Read Sea Breeze 03 While It Lasts Online
Authors: Abbi Glines
1.
No girls.
2.
I hated manual labor
3.
No girls.
Other than that this wasn
’t all that bad. I’d get Sunday
s off. I’d just have to get my fill of sexy little
sorority
girls in tiny
bikinis on Sundays.
I reached the front door of
the
house. The wrap
around porch was pretty damn nice. I wasn’t into the farm t
hing but this place wasn’t half-
bad. I bet the bedrooms were a nice size.
“You must be the
fella
W
ilson
hired for the summer.” A guy in a pair of faded
jeans and some worn-
looking bad
ass boots started up the steps of the porch. He was smiling like he was really glad to see me. Must be the guy’s son. I’d be shoveling hay and cow shit all summer instead of him. Bet he liked me a lot.
“Yeah,” I replied, “Cage York. Coach Mack sent me.”
The guy grinned and nodded
,
sticking both his hands in his front pockets. All he needed was a damn piece of straw hanging out of his mouth to look like every
stereotypical
country
boy
.
“Ah, that
’s right. I heard about you. DUI
. Man
,
that sucks.
‘S
pecially
since Wilson is a damn slave driver. My brother and I worked many
a
summer for him through high school. I swear you’ll never drink and drive again.”
Guess he wasn’t the o
ld man’s kid after all. Nodding,
I turned to knock on
the door
.
“Wilson
ain’t
back from the
stockyard yet. He’ll be here in ‘bout an hour.”
The guy held out his hand, “I’m Jeremy Beasle
y by the way.
I reckon we’ll see enough of each other over the summer seeing as I’m the next
-
door neighbor.
And well, then there is Eva,” h
e stopped and his eyes shifted from me to the door. I started to ask him
who
Eva was when I followed his gaze to find the light at the end of the tunnel standing
in
the door
way
.
Long brown hair that curled loosely was draped over one bare shoulder. The clearest blue eyes I’d ever seen
,
framed by thick long black eyelashes and red full lips
,
completed the perfect masterpiece of her face. My gaze slowly traveled south to take in smooth tanned skin that was barely covered by a bikini top and a
pair of tiny shorts that hung o
n her narrow hips. Then legs.
Legs for miles and miles until two small bare feet with red toenails finished the fucking ridiculously p
erfect package in front of me.
Damn. Maybe I should have come out to the country more often. I didn’t realize they grew girls like this out here.
“Eva, you aren’t ready yet?
I though
t we were going to make the six-
thirty show,” Jeremy said from behind me. Ah
,
hell
no.
Surely not.
This goddess was with that guy? I brought my eyes back up to her face to find her blue eye
s star
ing directly at me. They really were the
bluest
damn eyes I’d ever seen.
“Who are you?” T
he icy tone to her voice confused me.
“Down, girl.
Play nice
,
Eva.
This is the guy your daddy has helping him this summer.” Her eye flashed some
thing that looked like disgust.
Really?
I’d seen that look in a girl’s eyes before but never
before I’d used
her then
tossed
her
. Interesting.
“You’re the drunk,” she stated.
It wasn’t a question. So
,
I didn’t reply. Instead, I flashed her
a smile that I knew affected any female’s panties
and took a step toward her.
“
I got a lot of names
,
baby,” I finally responded.
Her eyebrows arched,
straightened her stance and shot me the coldest glare I’d ever
witnessed
. What was this chick’s deal? “
I’m sure you do. Let me guess
STD, Loser, Jackass, and D
runk just to name a few,” she clipped
,
stepping out
of
the door and slamming it behind her. She swung her gaze to Jeremy who I could have sworn just chuckled.
“I can’t make the movie, Jer. I need you to ride over to Mr
s. Mabel’s with me and help me
get her well working again. It needs to be primed.”
“Aga
i
n?”
“Yes, again. She really needs a new one.”
Eva walked past me
,
grabbed Jeremy’s arm and pulled him toward the stairs. Apparen
t
ly, I had been dismissed.
“Has your d
ad called her boys yet? They need to get their
asses
down here and help their momma,” Jeremy said as they started walking away without a backward glance.
What the hell? Who just walks off and leaves a g
uy standing on their porch without a word? She was one insanely gorgeous but crazy assed bitch.
“Hey, d
o I just go inside?” I called
out.
