Nate punched him on the shoulder. “Don’t mind him. He’s a pervert. Jamie’s the infamous Bellwood horndog.”
“Don’t tell her that.” Jamie shoved his brother. “Nate’s just jealous. He’s a bitter old man. Do you know that his ex ran away with a shriveled old dude? But the bastard is a billionaire. Figure that.”
“Shut up, Jamie.” Nate shoved his younger brother.
“You shut up.”
Watching them like that reminded me of old times. I guessed they hadn’t changed much. Men are just boys with bigger shoes and mustaches.
“Say, Miss Lisiewicz, you look just as puurty as I remember,” said Jamie. He scrutinized me from head to toe. “You’ll always be my angel, you know that?”
“She’s Marsh now,” Nate corrected.
“You’ll always be my Miss Lisiewicz.” He spread his arms. “Ah, I forgot to give you a kissie. Remember Jamie’s kissie time?”
I almost burst out laughing. Among the brothers, Jamie was the most affectionate. He always hugged and kissed me. Maybe because he’d grown up without a mother, he saw me as a surrogate.
Jamie pulled me into his arms and embraced me tightly, but it wasn’t the same feeling anymore. His scrawny arms had become toned with muscles, and his sweet kiss had become hot with lust. I was startled. And when he said, “I love you, Miss Lisiewicz, if Luke won’t marry you, I’ll marry you,” I froze.
Luke, the oldest, had a crush on me when he was growing up. I was seventeen at that time, while he was nine. And he always said to me, “When I grow up, I’m going to marry you.” And then, Jamie always chirped up, “If Luke won’t, then I’ll marry you.”
At that time, they were both adorable, but hearing it from a grown man was different.
“Stop it!” Nate smacked Jamie. “You’re creeping her out.”
I smoothed out the awkward moment with a laugh. Jamie joined me, but I think he did that just to humor me. Our laughter died away when we saw Luke come home. He was stunned when he saw me, and I was speechless too. If Nate and Jamie had grown to be such good-looking men, why would Luke be any different?
Standing before me was a tall, handsome man dressed in a law enforcement uniform. His hair was cut short, military style, and his firm, toned body was a testament that he was born and bred a soldier. His eyes were the brilliant green I remembered, but they were hardened as if he’d been to hell and back.
“Simone?” he started, uncertain.
“Hello, Luke,” I said, then nudged Nate. “You didn’t tell him?”
“He didn’t pick up his phone,” said Nate, shrugging. “Not my fault.”
“Good lord, it is you!” Luke strode across the room and gave me a bear hug.
I couldn’t breathe again. “It’s… shoo… goohd to shee… yoo… thoo…”
“Cut it out, Luke. You’ll suffocate her.” Nate smacked Luke’s shoulder.
Luke quickly released me. “I’m sorry.”
I gasped a breath. “That’s okay. You boys have grown so much.”
“What do you mean, ‘you boys’? You’re only eight years older than me.” Luke furrowed his lush eyebrows. “I’d say you haven’t changed much.”
“I’ve gotten fatter.”
“I like you this way. You were way too skinny back then. Now, you’re just perfect.”
The sliver of a thrill found its way into my heart. It felt nice being complimented by a strapping young lad. I’d gained fifty pounds over the years, and that was part of the reason Sam had turned his attention to a younger women. In the last fight we’d had, Sam called my ass ‘as big as a footstool.’ Damn, that hurt. It wasn’t as if I was lazy or letting myself go or anything. Not all women once they reached their late thirties could maintain their figure like they were seventeen.
“So, what brings you here?” Luke asked me.
“Nate just hired me as the housekeeper.”
“Oh?” He turned to Nate. “That’s good news. What happened to your husband? Didn’t you marry Sam Marsh?”
Jamie cleared his throat immediately while Nate made a “cut off” sign.
“Oh. I’m sorry.” Luke gave me a tight hug again. “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of you. I’m so glad to see you again.”
I was a bit lightheaded when he let me go.
