5. Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Ricki
I thought it would be easy to get lost in a town with over two thousand college students, but I’ve realized over the past few weeks that Thorngrove is just a small town with a big university. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone is nosey. The locals and college students all frequent the same places.
So, avoiding my brother until I decide how I want our introduction to go has been a full-time job. Luckily, we don’t share any classes since I’m a freshman and he’s a senior. Not to mention our majors couldn’t be any more different with Brady studying computer programming while I’m working on a degree in physical education. The little time I have for a social life is when I have a hard time avoiding him and his group of friends.
TG’s Happy Hour and Chelsea’s Coffee House are definitely off limits since they practically live at those hot spots outside of school hours. And I can forget about attending any of those infamous parties since Tracey—the girl that owns the cabin—is dating Brady’s best friend, Devon. She’s also the cousin of the bane of my existence.
Tyler Sheppard seems to be everywhere. It’s like he’s placed a beacon on me, announcing every time I’m doing something that could be construed as breaking the law. He never writes me a ticket or takes me to jail, though. No, that would be too easy. Instead, he uses each offense to coerce me into spending time with him.
Driving five miles over the speed limit? Coffee date. Sneaking into the university pool after hours? A walk in the park. Trying to convince Cory to serve me a spiked drink at Ball Busters? Dinner and a movie.
“It’s extortion!” I tell Livvy before taking a sip of my very virgin cocktail. “I’d almost rather pay the fines.”
It’s become a weekly tradition for me to sit with her at the corner table at Ball Busters on Friday nights while Cory is too busy behind the bar to entertain her.
“No, you wouldn’t,” Livvy says with a grin. “It would jeopardize your scholarship, not to mention your swimming career.” Before I can argue, she says, “Plus, it’s not like it’s a hardship to spend time with him. Tyler is sweet, hot, and has that whole ‘protect and serve’ thing down to an art.”
“Well, you date him, then,” I scoff.
Not that I’m actually dating Tyler. I don’t have time to date anyone with my swim and class schedule. And if I did, it definitely wouldn’t be him …even if my body burns with desire every time I’m around him. Maybe I just need to get laid.
“Oh, no,” Livvy giggles. “I prefer bad boys.” When she looks toward the bar, I glance over just in time to catch Cory wink at her.
“Yeah, I can see that,” I tell her. “Maybe that’s what I need, too. Where can I find my own bad boy tomorrow night?”
“OH!” Livvy’s eyes light up with excitement. “Well, there are a couple of Halloween parties tomorrow night. I know you won’t go to Tracey’s party, but Ten-Air has a wicked haunted house and festival, and it’s right across the street from Hangar 7.” She bounces her eyebrows suggestively.
“What’s in hangar seven?” I ask, confused by her excitement over an airport building.
“Hangar 7 is a bar that offers super cheap cocktails anytime Ten-Air has an event. It’s where everyone goes to drink since they can’t have alcohol on the airport property.” She bounces in her seat as her excitement ramps up with every sentence. “The owner, Ryan, is a friend of Cory’s and he hardly ever asks for ID since none of the college kids go out there.”
“That sounds perfect,” I say. “I can get me a drink…and a bad boy for the night.” I wink, making Livvy laugh.
Tyler
It’s a family tradition for all the kids in the Sheppard family to have the same initials as my great granddad, Theodore Randolph Sheppard. The only exception is my older brother, Dirk, because he isn’t my dad’s biological son. Although, that’s not common knowledge.
My full name is Tyler Robert Sheppard and my family has called me ‘Bobby’ since I was born. My grandad was Theodore Robert Sheppard and he went by Robert. He was the sheriff of Thorngrove for over twenty years before he retired and is still haled as the best sheriff the town has ever had. Not wanting his shadow over me when I attended the academy, I started insisting on going by my first name.
My family still slips up and calls me ‘Bobby’ on occasion. Like now, when my older cousin is disappointed by my refusal to attend her Halloween party tonight.
“Come on, Bobby. Please,” Tracey whines as she slides my latte across the counter.
“Sorry, Tray Tray,” I tell her. “I’m going to the haunted house at Ten-Air with some guys from the station, tonight.”
“You said you’d start comin’ to my parties when you’re old enough to drink.” She pouts. “You’ll be twenty-one in two weeks.”
“Leave the boy alone, Tracey,” my aunt, Chelsea, scolds her.
“Ugh! Fine .” Tracey points her finger at me. “But you’d better be there on New Year’s Eve.”
“Looks like you’ve got some competition in the diva department, Devon,” I say when her two boyfriends enter the shop as I’m leaving.
“Told ya, big guy,” Joey says with a smirk as he looks up at Devon. “Our girl is givin’ you a run for your money, lately.”
I laugh as I step around them and walk out the door to my patrol car. Their jibes make me think of Ricki. Although, ours is more of a battle of wills than flirty banter.
I guess my following her around in hopes of catching her breaking the law could be classified as stalking, but it seems that some of my morals fly out the window where she’s concerned. I’ve forced myself to only interact with her when it’s a tit for tat situation, because if she ever realizes the hold she has on me, I’ll be in trouble myself. The more I learn about her, the more I want in, but she continues to fight the pull between us.
In the past couple of months, I’ve managed to get three ‘dates’ with her by offering them in lieu of the actual penalty for her crimes. Although, I’m sure she considers my ‘fines’ steeper than the ones she would pay if I reported her transgressions.
When I took her for coffee at the Starbuck’s in the mall after catching her speeding, I learned that she wasn’t aware of Brady until the news came out about their father’s death. She almost cancelled her enrollment at TU to avoid running into him, but she couldn’t give up her dream of training with the coach here to become an Olympic swimmer.
When we went for a walk in the park across the street from her dorm after I caught her sneaking into the University’s pool after hours without a pass, she admitted that she wants to meet her older brother, but she’s terrified that he’ll hate her because of their father. Knowing Brady from family events that he’s attended, I can’t imagine him passing that kind of judgement on anyone. I told her that and offered to introduce them, but she said she wasn’t ready.
When I took her to dinner after catching her trying to get Cory to serve her alcohol at Ball Busters again , she told me about how her mother raised her alone while pining for the man who refused to support them. She explained how that’s the reason she knows that she never wants to depend on a man for anything. She prefers to live her life on her own terms without the risk of heartbreak. I told her that not all men are like her father and that by not risking her heart, she was going to miss out on love. She just shrugged and said that she couldn’t miss out on something she’d never let herself have.
I was hoping to catch her in trouble this past week so I could coerce her into coming with me tonight, but she’s been on her best behavior. And since I’m determined not to beg for her attention outside of those questionable circumstances, that means I’m headed to the haunted house alone.
I finish my patrol—thankful that I was on the dayshift instead of chasing the drunken Saturday night crowd the weekend before Halloween—and head back to the station. I shower and change into my Batman costume, leaving the mask off as I get on my bike and ride toward the airport.