He’d already been with a woman who seemed to be compatible with him in every way and it hadn’t worked. When he’d come to the realization that he and Lauren had never loved each other at all, or enough, he’d questioned everything he’d come to believe. Was he going to make the same mistake twice? Why the hell wouldn’t he, until he understood what had gone wrong in the first place?
There was a lot wrong with this particular situation. Zoey was vulnerable, and whether she realized it yet or not, she had him on a pedestal. Her best friend’s older brother. He’d known that Zoey had a crush on him since the first time they’d met years ago. But then he’d gone to West Point and subsequently to war. He’d visited Fortune often, but after getting out of the service he’d relocated to Oakland. It had been a better place for him to be.
Zoey was a sweet girl, his friend and his sister’s friend, who happened to be beautiful. Now, he’d noticed. He wasn’t going to be able to ignore her ever again. How was he to navigate this terrain? Despite everything, Saturday night he’d been minutes away from burying himself deep inside her and to hell with the consequences. He wanted what he wanted, and damn everything else.
And that scared the shit out of you.
Slam.
Crack.
Yeah, okay, there was that.
He heard a car door slam and turned to see his soon-to-be brother-in-law, Sam Hawker, walking toward the house. Because of his position as a single man with few personal commitments, Ryan had put up the cash and worked out the loan with the local bank. Not VA financing since he didn’t plan on living in the house, but he’d worked out some good terms. He believed that a couple of people might have called in some favors for him, and for once he didn’t mind. This wasn’t about him. It was about earning the medal. Working hard to honor those that didn’t come back. Sam sure as hell understood. On some level, he was doing the same.
Sam walked through the open door and straight into the kitchen they’d decided to work on first.
“Man, you weren’t lying. This place needs help. It’s on life support.”
“Let me show you our patient.”
Sam shook his head. “A real fixer-upper.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. But even though the place looked close to being condemned, most of the work was cosmetic. The foundation was solid. Ryan had been able to buy it because he knew the owner. On a half-acre parcel of land on the outskirts of town, with a view of Wildfire Ridge, the land by itself was valuable.
All of the older homes, the first in town before it incorporated, were separated by acreage, rare in the area. Real estate developers salivated over parcels this large, where they could squeeze four homes in the place of one. But when Art had heard about what Ryan planned for the property, he’d worked out generous terms. He carried owner financing and the bank financed the rest. Sam would provide most of the muscle and labor along with Ryan.
Ryan still intended to introduce himself to the neighbors and explain what they were about to do but there was no real rush. They would be working here for some time before anyone could move in and make it their home.
“You guys still on the lookout for Boo?” Ryan asked.
Both Sam and Jill had been, just in case someone had cruelly dumped him on Wildfire Ridge. Considering there were still mountain lions on the ridge, Ryan didn’t want to just ignore the possibility.
“Every day, but still nothing.”
“Damn.” Not what he wanted to hear. At this point Boo could be anywhere.
“How’s Zoey doing?” Sam understood how attached Zoey had become to Boo.
“She’s okay.” Ryan hoped that, at the very least, he’d taken her mind off Boo for a few hours the previous night.
She had seemed to enjoy the evening, the dancing, and later...well, she’d enjoyed that too.
From the bucket of tools he’d carried in, Sam pulled out a large mallet. “Gotta tell you, brother, this is my favorite part of construction.”
“This is the opposite of construction.”
“Exactly.” Sam nodded. “Tearing it down. The fun part.”
“Go for it,” Ryan said, wiping his brow. “Taking a break. Got a phone call to make.”
He stepped outside into the warm late summer day and spied his closest neighbor in the distance, walking a small dog. And he could see that the property on the corner had a stable and a small barn. The zoning was different in this part of town, and some farm animals were allowed.
Zoey answered after two rings.
He began with the truth. “I’m an idiot.”
“Don’t expect me to disagree.”
He chuckled. “Am I forgiven?”
“Yes, because you were right. We probably shouldn’t rush into anything.”
“Yeah? I hate being right.”
She laughed softly. “No you don’t.”
“All things being equal, I wish I’d stayed.”
“It was the right thing to do.”
“You’re not mad?”
“I wouldn’t say that.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Disappointed. But you can always make it up to me.”
Damn, her sweet voice alone turned him on. “That’s...not a bad idea. If you’re sure.”
“Sure about what?”
There were no guarantees in life. None here that they wouldn’t stomp on each other’s hearts and barely be able to look at each other afterward. He couldn’t even stand the sound of Lauren’s voice. It grated on him, not because of any hurt or pain that remained, but because of a complete annoyance at himself. He’d been about to get married, which would have been the biggest mistake of his life, and he’d made enough of those.
“About me. I’m probably not who you think I am.”
“Why? Who are you?”
Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Ryan Davis from the over-achieving Davis family. Just call me a reluctant hometown hero. I’ve worked hard all my life to prove something to myself. To my family. To my country. At some point I realized it was never going to be enough. And now I’m exhausted.
