Chapter 3
ROWEN FIRED UP THE GAS
grill in his backyard. He slathered the four beef rib racks again with his famous homemade barbeque sauce. His mouth watered as the spicy scent tickled his nose.
Nothing better than a rack of ribs.
The evening summer sun beat down on his body like the wind carried heat from a fire. He sat on top of his wooden picnic table and cracked open a cold beer. The neighbor’s children behind him ran around with squirt guns, yelling and laughing. More children’s voices echoed from down the street. His heart swelled.
“Hi Mr. Clark!” Little Suzie raced around a couple of trees as she ran toward him, her arms flapping wildly. “Mommy’s making potato salad to bring for dinner tonight!”
“How are you, Princess?” he asked helping her climb up on the table. “It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve had the pleasure of your company.”
She might have only been four-years-old, but she had the personality and tenacity of a teenager.
“We went to visit Grandma.”
He batted her nose and she giggled in one of those belly laughs only children produced. “Mommy says we have a new neighbor.”
“We do and she’s a doctor.” A doctor who uses her hands as tools of destruction, but he didn’t think he should traumatize young Suzie like he’d been as a small child.
“Cool! Mommy and I baked cookies today for her. Do you think she’s home?” Suzie crossed her ankles and pumped her little legs much like she would if she were on the swing set.
“Shall we go find out?” Mentally, he smacked himself on the backside of his head for using a cute little girl as an excuse to see his sexy neighbor.
“Yes!” Suzie leapt from the table, stumbling.
He reached down, grabbing her arm to keep her from falling on her knees. He scooped her up to his hip and waved to her mother. “We’re going to meet the new neighbor,” he yelled.
Elizabeth Easton nodded. The woman had four energetic kids between the ages of four and twelve. Three boys and Suzie, who ruled the roast. The Easton’s were good neighbors and Rowen enjoyed tossing a football with the boys, but Suzie had wormed into his heart with her innocent sweetness.
But mostly because the kid said exactly what she thought and had more confidence in herself than most grown women he’d met.
Her little fingers gently gripped his shoulders as he strolled across the yards, making his way to the front of Heather’s house, grateful her SUV had been parked under her carport. His heart beat a little faster and the swirling sensation of butterflies filled his middle, something he hadn’t felt since high school.
“I want to ring the bell!” Suzie exclaimed as he stepped onto Heather’s front stoop.
He rested Suzie on his hip, grateful the independent little girl’s desire to be held gave him a convenient way to conceal his insecure, school boy shaking hands.
He waited for what seemed like an eternity for Heather to open the door.
“Hi! I’m Suzie Easton!” She held out her hand.
Heather glanced between Rowen and the little girl. “I’m Miss Heather.”
“Oh, but you’re a doctor, should I call you doctor something?”
The corners of Heather’s mouth tipped upward in a bright smile. “Doctor is too formal for neighbors,” Heather said, shaking the little girls hand. “So, where do you live?”
“Behind Mr. Clark. We’re having dinner at his place tonight. Oh, and I made you cookies.” Suzie paused, cupping Rowen’s cheeks with her tiny little hands. “I should have brought the cookies.”
“Why don’t you go get them and bring your mom, dad, and brothers to my backyard,” Rowen said. “I’ll invite our new friend to dinner.”
“Okay!” Suzie said with a bright smile.
The sound of an engine roaring behind Rowen stole his attention as he glanced over his shoulder, setting the young girl down. The second her feet hit the concrete, she was off, running like she was being chased by a heard of Spanish bulls. “Be careful,” he called when a spiffy dark blue BMW rolled to a stop in Heather’s driveway.
“Shit,” Heather muttered.
“What’s wrong?”
A tall man, well-muscled, closed to Rowen’s height, dressed in a button down, light blue shirt, with pink golf shorts stepped from the vehicle.
“That’s my ex-husband.” She chomped down on her fingernail. “I hate to ask another favor, but do you mind staying until I can get him to leave.”
“Not at all.” Rowen hated when people asked him why he and his ex-wife had split up, not so much because she’d been having an affair, though humiliating, but because he didn’t think the why mattered anymore. With that thought, he felt a sudden need to know everything about Heather and her dapper-looking ex-husband.
“Jeff, what are you doing here?” She folded her arms across her middle.
“I told you I’d be in town on business and that I wanted to have dinner.” Jeff held his hands out to the side and smiled. “We need to talk, baby.”
Rowen cringed, feeling the tug of jealously itch his fingertips. Not only that, he hated it when men referred to a lady as baby.
“We’ve been over this,” she said with a tight voice. “We have nothing left to talk about.”
