Finding Happiness Read online

  “It can be if she unknowingly places herself in danger. There are a lot of guys talking about her, checking her out, looking to get dates,” Manderine said in a snappy tone and then tossed the beer bottle into the garbage.

  “Kind of how things work around here,” Flex replied and stared at Manderine.

  “She’s sweet and needs protection, not to be some new piece of ass,” Manderine said to them.

  Aldreck stood up. “We’ve been keeping extra eyes on her, you know, trying to provide a bit more support despite her not really engaging.”

  “Holy shit, you two want her? Fuck, I knew this was where you were headed since that day she first came into town and nearly ran you over,” Hill said.

  “I thought she was a kid. Damn was I fucking shocked when she got out of her beat-up car a week later with Bridget,” Aldreck said and ran his fingers through his hair.

  “You two are fucking six feet three, and she’s a damn peanut. No wonder she’s not biting on the line you’re putting out there,” Flex said.

  “She isn’t biting on any lines. The only people she speaks to in town are the sheriff, Leeann at the café, Molly and her husbands, and more recently, Harper,” Manderine said to them.

  “Well, you two better be sure about this if you want to pursue her. You know what it could lead to. A fucking commitment,” Flex said to them and stood up, tossed out his empty beer bottle, then went to the refrigerator for another. He passed some more around and took the empties and tossed them into the garbage.

  “We don’t even really know her, but I feel like she needs protecting and like I want to get to know her. That’s a first for me. Hell, for us.”

  “Hey, don’t start throwing us into this ménage commitment shit. We don’t trust easily,” Flex said.

  “Like we do?” Manderine added.

  “We knew coming here, living in this town after serving our country, that this was a possibility one day,” Aldreck stated.

  “One we could avoid if we wanted to,” Flex said.

  “One we don’t need to engage in and may not have the capabilities either. How quickly you forget how intense we are. What we require on a regular basis with one another, with the way this house is run and the way we live our lives. We have schedules, we do what we want when we want to, and a woman would change all that. A woman would be an interruption, a distraction to our way of life. End of story,” Hill stated.

  “Or, she could be so damn special she would be worth all those changes just to have her close. To share her together, and bring us all closer,” Aldreck said calmly.

  “We are fucking close,” Flex said and stood up.

  “Why the fuck are we talking about this? Hill and I don’t know her, and it sounds like in the past few weeks you two haven’t made any progress in getting to know her either. She isn’t something to pick off a menu,” Flex said to them.

  “No shit she isn’t. We’re bringing this up for a reason. Manderine and I were affected by that conversation in Kane’s office. We immediately felt the need to step in and to ensure her safety,” Aldreck said to them.

  “Well, you can do that as a deputy and a trooper. Just be sure this is what you want,” Hill said to them.

  “So you’re saying knowing what she went through, that the two of you wouldn’t even give this a chance, or would get to know her?” Aldreck asked them.

  Flex looked mad serious as he glanced at Hill, then Manderine and then to Aldreck. “I’m not a patient man. I don’t do gentle, and I certainly don’t date, hold fucking hands, and pretend to be someone I’m not. That being said, it would take some serious sparks to fly for me to even consider dating a woman, never mind committing to one. End of story.”

  Autumn had the radio on as she made her way into town. Glancing at the dashboard she saw that the tire light came on just as she entered the parking lot in town. Her heart began to race a little. She glanced down, knowing that she should call Shay or one of them, and then thought better of it. This whole idea of having to count on men in this town, and letting them act like they can protect her, watch over her, made her feel uneasy. She knew a little bit about cars and had a flat tire while she drove to get to Texas. She took care of it at a tire place in town. The sign came on, and it was another two days before she started losing air and had to get to a shop before her tire went flat. She had time. Plus, she forgot the cell phone Shay got her.

  She got out of the car, grabbed her purse, and locked it up just as she spotted the patrol car cruising by. It stopped of course, and good-looking, intimidating Aldreck Forester stopped. “Good morning, Autumn,” he said to her. It was still a little dark out at 5:00 a.m.

  “Morning, Deputy Forester.’

  “Sweetie, it’s Aldreck, remember?” he asked and looked her over.

  “Of course.” She glanced toward the café and could see the lights on and people waiting outside.

  “I need to get to work.”

  “I’ll be coming in for breakfast today. I get off by seven. Worked the night shift.”

  “Hmm, okay, well, enjoy.” She went around the front of the car, and although she didn’t want to turn back and look, she did anyway. Sure enough he was watching her.

  As she said good morning to the patrons outside, Molly was there telling them to come on inside as they got things started. Autumn held the door open as a few old-timers came in. “You look wide awake and beautiful as always, Autumn. God, to be young again,” one of them said to her.

