Barber Shop Ink - Book 2: Between a Hedge and a Hard Place
Page 1
Penny Blush
Barber Shop Ink Series
Book 2
Memphis
Why did I think that keeping secrets was a good idea?
Secrets cause nothing but heartache and pain. Secrets have a way of revealing themselves. Their ugly truth finding the light of day. I thought that I could handle things by myself, that I didn’t need their help, now I may not survive without it.
Everything was perfect. She was perfect. We were perfect. Then my secrets were revealed.
Hedge
You can’t out run your past. I know I thought I had. I thought there were parts of my past that I had locked away forever never to be seen again. I was wrong.
No matter how hard you try to forget your past, the things that you have done and move on, there is always something that will pull you back under.
For me that thing is Memphis. Now I must dig up my past to save his life and our future.
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 by Penny Blush Books.
All rights reserved. This work is under copyright. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means. Including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except with brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. While, as in all fiction, the literary perceptions, and insights are based on life experiences and conclusions drawn from research, all names, characters, places, and specific instances are products of the author’s imagination and used. Any references to historical events, real people, or places are used fictitiously. No actual reference to any real person, living or dead, is intended or inferred and is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design © Designed With Grace
https://www.facebook.com/DesignedGrace/
Cover Images © Adobe Stock & Penny Blush Books
Photographer: Alison Flood
Cover Model: Josh Cotter
https://www.facebook.com/BetterYOUHealthandFitness/
https://www.instagram.com/betteryoupt/
Table of Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Prologue
Chapter 1 Jaxon
Chapter 2 Hedge
Chapter 3 Memphis
Chapter 4 Hedge
Chapter 5 Memphis
Chapter 6 Hedge
Chapter 7 Hedge
Chapter 8 Jaxon
Chapter 9 Memphis
Chapter 10 Hedge
Chapter 11 Memphis
Chapter 12 Hedge
Chapter 13 Hedge
Chapter 14 Memphis
Chapter 15 Memphis
Chapter 16 Hedge
Chapter 17 Hedge
Chapter 18 Memphis
Chapter 19 Memphis
Chapter 20 Hedge
Chapter 21 Memphis
Chapter 22 Hedge
Chapter 23 Hedge
Chapter 24 Memphis
Chapter 25 Hedge
Chapter 26 Hedge
Chapter 27 Memphis
Chapter 28 Hedge
Chapter 29 Hedge
Also By Penny Blush
About The Author
Author Links
Dedication
This book is dedicated to the Ladies from Penny Blush Critics Corner who helped me to perfect my story.
For my readers who took a chance on Barber Shop Ink Book 1 – Always Blue in Memphis. Thank you for taking the time to read by story and for letting me know how much you loved Memphis and Hedge.
Acknowledgements
As I sit down to write this, I am once again reminded of all the people who made this book possible. There are so many people I need to say thank you too, and I will try to keep it short …. But It probably won’t be.
Thank you to the Ladies from my reader groups The Elite Squad and Critics Corner. Thank you for reading my work and holding me to a high standard.
Thank you to The Lady with The Red Pen. Once again, the Barber Shop Ink series would be nothing without you. Your encouragement, guidance, and words of wisdom help to keep me grounded.
There’s a very special place in my heart with your name on it.
Thank you to the London Ladies – you know who you are – Thank you for helping take my story to the next level. #Drinkingbuddiesforlife
Thank you to my readers. You are simply the most amazing support system in the world. I love hearing from you and how much you love my story and characters.
Thank you to my family and BFFs Kristin and Pauline for encouraging me to pursue my dreams.
A Huge thank you to my amazing sister Alison who took the cover photos for this book. You are a spectacularly talented photographer and one day I hope to be half as good as you.
Which brings me once again to Josh.
Thank you for once again being my cover model. Our photo shoots are always fun. We didn’t have you kneeling on concreate this time, but we did have you moving furniture while Alison and I did nothing to help and just danced to Blondie’s Heart of Glass.
Your always easy to work with and are willing to give anything go all in the name of a great photo.
You are an awesome human being. Thank you for being my trainer but more importantly thank you for being my friend.
You kick my ass every week; you push me, you challenge me. You listen to me complain when things aren’t going the way I want them too, and you listen to me when I talk a million miles an hour when I’m super excited about something.
Even though you only pay attention to every third thing I say, and you have a message returning deficiency.
Josh, you are #theworst but I love your ass anyway.
Prologue
My name is…
Well, my name is irrelevant, everyone just calls me Hedge. Before you ask no, that’s not my real name, and no my parents didn’t hate me. Hedge is a nickname given to me by my cousin, Jaxon when we were kids that just stuck.
The last twelve months of my life has been such a roller-coaster I’ve gone through so many ups and downs sometimes I can’t even believe what happened, and I’m the one who lived it!