Jeff stood three paces from the bottom step to the house eyeing Rowen with disdain oozing from his gaze. “I’m not sure who you are, but I’m Heather’s husband and if you don’t mind—”
“Her ex-husband.” Rowen inched closer to her, casually sliding his hand around her waist. “And I do mind.”
“Get your hands off my wife.” Jeff’s voice took on a possessive tone that made the hair on Rowen’s neck stand up.
“I’m not your wife and you’re not welcome here,” Heather said, her voice firm. Her muscles tightened and twitched under Rowen’s hand.
“You heard the lady.” Rowen didn’t like getting into pissing contests with men, especially ones he doesn’t know, but Jeff appeared to the kind of man who didn’t back down.
Never a good sign.
Jeff pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes to tiny slits. “Heather, I’m not leaving until you give me five minutes alone.”
Heather’s body shivered.
Rowen pulled her closer, curling his fingers around her slender hip.
“Please, Jeff. I’m asking your nicely to leave.”
“Five minutes, baby, that’s all I ask.” Jeff took a couple of steps closer.
“Leave,” Rowen said.
“You need to leave.” Jeff put his hands on his hips and jutted out his chin. “Tell him to leave.”
“No,” Heather said. “He’s welcome, you’re not.”
“Mr. Clark! Miss Heather!” Suzie’s voice echoed in the air.
Rowen sucked in a deep calming breath as Suzie skidded to a stop in front of Jeff with a Tupperware container full of cookies.
“Who are you?” Suzie asked, tilting her head, her messy curls bouncing with her action.
No way was Rowen going to give Jeff the opportunity to say much of anything, especially in front of an innocent child. “That’s an old friend of Miss Heather's who was just leaving.”
“Is this your daughter?” Jeff asked, his smile curved. “Where’s your wife?” He arched a brow, staring at Rowen.
He’d had about enough of this asshole, but now that Suzie had joined them, he really needed to keep on lid on his temper, because all he wanted to do was take a pot shot at this jerkoff.
Suzie giggled. “Mr. Clark doesn’t have a wife and Mrs. Baker says he and Miss Heather are going to be a couple because he jumped Miss Heather in the driveway and Mrs. Baker says it’s about time Mr. Clark has some babies of his own.”
Heather gasped, covering her mouth.
Rowen choked on his own his own breath, but kept an eye on Jeff, who now had his hands clenched at his sides.
“Princess,” Rowen said, bending over and scooping the girl into his arms. “Mrs. Baker said I jump started
Miss Heather’s car
. The words you left out change the meaning of the story.”
Suzie rolled her eyes, still clutching the cookies in her hands.
Rowen handed Suzie to Heather, who stared at him with wide-eyes, but gracefully took the child into her arms.
He smiled, glancing over his shoulder, seeing Suzie’s family march into his back yard.
“Why don’t you two ladies’ head over to my patio. I’ll be over in a minute to start dinner.”
Heather nodded, carrying Suzie down the steps. “Goodbye, Jeff,” she said, hightailing it out of there like her ass was on fire.
As soon as she crossed the properly line, Rowen inched forward. “Heather doesn’t want you around, so if I were you, I’d stay away.”
“Is that a threat?” Jeff took two steps forward, his body tense and ready for a fight.
“No, but if I see you bothering her again, you’ll regret it.”
Jeff laughed, pointing in the direction Heather had gone. “That’s my
wife and she’s going to come back to me.”
Rowen seriously doubted that.
“Now excuse me while I go talk to my wife.”
Rowen stepped in front of Jeff, blocking his way. “That’s my house. My yard. My property. You set foot on it and I’ll have the cops here so fast it will make your head spin. And if you’re not off Heather’s property in the next five minutes, I’ll make sure the cops—”
“Do you have any idea who I am? I wouldn’t be tossing threats out there because my family’s reach is far and wide.”
“I don’t give a shit who you are or who your family is.” Rowen held up his cell phone. “But you should care about the long line of law enforcement in mine, because I could have your ass hauled off to jail faster than you could whip out daddy’s credit card.” Rowen’s blood boiled. For the most part, the world knew him as a laid-back man, who couldn’t hurt a fly, but he’d hurt this asshole if came anywhere near Heather again.
“You’re fucking with the wrong man.” Jeff backed up, his hands up in the air, a menacing smile dancing across his shallow face. “I’d watch your back if I were you.”
Rowen shook out his hands as he watched Jeff backed his fancy-schmancy car out of the driveway and peeled off down the road, kicking up some loose gravel.
Taking a few deep breaths, Rowan collected himself before heading to the backyard. He plastered a smile on his face as he greeted his neighbors, determined to enjoy his evening.
But when it was over, he was going to find out what the hell had happened in Heather’s marriage and subsequent divorce, because if his instincts were right, if he ever saw that man again, he'd likely be forced to lay him flat.