by Cate Beauman
“But it must’ve been hard.”
“Not all of it. I had my friend, Chuck. He and his family lived on the other side of the tracks. I stayed with them a lot—from middle school on. His father owned a construction company—taught me everything I know. He put me to work in the summers. Kept me out of trouble and in basketball shoes.”
“That’s nice that they gave you a home.”
“I loved being there. They gave me a shot at something decent. Then Marilynn, Chuck’s mom, was killed in a car accident, and everything changed.”
“That’s terrible.” She touched his arm with the rush of sympathy.
“It was pretty tough. Marilynn was definitely the glue that held that family together. Chuck and Donald ended up moving to Virginia. I got lost and started doing stupid shit.”
“How old were you?”
“Eighteen. Old enough to know better. Luckily I was smart enough to get my butt to class and graduate, but after school I was hanging around with the wrong crowd. One night a couple of my ‘friends’ decided to lift a truck. I was about to find my way into a squad car, but Chuck’s uncle was a cop and recognized me. He pulled me aside and told me he was going to give me a choice: I could have his wife pick me up and get myself signed up for the service, or he would haul my ass off to the slammer and I could waste my life in prison. Joleen picked me up, and I joined the Coast Guard the next day.”
She paused with another fry at her lips. “The Coast Guard?”
“Yeah. I thought I’d try something different. Everyone did the Marines and Navy. I decided on Maritime Enforcement for a while—basically a cop on the water, until I joined the Deployable Operations Group.”
“What’s that?”
“We did classified missions with the Navy.”
“Oh. So you ended your service last year?”
He shook his head. “Two-thousand ten. A couple buddies of mine got out and joined a private contracting group over in the Middle East. They were making crazy bucks. I decided to join them.”
“That’s pretty dangerous, isn’t it?”
He shrugged. “It had its moments.” He crumpled up his wrapper. “But those days are over.”
“So now you work for Ethan. Do you like it?”
He nodded. “The pay’s good, the men I work with are the best in the business, and I don’t have to worry about bullets buzzing over my head or getting blown up all the damn time, so I’d say I like it a lot.” He grabbed the last onion ring and bit in. “So what about you?”
She stopped chewing her burger. “What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, ‘what do I mean?’ We live together and I don’t even know your last name.”
She swallowed and sipped at her soupy vanilla milkshake, debating whether or not to tell him. He’d shared some of his story. She could do the same. “Burke,” she said, taking a huge risk.
“Sophie Burke.” He nodded. “So where’d you learn your moves on the basketball court?”
“Camp after camp after camp.” She smiled. “I was born obsessed.”
“I take it you played in school.”
She nodded. “Started in middle school, high school, and college.”
He whistled through his teeth. “Division One or Two?”
“One.”
He whistled again and she grinned.
“Don’t leave me hanging. What school?”
She sipped her shake, growing uneasy with all the questions, but if she evaded he would know she was hiding something. “UConn.”
“Yeah, that’s Division One all right. Jesus, Soph, the court’s been out there for weeks. I had no idea I was living with Ms. UConn.”
“I’ve been busy.” Today was the first time she’d picked up a basketball in years. She hadn’t had time for it when mom was sick, then Eric hadn’t allowed it. She didn’t realize how much she’d missed the game.
“So you graduated three years ago?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t graduate. I never finished school.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“My mother got sick halfway through my senior year.”
He grunted. “That’s tough.”
“She passed away a couple years ago. Cervical Cancer.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too. It was awful.” She still remembered her mother’s phone call to the dorm, telling her the news. “When we found out it was already too late.”
“No good.”
“No.” She’d been lost ever since—until she found Abby and Stone.
“Any brothers or sisters?”
She shook her head, sipping at her shake, then extended the cup to him. “It’s just me,” she said as he helped himself to a deep swallow of her dessert.
“What about your dad?”
“He died when I was in middle school. He was a real estate attorney down in Boston, but he moved his practice up to Portland before I was born. A month after he passed away my mother and I found out he was involved in some pretty shady deals.” She’d never told anyone that. The idea of her father being a thief was embarrassing but somehow she knew Stone didn’t care.
“I guess every family has something.”
“I guess. My father blew through his and my mom’s savings and the massive inheritance his grandmother left him. He tried to gain access to my trust and cashed in the life insurance. My mother sold the house and we moved away.”
“Sounds eventful.”
She chuckled. “That’s a word for it.” Those were hard times, but her mom made them work.
“You gonna open your own shop?”
“I’d like to eventually.” She passed the shake to him for the second time, deciding this wasn’t so bad. Sharing little bits of herself didn’t have to be a big deal.
“Why wait? You’re doing all right.”
“Mmm…it’s complicated.” She trusted him, but she wasn’t ready to tell him everything. She probably wouldn’t ever be.
“Complicated.” He gave the drink back, holding her gaze.
“Yeah.”
“There’s always a way around complications.”
“Not always.” She thought of Eric and immediately dismissed him. She didn’t want to think of anything but the view and sitting here next to Stone. “Do you want the rest of my fries?”
