by Kaylea Cross
“Yes, he mentioned it. I was planning to stop in today.”
“I hope you will. The thing is, my budget is a little tight at the moment.” As in, maxed out. “So I can’t really afford to hire help right now.”
“I understand. Take my card, just in case.” He pulled one out of his wallet and handed it over. “You could pay me by the hour for certain jobs rather than my usual flat fee per month, if that helps. Then you could do most of it by yourself, and leave the jobs you don’t want to or can’t tackle to me. I handle basic repairs, too, and property maintenance. Pressure washing, gutter cleaning. Some plumbing and electrical, that type of thing. I do good work, just ask around. I’ve got lots of references.”
A local one-stop-shop handyman with a good reputation. Nice—she just wished she could afford more of his services. It would take a ton of work off her already heaping plate. “I appreciate that, thank you.”
“No problem. You have a nice day.” He paused on the front walkway, a fond look on his face as he gazed at the cottage. “Glad to see this place is going to get some love again. It’s a beauty.”
“Thanks.” Poppy found herself smiling as she watched him walk away. She was touched that Noah had contacted the man right away on her behalf, though it was a little embarrassing for the word to get out about how cash strapped she was. She knew how small towns worked, and how fast gossip spread.
She just hoped this town turned out to be a lot different than the one she’d come from.
Chapter Three
“So. Poker night at a bookstore, huh?” Jase asked, handing Noah an icy cold bottle of beer.
Noah accepted it. “That’s right.”
“Uh-huh.”
Jase walked with him over to the row of painted rockers on Beckett and Sierra’s back porch and sat down in one to admire the view. Over to the right Beckett was busy manning the grill, his old basset-mix rescue Walter staring up at him adoringly, and Sierra was wiping down the backyard table for them to eat at. Beyond the sloping lawn and garden at the edge of the property, the ocean glistened in the warm sunshine.
“This new neighbor of yours. She hot? Beckett won’t tell me shit,” Jase said.
One side of the sheriff’s mouth curved upward. “Maybe.”
No maybe about it. “Well now I’m stoked about Thursday night.” He wasn’t much of a reader except for WWII history books. He loved everything about the era, including the music. But hanging out in a bookshop to play poker for the evening with his buddies suddenly didn’t sound too bad at all if the owner was going to be there.
“She’s nice. Damn hard worker.”
“Yeah, she only hired our company for a couple things for her shop. Everything else she did herself. Even Beckett is impressed, and we both know that’s saying something.”
Noah eyed him in confusion. “You seriously haven’t met her? I thought you were Project Manager right now too, not just CFO?”
“Yeah, I’m PM for the bigger jobs. For hers I just handled all the invoicing and accounts payable.” But now he wished he’d gone over to Whale’s Tale in person while Beckett and the crew were over there. It was time for him to get out there and find a woman. “Looking forward to meeting Poppy. I’ve heard a lot about her.”
“I think she’s a little shy, actually.”
“Really? Didn’t get that impression from Beckett.”
Noah gave him a bland look. “Who would totally know, because he’s Mr. Social himself.”
Jase chuckled. “Yeah, you got me there.” His gaze strayed over to where his former commanding officer was basting barbecue sauce onto the burgers. “He used to be Mr. Social.”
“Yeah, he did.”
War sure changed a man. Jase knew that all too well.
Noah and Beckett had been best friends since they were kids. Jase had known Beckett for the past eleven years, and served with him in Special Forces for most of that. “Sierra’s setting him right, though.” Jase would never be the same man he had been before his military service. He’d seen and done too much, experienced things that would stay with him the rest of his life. But at least he was still high-functioning in spite of his baggage.
Unlike Carter.
Noah made a sound of agreement and stretched his legs out in front of him. “You like living here so far?”
“Yeah, it’s great. I grew up in Nebraska, so it’s incredible being right on the water now.” Except that being here also meant constantly nursing a bruised heart because he lived close to the woman he couldn’t have. The woman who technically was still his best friend’s wife. Well, former best friend and teammate.
