by Kaylee Ryan
“The room’s great. Thank you,” Hollis adds.
I open my mouth to tell her to leave, and nothing happens. It’s like I forgot how to speak. I try again and still nothing. What the hell is wrong with me? She has to go. I can’t live with her. Nope. I thought she was male. Someone I can have a few beers with, maybe watch the game. I can’t with her. What if I want to bring someone home? How awkward would that be having a female roommate? Even as my mind ticks off reasons, I can’t form the words. I can’t tell her to leave.
“So, Hollis. We were just about to order some pizza. You in?” Chase asks.
“I don’t want to impose.”
“Not at all. That will give us all a chance to get to know one another. Chase and I are here a lot, or Colt and Milo are at our place, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
“Sure. I’ll eat anything. Give me a few minutes to freshen up from the drive, and I’ll be right back.” I watch her as she disappears through the small hallway off the living room that leads to her room. I don’t take a full breath until I hear her bedroom door close.
I feel a hand on my shoulder, followed by a tight squeeze. “You all right, brother?” Chase laughs.
“Hollis. I thought she was a man.”
“Did you not look at her background check?”
“I did. It was clear. I didn’t read the gender section. I just wanted to make sure the guy wasn’t a criminal.”
“Woman,” he corrects me.
“Fuck me.”
His laughter rings in my ears. This should be interesting.
Chapter 2
Hollis
Deep breath.
And try not to stare at my new landlord’s ass.
That’s proving to be a much harder task the longer he’s in my presence. I’ve been around plenty of guys in my life, but none that make my heart hammer in my chest like a steel drum and tempts me to spill all of my secrets. Heaven knows that’s not happening. Not today. Not ever. My instant attraction to Colton Callahan is the exact reason why I should pack back up my measly belongings and head for another location.
Though, I’ve always heard about this town. Fair Lakes, in the heart of Missouri. With its humid summers and its blustery winters. My grandma grew up here, so I heard all about the small midwestern town that she called home for nearly two decades until she met my grandpa and moved with his military career. I’ve heard enough of her stories though. How this town was built around the large lakes. How everyone greets you when you pass on the sidewalk. How they host festivals in the town square. Of course, I’m certain the town has changed in the last five decades since she left.
I’m locked in my little studio apartment—in-law suite, I believe is what they call it—and trying to dig out a fresh sweatshirt to throw on. I could really use a shower, but my bath products are still packed away in one of my boxes, and that’s not something I want to tackle right now. My stomach growls, reminding me it’s been a while since I gave it food. That’s probably why I actually said yes to their pizza offer. It was my stomach talking and not logical sense. The logical part of my brain would have declined their offer for food and would already be through the first box of belongings. But here I am, washing my hands and getting ready to share a pizza with my landlord, his brother, and sister-in-law, and apparently, his baby boy.
Of course I’d find the one guy who clearly has his hands full, right? Hell, he probably has a girlfriend, or worse, a wife. Then I’ll meet her, like her, and feel guilty for staring at her husband’s ass every chance I got. Though, this house clearly doesn’t have a woman’s touch—at least not yet. In fact, there’s not much of a touch at all. The outside needs a little landscape help and a good grass trimming before the hard winter hits. The shutters are a faded green, and the wooden steps creaked a little with each step we took. I’d probably call it a fixer-upper, which isn’t far off from his description in the ad I found.
Actually, this place is exactly how I envisioned it, which is how he described it. I was shocked, and maybe a little thankful, he answered my email so quickly. He just purchased this place and had the space to rent to a single occupant. The in-law suite features its own entrance, which will come in handy for maintaining privacy. I can keep to myself and come and go as I please. Of course, I’m already 0-1 in the whole keep-to-myself bit. I’m sure enjoying pizza and maybe a few drinks don’t fall under the loner category. How are you supposed to blend in and make everyone forget you when the first person you meet, your tongue is hanging out like a horny dog, and you jump at the opportunity to spend just a little more time with him?
