Chapter Two
Cole
D amn, this is hard.
Taking in Charlie’s daughter was inevitable. Of course we would. But now that she’s here, I’m freaking the fuck out.
First off, I don’t remember her being so…beautiful. Last time I saw her was in court, around a year ago, not long after the funeral. She’d been distraught and was all puffy faced from crying, nothing more than a teenager who’d savagely lost her parents. We’ve kept in communication via text but haven’t seen her since.
Now that time has passed, it’s clear she’s all woman. If only Charlie and Serena could see her today. She looks exactly like her mother, with the same always swollen bottom lip that gives her a perpetual pout. Her hair is long, light brown, and curls at the ends, just like Serena’s did. It’s the eyes, though, that remind me the most of my friend’s wife. Pale green, intense, intelligent.
God, I miss them.
When Charlie took Serena home from the bar decades ago, though I was obviously interested in her first, I never thought it’d turn out like this. They created a sweet, sassy little girl and had a beautiful marriage. Obviously, I forgave him, because fate wanted them to be together.
Did fate want them to die together too?
By the time I leave my bedroom, changed into dark jeans and a crisp white T-shirt, I’m feeling agitated. I’d rather go for a run—the ultimate stress reliever aside from sex—but I need to sort out Savvy’s ride to school situation first.
Travis and Savvy are no longer in his, er, her room. I’m grateful he’s more easygoing than me because he can make her feel comfortable. I know I can be a stiff. Travis is the complete opposite.
I slip out the front door, hoping to breeze past our neighbor’s door before she spots me, but I only make it a few steps beyond her place when I hear her door open.
“Officer Hayes,” an old voice calls out. “Hello.”
Stopping mid step, I stifle a groan before turning to meet Maggie, our elderly neighbor. She’s been living in the townhouse next to ours longer than us and we’ve been here nearly a decade. Since I’m a cop, she thinks of me as her own personal 911 dispatch. Everything is a problem, people are “always watching her”, and anything that breaks “must be vandals.”
There’s no escaping this woman.
“Mrs. Groggins,” I say, forcing a smile. “Good afternoon.”
“I wouldn’t go that far. What’s good about it, officer? My air conditioning is on the fritz but Reid claims there’s nothing wrong.” She waggles her bony finger toward the front office, scowling fiercely. “I should move someplace nicer. Perhaps I would be treated better. I’ve been a reliable tenant for nineteen years and I get no thanks for it.”
Same story, different day.
And it’s always me who gets stuck talking to the grumpy old woman.
“Want me to send Travis over to take a look at it. He’s not an HVAC guy, but it could be faulty wiring. You know he’s handier than me.”
She grimaces at the mention of Travis. It’s no secret she hates my roommate.
“I’ll just ask Brayden,” Maggie says, shaking her head. “He’s a sweet boy.” Then she looks toward our townhouse. “Speaking of children, who’s the little girl?”
There’s nothing little about Savvy.
She’s turned from little girl to stunning woman in the blink of an eye. But I don’t miss the judgment in Maggie’s tone.
“You remember Charlie and Serena? They came over a time or two for Travis’s parties. It’s their daughter.”
“What do they think about her moving in with you two? Are the three of you having an untoward relationship?”
I gape at her in horror. “W-What? No. They died and she went to a foster home. Now that she’s eighteen, she has nowhere to go. We’re helping her out until she gets on her feet.”
Maggie narrows her eyes at me. “Hmph.”
It’s obvious she doesn’t believe me, but I honestly don’t care. The old woman is judgmental and rude. We tolerate her. Barely.
“Mrs. Groggins,” I say with a huff of exasperation, “I need to pay Reid a visit. I’ll tell him about your AC.”
Before she can continue this irritating conversation, I stride down the sidewalk hastily, eager to get out of earshot. I nearly plow over Derek from unit two who’s coming out of his door, still dressed in his brown work uniform.
“She’s out for blood,” I mutter under my breath to him.
“Fuck.” He backtracks into his home and quickly shuts the door.
The only person who can deal with that old woman without losing their cool is Brayden. That kid has the patience of a saint.
I bypass unit one where Brayden and Reid live, heading for the front office instead. Reid, despite what Maggie says about him, is a good landlord. He’s kept this place up well while keeping the rent low. It’s why we’ve stayed here so long. If something’s broken, he’ll get it fixed. Maggie just likes to complain a lot about nothing.
The main building next to Reid’s townhome is where the office and mailroom are. When you walk in, on the right, there’s a row of eleven locked postal boxes—one for each unit in the Moonlit Gables complex and one that’s used for rent payment drop-offs. I’m pretty sure everyone sends their payments electronically, except for Maggie, who still writes checks.
On the left is a huge wall of “missing persons” photos. Shockingly, it’s not created by me. Since Reid’s a friend of my boss, Sheriff Rick McMahon, he allows him to use the space for reminding us all of missing locals. Our complex isn’t the only one with these photos. Sheriff is dedicated to finding these missing people and even recently hired a cold case detective to dissect them even further.
