Playing with Fire (2 page)

Noelle’s momma, God rest her soul, had
tried to talk her into leaving Lenny so many times, but Noelle
never wanted to listen. Unfortunately his violence got worse as
time went on, and it wasn’t just him that treated her like dirt.
He’d learned to be heavy handed from his daddy, who also seemed to
find it necessary to ‘keep her in her place’.

Noelle closed her eyes, but images of
the last six years haunted her. She’d hoped they would subside with
distance, but they were still nipping at her heels. She tried to
shake the images from her mind and wiped at the tears falling from
her eyes.

That was the past. The day when they
vanished couldn’t come soon enough, but she took comfort in knowing
that never again would she have to go through the fear on a daily
basis. Never again would she have to deal with Lenny or his
daddy.

She’d be damned if she left a trail
for either of them to follow. By time Lenny got home that first
night, she’d already been west of Oklahoma City. Her hometown of
Sulphur Rock, fifteen minutes east of Batesville, wasn’t even a
blip in her mirror and she never planned on going back.

Noelle looked up at the Arizona sky.
Without any street lights around, the heavens loomed black as coal
overhead, but the stars seemed close enough to touch.

She remembered lying in the yard with
her momma as a little girl, watching the stars move along the sky.
They’d spent many nights under the stars. Her momma was the
smartest woman she had ever known, even if she only had a
tenth-grade education.

An image of her mother came to her:
Ellen Dupre stood in her favorite orange shorts and a sleeveless
white shirt with a silk scarf holding her long, amber hair out of
her face. She always said that Noelle was a spitting image of her,
down to the freckles across her nose and down her arms.

Noelle smiled, knowing her momma would
be so proud of her for finally getting away from the violence. From
this night forward, life would be very different. Once she reached
California in the morning, she knew things would fall into place
for her life again.

Noelle fell asleep thinking of all the
good things that awaited her.

Fourteen hours later, after a solid
sleep, a refreshing shower at a truck stop, and another six hours
of driving, Noelle finally pulled to a stop at the side of a road
overlooking the beach in La Jolla.

She got out of the U-Haul and stared
across the hood of the truck at the large expanse of water before
her. It was the first time she’d ever seen the ocean and its sheer
size made her feel like a tiny speck.

She looked to the left and watched a
bride and groom walk up the beach stairs happily. She wasn’t sure
if she’d ever get to a place where she could trust a man again, let
alone love him, but she couldn’t help shout out “Congratulations!”
to the couple.

To her surprise, the bride walked
toward her and smiled. “Just moving in?” She asked as she motioned
to the packed truck.

Noelle nodded. “Yeah. California
sounded as good a place as any to start over.”

The bride gave an almost knowing
smile. “Yes it is. Where are you from?”

Noelle waved her hand, dismissing her
response. “Some place nobody’s ever heard of in
Arkansas.”

“Well then let me be the first to
welcome you to your new home.”

Noelle could tell the bride meant it
wholeheartedly. “Thank you.”

The beautiful brunette excused herself
and headed back toward her groom. Noelle started to get back in the
truck until the woman yelled back at her. ‘Hey.’

Noelle paused near the open truck door
and turned to face her with a questioning look. The bride tossed
the bouquet to her and Noelle caught it before it could hit the
ground. She smiled and smelled the white roses. “Thanks
again.”

“Good Luck!” The bride turned and ran
the rest of the distance to her new husband.

“You too.” Noelle said, almost to
herself. She got back into the truck and set the flowers on the
dash. If everyone here was as nice that bride, Noelle would like
her new home just fine.

She put the truck in drive and pulled
away from the curb. The next thing she needed to do was find work
and get a storage unit for her things in until she could afford a
place of her own.

Either way, it was a new day and a new
beginning for Noelle Dupre.

Trent Torres leaned on the railing of
his best friend’s front porch and watched as the gorgeous redhead
drove away. He took a swig of his beer and walked to the steps near
the sidewalk. The bride and groom continued across the street
toward the house, where their wedding guests awaited them with an
intimate reception in the backyard.

He motioned toward the retreating
taillights as the U-Haul disappeared around the curve down the
street. “Who’s your friend there, Avery?”

Avery Focelli shrugged and her already
bright smile widened. “No clue, I think she’s just a kindred spirit
like me.”

Trent couldn’t help but smile. Besides
the fact that Avery was his best friend’s new wife, she was the
most beautiful bride he’d ever seen.

Avery winked at him and placed a kiss
on his cheek. “Come on, stop your goggly eyes and let’s get this
shindig going!”

Damien Focelli patted him on the back,
“Well, you heard the lady. Besides, I’m pretty sure I saw you
checking out a certain Miss Molly Malone earlier. I know she’s
single.”

Trent laughed and rolled his eyes.
“I’m pretty sure she isn’t interested in me.”

Damien arched a brow and gave a
sarcastic grin. “Oh, really? How do you know that?”

Trent shrugged and followed them
toward the back yard where the wedding reception was taking place.
“Her telling me to get lost was pretty clear, but just in case, she
sealed the deal when she slapped me across the face.”

Avery tried to cover her smile with a
cough. Trent didn’t mind, after all, Molly was her best friend and
she probably already knew why he got slapped. “I’m sure you must
have given her good reason to slap you.”

Trent chuckled and rubbed his cheek.
“I might have suggested an impromptu body search.”

Damien slapped him upside the head.
“When are you gonna learn that those cheesy lines don’t work
anymore? You think just because you carry a badge and handcuffs
that every woman is gonna swoon for you.”

Trent took another swig of beer and
shrugged as he spotted a tall brunette across the yard. He winked
at her and she blushed. “Who says they don’t work, my
friend?”

