“He’s an ex and it’s been many years, but he still likes to get under my skin,” I unnecessarily explain with a huff.
“Maybe he realized what he missed out on,” his voice is gruff and the heat underneath it has my mouth going dry.
“Even if he did, he cheated,” I shake my head, “there’s no coming back from it. Needing to change the subject, I hold up my cup. “Thanks for this. I should get going.”
The longer I stand here and talk with this man, the more likely I am to do something embarrassing. Well, more embarrassing.
“Yeah,” he grunts.
It looks like he wants to say more, but I don’t give him the chance. I’m striding away and toward my car with a wave and a smile. But with every sip of my iced coffee, I think about Rhodes. He just keeps invading my thoughts.
But what are the chances of seeing him again any time soon?
CHAPTER 5
RHODES
I lean back in a booth near the bar at The Goose and take a long pull of my beer. Granger is sitting across from me and giving me the same look he’s given me our entire lives when he’s about to give me shit. The man is predictable when it comes to certain things.
There’s no doubt when he’s lying from the look on his face.
And when he’s going to tease me relentlessly.
“Oh, shit,” Hunter’s voice is filled with amusement from where he’s pulled up a chair at the end of the table.
He can read Granger’s face just as well as I can. Even though Hunter is younger than us, he became part of our group because of his brother, Burke. Burke is serving overseas and has been since he turned 18. We keep hoping he’ll come home to stay.
We’re not the only people who wish Burke would come home, but that’s not my story to tell. I keep hoping Taylor will find someone capable of banishing those ghosts. But it hasn’t happened yet.
Granger, Burke, and I were always together. When Hunter started following us everywhere, it would have been easy to lose him. But Burke wasn’t going to let it happen and we were right there with him.
We might not be able to have a beer with Burke at our table right now, but we sure as fuck will always make sure there is room for him.
“He’s about to rake you over the coals,” Hunter tells me while pointing the neck of his beer bottle in Granger’s direction.
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumble. “I can see his face same as you.”
Hunter chuckles and shakes his head while Granger leans across the table. “I’ve been hearing whispers around town,” he starts.
Even though he’s teasing, I roll my eyes. I know where this is going and he’s about to ham it up for comedic effect. The man might be our mayor, but there are times when he’s still the boy I used to get into trouble with when the mood struck.
It certainly wasn’t something which happened often. But shouldn’t a Sheriff know where all the spots are to party on the weekend because he used to be one of the kids having a few beers when he shouldn’t have been out at all?
“You’ve been spending some time in Dogwood Ridge for some reason,” Granger lays the words out like he just flopped a pair of aces and is holding the other two in his hand.
Hunter lets out a sound of encouragement for Granger’s antics. I shoot him a look, but he doesn’t pay it any mind. The man is lucky I don’t take my badge too seriously.
Our younger best friend leans closer, as if waiting for me to answer such claims, with a giddy as fuck look on his face. With a roll of my eyes, I huff out something that might be a response. It also might be a deflection. It’s not like I owe either of them an explanation of my comings and goings.
Yes, I’ve spent more time in Dogwood Ridge and I sure as fuck am not going to apologize for it.
I lied to Helen when I told her my reappearance in her town was cake related. Sure, it was delicious, but I found myself back in town hoping to get a glimpse of the dark-haired woman I happened to cross paths with at the coffee shop.
From the moment I walked away from her in her father’s office, I knew I wasn’t going to let it go. Or let her go. I was already making plansand excuses for reasons to head back to Dogwood Ridge. And then I immediately put those plans into motion.
Honestly, I thought for sure I was going to have to look harder for her and figured coffee was what I needed to keep my eyes sharp in order to catch a glimpse of her…somewhere. Then I walked into Uncommon Grounds and was met with the shapely ass of the very woman I was on the hunt for.
You could chalk it up to simple serendipity. I think it’s far more than that. I’m going with fate.
