Neanderthal Next Door: Enemies to Lovers, Mountain Man Next-Door, Halloween Romance

by K. C. Crowne

  Hunter came with me, the quick, jerking movement of his cock deep inside letting me know he was filling me with his hot seed, his face a rictus of intensity.

  Then we were done. My chest rose and fell as I collected myself, and as he always did, Hunter fell to my side and pulled me close.

  But this time, I didn’t want him to leave. I wanted him to say – and all that it implied.

  Hunter

  HUNTER

  The next morning, I rolled over in bed and put my arm on the side next to me.

  No one was there.

  I sighed, sitting up and opening my eyes, taking in the sight of my sparse, empty bedroom.

  My mind went back to the conversation last night I’d had with Mandy after our lovemaking.

  “I’d love for you to stay,” she’d said. “But…”

  “Parker,” I’d said. “I get it. Kid’s got enough on his mind without wondering why the hell some guy’s staying over with his mom.”

  “Right. I mean, don’t get me wrong – I can only imagine the look on the kid’s face if he were to wake up and see you at the breakfast table. He’d lose his mind.”

  I hadn’t said anything, instead letting the idea play in my head.

  To my surprise, the idea of seeing Parker there in the morning put a smile on my face. I imagined the three of us eating breakfast and talking about the day ahead, maybe making some big plans for the weekend.

  It sounded…good.

  But it confused me. It was about the damn near opposite of living an isolated, disconnected life.

  What the hell did I even want?

  “Anyway,” she said. “Hate to kick your sexy ass out of bed, but…”

  I chuckled. “I get it. I’ll sneak out.”

  “Let’s do something soon. Maybe you can come by for dinner again and break the good news to Parker about trick-or-treating. That is, assuming it’s still something you’re into.”

  “Of course I am,” I said.

  “Now, I should let you know – we’ve got a little rule when it comes to trick-or-treating.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Costumes. You’d better start thinking about one.”

  I stood over Mandy, taking in the sight of her gorgeous body curled up below me, the sheets draped over her curves. I couldn’t resist.

  I leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips, one that she fell into.

  The kiss went on, and as it did the odds that she’d pull me right into bed with her increased.

  “Now,” she said, taking her lips from mine. Get your sexy ass out of here. Otherwise I’m going to do things to you that’ll make it so you won’t have a drop of energy to get home.”

  She smiled, a hint of her white teeth visible between her ripe, red lips.

  “Is that supposed to encourage me to want to go?”

  Mandy laughed, reaching over and smacking my ass.

  “Move it, hot stuff.”

  I chuckled, grabbing my things and putting them on. When I left, I extinguished the fire and shut the door, taking one last look at the house I sure as hell didn't want to leave.

  The walk home was quiet, the moon nearly full, the wind howling low in the trees.

  And when I’d gotten back, my home seemed even lonelier than usual, like some shack where a hermit might live.

  But then again, wasn’t that what I’d wanted?

  My cabin that morning was so damn quiet that I could hear the faint ticking of my watch from where it sat on the unopened boxes of clothes in the far corner of the room.

  With a heave, I put my feet on the floor and started my day. I showered, made some coffee, and forced down a couple of Cliff Bars just to have something in my stomach.

  It was strange how colorless my life was without Mandy and Parker. I couldn’t even bear to look at my cabin, sparse and empty and desolate. When my phone rang my heart skipped a beat.

  It was Hugh. We chatted as I finished getting ready for the day, the two of us making plans for lunch after my shift at the auto shop.

  “I think you’re falling for this girl,” he said from across our now-usual booth at the Red Kettle. “And if you even try to look me in the eye and tell me that’s not the case, well, I’ll reach over this table and knock some sense into you.” He followed this up with a grin.

  “I don’t like it.”

  “What? What’s not to like? She’s a fine woman, Hunter. And she’s obviously all sorts of into you.”

  “It’s too much. Too much to worry about.” The words rang hollow as soon as I’d said them.

  He leaned forward, clasping his hands together.

  “I know what you mean. And I know you’re scared.

  “You don’t know a damn thing about what I’m talking about.”

  He didn’t flinch at my barbed words. Hugh knew me well enough to get that when I took a tone like that, it meant he was close to the truth.

  “You’re on the verge of letting someone into your life. And not just her – a little boy who seems like he’s seeing you as a father figure.”

  “Don’t say it,” I said, the word causing my gut to tense up.

  “Well, it is what it is. You can live in denial all you want, but I’m not going to be party to it.” He pointed over my shoulder to the diner behind me. “Did you notice what I did when you came in?”

  “Notice what?”

  “Notice that people were nodding at you when you were walking over to me. The hostess smiled when she saw that it was you, and people were glad to see you.”

  “Hadn’t noticed.”

  “Sure you did. Hunt, you were trained to pick up on stuff like that. Now, you can’t tell me it didn’t feel a little good to have people happy to see you, right?”

  “It’s weird. Don’t know if I like it.”

  “You like it, come on. No man’s an island, remember? And you’re too good of a guy to have people scared of you for too long. You’re starting to be a real fixture of the community.”

