Chapter 4
Cole
I watched the black SUV disappear around the corner and waited for the relief.
Nothing.
“Fuck,” I muttered, kicking a table in the corner.
Nora Adams showing up at my front door hadn’t been on the schedule.
I should’ve recognized her, but I knew the Adams name better than her face.
The name had money behind it, connections, and enough bad history to make staying clear the sensible choice.
After everything fell apart, I’d looked up Gregory and his company, seen a few society photos with his wife and daughter, and sworn off all three.
So much for sensible.
Now here I was, and Nora Adams wanted my help. Part of me still wondered if this was some kind of joke. No way was she really in need of a contractor after everything that had happened.
History wasn’t even the whole reason I’d said no. Gregory Adams was one kind of trouble. Wanting his daughter five minutes after meeting her was another.
Nora was twenty-five. I was forty. Fifteen years.
I knew the number and my body clearly didn’t give a shit.
She had blue eyes, curves that had been hard not to track, and an expensive vanilla scent that was still hanging around my damn house.
Then there was her mouth. Full lips I could already picture on mine, my chest, wrapped around my coc—
Enough.
I raked a hand through my hair. I’d known her for one conversation and already needed to tell myself to stop thinking about her. That was a problem.
She was off-limits. The age gap was real. Gregory was worse. And the fact that I needed a list at all said enough about how badly I wanted to ignore it.
Pretty or not, she could still be just like her dad. He’d raised her. She had the name and some of the same attitude. That was all I knew.
It wasn’t much to go on.
Ellen had been the exception. No performance, no throwing the Adams name around, no treating people like they were there to be useful. She’d stayed in Misty Pines and stayed herself.
That was half the reason I liked this town. People could be nosy as hell, but they showed up. Work meant something. Your name mattered less than what you actually did with it. Most days, the city and its bullshit felt a long way off.
It made me wonder why Nora was here now. Why was she back when Ellen was no longer here? There hadn’t been a funeral. No family had come.
Was she here to take what was left, Adams-style?
* * *
That evening, I decided to head to the best spot in town to clear my head.
Jen’s was always busy, and I liked it that way. Same stools, same voices carrying over the music, somebody always calling to somebody else from across the room. Nobody needed an invitation to belong here.
I headed for the counter and checked the menu even though I knew Jen would tell me the special before I finished reading it.
She walked over with the same easy smile she gave half the town.
“Hey, Sully.”
I chuckled. “Hey.”
Jen eyed me. “You look like somebody got under your skin.”
“What’s the special, Jen?”
“That wasn’t a no.”
“We have smoky maple-glazed pork chops with mashed potatoes and green beans.”
“Mmm, sounds good. I’ll have one of those to go, please.”
“Coming right up, Captain.” She winked before taking the order around back.
I sat on a stool, craning my neck to watch the football game on the screen. My eyes drifted to a middle-aged couple who got up from one corner and started dancing when the music changed.
I smiled as I watched them. They didn’t look like they were trying to impress anybody. Just two people who knew each other well enough to get up and dance when they felt like it.
That was Misty Pines. Gossip traveled fast, but when somebody needed help, people showed up. They noticed when you did and when you didn’t. After the city, I’d expected that to annoy me. Instead, it made settling here easier than it had any right to be.
I couldn’t say I regretted moving here. The only downside was the shortage of single women. Age-appropriate single women with plenty of curves, to be more specific. That was my type, and there weren’t a lot of options around here.
I immediately thought of Nora Adams again, which made me wonder what the hell the odds were.
Out of all the people who could’ve shown up here, it had to be her.
“Hey, Mr. Sullivan…”
I cut my thoughts short when I heard my name. I turned and found Harper standing there with a smile on her face.
“Call me Cole, please.”
She blushed. “Oh, right—Cole. You worked on my house, remember?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
She smiled. “Someone asked about a contractor yesterday. She wanted some work done. I’m glad I bumped into you. I could give her your contact info. I think I lost the one you gave me.”
