The Other Room
Door Peninsula Passions, Volume 2
Katherine Hastings
Published by Flyte Publishing, 2019.
THE OTHER ROOM
Copyright © 2019 by Katherine Hastings
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
For information contact :
http://www.katherinehastings.com
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-949913-14-9
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-949913-15-6
First Edition: August 2019
Editing: Tami Stark
Proofreading: Vicki McGough
www.katherinehastings.com
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
The Other Room (Door Peninsula Passions, #2)
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
DOOR PENINSULA PASSIONS
OTHER BOOKS TO READ
THANK YOU FOR READING
THE OTHER ROOM
Door Peninsula Passions
Book Two
Even though Jo is furious with her ex-best friend Matt, she takes pity on him when he ends up homeless. The two frenemies and her nasty cat squeeze into the tiny beachfront cabin she scored on the Door County waterfront. But as mad as she is at him for his betrayal, staying that way proves more difficult than she thought when his charms start wearing down her armor.
It's more than the walls between their rooms that separate Jo from Matt. He's desperate to gain her forgiveness, and soon he's desperate for a lot more. The passion igniting between them threatens to burn their little cabin down.
As Matt tries to break down the walls between them, Jo struggles to deny her feelings for him... feelings that are anything but anger.
THE OTHER ROOM is the second romantic comedy in the Door Peninsula Passions series. While each book can be read as a standalone, they will be most enjoyable if read in order. These light-hearted romances take you throughout the Door County Peninsula and are filled with laughter, romance, and passion!
CHAPTER ONE
MATT
A loud splash broke the silence surrounding me. Holding my pole tighter, I leaned back and held steady while the whirring of my reel announced the fish was making another run for freedom. Smiling, I waited him out, careful not to put too much tension on the line. Patience. The top virtue of any successful fisherman, and I possessed an ample amount of it. Years of fishing at these docks in Baileys Harbor had taught me that. And today would be no different. I would wait this big Northern out.
“Hey, Matt. Walleye?”
I glanced over my shoulder to see Jake Alton, my best friend since diapers, waltzing down the dock, fishing rod in one hand and a tackle box in the other. His black lab, Hank, trailed just behind him.
“Northern. Tough son of a bitch, too. I’ve been at this for almost half an hour.”
“Gotta love the ones that battle hard.” He set his box beside me and leaned against the post jutting up from the wooden dock.
“You know I love a good challenge.” I grinned but stiffened when I felt the fish surge left. “Quit distracting me. I’m not going to lose it this far in.”
“Hand me the pole and I’ll end this battle in under sixty seconds,” he taunted. Even though I didn’t take my eye off the line zigging and zagging below me, I could picture his smug smile.
“Yeah, right. Just shut up and watch the pro get it done.”
“By all means.”
Casting him a quick smile, I started carefully reeling in the fish. Inch by inch it drew closer, and I could feel his fight subsiding. As I gave the line another crank, the weight in my hand doubled and I braced for another explosion. The defiant fish leapt out of the water, twisting in the air, and when it landed with a splash, my rod snapped back, and the sudden loss of tension nearly sent me tumbling back onto my ass.
Jake’s roar of laughter combined with the last echoes of the waves signaled my defeat. The waves created by the wake of a fish sprinting to freedom.
“Shit!” I grumbled, clenching my fist tight around my rod.
“A real pro!” His deep laugh only added insult to injury.
“You distracted me. Made me rush.”
His snort exploded into the still air. “Is that your excuse? I made you lose it?”
With a deep sigh, I started laughing with him. “Well, I have to blame it on something. And you’re here, so yeah. You made me lose it.”
“You’re an ass.” He smiled and reached down into his tackle box, pulling out a lure. Hank flopped down at his feet, the loyal dog knowing the sight of Jake setting up his rod meant they would be here for a while.
I ran a hand through my hair. “Well that was a half hour of my life I’m never getting back.”
“Ah, but a half hour spent fishing is never wasted.”
A melancholy smile tugged at my lips. “True. I could be working.”
“You really should get into commercial fishing. You’re good at it and then you can be like me and fish for a living.”
Jake had a commercial fishing business taking out charter clients and he’d been trying to get me to join him for years. Shaking my head, I set my rod down.
“Nah. You know how I feel about that. If I fish for a living, then I won’t want to fish for fun. I’d hate to suck the joy out of my favorite thing in life.”
Shrugging, he cast into the water. “Yeah. It’s a risk. I still manage to make it fun on my off hours, though.”
I shook my head. “Maybe next year.”
“How is the maintenance job for the town going? You still like it?” he asked as he started reeling in his line.
“Surprisingly, yes. I think I may have found my calling. I get to work with my hands. Every day is something different and challenging, and the flexibility is pretty sweet.”
“So, you finally found a job you want to stick with? You’re done wearing twenty hats every summer?”
