Hometown Hope: A Small Town Romance Anthology

by Zoe York

  Tugging them off, she dug around in a bag for a pair of scissors and cut the khaki fabric. She smiled at her handiwork and pulled them back on before twisting and turning in the full-length mirror on the door.

  “Much better,” she said to her reflection. “Much more Kari.”

  With her new look, combined with her face scrubbed clean of makeup and her hair tied back in a long braid, she hardly recognized herself. And that made her smile as she went downstairs. She needed to find Sam and talk to her about how much she was going to owe her, but with no way to pay the woman, Kari wasn’t looking forward to that particular conversation.

  Maybe she could sneak out and go for a walk by the lake instead? Anything would be easier than facing any one of her growing pile of concerns.

  “Good morning.”

  Kari jumped at the male voice. She turned and instinctively looked for something to protect herself with. It took her a second to remember that Brice wasn’t there. He didn’t know where she was, and it wasn’t his voice that had startled her.

  “Hi.” She forced herself to take a deep breath and smile at Rhys. It wasn’t hard. His presence helped her relax, the same way it had the night before.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you.” He held a coffee and a paper bag, both of which he put down on a nearby table as she walked out of the back hallway and into the room.

  “You didn’t,” she lied. “I just wasn’t expecting you this morning.” Kari forced herself to keep her voice light. “Have you seen Samantha?”

  “Sam?” He shook his head, and crossed his arms. Kari tried not to notice the way his muscles strained against his t-shirt. He’d been handsome in his uniform, but in his ripped jeans and basic tee, there was something much stronger and raw about Rhys. Something she liked very much. “I haven’t seen her,” he said.

  Kari swallowed and tucked her hands in her back pockets. She hadn’t thought much further ahead in her plans than talking to Sam. She wasn’t even really sure what she was going to say to the woman when she found her. It’s not as if she could walk up to her and say, “Thanks for the use of your room, do you mind if I stay there a bit longer? Like maybe forever. Oh yeah, and I can’t pay you because I’m broke.” No. She definitely couldn’t say that. What Kari needed was a plan.

  “I called Doug McNeil last night and left a message to have your car towed into the shop today.”

  Crap. Her car. She’d almost forgotten about that little detail and how she wasn’t going to be able to pay for it either. Almost.

  “Thanks.” She nodded her head and rolled backwards on her feet. “I appreciate it. Um…” She glanced around the bar, trying to find the words to ask the question she really didn’t want to. “Do you happen to know how much that’s going to cost?” She spat out the words. “I mean, I know it needs to be repaired, but it’s just that I don’t have a whole lot of cash with me at the moment and—”

  “I could take you over to the bank if you want? Lorne would help you out, and you can access whatever account you need to from Cedar Springs Savings. Of course, if you prefer credit, Doug will take whatever card you have.”

  “Right.” She bit her lip and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “Thanks. I might have to get you to do that.” Kari looked down at her toes. There was no way she was going to tell Rhys that it didn’t matter whether they went to the bank or used a credit card—she didn’t have the money. She needed to figure something out. Fast. “Look, I should probably…” She glanced behind her, desperately looking for an escape route.

  Kari needed to get away from him. Rhys’ eyes had a way of looking right through her, as if he could see the truth about her. And she couldn’t have that. Even if she was drawn to him in a way she’d never experienced before. Especially because of that.

  “If Sam’s not here yet,” Rhys said, “she will be soon. I’d be happy to share my breakfast with you. I already ate the sandwich…but there’s a muffin in here.” He held out the paper bag he held in his hand. “Suzy’s the best baker in town and I’m pretty sure she snuck an extra cookie in there, too.”

  Kari stared at the bag. The smell coming from it was mouthwatering, and it had been a long time since she’d eaten anything. She sucked her bottom lip in, briefly contemplating her options. Surely he wouldn’t be able to discover her secrets just by sharing a cookie? And she really was hungry. A few minutes wouldn’t hurt.

