Secret Obession (Blue Collar Protectors #1)

1. Iris

Iris

Cool air blasted my face as I shoved my way inside the bar. Even with the press of bodies inside, it was far cooler inside than outside in the muggy southern heat.

“Over here!” Savannah’s soft features lit up in a smile as she waved me over to a table she’d snagged in the corner, with a round of shots in front of her, thank god.

She was a couple of years younger than me, and we hadn’t gotten close until the last few years, when we’d joined the same crafting group.

I’d since lost interest in crochet, but we’d kept up the friendship.

Maya was already seated in one of the rickety chairs. I’d invited her out with us at the last minute, since she was new in town, and she’d enthusiastically agreed. She’d even offered to be the designated driver, but I wanted us all to cut loose together.

“Hey, y’all,” I said, coming up behind Maya. She twitched at the greeting before her eyes fell on me. She was a bit of a nervous type.

Maya was a sweet little thing, all big brown eyes set against deep brown skin. Most days, she pinned her twists up, but today she’d taken the twists out completely, so the voluminous coils framed her pixie-like features.

Judging by the half-drunk beer in front of her, she was enjoying herself.

Shrugging, I grabbed a shot and downed it

“Rough day?” Savannah asked. As usual, she was put-together, with dark liner framing her green eyes and her long blonde hair pulled up in a high ponytail. She wore her nicest jeans and a high-necked tank top that hugged her modest curves.

Meanwhile, Maya and I were both wearing the same thing we’d worn to work.

Serviceable jeans and tops—our company kept things pretty casual—but nothing to write home about.

Like Maya, I’d changed up my hair, scraping it into a high ponytail, but beyond that I couldn’t be bothered to get dressed up for a night at the local watering hole.

“This vendor I’ve been working with will not read my damn emails, so I had to track him down on the phone, and he gave me the runaround there, too,” I complained.

Maya grimaced. “That sucks. Which vendor?”

“A florist, so not one you’ll have to work with, lucky you,” I assured her. Maya was our office manager, and while she wrangled our office suppliers admirably, as an event management company, we dealt with an unimaginable number of vendors.

“Well, at least it’s Friday, so you don’t have to think about work for another few days,” said Savannah. “Meanwhile, I have to be at the cafe at ten tomorrow.”

With that bit of wisdom, we moved on to more interesting topics, like if Savannah’s boyfriend was planning to propose this year—he’d promised he would, but it was August, so he’d already squandered three-fourths of the year.

Over the noise of music and people pressing in around our high-top table, Savannah told me she was holding out for a Christmas proposal.

I hid my skepticism. They’d been together for nine years. If he wanted to propose, he’d have done it by now, and without Savvy all but forcing him to do it.

Maya made all the right sympathetic noises, but she didn’t open up much about herself, not even after a couple of drinks.

“Oh, shit, Iris,” Savannah interrupted me just when I was getting to the good part of my latest failed date. “Is that who I think it is?”

I whipped my head around, hoping it wasn’t the guy I was dishing about. Then all the blood whooshed past my ears, leaving me light-headed.

“Oh, shit.” Should I duck out before she noticed me or walk right up and greet her? Or wait for her to come and find me? What was she even doing back in Oakdale Springs? I hadn’t seen her in eight years. Not since Dad’s funeral.

She looked almost the same, with a few more lines on her face, more gray in her dark hair, and she’d lost weight. It didn’t suit her frame—the same frame I had, the one that carried my curves with grace.

Shit. I’d spent too long staring with my mouth hanging open, and she must have spotted me. “Well, hey there, Iris. Come give your old mom a hug.” She sauntered over and wrapped one arm awkwardly around my shoulder without waiting for a response.

I stayed stock-still, caught between the urge to throw my arms around her and sink into her familiar warmth, and the urge to bolt in the opposite direction.

Savannah eyed my mom like a copperhead waiting to strike, while Maya looked politely confused.

My mom pulled back. “I haven’t seen you in so long! My goodness, you look so grown.” She must have spotted the shots on the table, because she added, “Old enough to drink, even!”

I unstuck my tongue from the roof of my mouth enough to say, “I’ve been old enough to drink for six years.”

Mom forced an awkward laugh. “Of course, I’m just teasing you.”

Maybe, or maybe she’d lost track of time and was covering. But though she held a beer glass, she wasn’t leaning on me for balance, and her pupils were a normal size.

