Town of Chance: Sweet Caroline [The Dare Series 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Dixie Lynn Dwyer

  “I don’t know. It’s not really my thing.”

  “To hang out and listen to a cool band?”

  “To go to bars and stuff. I’m not really into hanging out,” she said.

  Before he could ask her anything else, she interrupted. “Did you need anything else? I need to finish cleaning up the mess I made,” she said, and now he was even more intrigued by the woman.

  “I’m good, doll. Maybe think about going to Spencer’s. You’re new in town and it’s a nice way to meet people,” he said to her and he couldn’t believe it. This was so not him. He wasn’t the social guru of Chance. He didn’t get people to socialize and have fun. Hell, he was a man that kept to himself and he was being forced to go out to this thing. What the fuck?

  But then his mom returned and smiled.

  “How about some pants to go with those?”

  He followed his mother but looked back at Caroline as she cleaned up the last couple of boxes on the floor. When she glanced back at him, he knew she felt the attraction, too. Maybe going to Spencer’s wouldn’t be so terrible after all if Caroline showed up.

  * * * *

  Caroline couldn’t help but to watch Hunter leave the store with a few bags. He complained about traveling with them on his Harley. The man was already intimidating enough, but throw in the Harley and his no-nonsense attitude and he was scary to her. She felt her chest tighten and her palms get all sweaty. She could hardly speak when Martha called her up to the register so Hunter could make sure her head was okay. He was so upset that she had gotten hurt. That thought made her wonder what game he was playing. He flirted with her, yet he was straightforward with his words and comments, and they had an edge of something to them. It was almost forced. His niceness that was. Her gut clenched as she thought about how she met Cameron. He seemed so nice and sincere. Like a good civil servant who came to her aid after a not-so-friendly citizen knocked over her coffee and her bags.

  Cameron was very attractive and tall too. Not as tall as Hunter or as big, but she could sense Hunter was hiding something. She felt sick to her stomach. This was going to be a new way of thinking and processing meeting other people. First she would analyze their behavior and their words and body language. Then she would try to figure out what they were hiding and what their agenda was.

  Considering that her mother asked him if he had another date tomorrow night, she would lean toward believing Hunter, like most men she came across, was looking for an easy lay. She had to give Cameron credit in that department. As soon as she broke down and admitted to him that she was a virgin and inexperienced, he put on the breaks and stopped pushing her to stay over his place. Instead, the news seemed to make him cater to her even more. Well she thought it was catering and care, but soon realized she had become an obsession.

  She continued to fold clothes and think about all the mistakes she made with Cameron. All the signs she missed and the things she should have questioned, protested, or even said no to. Like him dropping her off to work and picking her up every day. That turned to meeting her for lunch, which made her lose friends because she had no one to socialize with but Cameron and his friends.

  She had been so stupid. She had to be more careful now. She had to question her judgment of character because obviously she was bad at it.

  “Caroline?”

  She heard her name and looked up to see Martha watching her.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Did you need something?”

  Martha stepped closer and gave a soft smile.

  “I hope that Hunter didn’t frighten you. He can tend to be a bit rough around the edges.”

  “No, not at all.”

  Martha clasped her hands in front of her and looked a little emotional.

  “I know he’s a big man, but you two seemed to get along fine. Usually he’s not in here for more than a few minutes and the few times he was here, he left empty-handed.”

  Caroline nodded and gave a soft smile.

  “My son has been through a lot. He was a soldier and only retired recently.”

  Caroline looked up, surprised by the information. That would explain the hardness about him and also her feeling that he was holding back. Maybe he was just being guarded, kind of like she was.

  “That’s very honorable of him.”

  “My husbands and I are proud of Hunter as well as our other two sons.”

  “Husbands?” she asked.

  Martha smiled. “I assumed your sister told you about how things work around Chance.”

  “Oh, yes, she mentioned the ménage relationships. I guess I’ll need to get used to that terminology and seeing people engaged in them,” she said and had a funny sensation in her core.

  “It’s a very special kind of relationship. It’s not for everyone, either.”

  “I’m sure it isn’t.”

  “How about you? Are you seeing anyone? I noticed a few different men come by here more often since you started working here. Colby and his brother Phoenix just a little while ago.”

  Caroline felt her cheeks warm.

  “I’m not seeing anyone and not interested in dating.”

  “Well I’m certain that will change when the right man or men come along.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Martha fixed one of the shirts on the rack and looked at Caroline.

  “You don’t have to tell me what happened, but it’s just that you get this look in your eyes every now and then when the store is quiet. You seem so sad and scared, and I can’t help but think between your broken arm, the need to be paid cash, and your reaction to men that some man hurt you.”

  Caroline widened her eyes and looked around them. There was one woman in the store way at the back looking at purses and wallets.

  “Nope, just being cautious,” she said but felt her whole body give up on the words as they exited her lips. Martha was so nice and she was willing to pay her off the books, no questions asked. Shelby said Martha could be trusted.

  “I don’t want to lie to you, but I think it’s better if you don’t know anything.”