“When did you arrive?” Luke asked.
“This afternoon.”
“I see. I suppose you’re hungry. Why don’t we go out to eat?” he suggested.
“I thought you guys were tired of eating out. I don’t mind cooking,” I said. “I need to do some grocery shopping, though.”
“Are you sure?” Jamie asked. “It’s been forever since we had a good home-cooked meal.”
“No problem, at all. Really.”
“I’ll drive you to the grocery store then.” Jamie beamed.
“No, allow me,” Luke interjected. “I’ve still got my keys and all.”
“I got my keys, too,” Jamie protested.
“Simone and I need to catch up. You kids stay home.” Luke put his foot down. “Come, Simone.” Luke herded me to the door. “So, how long has it been? Twenty years?”
Behind us, Jamie called his brother a dickhead.
“I need my purse.”
“Nah. Who’s going to arrest you for leaving the house without carrying proper identification? Me?” Luke laughed. “C’mon. You need to tell me everything about yourself, Simone.”
Driving to Bellwood’s only grocery store, Luke grilled me about my failed marriage. I felt like I was being interrogated. Other than that, he was actually a good listener. His jaw tightened when he heard how Sam had brought his girlfriend to the divorce negotiations.
“What a prick!” he spat.
“Yeah, I lost it, too,” I admitted. I told him that my rash decision had led me into my financial trouble.
Luke looked royally pissed. “He didn’t try to amend your situation? He just cut you loose?”
“Well, it was kind of my fault.”
“I can understand why you reacted that way. But as a man, Sam should know better. Don’t you two have assets together?”
“The house is under both of our names. Our summer house in Newport too. Then there are some stocks and bonds.”
“And he didn’t try to offer you any of that?”
“Why would he? He got out of this divorce cheap.”
“Do you want me talk to Sam? Put some sense back into him?”
“No!” I was mortified. “It’s just money. I already put it behind me. I’m fine with the way I am now—really.”
Luke reached for my hand and squeezed it. His hand was large and calloused—a soldier’s hand. But strangely, it brought me warmth and comfort.
“How about you?” I tried to change the subject. “Nate said you were stationed in Iraq.”
“Yeah, I was an Army Ranger. Then I worked for an oil company as a private contractor for a while, but I’m getting too old for that shit.”
“What are you talking about? You’re only twenty-nine.”
“Iraq makes people old really, really fast.”
“Did you ever find a nice girl and settle down?” I was curious.
“I did. For a while.”
Huh? What was with the past tense? “And?”
“Same old song and dance like everybody else. In the end, we got divorced.”
“Why?” I wished I could take that one back. My question sounded so needy.
Luke made a gurgling sound in his throat. “I wanted a kid to complete our family. Sera didn’t. One day when I came home for R and R, she slapped me with divorce papers. Apparently, she’d been seeing a friend of mine behind my back, and what hurt the most, she got pregnant by him.” Luke drew a long breath. “That was a low blow, you know? She didn’t want to have a child with me, but it was okay with another guy.”
“Oh, Luke. I’m so sorry.”
“That’s all right. It’s all meant to be.”
“But still.”
“
I guess we’re all unfortunate in the love department. Did Nate tell you he got divorced too?”
“Not exactly. Jamie kind of blurted it out.”
“Stacy dumped Nate for a billionaire. The SOB was three times her age! True love, huh?”
I sighed. “Money makes people do stupid things.”
“Fuckin’ A. Jamie’s the one who never got married.”
“And why’s that?”
“I thought it was obvious. He wanted someone like you. He moped a lot when you eloped with Sam. He kept talking about you all the time, even when we were growing up. ‘Til this day, I think he still has a photo of you in his wallet. I think he photoshopped your picture with his recent photo.”
“That’s just silly.”
“Creepy, if you ask me.”
We laughed.
Luke eased out the truck as we glided into the parking lot. Marty’s General Store had turned into a national chain grocery store.
“Wow! This is new,” I said.
“This has been here for, I don’t know, five years, maybe?”