You had your chance the night we met her, and she chose me. Me. Know why? Because I’m more of a man than you’ll ever be.
Jase shook the painful accusation and all thoughts of Carter away. He needed to get over that. Needed to get over Molly, too, but so far hadn’t met a woman who could even stir his interest for more than a few days. Maybe Poppy Larsen would be the one to cure him of his infatuation with Molly.
“Glad to hear it.” Noah smiled a little as he watched his sister cross to where Beckett stood at the grill and slid an arm around his waist, leaning her head on his shoulder. Beckett wrapped his arm around her back, kissed the top of her head.
It was strange to see Beckett so relaxed and openly affectionate. It had shocked the shit out of Jase when his former commanding officer had proposed to Sierra in front of him and their friends a few weeks back, but in a good way. “Is it still weird for you?” Jase asked Noah. “Those two together?”
“Sometimes. But they fit. I didn’t see it before, but they totally fit. And my parents are beyond stoked about the wedding.” He nodded at Beckett. “He’s always been my brother from another mother, so this’ll just make it official.”
It was funny how life worked. “All I know is, I haven’t seen Beck this happy in…” He thought about it a second. “Ever.” Not even when he’d been married to his first wife.
“Me either. Looks good on him.”
“It does.” Jase had only known Noah for a few months but he really liked the guy. He was solid and dependable, fair, and took pride in his job. The kind of guy who couldn’t be corrupted. As far as Jase was concerned, the world could use a few more hundred million Noah Buchanans in it.
Beckett’s phone rang. He pulled it out, and whoever it was must have been important because he stepped away from Sierra to answer it. “Hollister.” His rugged, beard-shadowed face split into a grin when the caller answered. A second later he crossed the lawn toward Jase and Noah. “Hang on, I’m putting you on speaker.” He hit the button and held up his phone. “Okay. Weaver’s here, and Sierra’s brother.”
“Hi, lads.”
Jase instantly recognized that Scottish burr and smiled so wide his cheeks hurt. “MacIntyre,” he said. “How the hell are you, man?”
“Doin’ alright. Tell me straight, Weaver. What’s it really like there in Red Tide, Oregon?”
Red Tide? Jase looked at Beckett questioningly, who gave a sardonic shake of his head. “It’s Crimson Point, asshole, and don’t make me regret the job offer,” Beckett said.
Mac made a scoffing sound. “Eh, don’t make me regret accepting it then.”
Jase’s eyes widened as he stared at Beckett. Seriously? It was happening?
“Yeah? You’re in?” Beckett asked, grinning in spite of his hard tone. He still carried the air of command easily. You could take the man out of the military, but you couldn’t take the military—or the captain—out of the man.
“I am. Unless you say something in the next sixty seconds to make me change my mind.”
“This is awesome,” Jase said, excitement rushing through him. “You’re gonna love it here, man.” Mac’s Royal Marine Commando unit had worked with their A-Team often during an extended deployment to Bagram in Afghanistan over a year ago, forging a lasting bond between them. They’d been in some tight spots together, and Mac was definitely a guy you wanted to watch your six
when things got ugly. Unlike a certain someone Jase and Beckett had served and bled with for more than a decade.
He shoved that thought aside too.
Mac laughed. “Whatever, Weaver. You just want me to take a load off your scrawny shoulders, let you get back to holing up with your computer and spreadsheets full time.”
“Oh, God yes,” Jase said, not even bothering to pretend otherwise.
“Alright, then. When do you want me, Captain?” Mac said to Beckett.
Beckett looked at Jase as he spoke. “How soon can you get here?”
“This weekend soon enough for you, you relentless, hardass bastard?” The accent was awesome. It totally made most of what Mac said.
“I’d prefer tomorrow, but yes. The weekend’s fine.”
Jase was in a great mood as he and Noah lined up at the grill for the burgers a few minutes later. “We’re not waiting for Molly, I gather?” he asked. He’d steeled himself on the way over to see her here. Maybe she’d been called in for an extra shift at the hospital or something.
