by Taryn Quinn
“You’re not going to give me a ticket?”
“Nah. Been there with a persnickety woman.”
“How do you know my woman is persnickety?”
“Luc, the whole town knows you’re gone for Tish.”
I bounced my head off the headrest. “The whole town?”
If Tish figured that out, she’d probably fire me from the remodel too. But she wasn’t paying me, so could she fire me?
I’d ponder it over beer with Officer Friendly.
“Luna’s pretty chatty over there at Kin’s shop. Talked about the bonfire. Where was my invite by the way?”
I laughed. “Was hard enough to get Ruby to deal with having two couples over.”
“Ruby, huh?”
My answer was silence.
Brady grunted. “I had to work anyway. Come on, you can tell me your tales of woe.”
“Am I being punked?”
Tipping his head back, he laughed good-naturedly. “So suspicious.”
Cops had never exactly been my favorite people. A big kid on the street always served as prime pickings for shithead cops who just wanted a collar. Especially since I’d looked over eighteen since my early teen years. I’d never been charged, but I’d had my fair share of arrests.
“I threw the beers in my cooler. Follow me if you want some,” he said over his shoulder as he walked back to his cruiser. He pulled out and passed me with a wave.
I looked down at my rumpled clothes. I hadn’t been kidding when I’d said I needed a shower. Three bouts of sex and sleeping under the stars had left me pretty ripe. All the good parts smelled like Ruby.
And the thought of her had me putting my truck in drive. “Fuck it.”
Day drinking sounded like a damn good plan.
I pulled out at a much more sedate pace. Main Street was alive with daytime traffic. It was a Saturday, which meant shopping in the Cove.
I found a spot a half block down from Brewed Awakening. Apartments filled the building’s other floors. I’d considered moving in there at the same time as Caleb, but I was glad I hadn’t. He would be finding a house with Blondie soon, and I liked my little two-family house apartment deal. Even if it was close to chaos right now with half-finished projects.
At some point, I also needed to stop by Caleb’s to pick up Butch. I’d hoped to get a few hours of sleep first, but why shouldn’t today be just as fucked as all the other days lately?
Might as well get my girl first. A few doggie kisses would set me back to rights.
I went around to the side entrance and buzzed Caleb’s place. They’d made some upgrades to the apartments in the last few months, probably due to some teens breaking in during the remodel.
“Hello?” Luna’s sweet voice came out of the speaker.
“It’s Lucky.”
“Oh. I thought you’d be later. Butch and I are having fun. Well, poop. Come on up.”
I shook my head and opened the door when I heard the locks release. There was an elevator at the other entrance, so I had to do the stairs. I was slightly winded and damn ready for that beer by the time I got to their floor.
Luna opened the door and peeked out with my dog in her arms. A tiny pink bow fluttered between her ears.
Butch’s not Luna’s, but you could never be certain.
“What did you do to my dog?”
“Just because you named her Butch doesn’t mean she can’t be pretty.” She nuzzled the dog, and the dog gave her a look of adoration in return.
But as soon as B saw me, she leaped out of Luna’s arms and came running down the hall. My heart flipped as I crouched to scoop up my girl. “Did you miss Daddy?”
Luna leaned on the doorjamb. “Aww, you guys are so sweet.”
“Thanks for watching her.” I tucked Butch up on my shoulder, her favorite perch.
“She was a darling. I don’t mind babysitting anytime.”
“Good to know.” I patted B’s little head as she licked my cheek. “Not sure what I’m going to do with her for your wedding though.”
“Oh, you should check with Bess. We had lunch yesterday, and she just loves Butch.”
“Yeah? That would be great. I’ll give her a ring.”
“I’ll just get her stuff.”
“Actually. I’ll stop back and get her stuff.”
“Oh?” Luna cocked her head. “Got a hot date in the building?”
“More like lukewarm. I’d ask if you wanted a drink too, Lu, but I think that’s off your particular menu.” Brady came up behind me with an old red and white cooler.
