More Than Forever (Providence Series Book 2) (41 page)

I looked down at my smartphone. Not really a smart move on a winding road, but I thought I was lost. I had to be; there was nothing but a cracked road and tons of trees. The navigation was off. I had to hurry up and set it. Thanks for location on the phone.

“Three hundred feet and your destination will be on your left,” the female voice on Google Maps said. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked back up just at the right time. There was branch lying halfway in the middle of the road. I swerved just in time to get only run over a small part of it. Though I made it safely out of that mess, my tire didn’t. I pulled into the bar’s parking lot with my limping car hobbling into the first available spot. Closing my eyes, I thought about the positive. This was a way better situation for me because there was no way I was going to go crawling to my mother and her husband and I couldn’t go back to my life back in Chicago. I had to make it here. 

Before I could even get out of my car, my cousin rushed out the door to the bar and straight over to me. He had a massive smile on his handsome face. He had the looks of a lady killer but a heart of gold. One day he’d find the right one. If he found the wrong one, I might have to gut her. 

“You made it, Yaya,” Brent shouted. His giant frame scooped me up and hugged me close before spinning me around. I laughed at the big buffoon. He was my favorite cousin and like the brother I never had. We were both the outcasts in our family. For one reason or another we never quite fit in with the others. I didn’t know if it was because I had been too outspoken and Brent going against the grain and starting his own business, but whatever it was we were estranged from the rest. It didn’t matter because he and I were the best of friends.  

“Yeah, I made it, but not without casualties,” I said, pointing my head toward my rear driver’s side tire. It looked sad. My poor beaten down ride was on its last limbs and I made it worse. 

“Oh shit, what did you do to it?” He walked over to flat tire and squatted down to see the mess I made. He ran his hands over it then shook his head at me. “The rim is dented as fuck.” 

“There’s a tree halfway in the road and I didn’t see it until it was too late. My tire hit the edge of it and popped on the spot. I assume me driving it the rest of the way is what bent the rim.”

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll call the guys down the road to take a look at it and have it fixed by the end of the day. So you want to get settled in upstairs before I show you around?” 

“Sounds great. I can’t pay a lot so I hope they’re reasonable.” I was really worried about the cost of a new tire. I didn’t have the money for a new tire. Maybe if they had a used one, that would work with my budget. 

“Don’t fret. I got this. Besides they are reasonable. It’s the tourists that get their pockets picked at the gift shops.” 

“Thanks, and I’ll pay you back.”

“No you won’t. Now come on. Let’s get your shit and move it on up.” I only had two bags packed because I didn’t want to give Mike any chance of catching me alone in the apartment again. He’d gotten out of hand the day before yesterday and that was one time too many. I hadn’t told Brent and I wouldn’t. There was no way in hell that he would be rational about the situation. Brent would be doing life if he found out the details. 

He helped me take my bags out of the trunk, then we walked around to the back entrance to his place. He had two bedrooms up there, so I wasn’t going to be sleeping on the couch. I could do a happy dance just for that. My body was sore from the drive.

“I don’t have chicks up here, so you don’t have to worry about that. Besides for next ten days, I’ll be on vacation and you will have to hold down the fort.” He unlocked the door and opened it to a huge loft looking space. Wood was everywhere from the floors to the walls and the wood beams supporting the ceiling. Most of the space was open except for the private areas. It looked like a great bachelor pad, fully loaded with a huge flat screen and sports memorabilia all around the room. I wondered how much sports stuff would be there. Brent was a Cowboys fan, but since we were in Colorado, I bet everything downstairs had to be about the Denver Broncos. 

“Going any place special?” I asked, looking into the kitchen area which was only separated by a half-wall breakfast nook. He probably told me, but my mind had been in a different world when he asked me to come down. 

“Yeah, a trip to the Bahamas, baby. I need a real getaway for a change.” Brent and I were five years apart in age and although it didn’t come between us. He’d been a grownup for so long that I knew he needed a break from reality. With money he won gambling on his 21
^st
birthday in Vegas, he opened up this place. It came as a shock to the family, but he loved his bar. 

We walked up the stairs and he opened the door on the right. “Here’s your room. It’s not very big, but I hope it works.” The room was pretty big and looked like a guy who hurried to make it look like a woman used this room. 

I turned to face at him with a big smile and rushed to hug him tight. “Thanks, Brent. Really thanks.”

“Hell, you were doing me the favor.” He never took credit for anything. Some woman was going to be a lucky broad one day. 

“But it came just at the right time,” I admitted.

His expression changed. Brent growled, grabbing my hand in his. “And one day you’re going to let me know who the SOB is that left that mark on your wrist.”

I pulled it away gently. “Not until you can keep yourself from going to prison or committing prison worthy offenses,” I warned him. I knew that he was just being protective, but I had to be the same way. 

“Do you remember that time at the banks of the DuPage River when I knocked out Bobby Stevens because he tried to kiss you after you told him to drop dead,” he said, reminding me that he had always been there, even when we were seven and twelve. 

“He didn’t listen, but this is different,” I said. I had to remind him this was a risky subject to discuss. 

“Yeah it’s more serious. We were kids. When a grown man puts his hands on a woman he deserves to get his ass handed to him and then some. Sweet Yaya, tell me he didn’t do anything that’s going to make me find him, did he?” I knew right away what he meant. 

“No, he didn’t. Trust me when I say that nothing more than angry tug on my wrist. I promise. So don’t look at me like that.” 

“I love you, Sonya. I can’t have anyone hurt you.” There was that ridged voice that came through gritted teeth when he was worried about me. 