  “Sweetie, Chance is an amazing town filled with caring and compassionate people. We have rules and we have safeguards for everyone living here and especially women. You don’t need to be afraid. The sheriff is a good man, and he’s trustworthy. Even if you have a secret and don’t want anyone to know about it, you can confide in him. He’ll do what’s necessary to keep you safe.”

  Caroline felt her sincerity, but what she was saying, or maybe suggesting, wasn’t so easy to comply with.

  “I’m good right now, Martha, but I appreciate the information. I met him and he did seem very nice.”

  Martha smiled. She reached out and gave Caroline’s arm a little squeeze. “I’m here for you, too. Remember that.”

  Caroline smiled and then watched Martha walk over to help the lady shopping for bags. She thought about what she asked her and about how the conversation started. She hoped that Martha wasn’t thinking that Hunter would be a good guy to fix her up with or something. That would totally freak Caroline out. She swallowed hard. If anything, learning he was some capable, well-trained soldier made him an even bigger no-no in getting to know or even be friends with. Men like him could do some serious damage to a woman like Caroline. No thank you.

  * * * *

  “Come on, Caroline. It will be fun. Spencer’s tonight then the beach tomorrow,” Shelby said as she stood by the table in the kitchen.

  “I don’t want to. I don’t need to socialize with anyone.”

  “Sure you do. It’s better than moping around here and analyzing all the things you think you’ve done wrong in your life.”

  “I’m not doing that.”

  Shelby crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave Caroline the stare-down.

  “Don’t even try that with me. I’ve been where you are, remember? Hell, I’ll probably always look over my shoulder and worry about Skip showing up here, but I made the decision
to live my life. To live a better life than the one I had back in New York. You need to start doing that, too.”

  “But I don’t want to have to converse with people and make new friends or deal with any men.”

  She squinted her eyes at her sister.

  “What the hell does that mean?” Shelby asked.

  “It means that going to a bar to hear a band and where there’s drinking and socializing that they’ll be men. Men that I don’t need to be around. Men that remind me of Cameron and how stupid I had been to believe him to be sincere. I can’t fall for the same bullshit lines and pretend compassion. I can’t. And to tell you the truth, until my ability to judge a person’s character begins to strengthen and be accurate, I have no problem sticking around here on my days off and my free evenings. In fact, I’m going to volunteer at the library tomorrow all day for their book drive event.”

  “But I thought you would join all of us at the beach and get to know the girls.”

  “Another time. I’m not ready to go prancing around in my bikini.”

  Shelby felt her chest tighten with concern.

  “Honey, do you have more injuries from Cameron that you didn’t tell me about?”

  “Nothing like that. They’re all gone, and thank God no scars as reminders. Just another week and I can get this damn last reminder off.” Caroline rubbed the cast.

  “It will be gone soon enough. I don’t have to go tonight. I can stay here and hang out with you.”

  “No, go and have fun with your friends. I’m fine here, really.”

  “Are you sure? I might be kind of late.”

  “Go. I’m fine.”

  * * * *

  “Is that a new shirt?” C.J. asked his brother Hunter.

  Hunter brushed his hands down the front and fixed his belt. “Maybe,” he said as he looked around the bar.

  “Who the hell are you looking for?” C.J. asked him and then took a slug of beer. He and York had been at Spencer’s an hour already and hadn’t caught sight of the pretty platinum-blonde Caroline.

  “What’s with you and the new shirt?” York asked Hunter.

  “Nothing. I stopped into mom’s store and she talked me into some shirts she put aside for me.”

  “You were in Mom’s store? When?” York asked.

  “Yesterday.”

  “Who the hell do you keep looking for?” C.J. asked him.

  “No one. What do you mean?”

  “What do I mean? First of all you’re acting fucking strange,” C.J. said.

  “How so?”

  “Well, you never come out to Spencer’s. You hate…people,” York stated. C.J. knew something was up.

  “You went shopping at mom’s store for new shirts. Why is that?” C.J. asked.

  “I needed new shirts and I don’t hate people.”

  “Bullshit,” both C.J. and York replied at the same time and then they chuckled, clicked their beer bottles together, and then looked at Hunter. He seemed pissed off, but then another set of pretty brunettes walked by and said hello to them. Hunter turned away and so did C.J. and York.

  C.J.’s eyes landed on Shelby and her friends. There was still no sign of Caroline. He was getting the feeling that she wouldn’t be there.

  “Maybe we should ask Shelby if her sister is coming here tonight,” York said to C.J.

  “If Caroline was coming, she would be here right now.”

  Hunter swung his head around to look at C.J. and York.

  “Did you say Caroline?” he asked.

  C.J. nodded. “She works in Mom’s store and she’s Shelby’s sister. We met her a week or so ago.”

  “And?” Hunter pushed.

  C.J. looked at York. “She’s gorgeous and shy,” he told him.

  “Has an amazing body and beautiful platinum-blonde hair.”

  Hunter crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  C.J. stared at him and then looked at York then back to Hunter. “You met her, too? You know Caroline?”

  He nodded his head.

  “And?” York asked.

  C.J. felt tense. C.J’s whole reaction to Caroline was different and something not to take lightly. She did something to him and to York, too. If Hunter met her and found her attractive, then it was important. It was a game changer because she could be the one woman they all wanted and could possibly make theirs. It would explain why he and York were compelled to see her again and to get to know her.

