Carrie was running late. The old truck wouldn’t start today. Something had probably broken loose on the last rescue mission, so she’d had to shove a couple bales of hay into the trunk of her car and drive it out to the far field to give Brownie, Chester, Rudy, Scratch, and Itchy breakfast. The horses she was currently boarding were always a pleasure to take care of. Two of them were rescues that had found a new home already but the new owners, Ryan and Ann Ravage, were waiting until their new barn was finished before picking them up.

After dealing with all the animals during her normal morning routine, she showered quickly. When she went to pull on her uniform, she discovered that she’d forgotten to wash the blouse, which still had stains on it. Searching the back part of her closet, she found a shirt that was cleaner than the other one and pulled it on just as her phone buzzed.

“Where are you?” Riley hissed into the phone.

“Late,” she said, tucking the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she hunted for her other boot.

“Mason’s here and I think he’s waiting to talk to you.” Riley’s voice was muffled.

“I’m coming,” She groaned. “If I can ever find…” Her fingertips touched the boot under her bed and she smiled. “Got it.”

“Well, hurry up. He looks like he has something to tell you and I don’t think he’s going to wait around long.”

Carrie rolled her eyes when the phone went dead. Riley had a way of exaggerating. Still, she doubled her efforts to get out the door.

She walked into the Golden Oar ten minutes after the lunch hour rush started. There was a line out the front door and when she entered the back, Iian’s dark eyebrows rose as he glanced down at his watch.

“Don’t start,” she signed to him. Iian was deaf, and one of her father’s best friends, so she’d spent all of her life around the man and had picked up American Sign Language long before she knew how to spell most words.

“Problems?” he signed back.

“Truck wouldn’t start.” She punched the touchscreen computer and clocked herself into the new system.

“I’ll have Jacob stop by and take a look at it.” He pulled out his cell phone and texted his son. Jacob was the complete opposite of his twin, Riley. Where Riley was outgoing and popular, Jacob was the quiet brooding type. Jacob was just like his dad. Connor, the oldest of Iian’s three kids, took after Iian and Allison—determined, self-motivated, and outgoing with a hint of Iian’s brooding style.

“Thanks,” she signed when Iian looked back up.

“Don’t thank me, you know the rules.” He smiled. “Have fun taking the trash out tonight.”

She groaned and rolled her eyes for show, then spun on her heels and got to work.

Riley found her just before she exited the kitchen. Her friend gripped her arm almost painfully.

“I was wrong, Mason doesn’t want to talk to you. I can take your section…”

She stopped her friend. “It’s okay, there is nothing between us.” She almost laughed.

Riley’s shoulders fell. “Why not?”

She shrugged. “There wasn’t a spark.” She turned and stepped out into the dining area.

Just as she suspected from Riley’s actions, Mason sat at a table near the windows with a young blonde woman. From across the room, she could feel the sparks shooting off between the couple.

Placing on her best “I don’t care that I don’t have someone in my life like that” smile, she made her way across the room.

For the rest of her shift, her mind pondered over why relationships were so hard. It kept gnawing at her that, with Josh, everything had been smooth. They had fit together so well, she’d never had to work at being with him.

Last night had been the same. Even though she was still pissed, having him at her place felt… right. Kicking herself for those thoughts, she tried to focus on her work.

When it was closing time, she spent extra time cleaning up, knowing she had to wait until everyone was done before she hauled the trash out to the dumpster behind the restaurant. It was punishment for being late. Not that it was a big job, but everyone knew that whoever got stuck with it must have been late.

She had just tossed the last bag into the large dumpster behind the fenced-in area when she smelled smoke. Walking around, she jumped slightly when she noticed a man leaning against the corner of the fence less than two feet from her.

“You didn’t waste time slumming it again with my son.” The last two words out of Kevin William’s mouth were spit out, telling her exactly what the man thought of his son.

Shutting the gate behind her and securing the latch, she took her time replying to him. She’d learned how to deal with Josh’s father long ago, but the man still creeped her out.

