Sweet Spot (Summer Rush #1)

by Cheryl Douglas

  “Maybe you’ll find someone who will make you feel that way,” Tenley said, sincerely hoping she would. “It could be Ace isn’t supposed to be your forever guy. Maybe he’s just the one who’s supposed to make you believe it’s possible to forget about Walker.”

  “Maybe,” Stacey said, reaching for her hand. “Promise you won’t tell Walker I’ve still got a thing for him?”

  “Your secret’s safe with me, hon.” Always.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Your brother tells me you’ve got a new girlfriend,” their dad said when Reese stepped outside to take a call.

  They were dining at their father’s favorite restaurant, a little hole-in-the-wall Italian joint in their old neighborhood with lasagne that reminded them of their mother’s cooking.

  “Reese has a big mouth,” Rowan muttered, reaching for his water glass.

  “Does that mean you’re not going to tell me about her?” he asked, drawing his bushy gray eyebrows together as he folded his arms over his barreled chest.

  “We’re taking it slow,” Rowan said, hoping that would be enough for him to take the hint he didn’t want to talk about it. He’d thought of Tenley every minute since he dropped her off, but he wasn’t ready to talk about his feelings for her. Not even to his old man, who’d always been his sounding board.

  “Is that because you’re afraid of getting hurt again?”

  Rowan knew he was referring to his relationship with Elle, which seemed like a blip on the radar screen compared to his feelings for Tenley. “Putting yourself out there is never easy, Dad. But you wouldn’t know that since you refuse to date.” Rowan felt guilty when a flash of pain crossed his face before he looked away. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

  “It’s okay,” he said, raising a calloused hand. “You have nothing to apologize for. You’re right. I don’t have any right to tell you boys how to live your lives when I don’t have much of a life myself.”

  “Do you ever get lonely?” Rowan asked, feeling guilty that he couldn’t spend more time with his dad. He had a group of friends he played cards and watched sports with, but he wondered if that was enough now that he no longer had work to keep him occupied.

  “Sometimes, but when you find the love of your life at eighteen, it’s hard to imagine ever finding another woman to take her place, son.”

  His gut twisted when he thought of the kind of love his parents had shared. His father had sat by her bed during the grueling treatments, holding her when she cried out in pain and crying on her shoulder when she finally slipped away. Rowan had never seen him as broken as he was the day they had to say their final good-byes to her, and he’d always felt they lost a part of their dad that day too.

  “Maybe you could find a different kind of love,” Rowan said, hoping that was possible for the old man. He didn’t want to see him grow old alone, feeling miserable because the best years of his life were behind him. “It may not compare to what you had with Mom, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be good.”

  “A widow moved in just down the street from me.” His weathered cheeks turned a ruddy shade as he cleared his throat. “I met her at a neighborhood potluck a few weeks back. She asked me to a movie.”

  “And?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know if I should go. I like her. I mean, she seems like a nice lady, but I—”

  “Dad, I know you loved Mom. We all know that. But she wouldn’t want you to stop living just because she’s gone. You devoted your life to raising us, but we’re all grown up now. It’s time for you to focus on your own life.”

  “Then you think I should go out with her?” he asked, stroking his white goatee. “I don’t know, son. What the hell do I know about dating these days?”

  “I doubt things have changed that much. Women are still women, Dad. They like flowers, candy, dancing, nice dinners, and sappy movies.” He chuckled, thinking of Tenley. “They even like it when you open their car doors for them, I think.”

  “Okay, I’ll think about it. So I’ve told you what’s going on with me. Now it’s your turn. Tell me about this new lady in your life.”

  Since Reese still had his phone to his ear as he paced the sidewalk, Rowan knew it would be a few more minutes before they could order.

  “What can I tell you about her?” He grinned, thinking a dating service wouldn’t have been able to find a woman better suited to him. “She’s into kickboxing. She loves sports, especially baseball. She works part-time as a bartender.” He laughed when his father’s jaw dropped. “I haven’t told you the best part. She rides a Harley named Pearl. Oh, and she carries a gun.” Not to mention the colorful ink decorating her back… that he wanted to trace with his tongue every time he caught a glimpse of it.

  “Shut the hell up.”

  Rowan grinned. He knew his dad would think Tenley sounded perfect for him, which was why he’d hesitated to tell him about her. He didn’t want him to get carried away. Especially since he didn’t know her story. Nor could he tell him.

  “I’m serious,” Rowan said.

  He glared at Reese when he came back into the restaurant, both because he’d bailed on them to take a call and because he’d outed Rowan to their old man. He would have told Dad about Tenley eventually. When the time was right. But he would have appreciated being the one to decide that.

  Reese rubbed his hands together when he reclaimed his seat. “Sorry about that, guys. So what’d I miss?”

  “I was just filling Dad in on Tenley. Thanks for telling him about her, by the way,” Rowan said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “Hey, no problem,” Reese said, grinning. “If we’re talking about your personal life, it means we’re not talking about mine, right?”

  Rowan rolled his eyes. “You’re an ass, Reese.”

  ***

  Before her shift started, Maura told Tenley her brother wanted to see her in his office.

