Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
MICAH
My plan to find a woman to help take my mind off all the stress in my life had been blown to hell the instant I’d laid eyes on a certain redheaded devil the night before.
No other woman at The Tap Room held a candle to Red.
None of them stirred something inside me that made me desperate to touch and taste. Only her. Goddamn woman.
This morning, I’d woken up alone after crawling into bed the night before and jerking my dick to the memory of Hayden’s smart mouth and flashing eyes until I came all over my stomach.
I’d gotten up and gone for an extended run, pushing my normal five miles to eight in the hopes of working her out of my head and from beneath my skin.
None of that had worked, so now I was hauling my lawnmower out of the garage.
“Yoohoo. Mornin’, neighbor.”
I looked across the small picket fence through wild shrubbery into my neighbor’s yard.
Sylvia was there in the garden like she was almost every morning, her yoga mat stretched out on the lush grass, bright teal leggings on beneath a long, flowy, multi-colored top.
I’d lived next door to her for more than five years now, and she was, without a doubt, one of my favorite people in the world.
For a woman in her eighties, she was constantly on the go and the life of whatever party she felt like attending.
She spoke her mind and wasn’t afraid to give you her two cents’ worth.
And more times than not, that came from a place of wisdom and experience.
She’d lived each day of her long life to its fullest, and she had some incredible stories as proof.
Most people would probably be surprised, but one of my favorite things to do was chill with her in her crazy garden, sipping the Tom Collins she’d make me—even though I wasn’t a fan of gin at all—and listen to her tell me about the more adventurous things she’d done.
Moving to the fence, I tilted my chin and greeted, “Hey there, gorgeous. How’s your morning so far?”
“Well, I woke up, so I’d say it’s off to a pretty good start. How about you?”
My morning so far had been shit, but I wasn’t going to share that with her. She’d just dig into why, and it was bad enough I couldn’t get Hayden out of my head, the last thing I needed to do was talk about her as well.
“Darlin’, you’ll outlive us all, and you know it.”
She grinned and gave me a cheeky wink as she abandoned her mat and came closer to the fence line. “So, how have you been, dear? Haven’t seen you home much these past few weeks. It’s the case, isn’t it?”
I hadn’t gone into detail about the Callo investigation with Sylvia, or anyone else for that matter, but gossip spread in Hope Valley like a nasty stomach flu. Everyone in town knew Leo and I were working lead on that case.
“Had to pull some late nights and weekends, that’s all. Things will get back to normal as soon as we wrap up this investigation.”
Reaching over, she patted my cheek with her small hand. “And I have every confidence you and Leo are up to the task. But you better be takin’ care of yourself in the meantime. Don’t make me lecture you on the importance of self-care.”
Pretty sure self-care was what some might call what I’d done to myself in bed last night, but I wasn’t about to go there with an elderly woman, no matter how cool she was.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m bein’ careful,” I assured her.
“Now, enough about me. Tell me about you. Saw a new car has been in the driveway the past several nights. That mean your niece finally arrived?”
Sylvia’s face split into a huge smile that made the creases in her weathered skin carve even deeper. “That she did. Just over two weeks now. I tell you, it’s so nice to have her and her little one here. They’ve breathed life back into this old place.”
For months, all my neighbor had been able to talk about was her great-niece coming to live with her.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen the woman so happy, which was really saying something, because she lived in a perpetual state of bliss—that wasn’t totally due to the special brownies she made on occasion—as far as I could tell.
I’d heard one story after another about her gorgeous, talented, fiery niece. She’d told me about her from childhood to adulthood. Most of the stories were sweet or funny, but I’d also gotten an earful of her niece’s piece of shit ex and bitch of a best friend.
I knew Sylvia well enough to trust her judgment in most everything, especially people, and if she said her niece was good people, I had no doubt. And if she was anything like her great-aunt, I couldn’t imagine how a man could ever step out on that, unless he was lower than scum.
Several weeks back, I’d helped Sylvia move from the big house to the small, converted carriage house near the back of the property, and since then, she’d gotten the idea in her head that her niece and I would be an incredible match, saying constantly that we’d hit it off in an instant.
It was a notion I’d tried strongly to dissuade her of.
“How’s she and her girl settling in?”
“Oh, just wonderfully,” she answered, her face glowing with pride.
“Making friends, getting the house in order, and my darlin’ girl’s taking to the shop like a seasoned pro, just like I knew she would.
” She stopped waxing poetic, and her happy expression fell into a frown.
“Although, this weekend was that rat bastard’s weekend with sweet little Ivy, so that hasn’t been very easy.
But my girl, she pulled through. She’s one tough cookie.
” She arched a single brow knowingly, and added, “And very attractive.”
“Sylvia,” I said sternly, “not this again. Like I’ve told you a million times, I’m not the kind of man you want your niece tyin’ herself to. Trust me.”
Her expression was full of exasperation. “Micah Langford, as I’ve told you a million times, you don’t give yourself nearly enough credit. You’re a good man. I don’t buy for a second that you’re the Lothario you’re known around town to be.”
She’d seen the women coming in and out of my house more than I’d care for her to, so she knew better than anyone that wasn’t true. “Sweetheart—”
“If a man wasn’t a good man, he wouldn’t start caring for the little old lady’s lawn next door without bein’ asked. You did that. Woke up one day and you were just out here, cutting and edging like my yard was yours.”
It was ridiculous to think Sylvia could handle maintaining a yard her size.
The lots in our neighborhood were massive, the houses set far back from the street so the front and backyards were huge.
Sylvia was a deft hand at all things gardening, so I let her handle that, but I took care of the grass, keeping it cut to a manageable length at all times, as well as fertilizing in the fall and spring so it always stayed lush and green.
