3. Deacon
Chapter 3
Deacon
Not even an entire twenty-four hours passed, and my thoughts were already consumed with a petite redhead who I had thought I would never have to see again.
When Charlie Banks showed up on my front porch, I couldn’t help but feel like I was being damned to hell on earth. I ran away from her seven years ago. Leaving everything I knew behind me in Charlotte, only to be tricked by some cruel twist of fate.
Now, she was only a few acres away from me.
It wasn’t far enough.
I could still feel her presence like a ghost of memories past coming to haunt me.
Maybe slamming the door in her face had been an asshole move. Admittedly, she scared the fuck out of me and the moment I set my eyes on her, my body just reacted. I had to get away.
After she asked me if I was okay with her staying in my cabin, I should have said no. I was already regretting telling her it was fine.
Sleep evaded me last night and I’d spent the entire day today busying myself with mindless tasks. I checked on my best friend’s–Johnny–archery store since he was away on his honeymoon. Then I spent countless hours tinkering around the house trying to find any sort of project that would distract me.
When all the loose cabinet doors and leaky faucets were fixed, I texted Sarah and asked her if I could join her and Ranger for dinner. There was no way in hell I could manage another night alone knowing how close Charlie was to me. I needed a distraction, and fast.
I knocked on the front door of Sarah and Ranger’s ranch house and heard barking on the other side. As the door opened, a giant yellow hurricane of fur barreled through and nearly tackled me to the ground.
“Asher!” Sarah scolded. “What have we talked about you jumping on our guests?”
Asher wound through my legs. Bending over, I scratched the top of his head, right behind his ears. Giant golden eyes beamed up at me as his tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth.
“Don’t listen to her, buddy. You can tackle me anytime you want.”
When I looked up at Sarah, she had her arms crossed over her chest and was shaking her head. “I swear that dog could get away with murder and no one would be upset. ”
“You’re probably right about that.” Sarah and Ranger had taken Asher in while our best friends, Johnny and Willow were away on their extended honeymoon. She might have seemed frustrated by Asher’s antics, but I knew Sarah loved the dog just as much as his own parents did.
“Alright, let’s get you two in the house. It’s freezing outside today.”
Stuck to my side like glue, Asher and I followed Sarah into the house. Savory notes floated in the air and my stomach grumbled. Forced to distract myself all day, I’d worked around the house right through lunch and was desperate for a home cooked meal.
Sarah led us into the kitchen. I nearly choked on laughter as I saw Ranger at the stove with a pink apron tied around his neck and waist.
“Dude, what the fuck are you wearing?” I chuckled.
Spatula in hand, Ranger turned around and growled, “She”—he pointed at Sarah with the spatula—“made me wear this.”
Eyebrows raised, I looked at her.
She shrugged, but the gesture didn’t match the shit eating grin on her face. “I just bought him that new button down and didn’t want him getting anything on it. Men are so messy. You’re all just a bunch of neanderthals in nicer clothing.”
Ranger and I scoffed at her.
“Says the woman who put my friend in a frilly pink apron. We might be neanderthals, but you’re just cruel, woman. ”
Ranger leaned over and gave me a fist bump.
“Uh-uh. No way.” Sarah scissored her arms back and forth. “There is no way you two are ganging up on me tonight.”
Ranger’s expression softened before he stepped toward her and planted a kiss on her forehead. I looked away. “I wouldn’t dream of ganging up on you, sugar.”
“Good,” she responded chastely. Then I felt her attention shift back onto me.
Shit . I knew that look and it always meant trouble. Sarah had been the second person in Pebble Brook Falls to become my friend and by friend I meant she essentially forced me to enjoy her company until I actually started to like the idea of having her around.
Ever since I left Charlotte, and my entire life behind, I’d become somewhat of a lone wolf. I’d known Johnny from our time together in the military and when he’d told me about his hometown, it felt like the right move. I had needed to get away from the noise and prying eyes in the city. I had needed… space and clarity.
There was no part of me that thought moving to a small town would mean I would find my closest friends. Even if they were a giant pain in my ass sometimes.
