Hustle Him (Bank Shot Romance #2) (9 page)

Ramsey opened the passenger
door and let me guide him into the house.

The place was a mess.
Take-out food boxes were sitting all over the tables and the sink was filled with silverware and cups. Ramsey disappeared into a back room and I was hoping that he passed out, finally.

After I called my aunt and told her where to come, I hung up and looked around the cabin. The living and dining area had high ceilings that showed the
original beams to the cabin, but a set of stairs with three doors above, told me there were other rooms.

I walked into the kitchen and looked around at the exposed wood logs on all of the outside walls to the house. It gave it a country charm that I fell in love with.
It wasn’t hard to find where Ramsey kept the trash bags. I grabbed one from under the sink and tossed all of the trash that was laying around into it. Then I washed dishes in the sink. While wiping down all of the tables, I heard a loud bang from the direction that Ramsey had gone.

I found him on the floor with his shirt half on and stuck over his head. Quietly, I kneeled down beside him and helped with the shirt. Right away, my eyes had to do a double take. The man was sculpted, I’d already known that, but he had beautiful tattoos on each of his upper arms. He began
mumbling something I couldn’t make out as I traced them with my fingers. The artwork was magnificent, but what really caught my eye was the name that was intricately place inside of the masterpiece.

Jules

I twisted my body to look at the matching tattoo on the other arm and noticed that there was only one difference in the mirror image. Another name was displayed.

Katie

My body began to tremble when I realized what I was looking at. The man had built two shrines for his loved ones. I didn’t know how they died, but they were gone and he was lost.

As I focused on his painful reality, he caught me off guard and pulled me into him. When his lips found mine, I kept still. The Jack was prominent on his breath, and maybe I should have
stopped him, but as he continued to place tender kisses over my lips, I found myself responding to them.

These kisses were so desperate and necessary for him. If I’d lost the one I loved tragically and thought that
for just one moment I could touch them again, I’d be doing the same thing.

It wasn’t just the way he was kissing me though. I felt something, even though this had nothing to do with me. His lips ignited a fire that I had never felt before. Maybe I was too caught up in the moment to realize what was actually happening, but I grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him back more.

Finally, as we both paused to catch our breath, I felt his head touch down on one of my shoulders. “I love you, Jules,” he whispered.

It broke my heart again hearing him going through the motions of sharing a moment with his wife. This poor man had been holding all of his emotional despair inside. This wasn’t h
ealthy. He needed help; possibly someone that could provide advice on how he could move on with his life in a way where he would allow himself to smile again.

Shortly after his comment to his wife, he climbed into his bed, sort of like a child would, and passed out. I noticed how the bed was made and in the living room was a pillow and blanket on the couch. He must not have liked sleeping in a bed without her.

As the pieces to the puzzle started to come together, I saw a different man before me. I didn’t go through his things any more than I already had. It wasn’t my place to know this story. It was going to be hard enough to face him when he woke up and realized what he’d done.

That kiss.

The kiss was a huge mistake on my part. He was never going to want to be friends with someone that had let that happen.

Still, I found it to be some kind of mission to help Ramsey as much as I could.

When I heard the horn outside, I stuck Ramsey’s keys by the front door and saw myself out. Maybe since I had straightened up the place, he wouldn’t be too hard on me. I doubted it though.

While reaching in the truck to grab my purse, I noticed a stack of newspaper in the backseat. It was the local tribune paper for the town that Ramsey was the sheriff of. The whole stack was the same issue and it was about Ramsey’s family that had died.

I understood immediately why he was in the shape that he was in. This article had caused Ramsey to lose control. He had drunk himself to forget. I grabbed one of the papers, but left the rest the way they were. Before I climbed in the car with my aunt and kids, I stuck the article in my purse. This was Ramsey’s story to share, not mine. It was apparent that he didn’t want people knowing his business. I wanted to march right into that newspaper office and give them a piece of my mind.

I didn’t know Ramsey, at all really, but what I’d learned today had explained pretty much everything. I knew for a fact that he hadn’t given permission for this to get out. He wanted his secrets to stay that way. Everything would change for Ramsey with the town knowing the truth. His tough façade would be replaced with pity.

Once I climbed in the car with my family, I knew that he was going to be on my mind until I saw him again. It wasn’t just his problems that I was concerned about. That kiss may not have been meant for me, but it sure did a number on me, just the same.

Chapter 9

Ramsey

I woke up and had no idea where I was. After assessing my surroundings, I realized that I was in my bedroom at the cabin. It was dark outside and I could hear the crickets and other insects outside making their normal nightly sounds.

As I tried to stand up, my headache kicked in, sending me back down on the bed.

The weirdest thing was that when I went out into the living room, it was cleaner. A trash bag was tied and leaning against the kitchen entryway. I looked further and saw that even the dishes were done. Thinking that someone had been in my house, I headed toward the door and found that it was not only locked, but my keys were right where I usually left them.

Had I been that inebriated that I didn't remember doing all those things? I remembered arriving home and drinking, but nothing after that. I knew I could scratch my head all day and not make sense of things. Plus, the problem that had caused my needing to become intoxicated was still out there. By now half the town knew about my family. I hated to think how many people were going to confront me about them and my feelings.
 

I had several missed calls from the station, as well as a few numbers that I didn't recognize. The clock on the microwave read eleven. I'd slept the whole dam
n day away.

