by Casey Peeler
Colby (Drake Brothers #3)
By Casey Peeler
Edited by Chelly Peeler at Ink It Out Editing Services
Copyright © 2017 Casey Peeler
All rights reserved.
This book is a written act of fiction. Any places, characters, or similarities are purely coincidence. If certain places or characters are referenced it is for entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
The author recognizes all copyright and trademarks that are mentioned within this work of fiction.
ALSO BY CASEY PEELER
FULL CIRCLE SERIES
Losing Charley
Finding Charley
Loving Charley
TUTUS & COWBOY BOOTS SERIES
Tutus & Cowboy Boots Part 1
Tutus &Cowboy Boots Part 2
STANDALONE NOVELS
Crashing Tides
Southern Perfection
Boondocks
Lion Eyes
Worth the Ride
Chapter 1
Colby
The moment the door to the store flies open, it takes all of two seconds to see that ginger walk back in here like she’s done a minimum of two times a week since she arrived into town three months ago. Dixie is a spitfire with hair to match, emerald eyes, and is fucking independent as hell.
“Mornin’, Colby. I got a leak at the shop. Can you tell me if you’ve got one of these?” she says as she tosses the spray hose on the counter. Looking at it, it’s an easy fix, and I know I’ve got the Belvedere hose that should easily fix it.
“Yeah, come on. It’s on aisle three.”
“Thank goodness! How the hell am I going to shampoo hair without a freaking sprayer?”
“You could use a cup,” I say as I try to refrain from laughing.
Rolling her eyes, she places her hands on her hips. Shit. Here it comes. “Drake, you listen. I will not have folks getting shampooed with a freaking cup. This ain’t some five-dollar mall beauty parlor. I’ve got a good thing going, but damn, every time I turn around something’s falling apart.”
“Ever thought of burning the place down and starting fresh?” She shakes her head, snatches the hose and walks that cute little ass back to the front of the shop. “Anything else I can get ya?”
“You got any beer in here?” she questions.
“Not for sale, but I got some in the cooler on the back of my truck. How ‘bout I come by at lunch, help you with that, and you can even watch with a beer. It will be like free entertainment.”
“Beer, yes. Help, fuck no. I’ve got this,” she says as she tosses some cash on the counter, grabs the hose, and walks out the door with those thick hips swaying side to side.
Dixie
Taking the hose, I walk right out of the hardware store and straight to Colby’s truck. Dropping the tailgate, I grab a few beers, slam it back up and walk to my car. The moment I made the decision to move to this little shit hole of a town named Ridge, I’ve had nothing but shit luck. I left the coast as I promised my best friend, Stella. It might be a shit hole, but it’s a quaint little town and the perfect place to start fresh. After a showdown with a fellow stylist at my previous shop, I had to bounce. Stella had moved here and taken over the local bar, and when I told her what was up she said forget visiting, she had plenty of room at her place.
Popping a top on one of the beers, I make the quick five-minute walk to my salon at the edge of Main Street. Walking in the door, Aunt Tootie, as everyone calls her, looks my direction.
“Bless it! It’s just a hose, honey,” she says with a smile and I can’t wait to either buy this place and remodel, or open my open shop. Either way, it’s happening very soon.
“No disrespect, Aunt Tootie, but we’ve got to get some new shit in here. These shampoo bowls are older than the Deceleration of Independence.”
She starts to laugh, and I mosey on by. Going to the shampoo bowl, I go to work and that’s when I hear his fucking laugh. Why did he follow me down here?
“Awe, aren’t you sweet, Aunt Tootie. I really don't need a haircut,” Colby says as he escapes her and comes back to me. Refusing to look over my shoulder, I feel him standing behind me. “Want some help?”
Glancing over, I see Colby with his arms crossed, beer in one hand, staring while I work.
“Nah, I’m good,” I say as I continue working and try to refrain from looking back at that cute as hell dimple. What is wrong with me? It’s freaking Colby Drake. The pretty boy of the Drake brothers, but still a Drake. I refuse to be like Stella and fall for one of them. It will not happen.
“Suit yourself,” he says as he takes a long pull of his beer. “I overheard some talk you might be interested in this morning at the diner.” What the hell does he know? And then it hits me. The shop. Swinging my head around, I look at him as he pushes himself off the wall and steps forward.
Within seconds he’s so close to me, I can’t breathe. What the hell? “But if you want to know, you’ve got to agree to one thing.”
“Never mind. I don’t have time for childish games.”
“Suit yourself, but I’d love to see what you’d do with the place.”
There, he’s got my attention, “Fine. What do I have to do?”
“Let me help you fix the shop.”
“No, thank you!” I say, turning around.
He takes another step closer and I glance over his shoulder because let’s face it, we’re in a small-town beauty shop and people talk. “The two of us could have you up and running in a weekend.” Heat fills my cheeks as something inside me awakens at his words and it pisses me off, then it hits me. He’s not talking about here.
“What the hell are you talking about, Colby?”
“When do you finish here?” Glancing at my watch, I know my next client is due to arrive any moment.