He snagged the box from her hand and leaned back again.
She did the same, surprisingly relaxed after telling him more than she’d ever planned to. “This is nice.”
“It’s a hell of a way to spend an evening.” He crossed his ankles. “I’m going to the store tomorrow to order the stuff for the kitchen—the range, fridge, so on and so forth. I thought you could come give me a hand since you actually use the stuff.”
“Yeah. Sure.” She liked that he valued her thoughts. “I have a meeting with Janice at one, but I’m free after that.”
“We’ll go when you get back.” He glanced at his watch.
“It’s getting late. We should probably head home, huh?” She didn’t want to. She wanted to stay here just like this for hours more.
He turned his head, his eyes meeting hers. “After you agree to a rematch.”
She laughed. “Definitely.”
He hopped down from the hood and held out his hand. “Come on over.”
She took the hand he offered.
He pulled her to his side of the car, staring into her eyes as he gripped her hips the way he’d done earlier, and set her down.
She licked her lips, suddenly nervous as they stood toe to toe. If this were a date he would probably try to kiss her, but it wasn’t. “Thanks—thanks for dinner and the amazing view.”
“No problem. It’s the least I could do for the reigning champ.”
She smiled. “We’ll have to do this again.”
“Any time you want.” He snagged the blanket and walked to the trunk, ending one of the best nights she could remember.
Chapter Twelve
Sophie ran up the road, her
heart jittery with panic as she glanced at her watch for the millionth time. She was late—incredibly late. She’d told Stone she would be home by three. It was quarter to four. Her breath puffed out as she picked up her pace, even though she wanted to turn and run the other way. He was going to be angry. Even laidback men like Stone had their limits. He might have shrugged off five or even ten minutes, but not forty-five.
She’d worried herself sick on the bus ride home, watching the minutes tick by on her wrist, trying to figure out what he was going to do when he saw her. Eric would have slapped her without mercy, reminding her of her disrespect, until he threw her to the floor and added a few kicks for good measure. But what about Stone? He was so much stronger than Eric. He probably wouldn’t hit her, but he might make her leave. And what about Murphy?
“Murphy,” she whispered, sprinting up the steep incline, turning the corner as Seether blasted through the stereo speakers from inside the house.
She slowed when she spotted Stone under the hood of the blue-gray Hyundai Azera that now had wheels on the rims and Murphy lying at Stone’s feet, sleeping on his back in the sun. A rush of shame flooded her as she realized she’d compared Stone to Eric again. Even after all these weeks and his unending kindness, she still kept waiting for the worst. Eric had been nice to her too at first—too nice, but Stone didn’t try overly hard to impress her. He didn’t try at all. She hated that she continued to put him on the same level as the smarmy creature she left behind. Stone and Eric were nothing alike.
Murphy heard her first and rolled to his tummy, gaining his feet, hurrying toward her.
She smiled as his tail wagged faster the closer he came. “Hi, baby boy.” She scooped him up, laughing as he bathed her cheek with several kisses. “Did you have fun with Stone?”
Stone stood from under the hood and faced her. “Hey.”
“I’m so sorry I’m late. The meeting ran way over,” she explained as she walked closer. “Janice is such a nice woman, but she talks so much. I didn’t catch the bus I’d planned on, which put me further behind,” she rambled with the rush of nerves as he stared at her despite her personal reminder that he was not Eric.
“Does it look like I’m in any hurry?”
She studied his handsome face smeared with grease and his filthy white muscle shirt. “No, but I told you I thought I would be home by three.”
“And you weren’t.” He shrugged.
“Which is rude. I tried calling your phone, but you didn’t answer so—”
“I left it in the trailer. I didn’t want work bugging me today.”
“I hope Murphy wasn’t any trouble.” She hugged the healthy puppy closer. “I should have planned better.”
“Shit happens. It’s no big deal.”
She blinked, realizing he truly could care less. How long would it be before she finally adjusted to the idea that mistakes and unmet timetables didn’t have to be the end of the world? “Thank you for understanding.”
“There’s nothing to understand. I’m not your keeper. You had a meeting, now you don’t.”
She nodded. “I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Can you crank the engine for me?”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” She went to the driver’s seat and sat behind the wheel, settling Murphy in her lap as she turned the key. The engine turned over nice and smooth. She smiled as he hollered for her to shut it down. She got out, handing off the keys. “Great work.”
“Thanks.” He slammed the hood closed and wiped his hands on the rag dangling from his front pocket.
“I had no idea you were so handy with vehicles too. Where’d you get this anyway?”
“I bought it a couple months ago, but I haven’t had time to do anything with it. Some rich little punk ran the thing into the ground. Never changed the oil. The engine needed to be rebuilt, the tires changed, along with pretty much everything else.” He shook his head. “Daddy wanted it off his books. He sold it cheap.”
“It definitely sounds like you know what you’re doing,” she said, studying the car now that it wasn’t on blocks. “Maybe you can come with me when I’m ready to purchase mine.”