You’re doing a swell job there, Hollis.
Sighing, I wipe my wet hands on a paper towel by the sink and glance around my new space. It’s small—very small—but practical. All I need is a little space to work from my laptop, a place to rest my head, and a kitchen to cook some food. I have all of that. Well, minus the resting of the head part. I have no furniture yet, which I hope to rectify in the morning with a trip to a local secondhand store I found in my online search of the area. Until then, I’ll take my blankets and pillow and make a nice bed on the floor. It’ll be like camping, only better. Fewer bugs and bears.
Laughter spills through the closed door. I’m sure the reason it echoes is that my place is empty, right? Add in a few pieces of practical furniture, and I’m sure I’ll barely know I have roommates so close. The baby cries loudly, and I can’t help but wonder what I got myself into. I’ve never been around a baby before. He didn’t say anything about a baby in the ad, but I guess that’s not a deal breaker. It’s not like I’m here to care for the little guy, right?
That’s right, Hollis. You’re just renting a room. This isn’t your family or problem to deal with.
Deciding I’ve been gone long enough, I open the door and step into Colton’s space. My entrance is off the laundry room, right next to where the washer and dryer are positioned. The ad mentioned a communal laundry room for both him and myself, as well as the back exit. I take a quick peek at the backyard and am surprised by the size. It’s large, with several old trees that will provide plenty of shade in the summer. It needs a good mowing and trim job, but I can see why a man with a young son would want a yard like this one.
I head to the kitchen and find Colton. His back is to me, and he’s talking to the little boy perched against his shoulder. The little guy sees me and starts waving his arms around. “That’s right, champ. We’ll get your belly full and then finish getting the furniture set up in your room. You’re gonna sleep in your big boy crib tonight in your new room. Are you excited?” he asks his son as he shakes up the fresh bottle he just made. Colton turns his head and places his mouth on the baby’s side, blowing a raspberry kiss through his onesie outfit. Milo wiggles and yells, but not in the pissed off way he yelled when I first arrived. No, this one is a happy yell, one that makes me smile.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know you were standing there.”
I glance up from the baby and find Colton’s blue eyes watching me. “Sorry, I didn’t want to interrupt,” I say, glancing down at my shoes.
“You weren’t interrupting,” he insists, maneuvering Milo to the crook of his arm and plopping the bottle into his awaiting mouth. “It’s his dinner time,” he adds, glancing down and smiling at the boy in his arms.
“I’ll let you get to that. I can wait in my room,” I insist, starting to turn back the way I came.
“No, let’s take a quick tour. I don’t mind feeding him on the go. In fact, I’m pretty much becoming a professional at it,” he adds with a chuckle. The deep timbre of his voice can be felt clear down to my toes.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
He waves me to follow him as he heads toward the front of the house. “This is my living room,” he says, stepping into a wide, open space. It has a couch and large television, but that’s about it. Well, besides the playpen set up in the corner of the room. The walls are painted the same taupe color as my walls, and the
carpet is the same tan plush. Whoever decorated didn’t enjoy too much of a color palette.
“Back here are our bedrooms. This one is Milo’s,” he says, pushing open the door and revealing his sister-in-law.
“Oh, hey! I’m just getting some of Milo’s things put away,” she says to me before looking at Colton. “As soon as Chase gets back, he’ll help you get all this stuff put together,” she adds, pointing to the disassembled crib and changing table.
“Okay. Pizza should be here soon. Hopefully, my little brother doesn’t take his sweet-ass time at the hardware store,” Colton says, making Gabby roll her eyes.
“You know him. He’ll check out every single locking mechanism they have in stock before he makes a final decision.”
Colton snorts. “No shit. He’s worse than a woman.” Then he looks at me and nods toward the hallway. “Let’s finish this tour.”
I follow him across the hall and stop in the doorway. Colton’s room. It’s practically empty except a small mattress on the floor and a stack of boxes with some clothes piled on top of them. “This is my room. Or at least it will be when I get some furniture,” he adds with a sheepish grin.