“Nice improvement.”
“Listen, Simone.” Luke halted me. “I know you’re upset right now with your whole situation, but I can assure you, it gets better with time. Trust me, I’ve been there. Nate too.”
I bit my lip. “Thanks, Luke.”
“And we’ll be there for you. We’ll make you forget about Sam.”
“That’s so sweet.”
Luke pulled the collar of my blouse and kissed me. I was expecting a nice, friendly kiss on the cheek, but instead I got a full lips, fervent kiss. I froze. Jamie had kissed the corner of my mouth earlier, but Luke aimed for the gold. My heart stopped beating for long seconds, and my brain was scrambled in my skull. The warmth of his kiss awakened my cold heart. Sam was the first man I’d had. And there was no one else. Being kissed by another man reeled me into another realization, a different shade of passion, a different flame of heat.
Luke threw me his killer smile before getting out of his truck. I was still dazed. What did that kiss mean? Was it a pity kiss? A distraction? Or was Luke still harboring his childhood crush on me?
I’d never been so confused in my life. I tried to act normally while shopping and later cooking, but I could never see Luke in the same way again.
Later, when dinner was served, Luke, Nate, and Jamie ate like they’d not seen food in a week. I made my special buttermilk fried chicken, with cheddar cheese mashed potatoes and buttered greens—with plenty of extra.
For a moment, it felt like old times. The three of them had always been admirers, especially of my cooking, but they were no longer small boys. They’d grown up. The way they looked at me was different. When Jamie helped himself to a third helping of mashed potatoes and winked at me, somehow, I felt new trouble on the horizon.
I studied the food on my plate as my face heated.
I think the Codys were going to be more of a handful than I could handle.
Chapter Two
A week passed, and gradually, I became accustomed to the daily routine at the Cody house. Being a sheriff, Luke maintained irregular hours. He could come home at four in the morning and be called back to work at six. Jamie used to be an interpreter in the Air Force and was stationed in Seoul, Korea for a couple of years. These days, Jamie built houses and did general contractor work. He and his Air Force buddy had their own construction company. From what I heard, Nate had funded the start-up and managed the financial side of things. I think Jamie was doing pretty well.
Bellwood wasn’t like it used to be. Two companies had moved in and commissioned the farmers to grow engineered corn for bio fuel. On top of that, a mega-poultry processing plant was scheduled to open the following year. It would have a tremendous effect on Bellwood’s economy and housing market, as the plant was planned to run twenty-four-seven in three shifts. That was why Jamie’s company had been busy building affordable places for the workers to live. I also heard that Nate had a stake in financing Jamie’s projects. I supposed once the plant was opened, both of them would make a nice profit.
“Do you know the real estate value has gone through the roof in recent years despite the recession?” said Jamie as we drove to his construction site.
Jamie wanted to show me the building he was putting up, and today was the perfect time. I’d finished the laundry and had to go shopping for groceries. Nate was out running errands and nobody was home.
Jamie’s company had purchased three acres of land about a ten-minute drive from the plant. He was building a two-story apartment complex that his company planned to rent to lower-income workers. The project was only sixty percent finished, but the apartments were eighty percent reserved. Most of the units were studio apartments, anticipating that most workers had spending power. If this project was a success, Jamie planned to build a similar project on another chunk of land he’d just secured.
“I can imagine that with all developments I saw. Did you buy the land before the price bubble or after?”
“Luckily before. I thought we wouldn’t be able to secure the loan, but Nate has high-class connections. When the mayor made the announcement about the plant, we’d already closed on the property.”
“That’s very impressive, Jamie.”
“Yeah. Speaking of property value, do you know your old house is worth about three-quarters of a million these days?”
I almost choked on the gum I was chewing.
He glanced at me. “You okay?”
I nodded. I discarded the gum on a Kleenex and pocketed it for later disposal. “That’s a lot of money. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. The front yard alone extends to the main street. Plus it shares a fence with the school.”
