Looking Behind the Mask: Second Chance Series - Book 2

by Joan Davis

  “Okay sweetheart that will do it. Thanks for being so patient and answering all my questions. You did a good job. I’m going to talk to Ms. Leone outside for a moment and then she’ll be right back. Is that okay?” Detective Lane asked, knowing how frightened this young girl must be. He had a little girl about her age and couldn’t imagine her going through this.

  Honor frowned and nodded. She watched as the detective and Mama Leone left the room and laid her head back on the pillow. She picked up the little hand mirror and looked at her face. The girl staring back at her with her dark brown hair and exotic eyes and full lips was unrecognizable. Foreign and strange. She didn’t look like the shy, thirteen year old foster child whose only goal was to fit in with the other kids. Honor Weston had disappeared.

  *****

  CHAPTER 1

  PRESENT DAY, Dalton, North Carolina

  Gabriel Ryan sat in Maybell’s Diner on Saturday morning waiting for Sam Knight and Conner Matthews before ordering breakfast. Having a bit of quiet time before his friends arrived allowed him to practice one of his favorite pastimes, people watching. Even before working for Conner’s security business, he had loved to study people from afar and note different mannerisms and characteristics.

  It was dealing with people face-to-face that was a little more difficult. He never felt like he could be himself. Not truly. The only people he allowed close to him were the men he was meeting for lunch. They had known him his whole life.

  His attention was drawn back to the door of the diner. He watched as a woman entered and his eyes followed as a waitress seated her in the back, next to the garden windows. She shrugged out of a large back pack, swung a guitar case off her shoulder and placed them both up against the wall near the table. Her thick sable-brown hair hung in silken waves around her face and down to the middle of her back. As she took her seat, she looked around the diner. Dark sunglasses partially obscured her face, but she had gorgeously full lips and a determined chin. She was also tall; Gabriel estimated she was shy of six feet by only an inch or two at the most. However, it was hard to tell anything about her figure. She wore loose jeans, work boots, an unbuttoned, oversized flannel shirt over a plain black T-shirt, which hid any curves she might have. Despite that, he wondered what her long legs would feel like as they wrapped around his waist. It wasn’t hard to picture it. Something about her intrigued him.

  The waitress brought her ice water and a menu, then left her to make her breakfast choice. Gabriel thought it odd that the woman didn’t remove her sunglasses as she read the menu, but she was sitting near one of the garden view windows and the sun was shining in brightly.

  The door of the diner opened again and Gabriel saw Buck O’Leary, one of Sam’s best foremen, walk in and scan the diner. When Buck spotted the woman Gabriel had just been watching, a big grin came over his face and he marched across the diner towards her.

  The woman smiled and stood up to greet Buck and received a bear hug for her trouble. They sat back down and Buck began talking. His hand gesturing in an animated fashion while the woman sat calmly and only spoke and nodded occasionally. Finally, Buck relaxed back in his chair and they both ordered breakfast from the waitress.

  Just then Sam and Conner entered Maybell’s and came over and sat down at Gabriel’s table. “You order yet?” Conner asked before turning over the mug in front of him so the waitress would know he wanted coffee.

  “No, I decided to wait for you slackers,” Gabriel said arching an eyebrow and looking pointedly at his watch.

  Conner held up his hands and then looking down at his menu said, “Don’t look at me, man, I’m not the one that just had to have a little extra nookie time with his wife.”

  “Asshole . . .” Samson said, but his smile was content.

  Gabriel chuckled, “How is Risa doing? I haven’t seen you guys since I went out of town last month.”

  Samson smiled and said, “She’s good. Thanks for asking. She just landed a nice contract from a large paper manufacturer. They want her to design a whole line of fantasy stationary for them. We just finished the studio addition, so she is having a great time getting it set up the way she wants it and working on her other projects on the side.”

  Gabriel laughed knowing that it was most likely Samson and Risa’s dad, Bill, that were ‘organizing’ the studio space. Risa tended to be content as long as she had a comfortable place to work and her art supplies close at hand. “What did you and Bill do, order every item in the art supplies catalog?”

