Done (Harmony Haven #1)

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

EASTON

As I walked away, I quickly turned back, gave her a wink, and strode to my truck. The last thing I wanted her to think was that I was angry or upset. I was just confused, and it felt like I was losing the courage I normally possessed when it came to women.

She made me feel like I was the weakest man in the world, and while some part of me was okay with that, the other part of me was done being so spineless. I wanted to prove to her, and myself, that I was strong, and only weak for her.

For the next few days, I planned to give her a little space. No fake reasons to go to her house, no notebooks to deliver. She had mentioned she was looking forward to her weekend with Max after his first week of school, and I respected that. Only a weak coward would feel threatened by a three-year-old, and I wasn’t that type of guy. At least, I hoped not. Everything about Jesse and Max was new territory for me.

With a deep sigh, I turned on to the main road that would lead to Harmony Haven and decided to call Miles to distract me. It was late, but if anyone was still awake, it was my little brother.

“Good timing,” he answered after two rings.

“How so?”

“Because I’m sitting here bored as fuck.”

“You must be on duty,” I laughed.

“I love this town. I chose to serve this town. But every once in a while, I wish someone would rob the old gas station or run some drugs through here.”

“Bro, don’t wish that shit on us,” I laughed, but with little humor. “Be thankful we haven’t had to face the kind of tragedy and loss that created who we are.”

“Mom and Dad,” he whispered with his own dry laugh. “Yeah, you’re right.”

For a moment, we stayed silent, both reflecting on the loss of our parents but not wanting to bring up the details. I’d come close to telling Jesse already, but I stopped myself. That conversation wasn’t first-date material. Nor was it something I needed to rehash with Miles at midnight.

“Had a date tonight,” I spilled instead , hoping it lightened the mood. “Same girl. Jesse. Fuck, she’s so…”

There was no way to finish that sentence. What was she? The only word that came to mind was way too intense for someone I barely knew. Someone I had never kissed. Miles would never believe me.

But to myself, I smiled, thinking of how perfect Jesse was.

“Sounds like someone has it bad,” Miles laughed, making me smirk to myself.

“Yeah I probably do,” I admitted. “Just spent all night with her and her son at Wal-Mart.”

“Thought you said it was a date?”

“We danced and shared a juice box, Miles. It was pretty official.”

“Wait,” Miles coughed a few times trying to suppress a laugh. “Wait. You mean to tell me you really did go to Wal-Mart and considered it a date?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“You. Are. Fucked.” Miles let loose the laugh, roaring so loud I wasn’t able to get a word in as he lost his breath at my expense. “So. Fucked.”

I didn’t deny it, and I was glad it made him so happy, but there was something more I needed to talk about. Something I needed his help with.

“Miles,” I interrupted him, finally needing to get to the point. “Rory’s a problem. Help me out, will ya?”

“How so?”

“She said some shit to Jesse when I had her at the station and I let it go. It's not like Jesse and I are together, and Captain Reed would kill me if I made a scene over something I wasn’t sure of. But then I found out earlier today that she took something personal from my truck. Something that has to do with Jesse. Now I don’t know what to do.”

“She’s wanted on your dick for as long as I can remember. Do what you always do and tell her no.”

“That isn’t helpful,” I groaned. “No usually works. Ignoring her, or playing it off when she crosses the line, never bothered me before. But now things are different. Somehow, Rory knows that Jesse is different.”

“I’d definitely tell her that you know she took something from your truck. Maybe even let her know you reported it so she knows you’re closer to losing your patience with her.”

“Seems like a pussy way of handling it.”

“Yeah, but it's better than punching a girl,” Miles argued, which was true. I’d already told myself I couldn’t stoop to lowering my morals. And knowing Rory, she’d probably think it was foreplay and get even worse.

“Why did she have to come back to Harmony Haven?” I groaned.

“You’d think after all those years in Atlanta she’d have come back a different person…. Oh shit, hey, I’ve gotta go. About to pull a red truck over on the highway.”

“Okay,” I sighed, “go do your job.”

Before he hung up, I saw lights in my rearview mirror. Blue and red, spinning with an obnoxiously bright glow, and a siren that matched the cadence.

“Are you pulling me over?” I yelled into the phone.

“Yeah,” Miles laughed. “I was posted behind that sign back there. You can’t be on your phone while driving.”

As I pulled over, he hung up the phone and approached the side of my truck with his stupid flashlight.

“License and registration,” he commanded.