  “Thank you,” she said after a moment and took the bag from his hand.

  Rhys’ smile transformed him from an imposing presence into what Kari was quickly learning he really was: a genuinely nice guy. Not that he didn’t normally look nice, but out of his uniform, he didn’t seem quite as intimidating as he had the day before. And the raw attraction she felt for him was only magnified. Maybe it would have been better if he’d stayed in uniform.

  “You can have the muffin if you want.”

  “I couldn’t eat your breakfast.”

  “Like I said, I ate already. Suzy just can’t resist feeding me, and I can’t seem to resist her baking.” He rubbed his flat, hard stomach. “Really, you’d be doing me a favor.”

  Kari raised an eyebrow and laughed. The muffin did look good. “Well, only because I owe you for helping me out yesterday.” She slowly picked up the muffin and took an exaggerated bite.

  “Now we’re even.”

  Kari glanced at the man reclined in the chair, one leg crossed casually over the other. He radiated sex appeal and the way he watched her, as if he wanted her for breakfast, caused her cheeks to flush and a heat to flood her body. She swallowed hard, and struggled to find the words for what she should say next.

  “Good morning.”

  Kari spun around to see Samantha, or Sam as everyone seemed to call her, walking through the front door. She gulped in a breath and used the moment of reprieve to collect herself. When she glanced back at Rhys, the hungry look in his eyes was gone. She wondered whether she’d seen it all, or maybe just imagined his response to her.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up,” Sam said. She dropped the bag she was carrying on the bar and moved automatically to the coffeemaker, where she dumped an unreasonable amount of grounds into the filter before pouring water in the top. Kari glanced at Rhys with wide eyes.

  He raised his coffee cup in understanding and she had to swallow hard to keep from laughing.

  “I was hoping to be here in time,” Sam continued. “But I was up at the…”

  “Springs?” Rhys finished for her with a wink.

  She glared at him but shrugged.

  “It’s fine.” The overpowering scent of the coffee filtered through the air and Kari moved toward the door. “I was actually going to go for a little walk before I took care of a few things.” She purposely avoided looking in Rhys’ direction. It was probably a good idea to steer clear of him and the way he made her feel. “Are you going to be around later?” She directed the question to Sam, but both of them answered.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Yes.”

  Sam looked in question to Rhys and then back to Kari, whose cheeks were hot with a completely unreasonable embarrassment.

  “Um, that’s great.” Kari bit her bottom lip and avoided Rhys’ gaze. She couldn’t think of anything else to say, so Kari turned and made her escape to the fresh air outside.

  She breathed in deeply, letting the morning air fill her. So different than the stagnant air of the city. She could almost taste the freshness coming off the lake. There was a slight breeze, but it definitely wasn’t cold. Summer was hanging on with everything it had, it seemed. She’d take it. Especially considering she didn’t have a lot of clothing options left. Kari looked down at her newly cut-off shorts and shrugged.

  It was worth it.

  The shoreline called to her, and she made her way down to the water’s edge. There weren’t many people on the beach in the morning, but no doubt it would fill up in a few short hours. For the time being, Kari relished the quiet. She kicked off her shoes
and squished her toes in the cold sand. The unexpected chill sent shivers through her, but she couldn’t stop doing it.

  When was the last time she’d let herself have the simple pleasure of feeling the sand beneath her toes? It was both sad and telling that she couldn’t remember.

  She’d changed everything about herself over the years. Everything that made her Kari, the simple girl from a small town, not too unlike the one she was currently hiding in. Brice had slowly and methodically stripped her of everything that had made her who she was. And she’d let him.

  Why?

  She knew exactly why. Brice hadn’t been a total jerk at the beginning. He’d been sweet, taking her out, showering her with gifts and expensive dinners when they’d started dating. Her mother couldn’t say enough positive things about him. He was successful, handsome, and he’d give her a good life. That’s what her mom had constantly told her.