That’s what he should have told her.
Instead, he said, “I’m just a regular guy. No one special.”
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
She spoke softly. “You don’t ever want to be special? To anyone?”
Framed that way, it struck him with a force he hadn’t expected. Hell, yeah it would be great to be loved and appreciated simply for who he was and not for what he’d achieved.
He cleared his throat. “Well, yeah. Of course. Someday.”
“It just so happens that I’m looking for a regular guy. Why can’t we just see where this goes?”
He almost choked but then laughed. This was close to the same line he might have used with anyone but Zoey. Let’s see where this goes. No expectations or pressure. Maybe he had to stop treating her so differently. She was a grown woman. Someone who might even be angry to know that he thought he had to protect her and treat her like she was fragile enough to break.
“You got it.”
“Want to come over for dinner tonight?”
“Where do you want to go?”
“No, I mean I’m cooking.”
Staying in. What a concept. He might even get to finally find out what his kindred animal was. “Name the time.”
After getting the details Ryan hung up with Zoey, then went to find out what was wrong with Sam. He’d just let loose a volley of curse words from inside the house.
That couldn’t be good.
Chapter 13
Zoey’s rice and chicken casserole was a disaster. A complete and total wreck. She’d overcooked the chicken and undercooked the rice. Somehow she’d burned the tomato sauce, too. It always looked so simple when Tio made it, and she’d wanted to cook a traditional family dish for Ryan
and not make sandwiches or something simple. No, she’d had to decide tonight was the time to try something new. Huge mistake!
She phoned Tia, hoping for some help. “I need a food intervention.”
Zoey explained and Tia reiterated the information word for word to Tio, who shouted back with his megaphone voice. “I’ll make some and bring it over.”
“Really?” Seriously, Zoey had lucked into the best uncle in history. “You don’t have to do that.”
“He wants to,” Tia said, as the sound of banging pots and pans could be heard in the background. “I’m glad you called. What on earth happened between you and your mother yesterday?”
“Why? What did she tell you?”
“Nothing.”
“I... I was upset that she showed up the way she did. In that dress. Stealing all the attention away from you. It was your night.”
“Don’t be silly. I didn’t mind. You know I hate being the center of attention.”
“Even on your fortieth wedding anniversary?”
“Yes, even then. I always like seeing Veronica even if she’s usually overdressed. That’s just her way. Did you apologize to your mother?”
Tia had taught her to respect her elders and would expect nothing less. But then she didn’t know about Jorge yet. “Of course.”
“She’s staying in the area for a little while.”
“Yeah?” That surprised Zoey. She didn’t think Veronica would want to stay long in a place where she wasn’t famous.
“Apparently there’s a Latino festival in Salinas and their movie has been nominated for an award.”
“What do you think of her fiancé?” Zoey began.
“I’m surprised.”
“You are?”
Zoey wanted to tell Tia what he’d done. She always had. But that would only make her aunt feel guilty that she’d let Zoey go visit Veronica in the first place. Tia hadn’t wanted Zoey to go, worried Veronica wouldn’t have time to properly supervise her daughter, but had relented when she begged. And Tio? God only knew what he would do. She feared he would wind up in jail, arrested by none other than the man she wanted to date.
Holidays would be weird after that.
“Why marry now, at her age? It’s not like she can have any more children,” Gloria continued.
“Maybe she loves him.”
The thought made Zoey’s stomach burn.
“I don’t think so. She’s only ever loved one man, your father. Sometimes there really is only one person on earth for us. Your Mami at least had him for a little while.”
That sounded so romantic, but it also frightened Zoey. What if she never found her person? She’d meant it when she told Ryan she wanted to see where this thing between them went. But it might not go anywhere, and even if it did he could always change his mind.
She didn’t want to be single, the “dog lady,” just her and all her pets alone in this house forever. Growing old running the pet store and having no one to hand it down to. Her pets were like her children, but they could never run a pet store.
Tio arrived right on time with the casserole and after he gave directions on how to warm it up, he kissed Zoey on the forehead and left to take Tia out to dinner.
Zoey hopped in the shower, fed her pets, made sure they’d been out to do their business, and just before Ryan was to arrive she warmed up the casserole per Tio’s careful instructions. The smells of tomato sauce, garlic and chicken filled the kitchen and she set the table. She wanted this evening to go well, or as well as it could considering how the previous night had ended. Hopefully she’d calmed down Ryan’s nerves so that he didn’t think she’d expect him to slay a dragon or two for her tonight. Cue one more thing she now understood about Ryan. He just wanted to be a normal dude, which was the very opposite of the way everyone saw him.
Her kitchen table was set with a vase of yellow-and-white daisies in the center and her one and only tablecloth, decorated with dogs chasing butterflies. She declared the setup a success. It was only then that she thought to look down at what she wore. Cut-off denim shorts and a T-shirt that said Enjoy Responsibly in bright red letters across her chest. A gift from Carly purchased on one of her New York City trips. Deciding she didn’t want Ryan to think he’d ever enjoy her boobage irresponsibly, she tore it off in her bedroom and, since she’d already done that, she took the shorts off too. A dress sounded good. Or...maybe not a dress, considering she only had two. One made her look sixteen and the other she’d worn to the anniversary party.
