Passion, Vows & Babies_Tough as Nails Read online

  “I’m guessing it’s a long lost relative. Her name is on that paper. She’ll be here later today and says you can come by anytime Thursday.”

  “Alright, thanks. Beers Friday?” I asked him.

  “No can do, friend; the wife has other plans for me this weekend. Maybe next weekend, if you’re not up to your eyeballs in that outdoor kitchen.”

  “Sounds good. I’ve gotta get moving; I have a few estimates to work on. My least favorite part of my job. Paperwork.” I rolled my eyes, and took off.

  Now, I was meeting this new owner in the morning. I decided I’d make my customary daily run to the hardware store for a few things I needed, then go work on my patio for a while, since I had a bit of time to myself until the next day. There was always something I needed there, and Harvey, the owner, knew me well. I avoided taking the long drive out to the chain hardware store whenever I could. Unless I was in a hurry for something in particular, Harvey could order me anything he didn’t stock, and I wanted to support his local business anyway.

  When I arrived, he was sitting behind the counter, smoking a cigar and reading the paper.

  “Hey Harvey, how’s it going?” I almost chuckled. Everyone knows that you’re not supposed to smoke indoors, and Harvey gave zero fucks. He did technically own the building his store was in, but it was still pretty old-fashioned to be sitting there, just puffing away.

  He waved a bit of the smoke away and peered at me over his gold wire-rimmed reading glasses. “Well, hey there, Flynn. I was wondering if you’d be in today. How’s the outdoor kitchen coming along? You ready to invite me over for some delicious smoked meats and a beer yet?” He smirked.

  Laughing, I replied, “Not just yet. I’m about to finish laying the bricks; this weekend, I hope. Then, I’ve still got to finish the outdoor bar. Once that’s done, I think we can have the boys over for a few.” Just as I was about to continue talking about my amazing project, I saw her again. The girl from the convenience store. She was in the hardware store, of all places. I couldn’t believe my luck. Maybe I had another chance to look less like an ass.

  Harvey called over to her as I watched her stand and stare at a display of chains. She had a cart full of cleaning supplies, furniture polish, brand new rags, a screwdriver set, and a hammer. I was dying to know what she was working on, and what she needed chains for.

  “Hey there, miss. Are you finding everything ok?” he asked.

  As she turned her head toward us, I caught her eye, that brilliant blue, as the light caught them. “Is this the only chain you have?” she asked, sounding frustrated.

  “Um, well I have a bit more in the back. What are you looking for exactly?” Henry put his cigar down in an old copper ashtray, and set the paper down.

  “I think I need heavier chain than this.” She turned her lips to a sideways smile, igniting a little spark in me. She was fucking adorable.

  “What’s it for?” I asked, inserting myself in the conversation.

  Raising an eyebrow, she turned her attention to me, and quickly realized we’d met before. Her expression changed from friendly to annoyed as she replied sharply, “I’m fixing a porch swing. Do you work here?”

  “No, no, I don’t. But I’m fairly handy,” I stated, putting my hands up in surrender.

  Harvey watched the exchange, before walking over to the girl and looking at his own stock of chain hanging in front of her. He pointed to a thick chain and explained that it would work well for a porch swing, if installed properly. “It’s a little heavy, but if it’s reinforced where you hang it, it’ll hold that swing just fine. Are you doing this yourself? It’s a bit heavy,” he said.

  “I don’t need any help hanging a porch swing, if that’s what you’re asking me,” she replied curtly. “I’m perfectly capable of lifting this up.” She was offended, and we were clearly nothing but a couple of neanderthals at that point. The chain did look pretty heavy for a tiny thing like her, but I suppose it was offensive to point it out.

  “I’m sorry, miss. I just meant that we could send someone over to help if you needed it,” Harvey apologized, and put the chain in the beautiful woman’s cart, while I continued to watch her intently. She was wearing tiny denim shorts, a loose-fitting black tank top that said COFFEE in bold white letters across her chest, and converse sneakers. She had that beautiful dark hair piled up on top of her head with her sunglasses resting there. A tiny gold chain around her neck caught my eye as well, although I couldn’t make out what was hanging from it.

