by Ryan Michele
Me: I gotta go. Talk to you later.
Macy: Take care of yourself. Later.
Closing up my computer, I laid on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I knew in my heart that Macy would never tell a soul where I was. It was pretty shitty of me to just try to cut her out of my life like we didn’t have this huge ass history together. I knew it would be easier, but not practical. I didn’t want to hurt her, ever. I loved her, even though I never told her what went on between Rob and me.
I could never tell anyone … ever. No one on this Earth knew exactly what our relationship was like. The terrified feelings I had every time he came home from work hoping he was in a good mood. The feeling of dread every time he began touching my body when I wasn’t ready and having to feel him take what he wanted. The weight of carrying all this on for so long made me want to collapse.
I really thought Rob loved me. Even through our ‘rough patches,’ I just knew that the kind-hearted man that took care of me after Dad’s death was in there. But it just continued to get worse and worse. When I finally realized that he didn’t love me, the hurt cut deep. The feeling of being stabbed deep in the heart would have been better than the feeling of not having Rob’s love.
Closing my eyes, I knew I needed to pray. I had started it back when the hitting began. My parents were never strict on religion growing up, but I definitely found that I needed something to hold on to while with Rob. I continued every night since that first night.
Hey God, please keep those I love safe … and me too. Thank you.
I then closed my eyes and willed myself to sleep.
Waking with a jolt, I immediately looked around at my surroundings. Realizing where I was, I felt myself begin to calm, and I was able to catch my breath. I’m in Georgia with Lauryn. Safe.
After doing my normal routine for the morning, I thought I should find Lauryn. I felt bad about how I left things with her last night. I shouldn’t have gotten bitchy. I need to remember to keep myself in check and not let those little things get to me. They’ll be an instant giveaway.
Lauryn was only trying to help me get my story straight before meeting all her ‘friends’ in town. I should be thanking her, not giving her attitude.
Walking down the hallway, I heard voices—male voices. Instantly, all my alerts went up, my body tensed, and my heart went into overdrive. I didn’t recognize any of the voices except for Lauryn’s. It sounded as if she was giving instructions on something.
As I slowly turned toward the kitchen, I jumped as I saw three large men sitting at the island with Lauryn. There were large rolls of paper laid out in front of them. I assumed they were blueprints for something.
Looking up, Lauryn noticed me. “Hey Sadie! Come check out the new deck I’m having built around the house!”
At Lauryn’s words, all eyes were focused on me, and I felt an instant flush throughout my body. What the hell was I looking at?
These men had to be related. They had the most amazing features. Gorgeous … was a frivolous word for describing them. All three had dark brown hair and incredibly broad shoulders. What were they feeding the men here in Georgia?
Walking carefully to the bar, I did my one-handed wave and introduced myself. “Hey, I’m Sadie.”
Practically falling over themselves, all three men jumped out of their seats and extended their hands to me.
“Hi ma’am. I’m Renzo.” I shook his hand first. He must have been the oldest. Something in his dazzling blue eyes spoke of maturity and responsibility. His touch was warm and inviting.
“Hi. Nice to meet you.”
Before getting the words fully out, the next reached for my hand. “Hi, I’m Lukas. It’s really nice to meet you.” And with a wink, he shook my hand.
“Nice to meet you, too.” My face was on fire, and I could feel my hands slightly shake. I just knew my face looked like a freaking tomato. I mean, seriously, did they have to be so damn attractive? And the kicker was the hottest one was yet to come.
“Howdy. Glad to meet ya. I’m Landon.” As I put my hand out to shake his, he pulled it up to his lips and kissed the back of my hand, sending an intense electric current that ripped through my hand, up my arm, and down my body.
He must have felt it too, because when his eyes locked with mine, I saw a different intensity in them.
He pulled his hand away, but his eyes never left mine.
Pulling my eyes from him and shaking myself out of his electrifying stare, I noticed the other men were staring at him. Not understanding what was going on, I moved over to Lauryn.