“I’m not seeing your son.” She stepped around him, but he threw his hand out, gripping her upper arm in a tight hold.

When she tried to jerk herself free, his fingers tightened painfully as he moved closer to her. His breath reeked of cigarettes and alcohol and she coiled back slightly. As she moved, his smile grew, and she kicked herself mentally for allowing him to get to her.

“What is it you want?” she hissed and once again jerked her arm until he finally let go of her.

“I want a lot of things, missy.” He tossed his cigarette over the fence towards the trash bin. Worry flooded her that the bin would catch fire.

Kevin stepped closer until he was a breath from her. This time, she held her ground and raised her chin slightly.

“You think you’re too good for us, you and your kind. I know what will happen if he comes sniffing around you again. Your old man can be a pain in my ass.” His eyes narrowed. “Mark my words, it won’t end well for you if you take up with Joshua again. He’s a chip off the old block.” He laughed as he turned and swayed his way back to his old truck, which was parked across the dark lot.

Carrie shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. Once his truck had disappeared, she opened the gate and quickly stepped on the glowing cigarette butt.

Driving home that night, she couldn’t get Kevin’s words out of her mind. Josh had prided himself on being nothing like his father. But the Josh she thought she knew would have never left like he had two years ago.

As she parked behind the old truck, she finally accepted that the boy she’d once known was no longer. In his place was a man she desired but couldn’t trust.

She showered and climbed into bed. As she lay there, staring at her ceiling with DeWalt lying at her feet, her mind kept going back to the first time she’d felt heat, spark, and pure desire with Josh.

It was the week before the end of the school year. She had just turned sixteen, and she’d hidden her crush for Josh Williams for more than a decade. During the last school dance of the year, he’d bumped into her in the hallway as she’d been heading to the bathroom to clean up the punch she’d spilled on her dress.

“Sorry,” she’d mumbled before looking up to see who she had bumped into. When she’d noticed his blue eyes laughing down at her, her mouth had gone completely dry.

Josh had been dating a few different girls in school. All of them had been cheerleaders or part of the popular club. She wasn’t any of those things. She was the quiet shy type that had always kept her head down. She had her own clan of friends, mainly Lilly, Riley, and Sara.

It wasn’t until he spoke that she realized he was holding her shoulders. Since the dress she’d borrowed from Sara’s closet was strapless, he was touching her bare shoulders. Bumps had risen over every inch of her skin.

“Sorry.” He’d almost whispered it. He glanced behind her quickly, then turned back to focus on the red stain on her cream-colored dress. “Oh, that doesn’t look fun.” He nodded to the spot.

She glanced down and sighed. “No. This time it wasn’t my fault.”

His hands still on her skin were causing her to babble about how someone had tripped and spilled their drink on her. She had even added that she thought the boy had done it on purpose.

“I’m sure you’re right. DJ is known for causing problems.” He tugged her gently until she moved towards the wall with him as a group of kids rushed past them. His arm went up protectively as they passed by. She glanced down at it and smiled up at him when the hallway was empty again.

“How about a walk?” he asked her. “It’s hot and stuffy, and I was just stepping out to get some air.”

She didn’t have to think twice about it. “Sure,” she said a little too eagerly.

They had ended up across the parking lot at the elementary school’s playground. He held the swing for her as she sat down, making sure to tuck the dress around her. Sure, there was punch on it, but she didn’t want to totally ruin her friend’s dress by ripping the delicate lace.

He gently nudged the swing into motion, then sat in the one beside her and started swaying with her.

“What are your plans after school?” he asked after a moment of silence. He was a year older than her and even though he wouldn’t be a senior until next year, she knew he was probably thinking ahead already.

She filled him in on the dream she’d had since grade school.

“I had hoped to go to night school and become a vet, like my mother.” She held in the fact that she couldn’t stomach the blood. He didn’t need to know about her phobias.

“Cool.”

“You?” She glanced at him.

He shrugged. “I want to get out of this town.”

