“It’s like Jensen Ackles had a baby with a professional fighter and made him. Only he doesn’t have Jensen’s pouty mouth… more like Fassbender. Add a splash of Jason Statham’s kickass attitude…”
“Who?”
Trevor grabbed my chin and turned my head to the right. “You need to watch more TV. I swear, sometimes I wonder if you even know who the president is these days. Why the hell did I ever leave Austin? Look at that fine specimen of a man. Tall, tan, and a little rough-looking in the face, but I’d forgive him. And a Triumph motorcycle; that’s fucking hot.”
The second I saw the man Trevor was salivating over step onto the curb and adjust his mirrored shades, it triggered a memory. As did his spectacular body beneath his tight, long-sleeved shirt—nary an inch of skin showing. Not to mention his chiseled face that had a light dusting of whiskers around the chin—a face I’d thought I’d never see again. Only now, fully dressed, he gave off more of a paramilitary vibe. Maybe I’d forgotten the scary aspects about him, but his looks still lingered in my mind all these months later.
“I think I know him,” I said under my breath.
Four months ago, I gave Lexi a ride home. Reno Cole, Austin’s brother, was outside throwing horseshoes in the yard without a shirt on. A thin sheen of sweat covered his broad torso, which was the only thing I noticed since he was wearing sunglasses and a baseball hat. I had a “stupid” attack and almost tripped in front of him. I’d never felt more intimidated by a man’s presence in my life. I felt cowardly and my mouth refused to work, and when it finally did, I mentioned something about the heat like I was a walking weathergirl. Reno’s fit body spanned just over six feet, but his expression was tight and menacing. I shamelessly fled the scene, but the tire on my car wedged into a pothole. He stalked over as if he might rip my car door off and pummel me for messing up their driveway.
But he didn’t. He pushed the car free and I never saw him again.
Fingers snapped in front of my face and Trevor gave me a killer smile. “Nice to see you still have a pulse. I was beginning to think your libido took a permanent vacation. April, my mission this year is to find your Mr. Right.”
Trevor was kidding, of course. He’d always been overprotective and never let a stranger approach me without giving him the third degree. He liked the idea of me finding a man more than the reality.
“I hope you find a place soon, Trev, but you can stay with me as long as you need to.”
“At least you’ll have someone to talk to besides those damn critters you keep taking in. You still got the squirrel?”
Picking at my blue nail, I shook my head. “Skittles didn’t make it.”
“Rabies?”
I slapped his arm and we belted out a few laughs.
Over the years, I’d gained a reputation for rescuing injured animals. Some I found along the road, while others wandered in from the woods. They were amazing creatures—like the garter snake my grandma had attempted to murder with a broom. It was a good feeling to help something wild and then set it free. As much love as I had for them, I learned you couldn’t hold on to something with a wild heart. They live on instinct and they’ll never love you back.
Trevor held my hand up to his mouth and kissed it. “I’ll be gone a day or two—tops. And then we’re roomies.”
“My trailer won’t fit all your stuff.”
“Stuff?” he scoffed. “I won’t have much to move because none of the furniture was mine except the couch, and he can keep it. I don’t want anything his ass was on.”
“The very ass you talked about endlessly when you first met?”
“The very fucking one.”
Chapter 3
Later that evening, after a long walk home from work, I freshened up with a quick shower and went to bed in my bra and panties. I only ran the air conditioner for an hour or two and usually shut it off before bedtime. Despite the humidity, the days were beginning to get cooler. Thank God.
Trevor was right. The trailer park was creepy. It’s something I tried not to think about, but late at night when I heard rustling noises outside, it made me curl up and pull the sheets over my head. I never thought about stuff like that when Rose lived at home. Things had quieted down since the drug raid last year that took out some big dealer. Now there wasn’t as much traffic at all hours of the night, not to mention loud parties.
The third time I heard a high-pitched noise outside, I sat up with adrenaline pumping through my veins. The intensity of my heartbeat couldn’t be matched as I tiptoed to the front door and grabbed a long knife from the kitchen drawer. I drew the curtain back and peered outside.
The orange light from the lamppost illuminated the area around the barbecue grill and I spotted a shadow moving.
“Oh, no,” I whined. The shadow wasn’t a man-eating alien but a wounded animal. A stray dog limped a few steps before lying down on the muddy gravel.