by Lee Rose
Red Hook, Texas 3
Stormy Nights
Jasmine Garrett was ready to start her life over. Red Hook and her aunt’s antique store gave her the opportunity to leave her cheating ex-boyfriend behind in a new town. This time she would concentrate on her career and not men. Arriving in town during a spring storm was just bad luck. Meeting Deputy Drake Lopez was a dangerous temptation she did not need. Love only hurt.
Drake Lopez liked his life the way it was. So what if his friends were falling in love and settling down. He had no plans to do the same. Meeting Jasmine Garrett started him wondering if maybe love wasn’t such a fairytale. She made him feel things he did not believe existed.
The only problem is getting the stubborn Jasmine to believe he is serious about her. A jealous and malicious ex-girlfriend does not help the situation any. Will Jasmine let her guard down long enough for him to prove his love?
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 39,150 words
STORMY NIGHTS
Red Hook, Texas 3
Lee Rose
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
STORMY NIGHTS
Copyright © 2015 by Lee Rose
E-book ISBN: 978-1-63259-576-8
First E-book Publication: July 2015
Cover design by Harris Channing
All art and logo copyright © 2015 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
About the Author
STORMY NIGHTS
Red Hook, Texas 3
LEE ROSE
Copyright © 2015
Chapter 1
Jasmine Garrett slung her backpack up on her shoulder. The wind was picking up speed and it was blowing her long black hair around her face, making it hard for her to see clearly. She took a look up at the gray, ominous-looking clouds. There was no longer any sign of the sun. The clouds were a dark gray in color and seemed to be gathering right over the small rural town in Texas. She tried to ignore her nervous feeling. According the radio broadcast she heard earlier, the storm was due tonight. She was grateful it wasn’t dark yet. Thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance, and Jasmine could see lightning flashing quickly before disappearing again.
Jasmine looked at the Welcome to Red Hook sign standing firm in the wind. She sighed with relief. She had just walked over a mile because her car had broken down on the side of the road. She had spent several minutes trying to get it to start again but it was a no go. It was just part of the bad luck she had been having lately. A new start in a new town was supposed to change all that. Arriving in Red Hook in the middle of a storm was not a good sign.
Aunt Kate, her mother’s younger sister, owned an antique store and Jasmine was going to help her run it. Kate’s husband died last year and Kate had let the store go due to her grief. Jasmine had experience working in interior decorating and she also needed a change. Hopefully they could help each other. Jasmine had been ready to leave her hometown of Fort Worth. It had been a rough couple of months for her. She found out her boyfriend of three years was having an affair.
She had immediately broken things off with him despite his protests that it was a casual weekend fling. She had suspected he cheated on her several times, but she never had the proof until now.
After a strong wind almost knocked her off her feet she thought maybe she should skip her first idea to find food before calling her aunt. She needed a phone. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so quick to cancel her cell phone but Grant, her ex, wouldn’t stop harassing her. It sure would be handy right about now.
She walked down the empty sidewalk. No lights were on in any of the businesses despite it being early evening. The citizens of Red Hook must be preparing for the storm. Everything was so quiet and still that it made her feel a little apprehensive.
The town had an old-world charm to it. The buildings were smaller than she was used to seeing in Fort Worth but she liked the quaint feeling. Trees lined the edge of the sidewalk, surrounded by colorful flowers. Benches lined the sidewalks.
She looked at the hardware store and noticed the banner above the doorway was hanging by only one string. The wind was waving it in the air as if it were a white surrender flag. Jasmine took a moment to sit on one of the green benches placed on the sidewalk and just breathe. She had been walking for an hour now and her feet were achy. She breathed in a gulp of air and enjoyed the quiet.
She took the time to look around the empty town. It resembled a ghost town right now. The street lights were turning colors but no cars were there to follow the lights. It was a strange scene.
Sh
e had been here every summer as a child and just last year for her uncle’s funeral but that visit had been rushed. Grant had accompanied her but had been in a hurry to leave for home. He claimed he was busy with work but now she wondered if he had been cheating on her even then.
