Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
QUINN
I ’m flooded with appointments today, and not only that, I’ve filled up my schedule for the next month.
People kept popping in instead of calling, so it didn't take long for me to deduce that everyone was interested in learning more about the new girl in town.
The girl they suspect is in a relationship with Rhodes.
Wait, it's not a relationship. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but that kiss was intense. I lick my lips thinking of it, wanting to taste him again.
When he came by with lunch, I didn’t miss the way people would walk by the shop extra slow to get a peek at us. Rhodes is well loved around here, and it was actually pretty funny. Everyone has been nice about it, and they don’t seem to care that I’m an outsider.
“I’m sorry, everyone is nosy as hell around here,” Rhodes says while changing the lock on my back door.
“You don’t say,” I laugh. “But it’s kind of sweet.”
Rhodes nods. “I guess the advantage is that it makes the town a bit safer. Everyone knows everyone, and if a new person pops up, we’ll all know pretty damn quickly.”
“Has anyone mentioned someone popping up?” I ask, sensing he’s already dug into this.
“Nope, and the closest hotel is a town over. I know the owner, Nick, and he let me know no one has stood out. He’s only had a couple of families pass through and extended family from locals staying there while they visited.”
“He can just tell you that?”
“They don’t have a hardware store, and I’ve helped Nick a few times on repairs and ordering things he needed.” Rhodes shrugs. “He knows I won’t go telling everyone what he said.”
“Yeah, I didn’t take you as a gossip,” I tease. “Does that make you the black sheep in town?”
I earn a chuckle from Rhodes, and his deep laugh is sexy as hell. Sitting here watching him work is no hardship, and I’m certain I could do it all day. Boss is perched on my lap watching him too, and he seems just as content.
“That should do it,” Rhodes says and puts his tools away. “What about cameras?”
“What do you mean?”
“I could put some in the shop and at the doors on the front and back. The outside ones would be motion activated, and we’d get an alert if they’re triggered.”
“Then we could watch it back if something does happen?”
“It’s an extra layer of protection,” he says, and I think about it.
“You know it would be cool if I could put the camera feed for the front area of the shop online somewhere. That way customers can check in on their cats. It could give them comfort.”
“Comfort?”
“Yeah, people can be jerks, and they don’t know me. This way they know their fur babies are being taken care of. It’s not like the cat can tell them if I’m mean.” Rhodes’s expression lets me know he’s not a fan of this idea. “What, you think it’s stupid?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Then what?”
“I’m not real crazy about the idea of whoever it is that you’re scared of getting access to it. I think it’s a great idea and you should do it, but could we maybe add it down the road?”
“Right, I hadn’t thought about that.”
“Hey,” Rhodes says, and then his hand cups my cheek.
His thumb strokes back and forth, and the touch puts me at ease in a way only he can.
"One thing at a time. Let's get the cameras up and then go from there.
" I nod in agreement, and a smile spreads across his handsome face.
"Good. Because I might have already ordered them, so I'm glad we're in agreement. "
A laugh bubbles out of me, and I shake my head. I'm not going to be mad at Rhodes for doing something to protect me.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me," he says and leans in close while his thumb is still stroking my cheek. "You're my girl, right? That means I take care of you."
"I'm your girl?"
"That's how I see it, but if you're not there yet, that's okay."
"No, I like it." Okay, I love it, but I keep that to myself.
Hearing the words my girl come out of his mouth is hot as hell. Rhodes leans down and presses a kiss to my mouth, and I part my lips. My tongue slides against his, and my body heats with desire.
A loud meow followed by Boss butting me with his head has us breaking away. "Are you hungry, boss man?" Rhodes leans down and scratches his head.
"It's past his dinner time.” I sigh and shake my head. We stayed late at the shop so Rhodes could install the new locks, but Boss’s stomach didn’t get the memo.
"Let's head out then," Rhodes says and then helps me get my crap together before carrying Boss to his truck.
Those two are seriously bonding. Boss never lets men near him.
"So on the cameras I ordered, they have an app you can install on your phone."
I figured as much since they sounded similar to the doorbell cameras. “Okay.”
Rhodes hesitates before he keeps going. "Would it bother you if I had access to them too? Then I could check in on you throughout the day."
