Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Amy
“Are they brothers?”
“No. Cousins. Their dads are brothers.”
“And they grew up together?”
“Yup.”
“Who’s the oldest?”
“Wolfe. By almost two years.”
“Who named them? And why’re they named after animals?”
Honest to God, I had heard a million different variations of this very same conversation ever since I started waitressing here at the small diner just two short months ago.
At least once a shift, someone started talking about the two men who’d clearly caught and held the attention of every female in a twenty-mile radius.
And yes, women were always the culprits.
They could be a gossipy bunch, no doubt about it.
“What do they do for a living?”
“They make furniture. Have an office building and everything.”
“Oh. They own the Cedar Door?”
Yep, they did.
And the woman was right, along with the store not far from Main Street, they also had an office, although calling it that was probably a little more than it deserved.
Based on the details I was privy to, it was nothing more than a massive metal building with a few rooms inside that they used more for a workshop than anything.
Personally, I didn’t know Wolfe or Lynx because I was relatively new in town, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t met them.
Not only had I waited on them at Reagan’s, they were also regulars at the diner, coming in almost every morning for a cup of coffee and the house special—two eggs, two slices of bacon, two pancakes each.
Every day, they ordered the same thing. Every day, they left a more-than-generous tip.
And every day, they made me wonder if I should pick up and move on before they figured out that I was hiding out in their backwoods little town.
“Is it true that they”—Tank Top With Pearls Chick lowered her voice a little—“share their women?”
Boobs nodded excitedly. “Oh, they do. They definitely do. They’ve been that way since they were young.”
Yep, another rumor hot off the gossip mill press. As to its validity, I didn’t know that, either.
“How young?”
Boobs shrugged. “I don’t know. Teenagers, probably.” The woman obviously didn’t get all the details, but that didn’t stop her from assuming, apparently.
However, that was how I had come to understand it, too.
At least, according to the rumor mill, which I happened to be quite knowledgeable about since no one seemed to care that I was walking around, pouring coffee, taking and delivering orders.
They treated me as though I didn’t have ears most of the time, which worked well for me. It helped to pass the time.
Truth was, I didn’t know the first non-rumor detail about the Caine cousins, but I was as curious as the next person; I wouldn’t lie. When they dropped by, they rarely spoke, and never at length about anything, yet I wouldn’t say they were exactly unapproachable. Just quiet.
They had a specific table they sat at, which allowed both of them to keep their eyes on the door. It also prevented anyone from sneaking up behind them. Well, maybe that wasn’t the real reason they chose to sit there, but it was the reason I had made up in my head.
Evidently, I wasn’t above making shit up, either.
The two cousins looked remarkably similar, although different at the same time.
Both had jet-black hair. Lynx’s was more of a Mohawk, while Wolfe sported the shorn sides, but not the spikey thing.
Granted, they wore cowboy hats most of the time.
And if they didn’t have on Stetsons, they were wearing John Deere caps—yes, those were apparently a thing.
Both usually had that sexy scruff on their jaws and emerald-green eyes that saw far too much.
For the most part, they seemed friendly, not at all menacing despite the intimidation factor, but I had gotten the feeling that they worked hard to pull that off.
“Is it true that they’re ridiculously tall? Like six-seven or something?”
I coughed to cover up a laugh.
“Oh, definitely,” Boobs assured Tank Top. “Wolfe definitely is. I think Lynx might be taller.”
I wondered if this was how fishermen’s stories got so warped and twisted. In a minute, I figured the two women would claim the Caine cousins had penises as long and thick as baseball bats.
I rolled my eyes as I grabbed a fresh pot of coffee and continued my rounds.
Yes, the two men were tall, sure. Above average, definitely.
But not record-breaking heights by any means.
They were significantly taller than I was.
At five five, I had to look way up at them.
Since they were usually sitting when I was around, that wasn’t much of a problem.
“The sheriff does it, too,” Boobs noted.
“Does what?” Tank Top questioned.
“Shares his women.” The woman’s voice lowered slightly.
“Shut up! I heard he was into men.”
Boobs offered a one-shoulder shrug.
