A Chance at Love (A Ferry Creek Novel): (a billionaire romance novel) (14 page)

"Wait a second," Bobby
called out from behind the counter.

He turned and bent over. Everyone
watched as he placed two to-go cups on the counter. He filled them with coffee
and added cream to one. Bobby forced lids onto the cups and then handed them to
Tyler and smiled.

Jess watched all this happen and
felt a small sense of relief come through her body. At least it appeared Bobby
was as sympathetic as his father.

"Thanks," Tyler said.
"What do I owe?"

"I'll bill Darryl," Bobby
said.

Darryl looked at Bobby and curled
his lip.

"What if I told you you weren't
allowed in this place again?" Bobby asked.

"Then you'd be nothing like
your father. You have no idea the man..."

"Yeah, I get it," Bobby
said. "Drink your coffee and sober up. This is strike two, Darryl."

"Baseball? What am I in first
grade?"

"Sure as hell act like
it," Tyler said. "Damn fool."

Tyler balanced the two to-go coffee
cups in one hand while holding the cuffs attached to Darryl with the other
hand.

Just like that, the chaos was
finally over.

Jess let out a sigh and touched her
face. She felt her cheeks burning and looked toward Peggie for some kind of
comfort. Peggie stared straight ahead, shaking her head. She looked just as
disgusted as Bobby did.

"Bobby, listen," Jess
said.

Bobby put a hand up. "It's out
of my place. For now, I'm sure. But I need to talk to you and Peggie about
something."

"What's wrong?" Peggie
asked. "Is it Annie? Is she coming to town?"

"Actually, she is," Bobby
said.

Peggie rolled her eyes.

"But that's not what I need to
talk about."

"What is it?" Jess asked.

"There's someone else coming
to visit... and, uh, I'm not sure how to say this... but, I have a brother. And
he's coming here. To Ferry Creek."

Tyler put the coffee cups on the
top of his cruiser. He opened the passenger door and then took the cuffs off
Darryl's wrists. He twirled them like he thought a cool cop would do and then
nodded to the open door and front seat of the cop car.

"I'm sitting there?"

"I never formally arrested
you," Tyler said.

"Can I sue for that?"

"Sue Ferry Creek? Sure. Good
luck with that."

Darryl looked over his shoulder.
Tyler knew Darryl would have the balls to run, but not in his condition. This
wasn't Darryl drunk or trying to raise hell. This was Darryl in some serious
pain. His mind and heart were all messed up and Tyler knew exactly why but had
no idea what to do. Tyler blamed himself for a long time, but he learned that
the past had to be let go. That was one of the beautiful things about time. It
always moved forward.

"I'm not here to break your
balls, Darryl, okay?"

"Could have fooled me,"
Darryl said. "Throwing me to the counter. Cuffing me. Making me look like
some kind of criminal in front of half the town. In front of Jess."

"You did that," Tyler
said. "You reached for her and I had no idea what you were planning."

"Oh, Christ, Tyler,"
Darryl said. "Give it up. I would never hurt a woman. You know that.
After..."

Darryl turned his head again.

"Just get in the damn
car," Tyler said. "If not, then I'll arrest you for real this time.
Take you in."

"On what charge?"

"You want to play this
game?"

"I need a ride," Darryl
said. He put a leg into the car. "And a coffee."

"And a shower," Tyler
said.

He handed Darryl a coffee and then
walked around to the driver's seat. He wasted no time driving away from The Pot
Diner. Nobody in Ferry Creek needed to deal with what Darryl had done. This was
personal and Darryl needed to sort it out.

Tyler drove less than five minutes
before pulling into an abandoned parking lot. It used to house a laundromat and
a small restaurant. They were owned by the same gentleman who thought he could
come into Ferry Creek and just open shop and take business away elsewhere. He
was greedy, overpriced, and his food was always shit. Nobody would beat what
The Pot Diner had, and if someone wanted to get something else to eat, they
could head two minutes east and hit up Rud's Steakhouse. That's where everyone
ate after the diner closed.

After parking so he could face the
road, Tyler took the lid off his coffee.

He sipped it and licked his lips.