“I was on my Bluetooth, Fucker.”

“Doesn’t matter, I changed the reason I pulled you over,” Miles nodded with his lips pursed. “You’re getting arrested for being a pussy. A hard up, completely gone, pussy, who has it so bad he needs to be locked up.”

“You asshole,” I laughed, not bothering to get either my license, or my registration.

“You gonna be at dinner tomorrow?”

“Gotta work,” I shrugged. “And apparently set Rory straight.”

“I don’t get her.” Miles leaned in on my window and curled his nose in disgust. “Wednesday, she acted like you didn’t exist.”

“Wednesday?”

“At Fiddler's,” he shrugged like I knew what he was talking about, but I didn’t, and there was no time to ask him before his radio started up with a call he had to respond to. “Oh good,” he moaned sarcastically, “Must be time to get the Murphy twins. Gotta get back to work.”

Jesse

Yep. Safe and sound. ;-)

After driving home, I texted Jesse to ensure she was okay. Three days later, I was still staring at her words and the stupid thumbs-up I had given her in return.

There had been so much training on Sunday, that I didn’t get to talk to Rory, so I was staying late Monday morning, hoping for the chance before we both left. While I waited for her to appear, I sat in the day room with Daniel, who was eyeing me from the recliner as I continued to stare at my phone.

My best friend had no idea that the stupid smile on my face was because of a semi colon. Sure, the four words and the closed parenthesis did it for me as well, but it was that “wink” she gave me that had me slowly spinning into the spineless pussy I had told her I was no longer going to be.

Miles was right, I needed to be locked up.

“Let me guess,” Daniel cleared his throat. “The ‘no charge’ chick?”

My eyes popped up to his, shocked at how right he was when I had been so careful not to mention her since the day she came to the station.

“Rory?” I questioned randomly, wanting to know if that was how he heard about my obsession.

“Rory?” He asked back, looking confused. “She’s the girl that has that look on your face?”

“What? No!”

“No?” Rory asked from behind me, standing in the doorway.

There was no telling how much she heard. Thankfully, not much was said. However, her arrival into the dayroom was exactly why I was there.

“We need to talk,” I stood up. “You and I need to get something straight.”

“Let’s talk outside,” she gritted between clenched teeth, looking angry. What reason did she have to be angry with me? I didn’t do anything. “Not here.”

Her eyes flicked to Daniel’s and I nodded, letting her lead the way out of the room. As we passed Captain Reed’s office, I looked in and nodded at him as well. His glower told me to fix my shit and get on with work, so that was all I intended to do.

Rory, on the other hand, got to the garage and spun around on her boots, throwing her hands in the air as if she was the one that had any right to be angry.

“What the hell are you doing?” She yelled.

“Excuse me?”

“The girl,” she yelled even louder, making me glance around to confirm the rest of the crew was still inside somewhere.

“This isn’t your business,” I huffed, almost wanting to laugh at how absurd she was being.

“We weren’t supposed to ever see her again.”

What the hell was she talking about? We weren’t supposed to do anything.

“I’m trying to save you from the one thing you never wanted, but you’re making it hard to be a good friend, Easton.”

All I could do was shake my head and back up, away from whatever toxic air she was breathing. Not once, in my entire life, had I ever asked her to cockblock me. Especially when it came to Jesse.

“I don’t know what you’re getting at Rory, but I know you took a binder from my truck. I know Captain Reed took it from you and I’m supposed to be out here telling you nicely to back the fuck off.”

Her sigh was full of frustration. Her shoulders slumped and she placed her hands on her hips and murmured, “Whatever. I found that binder in the parking lot.”

Bullshit .

“I’m serious, Rory.” My words were calm under a boulder of anger that wanted to explode inside of me.

“No, Easton, I’m the one that’s serious.”

She started to walk away, out of the bay and toward her car, but then stopped and turned back around. With no words, she started laughing, throwing her head back like I had just dropped the biggest punchline ever. Was I going insane?

“Sorry,” she waved at me. “I get it, just ignore me. It’s been a wild few days and I’m so tired.”

My jaw dropped, I was frozen in confusion and honest-to-God concern for her. What was going through that head of hers?

Things appeared fuzzy after losing the binder, but I wasn’t so delusional that I would have forgotten a whole conversation with Rory. Was it possible I had too much to drink and just didn’t remember? I had two witnesses and my own memory that said, no.

The only other thing I could think of was that she must have been playing a sick game.