by Jenna Jacob
Victor LaCroix, the surliest bastard in town, stomped to the bar. Sawyer stood a couple seats away watching the smile on Gina’s face turn arctic.
“What can I—”
“Whiskey,” Victor interrupted. “Hold the small talk, bitch. I’ve had a shitty day.”
Instantly, Noble and Nate sidled up beside Sawyer as he bristled. Anger hummed through his veins, and irritation rolled off his siblings. They’d been raised to respect women, unlike LaCroix.
Sawyer sent Gina a quizzical stare. Did she want him and the boys to step in on her behalf? She subtly shook her head and turned a brittle smile on Victor. After plucking a bottle off the shelf behind her, Gina held it to her chest. “Your day’s about to get a whole lot shittier if you don’t apologize to me, LaCroix.”
Her sickening-sweet tone didn’t faze the surly old man. He simply sent her an evil sneer. “You’re testing my patience, girl. Give me that bottle and go find yourself a man who will keep you in your place.”
Tension spiked. The air grew thick. A flash of fury rolled across Gina’s face. She cocked her head as if appraising the loathsome prick. Sawyer had seen Gina deal with ugly drunks—twice Victor’s size—and unleash the ruthless tigress inside her. But LaCroix was stone-cold sober. That made him a much bigger threat than a shit-faced drunk.
Warning bells clanged in Sawyer’s head.
He stood poised, ready to intervene if needed, ready to spill the rude bastard’s blood. Sawyer wasn’t going to undermine the woman’s authority in her own place of business…at least not yet. Without out a word, Gina slammed the bottle on the bar. Victor jerked in surprise and then glared. Bending over ever so slightly, she pulled Martha—her coveted Louisville Slugger—from beneath the bar and gripped it with both hands. Lifting the bat over her right shoulder, she swung the brown-stained wood against the bottle with all her might. Glass and booze exploded with a deafening crash. Ignoring Victor’s thunderous cry of shock, Gina leaned in close to the man and flashed him a predatory smile.
“The only thing I need from a man, I can buy from the store and put batteries in. You may think I’m a weak little woman who needs to be coddled and taken care of, but I don’t. You don’t get to come into my bar, call me names, or order me around. You have two choices. Apologize and enjoy your drink, or leave. But if you insult me one more time, your head is going to be as fucked up as that bottle of whiskey. Got it?”
Gina pounded the end of the bat on the bar to emphasize her words. Twisting the wooden tip, she ground the fragments of splintered glass into dust.
Victor gaped in shock. Then a look of retribution grew over his face, red and fiery.
“All right. If that’s how it’s gonna be…” Gina lifted the bat and pointed it toward the door. “You lift your wrinkled old ass off my barstool and get the fuck out. The next time you come here, I’d better hear an apology roll off your tongue, or Martha here’s gonna teach you some manners.”
Sawyer admired her bravery, but the threat LaCroix posed was far from over.
“You can go to hell, you crazy bitch! While you’re there, buy yourself some batteries for your mechanical dick, you fucking dyke.”
Gina raised the bat, taking aim at Victor’s head. Sawyer and his brothers advanced, determined to physically remove the man so Gina didn’t spend the rest of her life in prison for murder. But before they could reach him, Victor leapt off his barstool, sending it crashing to the floor. Backing away, he jerked a glare at the brothers.
“You all better get the fuck outta here. That bitch is crazier than a wet panther.”
Gina jerked a tactical knife from beside a lime off the cutting board and sailed it past her ear with a seamless flick of the wrist. The gleaming blade sang through the air and landed with a thud in the wooden post behind Victor’s head.
“I’m not a bitch,” Gina spat. “I’m the bitch. Now get the fuck out of my bar!”
Victor’s face turned a pasty gray. Muttering curses under his breath, he sprinted out the door.
“Jesus,” Noble hissed. “What the fuck crawled up his ass?”
“Not a clue, but I think we can stand down now, boys.” Sawyer flashed Gina a look of pride. “This is one damsel who’s obviously not in distress.”
“And I never will be,” she snarled. Shoving back an errant curl from her forehead, she clenched her teeth. “That dusty old bastard scares me.”
