Praise for Hook, Line, and Sinker:
Blee rated it 5 stars on Goodreads. It was amazing. I loved the characters in this book, gives me anticipation for a series about this interesting group. While reading you can imagine how the others characters stories might evolve. This book wasn't all the typical expected plot I assumed would happen.
Praise for Christmas on Sandy Shores:
It's amazing how the writer takes us through a fully flushed out story in a shorter format. The characters are great, as are a few supporting characters. The setting of small summer beach town is complete from view of a a woman who grew up there both on and off season. The path to the HEA ending, while foreseen, kept me fully engaged and turning the pages to see how the HEA would happen.
Reviewed in the United States on the December 30, 2018 by Foothills of the Cascades
Praise for The Cowgirl Experiment:
I loved everything about this book: Characters, story, and writing. It is not only a romance, but also a study in realizing what is really important in life. The emphasis on family was refreshing and important to understanding how the characters reacted to events and each other.
Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2018 by Margy42
Pro Bono Romance
A Hart Brothers Story
SHIRLEY HOLDER PLATT
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Text copyright © 2020 by
Shirley Holder Platt
All rights reserved.
Cover Design: Fresh Design
ISBN- 9798649621946
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Always believe something wonderful is about to happen.
Seen on marble block at Heartisans Marketplace, Historic downtown Longview, Texas.
Table of Contents
Chapter One - Rainy
Chapter Two – Gabe
Chapter Three – Rainy
Chapter Four – Gabe
Chapter Five – Rainy
Chapter Six – Gabe
Chapter Seven – Rainy
Chapter Eight – Gabe
Chapter Nine – Rainy
Chapter Ten – Gabe
Chapter Eleven – Rainy
Chapter Twelve – Gabe
Chapter Thirteen – Rainy
Chapter Fourteen – Gabe
Chapter Fifteen – Rainy
Chapter Sixteen – Gabe
Chapter Seventeen – Rainy
Chapter Eighteen – Gabe
Chapter Nineteen – Rainy
Chapter Twenty – Gabe
Chapter Twenty-One – Rainy
Chapter Twenty-Two – Gabe
Chapter Twenty-Three – Rainy
Chapter Twenty-Four – Gabe
Chapter Twenty-Five – Rainy
Chapter Twenty-Six – Gabe
Chapter Twenty-Seven – Rainy
Chapter Twenty-Eight – Gabe
Chapter Twenty-Nine – Rainy
Chapter Thirty – Gabe
Chapter Thirty-One – Rainy
Chapter Thirty-Two – Gabe
Chapter Thirty-Three - Rainy
Chapter Thirty-Four – Gabe
Chapter Thirty-Five – Rainy
Chapter Thirty-Six – Gabe
BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chapter One – Rainy
Rainy rang up the last customers for the night and watched as the couple strolled out of her café precisely one hour after closing time. She usually loved her patrons, but some people seriously wore her out. They’d obviously never worked at a café, or they’d have gone home as soon as their food was eaten. Instead, they’d lingered over bottomless glasses of iced tea.
Gabe Hart had stopped by when he saw that the café was still open, bringing a bright spot to her evening. He bought a whole pie, but he’d been gone for about thirty minutes. Rainy had stared at the hot guy from her hiding spot in the kitchen. He was seriously good looking; too bad he was out of her league. Rainy had been working on her menu, it was her favorite thing to do. It kept her mind off her not so wonderful recent love life. Concentrating was proving quite difficult. She sighed as she turned the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’ and locked the door.
The lights from her windows, along with those in the parking lot, held the night at bay but could do nothing to dispel her inner darkness. She had been in a funk for days, thanks to Martin Polaski. She wished she’d never met the man. She scrubbed the counter furiously with a bar rag while muttering to herself. Her assistant, Olivia, cashed out the register and punched her timecard.
“I’m out of here.”
As Olivia exited through the back door, Rainy waved but didn’t look up. She had too much on her mind to be polite. Martin hadn’t called or returned a text in three days. The fight they’d had before he stormed out of her door played in a loop in her mind. It was different from what they usually fought over. He had always demanded that she be available to play anytime he wanted her attention. This was different. She’d thrown him out and wasn’t looking forward to seeing him again. He’d gotten a little rough with her. Nothing she couldn’t handle, but still.
She remembered how he’d once offered to support her if she’d give up the café. What a laugh. The man couldn’t hold down a job if he tried, which he didn’t. And now this. He’d gone too far. Anyway, she wasn’t about to change her life for a man.
“Give up the café?” she said to no one. “It’s the only thing keeping me sane.”
She stopped scrubbing and threw the rag into the glistening sink. She couldn’t clean anything any better than it already was. She’d been compulsively cleaning for three days now. Where had he got off to this time? If he came crawling back, she’d be ready. She’d had it with him. She wanted him to clear out his stuff and get out of her life forever.