“I’ve got a client in a few minutes, but I finish up early this afternoon.”
“Great, I’ll pick you up at five.”
“Like fuck you will,” I say to him. He grins, and damn that dimple.
“We can do that, too,” he winks and takes a step back. “I’ll pick you up here as soon as I close the store at five, or would you rather me pick you up at your house?”
Pausing, I think about it when my client walks in the door. “Hey, Dallas, I’ll be right with you and Lettie.”
Colby turns to walk toward the front when he gives Lettie a high five on the way out the door. Shaking my head, I grab the rectangle for Lettie to be able to reach the shampoo bowl.
“How’s it going?” I ask her.
“Good, Mama is promising to take me to the beach in a few weeks.”
“Oh, that will be fun,” I say as I wash the cutest little five-year-old's hair and talk about Barbies, makeup, and nails. I love my job.
Once I finish with Lettie, Dallas takes a seat and I wax her eyebrows then I shampoo her for a quick trim. “Are you sure you don’t want me to add a few layers or something? What if we cut it short?” She has amazing long blonde hair that falls just below her shoulders.
“Not today. I’m trying to save up for our trip. Plus, I’ve never even thought of cutting my hair short.”
“Girl! It would look amazing! Your hair is the perfect texture and your color is naturally amazing!” She looks to Lettie who’s smiling ear to ear. “I tell you what. If you want to try it, I won’t charge you my full fee. You’d be awesome advertisement for me.”
“Please, Mama! You’d have a new do for the beach!” She smiles at Lettie, and then looks my way.
“It’s not a deal. It’s a business investment. Now, sit down and let me work my magic.”
Within the half hour, I’ve got Dallas in the cutest inverted bob and it looks amazing. When I hand her the hand mirror to check out the back, she gasps and Lettie starts to jump up and down.
“Ms. Dixie you made Mama look like a princess!”
We both laugh and she thanks me again before I grab Lettie a sucker, “Y’all have a great trip.”
As they walk out, I clean up my area and glance at the clock. I’ve got a few hours to kill. Taking one of the beers, I pop a top, pour it in my Yeti, and turn it up.
Once the clock hits three thirty, I tell Aunt Tootie bye and head toward my house to wait for a fucking Drake. What the hell am I doing?
Chapter 2
Colby
Walking back into the hardware shop, I turn the sign back to open and within minutes, the door opens and I see my brother, Everett, standing there.
“What up, dude?” I question as I start to put a few items that arrived on the shelf.
“You tell me.” I shrug and go back to work.
“Don’t play stupid. What the fuck are you up to? You close for a break and then I see you walking from the beauty salon. Please tell me you aren’t hooking up with Aunt Tootie,” he says with a laugh.
“Fuck no! I need a delete button for shit like that.”
“Then what were you doing? You’re not as slick as you think you are.”
Letting out a deep breath, I stop what I’m doing and motion for him to follow me. Walking into the back room, I flip on the light. He doesn’t say a word, but that’s nothing new.
“Why the hell is there a shampoo bowl, dryer, and other shit that looks like it belongs at Aunt Tootie’s if she ever decided to step out of the 1960s?”
“I ordered it for Dixie.”
His eyes get big. “She’s opening her own shop?”
“Yeah, but she doesn’t know it yet.”
“Excuse me?” he questions.
“I’m telling her this afternoon.” Everett starts to laugh and is almost crying. “What?”
“Bro, you are totally fucked.”
“Nah, bless her heart, she’s all the time coming to get stuff for repairs and I try to help her. She’s not having it.”
“So you thought this was the solution? Colby, she’s going to go bat shit crazy on your ass. Have you met her?”
I toss my hand at him, “She’ll get over it.”
He stops and looks my way, “Well, I’ll be damned. You like her.”
“Like her and would like to fuck her are two different things.”
“Yeah, let me know how either of those work out for you. Anyways, I was stopping by to let you know that we got that beer in you were requesting. Maybe you and your date should stop by tonight,” he says like a smart ass. I flip him off and we walk back out front when I hear the door open again. He leaves me alone and I finish helping Mr. Jones find the parts for his lawnmower.
Dixie
Arriving at the house, Stella is getting ready to walk out the door and head to work. “Hey, you coming by Barger’s tonight?”
“Probably,” she pauses and looks at me.
“Spill it, girlfriend,” she says, walking back into the house.
“I’m just tired from working all the dang time and fixing shit at the salon because no one else will. I thought that she’d have offered to sell by now or something.”
“How much longer until you can buy your own place?” she questions.
“As soon as the house down at the coast sells, I should be good to go.”
“There’s a quick turnaround there so that shouldn’t take too long. Now, what else is bothering you?”
“Colby.” Her eyes go wide.
“As in Everett’s brother? My future brother-in-law? A Drake?”
“Yes, bitch, that’s who I’m talking about. He’s up to something. He came in the shop today with that fucking dimple, bad boy trying to be good southern charm, and said he knew something about the salon. Basically, he wouldn’t let me tell him no and he’s picking me up here after work to discuss it.”
“Oh my gosh! I didn’t see this coming.”