  “Don’t marry for love, Kari,” she’d told her. “Just look where it got me. Stuck in a small town, knocked up, broke and all alone the minute that love wore off. Love isn’t forever. Money is.”

  Growing up with nothing, while her mother worked two jobs, and bounced from one loser boyfriend to another just to give them a place to live, wasn’t any kind of life. And Kari refused to follow the same path, but she also refused to marry someone she didn’t love.

  And she did love Brice. She’d gone into marriage with Brice with her eyes wide open, and her heart fully invested. She’d thought it would be forever and when Kari’d accepted his proposal, her mother had been thrilled. Looking back, she was pretty sure her mom was only happy because Brice had money, and she’d be taken care of, as well as her little girl. She could’ve cared less if Kari was in love or not.

  It wasn’t until after the rings had been exchanged that he’d started his transformation of her. All he wanted was a trophy wife. Someone to look pretty and keep her mouth shut. God forbid she had an opinion. Kari touched her cheek, remembering exactly what had happened when she dared to stand up for herself. Never in her worst nightmares would she have ever thought she’d be the victim of domestic abuse. Not her. She was too strong for that.

  She had been.

  She would be again.

  The divorce had been the first step. And to her shock, he’d agreed to it. As long as she kept quiet about everything. It seemed like a small price to pay. She should have known better. Kari laughed aloud, a bitter sound, and started a slow walk. The beach grew rocky; trees and shrubs popped up and made the walking a bit harder. Lost in her thoughts, Kari watched a loon paddle along the water’s edge, and stopped paying attention to where she was going. Soon she was off the main beach and into a rockier shoreline.

  “Hey, you lost?”

  Kari jerked out of her thoughts and looked up into the face of a girl. She couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven. She shook her head. “No,” Kari said. “Just going for a walk.”

  “Cool.” The girl shrugged. “This is my favorite part of the beach. Not many people come down here. That’s why I asked if you were lost. Lots of tourists these days. You a tourist?”

  For a moment, Kari didn’t know how to answer that. Making a decision, she shook her head. “Nope. Well, I don’t really know. But for now, I’m not a tourist.”

  The girl eyed her strangely but finally extended her hand. “I’m Jules. I’m not a tourist either. Although some days I wish I was.”

  Kari smiled and shook Jules’ hand. “Kari.” The girl was interesting, that was for sure. But she also seemed like she would be good company, and at that moment, Kari was definitely in need of some good company. Anything to take her mind off her life.

  Jules fell into step with Kari and they continued walking along the shore. “Why do you wish you were a tourist?” Kari asked. “I like it here.”

  “You don’t have to live here.” Jules groaned and kicked at a rock. “I used to live in the city. It was so much better than this boring place.”

  “I think boring might be okay.” Kari sighed and looked out over the lake. Not much action beyond a few canoes. Boring would be very good. “In fact,” she added without thinking, “I was considering staying for a bit.”

  “Really? Do you have a job in the city?”

  Kari almost laughed at the idea. Brice had definitely not allowed her to work. It was part of his strategy to keep her in line, and totally dependent on him. Even with the divorce, she was still financially dependent on him. She hated it.

  “I don’t. But I’d like one here. Then I can stay.”

  Jules stopped walking and picked up a rock. “Sounds good, I guess. If you wanna stay.” She tossed the rock into the water, where it broke the glassy surface. They watched the ripples extend from the splash site until they’d all but dissipated; the break in the water closed up again. Like it’d never happened.

  “I work at the Springs.”

  Kari looked at the girl in shock. “You have a job? Aren’t there child labor laws or something?”

  Jules laughed. “I only work sometimes. But school’s starting again, so my mom’s making me quit. She works there, too.” Kari followed Jules’ outstretched arm to where she pointed at a woman sitting on a blanket reading a book. “That’s my mom.”

  She looked up from her book, and Kari recognized her as the woman Rhys had been talking to earlier that morning. A flicker of jealousy sparked deep inside, but she swallowed it down. She hardly knew Rhys beyond him saving her from her broken down car. She had no claim on him.