  She let out a sigh. “I appreciate your offer, but I am ok on my own. I’ve hired someone to assist me with some other projects, but this one I intend to complete today on my own.” She forced a smile at Harvey, and ignored me completely.

  After Harvey had rung her up, I was getting desperate to save face from the day before. “Can I help you get all this to your car?” I asked hopefully.

  Giving me the once-over, and then glancing back at the heavy load she had to carry, she begrudgingly accepted. “Um, sure. But let’s not go asking about what I ate today, eh?” She was sassy, and it was fucking hot. I wondered where she’d come from, and how I could turn carrying her shit to her car for her into something more.

  “I promise to try not to say anything offensive or stupid in the next few moments while I carry your stuff.” I smirked at her, finally getting a small grin to form on her face.

  “Well, that would be delightful,” she replied. “And thank you for helping me. I would have had to make several trips just to get it all out.” She slid her large sunglasses down after she finished paying, and turned to walk out.

  As I followed her to the car, I couldn’t help but let my eyes roam to her ass. It was perfect, of course. Part of me wanted to go all caveman, and just take her right there. She was not only beautiful, but she had a smart mouth too, and I’d have loved nothing more than to shut it up with mine, right before grabbing a handful of that perfect ass. As my dick started to recognize what my brain was saying, we’d reached her car, and she stopped to turn to me.

  “Are you looking at my ass?” she asked me, point blank.

  Speechless, with my dick straining against my jeans, I stumbled over what to say. How did she know?

  “I.. uh.. NO,” I managed to lie.

  She started laughing hysterically, and opened the trunk. “I’m just teasing you. I figured you deserved it, after making fun of my food intake.”

  Relieved, and laughing back, I began piling the things she bought into the trunk. As I was unloading, I noticed a bunch of art supplies. Canvases, a bag of brushes, and what looked like a bag of paints as well.

  When I’d finished, I asked, “Are you an artist?” I wanted to get to know her, why she was in this little town, what she was doing. Anything.

  Pursing her lips, she replied, “Why would you ask that?” She didn’t seem annoyed, but by the expression on her face, I may have entered dangerous territory again, and wanted to tread lightly.

  “I noticed the art supplies in your trunk.” I kept my reply short.

  Her tense muscles appeared to relax a little and her lips formed a small smile. “I’m an art teacher, actually.” She closed the trunk I was standing in front of and tilted her head, observing me. “Well, thanks for the help…” She paused.

  “Flynn,” I replied.

  “Hmm, Flynn. Nice name.” She turned and opened the driver’s side door of the old Honda Civic. “Thanks for the help, Flynn.” And with that, she hopped in the car and took off, never giving me her name.

  That night, I laid in my bed, staring at the ceiling, wondering about the mysterious art teacher. Was she here to work in the school? Did she just move here? Her sass had driven a chisel right through my rough exterior in a matter of moments, and I was obsessed with finding out who she was.

  Chapter 5

  Jacinda

  I didn’t give Flynn my name on purpose; I didn’t want to get to know him. He was far too handsome, and charming, in an awkward and sexy way. It was obv
ious that he wanted to know more about me, and I couldn’t allow myself the luxury of a distraction like that. It was time for me to stop wasting my time on flings - and men in general - who really had nothing to offer besides good looks. Maybe he was a nice guy, but I wasn’t going to let that derail me from what I was in Red Springs to do. And I was only going to be in town for the summer, so I didn’t have any time to waste.

  I made it back to the house and assessed the projects before me. The night before, I had explored some more and uncovered all of the furniture in the house. I didn’t want to sleep in the bed I’d found in the upstairs; it just seemed weird and inappropriate. I decided that sleeping on the air mattress I brought with me was the way to go, and ended up staring at the ceiling most of the night. It seemed that my grandmother didn’t have anyone to clean up the house, and all of her belongings were still in it.

