even a few months ago.

  The truth was, even when he’d been working in North Dakota, he was still shooting off his mouth, spending too much time in bars, and hooking up with any woman who looked his way.

  Still, some of that time had been just sitting in the back booth at his favorite dive and working on his laptop. He hadn’t told anyone, not even Dylan, but he’d been attending online classes for the past year. It wasn’t as if it had gone anywhere. He was an average B student. Dylan had obviously gotten the brains in the family.

  Looking over at Mel, he could tell that she was a lot like his sister in that arena. The woman obviously had looks and a brain. Hell, she’d been helping him for only a couple days and already the place was more organized than anything he would have been able to do by himself.

  There were still several items that they needed, and he planned on heading into Helena to shop the day before the party.

  “What about you?” he asked suddenly. Her dark eyebrows arched up in question. “Something tells me you’re not the same person you used to be either.”

  “No.” She rested back. “I can’t afford to be the same.” She glanced down at her hands. “I’ve dyed my hair, gotten a few tattoos, changed the type of jobs I take, and even changed the way I dress.”

  He ran his eyes over her pants and shirt and wondered just how she used to dress.

  “All to hide from your ex? There has to be more to the story.”

  She glanced over at him and, in the dark, she could see the fear in her eyes.

  “There is, but I’m too tired right now to go into it. Besides…” She shrugged.

  “You only met me a couple days ago,” he finished for her.

  She locked eyes with his and then shook her head. “That has nothing to do with it. Not really. It’s funny, it’s as if I know you more than I ever knew Ethan. Being around your sister the other day really helped.” She smiled.

  “Dylan has a way of saying too much.” He held in a groan and enjoyed the sound of her laughter.

  “Right up until her water broke,” Mel added.

  This time it was him smiling. “Bella is the spitting image of her. I can’t remember the day my parents brought her home, but there were pictures.” He frowned. “Somewhere.”

  She surprised him by reaching over and taking his hand. “I left everything behind. I don’t even have any pictures of when I was a kid.”

  He shook his head. “We’re a pair, aren’t we?”

  She smiled slightly. “It’s not the past we look forward to.”

  He nodded. “Who said that?”

  She laughed again. “Me, just now.”

  He felt his face heat. “I mean…” He shook his head. “Never mind.” He reached for the door handle.

  She stopped him by holding his hand again. “I know what you meant.”

  “I agree. But it is nice to look back at the ones you lost. Even if they’re still technically alive,” he added.

  Seeing the look in her eyes, he knew that she understood him. There was still love for her parents in her eyes. It was hidden deep, but still there.

  “Come on, let’s enjoy these cookies on my new deck. One of the brothers hung up a couple hammocks. I’ll grab us a couple beers, and we can watch the stars.”

  “I like hammocks, cookies, beers, and stars,” she answered.

  He parked in the back and handed her the box of cookies before heading inside to grab the beer. When he came out, she had turned on the gas firepit and was sitting close to it, enjoying the heat. It wasn’t cold, but when the sun went down behind the mountains, most summer nights were still chilly enough to enjoy a firepit. Which is why he’d put one out on the deck to begin with.

  He handed her a beer and sat down next to her. She handed him the box of cookies. He took one and held up his beer for a toast.

  “To leaving the past behind us and to choosing who we want to call family.” He waited a heartbeat.

  “I’ll drink to that.” She tapped her beer bottle against his. “Are all summer nights like this?” she asked after taking a sip.

  He glanced up at the perfect star-streaked sky. The full moon was hovering just behind the hills, making it seem a million times bigger than normal.

  “Yeah,” he agreed, “most of them are.”

  She sighed heavily. “I could get used to this.”

  “It’s not bad. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to come back here.”

  “In California, the lights from the city were so bright that you couldn’t see the stars.” She was looking up at the sky while he watched her.

  He knew it was a cliché move, but he slung one arm over her shoulder and pulled her a little closer. She sighed and leaned into his shoulder while they ate their cookies and drank their beers.