“Well, hello there, Officer Brady.”
“Deputy,” Brady said with a wink.
Butch gave a happy bark, and her tail swished under my hair.
“Well, hey there, little one.” Brady grinned at the dog. “Does she drink beer too?”
“She probably would.” When Butch’s rump wiggled at Brady’s voice, I shook my head at her wanton behavior. “The cop too, Butch? Really?”
Brady laughed. “I love a woman with superior taste.”
“I just bet you do.” I turned back to Luna. “Is the old man around?”
“He’s grocery shopping. I’ll send him up to the roof when he gets back.”
I arched a brow. “No problem with the day drinking?”
She shrugged. “You guys obviously need time to talk.”
I didn’t say a damn thing, but I was getting used to Luna knowing things even when they were left unsaid. “Do I look that bad?”
“Your aura is blasting blue.” She reached up and patted my cheek before giving Butch a chin scratch. “I have clients all day today anyway. Will keep Goldilocks out of my hair.”
“Thanks, Lu.”
Brady nodded at Lu. “Always a pleasure, Luna.”
“Likewise, Deputy.”
We took the stairs up to the rooftop. The lush summer plants had been replaced with frothy buckets of mums in fall colors. A few pumpkins were stashed in corners next to happy scarecrows perched on hay bales.
Probably Luna’s doing. I was pretty sure the suit who owned this place had stopped at flowers.
I followed Brady over to the table. Thankfully, he chose the one with chairs that actually fit me.
After setting the cooler down, he slid it open and popped the top on a beer with his ring. He handed one to me and took one for himself.
Silence stretched companionably between us as Butch settled in my lap and Brady sat down and stretched out his legs. He’d swapped his uniform for a worn pair of jeans and a NYU sweatshirt.
I took a long sip then pointed at him with the bottle. “NYU? Did you go?”
“Yeah, I went the criminal justice route for awhile. Being a lawyer didn’t take though.” He laced his fingers around his beer and set it against his stomach as he lifted his face to the sun.
“Lawyer? Huh. Well, that’s way different than a cop.”
“Way more different than FBI too.”
I took a longer pull. The dark beer had been on the way to relaxing me until that bombshell. “What?”
Brady opened one eye. “Don’t get all excited. Working for the FBI is just paperwork wrapped in bureaucracy.” He took a long draw from his bottle too. “I like the Cove. Nice and quiet.”
I had a feeling there was more there, but I probably wouldn’t get it out of him today.
“Tell me a story, Lucky. I bet you’ve got a good one.”
I finished my beer and jockeyed Butch as I reached for another. As soon as I sat again, Butch went back to sleep.
She had the right idea.
The sun felt good on my skin, and the warmth helped to unkink the Ruby-sized knots in my shoulders. “No story. Just a woman trying to drive a good man crazy.”
“Who told you that?”
“What?”
“That you’re a good man.”
I laughed and clinked my bottle with his. “True that.” Careful not to rouse Butch, I kicked out my legs as Brady had and crossed them at the ankle. �
��On a sunny September day, I met a Valkyrie.”
“This is gonna be good.”
“You have no idea.” I drank deeply.
The beer was higher octane than I was used to, and I was already feeling loose. He wanted a story, so he was going to get one. The best one of my life—so far.
Regardless, I was on this ride until the end. Win, lose or Ruby.
Fourteen
After taking a shower and then tossing and turning for three hours, I couldn’t stand myself any longer.
Being alone in bed wasn’t what I wanted right now. And that royally pissed me off.
My dreams hadn’t helped on that score. In them, I was rolling around with a certain long-haired handyman. There were no tears this time, just a whole lot of sweat and screaming.
Enough that I woke up shaking and half a minute from taking the edge off on my own.
A second cold shower later, I was heading out the door to go to my workshop. If I couldn’t sleep, then at least I could work.
Always my mantra.
With Jimmy’s memorial and the whole house and barn remodel, I was way behind on the Phantom project. Gage had been doing the build and didn’t need any new parts from me yet, but I didn’t like leaving it all to him.