“Well, you’ve already got more than I do,” I tell him with a laugh. My intention was a joke, but I can tell the moment my comment registers in his brain.
Colton looks at me, his blue eyes watching me closely. “You don’t have any furniture?”
I shrug. “I’m going to Second Street Treasures tomorrow to get a few things,” I tell him casually, praying he doesn’t bring up the fact that I moved here without having much of anything in tow.
He nods. “I was thinking of stopping in there too for some of the little things. My bed and dresser will be here Monday, and while my mom offered to let me have my set from my old room, I’m not really interested in a twin-sized bed and dresser with GI Joe stickers all over it. Nothing about that screams responsible adult.”
I laugh at the thought. “No, you’re probably right.”
“Come on, let’s finish up the tour before Milo needs burping.”
I follow Colton out the front door. The walkway leads to both the sidewalk out front and the driveway beside the house. There’s a two-car garage, with a wide driveway to allow two vehicles to park easily. “You’re welcome to take one of the garage bays. I’ll move my truck into the garage in a little bit and free up the space.”
“No problem. I’m parked in the street right now. I don’t mind keeping it up there,” I tell him, thinking about my older Honda Accord. It’s a few years old and has more dents and dings than a race car. Whoever owned my baby before me, definitely was rough on her.
“No need. I don’t need both spaces. You might as well utilize one,” he says, heading toward the back of the property. “Your entrance is here. I’ve got the keys on the counter inside. You’re welcome to use the backyard anytime you want. I’m hoping to put a few chairs back here, maybe a firepit or something like that too. Someday, probably a swing set,” he adds, glancing down and smiling at Milo, who’s going to town on the bottle of formula.
The yard is even bigger than it looked through the window. There’s a small lot between Colton’s place and his neighbor’s, and the whole thing is fenced in with a basic wooden privacy fence. “It’s a great yard.”
“It is. It’s part of the reason I bought it. I wanted this little guy to have plenty of running room.”
We head to the back door, and I hold it open for Colton. I catch a whiff of something woodsy as he passes, either his soap or his detergent, and the fumes go straight to my dormant lady parts. Suddenly, they’re alive and raring to go, as if waking from a long, deep hibernation. It was one thing to steal a few appreciative glances at his very nice rear, but smelling him is on a whole different playing field. Whatever it is short circuits my brain and makes my nipples tingle. I’m definitely out of my league here with this one.
I didn’t sign up for intoxicating sexy man scent.
“Back here is the laundry room, which you know. You’re welcome to use it anytime you want. Store anything you need in the cabinets to the left. I’ll take the cabinet above the washer since it’s so high up.”
I glance around, taking in my new home. “Thank you, Colton. I want you to know how much I appreciate you putting your faith in me as your tenant. I’m sure it’s not easy, with a son and all, but I promise not to be a bother or a nuisance. In fact, you won’t even know I’m here,” I reassure him.
“I doubt it,” he mumbles, glancing off to the right. In fact, I’m not really sure he meant to say it aloud.
I know I wasn’t what he was expecting when he opened the door earlier. In my defense, I never once tried to hide it from him that I was a woman. If he didn’t read my background check, well, that’s on him. But I need this place, which is why I’m determined to be the best tenant and roommate he could ask for. I’ll be as quiet as a mouse and make sure to be respectful of his property. I’ll keep to myself, so he never regrets renting his place to me.
“Got a lock,” his brother, Chase, hollers as he walks in the front door. “Oh, hey,” he adds when he sees us standing in the kitchen. “I come bearing pizza gifts.” Chase sets two pizza boxes down on the counter.
“Thanks. I’ll give you some money in a bit,” Colton says, setting the empty bottle aside and moving his son to his shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it. I got ya covered. Consider it a housewarming gift. For both of you,” Chase says, giving me a warm smile. It’s actually a quite nice smile. Sexy, even. I imagine that smile gets him out of any trouble he may find himself in, especially with his wife.