  Conner gave a bark of laughter but otherwise remained quiet.

  Samson looked affronted but then grinned sheepishly. “Well, Bill is way worse than me, but let’s just say that she won’t need to run to the art store anytime soon.”

  Gabriel chuckled again and then returned his gaze to Buck and the woman he was sitting with across the diner. “Who’s the woman with Buck? Do either one of you know her?” Gabriel asked.

  Both Sam and Conner looked over their shoulders following Gabriel’s stare. Shrugging, Sam said, “Buck said he had a new hire coming into town today. He’s going to set her up in one of our furnished rentals and he’s going to loan her one of his old trucks to drive for a while. I know he was excited that she was coming on board with us. Apparently he worked with her in Georgia a few years back. He had hired her green and trained her himself, if you can believe that. Anyway, he said she’s a hard worker and can operate and fix just about any piece of heavy machinery we can throw at her.”

  Conner turned back around and asked, “What’s her name?”

  Samson got a blank look on his face. “I know Buck told me, but I can’t remember. I’m sure they’ll stop by on their way out and he’ll introduce her,” Samson said shrugging. He smiled up at the waitress that came to take their order.

  Sobering, Conner looked at Gabriel. “How is Lela doing?” he asked referring to Gabriel’s young niece who was now living with him full time.

  Gabriel smiled at the mention of Lela. “She’s doing better. She is spending a few days with her grandparents. They have been dying to take her to Sea World, so with this being a four day weekend for kids, it was the perfect time. She was a little reluctant at first, but when she called me last night, and she was so excited I could barely get a word into the conversation.” He chuckled and shook his head.

  “You and Lela should come by and hang out at the house one weekend. She loves Risa and swimming in the lake. It’s been a while. How about it?” Samson asked.

  “That would be great, Sam. I’ll call you guys and set up a time,” Gabriel said with a grin.

  “How come I don’t get invited over like that?” Conner asked in mock disgruntlement.

  “Because, asshole, you practically live at my house as it is,” Samson said arching a brow at Conner.

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot,” Conner grinned. “Well, at least Risa loves having me around.”

  “Not when you constantly interrupt us when we’re alone,” Samson grumbled under his breath.

  Gabriel laughed out loud at the shocked and amused looks competing for time on Conner’s face. “Maybe you guys should work out a signal or something,” Gabriel said jokingly.

  “You mean like calling first or maybe even not letting himself in my house with the key I gave him for emergencies when we don’t answer the door? You mean a signal like that?” Samson asked looking at Conner pointedly.

  “I . . . I . . . swear, man. I didn’t know,” Conner said, and then at Samson’s scowl he amended humorously, “Okay, a couple of times I knew, but damn man, you guys are like bunnies. Hell, I’d never see either one of you if I left it up to you,” he said trying to look hurt.

  Samson looked at Gabriel and shook his head. “See what I’m dealing with?”

  Gabriel just chuckled and shook his head. Samson’s adoration for his wife was a thing of wonder. He knew Conner was only half kidding about Samson’s new penchant for staying at home and spending most of his free time with his new wife. He had good reason.


  Gabriel’s eyes wandered back to Buck O’Leary and his lunch date.

  *****

  Buck was a happy man. He was hiring Honor Weston, one of the best heavy machine operators in the country. He had known her since she was sixteen, when she had walked in to one of his construction sites in Georgia, looking for work. He had hired her and taught her everything he knew. That was more than a decade ago. Since then she had worked all over the place and her skills were in high demand. Buck felt lucky to get her back.

  “Girl, you are a sight for sore eyes. I never thought I’d convince you to come back down south and work for me exclusively,” Buck said with a broad grin.

  Honor smiled at Buck. “How could I resist? You practically laid out the red carpet for me,” she teased. “Really, though I have been looking to settle down in one place for a while. I’m getting tired of traveling all the time.” More than tired. Honor thought.

  “Well, that’s good for me. I need someone I can count on to take care of our machines and I couldn’t have asked for anyone better than you,” Buck gushed.

