Chapter 24
24
MARCUS
I look out the shop door, surprised by the number of people milling around out there. It seems like, overnight, the population just…boomed.
Glancing over at Dale, I ask, “Does it seem a lot busier out there today?”
He looks up from the Honda he’s working on. “I guess. Probably because of the famous person,” he says, going right back to work.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “Famous person?”
“Yeah, I guess there’s some big movie star or whatever here. Maybe they’re making a movie at the park? I don’t know. I just heard some people talking about it earlier at the diner when I grabbed lunch.”
Fuck.
That can’t be a coincidence.
“Huh,” I reply, pulling out my phone and checking to see if anyone tried to contact me. Namely, Ryan. But my screen is blank of notifications, which isn’t unusual.
He goes back to work, and I try to do the same. Unfortunately, I can’t help but worry. Should I call Ryan and see if she’s all right? I’m assuming she’s the star everyone is searching for, unless there’s another famous person floating around here, hiding from the paparazzi. I’d think one renting a cabin in Pine Village was pretty rare, but two? Seems impossible, really.
I spot a group of four leaving my front office, all on foot and chatting animatedly. My boot-covered feet are moving, heading in the direction where the group departed. Stepping through the door that separates the shop from the office, I find Gladys behind the counter, sorting papers. “Hey, everything okay?”
Buddy perks up from his bed behind the desk when he hears my voice. He likes to be in the shop with me and Dale, but when he naps, he prefers to be in the office with Gladys, snoozing in his dog bed in the air-conditioning.
She looks up and rolls her eyes. “Yeah, fine. I’m just over the teeny boppers searching for the TV star.”
I lean against the counter, glancing around the room. Over in the waiting area, the owner of the Honda is reading a book while we complete her car repairs. No one else is in the room, so I turn my attention to Gladys. “What’s going on?”
She stops what she’s doing and levels me with a gaze. “Apparently, there’s some reality TV star in town, and everyone is looking for her. She was dating that Vaughn Cramer guy, the one who was in that big movie last summer?”
“Why is everyone looking for her?”
“Who knows? Apparently, she has a big online presence and following. Makeup, a YouTube channel, and more. I don’t know, but like I told those girls, ain’t no TV star hanging around Wright’s Auto Repair.”
My heart drops into my shoes. “If anyone gives you a problem, let me know. We’re asking everyone who isn’t a customer to leave the property. We don’t know anything, and even if we did, we wouldn’t tell anyone.”
Gladys stares at me, and I can tell the moment realization sets in. She nods. “No one will hear a peep from me, Marcus. You have my word.” I turn to walk out of the office, when she adds, “Check on that girl, okay? Make sure she’s all right in the midst of this chaos.”
Of course Gladys would realize the woman everyone is looking for is Ryan. They only met one time, that I know of, back when Ryan stopped by to invite me to lunch. Perhaps it was the adamant and protective tone I had, but whatever the reason, it doesn’t surprise me she’d figure it out.
“I will,” I assure her, stepping outside and grabbing my phone. I head past the open bays and walk straight to the corner of the property, where the shop parking lot meets the tow yard.
Instead of calling Ryan, I dial someone else.
“Hey.”
“You got a minute?” I ask TD.
“Super busy, man, and I’m pretty sure I know why you’re calling, so that’s why I answered.”
“So you are aware.”
He snorts. “Hallie and Jillian called me earlier. Ryan was at the coffee shop, which was crawling with people, so they asked me to come and drive her home. She said she’d stay there and keep the doors locked, but I haven’t been able to check on her since I dropped her off. With the influx of people, I’m dealing with all sorts of shit, man. Traffic accidents, trespassing, and illegal parking are the top of the list right now.”
“Shit, man.” I swallow hard. “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? You didn’t do any of this,” he says insistently.
“I know, but…” I pull my hat from my head and run my hand through the sweaty strands. “I hate this. For her. For you. For everyone.”
“We’re used to the extra tourists, but this is a whole new level, man.” He sighs. “I gotta go. Call if you need me. I’ll answer for you, but if I don’t, I’ll call back.”
“Thanks, TD.”
“Check on her.” Then, he’s gone.
I click over to Ryan’s name and tap the screen. It rings once, twice, three times. After the fourth ring, it goes to voicemail, but it won’t let me leave a message since it’s full. I hang up and call a second time. When that call also goes unanswered, I tap a little too hard on the screen. “Fuck.”