  “Alright, cool it,” I said.

  Before the conversation could go on, the waitress arrived.

  “One meatloaf special for you, Hugh. And the usual burger for Mr. Auto Body.”

  “Thanks, Millie.” The words came out of my mouth without me even knowing I’d said them.

  “See!” Hugh said with a clap of his hands.

  “I know, I know.”

  He laughed, sticking his fork into his mashed potatoes and shaking his head.

  “Pretty soon you’re going to be going to PTA meetings and shit. I love to see it.”

  I said nothing, my eyes fixed on my burger as I picked up a fry and popped it in my mouth.

  “I’m…”

  “What’s that?” Hugh asked.

  “I’m…taking the kid treat-or-treating.”

  Hugh leaned forward, cupping his hand behind his ear. “You what?”

  I knew he’d heard what I’d said and was busting my balls.

  “Cut it with the bullshit,” I said.

  He grinned, sitting back in the booth. “That’s fucking awesome!”

  “How is that ‘fucking awesome’?”

  It means that you’re one step closer to being with a good woman and one step further away from being some drunk loner. I knew you had it in you.”

  “Yeah, yeah. But I’ve still got the problem of the rich asshole who most definitely doesn’t want me around.”

  “He’s a punk,” Hugh said. “Nothing you need to worry about.”

  “I’m not worried. Just that he’s angling to be a real pain in my ass. Not to mention the shit with him trying to dig through my past.”

  “You’ll figure it out.”

  We finished our meals, Hugh picking up the check.

  “I’ll be back in town for Halloween this weekend. See you then, bud!” He waved as he opened the door to his truck and climbed inside.

  And as he drove off, the question occurred to me – why the hell was he going to be in town for Halloween?

&nb
sp; I didn’t get too much of a chance to think the question over. I made a turn around the diner toward my truck, laying eyes on the last person I wanted to see.

  Adam was leaning on my truck, his eyes on his phone. Parked a couple spots away was his SUV. Its windows were tinted, but I could make out the faint outlines of a couple of thick-necked goons sitting inside.

  My skin tingled, my hands forming into fists.

  I had a bad feeling something was about to go down.

  “Hey, there!” he said, flicking his eyes up from his phone as I approached. “Have a nice lunch?”

  “Get the fuck off my truck,” I said, striding over to him. “Or I’ll toss your ass out into traffic.”

  He arched his eyebrows before pushing himself off.

  “No need to talk like that,” he said.

  “There’s no need for us to talk at all. Now get the hell out of my way.”

  “Not so fast,” he said, stepping in front of the driver’s side door. “I wanted to have a chat with you first.”

  I’d had about enough of the bullshit. I reached forward and clamped my hand down on his shoulder, pulling him back.

  “Boys!” Adam shouted, his eyes going wide.

  Before I knew what happened, a pair of massive men in dark suits were on both sides of me. Each grabbed one of my arms and pulled me back.

  Now, my reflexes were fined-tuned enough that I could’ve easily fought back, driving my fist up into the chin of the man to my right, probably with enough time left over before they reacted to put my boot in the other’s gut.

  But we were in public, and I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself than I already had.

  “Good call,” Adam said. “I doubt you want to involve the police in all of this, or have the entire diner watching.”

  “Haven’t decided yet. Let me go and maybe I’ll cooperate.”

  The men let go.

  “Figures you wouldn’t be able to handle me on your own,” I snarled. “Fucking pussy.”

  “I know my strengths and weaknesses. I might not be much in a fight, but I can hire men who are. Lots and lots of them, in fact.”

  He was smug as shit, so smug I wanted to wipe the fucking smirk right off his face.

  But I kept myself in check – after all, I’d just told Parker the importance of using your head and not your fists. What kind of man would I be to go back on my own words like that for nothing more than my own satisfaction?

  “Whatever you want, spit it out.”

  “Good. Let’s discuss this in the car. Just me and you.”

  “Fine.”

  Moments later we were in the spacious back of his SUV, Adam seated with a grin on his face.

  “You told Mandy about my past.” My blood boiled as I spoke.

  “And it looks like she believed whatever bullshit line you fed her about them.”

  “I told her the truth.”

  “Sure. I’ll bet.”

  I held my tongue – no sense in arguing with him.

  “You called my bluff on Mandy,” he said. “But you’d better pay attention to my next offer.”

  “What offer?”

  “You’re familiar with the Silver Pines Herald?”

  “The paper? What about it?”

  “I happen to be good friends with the editor-in-chief.”

  I realized where this was going.

  “Spit it out.”

  “You’re going to have one more chance to back off Mandy. You leave her alone, you leave her for me. Because if you don’t, I call the editor and give him a hell of a story about the new man in town and his past.”

  “It doesn’t matter. I know the truth.”

  He shrugged. “You do, sure. But every single person in town will hear that you were affiliated with criminals, that you peddled drugs, that you ran away from LA. They’ll know about your partner, your ex-wife – everything. So what if there’s a true story. They’ll hear the dirty details and come to their own conclusions.”