Back in her younger days, she’d worked in Fort Worth at a high-end restaurant as a waitress while attending Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She’d lived with three other girls and saved every dime she didn’t have to spend on tuition, books, rent, and food during those four miserable years. She’d been just as frugal with the money she earned when she landed her first job in Fort Worth. The pay had been better than at the restaurant, and she’d been able to move into a one-room apartment nearby. She savored blessed peace at home, and it came with the bonus of her savings adding up enough to put a down payment on the café. When Mr. Ryder had announced his retirement in her hometown, she’d managed to secure a small business loan, and that, in addition to her nest egg, allowed her to buy the old run-down place. That meant she had to rent a house in town, but she found a great deal on a place that allowed her to have her animals.
Eat at Joe’s was a distant memory to the town folk. Rainy Daze Café was now the place to eat in Hartford. She’d almost killed herself painting and moving furniture to get the restaurant’s vibe up to date. Her innovative menu had enlivened the clientele and allowed for higher prices. The café was her pride and joy; her life. In the beginning, she spent sixteen-hour days working every job in the place until she was able to hire dependable help. After three years, she’d finally found a couple of people she trusted to open or close in her absence. She’d poured her heart and soul into making Rainy Daze the success it was. It irked her to think that Martin wanted her to give it up so she could wait around until he was ready for her to entertain him. Now that she knew what he liked for entertainment; the fact stuck in her craw even more.<
br />
She looked up quickly when someone knocked on the front door. Before she could call out the, “We’re closed,” that came to her lips, she saw that it was her best friend, Sophie.
Rainy rushed to unlock and let her friend inside.
“What’s up? How’s married life?”
Sophie had married one of the notorious Hart brothers only seven months prior, and the woman walked around with a constant smile on her face. Rainy was happy for her friend, but there was a streak of jealousy running through her that she kept in check when Sophie was around.
“I guess the honeymoon’s over,” Sophie said. She climbed onto a round bar stool and propped her head in her hands, elbows on the counter.
Rainy snorted. The two lovebirds were seldom apart, and when they were, they were texting each other constantly.
“It’s true. He’s at Nat’s with Gabe tonight. Said he needed a boy’s night out.”
“Spending time with his brothers is healthy. He can’t be by your side every minute of every day.”
“Why not?”
“Let’s get out of here. I opened today, and if I don’t get off my feet soon, they’re going to swell so much I won’t be able to get these shoes off.” Rainy looked down at the frumpy, thick, rubber-soled shoes that were both her salvation and embarrassment.
“Want to go out?” Sophie stood and hooked her shoulder strap over her arm.
“What I’d love to do is go home and drink a whole bottle of wine.”
“Things haven’t improved?” Sophie knew all about the up and down relationship her friend shared with Martin. She knew about the fight, but Rainy hadn’t told her what it was over.
“Haven’t heard from him since I threw him out of the house. It’s not like him to pout this long.”
“Maybe he fell in a hole and died,” Sophie said. There was no love lost between her and Martin.
“Don’t say that. You’re horrible.”
“Just saying…”
“I know what you’re saying. You’re not known for keeping your opinions to yourself, girl.” Rainy locked the door and hit the button to unlock her car door. “Where are we going?”
“Your place,” Sophie said. “I’d love to show you what I’ve done at mine, but it’s not finished yet.”
“Have you eradicated all traces of Darlene?” Darlene was the woman Zeke lived with before Sophie.
“I think I’ve exorcised that spirit,” Sophie said.
“Good. Darlene was bad news from the start. I’ve never seen a woman try to change a man as much as she did Zeke. It was like she didn’t appreciate him for who he was, at all. You two are a much better fit. I think it would be challenging to live in a house she decorated. Was it all expensive fru-fru?” Rainy wrinkled her nose like she was smelling milk that had gone bad after pouring it all over her morning cereal.
“Surprised me, but the place was nearly empty. Darlene took almost everything but the carpet. I guess that’s a good thing for me. She did leave the king-sized bed. I made him burn it. We’re sleeping on my pillow-top now, with my yummy sheets.”
“And these sheets are yummy, or is it the man in the sheets?” Rainy asked as she elbowed Sophie. It was fun to watch her friend turn all shades of red. Rainy’s olive complexion was much better at hiding her embarrassment than her friend’s fair skin. Sophie was so different from Rainy. Sophie wore her heart on her sleeve. You never wondered what her friend was thinking because she was the first to tell you. Rainy held her cards close. She’d learned from a young age to keep her thoughts inside. No one knew the real woman she kept hidden from view, and she liked it that way.
“I’ll see you at your place,” Sophie said as they got into their separate vehicles.
“I’ve got a bottle of red with our names on it.”
“Sounds perfect.”
Rainy sat in her car for a moment, absorbing the sound of silence within. She let a slow breath escape her lips before starting the motor. She prepared herself for whatever she might face at home. If Martin had come back, how would he react to having Sophie there? The man was unpredictable, and the last months had been far from his best.
She backed out and followed Sophie’s tail lights, hoping for peace in her life. It had been some time since she’d had a girlfriend over. Martin’s lousy attitude had contributed to her isolation slowly until she was down to Sophie’s company on rare occasions. She didn’t want to think about that. It was something to deal with when and if Martin decided to show his face again. For tonight, she’d enjoy her friend and the bottle of wine they’d share.