I look at my busy shop, and I know what I have to do. It won’t take me too long to run out to the cabin and check on her, so that’s what I’ll do. Moving to the first bay door, I holler at Dale. “Hey, I’m gonna run home really quick. I didn’t take a lunch, so we’ll just call this a late lunch break.”
He looks up, his eyes full of concern. “You all right?”
I nod. “I need to check on my tenant.”
“That pretty lady having issues?”
“Yeah,” I reply, patting my pocket to make sure I have my keys.
“All this ruckus is for her, isn’t it.” It’s not a question. When I don’t answer, he replies, “I thought she looked familiar.”
My eyebrows shoot sky high. “You watch reality TV?” I find myself asking, completely surprised by this revelation.
Dale just shrugs his shoulders. “Lots of pretty girls on that show.” He winks and turns his attention back to the vehicle he’s working on. “Better get a movin’. Make sure Ryan is good.”
“You got Buddy for me?” I ask, even though I don’t need to. I know he’ll be in good hands with Gladys and Dale. He waves me off, letting me know he’s got my dog.
I run out to my truck and jump inside. The moment I start it up, I catch a whiff of myself. I forgot I spilled diesel fuel on my shirt earlier today and never changed. I should run back into my office and throw on a clean shirt, but that’ll just add even more time to the journey. It might be easier just to swing by my own cabin and throw on a clean shirt before checking on Ryan. I’ll still smell, but at least it won’t have such a strong odor.
Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be extra vehicles on the road that leads to our driveways. At least they haven’t caught wind of exactly where she is, because if they knew, this road would be packed with cars. I pull into my own driveway, leaving my old Chevy running as I head inside.
I don’t bother heading up to my bedroom to retrieve a clean shirt. Instead, I go straight to the laundry room, where I know I left a few work shirts. I rip my dirty one off and throw it in the dirty basket and grab the first clean one I find.
As I’m pulling it over my head, I hear a knock at the front door. Thinking it’s Ryan, I take off at a clipped pace, but the moment I round the corner and have a look out the open front door, I know it’s not the woman I want to see.
Vaughn fucking Cramer is standing at my door.
“Can I help you?” I ask as I approach.
He pulls his sunglasses down his nose, glaring inside my house with his judgment and annoyance. “Who are you?”
“The man who’s going to kick your ass if you don’t answer my question.” I push through the screen door and step out onto the porch, slowly approaching and forcing him to take a couple of steps back.
His eyes widen as he scans me from head to toe. “I’m looking for my fiancée,” he states, lifting his nose in the air like some cocky asshole who caught a whiff of something he doesn’t like. Probably the diesel soaked into my skin, but I don’t give a shit.
“Well, you’re at the wrong place, pal. Your fiancée isn’t here,” I insist, crossing my arms over my chest and leveling him with a glare.
He holds up his hands. “Sorry to intrude. I’m just looking for the woman I love. She’s staying here for a little R I wait a few minutes before closing up my front door and returning to my truck. I climb inside and throw it in gear, pressing the gas pedal a little harder than necessary.
As I approach her cabin, I slow down, parking where she’d normally have her rental. I glance around, not finding anything out of the ordinary. No one lurking in the shadows, nothing to indicate something’s been disturbed or messed with.
Climbing from the cab, my eyes catch movement on the porch. Ryan steps out, her entire body rigid with tension, her eyes a little swollen as if she’s been crying. I move quickly, up on the porch and beside her within seconds. My hands go to her hair, which is wild and slightly matted down, probably from wearing her ball cap. I feel her slender arms wrap around my waist as she hugs me tightly.
“You okay?”
She sniffles and nods against my chest.
“Come on, let’s get inside,” I insist, glancing around once more.
We step inside the cabin, and I make sure the door is closed securely. “What the hell happened?” I ask, taking in her appearance. Even though she looks exhausted and emotionally wrung out, she’s still pretty as fuck.
She sighs loudly and shakes her head. “Sunday, when you found me on the beach, I had posted a picture.” She smiles softly, as if going back to that morning in her mind. “It was of the sunrise, with my coffee cup. I made sure there were no identifying marks on the photo, but…” She closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them, she finishes, “I accidentally left the location notification on. So, when I posted the picture, it said I was at the Bluff Preserves National Park.”
“Oh. Shit.”
“Yeah,” she whispers, running her hands up her arms, as if she’s cold. “There’s so many people in town, Marcus. They’re…everywhere.” Her brown eyes turn frantic. “What if they find me here?”