Living in a summer tourist destination like Door County, that all but shuts down every winter, meant finding a year-round job I loved proved even more difficult than reeling in that Northern. Each year I tried something new. Serving, painting houses, construction, kayak guiding... every year a new summer job just hoping that maybe it would be the one that stuck. So far, doing maintenance for the town was the closest I’d come to finding something fulfilling in my life. So much for those four years I’d busted my ass in college getting an advertising degree. Turns out working in an office was my version of hell on earth, and I’d hauled ass back to Door County to find a job that let me spend my time outdoors. “The job is good. I like it, but it turns out I may not be living in Baileys Harbor next week, so I’m not really sure what
I’m going to do if that happens.”
“What?” He stopped reeling and all his attention focused on me. “What the hell do you mean you’re not going to be living here? We’re Harbor boys. Always have been, always will be.”
Blowing out a puff of air, I sat down and leaned back against the post of the dock he and I had been fishing off of since we were three. “Yeah. Shitty news. The house I’ve been renting for six years just sold, and instead of renting it to locals, they’re putting it up for seasonal rentals on VRBO. This guy is officially homeless this weekend.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
A heavy sigh escaped my mouth before I could shove it back inside. “You and Cassie were in your own little world after she got back from New York last week. I didn’t want to come dumping in on your happy little reunion with my crap.”
“Holy shit, man. That sucks.”
“Yeah. Seriously sucks. I love that house. If I’d have known they were selling, I probably would have tried to buy it.”
“With what money?” He chuckled, knowing full well I lived my life in the moment and things like savings accounts and retirement planning were foreign concepts to me.
“Yours?” I grinned. “You and Cassie want to buy me a house?”
Laughing, he shook his head. “I love you man, but hell no.”
“Come on,” I teased. “You guys are worth billions. Don’t you think you could spare a couple hundred thou for an old friend? That’s like ten dollars in your world.”
Jake had fallen in love with Cassie before he found out she was an heiress. Now the two had figured out how to blend their vastly different lives together, and they were living the dream up here in Baileys Harbor with Cassie flying back to New York on occasion to run her empire.
“Do you really need money?” he asked, glancing down at me. “Cassie adores you, and I’m sure she would lend it to you if you need it.”
“Nah. I’m just kidding. It’s my own damn fault for not prioritizing buying a house. Finding rentals up here is near impossible with the vacation rental boom. But I’ll figure it out.”
My friend’s eyes narrowed. “You sure? Cassie still has that little cabin next door that no one stays in. You can always crash there if you need a place for a while.”
Scoffing, I pulled a face. “Dude. I would rather sleep in my truck than spend a night in that deathtrap. How is it even still standing? One strong wind and you’d be digging my corpse out of a pile of rubble.”
Jake laughed and shrugged. “When Cassie’s grandpa kicked her out of the penthouse and shipped her up here to Door County, she survived a whole summer in it before I moved her in to my place. Are you saying you’re not as tough as a city girl?”
“I am saying exactly that. She has my respect since she endured living in that dilapidated shack. Massive respect.”
“Well, it’s yours if you need a crash pad.”
“Thanks, man. But I’ll figure something out. I gave up on finding a place in Baileys Harbor, though. Being August in Door County, I’m having a hell of a time finding a place to live. I’m sure I would be having better luck if it were fall and all the summer workers were gone, but I don’t have that kind of time. My search is now extending all over Door County. Something has to pop up sooner or later. Hopefully sooner, since I only have a few days left.”
“I can’t believe you won’t be living down the road anymore. That sucks.”
“Yeah, but what are you gonna do?”
“Well if you need something, just say the word. Cassie and I are happy to help.”
I tried not to let the frustration creep into my voice. “Yeah, two-week’s notice to find a new place to live wasn’t exactly ideal.”
“That’s bullshit, man. Can you fight it?”
I shook my head. “Nope. We never had a lease contract and I pay cash. Didn’t really think that one through.”
“That sucks.”
“Yeah. But I’ll figure it out. I always do.”
“You’re like a cockroach. You survive everything. Even my wrath.” He arched a brow and lifted a balled-up fist.
Rubbing my jaw, I nodded. Last year if I’d been this close to Jake I would have been bleeding on the ground. In fact, I had ended up a bloody pulp after he saw me one night at the Blue Ox. Not that I didn’t deserve it. I’d gone and fallen for his ex-fiancé, Nikki, and like a dumb ass, I’d gotten drunk and slept with her. Talk about feeling like a cockroach. The lowest of the low. That was me last year, and it wasn’t something I would ever do again. And not just because I wanted to avoid another well-deserved beating, but because I’d almost ruined the friendship I had with the man who’d been like a brother to me my whole life.
I moved my jaw back and forth like a seesaw. “It still hurts when I chew, you know.”