  “Anyway, I should go,” Jules said. “I’m supposed to spend the day with my mom. I’ll see you around.”

  “It was nice to meet you.” Kari waved absently, her mind still on Rhys.

  Chapter 3

  Rhys was pretty sure Sam was going to force him to drink some of that rocket fuel she called coffee if he didn’t hurry up and get moving. He checked his watch for the tenth time. He’d already waited for Kari to come back as long as was decent. Probably longer. But he couldn’t make excuses much longer.

  He waved goodbye to Sam, and left out the back door on the off chance he’d run into her, and it paid off. His eyes homed in on her immediately. She held her shoes in her hand; her hair blew in the breeze as she walked. She looked totally at ease, which was the perfect time to ask her some questions his police instinct told him.

  Before she could catch sight of him, he made his way quickly down the lawn. “Nice walk?”

  She jumped a little at the sound of his voice, and a flash of guilt went through him as he watched her wall of defenses go back up.

  Kari nodded and kept walking.

  “I wanted to ask you a few questions.” He fell into step next to her.

  “On the record?” She shot him a look and he had to bite back a smile. She clearly had a distrust for authority. He’d caught a little of that the day before, but he was pretty sure she’d warmed up to him a bit.

  He held his hands up in innocence. “Totally off the record.” And it was. His questions were definitely for his benefit.

  Kari shrugged.

  “What brought you to town?”

  “I told you. I needed a break so I drove until I got here.”

  He narrowed his eyes and fired the next one. “What did you need a break from?”

  “Everything.”

  “Are you married?”

  Kari stopped walking and spun to face him. “That’s personal.”

  He risked a glance at her ring finger even though he’d already looked and seen nothing but a bare finger. “It’s a yes or a no.”

  “No.”

  With that answer, he really didn’t have any more questions. After all, isn’t that what he really wanted to hear? With the attraction he felt toward her, the last thing he wanted to hear was that she was a bored housewife, looking for a weekend away. “Good,” he said.

  She raised her eyebrows but she didn’t look angry. Mildly annoyed, and definitely suspicious, but not angry. And that was something.

  “I j
ust mean,” he tried to backtrack. “Good. Thank you for answering my questions.” He stared into her deep blue eyes. He tried desperately to read what was going on beneath the surface. He was certain there was more she wasn’t telling him.

  “Will there be anything else, Officer?” Kari glanced over her shoulder and hugged her arms close, but made no motion to move until he shook his head.

  “No.” He smiled. “I hope you have a good day, and if you need anything—anything at all—don’t be afraid to call, okay?”

  For a moment he thought she might turn and run, but to his surprise she nodded and said, “Thank you,” before she walked back to the pub.

  He watched her go, and then with a quick glance toward the lake, and the fish that were waiting for him to catch them, he changed his mind and headed back up Main Street toward Doug’s auto shop.

  The bells over the shop door chimed as Rhys stepped inside the dingy office. A fan whirred away, moving hot, stale air from one corner to another. The smell of motor oil and stale cigarette smoke mingled together, filling the space. Rhys smiled and shook his head. Nothing ever changed.

  “I’m in the back,” a voice called out.

  Rhys let himself into the shop, and found Doug, or his legs anyway, sticking out from underneath a minivan.

  “Hard at it already, I see.”

  Doug pushed himself out on the dolly and rolled toward Rhys. His face was covered in stubble and grease, the way it always seemed to be. Rhys couldn’t remember ever seeing the man cleaned up.

  “Officer Anderson.” He winked. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  Rhys had been a few years ahead of Doug in school, so the other man had firsthand knowledge of some of the trouble Rhys’d gotten into as a teenager, especially considering some of those pranks had been directed toward Doug himself. It made it hard from time to time to assert authority, but Rhys didn’t mind, not really. His past was part of why he’d returned to Cedar Springs. A big part.