Every month for the past three years now, Sylvia had won Yard of the Month, and every month she insisted I stand with her when they took the picture to include in the town’s little newsletter.
“Well, who else is gonna do it? I wouldn’t expect you to get out here with a push mower by yourself. You keep yourself healthy, but that shit’s dangerous for you. And those punk-ass kids in the neighborhood charge a small fortune.”
“Because you’re a good man. You’ll see. One of these days, you’ll meet a woman who’s gonna knock you on your behind, and you won’t know what to do with yourself. Personally, I can’t wait to see that happen.”
At that, my mind wandered for a moment, and I saw Hayden’s smile. I pictured how she’d looked back at that bar in Richmond when she’d laughed with abandon.
“Unless . . .” Sylvia dragged out, pulling me back into the present. Her eyes were narrowed in intrigue as she studied me closely. “You’ve already met her, haven’t you?”
“What are you talking about? Of course not,” I semi-lied.
“Goodness me,” she cooed, placing her palms to her chest. “You have! I just saw it written all over your face. Can’t say I’m not disappointed it wasn’t my girl who got you there, but I am happy some lucky woman’s finally caught your eye.”
“All right. This conversation’s over. You need to get back to your yoga, and I need to mow your lawn before the grass reaches to your knees.”
“By all means,” she said on a tinkling laugh, waving her hand as she moved backward toward her mat. “Mow away.”
Shaking off the discomfort caused by the turn in that conversation, I moved back to my lawnmower, determined to put the conversation out of my head as I checked the gas level and cranked it up.
Then, pretending Sylvia wasn’t watching me, laughing her ass off at the scowl etched into my face, I got to work.
Hayden
It felt like someone was drilling into my skull. My eyeballs were actually pulsating, and my mouth tasted like I’d eaten hot garbage.
“Oh God,” I groaned as I gingerly rolled to my back, and slowly peeled my eyes open, one at a time.
Needless to say, the drinks had gotten a bit ahead of me last night.
In comparison to everyone else, I hadn’t had all that much, but it had been years since I really drank, so I was the very definition of a lightweight.
Everything that came after getting into yet another fight with that arrogant bastard was fuzzy.
I remembered he stuck close to the group the whole time, hanging out with the man I’d discovered was Dani’s fiancé, a man by the name of Leo Drake.
A few other guys had shown up as the night progressed, boyfriends, husbands, and the like of my new group of girlfriends, but I didn’t remember names or faces.
The one thing I did remember with almost perfect clarity was feeling Micah’s eyes on me the entire night.
They seared into my skin like a brand and made my heart race.
“Get your shit together, Hayden,” I cursed to myself, staring up at the ceiling. “He was a one-night stand, for God’s sake. Was he amazing? Yeah, sure. But you’ll find another guy who’ll do those same things without making you want to commit murder.”
I could tell myself that all day long, problem was, I wasn’t completely sure it was true. There was actually something . . . I don’t know, almost fun about how we fought.
“God, there’s something wrong with me.”
Pushing up to sitting, I brushed my hair back off my forehead and blew out a steady breath.
Once I felt like I was no longer at risk of my head splitting open, I climbed out of bed and padded across the floor to the bathroom.
Halfway there, the loud, teeth-clattering roar of a motor sliced through the peace and quiet—and my skull.
“What the living fuck?” I rushed to the big bay windows that faced the back of the house but couldn’t see anything past the huge garden. Moving as quickly as my pounding head would let me, I stormed to the bathroom and pulled my satin robe off the hook behind the door.
I stabbed my arms through the sleeves and cinched the belt at my waist as I charged down the stairs and out the back door.
“Sylvia!” I yelled over the grinding noise as soon as I saw her, rising up from half-moon pose. That was a mistake. Hell, this whole scene was one huge mistake. I’d shot down there in an indignant rage, and now the evil sun was making my brain feel like an egg being scrambled.
“Oh dearie. Someone looks like their feelin’ the effects of a good night this mornin’.”
“Yes,” I gritted, lifting my hand to shield my poor eyeballs from that bastard, daylight. “So can you please explain to me what the hell is going on?”
“Of course!” she smiled brightly, rubbing her sunny disposition in my hungover face.
“My—well, now our—neighbor cuts my—our—grass every once in a while. Isn’t that just the sweetest?
He really is quite the gentlemen. I’d been hoping to set the two of you up, but it seems he’s already smitten with another woman.
” She stuck her bottom lip out in an exaggerated pout. “Such a shame, really.”
“Oh my God,” I groaned, closing my eyes and rubbing my temples.
“This isn’t happening. Look, any other morning, I’d be the first one out here to thank him for doing me a solid, but right now it feels like someone’s using my head as a pinata.
So please, please, can you just ask him, really politely, to knock it the fuck off? ”
I’d been so busy trying to keep my brains from leaking out of my ears that I hadn’t noticed the mower had cut off. That was, until I heard a rich, sinful voice come from behind me. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me? You’re Sylvia’s niece?”
I slowly turned and faced a sweaty, shirtless Micah, holding on to the handle of a lawnmower, looking too freaking good to be legal. It took a few seconds for my alcohol-soaked brain to catch up. “Wait . . . you’re my neighbor?”
Those grassy green eyes did a full-body sweep, reminding me I was standing out in the back garden in nothing but a nightie and short satin robe—which had come untied. Son of a bitch! “Looks like,” he answered, a sinful grin stretching across his lips.
In reaction to that news, I threw my head back and looked up at the sky, shouting, “What the hell have I ever done to you, huh?” at the top of my lungs.
Me and the man upstairs were about to have some serious words, because this shit was getting ridiculous!