Even better, it was a Saturday afternoon so no one would be in the shop but me. The nice thing about a small town was the hours we kept.
Beyond that, I really needed to get my beater on the road. There was a shit-ton of rain in the forecast for the rest of the week.
Even so, the lure of my Triumph was too much. Besides, I could finally finish tuning up the engine before I stored her for the winter.
I threw my leg over the seat and the purr of the engine settled my nerves. I had less than two months to get my house in order for my family. And after seeing just how bad Cohen had been, I was even more determined to make sure he had a bomb-ass place to heal up.
I took the long way into town. It was the perfect October day. Warm with just a hint of chill on the air. I was tempted to take a loop around the whole damn lake. Maybe even keep driving and tell the Kramer boys I’d be out of pocket for a week.
Damn responsibilities.
As I turned onto Main, I slowed to a crawl. The only bad part of a pretty day was that it was perfect for shopping. Foot traffic and cars congested Main Street. People lined the sidewalks in front of the various storefronts. Tabitha was doing a brisk business at Sugar Rush with her Halloween and fall confections. The new wine bar that had replaced a small eatery looked to be having a tasting.
I was tempted to go in to find a bottle of wine to calm down some of the chaos in my brain, but in the end, I’d rather have a beer.
After I got some work done.
By the time I finally got to the garage, I was humming for a whole different reason. I parked my bike outside and swung into Brewed Awakening for a coffee. Luckily, it was too busy in there for chitchat. Macy wasn’t on duty, but as usual, her place ran like a top.
I sneaked through the doors that led to the apartments and bypassed the crush of people at the tables and waiting in line for caffeine and sugary treats. The elevator doors opened just as I was trying to escape.
“Shit.”
I really didn’t want to talk to anyone right now.
The tenored, imperfect voice of one Lucky Roberts came out of the elevator with a surprisingly smooth baritone pulling up the rear. The two men stumbled off the elevator singing “Sweet Home Alabama”, of all songs. I almost didn’t recognize Lucky’s drinking buddy.
Deputy Mc…something was looking decidedly un-cop like. Brent? No, I was pretty sure it was Brady. I’d only talked to him in passing a few times.
We took care of the cruisers when they needed a tune-up. Not like there were a whole lot of car crashes in this town. Hot pursuit usually included a duck more than a resident of the Cove.
There were some slurred words and then a third guy hiccupped his way off the elevator, singing very off-key. And there was the third Stooge.
Caleb came teetering off the elevator with his hand wrapped around the neck of a beer bottle like his life depended on it.
It was barely two o’clock in the afternoon.
I took a fortifying sip of my coffee. I was well-versed in dealing with happy drunk boys as my brothers often started out that way and ended up throwing punches five minutes later.
“Tissssh!” Caleb toddled my way like a drunk baby. “Hey, we missed yoush.” His face was sweetly soft after consuming what I guessed was far more beer than was wise this early in the day.
“Does Luna know where you are?”
“Pshhh. It’s fine. She’s working. It’s fine.” He bumped into the wall. “Hey, where’s the cooler?”
“You left it on the elevator, dumbass,” Lucky said then started singing again. He walked toward me in an almost straight line. “What are you doing here, grouchy?” He poked me.
I blinked at the combined scents of sweaty male and beer. Wow, that was rough. “I was going to work.”
“Hey…no. No, you should drink with us. We’re going to get more beer to party it up on the rooftop.”
“Pretty sure you partied it up for three, Thor.”
“Ha. I like when you call me Thor.”
He kissed my forehead and I tried to step back out of fume range. “All right. I’m fairly sure you don’t need any more.”
“Oh, we do. Don’t we, buddy?” He stepped back to slap Brady on the back. “This is my friend, Brady. He was really nice to me today. Didn’t even give me a ticket.”
Brady stumbled forward. “It’s okay, man. Girl trouble.”