She pulled into her drive. Sophie parked on the street and met her at the back. Rainy rarely used her front door except for visitors. Martin’s car wasn’t in the driveway, and Rainy released a sigh. When had she started being happy to find her man was not at home? Oh yeah, three nights ago. She’d probably started earlier, but she couldn’t remember. Thinking about it was alarming.
“Tomorrow,” she told herself. “I’ll deal with whatever tomorrow brings when it gets here. Tonight is for me.” She hopped out of the car and hurried to unlock her back door.
“Come on in,” she said as she reached her hand in and flipped the lights on in the dark house. She stopped in her tracks suddenly, and Sophie ran into her back.
“What?” Sophie asked.
Rainy stepped aside to show Sophie a ransacked kitchen. Pots and pans were on the floor, her grandmother’s china dishes were broken and lying in pieces, flour covered every surface as if it had snowed in her house. She couldn’t breathe. Sophie pulled her by the arm, both women stepping backward as fast as they could move.
“I’m calling 911.” Sophie had her phone in her hand and was punching the numbers before the reality of her situation hit Rainy.
“I don’t understand. The door was locked.” Rainy shook her head in confusion. She reached for the doorknob and started to go inside, but Sophie stopped her.
“Don’t. Maybe the police can get fingerprints.”
Rainy snorted. Like that’s going to happen, she thought. To appease her friend, she stopped trying to get in, waiting until Sophie completed the 911 call.
“Let’s go around and see if any windows are broken, or if the front door’s been jimmied,” Rainy said. She was starting to think this wasn’t a burglary. It was Martin acting up. He’d thrown fits before when they’d fought, but nothing like this.
“Good idea.” Sophie held onto Rainy’s arm as they walked the perimeter. There was no evidence of forced entry.
“How?” Sophie asked. She stood in the front yard with a puzzled look as a patrol car pulled to the curb.
Rainy greeted the patrolmen with a relaxed demeanor. They didn’t need to know that she was angrier than she’d ever been in her life, and her heart was about to lurch out of her chest. She was itching to get inside to evaluate the damage. Her mind was already traveling to a meeting with that good-looking Hart brother-in-law of Sophie’s, Gabriel, or Gabe to his friends. He was the only attorney she knew. He was a corporate lawyer at his family’s construction business and a regular customer at Rainy Daze Café. He’d surely know someone he could refer with the right kind of expertise, because, oh yes, she was so going to sue Martin for this.
Chapter Two – Gabe
Gabe flipped the burgers on the grill in his backyard as Nat and Zeke told stories about each other from their wilder days. Gabe was the middle child and assumed the role of peacemaker when his brothers got too rowdy. The guys were in good moods, and Gabe was able to let his guard down. Nat was young enough that he still had some of those wild days, or nights more likely, but Zeke had settled into a comfortable routine after marrying Sophie. Two dogs ran circles around each other, barking and playing tug-of-war with an old sock filled with sand. Gabe noticed that the sand was leaking out quickly.
"If you don't want those dogs eating dirt," he said to Nat, "you'd better take that filthy sock away from them. They've about shredded it."
Nat gave a command, and
both dogs heeled at his side obediently. Their bodies quivered with the desire to keep playing, but they stayed still while Nat retrieved their toy and threw it into the trash can.
"Better shut that lid," Zeke said.
"They won't bother it." Nat was secure in the training he'd instilled in the two rescue pups.
"I'm thinking of the raccoons tonight," Zeke said.
"Ah, good idea."
"These are done. Want to bring me that platter?" Gabe asked.
Zeke got up to get the plate. His phone rang out from his pocket, so he stopped to swipe it open. Gabe and Nat rolled their eyes. They were getting used to Sophie calling their brother often when he was with them. Before either could say anything about him being hen-pecked, Gabe's phone started ringing. He'd left it on the picnic table they were planning to use for their dinner, so he motioned for Nat to take up the burgers.
Rainy's picture came up when he checked to see who was calling. He snagged the phone quickly, not wanting his brothers to see the picture. He'd taken it in her café while she wasn't aware. Her sweet and easy smile warmed his heart, and he'd hate for his brothers to know that he had a soft spot for the woman.
"This is Gabe," he said. He couldn't imagine why she'd be calling, especially since she was supposed to be with Sophie, and Sophie was on the phone with Zeke.
"Thanks for picking up. I've got a bit of a problem here," Rainy said into his ear.
"What kind of problem? How can I help? Aren't you with Sophie? Zeke's on the phone with her right now. Are you both all right?" He had at least one hundred other questions running through his mind, but she stopped him.
"We're both fine. We came to my house after closing the café, and someone ransacked my home. I'm sure it was the work of Martin since there was no break-in, and only my favorite things are broken."
"Why would he do that?" Gabe watched Zeke to see if he could tell what Sophie was telling him, but his brother may as well have been playing poker.
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