“Hopefully, he won’t come back.” Sawyer wanted to not only sooth his own anger but erase the visible fear in Gina’s eyes. “Are you all right, darlin’?”
“I will be. I’m just pissed at myself.”
“Why?” Sawyer blinked.
“Because the son of a bitch made me lose my temper. I hate it when that happens.”
Wearing a starry-eyed expression, Nate rushed behind the bar to Gina’s side.
Sawyer cocked a brow as his brother started wiping up glass and whiskey off the bar while swooning over the woman…the much older woman. Gina had to be at least fifteen years Nate’s senior. By the look on his brother’s face, Sawyer wasn’t going to put a wager on Nate keeping his virginity for his wedding night. No, that goal was definitely in jeopardy. This whole situation had heartbreak written all over it…Nate’s heart.
“Where did you learn to throw knives like that?” Nate’s question dripped in awe.
“I learned to take care of myself a long time ago, honey.”
Oblivious of Sawyer’s brother’s infatuated gaze, Gina cleaned up along side Nate.
“Here, let me do that for you,” Nate offered like a lovesick puppy.
Sawyer rolled his eyes and slapped Noble on the back. “Come on, let’s go play some pool. Loser buys a round.”
Noble’s eyes lit up. “You can save yourself a metric ton of embarrassment, and just buy me a beer now.”
“I never give up on a bet or a challenge, fucker,” Sawyer chuckled.
After tossing and turning, Brea rolled out of bed. Colton’s guest room was cozy, the mattress soft and inviting, but her brain refused to shut down long enough for her to fall asleep. She’d lain awake all night while her thoughts seesawed between Weed, drugs, the cold and unforgiving holding cell, and the feverish arousal of Sawyer’s blood-pumping stare.
At any other time in her life, Brea would have fucked the man’s brains out…and moved in with him the next day. She scoffed at the thought of Sawyer inviting her into his bed, let alone his life. He didn’t swim the loser pond of scum-suckers she usually skinny-dipped in when seeking out her next heartbreak. No, Sawyer was the type found doing the front stroke in a bottomless blue ocean. Yeah, maybe she shouldn’t be thinking about him bottomless and front stroking, but Brea couldn’t help herself. The man was…
Way out of reach!
Unfortunately her inner reality checker was right. She had as much chance of living out her naughty fantasies with Sawyer as she did with Matthew McConaughey—the former lead role holder of her masturbation fantasies. Sawyer had seized the title last night.
If Brea hadn’t been so pigheaded, determined to prove she was smarter than her parents when it came to love, she’d have set her man standard higher. Thinking she had all the answers, she’d paraded down the same perilous path and wound up with Weed, yet one more douchebag jerk.
She had to stop pining for a future with every man who stuck his cock inside her or she’d never find happiness. It was time to turn over a new leaf, but as a new day began to dawn, maybe putting her sex life on hold was too extreme. Giving up warm kisses, tender caresses, and sweaty, thrusting orgasms left her feeling bereft. Like starting a new diet, it made Brea want to binge before D-day, but instead of pigging out on food, she wanted to gorge on Sawyer. Get her fill of him until—like an insertable turkey timer—she popped.
“Get a grip. He’d probably turn you down. Then you’d be nothing but a walking, breathing embarrassment,” she grumbled out loud.
She knew the only way she’d ever give up men totally would be to join a convent. But s
he heard somewhere that nuns had to wear underwear—white cotton, granny panties to be exact. She’d be banned from wearing her coveted skimpy lace thongs. Oh, and masturbation was probably a no-no along with sex.
“Looks like the nunnery is out of the question for this orgasm-craving butt-floss queen.”
As dawn began breaking on the horizon, she stood and drank in the beauty unfolding before her. Fingers of gold touched the grassy pasture, catching sparkles of dew to glisten like diamonds. In the distance she heard cows bawling for breakfast and a rooster crowing, announcing the start of another brand-new day.
Her first day without men.
The idea made her feel as if she were taking a slow walk to the gallows.
“Ugh!”