He’s afraid of scaring me, which only proves what a good man he is.
"You want to check in on me?"
"I do," he says without missing a beat. "Think it might put us both at ease. You're alone for long periods of time in the shop."
"Sure, you can watch me,” I say, and Rhodes reaches over, putting his hand on my thigh.
“I’m going to make them unnoticeable, and I’m going to put some around the house too.”
“That’s a lot for you to do.”
Rhodes gives my thigh a squeeze. “It’s not. I want them around the house, with or without a threat. It’s safer.”
“But you didn’t have them before.” If it was about security, wouldn’t he already have them at his house?
“Sweetness, I wasn’t worried about anything inside my house before now.” He gives me one of his slow smiles. If anyone is sweetness, it’s him.
When we get home, Rhodes makes us dinner while I take care of Boss. I know it’s time to tell him about my past, and I don’t want to hold back any longer. He’s done so much to put me at ease that I owe him the truth.
After dinner we sit together in the living room, and he must sense that I’m ready to talk. He turns on the couch to face me while his hand drapes along the back of the couch and plays with my hair.
I take a deep breath, deciding to start at the beginning. “My mom died a few years ago.”
“I’m sorry.” Rhodes' face softens into a sympathetic expression.
“She was murdered.”
His eyes widen, and he sits up a bit straighter. “Shit, Quinn, that's terrible.”
“It’s fine.” I wave him off, but he gives me a skeptical look. “Okay, it’s not fine, but it’s not as hard to say it out loud as it once was.”
“Time can do that.” His fingers stroke through my hair, and the gentle touch is soothing.
“It can, but it doesn’t change things. You know?” I shrug one shoulder. “It’s still there, and now it’s a part of me. Hell, it shaped a part of my life even though I tried to escape it.”
“Do you not talk about it because you don’t want anyone to know?”
“It doesn’t really matter since the information is public.
I had to testify against her boyfriend, and there are a variety of articles and other materials available to the public.
It’s why I didn’t move after she died. I wanted to go somewhere new, but circumstances forced me to stay.
Plus, I had the power to put him behind bars, and I owed that not only to my mother but other women. "
“That must have been rough, to sit in a courtroom and face him.” Rhodes is surprised when I smirk.
“It was actually nice to get to tell him what I thought of him while he couldn’t do shit about it.
He wasn’t so tough anymore.” Rhodes nods in understanding, returning my smile.
“He got life, but if it hadn’t been him, it would have been someone else.
I don’t know how, but damn, my mom had a way of attracting the worst men.
And I guess I inherited her decision-making. ”
Rhodes raises a brow. “Really?”
“Not you.” I snort a laugh. “Sorry, I don’t mean you at all. You’re so different.”
“Glad to hear it, sweetness.” He grins and takes my hand.
“During the trial, there was a blogger that called himself a journalist. He asked me out, but I brushed him off. We ended up running into one another here and there over the course of the trial, and we’d get to talking.
He knew my mom's case in and out, and honestly, it was nice to be able to talk to someone about it who understood.”
“Everyone needs a place to vent,” Rhodes agrees.
“Well, like my mother, I picked the wrong person.” I shake my head at myself. “When the trial was over, he kept pushing for more, but I knew I wanted to leave town. Plus, I never saw him that way. In fact, he was kind of a reminder of what happened, and I wanted to move on.”
"I'm guessing he didn't like the idea of you leaving."
"No, he did not." I let out a humorless laugh. "That’s when he started showing up everywhere. No matter where I went, he was there. The coffee shop, the grocery store, the library." I take a breath and lock eyes with Rhodes. "My bedroom."
“Quinn.” Rhodes's whole body goes solid next to me.
“I’m okay,” I rush to reassure him. “I managed to talk him down and convince him that we could try to date. When I finally got him to leave, I packed everything up that night and ran. I knew the police couldn’t do shit because I’ve seen it before.
I was witness to how a restraining order played out for my own mother, and I promised myself I won't be like her.
" I swallow down the emotion that’s trying to make its way up my throat. “To not end up like her.”
Rhodes cups my face between his hands, his green eyes staring straight into mine. “I promise you, Quinn, that will never happen. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
I want to believe him so badly, but my past is quickly catching up to me. I'm not sure there’s anyone who can stop it.