Eva stopped and spun around. The same disgusted expression was on her face as before. “The house? Uh
,
no
,” she replied with a shake of her head like I w
as crazy. She lifted her hand an
d pointed toward the two story red barn t
hat was located
back behind the house
. “Your room is in the back of the barn. It has a bed and a shower.”
Well
,
wasn’t that just fucking fantastic…
?
Eva
I hated
guys like Cage
.
Life was a joke to him. There was no doubt in my mind that females of all ages drooled at his feet.
He was healthy, alive and throwi
ng it all away like it was
a
game
.
“Pull in the claws
,
sweetheart. You got your point across. He won’t
come sniffing ‘round you again.
” Jeremy reached over and squeeze
d
my leg gently then turned on the radio.
“
He’s a jerk,” I said through cle
nched teeth
.
Jeremy
let out a low laugh and
shifted in
his seat. I knew he was deciding
on how to respond to me. The only other person who had known me as well o
r better than
,
Jeremy was Josh—h
is twin brother and my fiancé. We’d all grown up together. Jeremy had always been the odd one out but Josh and I had done our best to include him as much as possible.
When Josh had been killed by a bomb just
north of Baghdad
eighteen months
ago,
the only person I could stand to
have
near me had been Jeremy.
Josh and Jeremy’s m
omma said it was because
Jeremy
was the only one I felt could understand my grief. In a way, we’d both lost our other half.
“And how’d you get that outta
the brief conversation we just had with hi
m? Seemed like a nice guy to me.
” Jeremy was always optimistic. He always saw the best in people. It was up to me to keep people
from
taking advantage of his trusting spirit. Josh wasn’t here to do that anymore.
“He’s here because he was drinking and driving
,
Jer
. That isn’t exactly a small offense. He could have hit a family. He could have killed
someone’s kid
. He’
s a selfish lose
r.” Who really was too good-
looking
to be
real
.
I’d have to get over that, though. His
pretty face wouldn’t get to me.
“Eva, lots of people drink and drive a little. He probably was just going a short distance from the bar to his house. I doubt he was on a road trip. Probably just had a couple beers.”
Sweet Jeremy. Bless his heart
,
he had no idea how depraved some people were. It was one of the things I loved about him. I happened to know Cage York was lit up like the Fourth of July when he had been pulled over. I’d heard Uncle Mack talk about what a
thug
he was and how the only thing he ever took serious
ly
was baseball.
“Trust me
Jer
, that guy is trouble.”
Jeremy didn’t respond.
He
leaned his elbow on the opened window and let the warm breeze cool him down. The inside of daddy’s farm truck was smo
ldering hot this time of year but i
t was the only vehicle
I’d
drive. My
vehicle
sat in the garage untouched. I couldn’t bring myself to drive it and I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it.
The pretty silver Jeep Daddy had bought me hadn’t been driven since I’d gotten the call from Josh’s momma telling me he’d been killed. Josh had proposed to me in that Jeep overlooking Hollows Grove. Then he’d turned the music up on the radio and we’d gotten out and danced under the stars. I hadn’t laid eyes on it in
a year and a half
. Instead, I drove the farm truck. It was just easier.
“Eva?” Jeremy asked
,
breaking into my memories. He always seemed to know when I needed someone to stop me from remembering.
“Yeah?”
“You know I love you, right?”
Tensing
,
I gripped the steering wheel tightly. When Jeremy started with something like that I never liked what he was going to say next. Last time he’d asked me that the next thing he said was I should really start driving my Jeep again
because
Josh would want me to.
“Don’t
,
Jer
,” I replied.
“It’s time to take the ring off
,
Eva.”
My hands stung from the death grip I had on the worn steering wheel. The gold band on my finger dug into my skin reminding me it was there. I’d never taken it off. I never would.
“Jeremy
, don’t
.”
He let out a long heavy sigh and shook his head. I waited patiently for him to say more and was so thankful when we pulled into Mrs. Mabel’s. I all but jumped out of the truck before it came to a complete stop in my determination to get away from him before he could say more. The engagement ring Josh had put on my finger couldn’t be removed. It would be
as if
I was forgetting him. Like I was moving on and leaving him behind. I’d never leave him behind.
Cage
This could not be my room. It was the size of the closet in my bedr
oom at
my apartment
. I dropped my duffle
down onto the twin bed that sat crammed in the corner of the tiny room.