  Honor raised a cynical eyebrow. “Laying it on a little thick there, Buck. Relax, I’m taking the job,” she said, shaking her head and sitting back as the waitress arrived with their breakfast orders.

  “Thick nothing! I’ve gone through five guys in less than two years. They either lie about their experience on their resume or they’re so damn lazy that it’s a miracle if I can get a half a day’s work out of them. I had one asshole that put one of our Bobcats in a trench so tight that by the time we got it out, it was a total loss. A damned Bobcat! Can you believe that shit?” Buck said in disgust.

  Grinning with amusement, Honor finished chewing her bite of bacon, before saying, “I would have loved to have seen the tender way you handled that employee.”

  “Shit, I never saw the asshole after we finally got him out of the Bobcat. He just upped and disappeared. He didn’t even come back for his last pay check,” Buck griped as he took a big bite of his pancakes.

  Honor laughed at Buck’s expression. “Wow, I can’t imagine why he would disappear rather than face your wrath. Makes you wonder about people, doesn’t it?” she said mocking him gently.

  Buck gave her a sarcastic smile and said, “Well, now, young lady, you get to deal with my wrath.”

  Honor laughed again and choked as she swallowed her orange juice. She took off her sunglasses so she could wipe her tearing eyes.

  Buck sat back and stared at the exotic tattoo that highlighted her eyes and the right side of her face. “I was wondering when you were going to stop hiding behind those damn things,” he said, indicating Honor’s sunglasses.

  Shrugging, Honor said, “It’s just easier sometimes.”

  Nodding, Buck said, “Well, we have a few heavily tattooed guys working for us, so I don’t see it as a problem.”

  Snorting, Honor gave Buck a cynical look. “You know it’s not the same Buck, but it is what it is. I’ll deal with it the way I always have.” Honor sighed and pushed her empty plate away from her.

  “Damn straight, don’t take any shit from anybody,” Buck said and then looked across the restaurant. “Well, no time like the present. I see my boss sitting over there having breakfast. We might as well get the introductions over with today. It will be one less thing you have to do on Monday.”

  “Now? He’s here now? Damn, Buck, I don’t even get a weekend to relax before I have to make nice to the boss,” Honor groused.

  “Don’t whine, young lady. Let’s get your stuff and get going, and no sunglasses,” Buck said when Honor started to cover her eyes.

  Making a nasty face at him, Honor shoved the sunglasses on top of her head and grabbed her backpack and guitar case.

  Buck gripped the handle of the guitar case and took it from Honor’s hand. “I can’t let a lady carry all that heavy stuff without helping, now can I?” Buck asked knowing Honor would have protested had he taken the backpack, too. Buck threw enough money on the table to cover the cost of the meal, as well as a generous tip, and walked towards the front of the diner.

  Honor followed and eyed the men Buck was making a beeline for, and she tried to figure out which one was her boss. They were all enormous men. No midgets in that bunch. That’s good, Honor thought. At least I don’t have to deal with the height issue. Short men often had a problem with her five foot, ten inch frame. Two of the men had their backs to them, but the man that faced towards them locked eyes with Honor and she felt a shiver run up her spine. His eyes were a bright green and he had shoulder length dark brown hair that had a natural wave to it. His had a strong masculine face with a square jaw and high cheek bones. There was nothing boyish about him. His deep bronzed skin made his eyes seem to glow a bit, and his lips were full and definitely kissable. A woman could lust after those lips, Honor thought as they stopped at the table. All the men turned to greet her and Buck. The three men stood, and Honor’s assumption about their heights proved correct. All three were well over six feet and all of them had amazingly hot physiques. Wow! Honor thought. Dalton, North Carolina, must be testosterone central.

  Buck made the introductions. “Sam, I’d like you to meet our new heavy machine operator, Honor Weston. Honor, meet Sam Knight, your boss, and these two guys are Conner Matthews and Gabriel Ryan.”