“Yeah.” Lucky’s face went from happy to sad. “Girl trouble sucks.” He stepped to the side and leaned on the wall. “These beers are really strong. I can usually drink a twelve-pack on my own.”
“Micro brewskis,” Brady said with a squinty grin. “I confis—took it from some teens at the hayride last night.”
I took the bottle from Caleb.
“Gimme, that’s mine.”
I held up a finger and read the label. “Fourteen percent. That’s not your average beer, boys.”
“Def not averageee,” Caleb slurred and took it back. “So tasty. We’re gonna get some more.”
I took another two gulps of my coffee and set it on the small table by the door. “All right. Time to put you idiots to bed.”
“No. It’s sunny out. There’s no bed.” Caleb tipped the bottle back then stuck his tongue out when nothing came out. “Damn. All gone.”
“Thank God.” I took the bottle and turned him back toward the elevator. “Come on, you too, Thor.”
“No.”
I hung my head for a second. Luckily, the other two were a little more helpful. Brady was singing “Dream On” by Aerosmith now, but at least they were in the elevator. Caleb was trying to help out, but he just sounded like a howling hound dog.
Lucky waved. “Imma just sit here.” He slid down the wall and thumped to the floor. His legs were too long, so he looked more like a collapsed giant in a dollhouse.
“Hey, is he okay?” Caleb stuck his head out of the elevator.
I palmed his face and pushed him back inside. “He’s fine. Come on, let’s get you guys settled.” I propped up each of them in a corner and said a small prayer of thanks that the elevator was finally finished. If I’d had to get them up the stairs, it would not have been fun.
While the boys serenaded me with a very butchered version of “Dream On”, I pulled out my phone and texted Luna.
I have your husband to be.
Why?
They tried to escape the apartment for more beer.
Escape? I don’t understand.
I sent her an audio clip of their cat shrieks. How long did it take for us to go up three floors in this freaking elevator?
Oh, goddess. Where are you?
Elevator.
I stuffed my phone away and held the door open. “All right, ladies. Let’s go.”
&n
bsp; “Pfff. I’m not a lady. You’re a lady.” Caleb crowded into me.
“Not generally. Remember that and follow direction or I’ll knock your ass out.” He swayed and I lifted him up by the arm. “There we go. Straight ahead, buddy.”
Brady straightened his shoulders and walked out on his own steam. “If you knock my ass out, I’ll arrest you.”
“You couldn’t arrest a baby right now, buddy.”
“Of course I could. Not that I would. Babies are cute. This town is full of babies.” Brady shook his head sadly. “It’s nuts. Imma go fall down now.”
“In your bed, please,” I called after him.
He did a little wave and bumbled his way down the hall.
Luna flew out of their apartment, a flowy robe with moons and astrology symbols all over it trailing behind her. Her blue eyes went huge. “Goldilocks, what did you do?”
“Hey, Lu.” He leaned hard on me. “I can’t feel my lips.”
“Not again.”
My eyebrow rose. “Is this a regular thing?”
Luna laughed. “Goddess, no. But our first…date if you will included a little sauced Goldilocks.” She came over to hook his arm around her neck. “It’s a long story. Come over tomorrow and I’ll tell you.”
“Uh, that’s not—”
“Nope. We’re going to be friends, I just know it. Come on over tomorrow. We’re going to play poker with Bess and Ryan. We’re teaching Tabitha.”
I blinked. “Poker?”
“Yes.”
Caleb leaned into Luna and kissed her cheek. “I love you. Do you know that?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know.”
“You’re so pretty.” He buried his nose in her hair. “And you smell so good.”
“Oy. I better get him in bed.”
“Good idea. I gotta deal with Thor.”
“Hmm.”
I lifted a finger. “No. He works for me. That’s it.” And I would not think about the fact that he’d fucked the holy hell out of me less than twenty-four hours ago.
“Right now, your aura is hot pink, Tish.”
“I don’t know what that means.”
“I do.” But she didn’t say anything else. “C’mon, Goldilocks, it’s time to get you to bed.”
“Bed sounds like an essssslent idea.”