  “Thank you, Mr. Parker,” she said and he gave her a smile. She hurried to the back and said good morning to Molly, and her husbands Dan, Bret, and Lucas just as Leeann came in.

  “Morning, all,” Leeann said, and then Candice came in next. She was wearing sunglasses.

  “What’s with the shades, girl? Hungover?” Leeann teased, but Autumn could tell that something was up because Candice didn’t smile.

  “Hold up one second,” Molly said and then covered her arm with her hand. “Candice?” Molly asked her.

  “I’ll be okay. I just need to wear the sunglasses.”

  Molly shook her head, and Leeann looked upset as she squeezed Autumn’s hand. Autumn gulped.

  “Your brother come by for money again?” Molly asked her.

  “It’s okay, Molly. I’ll be okay,” she said and then started crying.

  “What’s going on?” Dan asked, coming from the back.

  “Dell again.”

  “Damn it. I’d better call the sheriff.” Dan pulled out his cell phone. Autumn watched as even the old-timers came over and comforted Candice.

  When the door chimed and Aldreck came in, he looked downright angry, but then as he approached he bent down to talk to Candice. “Candice, come on and tell me what happened,” he said to her, and she took the tissue from Leeann and wiped her nose. “Let me see the damage.” He started to gently pull off her sunglasses. Leeann mumbled a curse as they all saw the black and blue on her eye and upper cheekbone. “Dad, some ice please,” he said to Dan, and Dan turned toward the kitchen and Lucas was there with ice. Autumn watched how gentle Aldreck was despite his size and demeanor as he stroked her jaw and then patted her knee. “I need to know what happened this time, and maybe where I can find him. He can’t keep assaulting you like this, and taking money from you to support his bad habits. You know he’s wanted by the state police for armed robbery.”

  Autumn was shocked.

  “I know. I was sleeping when he broke into the apartment. I got up, had my baseball bat, and he raged. He got that bat away from me in no time and then started yelling at me, demanding money. I screamed at him that he can’t keep doing this and that the police are after him, and he struck me and told me if I told the police then he would come back…come back and kill me.” She started sobbing.

  “Jesus, this poor girl. Aldreck, we need to do something more,” Molly said.

  “Mom, we’re trying. The sheriff and Manderine will get more people on this. What we’ll need to do is find a safe place for
her to stay. Maybe the women’s shelter in Central Valley for the time being,” he suggested.

  “You think he’ll come back and kill me?” Candice asked.

  “I wouldn’t put it past him to hurt you or do worse. He isn’t in the right frame of mind, and he’s been on the run for months now. We need to take the proper precautions. There was a breakin at one of the houses in Central Valley two days ago. Money and jewelry were taken, and I know there were surveillance cameras set up and they caught a decent description of the robber.”

  “It was him?” Autumn asked. Aldreck looked at her and nodded, but then he went back to consoling Candice who now applied the ice to her eye.

  “I think you should come to the station so we can do this all official. Sheriff McCabe should be in shortly, and my brother is starting his shift with the state police within the hour. He’ll get on top of things,” he told her, and she shook her head.

  “I need to work. I can’t leave them alone to handle the crowd on a Monday. Plus, he took all my money. I won’t be able to pay the rent or buy food.”

  “No need to fret over that. We got you covered, honey,” Molly said to her.

  “But you helped me the last time,” Candice said.

  “We’ll help, too,” Autumn and Leeann said at the same time and then smiled at Candice who smiled back, reached out, and squeezed Autumn’s hand and then Leeann’s.

  “How about we see how that eye feels and looks after you ice it a bit and we do the paperwork? If it’s okay and you’re up to it, you can come back to work?” Aldreck suggested.

  “Okay, Aldreck.”

  Autumn locked gazes with Aldreck as he helped Candice up and out of the café. From there on out everyone who came in asked about Candice, talked about how much they would help her, and Autumn started to really understand how the town worked.

  Closer to ten was when Aldreck came back with Candice who got hugs and kisses and offers of help from everyone. Aldreck took a seat by the counter where Molly and Autumn were standing after hugging Candice hello.

  “She okay?” Molly asked him.

  “As okay as she can be. She’s strong though, and determined to come back to work. Manderine and Shay are involved now. I think we should spread word for everyone around town to be more diligent on their own coming and going, especially in and out of their homes. Dell is out of control and reckless. The state police are connecting him to two armed robberies.”

  “Armed robberies. He didn’t pull out a gun or knife on Candice. She didn’t mention that?” Autumn asked. He looked at her, and licked his lower lip.

  “Doesn’t mean he didn’t have it on him. Those robberies were within the last week,” he told her and she nodded.

