A Taste of Pink (Shades Book 4)

by Stephanie Hoffman McManus

  I ducked my eyes before I caught myself. “He’s just my bodyguard.”

  “Uh huh,” Dad dragged out. “Well, I like him.”

  “I noticed,” I mumbled.

  “Do you not want me to like him? Because I can do that too. I can go in there right now and tell him about my gun collection and how we’ve got enough acreage that they’d never find his body buried in the back pasture.”

  “No, you can like him,” I sighed.

  “Good, because it’s nice to have another Hawks fan in the house, and my back’s not really up for digging a grave.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s because you’re getting old.”

  “You’re only old when you feel old, Aves.”

  Well then, I felt about a hundred.

  I said goodnight to Dad and ignored James completely as I passed through the living room on my way upstairs. He might be on my dad’s good side, which I could pretend not to be bothered by, but he still wasn’t on mine. He’d stomped all over my good side with those boots of his, and I had a feeling those bruises would last longer than the ones from the crash.

  I was right on the edge of sleep when there was a quiet knock at my door, and then it creaked open a crack. “Riley are you awake?” he whispered softly.

  I didn’t answer or even move. I was feeling way too vulnerable and he needed to go before I did something stupid like start crying.

  He retreated from the room, the door snicked closed behind him, eliminating the tiny sliver of light that had slipped in. Only then did I let out a heavy breath and burrow deeper into the covers, hoping that in the morning the weight bearing down on my chest wouldn’t feel so heavy.

  Fourteen

  James

  I woke with the first rays that slipped into the room through the breaks in the curtains, surprised because I was usually up before the sun. I sat up slightly and reached for my phone. My fingers fumbled over the keys until the screen lit up, showing the time to be nearing eight-thirty. I let go of the phone and let myself fall back onto the mattress as a yawn pried its way free. Sleep still clung heavily to my eyes and I knew if I closed them it might be a while before they opened again.

  That was the result after a few beers and a long night spent lying awake.

  I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of the bed with a tired groan. I scraped a hand through my hair. I felt like shit. I was going to keep feeling like shit until I got her to talk to me.

  Eventually, I made it from the bed into a pair of pants and then to the bathroom across the hall. I noticed Riley’s door open and stuck my head inside, but she wasn’t there. Had to have been the first time she was up before me.

  I didn’t find her downstairs, but I did find a plate of biscuits and a pot of gravy with sausage on the stove, and a note scrawled in her elegant script instructing me to help myself. She might hate me, but at least not enough to want me to starve. That was a start.

  And it didn’t taste like she’d poisoned it. Quite the opposite, and I went back for a second helping. I regretted it when I was done, but worth it. I wouldn’t tell my mother for fear of my life, but the biscuits were better than hers.

  Lady came trotting into the kitchen and right over to me, whether she was exited to see me or the plate in my hand, I couldn’t say for sure, but she was more than happy to lick the last remains of sausage and gravy from it.

  “Where’s Riley, girl?” I rubbed behind her ears. “Or is she Ava to you too?” Ava. It was strange hearing her dad call her that. I liked it, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to get used to it. I washed up my plate and the now empty pan on the stove before hunting her down.

  I didn’t have to go very far to find her. As soon as I pushed open the back door, Lady bolted toward the barn. Figured I may as well follow, and as I got closer, a sweet voice reached my ears, singing out the lyrics to a well-known pop song. The doors to the barn were wide open and when I stepped inside, I was greeted with a sight even sweeter than the voice. Riley James, Hollywood Princess, had her back to me, outfitted in a pair of worn and faded blue jeans that hugged her hips and thighs extra snug, allowing me to appreciate the results of our workouts. Her biscuits were delicious indeed.