Thinking of him always made her sad. She wasted three years of her life on a man who had not been worth it. She was left with nothing but a broken heart and low self- esteem.
She heard the brakes of a car and turned her head toward the street. A silver and blue police vehicle had parked at the curb and the passenger side window rolled down. Jasmine saw the figure covered in the shadows. She could tell it was a man with dark hair but that was about all.
“Are you okay, miss? You know, we’re expecting a bad storm,” said the deep male voice from inside the car.
“Yes, sir. I was looking for somewhere to get coffee and make a phone call,” she answered, standing up and walking closer to the car. As she got close to the door she saw he was in his mid- thirties. “I came to visit my aunt but my car broke down just outside of town.”
He gave her a curious look. She knew she looked younger than her twenty-eight years. Especially dressed in faded jeans and a dark short-sleeved shirt that showed off her arm tattoo. It was large, she had to admit, on the upper half of her arm. Her long black hair blowing around her face didn’t help. She had a silver piercing over her eyebrow. She could imagine how she looked to an officer of the law.
“Who is your aunt?” he asked suspiciously in a deep, serious voice.
“Kate Reynolds,” she replied, feeling a little intimidated by his impersonal voice and serious look. Was it because she was a stranger? Did her tattoo and piercing make her look like a hoodlum? Grant had hated them and always insisted she wear long sleeves when she was around his friends. He had tried convincing her to get rid of the piercing but she had clung to it out of stubbornness.
“I know Kate. There’s a coffee shop a few blocks from here still open. The storm isn’t too far away. Let me give you a ride,” he suggested, sounding a little friendlier. “You can give her a call from there.”
Jasmine opened the door to his car. She didn’t feel up to walking, not without some caffeine in her system, at least. The wind was picking up and the thunder sounded closer and closer. She had been stuck in a car for hours before she had to walk the last mile.
“My name is Drake Lopez,” he introduced himself, but he kept his hands on the steering wheel.
She had no choice but to reciprocate. “Jasmine Garrett.”
Once they were driving she got the chance to look him over. He was wearing a khaki uniform. He was slim but his arms were well defined with muscles. His uniform had short sleeves, and she could see his skin was tan like he was outdoors a lot. His hair was short and as dark as her own.
“You must be the niece Kate has been bragging about. She has been going on about her smart, sensible niece Jazzie coming to help her.” He smiled, giving her a quick, teasing glance.
Jasmine let out a laugh, relieved he was being a little bit friendlier. “How boring I sound, and please do not call me Jazzie. I hate it.”
“I’ll remember not to introduce you that way.” He chuckled.
She jumped when a loud boom of thunder sounded close. She placed her hand over her heart and looked up at the gray sky. “Oh God, that scared me. I thought the storm was further away than that.”
“These early summer storms are unpredictable. May is normally a stormy time for us.” He drove for a few more minutes and parked the car. The street was empty so he parked close to the front door. He turned the car off and pointed to a small gray brick building. Faith’s Place was written in big purple letters on the window. The yellow lights inside gave it a warm glow. “Faith makes the best pastries and coffee in town. I need a strong cup myself. I have the feeling we are going to be swamped tonight. They say it is going to be pretty bad. I hope not, but we have to be prepared for anything.”
He got out of the car and Jasmine followed him into the lit building. It had a comfortable feel to it. The aromas were sweet and made her stomach rumble. Breakfast had been far away and she had skipped lunch, anxious to get here. There was a long glass counter filled with delicious-looking breads. Tables were scattered around the large room. A woman with light red hair pinned on top of her head was behind the counter cleaning up. There were no other customers or employees.
“Hey, Drake. Are you on duty tonight?” She turned and gave him a welcoming smile when she heard the bell above the door. She wore jeans and a pale blue T-shirt. She was slender and had a friendly smile.
Drake smiled back and nodded. “I need a large black coffee, Faith. What do you want, Jasmine?”
Jasmine looked at the board on the wall behind the woman whom she assumed was the owner. “A vanilla latte, please,”
“I hope you’re closing early tonight,” Drake said as the woman smiled and started making the coffees. “The wind alone is supposed to be dangerous.”