So, sit down, strap in and let me take you through the twists and turns of the last year.
Twelve months ago, I was living the high life. The perfect life or so I thought. Then in one day, it all got shot to hell.
~*~*~*~*~*~*Turn ~*~*~*~*~*~*
I was working for my best friend Donavan James, hairdresser to the stars. I loved everything about my job. I loved working in a high-end salon, travelling the world perfecting my craft, competing and winning competitions left and right.
I had a legion of devoted, loyal clients that would come from far and wide to have their tresses attended to by my skilled hands.
That was until the Feds arrested Donavan for embezzlement.
Because of Donavan’s devious behavior I found myself without a job or best friend.
~*~*~*~*~*~*Turn ~*~*~*~*~*~*
After returning home, I went for a run. I needed to clear my head and sort through everything that happened with the Feds and Donavan.
While I was running in the city park, my apartment building burnt to the ground thanks to some neglectful pot growing retirees.
In the wake of the ashes of my devastated apartment building I became homeless.
~*~*~*~*~*~*Twist ~*~*~*~*~*~*
After my apartment burnt down, I went to the one place I thought I would find safe harbor. I went to my boyfriend’s
condo seeking comfort, and a place to stay.
Entering the apartment, I heard the shower running and walked into the bathroom looking for my boyfriend. I found him all right.
In the shower.
Balls deep in Donavan.
Because of their lies and deceit, I was left boyfriend-less and devastated.
~*~*~*~*~*~*Turn ~*~*~*~*~*~*
Broken hearted and overwhelmed at the mess that had become of my picture-perfect life I turned to my cousin Jaxon for help and booze.
I crashed on Jaxon’ couch and fell into an endless pit of despair. For the next few months, my life revolved around lounging in men’s pajamas, sleep, home-renovation TV shows, ice-cream and rum.
I was content to wallow in the darkness not caring if I saw the light ever again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*Turn ~*~*~*~*~*~*
Then a sexy, tattooed, beardy giant pissed me off. I got my ass off the couch. I got changed out of my pajamas, and I took back control of my life.
The sexy, tattooed, beardy giant is Memphis Blue. Owner of the highly successful tattoo parlor Barber Shop Ink. My boss and my boyfriend.
Everything was going along swimmingly.
I started a new job as the manager of Barber Shop Ink - The job came before the boyfriend.
I was offered a fabulous new apartment over the top of the shop with a view of the river I love - The apartment came before the boyfriend.
Then there’s Memphis, who makes sure I come first – Always!
Memphis my amazingly, awesome boss. My best friend and did I mention gorgeously sexy boyfriend?
Memphis turned out to be everything I didn’t know I wanted and everything I never knew I needed. Memphis is the type of man that would smack your ass and whisper in your ear all the naughty and deliciously dirty things he wanted to do to you, all while you introduce him to your parents.
Memphis Sex… oh my God Memphis Sex.
Passionate, intense, bone-melting sexy-sex. The type of sex that left you energized but exhausted at the same time. The kind of sex that has you pushing him away because you couldn’t possibly handle any more but had you pulling him closer because you can’t get enough.
Everything was coming up roses. My life was back on track, and I was deliriously happy.
Then a storm blew in, and everything changed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*Twist ~*~*~*~*~*~*
The night that my life was upended again, there was a literal storm. Lightning cracked and flashed across the sky. Thunder banged and crashed outside rattling the windows of the apartment. I stood in the kitchen waiting for Memphis to come home watching lightning flashes illuminating the trees lining the river bank.
I had decided to wait for my man in bed when a rumbling crash of thunder sounded odd. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what was wrong with it. But something wasn’t right, and it had the hairs on my arms standing on end. Then I heard the sound again. It wasn’t a typical rumbling roll of thunder. It was the thumping crash of someone trying to break into the shop.
I grabbed my baseball bat and silently crept down the stairs of my apartment towards the shop rear entry door. The crashing noise came again. Another muffled thump and a groan that came from the vacant shop next door.
“Christ… Fuck… Damn,” the voice floated through the thin plaster wall.
A voice I knew intimately.
A voice I would recognize anywhere.
“Memphis?” I gasped as recognition hit me.
I took off into the storm. I found Memphis broken and bloody on the floor of the vacant shop next door. My poor Baby had been beaten, stabbed and was bleeding everywhere. I wanted to get him to a hospital, but Memphis wouldn’t let me call an ambulance. So, instead, I called Jaxon for help.
“Jax, Jaxon, I need your help,” I rushed out ignoring his greeting. “I need you to bring The Box now.”
“What do you mean you need The Box?” He asked through gritted teeth.
You see ‘The Box’ is a bone of contention between my cousin and me. I had promised never to mention it again. The Box contained a part of my past that I had locked away, along with the skills and memories that it held.