  She had earbuds in, completely unaware of my presence as she continued to sing to herself and haul bales of hay from one side of the barn to the other. I leaned against the door frame and watched as she worked, changing songs, and occasionally pausing to wipe her brow with the sleeve of the flannel she had rolled up. I was so entranced, I didn’t notice someone come up behind me, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. I startled and turned to find Eric, an amused smirk on his lips and a knowing look in his eye at having caught me spying on his daughter. I straightened up and cleared my throat, “Uh, good morning.”

  His smirk remained. “I trust you slept well.”

  “Yes sir, thank you.”

  He nodded and then moved toward his daughter, who finally took notice of our presence. She tugged one bud from her ear. “I’m just about done with this. I finished the feedings and collected the eggs, but when I was in the chicken house, I found where your coyote got in. Replacing a few boards should take care of it.”

  Eric scratched at his head. “Yeah, that needs tending to, but with the sick horse, replacing the fence in the back, and getting ready for spring planting, I just didn’t get around to it yesterday. We should finish the fence today, and I’ll see if Rick can mend the hole before quitting time, or first thing in the morning. I’m on at the firehouse the next two days.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Dad. I still know where the tools are. I’ll take care of the chicken house.”

  “Thanks, Aves. I’m sure James wouldn’t mind helping you out.”

  “Of course not,” I chimed in.

  That made her stop and put her hands on her hips. “I can take care of it myself.”

  “Of course you can, but an extra pair of hands makes for lighter work, so I’ll leave you two to it. I’ve got to get back out there.”

  She watched him go before dragging her eyes over to me, an annoyed expression marring her brow. In a huff, she grabbed up the last bale and hauled it across the barn, tossing it onto another and then brushing stray strands from her clothes, not that it did much good. She was covered in the stuff. Had it in her hair, which was falling out of the ponytail she’d secured it in. The sight made me smile. This Riley, wasn’t the image I was used to.

  “You can just go back inside. I don’t need your help.”

  “I can see that you’re quite capable,” I said, striding over to her. “But I’m not much for sitting idly.”

  “Of course not,” she muttered under her breath.

  I couldn’t help myself and reached forward to pluck a piece of hay from her wild hair. She swatted my hand away and brushed past me. I chuckled, letting the piece of hay fall to the barn floor and followed after her.

  She headed toward the house. “I need a water break before we get started on the chicken house.”

  “Did you eat breakfast?” she asked once we were inside.

  “I did, it was really good. What time did you get up?”

  “I got up at five with my Dad. You had coffee yet?”

  “Yes, I found that too, thank you.”

  She grunted what might have been “You’re welcome,” as she filled a giant glass of ice water and then drank from it like she was dying of thirst. “You really don’t have to help fix the chicken house.” So damn stubborn.

  “I’m going to. Might as well accept it.”

  She grunted again and finished her water. It seemed the girl who always had so much to say had finally run out of words and was now resorting to primitive sounds.

  “Watch out for the rooster. He can be a real dick,” she said as we crossed the yard to retrieve some tools and supplies from a shed off the main barn.

  Making the repairs and reinforcing weak spots in the chicken house didn’t take long, and I even managed to befriend the asshole rooster she called Roc
ky, or maybe not befriend, but I think we established an uneasy truce. I wouldn’t fuck with him if he didn’t fuck with me.

  From there Riley moved from task to task and I followed, doing whatever shit job she gave me. Most of the time she had her earbuds in and music on, and we worked in relative quiet except for her soft humming and the occasional direction she barked out as we tended to the horses and the garden and split and stacked firewood. By the time lunch rolled around, we were both sweating our asses off despite the chilly afternoon. My arms were killing me as if I’d just put in an intense session at the gym. It’d been a while since I’d done this kind of labor. Riley was doing her best to hide it, but I could see that she was about ready to drop.

  Her dad and a couple of guys who were introduced as Rick and Joey, dropped in at the house around that time to fix sandwiches. Riley and I joined them, and she switched from frosty and detached to warm and amiable with her dad and the guys. I learned Rick had been working for her dad since she was a little girl. Joey on the other hand looked about twenty-two and couldn’t stop staring at Riley’s ass, until her dad smacked him upside the head told him to take his sandwich out on the porch.

