Hustle Him (Bank Shot Romance #2)(16)
Author: Jennifer Foor

I had no idea who Jules was, but he was obviously thinking she was me, because he pulled me into his arms and held me there as he continued to talk. I stilled my body and closed my eyes, not sure of what to do next. I wasn’t exactly scared of Ramsey, but since I knew nothing about him, I also knew that he could be a woman beater or maybe even worse. He didn’t just smell of booze. No, there was some kind of woodsy smelling cologne that I’d smelled before on him. He pulled my body even closer, shoving my face into his hard chest. “I just need another chance, Jules. I want it all back. Please, baby, don’t be dead. Say it was all a bad dream. Tell me it wasn’t real!”

His words cut through my heart. He’d lost someone, possibly more than one person to death. This poor man was more broken than I could have ever imagined. My hands wrapped around his waist before I even knew I was doing it. “It’s going to be okay. You aren’t alone.”

I could feel real tears hitting the top of my head as he kissed it. As absurd as the situation was to me, it was very real for him. I didn’t want to pretend to be someone that I wasn’t, but I certainly didn’t want to piss the big guy off. After a few minutes, I was able to pull away. I got him sitting on the floor and ran to call my aunt.

She told me to just lock up and drive Ramsey home. In the frantic situation I was in, I’d neglected to ask where the man lived. It was a feat getting him into his truck and finding his keys, which were actually left in the ignition, but driving around until he told me where to go was even worse.

Finally, as he leaned against the passenger window, he led me up a long dirt road. It was scary and seemed like I was driving to a place to be raped and killed where I’d never be discovered. I stuck to my gut feeling and continued on until I came to a cabin in a clearing.

Ramsey opened the passenger door and let me guide him into the house.

The place was a mess. Take-out food boxes were sitting all over the tables and the sink was filled with silverware and cups. Ramsey disappeared into a back room and I was hoping that he passed out, finally.

After I called my aunt and told her where to come, I hung up and looked around the cabin. The living and dining area had high ceilings that showed the original beams to the cabin, but a set of stairs with three doors above, told me there were other rooms.

I walked into the kitchen and looked around at the exposed wood logs on all of the outside walls to the house. It gave it a country charm that I fell in love with. It wasn’t hard to find where Ramsey kept the trash bags. I grabbed one from under the sink and tossed all of the trash that was laying around into it. Then I washed dishes in the sink. While wiping down all of the tables, I heard a loud bang from the direction that Ramsey had gone.

I found him on the floor with his shirt half on and stuck over his head. Quietly, I kneeled down beside him and helped with the shirt. Right away, my eyes had to do a double take. The man was sculpted, I’d already known that, but he had beautiful tattoos on each of his upper arms. He began mumbling something I couldn’t make out as I traced them with my fingers. The artwork was magnificent, but what really caught my eye was the name that was intricately place inside of the masterpiece.

Jules

I twisted my body to look at the matching tattoo on the other arm and noticed that there was only one difference in the mirror image. Another name was displayed.

Katie

My body began to tremble when I realized what I was looking at. The man had built two shrines for his loved ones. I didn’t know how they died, but they were gone and he was lost.

As I focused on his painful reality, he caught me off guard and pulled me into him. When his lips found mine, I kept still. The Jack was prominent on his breath, and maybe I should have stopped him, but as he continued to place tender kisses over my lips, I found myself responding to them.

These kisses were so desperate and necessary for him. If I’d lost the one I loved tragically and thought that for just one moment I could touch them again, I’d be doing the same thing.

It wasn’t just the way he was kissing me though. I felt something, even though this had nothing to do with me. His lips ignited a fire that I had never felt before. Maybe I was too caught up in the moment to realize what was actually happening, but I grabbed the back of his neck and kissed him back more.

Finally, as we both paused to catch our breath, I felt his head touch down on one of my shoulders. “I love you, Jules,” he whispered.

It broke my heart again hearing him going through the motions of sharing a moment with his wife. This poor man had been holding all of his emotional despair inside. This wasn’t healthy. He needed help; possibly someone that could provide advice on how he could move on with his life in a way where he would allow himself to smile again.

Shortly after his comment to his wife, he climbed into his bed, sort of like a child would, and passed out. I noticed how the bed was made and in the living room was a pillow and blanket on the couch. He must not have liked sleeping in a bed without her.

As the pieces to the puzzle started to come together, I saw a different man before me. I didn’t go through his things any more than I already had. It wasn’t my place to know this story. It was going to be hard enough to face him when he woke up and realized what he’d done.

That kiss.

The kiss was a huge mistake on my part. He was never going to want to be friends with someone that had let that happen.

Still, I found it to be some kind of mission to help Ramsey as much as I could.

When I heard the horn outside, I stuck Ramsey’s keys by the front door and saw myself out. Maybe since I had straightened up the place, he wouldn’t be too hard on me. I doubted it though.

While reaching in the truck to grab my purse, I noticed a stack of newspaper in the backseat. It was the local tribune paper for the town that Ramsey was the sheriff of. The whole stack was the same issue and it was about Ramsey’s family that had died.

I understood immediately why he was in the shape that he was in. This article had caused Ramsey to lose control. He had drunk himself to forget. I grabbed one of the papers, but left the rest the way they were. Before I climbed in the car with my aunt and kids, I stuck the article in my purse. This was Ramsey’s story to share, not mine. It was apparent that he didn’t want people knowing his business. I wanted to march right into that newspaper office and give them a piece of my mind.

I didn’t know Ramsey, at all really, but what I’d learned today had explained pretty much everything. I knew for a fact that he hadn’t given permission for this to get out. He wanted his secrets to stay that way. Everything would change for Ramsey with the town knowing the truth. His tough façade would be replaced with pity.