On the opposite side, a small, round bedside table barely had enough space to fit between the side of the bed and the wall
. Then at the other end of the nar
row room was a shower. The cem
ent floor had a drain in th
e far corner and a small shower
head came out of the wall. A simple rod and dark blue shower curtain w
ere
the only barrier
s
between the shower and the bed. I was pretty sure if I got too carried away in the shower I’d get the bed wet. My phone started ringing in my pocket and I pulled it out to see Low’s name lighting up the screen.
“Hey
,
baby,” I replied backing up and sinking down onto the bed. Surprisingly the mattress wasn’t bad.
“So
,
how is everything? Are they nice?” Just hearing Lo
w’s voice made me feel better—n
ot so alone.
“I’ve only met
the guy’s daughter and the next-
door neighbor.”
“Oh, so there’s a farmer’s d
aughter?” T
he teasing tone in Low’s voice made me chuckle. Yeah, there was a farmer’s daughter
alright
but it wasn’t what Low was thinking.
“There’s a farmer’s daughter but she hated me on sight. Crazy I know
,
and to think
,
I thought it was impossible for a female to hate me
until
after
I
bagged her then forgot her name in the morning
.”
“She hates you? That’s… odd.” Low’s voice trailed off like she was in deep thought.
The loud sound of the barn door swinging open caught my attention.
“Low, I
gotta
go baby. I think the old man’s here.”
“Okay, be on your best behavior.
”
“Always,” I replied before hanging up and slipping my phone back into my pocket.
“Hello?” a
deep burly voice called out.
I walked out of the small broom closet they’d stuck me in and headed for the sound of his voice.
As I turned the corner
,
I stopped short.
The dude was huge.
At least six-foot-
seven and three hundred pounds of hard muscle.
The straw cowboy hat cocked back on his head showed that he was completely bald.
“You Cage York?
” he asked. His serious e
xpression reminded me a lot of C
oach but that was as far as the similarities went. Coach was not this fucking massive.
“Yeah,” I replied and the man’s eyes narrowed and he took a step toward
s
me.
It took every last
bit
of
my
self-
control not to back the hell up.
“Boy, your Daddy
ever
tell
you it’s rude not to respect your elders? I expect any kid your age to respond to me with a ‘yes sir’. That understood?”
Really?
What the hell was
C
o
ach thinking? This would never
work.
“
When I ask you a question I expect a response,” the giant growled.
Fine. I’d give him a fucking response, “No.”
His frown grew deeper and annoyance flickered in his eyes. I had a lot riding on this damn job but I wasn’t one to handle this kind of shit well.
“No,
what
?” he asked in a slow drawl.
“No
;
my
dad
dy
didn’t teach me anything but that his
fucking fist
s
were
bigger than m
y m
omma’s
and
how to skip out on your family,
”
I replied with a sneer in my voice.
The angry scowl on his face didn’t change. I hadn’t expected it to but then I also hadn’t expect
ed to tell the
man my personal shit. It had just come out. My family was something I’d only ever talked about with Low and that had been when we were younger and it still affected me.
I watched as he reached up and rubbed the scuff on his jaw, never once taking his eyes off me. I was ready for this meeting to get over with and him to tell me what it was I was supposed to do exactly.
“Mack wants to help you. I trust his judgment. But listen here and listen
good
. I
ain’t
above kicking your ass of
f
my prop
erty if you
do any drugs
,
or
drive a vehicle while drinking.
That was stupid
,
kid
. Beyond stupid. And most importantly, stay away from my little girl. She’s completely off limits to you. Got that?”
Considering Eva hated me on sight, t
he man had nothing to worry about. Besides, no girl was worth fucking up my future. Not when there were
so many other
willing available
females in the
world I could enjoy.
“Got it. I don’t want to lose my scholarship,” I replied with complete honesty.
With a nod of his head he stuck his large ha
nd out toward me, “In that case,
I’m
Wilson
Brooks. Now, let’s get your ass to work.”
Eva
“Boy
ain
’
t
got
no Dad.
Those a
re the kinds you stay away from,
”
Daddy
said in way of greeting as he opened the screen door and walked into the kitchen. I rolled my eyes as I went back to battering the chicken breasts I was going to fry for dinner.
“I mean it Eva. He
ain’t
h
ad the same upbringing you have and he’s cocky with no respect for authority. Just rubs me the wrong way.
” Daddy se
t his hat down on the table and walked over to fix
himself
a glass of sweet ice
d
tea.
“
I wasn’t impressed by him
. Stop preaching at me.