  After lunch it was right back to work and we didn’t quit until the sun was going down. Eric refused to let Riley cook dinner after working her ass off all day, and insisted on grilling burgers, which the three of us ate on the back deck, letting the heat from the barbecue fend off the evening chill.

  Riley’s phone buzzed repeatedly, which she ignored until her Dad gave her a sympathetic look and told her, “Ignoring Luis won’t make him go away. You should probably just talk to him.”

  She didn’t look like she appreciated the advice as she took a final pull from her bottle and stood. She collected our empty plates and bottles and disappeared inside the house without a word.

  “She’s a stubborn one,” Eric muttered before raising the bottle he was working on to his lips.

  “You don’t have to tell me that.” That earned me a tiny grin from Eric.

  “No, I don’t suppose I do. And I probably only have myself to blame for her being so headstrong. I wanted her to be tough, to make up her own mind and stand her ground. I’m not sorry I did, no matter how much it bites me in the ass. I wouldn’t have picked this life for her, but it’s what she chose for herself. I can’t stomach the thought of so many people trying to take advantage of her or turn her into something else, and I just don’t trust that stepfather of hers to have her best interests at heart.”

  “I think the only interests Luis Castillo takes to heart are his own. I’m sorry, I’m sure that’s not what you want to hear, but I’ve seen enough to know that Riley would be better off without that guy, but I think she feels like she’s owes him something.”

  “She does,” Eric agreed with a heavy sigh. “He gave her her career, or so she believes.” He snorted and continued. “She doesn’t realize she doesn’t need him. Never did, but she refuses to hear it from me.”

  “Like you said, you raised her to be strong. She’ll figure it out eventually, and when he pushes her, she’ll finally push back.”

  “I hope so. I have half a mind to call the guy myself. I don’t like seeing what all this is doing to her.”

  I took a long drink from the bottle in my hand and let the quiet evening settle in around us, as my thoughts drowned out the buzz of insects, rustle of the wind and the other sounds of life out here. If there was a better, more peaceful, place to do some heavy thinking, I hadn’t found it. The sun was real low in the sky, casting a dusky halo around everything.

  I kicked my feet up on the rail of the deck and settled back in my chair. My body exhausted and my stomach full, I could have closed my eyes and fallen asleep right there if not for the thoughts weighing on me. I was here to do a job, a job where I needed to keep a clear head, which is why rule number one was don’t make it personal.

  Didn’t get any more personal than sleeping with the client. Shaw would have my ass if he knew. Not even Nora would be able to save it in this situation.

  Nora.

  I’d come to terms with her and Spencer a while ago, even admitted that they were good together, but it had always been with a sense of envy, regret, and if I was honest, a bit of bitterness. I was surprised to find it missing now when I thought her name.

  Was this me finally accepting that she’d made the right choice in choosing Shaw, and letting go? Did it have anything to do with the current girl taking up all of my thoughts?

  Riley and Nora couldn’t be any more different, even though Riley had portrayed Nora on screen. Nora was . . . Nora was warmth and sunshine, her strength a quiet kind of grace. Falling for her had been easy. Getting over her had not. But Riley, Riley was a hurricane that just bowled over you if you got in her way. She was set in her ways and once she decided on something, she set her course and went after it. Nothing about her was easy.

  So why had I done it?

  I wasn’t a rule breaker. I followed orders. I took my job seriously and had refused to let her wrap me around her finger, and yet . . .

  It was too late to take it back, and the worst part was, I didn’t know if I would given the choice. I’d change a lot, but I don’t know if I’d change that, which is why I needed to talk to her. I had to get this shit sorted before it really started messing with my head.

  I’d just made up my mind that I was going to finish off this beer and go look for her, when Eric rose, announcing that it was time for him to turn in.

  “You’ll look after her while I’m gone?”