“I could do that.”
“That’ll take a load off—”
“Or you could just have this one.”
Her gaze flew to his as his words sunk in. “Oh no.” She took a step back. “No I couldn’t. This is your car, Stone.”
He shook his head. “That’s my car.” He pointed to his Mustang. “This is just something I thought I would play with and eventually sell.”
“Then you should. It’s beautiful—kinda sporty looking.”
“So take it.”
It was vital that she pay her own way. She’d relied on a man during some of the worst moments of her life, and it had gotten her nothing but trouble. “I can’t. I don’t have enough money yet.”
“So rent to own.”
“I don’t know.” She nibbled her lip as she dared to even consider the idea. The bus would be a thing of the past. She could come and go as she pleased. Stone was offering her another piece of freedom with terms she could live with. “I—I guess I could.”
“I don’t know why you wouldn’t. The car’s here and ready to be used.”
She pressed her lips together with the rush of excitement. “You’ll have to decide what you think a fair price is.”
“We’ll work out the details later.”
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“I wouldn’t have brought it up if I didn’t.”
“Okay.” She glanced at the sporty little car—her new car—then back at him, squealing as she rushed forward, giving him a huge hug, laughing. “I love it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He smiled, returning her embrace as he looked into her eyes. “I’m going to get your pretty clothes dirty.”
She liked the feel of his arms around her and his solid chest pressed to hers but stepped back, glancing down at her pale blue-and-white flower-print sundress. “I’m grease free.”
“Let’s keep you that way.” He smiled again. “I’m going to grab a quick shower and we’ll go.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
He started toward the house, stopped and turned. “Hey, Soph.”
She looked at him.
He tossed her the keys. “You should probably drive.”
She grinned.
~~~~
Stone watched from the living room windows as Sophie walked the beach with Murphy at her side. He should’ve been painting the bedroom walls, but stared at Sophie while she moved toward the waves, holding something in her hand. He squinted, trying to make out what it was, but she was too far away.
He’d expected her to come back when the thunder started rumbling several minutes ago, but she hadn’t. Lightening had flashed in the distance, and she still hadn’t returned. Despite the incoming weather she kept moving along the sand, stopping close to the surf. What was she doing, and why was he standing here thinking about her instead of working?
They’d had a good time on their trip to the appliance center. Sophie had a hell of an eye and practical sense when shopping for big-ticket items...except for when it came to stainless-steel double ovens and detached ranges. She’d gotten so excited about roasting turkeys and baking cookies that he’d gotten caught up in her enthusiasm. Before he knew what he was doing, he’d told the salesman to add them to his bill. She’d grinned and assured him he wouldn’t be sorry after she made him her mother’s famous prime rib.
He chuckled, shaking his head as he glanced toward the kitchen, trying to figure out what in the hell he’d been thinking. He was going to have to reconfigure the entire layout of the small space and more than likely knock out the back wall to accommodate the additional items, but it would only add value to his property by the time he was finished. And Sophie was happy…or she had been.
He looked out the window, remembering the way she’d gotten quiet as they walked the other aisles of the store on the
hunt for the right dishwasher. The thirty-minute ride home had been silent as the sun disappeared behind the clouds and the waves grew violent, crashing against the shore. He’d expected to have some sort of conversation about the new loot he’d just bought, but she’d stared straight ahead, driving the car he’d been wanting to give her for the last couple of weeks. He liked listening to what she had to say in that gentle voice of hers. Like last night.
Their trip to the mountains had been perfect. He’d shared parts of himself he didn’t tell anyone, and in return she’d trusted him enough to give him something back. But she was still a mystery. He couldn’t help but wonder about the wad of cash in her backpack and the “complications” she’d skimmed over while they stared out at the view, but he had enough to go on for now. He’d gotten what he needed…or mostly. He’d been tempted to kiss her when he helped her down from the hood of his car and quell his curiosities about the taste of that pretty mouth of hers, but Sophie wasn’t his typical type of woman. What he wanted wasn’t what she needed, so he’d left it alone.
He frowned as she sat down in the sand, looking so small and alone. Turning away from the window, he moved to the door instead of heading toward the bedroom he should’ve been working on. He walked outside into the breezy, cool temperatures, making his way over the walking bridge crossing Highway One. Something was wrong, which wasn’t his problem, but even as he told himself so he took off his shoes and socks and made his way through the warm, white sand to where Sophie stared off with a yellow tulip in her hand.
Murphy barked, running to him.
“Hey, boy,” he bent down, scrubbing the top of the puppy’s head as Sophie glanced over her shoulder, looking at him with sad eyes. She didn’t bother to greet him before she turned her attention back to the waves. He sighed, hating that wounded look. He let loose another deep exhale and continued toward her, sitting next to her when it would’ve been easier to turn and go home. Seconds turned into minutes while he waited for her to say something. “You coming back to the house?”
“In a little while.”
He strained to hear her over the surf. “Did I do something to upset you?”