"Want to talk?" Tyler asked.

"Not really," Darryl
said. "I'm tired."

"Be honest. Were you
drinking?"

"Of course," Darryl said.
"Stayed out at Smitty's until two and then went home for my own fun."

"Smitty's, huh?"

"Didn
’
t feel like going all the way out to Dave
’
s."

"I bet you don't raise hell
there."

"Don't bite the hand that
feeds."

"Hand that feeds," Tyler
laughed. "You know, I could end that with a phone call."

"Do it then."

"You know, Darryl, you're not
some tough prick without your bike. Did you crash it?"

Darryl looked at Tyler. "Look,
I may be an ass, okay? But I would never drink and ride. I would never touch a
woman either. Dammit, Tyler, when you talk like that..."

"Hey, I'm just trying to
figure out who you are."

"And I'm doing the same for
you," Darryl said.

"What does that mean?"

"Weren't you the one who used
to break windows for fun? Weren't you the one who went down to the tracks and
spray painted the tunnel?"

"Yes I was," Tyler said.
"And I was fourteen. I was a punk kid. I grew up."

"And became a cop."

"That's right. Is that a
problem?"

"Not at all," Darryl
said. "Mommy and Daddy's perfect boy. They always kept you close, didn't
they? Were always worried about the people you hung out with."

Tyler sipped his coffee.
"There was no way they were going to let you move in, you know that.
”

“
Because
of my life? Because of who I would grow up like?
”

“
I
can
’
t answer that,
”
Tyler said.
“
I can
’
t speak a word for my parents or any decision they
’
ve made. That was a long time
ago, Darryl. You just can
’
t
let it go.
”

“
Not
when I was sent to hell,
”
Darryl said.

He took his turn to sip his coffee
as Tyler stared at him. There were things that Tyler couldn
’
t deny and what Darryl had just
said was true for the most part. He felt bad for the hell Darryl had to go
through, but it wasn
’
t Tyler
’
s job to wear the burden of it.
He could be there and try to keep Darryl safe. Only for so long.

“
I
can
’
t do this forever,
”
Tyler said.
“
I can
’
t save you and those around you forever.
”

“
The
hero now,
”
Darryl said.

“
I
’
m not a hero. I just like Ferry
Creek. There
’
s enough going
on in this town without you acting like a fool. Bob is on his deathbed and if
you want to know, from what I
’
ve
gathered, Bob had another son and Bobby has been trying to get him here.
”

“
Is
that so?
”
Darryl asked.

He looked at surprised as Tyler
figured he would. Tyler nodded.

“
Yeah.
”

“
Bob
had another kid... and nobody knew?
”

“
Nope.
This is all rumor.
”

“
Why
tell me?
”

“
I
don
’
t know, Darryl. You
seem to want to compare Bob to your father, and hey, I understand it. I
’
m sure dozens of people in town
knew that Bob was their father. But the nice guy in the diner, Bobby, that was
Bob. You don
’
t know what
his life was like outside the diner.
”

Darryl stared straight into Tyler
’
s eyes.
“
Did Bob beat his wife and kid?
”

“
No,
never.
”

“
Then
he
’
s better than my father,
no matter what.
”

Darryl drank more coffee and Tyler
watched as Darryl turned more human. The coffee would bring him down from his
drunken state, but it would also keep him awake. He looked like he hadn
’
t slept in days.

“
All
I
’
m trying to explain,
Darryl, is that we all have demons. Some worse than others, but we all have to
deal with them. Even Jess has her demons.
”

“
Yeah,
”
Darryl scoffed.
“
I know enough about her.
”

Tyler drank his coffee to keep from
snooping and wondered how in the hell could someone like Jess get tied up with
a guy like Darryl.

“
You
like her, don
’
t you?
”
Darryl asked.

Tyler coughed on his coffee and
shook his head.
“
Who? Jess?
”

“
Yeah.
Tell me, man. Admit it.
”

“
I
’
m not talking about that stuff,
”
Tyler said.
“
Jess is a nice woman. A good
woman. She works hard and takes nothing for granted.
”

“
She
doesn
’
t like me,
”
Darryl said.
“
She likes the image of me and
that
’
s about it.
”

“
Can
you blame her?
”
Tyler
asked.
“
I mean... look at
what you just did...
”

“
Yeah,
I don
’
t blame anyone for
me. I live in my own hell, right?
”

“
I
didn
’
t say that,
”
Tyler said.