  “Hey, Walker,” she said, tapping her knuckles on the door before popping her head inside. “I heard you wanted to see me. What’s up?”

  “I was about to ask you the same thing.” He pointed at the chair across from him. “Come in and close the door.”

  “What do you need?” Tenley asked, tossing her purse on the chair beside her.

  “What the hell do you think?” he asked, sounding edgy. “I want to know if you’ve heard from him.”

  She thought of the car parked outside her apartment, the caller who hadn’t left a message, and the hang-up from an unknown caller as she left the gym a couple of hours ago. “Not exactly.”

  He frowned, leaning forward as he rested his forearms on the desk. “What the hell does that mean? Either you’ve heard from him or you haven’t. Which is it?”

  “A few things have happened, but they may all be coincidences. I’m probably just being paranoid.” At least that was what she wanted to believe. “But I don’t want you to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

  “That’s what you said the last time,” he said, slamming his fist on the desk. “And you almost got yourself killed!”

  Tenley wasn’t used to having her brother blow up at her. They had their disagreements, just like all siblings, but they usually kept their tempers in check. Probably because they’d grown up with a mother who went off without much provocation.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, running a hand through his dark, disheveled hair before reaching for a crystal highball glass filled with amber liquid. “I didn’t mean to shout at you. I’m just worried about you, sis.”

  “I know you are.” She leaned forward and touched his forearm. “But you don’t have to be. I can better defend myself now. Between the second dan and the gun, I can—”

  “I do feel better now you’ve earned your second-degree black belt,” Walker said, running a hand over his face. “And I know you won’t stop there. But what if he catches you off guard? What if you don’t have time to react before he grabs you?”

  She understood her brother’s concern. She wo
uld feel the same way if someone who’d tried to take his life was walking the streets again, but Tenley didn’t want to live in fear. She wanted to believe that she was stronger than she’d ever been and able to fight back, if the need arose.

  “Have you talked to Stacey about the two of you coming to stay with me?”

  “Yeah, but she’s not into it,” she said, trying to read his reaction. “She doesn’t think Ace would like it.”

  “Who gives a shit whether her new boyfriend likes it?” he asked, cutting his hand through the air. “Her safety is on the line here too.”

  “Walker, do you have feelings for Stacey? Is that why you want us to come and stay with you? So you can maybe reconnect with her?” She’d never asked her brother that because she hadn’t considered it a real possibility until now.

  He looked at her as if she were high before he laughed. “Are you crazy? I had my chance with that girl.”

  “And you blew it.” Even if Walker couldn’t see it, Tenley could. Stacey loved him, and he’d treated her like he’d treated every other girl. In her opinion, that could prove to be a mistake that haunted him for the rest of his life.

  Without denying her claim, he asked, “So things between her and Phillips are getting serious?”

  “He spends almost every night at our apartment.” She felt a modicum of guilt when he reached for his drink. “So I guess you could say that.”

  “He better treat her right.” He drained his glass before slamming it on the desk. “She deserves a man who can give her everything I couldn’t.”

  Stunned, Tenley watched her brother walk out of the room. She wondered if Stacey was the only one who’d fallen hard in that relationship.

  ***

  After picking her up from work, Rowan was quiet on the drive back to Tenley’s place, so she felt compelled to tell him the truth. “You didn’t have to pick me up tonight. You’re not responsible for my safety.”

  His eyes were dark as his hand curled tighter around the steering wheel. “Some sick bastard might be out to get you. You really think I’m going to let him come at you again?”

  Tenley was causing everyone in her life undue stress, and she hated it. She was used to taking care of herself, and it had been years since she let herself feel like Justin’s victim. This had to stop. Now.

  “Take me home.”

  “I am,” he said, looking confused.

  “My home.”

  “No, Ace texted me to let me know Stacey’s spending the night at his place since you’ll be at mine.”

  “But I won’t be at yours.” Between her brothers and Rowan, Tenley felt like a fifteen-year-old whose parents still hired a babysitter when they stayed out all night. “I’ll be at my place. So kindly take me home.”

  He scowled as the light turned red and he was forced to slam on his brakes. “Come on, babe. My bed’s bigger than yours. I’ll never be able to stretch out in that thing.”

  Since hers was only a double, he was probably right. But since she didn’t intend to share, she didn’t see the problem. “I’m going home alone. To sleep. I assume you’ll be doing the same.”

  Tenley didn’t want to think about what he might do if he didn’t go home. Or who he might do if she pissed him off enough.

  “What’re you talking about? We’re spending the night together.”

  “No, we’re not.” She didn’t mean to come off as an ingrate, but she didn’t want a man in her life who thought he could call all the shots. She’d had that before, and one of them had almost landed in the morgue. “I need to be by myself. To think.”

  He turned into my parking lot, his eyes casing the place for any suspicious-looking vehicles. “What do you have to think about? And why the hell would you want to be alone when you know you’re in danger?”

  “We don’t know that,” she said, trying to be reasonable. “All we know for sure is that my ex is out of prison. For all we know, he could be on a Greyhound headed east.”

  “He’s still on probation.”

  “How do you know that?” she asked, turning to face him when he pulled into a parking spot near the front door and cut the engine.