“I’ll give you another one.”
“Make it two. I know myself.”
“That’s concerning.”
My brows furrowed. “Who was it?”
Harper scratched her head. “Um… ah—Nora. She’s new here and wanted some repairs done on the inn beside me.”
I raised a brow. “Oh. She already found me, thanks.”
Harper’s eyes widened. “Oh, sweet! That’s awesome!”
“I didn’t say I took the job.”
Her smile faded. “Wait. You didn’t? She looked like she really needed the help.”
“Didn’t want it.”
“People keep moving here lately. I get it, though. Misty Pines is a great place once you settle in.”
I turned fully to face her. “She’s moving here?”
“Yeah! At least that’s what she said. She’s planning to make Misty Pines her home. You sound surprised.”
“Thought she was just passing through.”
“Well, she didn’t sound like it.”
I grunted as I gave it some thought.
“Harper, your order’s ready!”
Harper smiled. “That’s me. I’ll see you around.”
I flashed her a smile, and she left.
I frowned after Harper left. Nora wasn’t passing through to deal with Ellen’s property and disappear again. She was moving here. Choosing Misty Pines over New York on purpose.
That didn’t fit the version of her I’d built this morning.
Maybe she was running from something. Maybe she just wanted out. Either way, I’d made up my mind before I knew why she was here. I hated that.
Maybe she really did need help.
“Order’s ready, handsome,” Jen said.
I turned, smiled, and paid before thanking her.
That night, Nora stayed in my head. The part that bothered me wasn’t even saying no. It was that I’d never looked at the job. She’d asked for a contractor, and I’d judged the surname instead of the work.
Ellen had been good to me. That didn’t prove Nora was good, but Gregory being an asshole didn’t prove she was like him either. Maybe I’d been an asshole before I knew a damn thing about her.
Around eight, I locked up and headed for Ellen’s. If Nora was serious about the inn, the least I could do was look at the damn job before deciding she was trouble. Ellen would’ve called that basic manners. She would’ve been right.
The house was close enough to walk. Somewhere along the way, I had to admit I knew plenty about Nora’s family and almost nothing about Nora.
That could be fixed.
I stopped when I reached Ellen’s house and took a breath before walking toward the porch. Her SUV was parked out front, and the lights were on inside.
She was home.
I stepped onto the porch and knocked, looking around the house and remembering when Ellen had been the one living here. I heard footsteps and took a step back, waiting for Nora to appear.
The door opened, and there she was in a robe.
Her eyes widened as she looked up at me. She tightened the knot, which only made me notice the curves under the fabric and the strip of cleavage above it. I dragged my attention back to her face. I was here to talk about a roof.
She cleared her throat and adjusted the top slightly. “What’s going on?”
“I’ll do it.”
She swallowed. “I thought you said I should find someone else.”
“Changed my mind.”
“Why?”
“Does it matter?”
“It matters if you expect something from me.”
“Your family’s the one that keeps score.”
She scoffed, rolled her eyes, and started closing the door. I caught it with my hand before she could.
“What’s the job?” I asked.
She crossed her arms and said nothing for a few seconds, probably deciding whether she should go through with it.
“My granny’s inn. You probably know it. It’s about a mile from here. Crestwood Inn.”
I raised a brow. “Right.”
“The roof’s kinda busted, and a few sections of the walls need repairs. You’ll have to see for yourself.”
“‘Kinda busted’ isn’t a scope of work.”
“Then come look at it and write one.”
“You still want me on the job?”
“You’re standing on my porch, aren’t you?”
I nodded, watching her. “I’ll come by tomorrow at eight.”
She swallowed. “Thanks.”
Silence passed between us before I turned to leave. The door creaked behind me, followed by a soft slam.
I left knowing I had to be careful. Gregory had taught me exactly what trusting the wrong person could cost. Nora carrying his name didn’t erase that.
But a name wasn’t evidence either.
Tomorrow I’d see the inn, see how she handled the work, and make up my own damn mind.