Hustle Him (Bank Shot Romance #2)(17)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Once I climbed in the car with my family, I knew that he was going to be on my mind until I saw him again. It wasn’t just his problems that I was concerned about. That kiss may not have been meant for me, but it sure did a number on me, just the same.

Chapter 9

Ramsey

I woke up and had no idea where I was. After assessing my surroundings, I realized that I was in my bedroom at the cabin. It was dark outside and I could hear the crickets and other insects outside making their normal nightly sounds.

As I tried to stand up, my headache kicked in, sending me back down on the bed.

The weirdest thing was that when I went out into the living room, it was cleaner. A trash bag was tied and leaning against the kitchen entryway. I looked further and saw that even the dishes were done. Thinking that someone had been in my house, I headed toward the door and found that it was not only locked, but my keys were right where I usually left them.

Had I been that inebriated that I didn’t remember doing all those things? I remembered arriving home and drinking, but nothing after that. I knew I could scratch my head all day and not make sense of things. Plus, the problem that had caused my needing to become intoxicated was still out there. By now half the town knew about my family. I hated to think how many people were going to confront me about them and my feelings.

I had several missed calls from the station, as well as a few numbers that I didn’t recognize. The clock on the microwave read eleven. I’d slept the whole damn day away.

Deciding not to push my luck, I called my deputy to see what all I had missed. Just like every day, it was pretty quiet. He had called me to make sure I was alright and let me know that a few people from town had called for me, including both of our two pastors.

I knew what they wanted.

They wanted to offer me counseling to help me get through my horrific ordeal. The pastor from where I’d lived before had offered me the same thing. Nothing was going to help me unless someone could raise the dead.

At close to midnight I called it a night. There was no way that I was going to find anything to do to clear my mind and my head was pounding, so bad that I just wanted to take some pills and sleep it off.

The next day I did go into work, except I locked myself in my office and did some paperwork that I had procrastinated over. By the time that four came around, my stomach was growling something fierce. I needed a good filling meal and there was only one place I knew where to go for that.

Last Mile Bar and Grill may have had a new employee running the place, but the food was still just as good. I think Sue was still doing most of the cooking from home. When I walked inside, I spotted the good looking blonde behind the bar. She looked up when she heard the door, but looked shocked to see me. It made no sense since we’d actually gotten along the last time I’d come in.

Figuring that she was just having a bad day, I headed toward the bar and sat down. This was far enough out of town where I never ran into anyone. It was also rundown and I think it scared most locals away. Since I was officially avoiding my town like the plague, this was the best place to be.

Vessa approached me with the same look on her face. "What’s for dinner?"

"We went shopping today. You can have anything on the menu. I made a big pot of spaghetti if you like that." She refused to look at me. I didn’t get it.

"You made it?"

A half smile formed in the corner of her lip. "Oh my word, am I dreaming or did you just say something funny?"

"It happens every once in a while." Truthfully, I couldn’t even remember the last time I had made a joke for the purpose of making someone smile.

"I will have you know that I can cook pretty damn good. If you’d rather have a microwave hotdog, I’d be glad to get you one." She handed me a drink and waited for my comeback.

"I guess I can try the spaghetti, since you claim to be so good and all."

She let out an air filled laughed as she shook her head and walked back into the kitchen. A couple minutes later she came out with two plates of spaghetti. She sat one in front of me and slid the other one right beside it. Then she placed two sets of silverware down near the plates. I looked around, but didn’t see anyone around that was waiting for food. It only took Vessa a second to make herself a soda and walk out from behind the bar to sit next to me.

She looked over and smiled as she grabbed her fork and took a bite. "Don’t look at me like that. I’m starving and this is one of my favorites. If you need to take your plate over to your little corner, be my guest. I just thought it would be nice to not have to stand up and eat behind the bar."

I watched her take another bite and start chewing again. She opened her mouth with food still in it, to see how I would react. I shook my head and grabbed my own fork. It wasn’t until I’d taken a couple bites that she put her fork down and stared at me. "What?"

"I just figured you’d get up. I don’t know much about you, but I know you don’t like company. I must be growing on you."

I didn’t know if it was that or the fact that the whole world was closing in on me and she was the only person that wasn’t judging me. I hadn’t wanted a friend in a long time, but things had changed. My secret was going to spread throughout the town and eventually Sue and Vessa would know it too. For some reason, I wanted to be around her before she too felt sorry for me and pushed me away.

"I just wanted to be close to the bar when I died of food poisoning."

Vessa smacked me in the arm, making me laugh out loud. Her eyes got real big and she smiled too. "I had no idea that you had teeth. I mean, you never show them. I didn’t think you knew how to smile, with all your hermit qualities."

She took her napkin and wiped her lips, but as she pulled away, I noticed something familiar about her mouth. When I thought she noticed what I was staring at, I turned my attention to my plate of food. "I always liked having this for dinner. My mom used to make these garlic knots that…"

"Oh shit!" Vessa went running into the kitchen.

I got up and followed behind her, taking her tone as a sign that something was wrong. By the time I got in there, she was waving a towel in front of a very smoky open oven. I could smell the garlic and realized what was going on. "Guess that’s our garlic bread?"

"Damn, I made that from scratch. I can’t believe I forgot about it. They’re ruined now." She walked over to the counter and pulled out four slices of bread. "Guess this is the best I can do."

It was hard not to laugh at her. I’d been teasing her so much that she’d set herself up for another catastrophe. The thing was, smiling made me feel better about what was going on in my life. I wanted to be angry; to beat the shit out of something or go to the shooting range. Being around this woman, settled me down. I just couldn’t explain it.