“No, I don’t know where she is. I texted her and she didn’t answer. Probably on her way over,” Sierra said, grabbing the sleeve of his T-shirt and tugging him toward the table she’d set up. “There are two different kinds of salads. I expect to see both on your plate.”
“Yes, Mom.”
“She can’t help it,” Noah said, passing him on the way to the table. “She’s always been bossy.”
The four of them sat at the table to dig in. Beckett had inherited the Queen Anne-style Victorian from his dad, who’d just passed away a few weeks back, and the place was incredible. The view alone was worth five million easy, and sitting out here in the garden with his friends, eating a great meal while the ocean crashed against the beach at the base of the cliff, was pretty damn awesome.
Noah’s phone rang just as he took a huge bite of burger. “Buchanan,” he answered with his mouth full. He frowned, chewed fast and swallowed. “When?” The frown deepened and he grabbed his napkin to wipe at his mouth. “Okay, I’m on my way over there.”
As soon as he hung up he looked at Jase, then the others. “Dispatch got a call from Molly’s neighbor. There’s trouble. I gotta go over right now.”
Jase’s breathing hitched, the few bites of dinner turning to rocks in the pit of his stomach. Fuck. “I’ll come with you,” he said, shoving to his feet.
Carter. Had to be. Jesus, what had he done this time?
“Me too,” Beckett said, putting a restraining hand on Sierra’s shoulder. “No, you stay put. I’ll call you once I know what’s going on.”
Jase drove Beckett, following Noah’s patrol car to the place Molly and Carter had been renting a couple minutes out of town. She’d decided to stay in it after separating from Carter, but now Jase wished she hadn’t.
His mind raced, coming up with scenario after scenario, each worse than the last. Was Molly okay? What the hell had Carter done? He’d fallen off the grid weeks ago, and with things so quiet Jase and the others had assumed he’d gone back home to Kansas. Molly hadn’t told them Carter had been in contact at all. Unless she’d hid it?
Two more patrol cars were parked out front of the red cedar shingled bungalow when Jase pulled up. There was no sign of Carter’s truck.
Noah headed straight inside, hand on the service weapon holstered at his waist, and much as it killed Jase to stay out, he had to let the cops do their thing before he could check on Molly personally. “Think he came here on foot?” he asked Beckett. If it had been Carter. And Jase’s gut said it had.
“Dunno,” Beckett answered, watching the door. There were no sounds coming from the house. No shouting or fighting. Had Carter been here and taken off?
Finally Noah stepped back out onto the front porch. “You guys can come in. He’s gone.”
“Is she okay?” That was all Jase cared about right now.
“She’s shaken up, but not hurt.”
That helped ease the tension inside him only slightly. Christ, Carter, what did you do?
Jase strode up the steps and through the front door. The scent of something savory filled the air. Likely something Molly had made to bring to the barbecue. “Moll?” he called out.
He spotted her as soon as he turned down the hallway. She was seated on the couch in the living room, her head bent. She glanced up at him as he approached, her light brown skin a little pale, cheeks pink, eyes a bit swollen. But no blood, no bruising.
Jase relaxed a little more. He didn’t think Carter would ever hurt her physically, even in his bat-shit crazy mental state, but he was relieved to see she seemed unharmed. “What happened—” His words died when he saw the destruction in the kitchen.
Broken dishes littered the floor. Shards of shattered mirror were strewn across the hardwood. A busted wooden chair lay sagging against the wall, and a fist-sized hole stood in it at shoulder height.
Jase stared at it, his gut constricting. Jesus Christ. In spite of Carter’s issues, Jase had remained convinced that he would never hurt Molly. Now he wasn’t so sure.
He whipped his gaze back to her, fury and protectiveness pounding through him. “Did he touch you?”
“No,” she said, her tone adamant. “No, he… He didn’t touch me.”
Looking at the destruction around him, and knowing how close Molly had come to taking the full brunt of Carter’s wrath, Jase wanted to smash his former best friend’s face in. “What did he come here for?”