He tipped his bottle toward the happy
couple in a salute and headed over to investigate his latest
challenge.

A few hours later, when the last of
the party guests were leaving, Trent found himself with a trash bag
in hand, helping clean up the remains of a good meal.

“Wow, Torres, what the hell happened
to you?”

He looked up and gave his friend Mitch
the one finger salutation.

Mitch Smithson chuckled and dropped a
handful of paper plates and napkins into the bag. “I don’t remember
the last time I saw you go home alone. Especially after a wedding!
You really must be losing your touch, dude.”

Trent gave his friend a
dirty look. “I haven’t lost anything
dude
. I just didn’t feel like
dealing with kicking someone out at 5 a.m. when I have to head to
work.”

Damien snorted as he approached. “Oh,
whatever. Having to work early or slipping out never bothered you
before. Admit it Torres, chasing skirts is finally getting
old.”

Trent wasn’t about to admit that to
these two morons. He’d always been the ladies’ man of their group.
They didn’t call him the Latin Lothario for nothing!

But truth be told, since Damien met
Avery a few months ago, had a whirlwind courtship and now marriage,
Trent was beginning to be jealous of how the other half
lived.

He knew the day to settle down would
come, but he wasn’t ready to admit that it was now, especially when
there were no prospects to fill that place.

“Why are you busting my chops?” Trent
countered. “Shouldn’t you be with your wife, enjoying your wedding
night?”

Damien’s grin widened even more and
that emptiness Trent was just recognizing in himself seemed to
grow. “With a house full of out of town guests, it’s kind of hard
to do the wedding night justice, but once we take off tomorrow for
the honeymoon I’m sure we’ll remedy that.”

Just then, Avery walked up behind
Damien and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her voice was nearly
a purr, “Oh I’m sure we will.”

Mitch and Trent exchanged a look and
then proceeded to make gagging noises, just like they would have in
high school. “Ok, seriously - you two need to get a
room.”

Mitch nodded in agreement. “You kids
go have fun, me and the heartthrob here have the cleanup under
control.”

Trent laughed as big, burly, bald
Mitch blushed when Avery stood on tiptoes and gave him a quick peck
on the cheek.

“You are so sweet.” She winked at
Trent, “and so are you too, even if your player skills are lacking
tonight.”

Trent threw his hands in the air and
jokingly let out a curse. “Great, another ballbuster in the group.
If you weren’t so damn cute I might take offense.”

She batted her eyes and Trent knew why
Damien had fallen for her so hard and so fast. He hoped one day
there would be a woman for him like Avery – funny, feisty, and with
enough sass to keep him on his toes.

Avery patted his back reassuringly.
“Trent, all the harassment comes from a good place.”

He gave her a hug. “Thanks.
But why don’t you guys get on Mitch about
him
getting a woman?”

Avery got a mischievous look in her
eyes. “All in good time.”

Mitch rolled his eyes. “Oh no! No
matchmaking for me. I’m content with just me and
Heathcliff.”

Trent laughed. “Oh yeah, because a big
slobbery dog is such a good replacement for a woman.”

Mitch punched him in the arm. “Dude,
don’t talk about my dog that way!”

Trent stepped right in front of him
and his voice took on his “officer of the law” tone. “Dude, I can
arrest you for that. Attacking an cop, so not cool.”

Mitch gave him the finger. “Yeah and
then I’ll use that law degree that hangs in my office to prove to a
judge what a moron you are.”

Avery tried to stop herself from
laughing, but failed. She stepped in between them and held out her
hands to keep them separated, as if her little arms could have
really held them apart.

“All right boys, simmer down and play
nice,” she said. “Mitch, Trent does have a point about the
dog.”

Trent folded his arms across his chest
and rocked forward a little. “Ha!”

Avery gave him a chastising
look. “
But
, as
much as that has to be addressed, I think the bigger matter at hand
is your lack of tact with women.”

Trent laughed. “I do just
fine.”

Avery put her hands on her hips. “You
do just fine finding a bed-warmer, but finding a quality woman is
another story.”

Trent motioned to Damien. “Will you
please take her away and make her happy so she leaves me
alone?”

One glance from Avery and Damien held
up his hands in surrender. “I’ve been married for five hours and
I’d like to stay married to her forever, so you’re alone in this
one Torres.”

Trent nodded, knowing this was a
losing battle for him as well. “Will you be nice to me if I promise
to be more selective?”

Avery laughed. “Trent, you aren’t
selective at all! Do you realize not only did you hit on my
pregnant sister, but my sixty year old aunt, too?”

Trent held up a hand. “In my defense,
I was looking at your sister from behind, and your aunt looks
amazing for her age.”

He gave Avery his most charming smile
and the twitch at the corner of her mouth let him know she was
softening.

“How about I promise to stop pursuing
any woman, and only go after those that are interested in
me?”

Avery patted his cheek. “Maybe if you
were led by something above the belt you might get
farther.”

Mitch chuckled, but was standing too
close, because Trent easily flung his left arm back and punched him
in the gut. The chuckle turned into a cough and sputter.

He gave Damien a look and shook his
head. “You are either the luckiest man in the world to have a woman
like this or you’re a total glutton for punishment.”

Damien winked and pulled Avery to his
side. “I’ll gladly take whatever she dishes out. Now if you will
excuse us, I think I’m going to try to talk this beautiful woman
out of that dress.”

Avery blushed and gave Damien a steamy
kiss. “No talking needed.”

With that, Damien scooped up his bride
and carried her into the house and thankfully out of earshot of
Trent and Mitch.