I know exactly where she’s going with this and I’ve got to put a stop to it. “No, girl. He’s cute, but he’s a Drake. No, thank you. Plus, do you see the way he dresses? How does he even belong to those others?” We both begin to laugh.
“Good point, but you know that’s a show. You’ve seen him out at the farm or even at Barger’s.”
“Regardless, I don’t have time for anyone. I’m trying to get established and oh my gosh! You have got to see the new style I gave Dallas today!” Flipping out my phone, I show her and she can’t believe she let me cut her hair that short. “She’s like a walking billboard for me. Anyways, you better get going before Everett has your ass.” Laughing, we both know she won’t be in any kind of trouble. Hell, she’s the one that owns the bar.
Chapter 3
Colby
Flipping the sign to closed, I lock up and grab a beer off the back of the truck, pop the top and swing by the farm before going to Dixie’s. There’s no reason for her to think I’m excited about this meeting.
Walking toward the back door, Beckett is on the back-porch steps with a cold one in his hand.
“Long day, asshole?” I question him.
“Yeah. These new kids at the station are plum idiots. I’d hate for something bad to happen around here. Hell, Max would probably wreck the damn firetruck on the way to a call. Today, he thought it would be funny to take the hose off the truck and tie it to the pole then he asked John to pull it out to wash it.”
“Please tell me the station is still standing.”
“Part of it. If I hadn’t pulled up as he was rounding the corner, there’s no telling what would have happened. Max had that deer in headlights look and quickly untied it before the slack was pulled.” I laugh and he cuts his eyes to me. “That shit ain’t funny. What if that would have happened when a call came in?”
“I get your point, but hell, nothing happens in Ridge.”
He looks at me, and I know what he’s thinking. Shit does happen here and when it does, it’s usually big like when Stella got robbed.
“Let’s not talk anything up. Want one?” he says, lifting a beer from the box toward me.
“Sure,” I say looking at the time on my watch.
Beckett doesn’t say anything but I can see that his mind is somewhere else. I swear that fucker never stops and is always trying to figure out what’s next, how to keep this farm going, and works all the damn time so he doesn’t have time to find trouble. Hell, I think that’s what we’re all doing these days. I shake my head and he turns to me.
“What, fucker?”
“I look like a fucking pansy boy scout.”
“‘Bout time you admitted it. Go put on some Wranglers or some shit.”
“It’s part of the job, but yeah, I’m gonna go change.”
Going inside, I shower and pull out a pair of worn jeans and a fitted Barger’s t-shirt. Grabbing my favorite ball cap, I slide it on, grab my wallet, and grab one more beer before walking out the back steps.
Beckett looks my way, “Damn, I didn’t mean like right now.”
“I got somewhere to be. I’ll see you tonight at Barger’s. Everett stopped by and said that they got the beer we requested.”
He gives me a nod and I walk to my truck, put my beer in and make the short drive to Dixie’s.
Dixie
The moment I see that truck pull up, I know shit's about to get real. I’m not even sure what he’s up to, but it’s something. A Drake brother doesn’t volunteer to pick up women or even help them out. Don’t get me wrong, they've all kind of had a place in my heart from the moment I moved to town. Plus the fact that I’ve watched two of them fall hard for two bad ass women. However, when they decide they want something, they
will stop at nothing to obtain their goal.
Grabbing my purse, I grab a beer out of the refrigerator and walk out the front door before he has time to make it. This isn’t a date and I don’t plan on leading him on in any way. I’ve got one goal in mind—my own salon.
“In a hurry?” he says as he meets in the yard.
“I got a cold one and you know something I don’t. I don’t have time for any bullshit, Drake.”
“Point taken. Oh, and I’ve got to stop by Barger’s when we finish.”
“Like hell we’re going in there together.”
Pausing, he stares at me with those chocolate eyes. “Dixie, what’s the difference of us showing up together or sitting at the same fucking table like we do every night we’re in there?”
“Fine. Now, tell me what you know,” she says as she walks to the truck and closes the door. Placing her beer in the cup holder, she looks at me and waits for an answer.
“I can’t tell you. I’ve got to show you.”
“Drake, you better think twice about showing me anything. This ride is strictly business.”
“Sweetheart, I wouldn’t dare. You couldn’t handle all of this.”
Chapter 4
Colby
She bursts out laughing and that’s when something happens. Fuck. Without another word, I put the truck in reverse and head toward the hardware store.
Pulling into the parking lot, she whips her head toward me.
“Drake, why the hell are we at the hardware store?”
“I’ll show you. I promise I’m not yanking your chain.”
Unlocking the door, I cut on the lights and lock the door back. “So, any word on Aunt Tootie selling?”
“Nope,” she says, crossing her arms. “Get to the point.”
“Okay, so I’ve got an idea.” Walking toward the back of the store, I flip on the light and walk into the room.
Dixie follows me and her eyes go wide. “What the hell is all of this shit? Why do you have a shampoo bowl in the back room and a dryer?”
“So I was thinking, this room would be a great place for a salon.”
“Like hell. It’s in a fucking hardware store.”