Deciding not to push my luck, I called my deputy to see what all I had missed. Just like every day, it was pretty quiet. He had called me to make sure I was alright and let me know that a few people from town had called for me, including both of our two pastors.
 

I knew what they wanted.

They wanted to offer me counseling to help me get through my horrific ordeal. The pastor from where I'd lived before had offered me the same thing. Nothing was going to help me unless someone could raise the dead.

At close to midnight I called it a night. There was no way that I was going t
o find anything to do to clear my mind and my head was pounding, so bad that I just wanted to take some pills and sleep it off.

The next day I did go into work, except I locked myself in my office and did some paperwork that I had procrastinated over. By the time that four came around, my stomach was growling something fierce. I needed a good filling meal and there was only one place I knew where to go for that.
 

Last Mile Bar and Grill may have had a new employee running the place, but the food was still just as good. I think Sue was still doing most of the cooking from home. When I walked inside, I spotted the good looking blonde behind the bar. She looked up when she heard the door, but looked shocked to see me. It made no sense since we'd actually gotten along the last time I'd come in.
 

Figuring that she was just having a bad day, I headed toward the bar and sat down. This was far enough out of town where I never ran into anyone. It was also rundown and I think it scared most locals away. Since I was officially avoiding my town like the plague, this was the best place to be.

Vessa approached me with the same look on her face. "What's for dinner?"

"We went shopping today. You can have anything on the menu. I made a big pot of spaghetti if you like that." She refused to look at me. I didn't get it.

"You made it?"

A half smile formed in the corner of her lip. "Oh my
word, am I dreaming or did you just say something funny?"

"It happens every once in a while." Truthfully, I couldn't even remember the last time I had made a joke for the purpose of making someone smile.
 

"I will have you know that I can cook pretty damn good. If you'd rather have a microwave hotdog, I'd be glad to get you one." She handed me a drink and waited for my comeback.
 

"I guess I can try the spaghetti, since you claim to be so good and all."

She let out an air filled laughed as she shook her head and walked back into the kitchen. A couple minutes later she came out with two plates of spaghetti. She sat one in front of me and slid the other one right beside it. Then she placed two sets of silverware down near the plates. I looked around, but didn’t see anyone around that was waiting for food. It only took Vessa a second to make herself a soda and walk out from behind the bar to sit next to me. 

She looked over and smiled as she grabbed her fork and took a bite. "Don't look at me like that. I'm starving and this is one of my favorites. If you need to take your plate over to your little corner, be my guest. I just thought it would be nice to not have to stand up and eat behind the bar."

I watched her take another bite and start chewing again. She opened her mouth with food still in it, to see how I would react. I shook my head and grabbed my own fork. It wasn't until I'd taken a couple bites that she put her fork down and stared at me. "What?"

"I just figured you'd get up. I don't know much about you, but I know you don't like company. I must be growing on you."

I didn't know if it was that or the fact that the whole world was closing in on me and she was the only person that wasn't judging me. I hadn't wanted a friend in a long time, but things had changed. My secret was going to spread throughout the town and eventually Sue and Vessa would know it too. For some reason, I wanted to be around her before she too felt sorry for me and pushed me away.

"I just wanted to be close to the bar when I died of food poisoning."

Vessa smacked me in the arm, making me laugh out loud. Her eyes got real big and she smiled too. "I had no idea that you had teeth. I mean, you never show them. I didn't think you knew how to smile, with all your hermit qualities."

She took her napkin and wiped her lips, but as she pulled away, I noticed something familiar about her
mouth. When I thought she noticed what I was staring at, I turned my attention to my plate of food. "I always liked having this for dinner. My mom used to make these garlic knots that..."

"Oh shit!" Vessa went running into the kitchen.
 

I got up and followed behind her, taking her tone as a sign that something was wrong. By the time I got in there, she was waving a towel in front of a very
smoky open oven. I could smell the garlic and realized what was going on. "Guess that's our garlic bread?"

"Damn, I made that from scratch. I can't believe I forgot about it. They're ruined now." She walked over to the counter and pulled out four slices of bread. "Guess this is the best I can do."

It was hard not to laugh at her. I'd been teasing her so much that she'd set herself up for another catastrophe. The thing was, smiling  made me feel better about what was going on in my life. I wanted to be angry; to beat the shit out of something or go to the shooting range. Being around this woman, settled me down. I just couldn't explain it.

I walked over and grabbed the pieces of bread, taking a bite in front of her. "If I was at home, I'd be eating Ramen noodles again. Your aunt has been feeding me dinner since I moved here. I have to say, she's one hell of a cook, but you are the first person to feed and entertain me."

She smacked me again on the arm. "Stop teasing me. I liked you better when you were just a douche."

"A douche? I've been called many things, but never a douche. Just because I don't like to socialize, doesn't mean I'm a douche."

Vessa picked at her bread. I watched her looking down, like she was confused. It was the same look from when she first saw me. "I don't get you. Ever since I moved here, you've made it clear that you didn't want friends. What changed in the matter of a day?"

I pinched my nose, feeling that burn when you first start to feel that
migraine. "Would you rather me go back to not talking to you at all? I didn't say that I wanted to share life stories and shit."

She growled and started
walking back out. "Whatever!"

When I followed her out, there still wasn't a single person in the bar. Tuesdays were slow. I liked coming in then because I was usually by myself. I sat down next to Vessa and finished my food in silence. When I pushed my plate out from in front of me, she stood up and grabbed both of them to carry to the kitchen.