  They talked about the good parts of their pasts—childhoods, school, and friends they’d had growing up. It was strange, there were so many times in both of their pasts where they could have run into one another but hadn’t. A couple basketball games where they’d been in the same gymnasium. Even a school dance she’d attended at his high school with an old boyfriend. He’d been there, but he and his buddies had rented rooms in the same hotel, and he’d spent most of his night upstairs with Crissy Goldbloom, making out and trying to convince her to go all the way. Which, of course, he had.

  “So, there are more than half a dozen times where we could have possibly run into one another,” she said softly, something close to frustration in her tone. “I just think of how differently my life could have been if I’d chosen…”

  He lifted her chin with his fingertips until she was looking into his eyes. “You and me both.” He kissed her.

  Feeling her melt against him, he took the kiss deeper, letting his fingers trail down her jawline, filling his hands with her soft hair and letting it wrap between his fingertips as her soft body pressed up against his.

  If he wasn’t careful, he’d fall hard and fast for her. The last time he’d felt so much for someone so quickly… Who was he kidding? He’d never felt this much for someone so quickly before.

  “I’d like to go upstairs now,” she said against his lips.

  He smiled. “I think that’s a great idea.”

  In one quick move, he lifted her up in his arms, tapped the kill switch on the firepit with his toe, and shifted to set the box of cookies in her hands. “We’ll need those later,” he promised, making her chuckle.

  Getting through the back door was a little more difficult than he’d expected. Thankfully, she bent down and flipped the deadbolt for him.

  He kept the lights off in the kitchen but maneuvered through it easily enough. However, when he tried to walk through the dining room, he bumped into a table that they’d moved around earlier.

  “You can put me down,” she said with a chuckle.

  “I don’t want to. I’ll get through this minefield,” he assured her. “See?” he said when he was at the base of the stairs. Then he took a moment or two to kiss her again until they were both breathing heavily.

  “If you don’t head upstairs, we may not make it,” she warned.

  “That’s an idea,” he added with a grin. The thought of taking her right there at the base of the stairs rushed through his mind, causing his dick to jump and harden even further in his jeans.

  Her body slid down his until she stood on the bottom step. His hands nudged her shirt slowly up and over her head. He tossed it on the stair railing, then leaned back to appreciate the simple black
bra she wore underneath. She had a small tattoo on her left upper arm. A thin silver vine twisted around her arm, filled with thorns and flowers with soft pink and white petals.

  He ran a fingertip over it and smiled.

  “This looks fairly new,” he said.

  She glanced down and nodded. “To remind myself that I have thorns under all the softness.”

  He smiled when she reached for his shirt and then ran her fingertips over his tattoos. There was the one he’d gotten after his parents’ death, along with a couple more that he’d gotten since then.

  “Later, I’ll tell you all about their meanings.” He leaned in to kiss her. Feeling her skin against his had him growing even harder.

  His hands ran over her pants, and he drew her closer to him as his fingertips sank into her soft hips. She was rubbing herself all over him, and he was concerned now that he wouldn’t be able to keep the pace slow enough that he could fully enjoy her.

  “Mel.” He said her name slowly, letting it roll off his tongue.

  “Brent, take me upstairs. I need to feel all of you.”

  He hoisted her up in his arms, this time with her facing him and her legs wrapped around his waist. Her mouth was still fused to his. He was lucky he knew just how many stairs there were and reached the top safely.

  He walked them into his room and leaned their bodies against the door, closing it as she ravaged his entire being. Her nails scraped his skin, her lips heated everywhere they touched him. It was as if she were surrounding him completely. Her thighs squeezed ever so lightly as they continued to wrap around his hips.

  She filled his senses with everything she was. Her scent was sexier than anything he’d experienced in his entire life. Her skin was softer than any he’d felt before. Her soft little moans had his body vibrating.

  He slowly peeled her pants off, waiting as she quickly pulled off her shoes. He kicked off his own, as well. When they returned to one another’s arms, the speed had his head spinning, and he was thankful for the wall that was keeping them from falling to the floor.