“Sadie, these are the contractors that have been working hard on this place. They’ve taken my vision and made this house … perfect. Their dad owns Ellison Construction. Well, they kinda all own it.” Lauryn smiled wide at Renzo. His gaze never left the blueprints. He seemed oblivious to Lauryn’s attempts to get his attention. That baffled me. Those two would make some beautiful babies together. “And their sister, Lainey, is my best friend.”
I was right! Brothers … yep, very hotly related. I called that one. There had to be some law that brothers couldn’t be this hot!
“Well, it’s nice to meet you. I’m gonna grab a Diet Coke and head back upstairs so you can get your … whatever it is you’re doing … done.” My hand waved at the display of papers.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Sadie. This place is just as much yours as it is mine now. I need your help.”
I felt the room get extra quiet and looked around to all the men. They were now seated, but their eyes were still locked on mine. “What?” I asked hesitantly.
“You’re living here with Lauryn?” Renzo asked.
“Yes, just moved here yesterday.” Why did I feel like my heart was going to jump out of my chest and fall on the floor?
“Well, let me be the first to welcome you to Williamsfield.” Landon gave me a smile that a million dollars couldn’t buy.
Now this man was the epitome of a man. I had never ever seen a finer specimen. Ever. His dark brown hair was just to his ears and looked like silk. His eyes were piercing—a beautiful blue with a dark ring of navy around the outside edge. A woman could get lost in those eyes.
Not this woman, but any other woman.
His body was built as if he spent lots of time in the gym. His arms were so muscular they could engulf me, like that would ever be an option for me.
Curiosity plagued me on what was under that shirt, not that I would ever find out. Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I answered, “Thank you.”
Looking away from all of them, I went to the fridge and grabbed my Diet Coke and came back to the island. Standing at the edge, Lauryn moved next to me.
She leaned down and whispered in my ear, “I’ve known these men all my life. They’re cool. No worries.” She smiled at me.
I smiled back trying to keep my gaze away from the three men I knew were staring at me.
“Take a look Sadie, tell us what you think,” Renzo said.
Looking briefly at him then at the plans, I was amazed. “Wow, this is going to be awesome, Lauryn! It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks. We’ve been working on these for a while now. I wanted them to be just right.”
The plan was to have a deck that went all around the house that would be completely attached. It had two different levels with a built in grill and hot tub. It screamed party.
Laughing, Lukas said, “Yeah, she’s pit-bull ‘til she gets what she wants.”
Lauryn smacked his arm, and I flinched. Damn it. It wasn’t anything; they were joking around. And what did I do … fucking knee jerk reaction.
“Oh shit, Sadie. Sorry.” Lauryn came and put her arm around my shoulders.
“It’s nothing. I’m gonna head back to my room. It was nice meeting you.” I knew Lauryn didn’t know the story of why I was here, but my reaction sure told her enough.
Turning to leave, my eyes briefly found Landon’s .
What I saw caused my knees to go a bit weak. He smiled his sexy s
mile and winked at me.
If only. Never gonna happen.
A quick goodbye, and I was out of there, practically running to my room. I shut the door and locked it. They were just joking around. No one was getting hurt damn it. I hated that reaction, but I couldn’t stop it.
Twirling my hands in my lap, I felt the tears rolling down my cheek, each one splashing to my hands. It has to get easier … right?
“Holy shit! Did you see those legs?” Renzo called from the front seat of the truck.
“How could you miss them with those short ass shorts? Damn, and that ass!” Lukas chimed in.
“I know, she was one fine woman,” Renzo added.
“Hell no! I saw her first. She’s my fine woman,” Lukas barked back.
“Lukas, hate to say it, but I think lover boy back there may have the best shot.”
“No way! He always gets the hot ones, but not this one,” Lukas retorted.
“Landon,” I heard them call my name, but I was too busy looking out the window trying to gather my thoughts, which were scattered all over the place and not making any sense.
“Landon!” I jumped at the deep bellow from Renzo and replied “Yeah.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Renzo started eyeing me in the rearview mirror as if I had grown two heads.
