by Sam Crescent
EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2021 Sam Crescent
ISBN: 978-0-3695-0394-7
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Editor: Audrey Bobak
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
TAKEN HARD
The Hard Boys, 2
Sam Crescent
Copyright © 2021
Chapter One
Lilly Jewel watched as Caleb Hard tried to avoid three women at the bar. She rolled her eyes at just how stupid his behavior was. Everyone in town knew he was a player. The Hard boy rebel. The one who would sleep with you and forget your name the next morning. According to many of the women, he wasn’t a nice man. The problem was, Caleb was, in fact, very nice. He never actually told any of the women he’d be available long-term. They were the ones to assume they’d be the woman to tie him down.
So far, no one had tied that man down, and she pitied the woman or women who even tried.
Caleb got to the bar and let out a shudder. “Beer, please.”
Lilly got him his usual, placing it in front of him. “Maybe you should start finding another place to go pick up women. I think you’ve exhausted the town.”
“Nah, it’s just a rough night. How are you doing?” he asked.
“Me?” She frowned, glancing left and right, while also pointing at her chest.
“Yeah, silly. I was curious how you’re doing these days. Hanging out with Aunt Betty, that woman is a hoot. She warned me not too long ago about sticking my dick where it didn’t belong.”
Lilly couldn’t help but smile. Aunt Betty was the woman she lived with, and she helped keep an eye on her. Long story short, Eliza, Aunt Betty’s niece, had come back to town, fallen in love with the oldest Hard boy, James, and they were now happily married with a baby girl, Darla.
She adored Eliza and their little baby. James wasn’t so bad either, but Lilly had done everything she could to avoid men in her life.
Her mother was known as the town whore. She would sleep with anyone and didn’t even need a price to do it. Purely because of her mother’s reputation, Lilly had been branded the same, and as such, men thought it was well within their rights to touch her.
She hated it.
Working at the bar gave her a little extra spending money, while her work at the library gave her peace and quiet.
She’d had no choice but to give up her idea of college and had been working full-time straight out of graduation. One day soon, she hoped to be able to afford some night classes.
Her true passions in life were books and writing. Whenever she got the time, she sat at her secondhand laptop, typing away. In the past four years, she’d written over fifteen novels. All of them romance, none of them any good. She loved to write and read.
Caleb clicked his fingers in front of her face. “Earth to Lilly.”
She waved his hand away. “Sorry, I was off in my own little world there. What were you saying?”
“You really are an interesting woman. I was only asking how you are.”
Lilly chuckled. “I’m fine. Aunt Betty is fine. Have you been by to see James and Eliza?”
“Hell, no. I don’t go see them. I go to see that gorgeous niece of mine. She’s the only woman, besides you, that doesn’t give me the stink eye.”
“Oh, I give you the stink eye, Mr. Hard, just not for you to see.” She gave him a wink, laughed, and saw someone signaling for a drink. “Have fun.”
She turned and attended to several customers down the counter. Some of them regulars who were really nice. Others, not so much. Then there were the few travelers and tourists. Once they were all served, she gathered up the empty glasses, taking them around back to be cleaned.
When she came back, she saw Caleb still seated at the bar, and what was more, he continued to watch her.
“Are you making sure I’m doing my job properly?” she asked, hand on hip. She couldn’t recall him ever sticking around for long. In the last year, though, since Eliza had been back and introduced them, she saw him constantly.
“I know you’re good at what you do.”
She smiled. “Thanks.” Lifting her hand, she tried to stifle a yawn. She hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the past few days.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” She glanced around the bar, seeing several women looking in his direction. “Caleb, why aren’t you hitting on any of the women? Don’t you need to find yourself a partner for the night so you can sneak out?”
He shook his head. “I’m not interested.”
“Your reputation will take a hit.”
“Let it.”
“Wow. I don’t think I’ve ever seen or heard you like this before.”
Caleb rubbed at his face, and she studied him. His arms were heavily inked. The sexiest mechanic in town. Even before Eliza had introduced them, Lilly knew who he was. Her mother had a bit of an obsession with the Hard men. In all her years, she hadn’t been able to get into the pants of the Hard boys. That revelation shocked Lilly. Her mother liked to brag about proving men were scumbags only after pussy.
Shaking off the memories, she continued to look at Caleb. No doubt about it, he was sexy, and those muscles could make a woman feel safe and protected.
“People can change, Lilly.”
She frowned. “I know.” She was very much aware of how people could change. She’d yet to witness it herself, though. Her mother had often been emotional when another “breakup” had occurred. Had sworn off men, and it had lasted a couple of hours before another appeared, saying all the right things. Doing everything she liked, and then bam, she was back in bed.
Lilly was glad she no longer lived with the woman because it had been a constant embarrassment to her.
“How are you getting home tonight?” he asked.
