by Amy Brent
“What the hell are you doing here, Leo? Your shift doesn’t start for another two hours.”
I jumped at the sound of Stella’s harsh voice and turned around to face her, forcing a confident grin on my face.
"I just wanted to get an early start on inventory. I know what a stickler you are." I poured as much honey into my voice as I could manage but I could tell by the dubious look on her face that she wasn't buying it for a second.
As far as I’d gathered, Stella had been the manager of Lucky’s since it had been established, and she treated the damned thing more like a child than a bar.
“Uh huh,” She placed her hands on her ample hips as she stared him up and down, “Is it trouble or a woman?”
“Excuse me?”
“Are you trying to hide from some sort of trouble, or is it a woman?” Stella shook her head, “You know what, knowing you Leo, it’s one and the same.”
I shrugged, pasting a guilty smile on my face that I hoped looked charming, and not as sickly as it felt. Her words stung. More so because of the truth in them. But I couldn’t let her know that.
“Fine, don’t tell me,” She said, finally throwing her hands up in the air as she turned to walk back out towards the bar, “you might as well start on the inventory since you’re here. And keep it straight this time, got it? I nearly didn’t order enough whiskey after last time.”
“Believe me. That would have been a blessing.”
“What was that?”
"You got it, boss," I said, louder this time and with one last, hopefully convincing smile in her direction. Stella just shook her head once more before stomping back out front. Some women were beyond even my considerable charm, and Stella definitely fell into that limited category.
Thinking of women I could charm had my thoughts spiraling straight back to Quinn, and more specifically, her psychotically overprotective older brother’s reaction if and when he ever found out I messed with his little sister.
I had met Jonah when I'd first moved to Coral Springs a few years ago and we'd hit it off right away. I didn't usually care to make friends in new places. In the back of my mind I always knew that I'd be moving on, usually sooner rather than later, and after a while, it just didn't seem like the effort was worth it.
But something about Jonah had clicked. Kindred spirits or some shit. He'd told me a little bit about his sister, enough for me to figure out real quick that he didn't want me asking about her. And I'd overheard some of the other members of the close-knit town about how ‘the Moore girl' was a bit of a troublemaker and that's why she was away at school. They'd all made it sound like she really was some sort of kid. I'd assumed she was a teenager at most!
Now, to find out that the girl who’d been wrecking his bed for the past few nights was Jonah’s little sister? It was enough to shock any man. And make them damned worried for their own safety. Especially after some of the horror stories I’d heard about how Jonah had dealt with her past boyfriends.
I’m not her boyfriend, I tried to convince myself.
No, you just fucked her. That’s all. Do you really think Jonah will split hairs about that?
I shook my head but couldn't dislodge the reasoning of my own thoughts. What the fuck was I going to do? With no answer to that question, I peeked out of the window to see to the front of the bar. I had been hiding back there long enough to hopefully avoid Quinn when she came downstairs to leave.
I needed to get my story straight before I saw her again because whenever she was within a ten-foot radius of me, all my brain cells shut down and all I could think about was bending her over the nearest surface and taking her over and over again until we were both sated and exhausted.
“Damn it, man. Get a hold of yourself.” I muttered under my breath. I had to adjust my suddenly tightening body, ready at just the thought of her. After a few deep breaths, I made my way back out to the front of the bar.
Grabbing a dishrag, I went to work wiping down the glasses, shooting Stella what I hoped was a casual glance.
“Hey, Stella. You’ve lived in Coral Springs a long time, right?”
“Born and raised here, just over on third street. Why?” Stella didn’t look up from the checkbook she was going over that lay spread out on the bar in front of her.
“You’ve known Jonah for a while then? And his sister?”
“Yeah. The poor Moore kids.” She shook her head, clicking her tongue in sympathy, “Everyone knew John and Becca were addicts, not fit to have kids. But we didn’t know how bad it was until they just up and left. Abandoned their kids, dumping all their debts and shit on ‘em. It wasn’t right.”
I cocked my head, listening. I’d known that they’d had some sort of trouble growing up but Jonah didn’t like to talk about the past. Now I guess I knew why.
Stella was still speaking, “Jonah was seventeen or eighteen at the time but Quinn was only ten, the poor thing. Jonah practically raised her after that. We all saw how hard he worked for her. He gave up everything to give her a shot. He’s a good man, Jonah is. Nobody ever messed with Quinn though, that’s for damn sure.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked, swallowing hard past the sudden dryness in my throat, “And why’s that?”
“Well, because Jonah’d kill ‘em, for start.” Stella snorted out a caustic laugh as she shot him a look, “Take Eli Peterson, for a start.”
“What, uh, what happened to Eli Peterson?” I forced the question out, at the same time needing and dreading the answer.
"It was a while ago. Quinn was still in high school and Eli started sniffing around her. If you ask me she encouraged the boy. What teenaged girl wouldn't be flattered by a little attention from the star quarterback, you know?"
“Uh huh. What happened, Stella?”