  I wished I had known that packing up that house, sorting through everything, and finding a place for it all to go was going to be part of my summer project. That was going to be a far larger task than I’d anticipated, and I made a mental note to get boxes. I figured I could sell most of the furniture, or make some kind of a deal with an antique dealer to take it all. But, in the meantime, the first order of the day was to fix that porch swing. I wanted to be able to sit on it in the evenings and read, write, or just relax. I had all the supplies I needed, and I was a smart girl. How hard could it be?

  I dragged the chain from my car; it was heavier than I’d expected. Annoyed that the men were probably right and I’d need some help with this, my irritation took over and I committed to getting that damn swing up before bed. It was already afternoon. I had no idea how the day had gotten away from me. Spending all this time thinking, though, was burning daylight.

  I grabbed all my new tools and got to work. As I unscrewed the old chain from the swing, lost in my work, I started to feel a bit more free. Not a particularly handy person, I was proud of myself for undertaking the whole house, but this porch swing would be my first victory.

  Unfortunately, as luck would have it, the swing had other plans. I was able to secure the new chain to the bench itself as it sat on the porch. However, I had not only failed to realize a ladder would be necessary to get it up high enough to actually attach to the roof of the porch, the heavy chain, attached to the chair, was simply too heavy for me to lift up into the air. Thoughts of Flynn hanging the swing for me crossed my mind. He looked like he was handy. I mean, he was hanging out in the hardware store, and clearly he knew the owner. It had taken me over two hours just to remove the old chain and attach the new one. I hoped that every project wasn’t going to be a problem like this one. I only had the summer to get this sorted out before I had to go back to school, and I didn’t have the money saved to just pay someone to do all of it for me.

  I had a contractor coming the next morning. My friend Abigail, back home, was an architect, and she reached out to a fellow architect here to get me a recommendation. It seemed there were not that many to choose from, way out here to begin with. I neglected to get his name, but I wasn’t too concerned about it. The small-town vibe here was nice, and I’m sure it was some old guy who had a bunch of people come and handle the stuff I needed done, that I couldn’t do myself.

  Hoping it wouldn’t cost me an arm and a leg, I decided I needed to eat, and I could definitely use a drink. After showering off the chipped paint, sawdust, and the grime of the day, I concluded that there was no way I was going to go shopping for groceries, and I’d just take myself out for a beer and a burger at the local watering hole. I was going to be here all summer anyway, so I might as well get to know the town a little bit. I grabbed my eReader and tossed it in my bag before heading out.

  A casual town, I didn’t get all dressed up. After all, I didn’t really know what to expect, but thus far, everything seemed pretty mom and pop shop to me, and I didn’t want to stick out. So, with dark jeans and a white t-shirt on, I ventured out on my own. Getting used to the idea of being alone had been a struggle for me at first, but I’d become accustomed to taking myself out to dinner every now and again, and the people-watching was quite nice.

  When I arrived at the bar and grill, there were a few people already there, but it wasn’t packed. An adorable young thing greeted me as I walked in.

  “Hi there, miss, can I help you?” she asked me, her blonde ponytail bouncing with every word.

  “Hello. I’m here for beer and a burger; this a good place for that?” I asked, glancing around at the decor, which was a cross between a hunter’s paradise, with antler chandeliers and all, and a rustic diner. It was quite the mix, and there were framed photographs everywhere.

  “Yes ma’am, it sure is. Are you here alone, or is it a table for two?” She looked around me, as if I was hiding someone.

  “Just me, kid. You can seat me at the bar, if that works.” I knew that kids like her never expected to see people under the age of eighty dining alone, but it was pretty common in the city. Generally, establishments expected you to sit at the bar and not take up a table if you were by yourself, and I’d also gotten used to that.

  “You can sit anywhere you want.” She waved her pink polished fingers around the wide open room.

  “The bar is fine.” I offered a closed-lip smile and walked in that direction without her.