“I promise I’m going to be just fine. Now do you want to show me the ropes so you can spend some time in paradise starting tomorrow?” 

“Sure thing, but let me give the shop a call. You start getting settled.”

Brent walked out of the room, pulling his cell from his pocket and gave me a wink before disappearing from sight. I plopped down on the bed. It was comfortable. I didn’t want to put away my things, I just wanted to rest for a minute. Sleep wasn’t something I had much of in the past twenty-four hours. 

Thinking about the fight with Mike as I was leaving our shared apartment, I couldn’t imagine how things would end up between us. How could I have not noticed that he wanted me? How could I not notice that dangerous look in his eyes? I was glad to be away from him. I didn’t care that I wouldn’t get my things back and that he probably sold everything or tossed it. We were only roommates for a year and never once were we romantically involved. In fact, I heard him bring home women sometimes and could even hear them fucking. There were no signs that I could see, but the mark on my wrist was evidence that I missed something. 

Brent knocked on the wood trim of the door. “Hey, sleeping beauty. Are you ready for the grand tour?” 

I arched my brow at him. “I wasn’t sleeping, but yeah boss. Show me your badass bar.”

I hopped off the bed and straightened my clothes. “So... they’re going to come and fix your car. It’ll be done in the next two hours. They usually busy, but the owner’s going to send one of his best to check it out.”

“Thanks, B. Really, I can work to pay it off.” 

“Honey, I wouldn’t let you do that. Besides, I had to call them so they can pull the branch off the road before someone else crashed into it on the way to my bar. I don’t need people trying to sue.”

“People can sue you for that?” I asked with a twisted expression. I didn’t get people sometimes. 

“Well it’s a part of my property, so I never doubt someone, particularly a tourist, being a major dick and suing for the last ten dollars in my pocket,” he grumbled.

“And the pack of Big Red gum,” I laughed.

“Oh, no. Don’t say that. I couldn’t lose my gum.” He grabbed at his chest, like he was going to pass out from such a thought. He’d been chewing Big Red gum since we were kids. It’s like his favorite. I don’t know how he could do it. I knew it tasted good, but it made my tongue raw after a couple pieces. 

“There’s a name for that, you know?” I teased with wide eyes and a big innocent smile. 

“I know I have an oral fixation, but it could be worse.” 

 “Whatever. Show me around.” I led the way back downstairs. Once we got to the front door, he took over and led me to his bar. It was so much cooler than I expected, even though it was full of Broncos helmets and Jerseys. 

“So this is my place. What do you think of the setup?” 

“Well it isn’t so bad. Although I think you could change the Broncos gear with the Bears.”

“Yeah, not going to happen. If I’m not going to feel the wrath for the Cowboys, why would I do it for the Bears? Sorry sweetheart, try again.”

“It was worth a shot.”

“Not if you want to get shot. These boys up here take their football seriously,” he replied.

“Do they, now? I get to bust their chops. Awesome,” I said with an exaggerated nod. 

“Give them hell, Yaya,” he approved. I loved football and even though the Broncos won the Championship their odds of winning again was less. My Bears and his Cowboys weren’t going to do any better according to the stats, but we weren’t fair-weather fans. So if they won it all or only won a game they were still our teams. 

After about two hours into my first shift, the owner of the tire place called Brent and told him that he couldn’t send someone out until the next day. Brent told him it was fine because there was an accident down the road and luckily everything was okay, but they needed to handle the tow of both cars. 

“You can borrow my car while I’m gone, but I know they’ll take care of it tomorrow.”

“Do you need me to drive you to the airport?” 

“No, I have a friend of mine picking me up but thanks.”  

~~~~~

The next morning, I was all alone in the apartment. Brent was gone and that meant I was the boss for the next week. Nerves struck me. I was going to meet his staff. There were three other employees, and I knew they wouldn’t like me since I was an interloper. Brent told me that was nonsense because they were all nice. 

I hurried down there to see four people waiting for me. One guy was leaning over the bar with his elbows. The two women were sitting at a table with the handsomest man I’d ever seen. I took a big gulp of air because suddenly I felt like I couldn’t breathe. My eyes immediately moved to his. Brent only had three staff members here so who was the other person. The man in the chair stood up and I took a step back. Holy shit, what did they feed people here? I really hoped the over grown six foot something giant wasn’t a part of the staff. The feeling rushing over me just from the first glance hit me like a brick wall. It straight up lust. I wanted to climb up him and grind my untouched body against his strong one. 

“Um, hello, everyone. I’m Sonya, and I’ll be holding down the fort for Brent until he comes back. Although, I’m sure it will be simple since he raved about his team,” I said without taking my eyes away from the man in jeans and a black tee shirt that hugged the muscles on his arms. 

One of the chicks at the table noticed my gawking and said, “Don’t worry, he’s a gentle giant. He won’t bite and he doesn’t work here.” 

“Oh. So what are you doing here?” I asked with a sassy tone. I didn’t mean to but why did mister perfection just mosey on in here when he didn’t even belong and fuck up my cool no nonsense way of managing a bar. It wasn’t time for the bar to be open for another five hours so it was a fair question. 

“I’m here to fix your flat apparently.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Oops, he worked for the tire place. I didn’t mean to be rude to him. 

“No sweat.” 

“Here’s your water, Shane,” the guy who’s name I couldn’t remember for the life of me at the moment handed the mechanic. 

“I’ll be outside. I’ll let you know when I’m done,” he grumbled, strolling out of the place like he didn’t just knock my world off kilter. 

“He’s not available, honey,” Mack said. That was it his name. As soon as the big guy gave me room to breathe I could remember the other guy’s name. I was in big trouble if he came back in during working hours.