“Well, Eli and Quinn went out on a date to some football game. There they were, sitting in the stands and Jonah come barreling across the field and up the bleachers like an angry bull. Now, no one could say for sure if he’d pushed him or not but there was a fight and Eli took a tumble down the stairs. Ended up in the hospital. Cracked a couple ribs. Broke his leg in two places and was out for the rest of the year.”
"Jesus," I muttered under my breath.
“I mean, that’s not the only instance, but it is the first one to spring to mind.” Stella chortled to herself, “It sure kept those boys away though. Drove Quinn insane.”
“I bet it did.” I looked down at the tumbler I was wiping down in my hand but I didn’t really see it. All I could see was Jonah, furious at me messing with his sister, coming at me with a baseball bat and smashing in my kneecaps.
I can’t tell him. The thought echoed in my mind and I knew it was the truth. Jonah could never find out about what happened.
I’ll just keep it a secret. And it can’t happen again.
That last thought was quite a bit harder to swallow. Because even now, even knowing that Jonah would certainly try to skin me alive if he ever found out, I couldn’t make myself regret spending a single moment with Quinn.
Never again. It can’t happen again. I don’t know why, but that thought cut through me sharp and painful. I cleaned the glasses, my mind full of Quinn, and a heavy feeling in my chest at the thought of never kissing her again, of never seeing her smile directed at me. Damn. I truly was fucked.
***
Quinn
My hands had a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel as I drove past the familiar streets of downtown Coral Springs and further. The cute shops and well-kept houses transformed into older buildings, slowly growing more rural and spread apart. Farms, dotted with industrial factories and warehouses and sometimes a farmhouse with faded and crumbling barns. Cows and horses grazing on the emerald green grass. But there was something else as well.
Jonah had said the town had changed while I'd been gone, and now I could see it. A small motel had cropped up, proclaiming the Coral Springs, the town's namesake, as a ‘must see destination!' and even a hiker's retreat with guided tours of
the surrounding forest and the small waterfall that fed the springs.
It was hard to believe that people would pay good money to see the springs. Me and Jonah used to play in it as kids, sometimes finding odd coins or catching the small frogs that hopped around its banks.
One time, when I was seven or eight, I’d begged Jonah to take me out there but he’d been busy. I’d decided to go by myself. I’d been there a hundred times before and knew the way, so I packed my Barbie backpack and off I went.
It was a good thirty-minute trek the part of the springs that cut closes to the trailer park where we'd lived but to me, it had felt like an epic quest. I'd felt so brave, walking there by myself. So grown-up.
I’d played for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, not noticing until it was too late that it was darkening fast. One moment it was daylight, and the next I’d glanced up and seen nothing but darkness in the woods around me.
I remember how scared I was. How I cried because I couldn’t find my way home in the dark. So I sat there, alone and afraid, praying that my mom and dad would come find me and rescue me.
I waited. And waited. And waited. They didn’t come. A few hours later I saw the light of a flashlight getting closer and I knew. My parents had finally come to save me. The light came closer and I rushed forward. It wasn’t my parents. It was Jonah.
He had taken my hand and held it the whole way back to their trailer. I had walked inside, at least expecting a tearful reunion, for my mom and dad to fawn over me and tell me how much they missed me and how worried they had been. My parents had been passed out on the ratty couch. They hadn’t even known I was gone.
The memory cut through me and I was surprised to find myself blinking back tears as I pulled down the long, tree-lined drive that led to the main house of the property. I wasn't sad about their deaths. I couldn't be. But still, I had to wipe away several more tears, sniffling back the rest as I parked.
I would deal with the emotional fallout later. I couldn’t think about it now. I had a property to look at, and a brother to calm down. Jonah had called me three more times since I’d left Leo’s apartment.
The reminder of Leo had the memory of his odd behavior rising up in my mind. He’d basically kicked me out of his place. I shook my head. Another thing I’d have to figure out later. Because Jonah was already stomping towards me a pleasant looking woman in a business suit and pumps trying to keep up behind him.
I took a deep breath before stepping out of the truck.
"You're late," Jonah said shortly and I gave him a falsely bright smile.
“So good to see you too, big brother. Me? Oh, I’m doing just fine. Thanks so much for asking. And how about you? Still dealing with that stick up your ass I see.” I softened the words with a hug that he grudgingly accepted and I could see the other lady hide a smile behind her hand, but not before I caught it. I shared a conspiratorial look with her before stepping back.
“Well, are you going to introduce me?” I asked after a moment with a pointed look at the woman still standing a few feet away and was surprised to see Jonah blush, actually blush! And stammer out a stream of words.
“This, ah, yes, this is Jenny. Jenny Camden. She is the realtor who’s handling the transfer of the property. Jenny, this is my sister, Quinn.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jenny said with a smile and humor shining in her eyes as she shook my hand before readjusting the leather-bound binder she held in her arms, “Well, are you two ready to see the place?”
Excitement shot through me and I knew Jonah felt the same and we both nodded eagerly, following down a short walking trail and around a copse of trees to reveal our first look at the ranch house. It was…awful.