  Sam Knight was a powerfully built man. Just the width of his well-muscled shoulders made Honor feel almost petite. Seeing the usual shocked expressions on the men faces, she just ignored it and said, “It’s nice to meet you all. I’m looking forward to working for you, Mr. Knight.”

  “Uh . . . absolutely . . . and just call me Sam. Buck has told me a lot of good things about you,” Sam said and seemed to shake himself out the shock of seeing her face, He gave her a sincere smile.

  Conner’s response was more typical. He shoved Sam out of the way and said, “It’s very nice to meet you Honor. I’m a silent partner in the company. If you need anything, just ask.” His eyes stared in mesmerized fascination at the tattoo that spilled down the right side of her face. He then glanced down quickly as he stuck out his hand trying to spot a ring on her finger.

  Some things just never change, Honor thought and sighed inwardly. She shook his hand briefly, smiled half-heartedly, and then turned to the third man.

  Honor could have sworn Gabriel had a humorous glint in his eyes. She felt her face flush with awareness. Had he noticed that Conner’s charm was lost on her? Honor wondered. “It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Ryan,” Honor nodded and held out her hand.

  Taking her hand, Gabriel nodded back, his look intent. “I hope you enjoy living here in Dalton, Ms. Weston,” he said and then turned his gaze back to Buck. “How’s it going old man?” Gabriel asked.

  “It’s going, smartass,” Buck shot back grinning and then he turned to Honor. “Are you about ready to see your new digs?” He asked.

  Honor barely heard Buck’s question. The moment Gabriel Ryan’s hand had touched hers, a blast of erotic pleasure raced up and down her body. With an inner shiver and a deep breath, Honor said, “Just lead the way.” She reluctantly released Gabriel’s hand and waved goodbye before following Buck out of the diner. He’s going to be big trouble, Honor thought as another quiver of awareness shimmied up her back.

  Conner sat back down at their table looking a bit dazed. “Wow, now that’s not something you see every day. I’ve seen some amazing tattoos, but never anything like that . . . freaking exotic. I think I’m in lust. I’m going to have to ask that woman out on a date,” Conner grinned wolfishly.

  Sam snorted. “Yeah, I guess you didn’t notice how she blew you off.”

  “Nah, it’s only because she was trying to be professional in front of her new boss. Don’t you worry, I got this,” Conner said puffing out his chest and grinning.

  “You’re not her type, Conner.”

  Sam raised his eyebrows at Gabriel’s statement and looked over at Conner. “I think you just got the ‘don’t touch my stuff’ warning, my fr
iend,” he said.

  Conner looked at Gabriel and sat back in his seat. “You think you’re her type?” Conner asked challengingly.

  “I didn’t say that, but you need to stay away from her,” Gabriel said, his stare inscrutable. He knew he was being overly aggressive about this, but it didn’t seem to matter. He needed Conner to back off on his potential pursuit.

  Conner stared back at Gabriel for a moment before a slow grin crossed his face. “No problem, I get the picture. I’m out,” Conner said simply. It was the first time his friend had shown any interest in anyone in over the three years, since before the shooting. Conner wasn’t going to stand in his way.

  Gabriel relaxed. It surprised him at how tense he had been during this short discussion. He had just met the woman. Where the hell was all this possessiveness coming from? He wondered to himself. Just her touch had been enough to make his body clench in awareness. It had been damn near impossible not to draw her closer and kiss her right in front of everyone. The gut wrenching reaction to her was a new phenomenon for Gabriel and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

  The men finished their breakfast and headed out for a day of fishing. It was something they all loved doing and they hadn’t had a chance to do it in a long while.

  *****

  Honor hit the ground running. During the first two weeks, Buck had her do a routine maintenance check on each piece of large equipment and make recommendations for upkeep and repairs. She didn’t find much neglect, but with Buck O’Leary in charge, she didn’t expect it.

  Pressure washing some of the more stubborn dirt off of the backhoe, Honor didn’t hear Buck approach. She jerked back and nearly scarred Buck for life when he touched her arm. “Wow, I’m really sorry about that. I didn’t see you there,” Honor said powering off the sprayer.