  Adam leaned forward, as if he had me right where he wanted me.

  “What are you going to do, convince everyone in town of your side of the story? No – your name will be tarnished for good, always associated with my spin on your history. And even if you did somehow manage to convince them otherwise, they’ll still know all of your business, every juicy bit of gossip about you. And isn’t why you decided to come here? To stay hidden?”

  All I wanted to do was slug the living shit out of him. But I held back.

  “Stay in town, leave – I don’t care. But if I see you in public with her, it all comes out. So, choose wisely.”

  He nodded toward the window, one of the men opening the door.

  “Now, get out of my car. You’ve got a lot to think over.”

  “You fucking prick,” I said. “This isn’t over.”

  “For your sake, Hunter – I hope it is.”

  I shot him one more hard look before getting out of the car. The men stepped past men and moments later they were gone.

  And I was left to make the decision of a lifetime.

  Mandy

  I couldn’t help it – just the thought of Hunter was enough to make me excited.

  “You seriously got him to agree to taking Parker trick-or-treating?”

  Lizzie and I were working at the shop, the two of us taking advantage of the slow Thursday afternoon by blasting some music as we cleaned up and organized.

  “That’s the thing,” I said. “I didn’t have to get him to do anything. He wanted to do it.”

  She shook her head, her eyes wide. “So, let me get this straight. Hunter Anderson, the ridiculously handsome loner without a troubled past actually volunteered to go trick-or-treating with your kid?”

  “I know – totally crazy, right?”

  She grinned that grin she always wore when she had something hidden.

  “What?” I asked. “Let’s hear it.”

  “I don’t know. Just thinking you might have cause to get a little excited about this guy.”

  “Now, that’s exactly how I don’t want to be thinking right now,” I said. “I mean, I haven’t been dating, I don’t even know if I want to date. And now some guy just fell into my lap who almost seems too good to be true.”

  And that wasn’t all.

  I must’ve looked as bad as I felt, as Lizzie stepped over to me and put her hand on my shoulder.

  “What’s wrong? You got really down all of a sudden.”

  “It’s Michael.”

  “Oh.”

  She checked her watch. “Lunchtime. And not a moment too soon – I’m thinking we need some privacy.”

  Lizzie hurried over to the front door, locked it, then flipped the “open” sign around. Then she turned back around to me, a serious expression on her face.

  But she didn’t stop at me. Instead, she rushed to the back.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Hold on!” Her voice was slightly muffled by the distance. “Come here!”

  I followed her, arriving at the register desk just in time to see her emerge with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

  “Are you serious?” I asked. “It’s barely past lunch.”

  “That doesn’t matter. You’re about to get into some real shit, and real shit means we’re drinking wine. Now, we’re not arguing about whether or not you’re about to get a glass of wine, so you might as well just accept it and tell me what’s on your mind.”

  I didn’t bother talking her out of it. And besides, some wine actually did sound good. She poured one glass, then a second, passing me the first.

  “Now,” she said. “You were about to tell me about Michael.”

  I sipped the wine. “God, you knew exactly what I needed.”

  She grinned. “Trust me – something this tough to discuss is going to need something good to help it come out. Now, talk.”

  “I haven’t dated anyone since Michael. And after the shock wore off of what happened, when I’d had tim
e to mourn, I wasn’t sure I would date anyone else. I mean, how could I? Michael was my love, my everything. Not to mention Parker’s dad.”

  “Well, it’s been over two years since Michael died. Do you still feel the same way?”

  “I don’t know. When I moved here, I was sure I wanted to be alone, to not think about those things. That’s why I moved up to the cabin with Parker. But then Hunter showed up in my life, and everything changed.”

  “For the better.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “How do you not know? OK, let me lay it out for you – since Hunter came into your life, you’ve had a great guy who cares about you, cares about your kid, and is totally hot on top of it all.”

  I sipped my wine, not disagreeing with any of it, but still not sure how to reply.

  “He likes you. Hell, maybe he does more than that. And I get that you’re not sure, and that this happened so quickly you’re still wrapping your head around it. But you have to know there’s something special happening between you and Hunter.”

  “But it feels like I’m betraying Michael – letting a new man into my life, forgetting about him.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, babe. You’re not forgetting Michael or replacing him or dishonoring him or anything like that. You’re choosing to live. And you’re choosing to find someone good for you and Parker.”

  I took another sip, weighing her words carefully.

  “And think about it like this – Michael was a great guy. Hell, he was one of the few actually good, decent guys out there in a world full of shitty guys. Now, think about what he would want. Because you know he’s still somewhere looking out over you. Do you really think he would want you and Parker to be alone forever?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, I can answer that for you – no, he most certainly would not. He loved you, and when someone loves someone else they want them to be happy more than anything. And I’m sure as shit that he’d be all kinds of pissed off if he found out some great guy had come into your life and you’d sent him packing because you thought it was the right thing to do on Michael’s behalf.”

  “Then what do I do?” I asked. “I don’t even know if Hunter wants to be together like that.”