Hammered (Blue Bay Crew #3)- Cathryn Fox Page 0,28
points to Brewed Awakening, our local coffee and sandwich shop.
“Nope.”
My stomach takes that moment to growl. “You must be hungry.”
“I am.”
“Then why can’t we—”
“Why would we pay for food, when we can get it for free?” Hey, I’m not a penny pincher—well okay, maybe I am. I have been socking away all my cash, wanting to build a better facility for my club. The one I’m in now is temporary, pretty much loaned to me by the town, but as soon as someone wants to purchase it, I’m out on the sidewalk. I can’t let that happen. I love giving back to the town and giving the kids purpose, something to do other than terrorizing the vacationers. Okay, maybe we flexed our local muscle a time or two. Sometimes those rich motherfuckers who flashed their money and thought they were better than us needed a lesson or two.
I practically drag Haven through town, and she stops when we see the ocean in the distance, all the cottages lined up. I tug her to me, and point. “That house there is Sean and Summer’s, and that one there is Jamie and Kylee’s. Pick one. We’ll raid the fridge.”
She laughs. “We are not doing that.”
“Yeah, we are.”
“No—” she begins, but I give her little choice. Fuck knows why I want to bring her to meet Summer or Kylee, or both. It’s not in my nature. I chalk it up to the fact that she’s staying at Gram’s and my sisters-in-law would like to meet a famous movie star. I mean, what other reason could there be for it?
“We can’t just invade unannounced,” she says when we reach Sean and Summer’s home, the chiropractor sign hanging from the door. “She could be working.”
“Yeah, right,” I say with a laugh. Haven however, sees no humor in the situation. A dog barks before I can knock, announcing our arrival. “That would be Scout,” I say. “She’s a golden retriever, and you will love her. Wait, do you like dogs? ‘Cause if you don’t like dogs,” I wave my hand back and forth between us, “I can’t be with any girl who doesn’t like dogs.”
“Of course, I like dogs,” she says and whacks me.
“He probably deserves that,” Summer says as she swings her door open and backs up to let us in. Before we can take a foot in, Scout comes running over. She gives me a quick look then turns her attention to Haven, sniffing out the new girl.
“Hello there, cutie,” Haven says and bends to pet Scout as she wags her tail so hard, she nearly knocks me over.
“Don’t bend over too much,” I tell her.
“Why?” Haven asks and tucks her hair behind her ear, just in time to get a big tongue across the face.
“Ohmigod,” she says.
“That’s what we call an SSL,” I tell her as I pull Scout away.
“What’s an SSL?”
“Severe Scout licking.”
She laughs. “Oh my God, you are still twelve.”
I laugh with her and give Scout a rub, right around her ears as she likes.
“You could have warned me five minutes ago,” Haven says, and I glance at Summer, who is standing there taking in our exchange with a smile on her face.
“Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?”
She gives me a whack, and I let loose a loud oomph. Scout barks, like she’s laughing right along with the two women, and I start to feel outnumbered.
“Hey, where’s your loyalty, girl,” I say and she runs off to grab one of her toys.
“Get inside already,” Summer says.
I put my hand on Haven’s back and usher her in as Summer rubs her protruding stomach.
Summer’s eyes go wide and her hand freezes mid-rub. “Omigod, you’re Haven Roberts.”
“That’s me,” she says, her sudden bout of shyness taking me by surprise. I think there might be a lot more to this girl than she lets people see.
“What are you doing here?” Summer asks, blinking rapidly as she tries to piece it together. “I mean, I know why you’re in Blue Bay. But what are you doing here?”
Haven backs up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
“No, no. I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, welcome. I’m just surprised to see you here, at my house, and with this clown, nonetheless.”
I grab hold of Summer, fake a choke hold. She just shakes her head and taps my arm three times. “He’s such a goofball, Haven. You should run while you still can.” Haven laughs at that as Summer puts her cheek out for a kiss and I lay