What Love Feels Like Read online

  He walked out of the room and headed down the hallway when his cell phone rang. He answered it.

  “Care to explain what the fuck happened tonight?” Coleman asked.

  “Shit, I don’t know. I think she’s fucking pre-menstrual or some shit. The bitch forgot her place. It won’t happen again.”

  “I know it won’t fucking happen again because we’re done. Curtis’s nose is fucking broken and needs surgery. I have more important shit going on right now, and this low life fuck fest you’ve been having was bound to cause some shit. You owe me a hundred grand as is, now add money to that. Interest for being a dick and not controlling your woman. Oh, and the deal is off for those cars. Find your own fucking way to pay back Castle. You and that low life whore of yours are white fucking trash.”

  “Come on, Coleman, I’ll do whatever you want. Don’t do this to me. To the family.”

  “You haven’t come through on shit. No wonder Jade disappeared. She knew what you would have tried to turn her into.”

  “Jade? Why are you bringing up Jade, now? She’s gone and isn’t coming back. She isn’t part of this family. She turned her back on all of them.”

  “Your fault. Doesn’t matter now. The deal is over.”

  “Come on, Coleman. I need that fucking money. I’ve got Allie’s uncle on my ass, I owe you a hundred.”

  “You’re spending money like you’re rich. Maybe stop with the blow and clear your head and think like a fucking businessman. There’s money to make, places to rip off. Curtis is pissed.”

  “I’ll make it up to you. I’ll do whatever you want.” Rodeo was in a panic. “Hey, I’ll find Jade. If I find her, bring her back to you, will you continue with this deal and clear what I owe? Would that work?”

  Coleman chuckled. “She’s gone, who knows what she looks like now.”

  “I’ll find her. I’ll find out. Send you pictures. You decide if you still want her.”

  “Do whatever you want. I expect results with this deal with the cars. You’re running out of time, and right now, I want my money.” He ended the call, and Rodeo roared in anger. He had money stashed. He could pay the debt to Coleman and a partial to the loan shark, Castle. Then he would be low on funds.

  He started to pace. He needed to do a hit. Steal from a shop or something, then sell the products off. “Gordo,” he called as he rubbed his jaw and continued to pace. His hands were shaking. He could use a little more blow to take the edge off. “Find out about that place, the one with the off-road vehicles that has bad security. I want details and quickly so we can do a job, grab the product, sell it, and wipe our hands clean.”

  “That’s going to take some time. There are always two guards there,” Gordo said.

  “Then they die. This needs to happen, and within the next couple of nights. Now move.”

  Jade walked through the shopping center just picking out what she needed for the next couple of days. She was nervous all the time now, wanting to make more money and not spend so much. She feared those days of not eating and not having a roof over her head. As she walked around to the register, she saw Shawna Colon.

  “Hey, Jade,” Shawna called out, and Jade gave a wave then put her things on the counter. The guy added them up as Shawna approached. “When are you coming in for some pampering?” Shawna asked, her blonde hair all done up in some fancy hairstyle.

  Jade chuckled. “Pampering, huh? No can do, and not now anyway. I’m low on funds and looking for work.”

  “Really? I thought things were going well at Harper’s.”

  “Not when people stiff ya, and it isn’t enough.” She placed her things into two bags, and Shawna helped her as she paid the cashier and they walked out of the store.

  “Things are that bad?”

  “I guess I can’t wait until they get that bad. I may have to move on, you know, maybe go into Central Valley because there are more opportunities.”

  “No, you can’t do that. I’ll miss you too much.”

  She smiled. “Shawna, I need work. This isn’t cutting it. I have rent to pay, and I don’t even have a car, so I would need to rent something there and find a job I can walk to.”

  “I get it but don’t like it. Oh, wait, I was just talking to someone the other day, and they mentioned needing help. Who was that? Josie in the pharmacy?”

  Jade shook her head, about to say something when two women walked by. “Hi Shawna, how are you?” one woman said, and both looked at Jade and gave big smiles.

  “Great Meryl, Carla, how’s it going?”

  “Same ol’ same ol’.”

  “This is my friend Jade.”

  Both women said hello, and then they made small talk. Shawna gasped and grabbed onto Jade’s arm. “Oh my God, I got it. Meryl, you were looking for some part-time help at the garage and showroom, right? Are you still looking?” she asked.