She looked behind her shoulder for a minute, looking concerned. “Yeah. I sent Jenny and the others home already. I’m waiting on Adam to pick me up. He is picking up Hope from my sister’s house first, then coming here. He might have to go in if things get bad later. Liam is on call, too.”
Faith put the two coffees down on the counter. She looked at Jasmine. “My husband Adam is a firefighter. I tend to worry even though he has been doing it for years. Liam, his brother, is an EMT.”
Jasmine picked up her cup and took a sip. The liquid warmed her up immediately. “I don’t blame you. That’s a heroic job, but it can be dangerous, too.”
Faith bit her lip and nodded and looked out the window. The dark sky was lit every few seconds with lightning that disappeared as quickly as it appeared. The wind flew a few pieces of paper helplessly in the air. The empty streets gave the town an eerie feel.
“Jasmine is Kate Reynolds’s niece.” Drake spoke up, finding a small round table near the counter to sit down in.
Jasmine sat across from him and looked around. It was a small place but very warm and inviting. She could see people having coffee and just hanging out on a daily basis.
“Oh yes, the one helping her run Second Hand Treasures?” Faith asked with a smile. “Kate is in here every morning at ten a.m. I’m so glad you’re here. She has been so sad since Dale passed away. Everyone in town loves your aunt. She is so friendly and kind.”
“I agree, she is a wonderful person, and losing Dale after twenty years of marriage is rough. She was expecting me tomorrow morning. My car broke down about a mile out of town on Route eighty-two. Is there a phone I can use to call her?”
Faith pointed to a phone on the edge of the counter. “I put a phone here for customers to use. Thank goodness you made it into town ahead of the storm.”
Jasmine thanked Faith and picked up the phone. She was anxious to see her aunt again. It had been a little over a year since she drove down for the funeral. Even then her relationship with Grant had been on the rocks. Only she had not wanted to face the inevitable. Grant would never grow up and take any relationship seriously. She had rushed back home foolishly. Well, no more. From now on she was going to concentrate on helping her aunt make a success of her business. Men were just not worth the headache.
Chapter 2
Drake watched Jasmine talking on the phone as he sipped his coffee. She came back to the table looking much happier than she had when he spotted her sitting on the bench looking so lost and alone. He had to stop and see if she was okay. She was an attractive woman with her long black hair that hung down her back, straight and silky. When she stepped closer to the car he noticed her plump pink lips and big blue eyes. The piercing above her eye just drew attention to how beautiful and bright her eyes were. Her tattoo had thrown him off at first. It was on the top of her upper left arm. He saw an angel in shades of gray. It was large and surround by a gray mist.
He’d seen many beautiful women before and never felt an instant attraction
so quickly. It was a little unsettling. He wasn’t the type to believe in love at first sight. Love existed but it took time and it was hard work. When her blue eyes landed on his, his stomach had tightened with desire. It had taken all his willpower to act casual as he drove her to Faith’s coffee shop. He had heard about her from Kate but in his mind he pictured a serious-looking woman with a conservative look, like Kate. He had to ignore this attraction, though. His job took most of his time up and he liked having to not answer to anyone. Sure, his best friend Noah was happy as a lark being married now, but it had been a rough, hard road to reach that place. Drake was not interested in domestic bliss. His older sister Eva was married and had two children to make his parents happy. He preferred the single life with no responsibility. Serious relationships just seemed too hard, with too many arguments between couples.
The ringing of the opening door startled him out of his serious thoughts. He looked over to the door and spotted Adam Blake carrying his small daughter, Hope. Adam’s sand-colored hair was pulled back in a leather tie. The baby had red hair like her mother, but it was short and framed her chubby face.
Adam went straight for Faith. “Let’s see if Mommy is ready to head home and make a fire.”
The baby clapped her hands and reached out for her mother.
Faith came around the counter and kissed her husband and daughter hello. Adam was another happily married man who had fought it tooth and nail but Faith had won his heart and the two were so much in love.
Adam glanced at Drake, then eyed Jasmine with curiosity. Red Hook was a small, close-knit town. Adam set Hope down on the ground and she took off running on her small, chubby legs.