“The same way I do every night. Walking.” She’d owned a car for a short time, but due to the expense of gas and the fact it constantly decided not to start and to get it fixed cost her a small fortune, she’d settled on her legs being the only form of transportation she needed.
Caleb sipped at his beer. “I’ll walk with you.”
“Didn’t you bring your truck?” she asked.
“Nope. I got Rome to drop me off.”
His younger brother.
“If that’s what you’d like.”
“It is.”
Lilly finished the rest of her shift. Caleb continued to sit at the bar, even after closing. He helped to clean up, and as she locked up, posting the key through the letterbox and hearing it drop, she grabbed her cell phone. Then she sent the owner, Edward, a quick text that she had locked up and had delivered the key. They did this most nights when Edward wasn’t working.
He trusted her with the bar, just not with the key.
She remembered the conversation, how red in the face Edward had gotten. He’d told her it wasn’t about her, but about her mother. He believed if the mother got hold of the key, she’d take advantage, and seeing as Lilly agreed with him, she didn’t press the issue.
Lilly turned toward Caleb and offered him a smile. “You really don’t have to do this. Couldn’t you just call your brother?”
“I could, but then I wouldn’t get to help a pretty lady
home.”
She snorted. “Does that pick-up line usually work?” She held her hand up. “Not that I’m saying you’re trying to pick me up or implying it.”
He laughed. “Did anyone ever tell you that you’re adorable?” he asked.
She groaned. “Don’t say anything else about this.” They walked into line and Lilly glanced at the night. The only light came from the glow of the lamps. It was a nice warm night. She loved the summer, lived for it.
Winter months were the hardest. When she lived back at the trailer with her mother, she’d grow crazy trying to get it heated.
She pushed those long winter memories out of her mind and glanced at Caleb.
“So, no luck finding another woman to bed?”
“I’m starting to think you’re some kind of pimp or something. Are you determined to get me in the bed of every single woman in town?”
Lilly gasped, putting a hand to her chest. “Me? I thought that was your responsibility. Not mine. You’ve certainly done a fine job without it. You’re older than me, don’t forget.”
“Yeah, when’s your birthday?”
“In a few days, why?”
“What are you doing to celebrate it?”
Lilly didn’t falter in her steps. “I’m going to do what I do every year, work. It’s not a big deal. It’s just a birthday.”
Caleb stopped walking. “No big deal?”
“It’s really not.”
“Clearly you haven’t experienced a Hard boy’s birthday. There’s cake, a small gathering of people. It’s all the norm. You know.”
“Sounds nice.” Her mother had forgotten her birthday years ago. They arrived at Aunt Betty’s house. Lilly thanked him for the company, and he waited until she was inside before walking away.
It was such an odd experience.
****
Caleb was tired. Not that it was a surprise. After walking Lilly home, he’d gone to his own place and thought constantly about the raven-haired woman with the sad blue eyes. Ever since Eliza had introduced them, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. Even before the introduction, he thought she was a looker and often went to the bar just to catch sight of her. She was the first beautiful woman he hadn’t given chase to. Most fell onto his dick easily.
“What are you doing here so early?” Jane, his mother, asked.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“Son, you look like you need to sleep for a damn week. What’s going on?” Jane poured herself a mug of coffee, no cream, no sugar. Just neat. For years, she claimed it was the miracle cure for living with four Hard men.
There were times their names sounded like a porno. Where his brothers had shaken that reputation, he’d embraced being known as the guy with a tiny brain and big dick. He liked people to believe that. He was just a dumb mechanic, but they were all wrong. He excelled in high school, had considered college, and had even gotten into the ones he’d applied for. He’d decided against it.
Life in a corporation or chasing whatever dream college degrees got people didn’t appeal to him. He liked the small-town life. Being near his family. Chasing memories more than dreams.
Everyone believed he was a player, and he was. No one could force him to settle down, but the truth was, his tiny little secret was he wanted the same relationship his parents had. Married for over thirty years and still as in love now as they were back then. He wanted that. He didn’t want to regret marrying a woman he couldn’t stand.
“Nothing.”
Jane frowned at him, then went to the fridge, gathering the Sunday morning’s breakfast.
James and Eliza would be arriving soon with baby Darla. Maybe even Aunt Betty. They had been a constant feature the past few months.
Lilly never arrived.
“Do you know much about Lilly Jewel?” Caleb asked.
Jane handed him the eggs and a bowl. She always did a combination of fried and scrambled.
Caleb was used to this part. Whenever he needed to have a private chat, there was always a job to do in the kitchen. His payment for the sound advice of his mother.
“I know of Lilly. Sweet girl from what I can gather. Mother, not so much. She’s a player. Treats men like they’re some kind of token in a game. She’s ruined a lot of relationships. I always wondered about Lilly, though. I hear she works two jobs?”
“That’s right.” He hadn’t had the guts yet to visit her in the library.
“I know people talk crap about the girl.” Jane shrugged. “Why?”