When the doorbell rang, she’d just slid on an indigo-blue blouse and her favorite pair of jeans. No need to get fancy. This would be a relaxing evening in which, with any luck, she would soon have hot sex with the man she’d fantasized about for years.
No big deal.
The dogs barked and Corky snorted the announcement that someone had arrived and was at the door, in case she didn’t already know. Of course, Indie and Bella followed her to the door to “help” her open it. A while back, Corky had decided that he wasn’t interested in being part of the welcoming committee. So had Boo, who had preferred to watch calmly and regally from his perch next to his best friend.
She opened the door to Ryan, and it was clear he’d been thinking casual, too. He was dressed in a plain black long-sleeved tee rolled up and showing off taught and sinewy forearms. Black jeans and dark work boots. He’d showered recently, evidenced by his dark-blond hair, still slightly damp.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, bending to pet Indie and Bella. “But Sam found a plumbing issue.”
“You’re late?” She’d been the one to lose track of time. “Oh no!”
She ran to the kitchen but it was useless. Now Tio’s casserole had gone the way of her own. The tomato sauce was all but gone and the rice appeared sad and defeated. Zoey turned to Ryan, who’d followed her into the kitchen.
“I ruined dinner.” She bit her lower lip. “I’m sorry.”
He cocked his head. “You made dinner?”
“What do you mean? I told you I would.”
“Yeah, but...” He ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t think you meant it and so I grabbed a burger before I headed over.”
“What? Why?”
“Experience? Usually no one cooks for me.” He lifted a shoulder.
“Not even your mom?”
“Especially not my mom. She gives new meaning to the term ‘science experiment’ when she’s let loose in the kitchen.”
You poor deprived man, Zoey almost said out loud.
Zoey cooked, she just wasn’t all that great. But she could do the easy stuff. For Ryan she’d wanted to go the extra mile and she’d wound up crashing. Poor Tio. All his efforts gone to waste.
“Is it that bad?” Ryan hovered near the pot. “Still smells good.”
“Are you still hungry?”
“I’ll always eat, but eating before just ensured I wouldn’t starve.”
It was amazing how little they actually knew about each other. Like Tia, Zoey would never let a man starve. She couldn’t even stand for them to be hungry in her presence. Zoey chopped up some other leftover chicken in the fridge and spread it on sourdough bread for sandwiches. As it happened her expertise was sandwiches and she took great care to make them special. She added nuts and grapes and bits of celery to the chicken.
They ate at the beautifully set table as the dogs and Corky watched from a safe distance, panting and snorting. Indie and Corky begged openly but Bella always used the hard-to-get approach. The I don’t care, but secretly I do care way. Zoey never fed them scraps. Despite that, they never seemed to give up hope.
“Meant to ask you last night,” Ryan said. “What’s with your mother’s fiancé?”
“What do you mean?” Her stomach dropped. She should have known he’d ask.
“Zoey, come on. You flinched.”
“When he came close to you. You backed up a step and you flinched. In my experience, that’s never a good thing.”
Of course he would notice. He’d already asked once and she’d avoided answering. She remembered what he’d said at the party about people not opening up to him for fear of judgment. People only wanting him around when they needed him. She didn’t want to be like those people.
“You have to promise not to get mad.”
He leaned back in his chair, palms on his thighs. “I can’t promise that. How about if I promise I won’t act on it?”
That was actually better.
“Okay. When I was fifteen, I went back to visit my mother for the summer. I was excited because I hadn’t seen her in about three years. I missed her terribly, even though I loved living with my aunt and uncle. But she was beautiful and in the movies. So glamorous. We had all the photos she’d send over. In Mexico, my mother is as famous and beautiful as Angelina Jolie is here. At fifteen, that was very exciting to me. Stupid.”
“No, it’s not.”
“One night we went to a party and she thought we should dress alike. She thought it would be funny to be like twins. And I loved the idea of playing the glamorous movie star for just one night. So I wore a sexy black evening gown like hers with a leg slit up to my thigh. Strappy heels. Makeup. My mother’s makeup artist did it all. I looked pretty good, I thought. And at the party everyone was so kind. Nice. Except for my mother’s director. Jorge. He sort of took me to the side away from everyone else. I thought he’d been drinking too much, but I’ve been raised to respect my elders and I went with him. You can probably figure out the rest.”
He reached for her hand and stroked it. “I need you to tell me, babe, because I have a pretty active imagination. And I’ve seen a lot of victims.”
“Oh, no. I’m not a victim. He didn’t rape me if that’s what you’re thinking. Someone came to find him and he stopped...pawing at me. But he did touch me and made my skin crawl. And...the things he said to me...no one had ever talked to me that way. It was disgusting.”
Home for a Hero Page 10