Trust in Us (Forbidden Love Book 1)

by S. M. Harshell

  As I step out of the shower, I hear my cell phone ringing. I pray it’s Pop calling to say he changed his mind and that someone else is going. I take a deep breath. “Hello?”

  “Hi. It’s Cole. Darren called and told me to pick you up at your house instead of the shop.”

  “Oh. That’s fine, but why the change?”

  “He said he doesn’t want your Jeep and my truck cluttering up the lot for a couple days.”

  “A couple days?” I yell into the phone. “Where the fuck is this engine?”

  He pauses. “Atlanta… I thought he told you all this. He said he’d call to let you know what’s going on.”

  I sit on the corner of my bed and rub my head. “No. He wasn’t exactly clear on the details. I wasn’t really thrilled, which pissed him off. It must have slipped his mind.”

  “Are you okay with that?”

  “I’m going to have to be, aren’t I? I should be ready in about an hour. I just got out of the shower, so I still need to get dressed and pack.”

  “I’ll see you soon.”

  I toss the phone onto the comforter and shake my head. Days? Are you fucking kidding me? Cole is every fantasy I have ever had all rolled into one package, and now I have to sit in a truck with him for days. Days of being close enough to smell his cologne, which seems to turn me on instantly. This is going to suck.

  I dress quickly and start throwing things into my bag. As I put the last pair of jeans in, I hear the shop truck pull into the parking lot. I quickly zip up the bag and run through the apartment, making sure I didn’t leave anything plugged in or turned on. I hear a knock as I walk out of the bedroom.

  Taking a deep breath, I make my way to the door, opening it. “Just give me a minute to finish up,” I say, his cologne smacking me in the vagina. He’s wearing faded jeans, boots, and an old t-shirt stretched tightly over his chest. I try to ignore how good he looks and head for the kitchen to unplug the coffee pot.

  “Is this all you have?” he asks, picking up my bag.

  “Yeah. It’s not like I need a ton of clothes. We will be in the truck most of the time.”

  He chuckles. “I guess I’m just used to traveling with my sister. She can’t go anywhere without at least four bags, shoes, makeup, and whatever the hell else she has to take with her.”

  I grab my travel coffee mug and walk out the door, waiting for him so I can lock up. “I guess I’m not that kind of girl.”

  As he walks past me, he says, “No, I guess you aren’t.”

  This is going to be the longest trip of my life.

  Cole throws my bag into the back seat of the extended cab Chevy truck that has the Z’s Service logo on the tailgate. When we are finally settled in the front, he tells me his plan before we pull out of the parking lot.

  “I figure we’ll drive as far as we can tonight, then get a room. If I would have known this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have gotten up at four thirty. Seeing that Darren didn’t give either one of us a heads-up, I don’t think we will make it far before we’re exhausted.”

  “I don’t know why we couldn’t have left tomorrow morning. But you know Darren Zona. Whatever he wants, he gets.”

  Pulling out of the parking lot, Cole smiles. “I’m learning that.”

  I have no idea what to talk to this man about. I have a feeling this trip is going to be awkward. I don’t really know that much about Cole. I know he isn’t married, no kids. I now know he has a sister.

  Leaning forward, I turn on the radio. I need something to fill the silence. “Do you care what channel?”

  “No. Put on whatever you want.”

  Finding a rock station, I kick off my boots and get comfortable. Watching the trees fly by as we hit the highway, my cell goes off with a text.

  Bitch, where are you?

  Shit. Jules. I totally forgot to tell her I needed to go out of town. Worrying about being this close to Cole and pissed off at Pop, it totally slipped my mind.

  On my way out of town. Engine pickup.

  Where to?

  Georgia

  Alone?

  No. Cole is with me.

  WHAT? Alone time with the hottie? Nice!

  Bitch…

  Do everything I would if I were alone with that nice piece of ass.

  Stop. Just no.

  I want the deets when you get back.

  There will be no deets. NOTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN!

  “Everything okay over there? Your fingers are flying over that phone.”

  I look over at him, studying his profile as he drives. How relaxed he looks with one hand on the wheel, the other resting on the armrest between us, his fingers tapping to the beat of the song. When he looks at me, I realize I am staring.

  “Um… Yeah, things are fine. I forgot to give Jules a heads-up I was leaving.”

  “You guys are pretty tight, yeah?”

  I smile, thinking of her crazy ass. “Yeah. Have been since kindergarten. We are so opposite, but I guess it’s true what they say. Opposites attract. I don’t know what I would do without her.”

  “I know how that is. We don’t go as far back as kindergarten, but Asher and I have been friends since high school. We played football together.”