“They won’t,” I insist, even though my words hold no weight. It’s not like I can stop the information from getting out. I know my friends are solid and wouldn’t say a peep, and while I’d like to assume the rest of the town would protect her identity and location, chances of that happening are slim. Someone will talk.
They always do.
“And my dad fired Vaughn.”
My eyebrows shoot up in surprise.
“Yeah, apparently, my dad did it because of what happened on my show, even though I told him not to. He did it anyway, refusing to let him have the part he coveted and lied to get.”
I can’t help but smile. “Good. Fucker got what he deserved.”
“Yeah,” she replies, but any happiness she feels doesn’t reach her eyes.
Clearing my throat, I know I need to drop the bomb. “Vaughn is here.”
It takes a second for my words to register. “What?”
I reach out and pull her into my arms, needing to feel her there. “Before I came here, I stopped by my house to change my shirt because I got diesel on it.”
“That’s why you stink,” she murmurs, wrinkling her nose in this cute way that makes me want to kiss her.
“Yep,” I agree. “Anyway, there was a knock at my door, and there he was.”
Her mouth is slightly agape, her eyes wide. “He’s here?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Oh my God!” she bellows, starting to pace.
“He, uh, well, he said he was looking for his fiancée.” I hide how badly that word burns my tongue, but barely.
She stops moving and her jaw drops. “His what?”
“Fiancée.”
“I am not his fiancée!” she proclaims. “We broke up! He’s blocked on my phone, for God’s sake! I want nothing to do with him and have told him that repeatedly.”
“We can call TD,” I inform her. “If he’s in town, then he can ask him to leave.”
She shakes her head. “Marcus,” she practically cries. “We can’t just ask him to leave. Technically, he hasn’t done anything wrong.”
“He’s a damn douchebag. A royal fucking prick who deserves to have his ass run out of town,” I insist, which earns me a small smile.
She moves, stepping toward me and practically jumping into my arms. I catch her easily, while her legs wrap around my waist. Her mouth slams into mine, her tongue slipping past my lips and delving inside my mouth. I cup her ass, gripping the globes with a bit of extra force. Ryan groans into my mouth, rubbing her chest against mine, and rocking her hips.
“Fuck,” I murmur.
“Yes. That. Now, Marcus,” she requests urgently. Her hands dive for my T-shirt, but since she’s pressed against my chest, it’s not going anywhere.
“I’m not sure?—”
“I’m very sure,” she interrupts. “Please.”
I open my mouth, knowing there are a ton of things we need to discuss, all things considered, but now, with her rocking her hips and grinding against my dick, all those other reasons we should talk about fly out the window.
“No talking,” she demands, reaching down and shifting her own shirt up and over her head.
I don’t know what comes over me—actually, I take that back—I know exactly what comes over me. It has everything to do with the incredibly beautiful woman stripping naked and all but begging for me to fuck her right now. That’s what comes over me.
So, that’s what I do.
Spinning around, I carry her toward the bedroom, all while shoving my tongue down her throat. The moment we breach the threshold, she slides down my body and is practically ripping her clothes off. I’m torn between stripping my own clothes off and watching the show.
“Clothes, Marcus. Now.” There’s a desperation in her voice I’ve never heard before.
I move, unlacing my boots and pulling them off before fumbling with my belt buckle and trying to get my pants off. Ryan is naked, digging at my fly and practically ripping it open. I shimmy my jeans down my legs and go still when I feel her hand and mouth simultaneously wrap around my dick.
A gasp flies past my lips as I try to get my bearings, but with her working me over the way she is, it’s hard.
No pun intended.
Ryan releases her hold on me and quickly moves to the nightstand. She pulls a single condom from within and rips it open with her teeth. I don’t even have time to remove my shirt. She’s covering my dick with the protection and hoisting herself back up my body moments later. Lifting herself up, I shift my cock to her entrance, and she lowers herself onto me.
I groan, feeling her tight, wet pussy grip my cock like a glove. It’s perfect— she’s perfect. Everything about her, including her bubbly personality, is exactly what I didn’t even realize I was looking for. She’s the positive to my negative, the sunshine to my grump. And this right here? A-fucking-mazing.
For the first time in my life, I picture my future differently. I see a woman there. And not just any woman, this woman. The problem is she’s leaving soon. In about a week and a half she’ll be heading back to California, just like she planned. And this fling will be over.
Even if I don’t want it to be.
“Marcus?” she whispers, running her tongue up the side of my neck.
I grunt out a hoarse, “Yeah?”
“Move.”
She doesn’t have to tell me twice.