Walker pulled out a travel mug and filled it with coffee. “You just inhaled three donuts, how are you still hungry?”
Tuck shrugged, patting his flat stomach. “I’m a growing boy.” He shot me a grin that had girls all across the county dropping their panties as he sat with a plate full of pancakes. “And J’s pancakes are the best.”
Noah nodded furiously. “They’re my favorite, too.”
“Good taste, little man.” Tuck took a peek in my mug, his brows pulling together. “Since when do you drink coffee?”
I took another sip of the bitter liquid, trying to fight the grimace that wanted to surface. “Since I needed more caffeine than tea could offer.”
Tuck and Walker eyed each other, and my teeth clenched. Walker pulled back the last open chair and dropped onto it. “Tuck and I wanted to see if you could meet us for a late lunch at the saloon. We have SWAT training this morning, but we could meet you at two.”
Tuck and my brother were not only the best of friends, but they also served on a tri-county SWAT team that had all different branches of law enforcement on it. So, while Walker was the deputy chief of police in Sutter Lake, and Tuck worked for Forest Service law enforcement, they still got to work together on a semi-regular basis.
I set down my mug. “I wish I could, but I’ve got too much going on at work. Then I need to pick up Noah and take him to karate.” In reality, I was happy I had an excuse to miss lunch with them. It wasn’t that I didn’t love them both, but I was so damn tired of all the assessing stares and carefully couched questions.
Walker’s jaw worked. “You need to get some more help there.”
My grip around the mug of coffee tightened. “I know how to run my business, Walker.” I’d proven that time and again. Even when the economy had suffered, my tea shop had flourished.
He sighed. “I know that. I just don’t want you overextending yourself.”
Sometimes, it seemed like my brother thought I was a moron. I forced my voice to remain even. “I’m looking for someone. There just haven’t been any good applicants yet.” The Tea Kettle was my pride and joy, and I wasn’t going to hire just anyone. The Kettle needed the right employee.
Tuck set down his fork. “They might not be as good as Tessa was, but you need someone. You’re running yourself ragged lately, and you look exhausted.”
I fought the urge to throw the remainder of my pancake at Tuck. “Thanks for letting me know I look like shit.” One of my best friends and most valuable employees had recently quit so she could pursue art full-time, and I missed her presence on a whole bunch of levels. But I didn’t need to know that I looked like shit while trying to make up for Tessa’s absence.
“Ooooooh, Mom. That’s a bad one. You gotta put a quarter in the swear jar.” Noah stuffed another bite of pancake into his mouth.
“You’re right, baby. I shouldn’t be saying those words.” I glared at Tuck.
Tuck scowled. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“Sure.” I focused on my half-eaten pancake. His comment had cut more than I wanted to admit. I was trying so hard to show everyone that I was fine and that I had everything under control. During the day, I did a pretty good job. But the circles that rimmed my eyes told the truth about the nights.
That was when it all came crashing down around me. The voices that railed against all the horrible choices I’d made in my life. But it was the most recent that stole the greatest amount of sleep. I had let a monster into all of our lives. A man I’d thought was kind, caring, and shy. Really, he had been sick, twisted, and sadistic.
And my actions had nearly gotten my brother and his girlfriend killed. I didn’t know how to live with that. Each night as I lay in bed, I remembered how I’d let Bryce in. How I’d told him all my worries and fears. How I’d seen nothing but kindness in him. I’d close my eyes and feel his hand cupping my cheek, his fingers running through my hair. Then my eyes would fly open, and I’d dart into the shower, rubbing my skin until it was raw, praying that it would erase the memory.
It never did.
Between Noah’s father and Bryce, it was safe to say that if I became interested in a man, the only thing I should do is run in the opposite direction.
2
Tuck
Walker’s truckrumbled to a start, and he threw it in reverse. My eyes lingered on Jensen’s front door. Things were not good in her world, and I had no idea how to make it better.
Walker’s phone buzzed in the cupholder, and he snatched it up. A dopey grin took over his face, and I chuckled. “Taylor?”
His eyes narrowed in my direction. “Yes.”
“How are things in relationship land?” My best friend had finally been taken down, and he was staying there. I was thrilled for him, happy that he had that kind of love and loyalty in his life. A prickle of something that felt a lot like jealousy flitted through my chest. Not at him being with Taylor, but envy that he had something I never would.
Walker pulled out of the space he’d filled in front of Jensen’s guest house. “Things are great. How are things in manwhore alley?”
“Well, Carrie Kilpatrick learned how to do this thing with her tongue—”