“Nothing.” There wasn’t anything wrong with me, really. I just happened to have laid eyes on the most beautiful, sexy woman that I’d ever seen, and she seemed to suck the air out of me.
When Sadie walked into Lauryn’s kitchen, I felt as if my heart stop stopped beating. She was utterly breathtaking. At the sight of her, it was like I had a mouth full of cotton.
“Did you hear anything we said about Sadie?” Lukas asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Hm … yeah. She’s hot.”
Hot! Hell yeah, hot. The short shorts she had on showed every curve of her beautifully shaped ass and long legs. And on top … her t-shirt clung to every tight curve including those full, round, and unbelievably sexy breasts.
Not to mention her hair—auburn, wavy, and long. I do love long hair. Her eyes were what really caught my attention. They were a very unique blue-gray that I’d never seen before, but looking into them, I could see something I just couldn’t put my finger on. She intrigued the shit out of me, which also scared me to death.
“Yeah. Hot is putting it lightly. She is smokin’!” Renzo chimed in.
“You scored some serious points with that whole kissing the hand thing, Landon. I should have done that,” Lukas said, turning to look at me in the back.
“Shit, it was a spur of the moment reaction,” I replied.
“What the hell was that look on her face for?” Renzo asked.
“Hmm … She liked it idiot,” I shot back.
The hell I was going to tell them that my entire body caught on fire when my lips touched her hand. I felt as if I was burning alive from the inside out. The shocked look on her face told me that she felt it, too.
My lips still tingled from her touch. I wondered what it would be like to kiss those beautiful, full lips of hers. If her hand could make me feel like that, what would her mouth do?
Fuck. It was just lust. That was it.
Wasn’t it? Her eyes. It was what I saw in her eyes that drew me to her. I couldn’t read it, but it was there.
I needed to stay away. This couldn’t end well.
“Renzo, she was looking at you a lot,” I shot at him.
“I know. I liked it. I’m gonna make sure to get to know her better,” Renzo said.
“The hell you are, dick!” Lukas jumped in. “I get this one.”
“No you don’t, fucker. Just ‘cause you want her don’t me you get her,” Renzo bit back. “Not to mention, we all know I give the best orgasms anyway.”
“That’s not what the last girl you were interested in screamed to me last night,” Lukas said.
“I hate you,” Renzo fired back.
“You gonna get in on this, Landon?” Lukas asked.
“Nah. Go for it.” I turned and continued my gaze out the window from the backseat of the truck.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my brothers look at each other and shake their heads. I ignored them like always. They were morons.
Renzo was the oldest of the four of us. He was a royal pain in the ass. He oozed responsibility. While the company would be handed down to all four kids, we all knew that Renzo would be the main guy. How could he not? He was smarter than shit and had more degrees than I thought possible. Not to mention, he was the first-born.
Now if people tried to tell you that just because a kid was first born in a family didn’t give them any more opportunities than the others—they were lying to you.
It was just how it went. There was no changing it, and even if there were, I didn’t think I would want to. We were all going to be equal partners; Renzo would just have to handle more of the shit problems. I could deal with that.
Lukas was the youngest boy. He loved to party, maybe a bit too much. He still did his job with the company, but when he wasn’t there, I heard all kinds of stories. I tried and stayed out of his business unless he needed help. I figured he was a grown ass man; he should be able to work it out.
“So, let me get this right. You don’t wanna go for Sadie?” Lukas’s words pulled me out of my thoughts.
“Nah. Go ahead.”
“Fuck,” they moaned together.
“What the hell’s your problem?” I barked at them.
“Okay, dumbass, how often do you tell us to go for a girl that you think is hot?” Renzo said.
I just stared out the window. I didn’t want to answer. Normally, I would harass my brothers into giving up on a chick so I could have my way with her. But women all ended up the same. Maybe once or twice I’d screw them, and then they’d be gone—nothing ever serious. I knew deep down this one was not the “hit it and quit it” type.