  I nod, smirking. “I figured you for a football player.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Nothing. You just look like the jock type. You have that look about you.”

  He shakes his head, smiling. “I don’t have a look.”

  “You do. I bet you’re a gym rat, too. You know, one of those meatheads who only does the free weights, grunting the entire time you lift.”

  He laughs. “A meathead? What the fuck? Yes, I go to the gym daily, but I am no meathead. I only lift maybe two or three times a week. I do more cardio than anything.”

  “Really? Huh… I never pictured you as the cardio type. You don’t have a runner’s build. Your body looks more like a meathead’s,” I say, glancing over his body.

  “So you’ve been checking me out, looking at my build? Interesting…”

  Shit. I didn’t mean to say that. I look out the window. “No, I wasn’t checking you out. I was just saying.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Fuck you, Cole.”

  He bursts out laughing. Shit, why did I even say anything? I turn toward the window more and watch the scenery fly by.

  Chapter Five

  Cole

  I swear we’ve been in the truck for hours now. I keep glancing over at J. She’s looking out the window, refusing to look at me.

  “Hey, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, J. I was just kidding around.”

  “I’m not uncomfortable. It’s fine.”

  “If you say so.”

  I have no idea why Darren asked me to take this trip with J. I mean, I get why he asked me, I am low man on the totem pole, but why the hell would he send her with me? She doesn’t seem really happy to be here, especially with me.

  When I see a sign for food and lodging at the next exit, I pull off. I’m exhausted. After hitting the gym and working all day, I was in no way prepared to drive as far as I needed to. She doesn’t question my decision like I thought she would.

  “I’m starving and exhausted. We can get some food and a good night’s sleep, then start again in the morning.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “How about that place?” I ask, pointing to a diner up the street.

  “That’s fine. I’m starving.” She rearranges herself in the front seat in order to put her boots back on.

  Pulling into the lot of the diner, I take my time finding a spot on the end to fit the large size of the truck, giving her extra time to get herself back together. When I finally get the truck into a spot, she’s ready. I open the door and slowly slide out of the seat, stretching my arms above my head. Good Lord. Only four hours into this and I already feel like I’ve been cramped in there for days.

  When we walk in and sit, the waitress takes our drink order, then walk
s away. I look over at J studying the menu. She must feel my eyes are her because she looks up. I don’t look away. I can’t.

  “What?” she asks defensively.

  I hate that she is always on the defensive, always thinking someone is out to get her. I wonder why? From what I overheard at that first dinner, I know her ex is an ass, but did he hurt her that badly? At first, I thought she was just that way with me, but after watching her around the shop, I see she’s like that all the time. The only time I have seen her completely relaxed is with Jules or Nan.

  I am still thinking when she smacks her menu on top of mine. “What the fuck are you staring at?”

  “What? Nothing. I’m just trying to figure you out.”

  “Figure me out? There is nothing to figure out. I am an open book. You want to know something, just ask.”

  “I’ll take that into consideration,” I say, winking at her, then look back at my menu. “The burgers look good. What are you going to have?”

  “That was what you were trying to figure out? What I’m going to eat?”

  “No, smartass, that’s not what I was thinking about.”

  The waitress makes her way back over with our drinks. She takes our orders, then leaves us in awkward silence. I look around the small diner, taking in the fifties-themed décor. At one time, I bet this was the place to be on a Friday night. Out of the corner of my eye, I see J playing with her straw wrapper, tying it in knots over and over. When I turn my head toward her, she takes a deep breath and looks at me.

  “I am probably going to regret this, but you have five questions. Ask me anything you want, but then I get five, too.”

  I like this idea. I can ask J anything I want…but she can ask me, too. That can be dangerous. Just as I am about to decline the offer, a question that I really want the answer to pops into my head. I nod. “Okay, I go first. Why Justin?” I see a little look of surprise on her face before she hides it.

  “Why Justin what?”

  “From what I have heard, he was a total douche. No one liked him, including your father and Jules. Knowing what I do about you, it doesn’t seem like he would be the type of guy you’d be interested in. He cheated on his wife with you, then cheated on you with another woman.”

  Her mouth drops open. “Wait. How the hell do you know all that?”

  “I’ve heard some things.” Not that I’ve been asking, but I pay attention.

  “What things have you heard about me?”

  “Are you sure you want to ask that? That would be using one of your questions.”

  “What? That’s not fair. That is not a question I want to ask.” I see her getting frustrated. If looks could kill, I would definitely be in the morgue right now.

  “Answer me, J. Why Justin?”