He put his coffee down into a
holder and turned the car back on. He put it in drive and left the parking lot.

“
What
the hell are you doing?
”
Darryl asked.

“
You
need to find your peace, Darryl. I
’
m
going to help you as much as I can. I
’
m
taking you somewhere and then I have to go.
”

Darryl was about to explode but
Tyler stuck to his guns. He was the damn cop. He was the one in control. Like
hell he was going to let Darryl bring up the past and have make him feel guilty
right then. It wasn
’
t his
fault Darryl had done or had gone through. All he could do was hope Darryl
could see through it all.

“
Where
are we going?
”
Darryl
asked.
“
Don
’
t think about taking me to that
center. Don
’
t do it, Tyler.
I
’
ll jump out of the moving
car. I
’
m not going to some
treatment place.
”

“
Never
said that,
”
Tyler said.

He turned down Maple Creek Road. Their
destination was at the end of the road, right off of a small residential in
Ferry Creek. The sharp peak of the church steeple was the tallest structure in
the sky, with its broken clock.

Tyler drove fast and then made a
sharp turn. The car skidded sideways and then stopped against the iron gates of
a cemetery.

“
No,
”
Darryl said.
“
No.
”

“
You
have to,
”
Tyler said.
“
Or else I
’
m taking you to jail. Go up there. Go find your
peace.
”

“
Don
’
t do this,
”
Darryl said.

“
I
’
ve already done it,
”
Tyler said.

He pressed a button and the doors
unlocked.

Darryl hesitated but opened the
door. He slowly climbed from the cruiser. Tyler wasn
’
t going to back down. He
’
d sit and wait as long as he had to.

As he sat and waited, he thought
about Bobby.

A brother?

Talk about news.

Then again, Tyler wasn
’
t even sure if it was true. If
it was, Tyler wanted to meet the guy and figure out who he was and where he had
been.

___SIX___

Sullivan had bags packed and had
been driving over an hour already. His private jet had taken him to a small
airport just outside Raleigh. Instead of getting a rental car, Sullivan just
bought a car. For some reason, he had an instinct that his trip wasn
’
t going to be a one day
adventure. There were too many burning questions inside. He was about to meet
his brother and father for the first time. And on top of that, Sullivan had
done a little research and found out where his mother lived. To his utter
shock, his mother lived about ninety minutes south of Ferry Creek, in South
Carolina. The world suddenly felt so small to Sullivan. He had spent his entire
adulthood understanding how big it was. How big markets could be for investing.
How big markets could be for property and development. Everything was about
being bigger, better, finding profit where there shouldn
’
t have been any and creating and expanding wealth.

Now it felt like that entire world
revolved around a two hundred mile radius, encompassing everything that held
the truth of Sullivan
’
s
life and yet he knew nothing about it all.

Thanks to the beauty of technology
and a well packed
‘
tech bag
’
(as Sullivan called it) he
wouldn
’
t miss a beat with
his company. Parker was handling the new land deal in Virginia and Sullivan
would be able to monitor everything from his laptop as needed. All he would
need to do was find some place to stay in or near Ferry Creek. Sullivan doubted
there was a hotel in Ferry Creek but he assumed someone would know the best
place to stay. Or maybe, depending on how things went, Sullivan would find
somewhere else to stay. Maybe a fully furnished corporate apartment.

When Sullivan officially entered
Ferry Creek, he started getting nervous. The small green sign that welcomed
Sullivan to Ferry Creek looked to be a hundred years old, slightly tilted, the
letters chipped. He wondered how many storms the sign - and town - had endured
in its life.

“
Here
comes another one,
”
Sullivan whispered.

When he had asked Bobby for
directions to meet him, Bobby said
drive straight for a couple miles, turn
right, follow the smell
.

