Just the way I liked it.
No dogs, no women, no hassles. I’d lived this way for a long time and I was going to keep living this way. No matter how tempting Audrey was.
She wasn’t going to stay anyway. She’d said so. Tilikum was temporary.
I didn’t want to admit—couldn’t admit—how much of a problem that was for me. Because if I thought too hard about why that bothered me, I’d have to face things I didn’t want to think about. Memories that ate at me from the deep recesses of my mind.
I got up and paced around the house. Maybe I’d run to the hardware store and get started on the baseboards. It was about time I finished this place. I could work on it in the evenings. That was what I’d always meant to do anyway.
But Tilikum Hardware closed early. I didn’t have time.
I plopped back on the couch, trying to resist the restlessness that seemed to have overtaken me. I turned on the TV again, but that didn’t hold my interest either.
Finally, I gave up. I needed to get out of the house. I put my shoes back on, grabbed my keys, and headed to the Timberbeast. I’d get a drink and hopefully shake this off.
The parking lot was almost full. I found a spot near the road and when I went inside, I realized why. Karaoke night.
I almost turned around and left. But then I’d be back to where I started. Maybe the crowd and noise would be a good distraction.
The place was packed. Several of my brothers were inside—Theo, Zachary, and Luke. Not surprising. There was probably at least one Haven brother at the Timberbeast on any given evening.
Hayden was helping Rocco tend bar. For reasons that were unfathomable to me, karaoke night always drew a crowd, but with the two of them working, I didn’t have to wait long.
“What can I get you?” Hayden asked.
“Just a beer.”
He grabbed a glass and started to fill it from the tap. “I heard your girl’s car got damaged the other day. Hit and run.”
“She’s not my girl. And how’d you know about that?”
He raised his eyebrows. “This is Tilikum.”
“Good point.”
“Any idea who did it?”
“No. Probably some tourist.” I wasn’t sure if I believed that, although it was the likeliest explanation.
He slid my beer across the bar. “She’s not your girl, huh? There’s nothing going on with you two?”
“Why?” I couldn’t keep the irritation out of my voice. “Are you interested in her?”
A subtle smile curled his lips. “No.”
I wasn’t sure if I believed that either. “Then why the fuck do you care?”
He shrugged. “You hear a lot of talk doing this job. Sometimes I like to figure out what’s true and what’s the gossip line gone wild.”
I grunted a reply and took my beer. I’d come here to get my mind off Audrey, not chat about her with the bartender.
I hated being the object of town gossip.
There weren’t any open tables, so I decided to join my brothers. Thankfully they’d found a spot near the back, farther away from the speakers. I grabbed an empty chair and dragged it over to where they were sitting.
“You guys plan this or did you all just wind up here?” I asked as I took my seat.
“It’s karaoke night,” Zachary said, as if that explained everything.
“I was bored,” Theo said. He was dressed in a Tilikum High School t-shirt and basketball shorts. “What about you?”
“Same. How’s your team looking for next year?” I asked. Theo was Tilikum’s high school football coach.
“We were just talking about that,” Luke said. “I was about to ask if we’re actually going to win a game.”
“Hey, we won a game last season. Three, in fact.”
“Let me guess,” Luke said. “It was a building year.”
“It was a building year,” Theo said. “We had a young team.”
Luke laughed and patted his shoulder. “I know, man. I’m just giving you shit.”
Theo rolled his eyes. “I’ll know more after camp later this summer. But I believe in those kids. They’re gonna have a good year.”
“Thanks, coach.” Zachary smirked at him. “We believe in you too.”
“Shut your hole, Z.”
Zachary just chuckled.
“How’s Audrey doing?” Luke turned to me. “Sucks what happened to her car.”
“Who’s Audrey?” Zachary asked. “And what happened to her car?”
“You know,” Theo said. “The new girl.”
“Hit and run,” Luke said. “Damage to the front bumper, broken headlight. I took care of her.”
“There’s a new girl in town?” Zachary looked around the bar, as if she must be there. “How did I not know about this?”
“She’s in one of Josiah’s rentals.” Luke met my gaze, his eyes full of challenge. “Cute, too. Dark hair, kinda curvy.”
“Stay away from her.” My voice was hard.
“Which rental?” Zachary asked.
I pointed at him. “You especially stay away from her.”
“I actually agree with Josiah on that one,” Luke said.
Theo raised his hand. “Me too.”
“What?” Zachary put a hand to his chest. “I’m hurt. If she’s new in town, she could use a nice guy to show her around.”
“You?” I asked. “Since when are you a nice guy?”
He grinned. “I’m not. But when Luke is done showing her the town, I’ll show her something better.”
“If you send her a dick pic, I’ll kick your ass,” I said.
“What am I, a child?” Zachary shook his head. “Dick pic. I’m insulted.”
“Yeah, you’re a real gentleman, Z,” Theo said.
“I didn’t say I was a gentleman.”
“All of you.” I pointed to each of them. “Stay away from her.”
Theo’s brow furrowed. “What did I do?”
I let out a frustrated breath. Apparently going out for a beer had been a bad idea.
“No one’s trying anything with her,” Luke said. “It’s just fun to mess with you.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t try anything with her,” Zachary said. “Why is the new girl off limits?”
I leveled him with a glare.
“Oh, she’s your girl.”
“She’s not my girl.”
“So she’s your girl but she doesn’t know it yet.” Zachary grinned again. “Nice.”
“She’s. Not. My. Girl.”
“Apparently he doesn’t know it yet,” Theo said.
“She’s—”
“Why not?” Luke asked before I could finish. “I’m not saying you should marry her or something, but she obviously likes you for some reason. Why not take her out?”
“She likes him?” Zachary’s voice was full of skepticism. “Then yeah, dude, you should definitely take her out. You don’t know when you’ll get a chance like that again.”
“He does have a point,” Theo said.
“Why are we talking about this?” I asked. “You guys are as bad as Aunt Louise.”
“Hey.” Zachary held up a hand. “Aunt Louise is a Tilikum treasure. Don’t you talk bad about her.”
“You just like her because she bakes you cookies and never tries to set you up with random girls,” Theo said.
“Aunt Louise tries to set you up with random girls?”
“Yeah, all the time,” Theo said.
Zachary turned to Luke. “You too?”
“Yeah, but it’s never a good thing,” Luke said. “Trust me.”
“Why doesn’t she try to set me up with random girls? I feel so left out.”
“Don’t,” I said. “Luke’s right, it’s never good.”
“She wore me down a few months ago and I agreed to a date with someone she claimed was perfect for me,” Theo said. “Turns out the girl was twenty and two years ago she was one of my students. Aunt Louise neglected to mention that. When I called her out, she claimed she thought the girl was older because she seemed mature. The whole thing was mortifying.”
Zachary winced. “Yeah, that’s a little much, even for me.”
“The last Aunt Louise date I went on turned out to be Jill,” Luke said.
“Your crazy ex-girlfriend, Jill?” Theo asked. “Damn.”
“Yeah. That went over well. Never again.”
“Okay, maybe I am lucky to only get cookies from Aunt Louise,” Zachary said. “The last thing I need is for someone to set me up with an ex-girlfriend.”