As she watched Colton stride toward the barn, guilt joined the rejection and depression pumping through her veins. Grateful that he and Jade had come to her rescue, Brea didn’t want to mooch off their kindness indefinitely. Since they’d been apart for nearly a decade, she needed to give them privacy so they could fuck like bunnies and make up for the years of sex they’d missed. Nothing killed romance quicker than having a third wheel hanging around.
She needed to start making plans for her future and figure out where she wanted to start planting her roots. Sailing away to her own private island, complete with scantily clad cabana boys and a couple of margarita machines, sounded heavenly. But that was as unlikely as living out her other fantasy with Sawyer.
The scent of coffee tickled her nose. After showering and dressing, she wandered down to the kitchen and found Jade cooking breakfast at the stove.
“Good morning.” Her friend’s tone was far too chipper for Brea’s tumultuous state of mind.
“The jury is still out on whether or not it’s a good one.”
“Coffee will help. Mugs are in the cabinet to the right of the sink. Make yourself at home…you’re family.” Jade turned to get a good look at her, then sent her a frown. “You didn’t sleep a wink last night, did you? Is the bed—”
“No.” Brea shook her head. “The bed’s perfect. My mind is what’s lumpy and uncomfortable.”
“Of course it is. You had a hell of a shock yesterday.”
“You can say that again.”
“Pop a squat at the table. I’ll be done here in a few minutes.”
“Is there anything I can help you with?
“Nope. Sit back, enjoy your coffee, and chat with me. I usually don’t have anyone to keep me company while Colton’s out playing with his cows.” Jade giggled. “Don’t tell him I called them cows. He’s ubër-sensitive about his cattle.”
Brea smirked. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
“They always were.”
The warm smile Jade sent her lightened Brea’s heavy mood. While a part of her still wanted to bop her old friend on the head for disappearing like she had, Brea knew there were times you simply had to hide away and lick your wounds…like she was doing now.
“I’m glad you and Colton are together. I can feel the depth of happiness pouring off both of you.”
A melancholy expression slid over Jade’s face as she paused and slid the pan of bacon off the flame. After wiping her hands, she picked up her mug of coffee and sat down across from Brea.
“I am, too. I didn’t plan for things to turn out like they have. But the moment we saw one another, it was like I’d finally found home.” She issued a scoff and shook her head. “That sounds stupid and corny, but it’s true.”
“It’s not stupid or corny…it’s romantic. That’s how it’s supposed to be when you find your true love. So what made you decide to look him up again?”
“Well, after I walked in on my ex jacking off while real-timing the chick he’d been screwing behind my back on his phone, I decided to find a new life.”
“Ewww.” Brea wrinkled her nose. “I bet you were crushed.”
“Pfft, I was surprised but definitely not broken-hearted. I just packed my bags, told him good-bye, and left.”
“You didn’t love him?”
“No. I didn’t love any of them.” She shrugged. “I always picked emotionally unavailable men I knew would never fall in love with me. I’d lost my heart to Colton back in high school. I’d just let my stupid pride get in the way.”
“God, we’re a pair. You protected yourself while I let any sweet-talking scumbag sweep me off my feet. I’ve made such a mess of my life.”
“Stop being so hard on yourself. You’ll get your shit straightened out…it just takes time and a lot of soul-searching.”
“I’ll have plenty of time for that after I find a place of my own where I’m not sidetracked by fuck-nuts.”
“Explain something to me. Why do you think you have to give up men totally?”
“Because I’m a hopeless, brain-dead princess, I guess. I spend the night with a guy and presto! I want to believe he’s my knight in shining armor…saving me from having to be alone with myself. It’s ridiculous, I know.”
“First of all, being by yourself isn’t a bad thing. Everyone needs time to learn who they are and what they want. But there’s nothing wrong with a couple of one-night stands to blow the cobwebs out of your system. Find a fuck buddy. Hell, Haven is crawling with available men, and I know for a fact that cowboys are damn good in the saddle. Well, at least Colton is.” Jade grinned like a cat who’d eaten the canary.
If Brea ever solicited a fuck buddy, Sawyer would be that man.
The back door opened, and Colton stepped in as Jade hopped up from her seat and hurried back to the stove. “I see how it is. Your best friend comes to town and you go off gabbing instead of fixing my breakfast, huh?”