  I gave a solemn nod. I’d do my best, but if Eric knew the kind of thoughts churning in my head, he might not be so keen on leaving me alone in this house with his daughter for two days.

  “Then I guess you can start right now.” Riley stepped out onto the deck, arms folded, expression tight. “I’m going to Mack’s, or I guess I should say we’re going.”

  “Who’s Mack?” I asked, but my question went ignored as Eric gave my shoulder a light smack, and with a shake of his head said, “Good luck, son.” He kissed his daughter on the cheek, and for a moment her features softened. “See ya in a couple days, Aves.”

  “Be safe,” she murmured in response.

  “Always am.” He slipped by her into the house and once again I asked, “Who’s Mack?”

  “Get up before I decide to leave you behind,” she clipped and then spun around, leaving me no choice but to chase after her. She snagged a set of keys on the way out the front door and marched over to an old beat up blue pickup that had seen better days. None of them in recent years.

  “You should have told me you were planning on going out tonight, I wouldn’t have had those beers with dinner,” I grumbled as I climbed up in the passenger side.

  “Won’t kill you to let me drive for once.”

  I snorted. “Says the girl who was recently in a car accident.”

  Her head snapped toward me, a deep scowl twisting her brow. “That wasn’t my fault.”

  “Maybe not, but it wouldn’t have happened if I’d been driving.”

  Her eyes rolled toward the roof of the cab as she looked away, muttering under her breath, “Dickhead.”

  “Just stating facts,” I said through my grin.

  “Fact is, you’re a control freak. And a little overconfident, don’t ya think?” I waited until she’d backed the truck out of the drive and pulled onto the road before responding.

  “It’s not overconfidence if I can back it up.”

  She snorted and flicked her gaze at me. “Being a guy doesn’t automatically make you a better driver than me.”

  “Actually,” I dragged out, enjoying being the one to needle at her for a change. She jerked the wheel, slamming me into the door. I reached out for the oh shit bar as I let out an, “Oof.”

  “Oops, guess you’re right. I am a terrible driver.”

  I chuckled but said nothing.

  Fifteen

  James

  Mack’s, as it turned ou
t, was a where not a who, I discovered when Riley pulled the truck up to a rundown building with neon beer signs in the windows. It appeared to be an old timey bar and grill.

  The inside didn’t disappoint either as we shoved through the door into the dimly lit bar. Classic rock crackled from an outdated jukebox and the smell of tobacco clung to the air, mixing with the smells of alcohol and fried food, making me wonder if the smoking laws were even enforced in this place, or if the smell was just another part of the past clinging to this place. Several worn booths and mismatched tables and chairs were packed a little too tight on one side, separate from the bar area on the other. It was obvious this place hadn’t seen any updates in the last two, maybe three decades, except for the biggest flat screen I’d ever laid eyes on mounted on the wall, currently displaying sports recaps. Bodies packed the place, unsurprising given that it was probably one of the few establishments in this town.

  My eyes scanned the crowd of mostly middle-aged men with the occasional couple, family, or group of teenagers thrown in the mix, taking stock and sizing up each patron, before dismissing them as Riley bypassed the restaurant side in favor of the bar. Riley waded in confidently, striding right up to the bar unhindered, and for the most part unnoticed. The chatter and laughter was broken up by the continuous thwack of pool balls and occasional shout across the bar. No one paid the two of us any mind, except for a few sideways glances, until Riley smacked her hand down on the bar loudly and let out a whistle.

  “Service really has taken a dive ‘round here. It’s been a whole minute since I walked in the door and I still don’t have a drink in my hand.”

  The burly, bear of a man covered in flannel behind the bar, spun around as fast as a man of his size could. A huge grin split his round, bearded, grizzly face as soon as his eyes lit upon Riley. He slung the bar rag in his hand over his shoulder and gave his head an amused shake. “Just when I thought it was safe to breathe easy, trouble walks right back into my bar. How long’s it been, girl? Get your scrawny ass back here.”