Her heart took a dive to the bottom of her chest. “So, you’re leaving town after graduation?”

He stopped his swing from swaying and turned his body towards hers.

“Unless I have a reason to stay.”

Her heart jumped again, this time for joy. “Like, what would keep you here?”

He didn’t say a word as he gripped the chains on her swing and pulled her close until they were a breath away.

His eyes moved to her mouth. “Like this,” he said before gently placing his lips over hers.

The kiss had done more to her than any that had come before. Her entire body shook and sizzled as his mouth slanted over hers. When their tongues touched, she melted against him and knew that no matter what happened, she wanted to be with Josh forever.

---

Business was booming. Not only had Josh hired Mason to run the local shop, he had more than three dozen other employees around the States who were programmers or in sales for him.

He’d already received a few lucrative deals with major banks, credit card companies, and even several large online shopping sites. At this rate, he would need to hire someone to hire other people.

Currently, his focus was on the work that was being done on his apartment. The general contractor he’d hired, Parker Clark with Clark Construction, had been in charge of the remodel work done at the Golden Oar, which had impressed him. When he found out the man had married Sara Jordan, now Sara Clark, he’d hired him on the spot to fix up his building.

Currently, the plumbers were finishing up the installation of his new shower, but the men were still working on adding a small kitchen to the main living area. He’d divided the space into a living room, a small dining area, and a kitchen area along the side wall, where the workers were installing cabinets, countertops, a stove, a refrigerator, and plumbing for a kitchen sink and dishwasher.

The electrician was rewiring the entire place for updated lights and outlets, since plugging a toaster oven in had fried a breaker. Most of the plugs didn’t have grounds, which meant rewiring was needed.

Once the apartment was finished, he could focus more on the repairs needed for the downstairs office space. For now, the space downstairs would have to suffice as it was.

Down there, the walls were bare, leaving battered bricks and old windows to allow most of the hot and cold in all year round. He knew the electric needed to be seen to and had hired the electricians to begin work down there as soon as they finished upstairs.

He’d given Mason a key to the downstairs and had him setting up several computer systems and servers on the temporary electric the electrician had set up for him. Until he was done with that, there really wasn’t anything more he could do that couldn’t be done online or with a phone call.

He spent his free time settling back in to his small hometown. Which meant avoiding his father at all costs.

Naturally, he ran into the old man everywhere he went. He was eating breakfast at Sara’s Nook, the bakery down the street from his office, enjoying a hot cup of coffee and an apple strudel, when his father walked in. Kevin Williams could cause a scene anywhere he went. Technically, his father wasn’t supposed to be there, since Josh’s mother, Brenda, worked in the back as a baker, but Josh knew that she wasn’t working that day.

It was almost eight in the morning, and Josh could have sworn that his father was still drunk. When he tried to light up a cigarette while he stood in line, Sara, the owner of the establishment, quickly told him to take it outside.

His father cursed loudly, and several mothers in the bakery glared at him. Setting his coffee down, he stood up, took his father’s arm, and started pulling him out of line. His father tried to swing at him, but he was ready for the move.

“Sit.” He barely nudged the man, and he fell back into the booth Josh had been sitting in. “Drink.” He shoved his coffee at the old man. “Eat.” He handed over the strudel, then got in line to get another order.

When it was finally his turn at the counter, he groaned when he realized there were no more strudels.

“Thanks.” Sara smiled over at him. She pulled a box out from under the counter and handed him a cup of coffee. “On us.” She winked and nodded towards the booth where his father had finished the food and coffee.

He opened the bakery box and smiled down at a large strudel.

“If he ever gets out of line, feel free to call me,” he told her, and Sara nodded.

“Thanks. Everyone in town is happy that you’re back home.” She touched his hand before turning to the next customer.

Josh took his food and coffee back to the booth and sat across from his father.

“Don’t think that I’m going to allow that kind of attitude to go unpunished,” his father said the moment he sat down.