I’m not on the hunt for a man
.” I’d never date again. I had Jeremy and until he met a girl and fell in love
,
I would have a companion to do things with. The familiar pang in my chest reminded me that I held him ba
ck from a life. I hated that he
put everything else aside to take care of me. He was always so worried about me. I knew for a fact Chelsea Jacobson had a crush on him. I really needed to do something to push him in her direction.
“
Hmph
,” Daddy mumbled as he sat down at the end of the kitchen table. “I know you aren’t looking for a guy Eva girl but
honey
,
you’re a woman.
One day you’re going to have to open your heart again.”
“Daddy, don’t please. I
just want to fry this chicken, m
ake your favorite blueberry cobbler
,
and enjoy dinner. Let’s not talk about anything else
. Okay?
”
With a deep sigh, Daddy finally nodded
.
He
reached for his hat and placed it back on his
bald head
. “It’s times like this I think I made a mistake not marrying again. Maybe you did need a Momma after
all. Because right now I don’t know what to do to fix this for you
,
baby girl.”
I laid the last piece of battered chicken on the plate and washed my hands under the faucet.
Then
took an extra-
long time scrubbing my fingers with the soap before turning to look at my dad. “You were enough. You
are
enough. Don’t say that anymore. I’m happy just the way things are. I don’t need someone to fill Josh’s place in my life. I don’t want someone to
fill his place
. Okay?”
Daddy closed the distance between us and gave me a quick hard hug before turning and l
eaving the kitchen through the
same door he’d entered. I knew my disinterest in dating other guys and moving on bothered him but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. Josh had been my future. Now he was gone.
The door swung back open behind me. I wasn’t expecting Jeremy tonight for dinner but I’d made enough just in case.
I
t wasn’t Jeremy. It was
him
.
Cage held up his hands as if to say he came in peace. The easy smile from earlier was gone. He wasn’t looking at me like he wanted to take a bite either. Instead, he looked disinterested.
“I just need a drink. Your dad sent me in here and said to ask you. But I can see you’re busy so if you’d point me to the glasses I’ll get my own water.”
Was this the same guy f
rom earlier? I forced myself not to
continue gawking at him and I turned
to get a
glass out of the cabinet
.
I handed it to him. “
I keep a pitcher of ice water in the fridge.
We have well water here and water from a well
taste
s
better when it’
s really cold.”
He nodded, “Thanks.”
I
turned back around and checked the
temperature
of
the
oil on the stove.
The sound of Cage gulping down the water had images
flashing in my head
of how his throat muscles woul
d move with each
swallow.
I closed my eyes tightly
trying to stop my imagination.
I listened as he opened the fridge and poured himself some more water. Then once again he drank it quickly. The silence in the kitchen only intensified the sound of his drinking.
“That’s better. I was
fu
—uh—really thirsty. Thanks for the glass and the water,” Cage sighed and walked to the sink. “You want me to wash it or is that something you’d rather do?”
“Uh, I can get it,” I stammered
,
still completely thrown off balance by
his
behavior.
“Thanks. But I don’t mind washing it.”
“No, really I can do it. I’ll just rinse it and stick it in the dishwasher anyway,” I was rambling.
The kitchen door swung open again and I was so thankful for the interruption until
Becca
Lynn came bouncing into the house all blond
e
curls and smiles. Normally I enjoyed
Becca’s
bubbly interruptions in my life but not now. Not when Cage was standing here.
Becca
was an idiot when it came to attractive guys and Cage York went beyond attractive.
Her big brown eyes slowly took him in. I cleared my throat trying to get her attention but she wasn’t awar
e anyone else was in the room.
The tight tank top and cut off shorts complete with cowboy boots was
Becca’s
summer wardr
obe. It was all she ever wore and s
he wore it well. I shifted my attention from
Becca
to Cage whose sexy smirk had returned and he was enjoying
the view just as much as she was. I couldn’t call
Becca
Lynn my best friend because Josh h
ad always been my best friend. Nevertheless, s
he
w
as the closest female friend I’d ever had. W
h
ere Josh and Jeremy grew up to the right of me,
Becca
Lynn grew up on the farm to the left of me. So when I’d needed a partner in crime that wasn’t male, it had been
Becca
. She and Jeremy had once had a thing back
during
our sophomore year of school. I was pretty sure she’d been the one to take his virginity. But it was short lived. Jeremy had ended it without an explanation and
Becca
Lynn had cried on my shoulder a few days then moved on the next week to
Benji
Fitz.