“I heard the school offered to buy the old house for expansion. We got more kids coming to Bellwood, and the school wants to build more classrooms and a new gym.”
“Ah. I remember the gym was kind of run down.”
“It was rundown. The floor was uneven. The bleachers were a deathtrap. It got worse when I became a senior. One year, the gym floor was flooded, and we couldn’t use the gym for basketball anymore. We had PE on the courtyard after that.”
“Seems like a building hazard to me. They shouldn’t be using the gym at all.”
“My sentiments exactly. I don’t know what they do for gym these days. By the way, rumor has it that your Aunt Rebecca has been offered a cool half mil by school, but she flatly refused it. She asked for more.”
Five hundred thousand dollars for the house where I was born and raised. “I can’t blame her if the home’s value is more than that. Aunt Rebecca has always been a careful spender. I heard she managed mom’s finances after I moved out.”
“Doesn’t it bother you that your aunt’s taking over your parents’ house?”
I sighed. “It wasn’t my house anymore. My mom disowned me when I eloped with Sam. She didn’t even want me at her funeral.”
“But did she specifically cut you out of her will?”
“I assumed she did. Isn’t that what ‘disowned’ means?” I laughed. “Honestly, when I received the news that Mom had passed, I was financially secure, so I wasn’t thinking about that at all. Aunt Rebecca told me it was my mother’s wish that I shouldn’t attend her funeral, so I didn’t. But a week after that, me and Sam went to the cemetery to pay our respects and also visited Dad’s grave.”
Jamie’s forehead creased. “You came here, but you didn’t say hello to us?”
“I was with Sam, and he didn’t seem happy to come here even though his parents also live here. Sam said he was tired of his family bugging him for money. So we made our trip quick, incognito.”
“So much for Mr. Charitable.”
“Sam is quite a philanthropist, except with his relatives.”
“Are you planning on asking your aunt if your mom left you anything in her will?”
“I can’t do that. Aunt Rebecca won’t be happy if I start skulking around asking about the house.”
<
br /> Jamie’s brows furrowed again. “Who cares about her happiness? If your mom didn’t specifically state that she left everything to your aunt, that house is yours. It might come in handy considering your current situation.”
I thought about it for a minute. That house wasn’t the childhood house I wanted to remember and cherish forever. Ever since Dad passed away, that house had been a prison to me. My mom had unconsciously guarded me like a Rottweiler with a bone, fearing one day I’d leave her too. But she didn’t realize the strength of my rebellious teenage tendencies, and she lost me sooner than she thought.
I couldn’t jump off the wagon and take my dibs on the house. My mother had gone to such lengths to prevent me paying my final respects to her—long before she died—she wouldn’t want me to do something that would make her roll in her grave.
“I don’t want the house,” I said firmly. “I walked away from Sam’s millions, and I’m not going to hassle my aunt now that I’m down on my luck. If push comes to shove and I don’t have anywhere to go, I could always go to a women’s shelter. I volunteered and did charity work for a women’s welfare foundation in New York for years. I’m sure they won’t deny me when I need their help.”
“That’s crazy talk!” Jamie looked scandalized. “I’d never let you out on the street like that. In fact, I’m kind of happy you don’t have anywhere else to go. That way, you’ll never leave us again.”
I frowned. “And you said my plan was a crazy talk.”
Jamie grinned.
My heart went pitter-patter. Damn! That boyish, mischievous smile of his. It wasn’t the smile I remember. Since when did he become so hot?
Unexpectedly, Jamie reached across to grab my hand and held it tightly. “I don’t want you to go. Ever. Again.”
The steadfastness in his tone touched me deeply. I’d lived a pretty sheltered life with Sam, and I wasn’t used to people’s kindness. But I was grateful. Lucky even.
“Uhm, I think at some point you have to let me go. Otherwise, how are we going to get out of the car?” I joked, wagging our hands.
Jamie squeezed harder. Another mischievous smile blossomed on the corner of his lips.
I looked away quickly as I felt my cheek heat up.
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