I had no idea where that story had originated, but I'd heard a variation of it as well. Of course, I did my best not to pay attention. What the men in this town did in their spare time was none of my business.
Boobs sipped her coffee. “I don’t know anything about that.”
“No?” Tank Top’s eyes were skeptical. “Wouldn’t that be hot?”
I put the coffeepot back on the burner, then grabbed a towel to clean the two tables that just cleared out.
“It would.” Boobs giggled. “I’d definitely like to watch me some man-on-man action.”
Wow. Okay.
“I want to know more about the sharing thing,” Tank Top declared.
“No, you wanna know if what they say about Wolfe is true. If his mouth’s as dirty as they claim. Or what about Lynx? I hear he’s worse—or better, I guess you’d say—than Wolfe.”
“I’m not partial,” Tank Top said with another giggle. “I’d be interested to find out about the sheriff, too. They say the quiet ones are the dirtiest.”
Who said that? I had never heard a single person say that before.
Sheesh.
I shook my head in disbelief. Every single—as in unattached—woman who had walked through those doors wanted to know what the Caine cousins were like in bed. At least one, if not both of them. Hell, one group of women had talked about taking Wolfe and Lynx on at once.
“I hear Wolfe likes to watch,” Tank Top said.
“And to be watched,” Boobs noted. “And I’ve heard he even watches—”
The bell over the door jingled at the same time Boobs stopped talking. I stood up straight, grabbing the two empty glasses from the table, and turned in time to see none other than Wolfe sauntering in the door.
One of the women giggled. It was rather embarrassing for all of womankind.
“Hey, Amy,” he greeted as he passed by the counter on the way to his table.
His voice was like dark velvet. Smooth and warm and…
God, he smelled good.
Yeah.
After everything I had been through, I should’ve been completely immune to the seduction of his voice and the sexy scent of him, yet…
I shook off the thought and grabbed two coffee mugs—I knew Lynx would be along any second now—and the pot of coffee, then made my way over to their table. Without making too much eye contact, I poured the black liquid into the cups. “I’ll have your food out shortly.”
Like clockwork, the bells jingled and in walked Lynx. He tilted his hat in my direction, then headed directly to Wolfe.
And now that they were here, it was time for me to fade into the background, or blend in with the wallpaper, as was the case here.
The Caine cousins might be a hot topic surrounded by a lot of speculation, but I had my own secrets to deal with.
Ones I had to protect in order to survive. Including my identity.
Otherwise, I was as good as dead.
Shoring up my nerve, I returned to the counter and looked for something to do while I waited for their food to be ready.
The place was practically empty this morning.
It was during times like this that I got fidgety, hating that I could feel the Caine cousins’ eyes on me, but I didn’t know what they were thinking.
It was as though they’d practiced the art of being expressionless.
Even their eyes held no secrets. Not that I let myself look for long.
I preferred to be invisible and that was an art form in itself.
One I'd mastered and fully intended to keep it that way.
Kelly Jackson
I kept the car running as I sat in the parking lot of the small diner.
From my spot, I could see her, watch her as she moved from one side of the diner to the other, helping customers, smiling even.
I knew she couldn’t see me. And even if she did glance out the window, even if she could see past the glare of the sun glinting off my windshield, she wouldn’t recognize me.
But I recognized her. Even though she’d attempted to lighten her hair, even though she’d lost quite a bit of weight. I still recognized her. I would always recognize her.
I had to admit, the new look wasn’t a good one for her.
She was too fucking skinny and the blond hair did nothing for her.
At first, it had pissed me off to see that she’d tried to alter her appearance.
Of course, I doubted the weight loss was intentional.
That was most likely due to the injuries she’d sustained, the time she’d spent in the hospital, the months she’d spent on the run.
But I still sat there.
I still watched her.
Biding my time.
One day I would make my presence known.
I would finish what I should’ve finished a long damn time ago.
Wolfe
“Where the fuck did the weekend go?” Lynx griped when he joined me at the table.
I peered at my cousin, trying to decipher his mood.
“Hell if I know,” I replied, although I suspected the question was rhetorical.