  Molly poured him a cup of coffee and placed it down. “Want something to eat, son?” she asked.

  “Molly, can you help me with this?” her husband Lucas asked and she nodded. “Autumn, can you take care of Aldreck please?”

  “Of course, ma’am.” Molly widened her eyes and shook her head. Autumn chuckled. “Yes, Molly,” She said and they laughed. She glanced back up at Aldreck. Even sitting at the counter she needed to tilt her head up a little. She locked gazes with his blue eyes. “What can I get you?” she asked him. He rambled off the kind of omelet he wanted, but with six eggs, a side of toast, hash browns, and bacon, plus a muffin, as well. He was a big man and obviously had a large appetite. He did have all those muscles. She felt a tingling sensation in her core, and it shocked her. She quickly turned around and got one of the warm muffins for him as she gave the order to Dan.

  She then took another order that came up and headed past him to deliver it. She could feel his eyes on her as she spoke to a few guys at a table who were flirting and asking her if she was going to the fundraising event at Harper’s Saturday night.

  “Molly and her husbands actually set up a tent out in the parking lot along with other local vendors on Saturday. It may be a long day, so I don’t think I’ll be going.”

  “Oh, darling, you have got to go to Harper’s. You haven’t been there yet?” one of the guys asked her. He was young, closer to her age, and the way he looked at her was the way a man looked at a woman to decide which part of her he wanted to taste first, not in a sexy way, but like a man on the prowl.

  “I’m sure I’ll make it there eventually. Can I get you anything else to go with your breakfast?”

  “A side of you?” he asked and winked.

  “Paul!” The cowboy looked toward Aldreck who called his name, and when she turned to look Aldreck had a mean look on his face in warning.

  Paul raised his hands up. “Sorry, Autumn.” She gave a nod. “Enjoy your breakfast.

  When she came back around the counter she noticed that a few of the older couples were smiling and then whispering, looking at her and Aldreck as she approached.

  “How’s the muffin?” she asked him.

  “You need to be more assertive when guys come onto you like that. You can’t be so damn nice, or they’ll take it as an invite to do more. He was about to touch you, Autumn,” he whispered harshly at her as he leaned closer. She gulped and felt emotional. She didn’t like being spoken to like this, and as far as those cowboys were concerned, she got hit on a lot over the years and blew it off like she was doing to them.

  “What if I wasn’t here?” he asked her. She ignored him and got the coffee pot then added more to the three men and woman by the counter nearby and then to his cup. He covered her hand with his, and she gasped, widened her eyes as she felt the instant physical attraction to Aldreck. He inhaled and then exhaled. “You need looking after,” he said firmly.

  “No, I don’t.”

  He released her hand, and then Molly came out with his order and set it down. Aldreck’s eyes were glued to Autumn’s, and she didn’t move either. Something transpired between them. A knowledge that there was an attraction but she would fight it.

  “Everything okay over here?” Molly asked. Just then the bell above the door rang and Autumn felt her jaw drop, and she slowly stepped back as two very large, big men entered the café. Immediately people were greeting them hello, and then Molly smiled wide. “Flex, Hill, what are you doing here? This is such a nice surprise. Three of my four sons in one place at the same time. Now if only Manderine walked through the door.” She hugged them hello. They had to bend down to hug their mom, and the scene struck Autumn in such an odd way. When the two extra large men looked right at her, she felt her heart begin to pound, and she quickly turned away from them.

  “Have a seat up here next to Aldreck. What can I get you to eat?” Molly asked, and Autumn hurried to the counter by the pick-up station to grab more dishes of food needing to go out. As she walked by with an armful, Molly introduced her.

  “Hill, Flex, this is Autumn. She’s new to town,” Molly said.

  “Hi,” she said but kept walking. She quickly delivered the food to the table and came back. Both men were looking her over before they took a seat by the counter. Autumn came back around as the bell rang.

  “I’ll grab that. You get my sons some coffee please,” Molly said and Autumn walked over to the coffee pot. She could feel their eyes on her, and a glance at Leeann who raised her eyebrows up and down and waved her hand, indicating the brothers were hot, helped her to chuckle. So they were big, good-looking men who probably had women drooling over them all the time. She could handle this. She turned around with the fresh pot of coffee as she started another new pot. She walked over and placed down the mugs.

  “So how do you like working at the café?” the one brother, Hill, asked her. She stared up at him, noticing he shared the same eye color as his brother Aldreck but not quite the same as Flex whose eyes were a much darker blue. These men made her heart race very fast, and as she started pouring the coffee, the sight of Hill and Flex’s large hands affected her. She nearly spilled the coffee and tried to remember the question he asked.