Jade narrowed her eyes. Fury lined her face. “Excuse me?”
Colton burst out laughing as he took two strides toward his girl. Wrapping her in his arms, he hugged her tight. Jade smacked his shoulder and squirmed to break free.
“Settle down, bobcat. I was only teasing.”
“I don’t like your sense of humor,” she spat.
“So I see.” Colton lifted her off the ground, kissed her hard before setting her back on her feet. “Go sit down and visit with Brea. I’ll finish making breakfast, baby.”
“Oh, I see how you are! Being a bossy butthead isn’t going to get you fed, so now you’re ready to step in so you don’t starve to death. Is that it?” Jade scolded but, being unable to hold back her grin, lost her irritated cred.
“Something like that,” Colton laughed.
Jade handed him the spatula, dramatically tossed her nose in the air, and sat down again. With a grin, she called out over her shoulder, “I like my eggs over easy.”
“Ungrateful wench,” Colton grumbled in mock annoyance.
Brea smiled while the couple bantered back and forth, but inside she was choking on envy. She’d searched high and low to find that exact kind of love, or a man like Colton. One who taunted and teased playfully and openly showed his unconditional love. The ringing of her cell phone ripped her from her delusional longings. Pulling the device from her pocket, she stared at the screen.
“It’s Weed,” she announced. Her skin crawled and indecision warred within.
“Hand it over. I’ll talk to him.” Colton stalked toward her, palm extended.
She found his protective mien endearing but shook her head. “I’ve got it.”
Rising from the table, Brea wandered into the adjoining family room and answered. “What do you want, Weed?”
“Brea…baby. Look, I’m sorry,” the bastard began in a contrite tone. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I was simply looking for a way to make some fast cash.”
“And you thought selling drugs was the answer?”
“Stop being so judgmental. I didn’t kill anyone.”
“That you know of. If those kids accidently overdose on that shit you sold them, you’ll be going to prison for murder.”
“I know. Dammit, I know,” Weed barked. “My lawyer already told me that. But they haven’t and I�
�m not, so settle your ass down. Listen, I need you to find a bail bondsman and come get me the fuck outta here. The judge set my court day for two months from now but won’t let me out on my own recog..cognatants”
“Recognizance,” Brea corrected. What had ever attracted her to the Darwin Award-winning man?
“Whatever…I need you to post bail so I can come home.”
“You’ve got balls asking me to do anything for you after you tried to throw me under the bus, you prick! You made this mess. You figure out how to find your own bondsman. I packed my stuff and left your sorry ass last night. You’re on your own.”
“You what?” Weed barked. “Don’t say shit like that. You know I love you. Come on. Get in the car and come down here to pick me up.”
“You don’t love me. You never did. Even if I had a car, which I don’t—it’s in your name, remember?—I wouldn’t drive around the block to help you. Go fuck yourself, Weed. And oh, don’t ever call me again.”
“You fucking bitch,” Weed screamed. “You can’t leave me. You need me.”
Brea hung up and stared at her phone. “Not anymore, I don’t.”
Shaking with rage and regret, she closed her eyes and sucked in a ragged breath. The clouds of denial parted, and she finally grasped that Weed was nothing but a low-down disgusting pig. So why had she given her body and heart to the prick? A sick feeling sank to the pit of her stomach. Because he’d done what all the others had before him—flashed her a hungry smile and said a few flirtatious words. Sawyer had done the same thing last night, and Brea was ready and willing to fall into his bed and fuck his brains out.
You’re never going to learn, are you?
Clenching her teeth, Brea let out a low growl. She’d spent the night coming up with excuses to circumvent her man ban, so she could have her cake—her Sawyer cake—and eat him…err, rather, it, too. Unable to hide the truth from herself any longer, Brea knew she had to begin her man diet here and now.
Filled with a sense of determination greater than any she’d known, she turned to find Jade and Colton standing in the doorway, wearing matching pensive expressions. Determined to navigate this new road of self-enlightenment and emotional and financial independence, Brea vowed to never relinquish the reins of her happiness to a man again.