  “Ok, Flynn will take care of you there.” I jolted at the name.

  “Flynn?” I asked, realizing she would have no idea why I was surprised.

  “Yea, Flynn Healy is filling in for Mark, the usual bartender. His wife went into labor today.” She smiled, assuming I knew these people. “Do you know Flynn?”

  Snapping myself back into the moment, that had begun turning to a daydream about Flynn’s sparkling brown eyes and killer smile, I replied, “No it’s just an unusual name, is all. I can seat myself at the bar.”

  “Ok ma’am. If you need anything, just holler.” She walked off to help the lone waitress I’d seen with her tables.

  I chuckled to myself, knowing full well that there couldn’t possibly be more than one Flynn in this small town, and wondered if it was really that small of a town, or if there was a reason we kept meeting each other in random places. In any event, I was starving, so I perched myself on a barstool and looked around for the fill-in bartender.

  As he came out of the back, wiping his hands on a bar towel, he met my eyes almost immediately, causing me to let out a small laugh. I didn’t mean to flirt, I really didn’t. But he was wearing a black t-shirt that hugged his biceps just right, and blue jeans that gave just enough of an outline below the belt to stir a little something up inside me. He was fucking gorgeous; and since I wanted nothing to do with men, of course he was popping up everywhere I went. It was officially comical at that point.

  “Well hello there, stranger, what can I get for you?” He set the towel down and leaned toward me over the bar, his sultry voice mesmerizing me.

  “Are you stalking me?” I tried to joke.

  “Well, since you showed up here, I could ask you the same question, couldn’t I?” He smirked.

  He had me on that one. “Hmm, I suppose you’re right. Maybe it’s just a smaller town than I expected it to be. Could I please have a vodka tonic? Any vodka will do.”

  “Coming right up.” He turned to make my drink, letting me take in his fantastic ass. I felt like I was about to be sitting in my own puddle, and was beginning to care less and less about my ‘no men’ policy. “So, how did your project go today?”

  Not wanting to admit my defeat, I totally lied, “It went great. Super easy too.”

  “That’s good to hear.” He placed my cocktail in front of me and leaned over the bar again. “So, you’re not from around here. Are you going to give me your name?”

  “What makes you think I’m not from around here?” I attempted to be coy.

  “I know everyone from around here. And you, are definitely not from around here,” he chuckled. I wasn’t sure if I should be offended, or if
it was just a matter of fact.

  “What’s that supposed to mean? You know every girl in this town?” I turned it back on him. After all, he probably was a player anyway. I mean nobody that hot isn’t, right?

  He laughed at me; a smooth laugh. He knew I was fishing. “I grew up in this town. So yes, yes I do know every girl around here. I either went to school with them, or I attended their wedding to one of my buddies, or they’re the mom or sister of one of my buddies. That is how I know you’re not from around here. Believe me, I’d remember.” He walked away again, to help other customers, and while I wanted to pull out my book to read and get some food, I was mesmerized watching him instead.

  As I sipped my cocktail, and felt the stress of the stupid porch swing project fade away, I second-guessed my resolve to stay away from this guy. When he came back, I was ready for another drink, which he brought me without asking.

  “So, are you going to tell me anything about yourself? Or do I have to keep guessing, and running into you all over town?” he asked.

  “Well, I like burgers,” I grinned. I was famished and before I let him get me drunk, I knew I needed to eat something.

  “I happen to know a great place that serves burgers. How do you like yours?” he played along, smiling.

  “I like it well done with lots of cheese, and mustard, and a sitting next to a pile of french fries,” I replied.

  “I can make that happen for you. Sit tight.” He disappeared into the back, and when he returned, he set some silverware in front of me.

  “The girl at the front said that you were filling in for someone tonight. Is this where you normally work?”

  “Ah, so you get to ask me questions, but I don’t even know your name?” he replied playfully.

  Still determined I wasn’t going to give him my name just yet, I nodded. “Yeah, that’s how this works; you didn’t know?”