They were terrible directions, but Sullivan
was prepared for any surprises that may come from a small town. He just wanted
to get there to see what the hell the next step was in everything. He wanted to
meet Bobby and he wanted to ask some important questions. He wasn
’
t sure if there were financial
constraints for his dying biological father, so he wondered if that
’
s why they tracked him down.

Here
’
s your father. He
’
s dying. He
’
s broke and in debt.

Sullivan shook away the thought and
continued to drive. He quickly noticed pedestrians stopping to watch him drive
by. Whatever conversation was or the purpose of their walk was, nothing was
more important than the black car driving through Ferry Creek. Sullivan minded
his own business and when he came to an intersection that he assumed to be
a
couple miles,
he turned right and cracked the window to
follow the smell
.

Sure as hell, about ten seconds
later, Sullivan was hit with the smell of food. It wasn
’
t overwhelming, but it was there. And sure as hell,
about a minute later, Sullivan found a small diner. It sat all by itself. The
diner sat right smack in the middle of the large paved lot. There were no
parking lines and the concrete was beat up, cracked and crumbled. The diner was
a two story building and Sullivan could easily tell that the top floor of the
building was an apartment. It was such an interesting sight to Sullivan because
he couldn
’
t figure out who
in the hell would want to live above a diner.

There were three vehicles parked in
the lot, all to the far left. Two cars and a large pickup truck. All of which
looked old. He slowly pulled up to the diner, not sure if he was really parked
properly, and then parked the car.

He climbed from the car, stretched
his back, and took a deep breath.

“
Here
goes nothing,
”
he
whispered.

Jeans and a t-shirt weren
’
t the usual attire for Sullivan
but it certainly felt good. He didn
’
t
want to show up to Ferry Creek wearing an expensive suit and give the wrong
impression. Same thing with the private jet. He could
’
ve flown much closer to Ferry Creek. Hell, he could
’
ve had a helicopter drop down
right in the parking lot at the... The Pot Diner, as the sign read. He came
down to Ferry Creek with personal intentions. Nothing more.

Sullivan walked to the front of the
diner and casually looked around. Three cars in the parking lot made him wonder
how the place survived. Maybe this was going to be a money thing after all.

He reached for the door and pulled.

It was locked.

Of course it would be locked.

Sullivan had just spent hours
traveling from Virginia to North Carolina. And he was supposed to meet his
brother, Bobby. At this diner. At The Pot Diner. The only diner in Ferry Creek.

Sullivan pulled the door again. He
tried the other door. It also was locked. Sullivan leaned forward and cupped
his hands to look inside. He saw the tables, the booths, all the way to the
counter. He saw movement. He made a fist with his right hand to knock on the
glass when he heard someone clear their throat behind him.

He turned and saw a tall, skinny
man wearing a dirty white apron. He had messy facial hair and black hair that
came just above his terrifying eyes.

“
Can
I help you?
”
the man asked.

“
Yes,
you can. My name is Sullivan Chasen and I
’
m...
”

“
You
Bobby
’
s brother?
”

“
Yes.
He told me to meet him here.
”

“
Closed
right now.
”

“
I
can see that. I didn
’
t get
your name.
”

“
Richie,
”
the man said.
“
I cook here.
”

Sullivan stepped forward and put
his hand out.
“
It
’
s nice to meet you, Richie.
”

Richie held out his hand.
“
My hands are filthy.
”

“
That
’
s fine,
”
Sullivan said.

The two men shook hands. Sullivan
could sense that Richie his behind a wall a high mile.

“
Let
me go get Bobby,
”
Richie
said.

“
That
would be great. Thanks.
”

Richie walked away, slightly
hunched and with a limp. His right hand touched his right thigh as though he
was injured.

Sullivan turned and faced the diner
again. He wasn
’
t sure why
the hell Bobby had told him to come here after closing. If anything Sullivan
could use a bite to eat.

“
Hello?
”

Sullivan looked over his shoulder,
again, knowing the voice wasn
’
t
his brother. It was a woman. Sullivan wasn
’
t
sure what to expect but he certainly didn
’
t
anticipate having his breath taken away.

He eyes couldn
’
t blink.