“She doesn’t celebrate her birthday.”
Jane put a pan down on the stove. “Caleb Hard, are you trying to ask me how you can get this girl to date you?”
Caleb frowned and continued to crack eggs.
“Caleb!”
“I don’t want to date her.”
“Now you sound like you’re twelve again and I just discovered your stash of porn under your bed.”
He groaned. “Please, don’t bring that up again.”
Jane sighed and moved toward the table. “I can’t help you when you’re being vague. You know this.”
Caleb looked behind him.
“No one is around. Your dad will sleep until I put the bacon on. Now, talk to me.”
Uncomfortable, he ran fingers through his hair. His mother was the person he came to in all matters of the heart. His dad when it came to sex, cars, and just about everything else.
“I like her. I don’t mean just a little either.”
“The mother?”
“No, Lilly.” He glared at his mother, who held up her hands.
“Sorry, just clarifying.”
“I like her, a lot. She’s sweet and kind. I … when I’m around her, I don’t care about anything else. Women hit on me, and I just want to shove them away.”
Jane clicked her tongue. “I did warn you, son, that your reputation would bite you in the ass. I’ve seen Lilly around. She’s a beautiful woman.”
“I don’t think she even realizes that I like her,” Caleb said. He’d made every single excuse to go to the bar. Last night was the first time he’d gotten the courage to walk with her. With all the eggs cracked, he took the whisk his mother gave him and fluffed them up a little.
“Look, I don’t really know this woman. I’ve seen her, but you can’t judge someone by looking at them. Would you like for us to throw a birthday party for her? The family. I know Eliza adores her and so does Aunt Betty. We can bring it up. That way I can meet the woman who has my son’s heart in a spin.”
Caleb put his hands flat to the counter. “You won’t tell anyone?”
“That you’re falling in love?”
“Mom.”
“Honey, I won’t tell anyone. Your father and I will talk, you know that. We don’t have any secrets, but he’ll know not to tell your brothers. Why don’t you want them to know?”
“It’s James and Rome. They’ll love this. You know that.”
Jane never got to respond as Rome walked into the kitchen and slumped down on the seat.
“How long have you been here?” Jane asked.
Rome hadn’t come from the yard, but from inside the house.
“Since last night. I couldn’t be bothered to head on home.”
His little brother used to live with him, but that hadn’t lasted. Rome didn’t like all the women Caleb had brought home and even said he couldn’t get a whole lot of sleep.
“What are we talking about?” Rome asked, yawning.
“Parties,” Jane said.
Caleb thanked his mother for not saying anything. He wasn’t embarrassed by his feelings for Lilly, but he didn’t want his brothers to ruin anything.
Jane got started on breakfast, and sure enough, the moment the bacon was on, their dad, Theodore, joined them, kissing his wife before stealing a slice of toast and taking a seat.
Eliza, James, and Aunt Betty arrived. The moment they entered the kitchen, Caleb was on his feet, taking his second favorite female in the whole world into his arms. Litt
le baby Darla.
He absolutely adored her. She was so adorable even when she was awake. Right now, she slept.
“I’m surprised you haven’t asked to walk up and down the town square carrying her,” Eliza said. “Women would be all over you.”
“I wouldn’t use my niece in such a way.” He pressed a kiss to her head.
“Yeah, as if that boy needs any encouragement with those women. If I was ten years younger, I’d have myself a toy boy,” Aunt Betty said.
Caleb winked at the older woman, and everyone laughed. Eliza, of course, groaned.
“You have to do it, don’t you?” Eliza asked.
“I can’t help it.”
“Where’s Lilly?” Caleb asked, changing the conversation.
The kitchen went silent, and he glanced up.
“What?”
“Lilly didn’t want to come. I think she likes her Sunday mornings in front of that laptop of hers. It’s the only day she doesn’t work her ass off. I can’t believe how much she works. Nearly twenty-three years old, she doesn’t date, but she works.”
“Speaking of nearing twenty-three,” Jane said. “How about we throw her a birthday party?”
Aunt Betty smiled. “You know, I think that would cheer the girl up. Just the other day I asked her what she wanted, and she told me not to worry. She didn’t celebrate her birthday. Her mother has never gotten her a birthday cake. There were presents for a short time, but nothing to really make her birthday pop.”
“Then we’ve got to get her here. I’ll make a cake from scratch. You can do some flowers, Betty. We can allow that girl to have a birthday surrounded by all of us,” Jane said.
“We can get gifts,” Rome said. “Do we know what she likes?”
They turned toward Eliza.
“Nope, don’t look at me. When I babysat for her, she loved to study and read. She was always a hard worker. That’s about as much as I know when it comes to her.”
Caleb didn’t like that, but he was determined to find out everything he could about her. It wasn’t like it was a challenge. He spent most of his days thinking about her, wondering what she was doing. She was an obsession.