She enters the kitchen. “Food. I smell food,” she says as she lifts the first pizza box lid and inhales the cheesy goodness. “Oh my God, that smells so freaking good.” Then, she pulls a slice of mushroom pizza out of the box and shovels a third of it into her mouth. “Mmmgrrrmm,” she mumbles while chewing.
“What’s that, baby? I couldn’t hear you over your pizza inhalation. Did you even taste that?” Chase teases, coming over and placing his big hand on her small belly.
“Fuck off, Callahan. Baby needs pizza,” she says, drawing out that last word, before taking another massive bite.
“Come on, Hollis, let’s get you a slice or two of pizza before the pregnant lady eats it all,” Colton says, humor in every word.
“Watch it, older Callahan. Be nice, or I’ll eat you,” Gabby chastises, finishing off her first piece.
Colton grabs me a paper plate and waves me on, all while extracting a loud burp from his son. “That’s my boy,” Chase says proudly, then seems to stop. Something passes between the brothers that I can’t decipher, but the moment passes quickly. Chase grabs a plate of pizza and goes to sit next to his wife on the couch.
I follow and take the floor, trying to stay off to the side and out of the way. Not that I’m really in the way, but you know what I mean. I’m the outcast here, the outsider who doesn’t know any of the people in her company. A few minutes later, Colton comes into the living room and lays Milo down on a blanket he stretched out in the middle of the floor. The little guy starts kicking and waving his arms, wiggling from side to side and kicking his leg to the side.
“You know, it won’t be long until he’s rolling over,” Gabby says between bites.
Colton, who returned to the kitchen to grab a plate of food, says, “Hard to believe we’re already approaching that milestone. Seems like just yesterday he was getting up every two hours and making sure I never had a moment’s alone time to shower.”
Chase snorts. “No shit. He was damn good at pulling the ‘scream until you picked him up’ card.”
“It’s better now though, right?” Gabby asks.
“Much better. He’s getting up once, maybe twice a night now. And he loves that stupid singing bear, so as long as my shower is under ten minutes, I can usually get it done before the bear shuts off and he vocalizes his disappointment,” Colton says, taking a seat on the floor beside his
son.
Nibbling on my slice of pizza, I have to concentrate on not inhaling my food. It’s been a long day on the road, and since I spent a big part of my travel money on gas, I kept my food to a bare minimum. I have the basic furniture to get yet, and with paying first and last month’s rent and only two jobs on the horizon, I need to make sure I stick to my budget.
“So, Hollis, what do you do?” Gabby asks, starting on her second piece.
I glance up and find three sets of eyes on me. I shift in my place on the floor, hating having all the attention on me. “Umm, I design websites mostly, but also some graphic design like logos and business graphics.”
“Oh, cool,” she says, leaning forward. “Websites, huh? Interesting…”
Chase looks at his wife and smiles. “I already know what you’re thinking.”
“Didn’t I just tell Harrison he needed an updated website?” She turns back my way and says, “The one we have now is not user-friendly. I’d really like to have a page we can keep updated with our calendar. We’ve been adding all sorts of special classes, and it would be nice to have them all displayed in one place. You know?”
“Absolutely. A good website can be a very effective marketing tool. If you constantly keep it updated, you will train your customers to look there for information.”
Gabby’s already nodding. “Totally. And you do logo design? We have four locations now, and I’d love to incorporate each location with the image.”
“What kind of business is this?” I ask, my design brain already starting to sort and file ideas.
“Oh, sorry. So, my brother-in-law, Harrison, and my sister, Gwen, own All Fit, a local fitness center, which specializes in personal training and fitness classes. Chase is the manager and his right hand. They started the first location together several years ago.”
“Cool. I designed a website for a national chain gym last year. You could always check that out for a reference,” I tell her, feeling a little weird about pimping a job mere hours after meeting these people. But hey, a girl’s gotta eat, right?