“Good. That’ll remind you to keep your mitts off my Cassie.” He smirked, and even though his eyes twinkled, I knew there was a veiled threat laced in the playful words.
“Never, man. I’d sooner chop off my own arms. One time. I fucked up one time and that was enough for me. Bros before—”
“Don’t call Cassie a ho.”
I lifted my eyebrows. “Bros before classy ladies?”
Laughing, Jake tossed out another cast. “Bros before classy ladies. Although, I’m still picking Cassie over you if push comes to shove.”
“Can’t blame you for that.” Laughing, I pushed myself back up to my feet and tucked my fishing pole underneath my arm. “I gotta get home and finish packing. And keep up the hunt for a new place.”
“Catch you later, man.” Jake stuck out his hand, and I gave it a slap. Then I paused and gave Hank a scratch before heading back down the docks. While I climbed into my truck, I glanced back down the dock to see Jake give me a last wave goodbye. It had been a year since Jake and I had mended fences after I screwed up royally and betrayed him, and the feeling of knowing I had a best friend, a brother, who had my back was something I’d never take for granted again.
With a quick wave, I put my old truck in gear and pulled away from the docks. The drive to my house took only a few minutes, and soon I pulled up into the parking spot this truck had resided in for the past six years. After next week I had no idea where I’d be parking my truck and laying my head to rest at night. With an internal grumble at my self-inflicted situation, I climbed out of my truck and headed into the little grey house I needed to vacate by the weekend.
I walked in through the garage, dropping my boots in the kitchen. A few cardboard boxes with my minimal belongings were stacked by the stove I’d only used for cooking pizzas. Stepping over the boxes, I looked around to see what else I needed to pack up. The house had come furnished, so at least I wouldn’t have to drag all this furniture with me to wherever I would go. Just my clothes, a few boxes of dishes, and all my fishing gear needed to vacate this bachelor pad with me.
As I settled back on the floral couch I’d always hated but saw no need to replace, my cell phone dinged. Picking it up, I looked at the screen. My friend Aaron. Another buddy I’d grown up with in Baileys Harbor.
Aaron: Hey man. You want drinks tonight?
Hell yeah, I wanted drinks tonight. Something, anything, to take my mind off the fact I had no place to go. But I needed to buckle down and find a place to live, so I groaned and answered back.
Me: I wish. Gotta find a new place to live. Can’t hang tonight.
Aaron: That sucks. Tony told me you had to move out. Maybe you should just come drown your sorrows for a few hours. We’re going to downtown Sister Bay and then JJ’s for margaritas. Come on. Party time.
Margaritas at JJ’s? I didn’t get to Sister Bay often, and a margarita did sound like something I could use. Scratching the scruff on my chin I realized needed a date with the razor as I contemplated my options. Sit home alone scouring the internet for affordable year-round Door County rentals that were rarer than a unicorn, or head out for some drinks with my friend and work on finding a place to call home later?
> Me: What time you picking me up?
Aaron: Hells yeah! Be there at 7.
Me: See you then.
What the hell. If there was anything I knew about living in Door County, it was that I had a better chance of finding a place to live through word of mouth than I did on the internet. I’d make sure to ask around tonight, and maybe, just maybe, I could find a new place to call home. I hadn’t spent much time looking outside of Baileys Harbor, not wanting to leave the town I’d lived in my whole life, but Sister Bay was booming and there was a better chance of finding a place to live there.
Pushing myself off the couch, I headed into the bathroom to shave my face and jump in the shower. If I wanted to convince someone to rent me a house, smelling like fish wasn’t a big selling point.
CHAPTER TWO
JO
A beep from the drink printer behind me sounded like fingernails on the chalkboard. Over and over throughout this insanely busy night it went off each time a server put in a drink order. It was now the soundtrack to my nightmares... nightmares that consisted of me drowning in paper while I tried to make the drinks I couldn’t keep up with.
Beep. It went off again, and I groaned, turning around to see the printer spitting out more drink orders. More drink orders on top of the other drink orders I still scrambled to keep up with making.
“Hey, Jo!” Hanson called from the corner. “Add another regular marg on that!”
“On it!” I called back, then ripped the paper off the printer, eyes bulging at the long list of drinks I needed to make on top of the full bar of customers all vying for my attention. I’d known it would be a big change switching jobs from bartending at the laid-back Blue Ox in Baileys Harbor and jumping into the fray at JJ’s La Puerta, one of the busiest restaurants in Door County, but I had seriously underestimated the number of margaritas that passed over this bar each night. Paired with an extensive menu I served from the bar, the pace of this new job had been a serious shock to the system. Lucky for me I’d started in May before tourist season hit full swing in July and I’d had a couple months to learn the ropes before getting pummeled every weekend like I had since the season kicked off.
The Other Room (Door Peninsula Passions Book 2) Page 1