Even in our brief meeting, she screamed this. She didn’t hang all over my brothers or me. She actually pulled away. She wasn’t rude about it, but she didn’t have the I want to screw him attitude at all. If anything, it was the opposite, as if she was trying to stay as far away as possible. And damnit, if that didn’t make my pull to her take root.
I couldn’t risk getting close to her. I couldn’t give any woman what they needed. It wasn’t my style, at least not anymore. No way was I having a repeat of Stacy. No woman would ever have that much power over me again.
“Yeah, Landon, you never blow off a hot piece,” Lukas chimed in.
“Thought I would throw you guys something,” I responded.
This got me another mutual, “Fuck,” from both brothers.
They had to know the reason was Stacy, and judging by their reaction, they were already getting the picture. Hell, if I was going to talk about it though; men don’t share their feelings with each other. Hell no.
Didn’t mean that I could shut my mind off.
In Sadie’s eyes was vulnerability, an almost skittish feel. I didn’t know if it was just me or the male population in general. She seemed to have a tough exterior, but interior—the jury was still out.
And truth be told, I didn’t want to be the one to break her if her interior wasn’t as strong.
Would I love to fuck her, hell yeah, but that was not in the cards with her. She seemed to be the type of girl where sex was more than sex. I couldn’t have that.
Lukas or Renzo could have her.
“What the hell is your problem?” I snapped at my brothers after their mutual groan.
“Nothing.”
“What the fuck is your problem?” I yelled at them both.
“I said nothing. Leave it at that,” Renzo shot back.
“Damn, are you on the rag or something?” I laughed.
“Laugh now pretty boy, we’ll see.” Lukas smiled and turned toward the window.
“What the hell does that mean?” I asked, not willing to let this go quite yet.
&nb
sp; “It means shut the hell up!” Renzo snapped.
“Whatever,” I mumbled and ignored them the rest of the way to the office.
Slamming down the phone on my desk, I was pissed, hot, fired up. The concrete foreman, who said we didn’t pay for them for the rebar, just reamed me out. I was sure we did, but trying to smooth things over with them until I could get the paperwork in front of me, didn’t go like I planned. Nope, he decided to call my family lowlifes and scammers, which I didn’t take kindly to.
My family was everything to me. They were all I had. No one … and I mean no one talked shit about them. If we made a mistake, we would fix it. But I’d be damned if some asshole was gonna talk shit about my family.
Ending the phone call with an, ‘I’ll look it up and get back to you,’ didn’t sway my mood. I was fuming.
I needed to take a break, and then I’d find the paperwork. Spinning the chair from my desk, I looked out the large window over the town. Williamsfield wasn’t very big. Everyone knew my family; we’d lived here for generations. We knew everyone, and everyone knew us.
Sometimes this was good, like when the sheriff caught me speeding and let me off. And sometimes bad, like the second time when the sheriff’s baby girl was the one in my passenger seat while speeding. That one didn’t end well for me. A few hours behind bars, and Renzo had to come bail me out. Which he still gave me shit about!
Talk in this town was atrocious. Everyone knew everyone else’s business all the time. There were no secrets, which sucked. Everyone here knew my past. I couldn’t run or hide from it. It was always there staring me in the face.
The people here didn’t talk directly to me about it, but I heard their whispers and stupid shit like that. Not that I gave a flying fuck.
I’d come to terms with it, to a point. I couldn’t change it, but it had changed me. I didn’t want one woman or love. It hurt too much. Why would I want to hurt myself any more than I already had?
“Son!”
I immediately jumped out of my chair. “Shit! Sorry, sir. What’s up?”
“Son, heard you slam the phone, just wanted to come and see what’s up,” Dad said casually while moving to sit in the chair in front of my desk.
“I can handle it, Pop,” I said calmly. I knew my dad meant the best, but the fact that he still had to micromanage everything drove me nuts. I wished he would just trust me to handle it, but he never did. At least it wasn’t just with me; it was with my brothers, too. So that made it a bit better.