  “Yes, why?”

  “Jade needs more work and could use the money. She only works a few nights at Harper’s and is new to town.”

  “Oh, uhm, well…” She hesitated, and Jade felt embarrassed.

  “That’s okay if you don’t still need someone. I can keep looking.”

  “Jade,” Shawna said with a frown, “I don’t want you to leave Cherry Hill and go to Central Valley.”

  “It’s out of my control. I’m trying. Like I said, I might just have to move on entirely.”

  “Do you know anything about cars, ATVs, and things? Have you done any office work?” Meryl asked.

  “I know a lot about cars, actually. Why?”

  “Well, it’s a showroom for ATVs and a repair shop, like bodywork and other major fixes. We do a lot of classic cars, too. I just need front desk help, signing people in with their vehicles going over basic logistics until one of the mechanics can get deeper details. That’s why some knowledge is necessary. Well, and required by my husbands,” she said, and her friend chuckled.

  “How much is the pay?” Shawna asked.

  “I was thinking twelve an hour to start.”

  “On the books?” Shawna asked.

  “Shawna?” Jade gave her arm a tap.

  “I know you prefer off the books, so I was just asking.”

  “Hmm, you said you were new around here?” Meryl asked.

  “She is. We met on my bus ride home from visiting my family. I talked her into checking out Cherry Hill and introduced her to Harper. She hired her immediately. She would be a great reference to Jade’s professionalism and be truthful about her work ethic.”

  Meryl smiled. “I supposed we could do something off the books as like a trial run for you.”

  “Really?” Jade asked.

  “Yes. Do you know where the showroom and garage is?” she asked Jade.

  “It’s about a mile from Finnerty’s,” Shawna told her.

  “Oh yes, I do. It’s a huge place, and you get people right off the main road and exit, too.”

  “Exactly. Why don’t you come by Monday morning at eight and we can go over things and see how you do. Even if it doesn’t work out, I can pay you for your time. We can discuss money then, too, if it works out,” Meryl said.

  “Thank you so much, ma’am,” Jade replied and shook her hand.

  “Honey, you call me Meryl. I will see you on Monday.”

  As the two women walked away, Jade felt relief. “God, I hope this works out.”

  Shawna hugged her arm. “It will work out just fine, I think,” Shawna said.

  Jade wondered why she looked so pleased. “What’s that silly grin for?”

  “Oh nothing,” she said, and she held onto her arm and they walked down the street. “I’m just thinking how amazing Cherry Hill is and how things just seem to work out fine. It’s a great town, Jade, and your new home. Embrace it and the opportunities that present themselves, even if you’re a little intimidated.”

  Chapter 3

  Jade stood next to Meryl as she introduced Jade to her husbands. They weren’t too pleased that their wife hired some help
, but they had to hide their displeasure when a customer came in with a problem with their car. They all nodded for her to handle it, find out what may or may not be wrong. They were tough, and Jade was nervous. It had been a while since she worked around cars. Growing up with mechanics, thieves, and racers, she learned a lot and even repaired some vehicles alongside her uncles. Not her dad, though. He was a nasty man, and he could care less about her or Allie.

  “Hello, how can I help you?” she asked the man who walked in looking frazzled. He looked at the men, and she straightened her shoulders. “It’s okay, what’s the problem?” she asked.

  “Well, I need to talk to someone who knows about cars. The engine keeps stalling, and it’s backfired several times,” he said and looked back at the men.

  “We can probably help you out with that. Sounds like the carburetor.” “What? How can you tell?” he asked.

  “We would have to check a few things for you. Does the car hesitate, or do you hear it idling too fast?”

  “Hmm, yeah, sometimes. Shit, is this going to cost me? I mean a whole new carburetor? It’s only a five-year-old car.”

  “No need to jump the gun, more often than not it’s a dirty carburetor, we would need to check if it’s rich or lean.”

  “How?” he asked.

  “We’ll look under the hood, check if the spark plugs are black or have soot on them, check the end pipes to see if the muffler is dirty, then check acceleration. If it’s sluggish, there are several things we can do, and if the car is only five years old, then the carburetor may just need to be cleaned not replaced.”

  “How much will that cost?”

  “Why don’t I have one of the mechanics check it out and tell you. They won’t do any work until they run it by you and we gave you a price.”

  He smiled at her and eyed her over. “You know a bit about cars, huh?”