  I watch her take a few deep breaths. “I hate talking about him, about that time in my life. I watched Pop give up everything to raise me after my mom died. Don’t get me wrong. He was a devoted father, but he was lonely. The older I got, the more I saw it. I think he still is. His world revolved around me and the shop. Still does. That’s all he has. When I met Justin, I was just out of high school. He was older, hot, and paid a lot of attention to me, which was something I wasn’t used to. I fell hard. With me out of the house, I realized Pop could live his life. He deserved to be happy again, and I thought with me out, he could be. Boy, was I wrong. I see that now, hindsight and all that.” She waves off the last couple words as she grabs her drink.

  I stare at her as she drinks from her straw. Under all that steel she’s hiding behind, this girl has a heart of gold.

  She puts down her glass. “Okay, my turn. What’s your story? Why the gap in your work history?”

  “My work history? You are jumping right in, huh?”

  “Yeah. What’s your story, Cole?”

  “I spent some time in prison. When I was seventeen, I ran into some trouble and had to pay for my crime.” I stop talking when the waitress drops off our food. I look over at J to see her big blue eyes staring at me. Great. She doesn’t trust me already, but I just added fuel to that fire.

  She looks at her dinner. “What did you do?”

  “That is for another time. Eat.” Who thought this little game would backfire in my face? Fucking fantastic.

  The rest of dinner is spent in awkward silence. There’s so much tension at the table, I swear people three tables over can feel it.

  She refuses to make eye contact with me the whole drive to the hotel. The longer this goes on, the more pissed I become. Who the fuck is she to judge me? Yes, I was in prison, but am I a bad person? No. I paid my dues. Would I do it again? Fuck yes, I would. In order to save my sisters, absolutely.

  As soon as I throw the truck into park, I grab my bag and head toward the lobby. I hear her truck door close as I pull open the door to the hotel. At least I know she’s coming in. At this point, though, I don’t know that I care.

  After I tell the girl behind the counter I need two rooms and give her all our information, I wait in silence. When she finally hands me two key cards, I leave one on the counter for J and head to my room. I am too old to deal with this shit. This is why I don’t do relationships. I can’t talk about that time in my life because I’m always judged.

  Chapter Six

  J

  Are you kidding me? That asshole just left my key on the counter, not saying a damn word to me. What the hell did I do? He’s the one who wanted to play that little game. I pull the key off the counter and make eye contact with the clerk, who gives me a sad smile.

  Think whatever you want, bitch.

  Overhearing what rooms we had, I know Cole is in the one right beside mine. Ugh, this trip is going to suck. I didn’t do anything. Why is he mad?

  Throwing my bag on the bed, I yank open the zipper and grab my shorts and tank top. It’s only ten o’clock, but what else is there to do? I change, wash my face, and pull my hair up into a messy bun on top of my head. I get my Kindle out of my bag and throw it on the bed. Something has to take my mind off Cole. I start flipping through my bookshelf. Nothing looks interesting. Damn it! Now what?

  I pull the curtains back and look out onto the highway. Boring. I sit on the edge of the bed and turn on the television, flipping through every station. Nothing. I turn it off and throw myself back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. I am never going to get to sleep unless I figure out what the hell pissed off Cole.

  Before I even realize what I am doing, I grab the key off the nightstand and head out of my room. I knock on Cole’s door as hard as I can, hoping he’s sleeping and I wake him up. It would serve him right. When the door swings open, I gasp. He’s standing there in jeans…and that’s it.

  “What?”

  “What?! Are you serious? What the hell, Cole?”

  “J, it’s your issue, not mine.”

  “My issue? What the fuck are you talking about?”

  The door behind me opens, an elderly man looking at us, eyes narrowed.

  “I’m sorry, sir. Go back to sleep. It won’t happen again.” Cole pulls me into his room, shutting the door. “Jesus, J. Show some fucking respect. People are trying to sleep.” He walks to the bed and sits on the corner, facing me. “It’s your issue. Whatever you think about me, that’s on you. I’ve dealt with people like you my entire life. I was in prison, yes, but if you knew why… You know what? Never mind. Think what you want.” He stands.

  “Wait. We aren’t finished.”

  “I am. I can’t have you in here.”

  “What is that supposed to mean? You are talking in circles and I can’t keep up.”

  He gestures to me. “You dressed like that in my room. Darren would kick my ass.”

  “Pop? What the hell does he have to do with this?” He grabs my arm and starts toward the door.

  “Cole, stop. I’m not done talking about what happened at the diner. You told me you were in prison, then something changed. The longer we were there, the more pissed you got. I didn’t even say anything. Why i
s this my fault?”

  “I saw the look you gave me when I told you. I know that look, J. I’ve had people look at me like that before. I get it. I’m beneath you now. I’m trash. Whatever. Like I said, think what you fucking want.”