“Jaxon just grab The-fucking-Box and get your ass over here, please hurry!” A sob escaped my lips. “Memphis has had the crap beaten out of him. He has at least one stab wound that I can see. I need you, Jax, please hurry,” my words trailing off at the end, my emotions getting the better of me.
At hearing the panic in my voice at the condition that I found Memphis in, Jaxon did as I asked. He grabbed The Box and high tailed it to the shop.
By the time Jax had arrived Memphis had slumped against the wall in an awkward half sitting-lying position. Jax shone his LED Mag-light over him revealing a smear of blood left behind on the wall from Memphis as he made his way to the floor.
“Help me get him up. We’ve got to get him upstairs now!” I yelled at Jax, snapping him out of his assessment of the horror scene in front of him.
Memphis is big – six-foot-six and broad as hell – there was no way Jax and I could carry him, so he had to walk. Memphis was so weak and had to keep stopping to catch his breath. Going up the stairs was torture. It took what seemed like hours, but we finally made it up and into my apartment.
When Jax hastily carried The Box upstairs to my apartment before hurrying back to help me with Memphis, he had the forethought to cover the kitchen island bench in a sterile plastic sheet. All three of us were sweaty and exhausted by the time we got Memphis laid out on my kitchen bench.
I looked Jaxon in the eye, took a deep breath giving him a sad smile, “Jaxon, these are words I never wanted to utter again during my life.”
“Jax, could you open The Box please?”
Chapter 1 Jaxon
“Jax, could you open The Box please?”
I hated those fucking words.
When Hedge called and asked me to bring that God-awful box, my heart stopped, sank and then raged. I told her what would happen if she ever spoke of it let alone asked for the fucking thing again.
I don’t even know why I agreed to keep it for her. I should have dumped it in the middle of the ocean where the sharks could have it, and it could never be seen again. At least that way we could all pretend that that part of her life never happened.
My cousin and I are super close, more siblings than cousins. We’ve always been close. There are only six months between us in age and that bond just grew closer after she came to live with my folks and me.
Her parents died in a car accident. Hedge was in the car as well. She was pretty banged up, but thankfully she survived. Hedge was a complete mess when she and her big brother Davan came to live with us after the accident.
Davan didn’t have the chance to grieve the loss of his parents and come to terms with his new life without them because he spent all his time making sure Hedge was settled and as happy as possible.
Then he had to break her heart letting her know that he was being redeployed and being shipped off to some God-forsaken hellhole.
After his departure, Hedge was such an angry little beaver. I guess losing both your parents, moving across the country, having to rebuild your life at the ripe old age of twelve along with dealing with the fact your big brother had deployed again, all within the space of a few months would make anyone a little cranky. She was pissed off with the world I guess feeling like you were all alone in the world would do that to a kid.
Hedge became closed off to the world.
When she could feel her emotions building up and got to the point where she felt that she was going to snap, she would take off and hide in the damn hedge that ran the length of our driveway. Hedge said she didn’t want to take her feelings out on anyone else, just because she was hurting. So, she would run and hide.
The first time she ran off, scared the shit out of my parents. We lived on a small farm, well small in farming terms but it was the size of a small country to a twelve-year-old. My parents had searched everywhere and were on the v
erge of calling the police and Davan when I found her. She was lying in a natural tunnel that had occurred in the hedge line. She was wearing one of her brother’s jumpers curled in a tight ball quietly whimpering and shivering from the cold.
My parents wouldn’t let her out of their sight for a while after that. But, it didn’t take long before she did it again. She would stay out there for hours and wouldn’t come out for anyone else but me. My parents would watch anxiously from the porch or kitchen window, feeling helpless that they couldn’t help and comfort her. I know my mother felt slightly hurt that Hedge wouldn’t come to her when she felt the world crashing down on her. I would try to console my parents by letting them know that at least we knew she was safe.
I would give her some space before going to find her, letting her know that I was there for her. Sometimes I would just sit outside her hedge fortress waiting so that she would know that she was not alone. I would just wait until she was ready to come out.
“You okay?” I would mutter, giving her a quick hug.
She would just nod, and we would continue as nothing had happened. Eventually, after a lot of poking, prodding and annoying persistence from me, I would get her to talk and tell me what was wrong.
We have always been close as cousins, but this made us tighter. Eventually, I stopped telling people at school that she was my cousin and started calling her my sister. I was and still am proud to be her big brother.
Mum and Dad helped her as much as they could. Taking her to martial arts, boxing, and gymnastics to help her channel her anger from negative into positive energy. These activities contributed to making her disciplined, stronger and focused. Not only did they help her to deal with her feelings and calm her down, but they also gave her a very particular skill set.
She managed to get her shit under control and excelled in school without even really trying. Because we are six months apart, I was in the year above her in school. With her newfound focus, she managed to finish a year early, the same year as me. The kid is smart, a fucking genius and could have become anything she wanted to.