Chapter 3 Grace
GRACE
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Hu Gh: Grace and Dean. Calling it now. Something is gonna happen between those two.
Comments:
Jackie Anne: You mean MY cowboy?
Mollie Wilson: What happened to only looking???
Atticus Thompson: Hugh, you need to get your eyes checked. As much as I love betting, Grace isn’t gonna be into what he’s offering.
Dale Garrett: I’m determined to continue my streak. Placing bets that Hugh is wrong.
Tammy Jane: I’ll take that bet.
Hu Gh: Fools! All of ya!
Wren Hackett: Guys, when I say he’s not gonna date any of you, I really mean it. He doesn’t . . . do relationships. Ever. He’s a one-time guy.
Tammy Jane: A breed ’em and leave ’em type? What a jerk!
Mollie Wilson: Did you have to use the word breed?
Jade Clark: Sometimes I wish I didn’t know how to read.
Dammit. Shit. Fuck.
Cursing wouldn’t solve my problems, but it was better than screaming at my sister, who wouldn’t give a single shit that she’d just essentially stolen from Mark.
When she’d come home smelling like a martini, I knew she’d been to the bar.
And when I questioned her, that’s when she admitted her little trick that she’d picked up in Nashville.
Give the bartender a card with just enough money on it to cover the initial check the POS system did, and then dip after racking up a bill.
What the hell was wrong with her?
Brooke had a reputation, one that she kept adding to, even when she was in town for only one night. I didn’t want this for her, but she didn’t seem to care.
Mark was a good man. He’d been patient with her, but if she kept doing shit like this, she would get herself banned from Bell’s Brews.
God, I owed him his favorite whiskey for this, which meant I needed to drive out of town to get it, and then come back another day to drop it off when he wasn’t around so he would actually accept the damn thing.
But first, I needed to pay this tab.
Did I have the money for it? Not really. But I could eat ramen for a few days and deal.
I parked in front of the bar and nearly ran for the door. I threw it open, planning to hurry in and out, but instead, I ran into a hard chest.
Hands steadied me, and I had to pull myself out of my thoughts to lay my eyes on who I’d nearly bowled over.
And it was Dean. Tall, well-muscled, and very good-smelling Dean. God, he was in the hat too. My breath caught, but I shook it off. I had a mission.
“Excuse me,” I said. “I just need to—”
“Get a drink?” he asked.
“Talk to Mark.”
His eyes narrowed, and I had no idea why he even cared. “About what?”
There was something about his light tone that gave me pause. To anyone else, it would be him simply making conversation.
But I saw more. I always saw more.
“You already know, don’t you?”
His mouth partially opened at my observation, but then closed. “I know that you have nothing to worry about.”
“I do have something to worry about, unless you know something I don’t about an unpaid tab.”
Dean huffed out a laugh. “You’re quick.”
“I tend to be, and as much as I enjoyed our little conversation earlier, I do need to handle this. Unless . . . something else happened.” There were many things that could have gone down. Mark could have decided to clear it out, or some poor idiot charmed by her smile and boobs had paid it for her.
“The tab’s paid,” he said.
Oh, no. No. “Please tell me you weren’t the one to do it.”
“Damn, Grace. Are you a mind reader or something?”
I had to be if I were going to keep Brooke in check.
“Listen, don’t do nice things for Brooke. Even if you think she’s hot, it’s not worth it.”
“First of all,” he said slowly, “I think she’s a little too whiny to be hot.”
Despite how tonight had gone, I laughed. I needed to hear that. “At least you’re not totally dumb.”
“And second, I didn’t do it to be nice to her. Mark was gonna call you, so I stopped him.”
“Wha—you paid it for me?”
“Yep. So go home and relax.”
My brain couldn’t comprehend this. People were always kind to me, but they never jumped in to save me. I always had to do that myself. “I can pay you back.”
“Pay me back by having a nice night, Grace.”
Damn. He’d done something nice for me and didn’t expect anything in return? How could a man like this get even hotter?
“I owe you one,” I replied. “Let’s go in and get a drink.”
I could tell he didn’t expect me to invite him in by the way his eyebrows rose, but I did owe him. And even though I didn’t have the money, I was already willing to pay for my sister, so two $5 beers wouldn’t break the bank any more than Brooke’s bill would have.
And it wouldn’t be hard to look at him for a few hours. His vibe alone told me he was a fun guy, but there was something else I’d love to figure out. Maybe it was his confidence. Maybe it was how kind he could really be.
It wouldn’t take me long to crack him open like an egg.