  “A bit,” she replied.

  “You’re sweet, seem honest, too. Okay, here are my keys, it’s the blue one right out front.”

  “Why don’t you have a seat? Help yourself to some coffee or water while you fill out this form and I grab the mechanic.”

  “You bet. Thanks, beautiful,” he said and winked. He walked over to the chairs with the clipboard and paperwork she gave him.

  She turned around to face the four men, who looked serious, but Meryl was smiling from ear to ear. “We are going to make such a great team,” she said to Jade.

  “What’s this?”

  When she heard the deep tone of voice and turned around, she was shocked to see Shane there and wiping his hands on a blue rag. “Jade?” he questioned.

  “Shane? What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Me? This is my place. Those are my parents. What are you doing here?”

  “You two know one another?” his father, Captain, asked.

  “Not really, met her Friday night. Seren introduced us.”

  “Oh, at Harper’s,” his mom said, and then smiled even wider. “Well, she’s hired to help me out with the front desk work. Here, that over there is Mr. Hender. He has a problem with his carburetor. That’s what Jade believes,” Meryl said to him and passed him the keys to the car.

  “The carburetor?” he asked and eyed her over.

  “Yes, but it sounds like it’s just dirty.”

  “And you would know that how?”

  “Just a guess,” she replied.

  Mr. Hender came over with the clipboard.

  “Thank you, sir. Shane is going to take a look at your vehicle.”

  “Oh, thank you. You’re so efficient and sweet.”

  “Thanks,” she said, and the man just stared at her, smiling.

  The men cleared their throats, and Meryl chuckled. “She sure is, and we’re so happy she works here. Jade, take Mr. Hender’s paperwork and I’ll show you how to process the transaction,” Meryl said, but Jade barely heard her as she and Shane locked gazes. He looked her over and then headed outside.

  Meryl was putting two and two together about how Shane met Jade. It was obvious Shane was attracted to her as he really got involved with the transaction with her and Mr. Hender. She couldn’t help but to wonder if Seren saw Jade first and wanted to introduce his brothers to her. Maybe he thought she was the one for them? Meryl couldn’t help but to be excited and hopeful. With everything her sons had gone through in life—being shot, nearly killed, and closing up their hearts and emotions—she lost hope of ever being a grandmother or gaining a daughter-in-law.

  Now, she looked at Jade a little differently. She was quite beautiful. Her blue eyes stood out against her tan complexion, and her hair was long, to her mid-back, and thick and shiny. She had a nice figure, too, and she seemed confident and strong. When she lifted one of the boxes, Meryl could see the definition in her arms and also the definition in her thighs when she bent down. She was on the thinner side, and for some strange reason, Shawna’s comment about Jade needing to be paid off the books or having to move out of town hit her. Also, she didn’t have a car. Would that be a problem? Was Jade running from something? She was young, twenty-three. What could she have been through or be running from?

  “What’s that look for?”

  She gasped as her husband, Kevin, snuck up on her, wrapped an arm around Meryl’s waist, and whispered into her ear.

  “Oh God, Kevin, you scared me.”

  “You were staring at the new girl.” He looked at Jade, who was talking to another customer, one of the young guys who came in for hunting supplies. He was leaning on the counter, flirting, and along came Quincy. “Seems she’s snagged the attention of our sons.”

  “Seren already knew her. I think that’s why he was trying to get Shane and the others to go to Harper’s Friday night.”

  “Did they go?” he asked.

  “Just Shane showed up.”

  “Hmm, she sure is pretty, but a lot younger. Knows her stuff about cars. Captain asked her a few questions while you were on the phone handling that order from Dallas.”

  “I hope he wasn’t mean to her. I like her, and she seems honest.”

  “Then why were you staring at her like she was up to something?” he asked.

  She turned to look up at him and gave his chest a light tap. “I was not.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “Okay, so maybe I was letting my mind overthink some things, some comments Shawna made about Jade.”

  He scrunched his eyebrows and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What comments?”

  She released a sigh and explained. He glanced toward Jade and how she shook her head and laughed while Quincy looked annoyed.

  “You think she’s running from trouble?”

  “Well, it wouldn’t be a shock. You know this town and its reputation.”

  “And that if she is or if you think she may be, then the sheriff needs to know. Hasn’t he spoken to her yet? She’s lived here a month.”