“Of course not.” He sighed. Nothing he’d ever done had gone unpunished.

He was surprised when his father remained silent as Josh ate. They stared at one another across the table as if they were strangers. Thinking about it, they were pretty unfamiliar with one another. His father had always been distant to his children. He had taken the role of enforcer seriously but hadn’t ever learned to love or respect anyone.

His parents’ marriage had been doomed long before he came along. Shortly after his brother Tom had been born, his father had taken to drinking and had lost his once attractive physique. By the time his sister Susie was born, their mother already had one foot out the door.

She’d spent most of her time at her mother’s place. Josh’s grandmother had sheltered her daughter from the abuse that had started when his sister was less than a year old.

It wasn’t until Josh was in middle school that his father had revealed that he’d only come into being because his father had forgotten to wear a rubber while taking his wife to win her back. His words, exactly.

When Josh had confronted his mother, she’d cried and confessed that his father had broken into her mother’s place one evening and raped her, thinking he’d win her back.

When he asked why she hadn’t pressed charges, his mother had quickly answered that the divorce wasn’t final.

“How can a husband be charged with raping his own wife?” His father had laughed his questioning off when he’d confronted him. From that day on, he’d had a new reason to hate his old man.

He and his brother and sister had been lucky to have both their mother and grandmother to raise them since their father had gotten as far away as possible.

Kevin had spent some time in jail for several different things. Assault, DUIs, domestic violence, even attempted murder. He’d spent five years locked up when he’d burned down a woman’s house shortly after Josh had been born.

He’d started dating a woman named Melinda when Josh was in high school and earned a few more notches on his belt from that fiasco. That relationship hadn’t lasted long, and Melinda had left with what little money his father had saved up.

Not that he blamed the woman. Actually, he was pretty damn sure that she deserved much more.

“When are you leaving?” his father asked, breaking into his memories.

Josh’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m not.”

His father’s fist hit the table, causing several eyes to turn towards them.

“I told you, I don’t want to see you in this town. I warned you…”

“Yeah, I know, but here’s the kicker. I’m an adult, it’s a free world, and you don’t own the exclusive rights to Pride.” He leaned back and smiled across the table at his father. “So, I’m sticking around.”

His father slung a line of choice curse words at him.

“Keep your voice down and watch your language. There are families present,” he hissed as he leaned forward.

“Don’t you tell me what to do.” His father stood, and Josh remained where he was.

Just then, Robert Brogan walked through the door of the bakery.

Part of Josh wished he could handle his father once and for all, but another part was glad to see the sheriff stroll in, looking like he was just coming in for a cup of coffee and some baked goods.

The sheriff’s eyes ran over the room. A smile played on his lips, and when he noticed Kevin hovering over Josh, he nodded to him.

“The sheriff’s here,” Josh added.

“Fuck the—” A hand set firmly on his father’s shoulder.

“Now, Kevin, what have we said about using language like that in a place like this?” Robert asked softly.

His father spun around. His eyes narrowed, and, for a moment, Josh was afraid his father was going to hit the sheriff. Instead, he shoved past him and walked out the front door without another word.

“Sara, I’ll have my usual.” Robert waved to the woman behind the counter.

“Sure thing, Robert. Have a seat. I’ll bring it out for you.”

Robert sat, taking the spot that Josh’s father had just vacated.

“Problems?” Robert asked.

“With him, always.” He leaned back in his chair again. Robert chuckled.

“Yeah, Kevin Williams has always been a pain in the…” He sighed and shook his head as his eyes scanned the almost-empty dining area.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

They were silent as Sara set a cup of coffee down in front of the officer and a plate with egg whites, spinach, and avocados on wheat toast.

“Amelia has me on a diet. She thinks my blood pressure is too high.” He glanced towards the row of sweets behind the glass counter.

“Thanks for that.” He nodded towards the front door.

“Anytime.” The man smiled over at him and Josh wished more than anything that he’d had a father figure like the man sitting across from him instead of the one who’d stormed out.