Bad Boy Blues - Jessica Lemmon Page 0,4

tired. A little hungry. The ice in my cooler is probably water, and I need to put my food in the fridge and take a shower.”

Finished with his task, he stood and brushed his hands on his shorts. “You’re all set.”

“What do I do with that?” She gestured at the flat tire.

“You mean your boyfriend doesn’t know?” He cocked his head.

She pursed her lips.

“I know a guy who can patch it if you’ll be in town for a while. His place is on my way home.” Sort of.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to buy a new one?”

“It’s a perfectly good tire,” he said. “Or will be once it’s patched.” He could let her go on her way, but he didn’t want her disappearing when she was hands down the most interesting interruption he’d had in a while. Plus, that whole serve-and-protect thing didn’t stop because he was off the clock.

She stifled a yawn. “How do I find him?”

“He’s a craftsman. Makes furniture, but he’s fixed up my truck a time or three. Kind of a jack of all trades. His name’s Anthony Renaldo.”

She bit her lip.

“Okay?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

He hooked the tire with one forearm and stood. “Look him up online, or ask around. Most of the shop owners know him.”

“Anthony Renaldo,” she repeated, looking more tired than wary.

“Yep. Drive slow on the spare, okay? Ant can put your patched tire back on for you. He’ll charge you a fair price.”

She moved to put the jack and tools back into the trunk. Before he left, he needed to know one more thing.

“What’s your name? To give to Ant for when you come to collect.”

She hesitated for a second before answering. “Elliott.”

“Elliott. I’m Brady.”

“Yeah, I heard.” Her eyes flickered to where the other woman’s car had been parked.

“Okay, then. Remember—”

“Anthony Renaldo. Drive slow.”

He smiled. He liked her. A lot more than he should since she didn’t seem to like him at all. “About your Navy SEAL boyfriend…”

She paused with her driver’s side door open.

“This fitness center is better than the commercial one on Elm.”

“I’ll let him know.” A hint of a smile appeared, and that felt like a win.

“Welcome to the Cove, Elliott.” He walked to his truck, tossed the tire into the bed and waited until she was on her way before leaving the lot.

Chapter 3

Elliott was pretty sure the good-looking stranger hadn’t believed she had a boyfriend. She’d vacillated between trusting him and not trusting him. In the end, she’d landed somewhere in the middle.

She couldn’t blame herself, and who would? She’d trusted Neil, and he’d been exactly the wrong person to trust with her heart or her person. His manipulations had been so subtle, and his control had increased so slowly, she was reminded of the metaphor of a frog in water. Drop the amphibian into boiling water, he’d leap out. But put him in warm water and slowly crank up the heat, he’d stay there until he died.

Wow. That’s gross.

She shook off her musings about cooking harmless frogs and pulled out the cooler first. She’d parked in the garage of her parents’ beautiful lake home. It was waterfront property, a grassy lawn leading to their sandy beach and dock. They’d sold the boat years ago, having rarely used it. According to her dad, he was too old to take care of it. But none of that mattered to her. She was looking forward to a new view, a break from the city, and she didn’t need a giant house—even though she had one—or a boat.

She put her groceries away and dropped her suitcase in the master bedroom. Too tired to unpack, she instead pulled open the balcony door and admired the view. The water was dark, the sky choked with stars. She hadn’t visited Evergreen Cove since she was a kid, and she hadn’t realized until right now how much she’d missed it.

There was no pressing business, no one demanding she sit here or stop doing that. And while she hadn’t walked on pins and needles at her parents’ house, she still felt as if she should behave a certain way around them, whether they expected it or not.

She pulled in a deep, cleansing breath. Now she could just…relax. Which was a little unnerving, but she was trying to lean in. She’d been on guard for so long, she wasn’t sure if she remembered how to relax anymore. Proving that point, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and scrolled through her favorite social media app. The friends