In the middle of the “mailroom/missing person room” is a desk that no one uses. On it are ancient pamphlets about the complex and a few fliers from local businesses. There’s also a complaint box. This one is used by two people, Maggie, naturally, and the fuckface Troy Henderson from unit six. Sometimes, Reid reads their complaints to me while we have a couple of beers, and we laugh our asses off.
Reid is on the phone when I enter his office. By the sour expression on his scruffy face, I’d say he’s talking to his ex-wife, Jony. With Brayden turning eighteen soon, I’m sure she’s trying to get out of paying child support. She’s waited that kid’s entire life for this moment. It’s unfortunate his mom is a piece of shit.
“We’ll talk about this later, Jo. Do you even plan on coming to his birthday dinner?” He shakes his head, rolling his eyes. “Of course not. Do your children even know they have a half-brother?”
I can hear her annoying voice carry from the phone. She’s bitching at him for everything under the sun. When he gets tired of it, he ends the call without even saying goodbye. It’s amazing to me those two were ever married long enough to have a son together and manage not to kill each other in the process.
“Your day is going like mine,” I say as I sit down in the chair across from his desk. “The beer bros bring anything good lately?”
“You know the highlight of my week is whenever I can get Jony riled up,” he says with a smirk. “And yeah, they brought something over yesterday as ‘collateral.’”
I snort out a laugh as I watch him fish out a couple of locally made beers from his mini fridge. The beer bros are the neighbors on our other side in unit five. Kevin and Tyler Westin are college students who never seem to attend class. They’re beer connoisseurs, though. When they’re scraping together rent, and always late, they attempt to buy off Reid with free beer. It mostly works. I sure as hell don’t get let off the hook if my rent payment runs late.
After popping the cap off a beer called Sady Gala, he pushes it across his desk to me. I pick it up and sip it before committing to a huge gulp. Sometimes these local brews taste like shit. It wouldn’t be the first time the beer bros unloaded their unwanted stash of beer on unsuspecting victims.
It’s stout with a hint of the sweetness of an apple. It’ll do.
“Not bad,” I say before taking a longer swallow. “Came to ask a favor.”
“If it’s to fix Maggie’s AC, go ahead and walk your broody ass out of here.”
We both grin. I like Reid because he’s a bit of a prick like me. Where Travis is playful and fun, Reid is gruff and perpetually annoyed. I’m able to relate to him.
“Nah. I wanted to see if Brayden would want to give Savvy a ride to school tomorrow.”
Reid’s eyebrows lift. “She’s here. When did she get in? Travis run her off yet?”
“I don’t think Travis will be the problem.” I take another long, satisfying pull of my Sady Gala. “What the hell do I know about raising some kid? I need your help.”
He sets his beer down and crosses his arms over his chest, studying me for a beat before he speaks. “Look, man, I know you two tried to rescue her when her parents died and the system shit all over you. Had you been able to take her in then, I’d be giving a different speech right about now. But she’s come to live with you on her own free will. You’re going to need to treat her like a roommate, not a dependent.”
“She is dependent on us,” I explain with a sigh. “In my eyes, she’s my buddy’s kid.”
“Listen,” he says, eyebrows furling. “Take it from a guy who has a son about that age. They think they’re grown from sixteen on up. When you start treating them like an adult, they behave like one. If you treat her like the child you remember, she’ll act out.”
Wonderful.
“This doesn’t really help,” I grumble. “You’re supposed to like, I don’t know, give me a damn to-do list or something.”
He shrugs. “There’s not a list for this sort of thing. Everyone is out there just winging it, doing the best they can. I’ll talk to Brayden, though. Having a friend her age will help. He’s a bit of a loner, so this’ll be good for him too.”
“I appreciate that.”
“What’s really bothering you?” Reid asks. “You’re on edge and that girl can’t be winding you up this badly.”
I scrub my palm over my face and then polish off the rest of the beer before answering. “Some asshole took a shot at me today. Put a hole in the fender of the Explorer.”
His eyes widen comically. “What the hell, Cole? Could have started with that news.”
At the time, when the drug dealer I’d busted during a truck stop pulled a weapon on me, I’d been extremely pissed. I was able to subdue him before anyone was hurt, but all I felt at that time was anger.
Now that the adrenaline has left my system, I’m feeling off.
Shaken. Upset, perhaps. Tired.
Reid swivels around to fetch me another Sady Gala. I’m a fan of the brand, that’s for sure. Gladly, I gulp down half the beer to chase away the heavy emotions weighing on me.
“Try not to overthink the Savvy situation,” he starts but then pauses when his phone buzzes on his desk. He picks it up and frowns. “Dammit. Wanna go for a run early in the morning to continue this conversation? I have to pick up Amara. Her car won’t start.”
Reid’s newest girlfriend has the worst luck. Where Jony comes from money, exudes style, and left Reid long ago to chase dreams much bigger than him, Amara is the polar opposite. She cleans houses for people like Jony, can barely afford to pay her bills, and desperately needs Reid for assistance with everything. As much as I like Amara on a personal level, she’s too extreme for Reid. I wish he’d find someone in between.
“Let me know if I need to send Travis out,” I say as we both stand. “Five AM. Don’t be late or I’ll sic Maggie on you.”
He flips me off and I grin.
Surprisingly, I feel much lighter.
Maybe this thing with Savvy will be fine after all.