  “Your brother told me.”

  “You talked to Walker again? When?”

  “Not Walker. Brant.”

  She stared at him, trying to decide if he was messing with her. “You don’t even know my brother.”

  “I do now,” he said, shrugging. “He passed by my place tonight. We had a beer, got to know each other better.”

  Tenley couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Shouldn’t she be the one to decide when it was time for the guy she was dating to meet her family?

  Reaching into her purse for her migraine medication, she asked, “How did that even happen?”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked when she reached for the water bottle in one of his cup holders and downed the pill.

  “Migraine. Now you answer my question.”

  She was starting to see the familiar spots dancing behind her eyelids and suspected it wouldn’t be long before she blacked out. She wanted to do that in the privacy of her room, without Rowan hovering.

  “I called Walker at the club. He gave me Brant’s number. For the record, your brother seemed glad I called. He’s relieved you have someone like me looking out for you when he can’t.”

  “Someone like you?”

  He obviously realized he was testing her patience because he shrugged, trying to play it off. “You know, someone who can take care of you.”

  “Listen to me carefully.” Tenley leaned in even though her vision was starting to fail her. Pretty soon everything would be hazy. “I can take care of me,” she said, thrusting a thumb at her chest. “I don’t need you or Walker or Brant acting like my goddamn bodyguard!” She threw the door open and almost did a face-plant on the pavement when everything went from gray to black.

  Rowan grabbed the back of her shirt, hauling her back in the truck. “Wait right there.” His voice was filled with concern. “Do not move a muscle, Tenley. I mean it.”

  She knew he was pissed. She was too. But as far as she was concerned, she had good reason. He didn’t.

  Rowan inched her door open and put her arm around his neck before lifting her and cradling her body against his.

  “I can walk.” Though she wasn’t sure that was entirely true. Walking when she couldn’t see two feet in front of her had always posed a challenge.

  “Would you just relax?” he asked, sounding frustrated. “I know you don’t want to let anyone take care of you. I get that. But for Christ’s sake, you can’t even see to walk. Am I right?”

  Instead of dignifying that with a response, she released a weak breath and rested her head against his shoulder, surrendering. For now.

  “Keys?” he whispered when we were outside of her third-floor apartment.

  “In my purse.”

  Since her purse was slung over her shoulder, Tenley felt him reach inside it, which was no easy task while he was using the wall to help support her weight. He finally fit the key in the lock and lowered her body to turn the knob and push it open. Once they were inside, he kicked it shut.

  “I’ll be fine now,” she murmured, grateful he didn’t feel the need for lights as he carried her down the hall to her bedroom. “You can go.”

  “Yeah, nice try.” He laid her on the bed, then pulled off her boots and tight jeans, which was no easy feat since she wasn’t much help.

  Tenley was left wearing her bra, a racerback black tank, and black G-string, making her wonder what he thought of her attire. She cracked an eye open, but the meds still hadn’t worked their magic. She couldn’t see much of anything yet.

  “Where are you going?” she asked when she heard him cross the creaky hardwood. Even though she’d told him to leave, she had to admit she was nervous about being left alone now that she had a full-blown migraine that had left her temporarily sightless.

  “Just to get you some water and a cold cloth,” he whispered.
“I’ll be right back.”

  Tenley tried hard to stay awake, but fatigue got the better of her. Her last thought as she drifted off to sleep was thankfulness that Rowan was there.

  ***

  She woke up to the smell of coffee… the only thing that could have coaxed her to open her eyes.

  Tenley could feel his presence even before she saw him. He was watching her, trying to decide if she needed him.

  “Hey,” she said, pushing her hair out of her face as she tried to sit up.

  Then she noticed the tray on the small chair in the corner of her room. He’d made her pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. Damn. If he kept that up, she’d be head over heels in love by the end of the week.

  “Hey, yourself,” he said, his lips quirking when she snatched the coffee from his hands. “Feeling better?”

  “Much, thanks.” Unlike some people who suffered from migraines, her headaches thankfully didn’t put her out of commission for days. “I’m sorry if I was a bitch last night, Row. I—”

  “Food first,” he said, reaching for the tray. “Then we’ll talk.”

  “I know we didn’t have the stuff for this,” she said, gesturing to the loaded plate. “You went to the store?”

  “Yeah, just a quick trip. I couldn’t sleep, so I waited ’til sunrise, then headed out.”

  She looked at the other side of the bed, which didn’t look as though it had been slept in. “Where did you sleep last night?”

  “On the couch,” he said, brushing her hair out of her face with a tender caress that made her melt just a little.

  “I’m sorry. That couldn’t have been comfortable.” She offered him a strawberry dipped in cream, which he declined, claiming he’d already eaten. “You could have slept in here. I know the bed’s not very big, but it beats the couch.”

  “You were pretty clear about not wanting to sleep with me last night,” he said, obviously trying hard not to look hurt as he raised a broad shoulder. “I was trying to respect your wishes. Besides, I wasn’t sure if you felt nauseated from these headaches, so I left a bucket by your bed and tucked you in.” He pointed at the half-open door. “I left the door open though, just in case you needed me.”