“I’d love to take you up on that,” he replied. “But I can’t.”
“Let me guess, you have to get up early for work?” He did a physical job. Maybe we could take a rain check.
“Trust me, Grace, I know how to handle a late night.” My cheeks darkened at the implication. “But I’ve been told not to do anything with you. And that includes having drinks.”
“Would you want to do more with me?”
A slow smirk made its way across his face. “Baby, if I told you the answer to that question, I’d get in huge trouble.”
“Get in trouble then.” My voice was breathless and I felt like I had run a marathon. Then I processed his words. “Wait, who told you not to talk to me? Why would they do that?”
“Wren did. And it’s because of me. I don’t do relationships. Ever. If we did anything, it’d be a one-time thing and then I’d move on.”
He said it like he’d rehearsed it, and I wondered how many other women he’d given this speech to before.
“O-oh,” I said. Too much had happened in the last hour, and I was struggling to keep up.
Dean was a playboy. He was into someone for one night.
Years ago, I would have said no to a guy like this. I’d had big dreams of a romance that resulted in kids and a great, loud life.
And now I was over thirty. The last guy I was with was from out of town and thought my left butt cheek was my clit.
And since then, my options hadn’t been great.
But now, I wanted to enjoy something. Vibrators only did so much. I wasn’t desperate enough to ruin my reputation with anyone here. But a visitor? Someone who didn’t want commitment? Someone who’d be gone soon?
Yeah, I could do that.
“Your information was wrong,” I said.
“And what information is that?”
“Whoever told you I wanted a relationship.”
“Really?” he asked slowly. “You sure?”
I nodded. “I love the idea of a one-night stand. Especially if you’re still offering.”
“I’d offer any time of the day, but I’m serious about the no-relationship thing. And I also don’t think anyone should know.”
“Because you’re being a little bad?” I asked. I understood way too well.
“That, and I’d prefer to keep my balls attached to my body, thank you.”
I laughed. It was too easy to talk to Dean, and I found myself wishing we could do it more. I genuinely did want to figure him out. But I had a feeling he didn’t want to be.
If he wanted sex, then sex would be all he would get. And if no one knew? That was even better.
“I’m with you on the no one knowing thing. I don’t really do things like this, and with how Brooke is, I’d prefer to remain the good sister.”
“And the relationship thing?”
“I agree to your terms. I promise I won’t be chasing you down after this is over.” Slowly, he nodded and a smile crossed over his face. Perfect. I’d said exactly what he wanted me to. “So, wanna get outta here before anyone sees us? People will start coming out of the bar here soon.”
“My hotel is twenty minutes away.”
“Folks might see me get into your truck. Not ideal. I have the perfect place.”
“This is your shop?”
My eyes roamed over the racks of clothes. Not much was visible since I hadn’t turned the lights on. But I knew styles of all kinds were on display. “Yep. I bought it a few years ago.”
I’d saved every dollar from all the jobs I’d ever had. It also helped that I bought the place when everything seemed to be falling apart. I put my heart and soul into this and the rest of the town.
“That’s very impressive.” His eyes trailed every wall. “A one-night stand in a clothing shop is a new one for me.”
I shook myself out of it at the reminder. This was a one-night stand. Nothing else.
“The blinds are closed, and as long as we don’t turn the lights on, no one will know we’re here.”
“So I can’t even see you? Seems a little unfair.”
“It’s the price to pay to stay out of the town news,” I said.
“The fucking town news,” he muttered. That raised a flag in my mind. His words were coated with a bitterness that I wanted to understand. Had he been the subject of gossip before?
But Dean instead captured my lips in a kiss, which immediately silenced my thoughts.
He was a good kisser. Actually, one of the best. His lips were soft even as his hands kept a tight hold on me.
He smelled clean, like a man’s soap that I couldn’t place.
It was the kind of thing I could come home to.
No. Nope. I pushed the thought out. This was just sex. No relationship would come of it.
Dean’s hands moved from my hips to the small of my back, slipping under my shirt. It had been too long since I slept with anyone, and I tried to resist making a sound at the first skin-on-skin contact I’d had in a while. But it slipped out in the form of a quiet moan.
“S-sorry,” I said, pulling away for a second. “We should probably be quiet. These walls aren’t soundproof.”
“Nah,” he said. “I love hearing when I make a woman feel good. And these old buildings are better built than you think.”
“I’m guessing you know from the coffee shop?”
“I do, and everyone’s at the bar. So let loose, baby. Tell me if I make you feel good.”
“Does that mean you actually know how to make me feel good?”
“I’ll show you how good I can make you feel.”