  “Holy shit. You met her as well and found her attractive.”

  “Who wouldn’t, York?” Hunter replied.

  “You know what I mean,” he said a little loudly and then lowered his voice. “You know damn well what I fucking mean. Tell us how you met her and what you felt,” York pushed.

  “And how she reacted,” C.J. added, and Hunter explained about the other day and the shop.

  “Damn, do you think the bump was worse than she let on and perhaps she’s not feeling well?” York asked.

  C.J. spotted Shelby heading by them.

  “Hey, Shelby,” he said to her.

  “Hi, guys, how are you?”

  “Good, good. We were wondering if Caroline was coming here tonight or if she was feeling okay,” he asked, and Shelby looked a bit surprised that they were asking.

  “She’s fine, just not into coming to places like this.”

  “Is her head okay? She bumped it pretty damn hard at work yesterday,” Hunter asked.

  “She’s fine. How did you know about that?” she asked Hunter, and Hunter explained about coming inside and catching her. They talked a little more about how C.J. and York met her and then suddenly Shelby got all serious and looked upset.

  “My sister is going through some stuff right now and prefers to just relax on her days off.”

  “Listen, we just wanted to get to know her and maybe be friends,” C.J. added.

  “Did you mention that to her when you met her?” she asked.

  “I told her I was going to be here,” Hunter said, appearing angry and like he was getting concerned by Shelby’s reaction like C.J. was.

  “Well then, there’s your answer. She’s not interested.” Shelby went to walk away and bumped right into Bender Pace, a detective with the sheriff’s department. He was also the brother to her boss, Kenneth.

  “Whoa, where you rushing off to, Shelby?” he asked her and she appeared shocked. C.J. knew that the Pace men were interested in Shelby, but she always seemed to be avoiding them. It made him wonder why, but obviously not as much as the Pace brothers.

  “Sorry. I need to go,” she said and looked at them and then hurried past Bender.

  C.J., his brothers, and Bender watched her head through the crowd.

  “Is it me, or is there a pattern here with her always running?” Bender asked.

  “Beer?” Hunter asked Bender and he nodded his head.

  “I think it’s a pattern,” York said as he took a slug from his bottle of Bud. Hunter passed a cold one to Bender.

  “How about your brother Kenneth, no progress at the office? I mean he’s with her every freaking day,” C.J. said.

  “Not really. She’s shy and gets nervous when he hints about going to lunch, or even grabbing a coffee. It’s driving the three of us insane,” Bender shared with them.

  “Well, if it makes you feel any better, it may be genetic,” York teased.

  Bender squinted his eyes at him. “What?” he asked.

  “Don’t mind him, he’s being difficult. We met Shelby’s sister,” C.J. told him.

  “Oh yeah. She’s the talk of the town right now. I haven’t met her yet. I knew she moved here a few weeks ago, but Shelby doesn’t share much personal stuff. Is she shy, too?”

  “Shy? I think she didn’t come tonight because she knew we would be here and she met Hunter yesterday at the clothing store.”

  “Ah, so you scared her off?” Bender teased.

  “Fuck you,” Hunter replied and Bender chuckled.

&n
bsp; “My brother Kenneth thinks that there may be more to Shelby’s private nature. Before Caroline moved here, Shelby was on the phone a lot and the other assistant heard her talking to a nurse at a hospital, arranging traveling plans, and made it sound like Shelby was afraid or something. When Kenneth asked her if things were okay and offered to help her with anything, she closed up and basically told him that he needed to respect her privacy. She got on the defensive,” Bender explained.

  “Kind of like what she did just now when we asked about her sister and about getting to know her,” York said, squinting his eyes at Bender and then looking past C.J.

  “We scared her off, too,” C.J. said.

  “If you ask me, their behavior just warrants more questions and a need to ensure they’re safe. What about your mom? Caroline works in her store now, right?” Bender asked and took a slug of beer from the bottle he held.

  “She likes her, that’s for sure,” York said.

  “I can ask her tomorrow. I’m working in town and the library is doing the monthly book event,” C.J. said and they were all kind of quiet.

  “How is Sam doing, Bender? Is he coming home next week?” Hunter asked him.

  “That’s the plan, but then you know how it goes. He’s working on the base but they send him out for different shit last minute. I don’t hold my breath anymore and neither does Kenneth. We are hoping he’ll come here soon and maybe retire, like you, Hunter.”

  Hunter nodded his head. “When it’s right, he’ll know it. You can’t force him if he isn’t ready,” Hunter added.

  “He’s not kidding. We waited three years for Hunter to finally call it quits,” York said.

  “Hey, are they still offering him the position on the base? That would be a nice retirement plan. It’s a doable commute, and he won’t have to go elsewhere for work. He can also live in that big ass house you guys built,” C.J. said.

  “We’ll see,” Bender said, and C.J. could tell that their brother’s absence was weighing a toll on Bender and Kenneth, too.

  “To Sam,” Hunter said and raised his beer bottle.

  “To Sam,” they all said and then chugged their beers.