“Speaking of ganging up on people, I met your new renter, Deacon.” The way her lips tilted upward, and her nose scrunched just a little, I knew I was about to be in trouble for something. But beyond that, my spine stiffened at the mere thought of Charlie.
Fuck. I couldn’t even think about the woman without my body reacting. I needed to get my shit together if I was going to survive her living on my property.
“Yeah?” It was the only word I could get out, but I regretted how suspicious it made me sound.
Ranger looked between us like he had no idea what we were talking about but knew I was in the hot seat for something. Like the smart man he was, he let Sarah be while he started to dish out our dinner onto plates.
What I would give to be in his shoes right now .
“Mmhmm.” Sarah nodded, crossing her arms. “Why are you torturing the poor girl?”
My mouth gaped and sweat started coating my palms. “What did she say to you?”
Sarah snorted. “Not much, just that you seemed pretty rough around the edges and barely said a word to her.”
I let out a quiet breath, hoping that was all Charlie had told Sarah and not that I’d been a complete ass who slammed a door in a woman’s face from utter shock.
Just play it off .
“I’d say that’s a fairly accurate depiction of how I am with everyone,” I said nonchalantly. “You know it’s difficult for me to be around new people.”
Her eyes narrowed. “It’s difficult for you to be around a beautiful redhead? Who I might add was a bright ray of sunshine when she stopped by my bakery earlier today.” The right edge of Sarah’s lip curled up. “That is the kind of new person you have a difficult time being around? ”
Ranger started divvying out our plates in front of the stools around the kitchen island. “Take it easy on the guy, sugar. Maybe it’s been a while since Deacon has played ball and this woman makes him a little uneasy.”
Sarah turned her burning gaze on Ranger. “A little uneasy isn’t how she described her interactions with him, babe. From what she described; he was a total brute!” Completely exasperated with the two of us, Sarah shook her head and rolled her eyes.
“All I’m saying is maybe there’s a reason Deacon acted that way,” Ranger responded in my defense.
They both looked at me expectantly and I felt my blood heat under the weight of their observation. Discomfort ran through me. They were getting uncomfortably close to the one thing I’d kept hidden from everyone in my life. When I looked down at Asher by my side, even he had a look of curiosity in his eyes.
The truth was so close to the surface, and I wondered what it might be like to share the burden with someone else. To not have to carry its heaviness all alone anymore. But as memories of wild flames, billowing smoke and the screams of a beautiful young woman filled my mind, my throat clamped up with unspoken words.
No one else needed to experience the pain from that day. Certainly not the people I held closest to me. It was mine to shoulder. And I fully intended on keeping it that way.
“I’m just not used to having someone in my space. It’s been only me out there for a really long time and it’ll take some adjusting. But I’m fine. ”
Sarah raised her brows at me. She didn’t have to say anything for me to know what she was thinking.
I groaned. “And I’ll make an effort not to scare her off.”
Sarah smiled and Ranger shook his head with a grin on his face. He knew the powers of influence his woman held. I’m sure she used her persuasiveness on him all the time given the pink apron he wore.
“Good,” she said with mock sternness. “Now, we can eat.”
We all took our places in front of the plates Ranger served. I didn’t waste any time digging in. With the day I’d had and Sarah’s pestering, my stomach had started eating away at itself.
The first bite of steak had me moaning in gratitude. It didn’t take me long to clear the plate and head back to the stovetop for seconds.
Great food and even better company were the perfect distraction as we wound up digging into a fresh wildberry pie Sarah had made earlier that day. Ranger poured me two fingers of bourbon and we sat around their firepit on the back deck.
In the silent moments, it didn’t take long for the burning fire in front of me to slowly morph into a scene I tried to bat out of my mind almost every day. It was a constant battle that raged inside of me, and I spent the rest of the night wondering how I was going to win now that I had a reminder of the mistake I made that day living on my property.
Sarah was right. Charlie was a beautiful woman. One I felt drawn to the moment I saw her tiny body curled into a ball in the corner of her demolished bedroom, the threat of death looming over her. The scar I knew she bore—the one that matched my own—had been my fault. And now I was forced to live with that mistake for the rest of my life.