“It’s the separation,” she answered, her voice husky. “He can’t seem to accept it. I haven’t seen him in weeks but he’s been sending flowers every now and then, texting me, asking me to see him. I never respond. I don’t even know where he’s been living. Then tonight he showed up as I was getting ready to come to the barbecue, and—” Her gaze shot to Beckett, filled with worry. “Does Sierra know?”
“She knows you were in trouble and that your neighbors called the cops. But I’ll let her know you’re okay.”
Her shoulders sagged and she covered her face with a hand. “God. I’m so damn embarrassed,” she moaned. “The whole freaking town’s gonna know by morning. I hate drama, and being the topic of gossip.”
“Hey. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Jase said, taking the chair next to her and sitting down to reach for her hand. Touching her was always a double-edged sword, but she had no clue how he felt about her and there was no way he could keep his distance right now anyway. Not when she was so sad and shaken.
Her fingers were cold, trembled a little. Molly was an experienced ER nurse. She didn’t rattle easily. So that slight tremor told him everything. She was scared shitless of Carter, and that he might come back.
Jase squeezed her hand in reassurance, throttled back the anger eating at him. He of all people could understand why Carter wouldn’t want to let her go. But terrorizing her when she didn’t agree to reconcile was about the lowest thing Jase could think of doing to a woman. “You need to file a restraining order, Moll.” She should have done it the day Carter walked out, but she hadn’t.
Her tight, chocolate curls bounced as she nodded. “I know. I know, but I wanted to avoid it at all cost. And I can’t file for divorce until I hit the six-month residency mark here.”
“Jase is right. You need to file,” Beckett said, his voice quiet but full of authority. “Tonight. No more waiting.”
“I’ll walk you through it,” Noah said from where he stood across the room.
She nodded, lowered her hand and stared at the coffee table. “Yes. Okay. Shit.”
Jase stayed with her while she gave her full report to Noah and filed for the restraining order. By the time that was done, Beckett had cleaned up the mess in the kitchen. “You feel like coming over for a burger?” he asked her.
She forced a smile, shook her head. “Thanks, but I can’t right now.”
“I understand. You want Sierra to come over?”
Molly watched him for a moment, debating it. “If I say no, she’l
l be over here at six in the morning ringing my doorbell, so I guess I’d better say yes,” she said with another brave attempt at a smile that hurt Jase’s heart. He hated seeing her like this. Molly had always lit up a room just by walking into it. Lately, her inner light was dimming more and more.
One side of Beckett’s mouth turned up. “Pretty much, yeah. I’ll call her.” He walked away, already on his phone.
Jase stood up, feeling useless. And torn somewhere between anger and bitter disappointment with his former best friend. “I’ll stay until Sierra gets here,” he said to Molly. He didn’t think Carter would come back tonight, but there was no way to know for sure.
“Thanks, but no. I’ll be okay.”
Of course she would. Molly was the strongest woman he’d ever known, had trouble accepting help from others. But Jase wanted her to lean on him. He wanted…
Too much. Way too much. And it had to stop, goddamn it. Why couldn’t he make the feelings stop? She’d chosen another man, who happened to be his best friend, years ago, and married him. End of story.
He dragged a hand through his hair, unsure what to do or say next. “Call me if you change your mind.”
“I will.”
She wouldn’t. And he should be thankful for that.
Beckett and Noah were standing out in the driveway when Jase joined them. Noah cut him a hard look. “You heard from Carter since you last saw him?”
“Not since the funeral.” It had shocked them all that Carter had showed up to Beckett’s father’s funeral, but in a good way. And it had meant the world to Beckett. Jase had even thought there might be a chance Carter was turning things around.
“I think he was at my place a couple nights before that,” Beckett said, making Jase and Noah look at him in surprise. “Walter heard someone in the yard in the middle of the night. I found a set of tracks leading across the lawn and back. He left a cut up 3rd Special Forces Group patch on my porch.”
“Son of a bitch,” Jase snarled, glaring at Beckett. “Why didn’t you say anything?” And who’d have thought Beckett’s ancient rescue dog would ever do something so useful?