The woman standing before him was
shorter. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail with random curly strands
sticking out from the sides and on top. Her black shirt was very tight, fitting
her body
’
s curves perfectly.
She stood with her hands at her sides, looking nervous. The longer Sullivan
stood without saying a word the redder her cheeks became.

“
Hey,
”
Sullivan finally said.

He took a deep breath. His mind had
one thought.

How could someone this beautiful
live in Ferry Creek?

“
I
’
m Jessica,
”
the woman said.
“
Well, just Jess.
”

She smiled.

Even her dimples were perfect.
Sexy.

“
Okay,
”
Sullivan said.
“
Just Jess then.
”

She laughed.

Sullivan loved the laugh already.
He wanted to hear it again... for hours maybe.

Calm yourself
, he told
himself.
You might be related to her for all you know...

“
Are
you, uh, do you work here?
”
Sullivan asked.

“
Yeah,
”
Jess said.
“
Have for a long time.
”

“
Like
it?
”

“
Love
it,
”
Jess said.
“
This place saved my life a few
times. Well, it wasn
’
t the
place as much as the man who owns it.
”

“
Bobby?
”

“
Bob,
”
Jess said.
“
His... your... well...
”

“
Our
father,
”
Sullivan said.

“
Yeah.
I
’
m sorry, I don
’
t know how to say things I
guess.
”

“
Don
’
t feel bad,
”
Sullivan said.
“
Neither do I.
”

The woman was still terribly
nervous. Sullivan put his hand out and offered it to Jess.

“
I
’
m Sullivan Chasen,
”
he said.
“
But I
’
m going to take a guess and say you already knew
that.
”

Jess smiled and nodded. She took
Sullivan
’
s hand and shook
it. Sullivan had the craziest urge to squeeze his hand tight around hers and
give her a pull. He didn
’
t
and Jess took her hand away. But Sullivan stepped forward to get closer to
Jess. He turned and faced the diner. He was standing next to Jess now.

“
It
doesn
’
t look like much, but
it means everything to a lot of people. That
’
s
kind of how Ferry Creek goes.
”

“
That
’
s good,
”
Sullivan said.
“
I
like that. I really like that.
”

“
We
close at three,
”
Jess said.
“
Bobby lives upstairs, for
now.
”

“
He
lives there?
”
Sullivan
asked.
“
I was wondering
about the set up here...
”

“
I
lived there once,
”
Jess
said.

Sullivan looked at Jess, surprised.
“
Wow. This place really
does help out.
”

“
You
have no idea, Sullivan,
”
Jess said.

Her cheeks reddened after saying
his name. Under other circumstances, Sullivan would have easily tried to
woo
Jess with his good charm, easy on the eyes looks, and face it, his money, but
none of that seemed to matter or mean anything right then. Jess was just too
damn beautiful.

“
Bobby
is in the back. You can follow me if you
’
d
like.
”

“
That
would be great,
”
Sullivan
said.
“
I
’
ll be honest though. I was
hoping the diner would be open. I could use a bite.
”

“
Talk
to Bobby,
”
Jess said.
“
Come on.
”

Sullivan let Jess take a few steps
before walking. It was such a cheap move to check out a woman
’
s ass, but Sullivan couldn
’
t help himself. And that cheap
move was well worth it. Jess
’
s
pants hugged her...

“
Are
you coming?
”
she called
out.

The question, mixing with Sullivan
’
s thoughts, made him laugh. He
sped up until he was next to Jess again.

They walked along the side of the
building and then around back. Sullivan noticed a set of steps that went up to
the apartment above the diner. Under the steps was a solid concrete patio area
with a table and four chairs. A dumpster was at the other end of the lot and
Sullivan saw Richie, hunched over, dragging a garbage can to it.

A woman came from the back of the
diner and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Sullivan. She looked at Jess,
then Sullivan, and smiled.

“
You
must be the brother,
”
she
said.

“
That
’
s Peggie,
”
Jess said.

“
Nice
to meet you, Peggie,
”
Sullivan said.

“
Heard
you
’
re rich,
”
Peggie said.

“
I
am,
”
Sullivan said.