Awful. Terrible. Horrible. I had expected some damage from the years of neglect but this was worse than even my most gruesome imaginings. The realtor must have seen our disappointment written on our faces because she shot us an apologetic look.
“The Mayhew ranch has been neglected for nearly twenty years. There’s bound to be some…disrepair.”
“Disrepair?” Jonah echoed, and I cringed at the hopelessness in his voice. I knew that we were in dire financial straits and that he’d hoped the property would be enough to bail them out. But this pile of rotting wood and timbers wasn’t worth the material it was built out of.
It seemed to be crumbling as we looked at it, but that didn’t deter the realtor from pasting on a brave face and leading us closer. The land itself was pristine. Nearly twenty acres of field and woods, with direct access to the waterfall, the springs itself cutting through the western half.
Besides the house, there were a few dilapidated barns that were on their last leg and I nearly cringed as a stiff wind blew through. I could hear the groaning sound as the flimsy structures moved in the breeze.
“Ready to see inside the main house?” Jenny asked, far too cheerfully considering the state of things.
“Is it even safe to go in there?” Jonah asked dubiously and I had to agree but the realtor just nodded.
“I had an appraiser come out. The foundation is solid. As is the roof, even though there are several leakage problems. As long as we’re careful, it’s safe to look around.”
“Yes,” I said firmly, “We’re ready.”
Jonah rolled his eyes in my direction. He had already chalked this up to another failure in his mind but something was starting to glimmer on the edge of mine. I couldn’t put my finger on it yet, but it was there. Real, and hopeful.
We followed Jenny around to the back of the house. The front porch was completely caved in and we walked into what I was pretty sure used to be the kitchen. It was hard to tell past the layers of dust and plaster covering everything, and then there was the claw foot bathtub in the middle of the room and the massive hole in the ceiling.
The realtor gave us another apologetic look. “There were also some leaks in the bathroom. The floor gave way under the weight of the tub.”
“Uh huh. I can see that.” Jonah grimaced, wiping his hands on his jeans. Every step we took just kicked up another cloud of dust though. “Shall we continue on this magical tour?”
Jenny showed us the rest of the house. Two stories, plus a turret that stretch up to a third and overlooked the entire property. Seven bedrooms. Three bathrooms. A full basement, even though it had completely flooded a time or two.
As we walked, Jenny and Jonah wondered further ahead as I trailed behind them, excitement filling me with every step. My entire life, I'd wanted to own my business. Be in charge of my own decisions. Be my own boss. I could practically see the possibilities come to life as I looked around the grand room, a massive stone fireplace dominating one wall. This was it. This was my chance.
I knew I had to prove myself after what had happened. After I had failed so terribly at college. But I knew how to run a business and turn a profit. Hell, I’d been doing that since I was a kid with my first lemonade stand.
As Jonah followed the realtor outside I took one more minute, staring around the crumbling, dilapidated old sprawling house, my plan crystalizing in my mind like a strike of lighting. This was it. It was crazy, but it could work if I had the chance. Turn the old place into a bed and breakfast. Give tours of the springs. If the town really was changing as much as Jonah said, it would be the perfect opportunity.
How the hell are you going to convince Jonah? I shrugged off the thought. I could figure that out later. He’d never been good at saying no to me, and I’d just have to make sure that my plan was foolproof. As I walked outside, I was brimming with excitement.
“…I have a client that’s interested in the land. He’ll probably tear down the existing structure and develop.” The realtor was saying as she handed Jonah a card, “I’ll let him know you’re interested in selling.”
Jonah stared at the card as she walked away, getting into her sensible sedan and driving off. My excitement dimmed at the overheard words, but my resolve firmed as I stomped forward.
"We can't sel
l," I said shortly.
Jonah just turned to me with a shrug. “What the hell else are we going to do with this place? At least this way, we can make a little money, even if it’s not as much as I’d hoped for.”
A grin spread across my face, “I might have a few ideas.”
Chapter 9
Quinn
“Lily, don’t be mad. I’m sorry I haven’t called you yet but I’m here now. Doesn’t that count?” I shot my best friend Lily Ballis a hopeful smile, holding out a box of sugary red fish candy as a peace offering.
Lily had her back turned to me, a stack of books in her arms that she loaded onto the cart to be refiled on the shelves. She worked at the library in downtown Coral Springs. It suited her perfectly. She’d always preferred fictional people to real ones.
“You’ve been in town for days and didn’t even bother to say hi, or let me know you were coming back.”
“I know! I’m sorry, Lil. I brought your favorite to apologize.” I held out the candy again as Lily looked over her shoulder, her eyes latching on to the box. With a grin, she snagged them from my hand, tossing a few into her mouth and chewing happily.
Lily gave me a long look, but then sudden humor and that kindness that was solely hers burst to life in her blue eyes.
“I suppose you’re forgiven.”
“Of course I am,” I shrugged, “You are terrible at holding a grudge. The longest you’ve ever stayed mad at anything is ten seconds.”
“That’s not true!”
"Of course it is," I said on a laugh, the next instant we were hugging, both of us laughing and for a moment I was back in high school. Quinn and Lily. Inseparable best friends.