Were we mirror images of each other right now? Both a little tipsy but enjoying ourselves? My stomach curdled uncomfortably.

Hopping down from my seat, I dragged her away from Savvy and Maya. “What are you doing in town?”

Her blue eyes welled up. “I just…you know. I’m getting older, and I ain’t treated my body like I ought to, so I’m feeling my age more than most. And I was thinking to myself, I ain’t seen my kids in too long, and my little girl is all grown up without me, and I just wanted to come see you.”

And now I felt like shit for getting all stiff when Mom hugged me. I’d had dreams about this moment. “Maybe tomorrow we can meet up and…?” Talk, catch up, get to know each other again.

I just needed some time to get my head around this. The last time I’d seen her, she disappointed me more than I knew was possible. A shard still cut into my heart, reopening the wound, every time I thought about it.

“Well, to be honest, baby, I’m glad I ran into you. I’ve had a hard week, and it’s been just about all I could do to get back here. Do you think I could crash with you tonight?”

I bit my lip and glanced around the grimy dive bar, where, despite her words, my mom had come first, before looking for me. “I don’t know, Mom.”

Mom flinched back. “Why not?”

I wanted to have my mom back more than anything, but this was too fast, too soon, after all she’d put me through. Still, I didn’t want her to disappear all over again. “That hotel out by the highway did some renovations a few years back. I’m sure you could get a room.”

Mom’s face dropped. “I don’t have enough money for a room. Especially not a fancy renovated one.”

My stomach dipped when I thought about all the flophouses Mom must have stayed in over the years, the kind of place she’d probably end up tonight if I didn’t help her. She deserved better than that. “Do you have Venmo?”

She gave me her username, and I sent fifty bucks. “This should help.”

“That’s all you’ve got for your mother?”

Something hollow opened up in my chest. She’d talked to my brother and my dad like that, but she’d never turned it on me before. “That’s all I can spare. Times are hard for everyone, Mom.”

A guy wandered up behind my mom and wrapped an arm around her waist. He might have been in his fifties, like Mom, or a decade in either direction.

With her crowd, age became a lot harder to tell.

He was skinny, gaunt almost, with greasy hair and short a few teeth, but he was dressed in a new-looking button-down over a T-shirt and jeans.

“Is this that daughter you were telling me about?”

“Yeah. Too busy for her mom, though.” Her lips flattened, sending a fresh bolt of guilt through me.

“You favor her. Isn’t that nice, Sue?” The new guy—probably Mom’s latest boyfriend—sent me a long, considering look. “Though you’ve got a little more meat on your bones.”

My skin crawled, and I searched for an exit. No amount of guilt was going to keep me within five feet of this guy. He looked like he’d sell his own mother for five bucks.

“Iris? We’d better get going; our ride’s almost here,” Savannah called out.

“Sorry, I’ve got to go,” I said, already backing away.

“Come on, we haven’t caught up at all,” said Mom. “Tell whoever it is to wait.”

Since I was pretty sure Savannah was lying her ass off, I shook my head.

“No. It’s hard enough to get a ride out here; making ’em wait would just piss ’em off.

Lunch, tomorrow. Just us girls.” She probably hadn’t noticed her boyfriend leering at me, but he sketched me out, and I didn’t want him in my house.

I took myself out of the bar, grabbing Savannah and Maya by the arms, before my mom could stop me.

“Is Tanner picking us up?” Maya asked, shooting both of us concerned looks, but thankfully she didn’t ask about what had happened back there.

Savvy grimaced. “No, he’s dead asleep by now, and you know how he hates being woken up.”

Yeah, sure. What a prince.

“Then who’s coming?” Maya’s face twisted. “I knew I should have just driven us.”

Shit. I braced for Savvy to say “no one” and tried to figure out which of us lived the closest, and how far I could walk in these shoes four drinks in. And how I could apologize to Maya for ignoring her excellent suggestion.

“Jackson,” Savannah answered.

I suppressed the urge to swear. “You couldn’t have called Cole?

” He was Jackson’s younger brother, had been in the year between us in school, and he and Savvy were friends.

Moreover, Cole wouldn’t deliver a scathing lecture on drinking responsibly while glaring at me, and I didn’t want to rub myself against him like a cat.

She shifted uncomfortably. “I called Cole, but Jackson must have been there and overheard, because he said he’d do it.”

Maya glanced between us, shoulders tight. “Jackson is the guy who owns the car repair shop, right? I thought y’all were friendly?”