“All night,” Haley said with a quick glance at Damon. He smiled and she warmed at their own little joke. “We don’t want to be any trouble.”
“You won’t be. I was hoping to meet you and this way, we can get to know each other a bit,” Shannyn said, opening the door. “I’ll bet there aren’t any groceries in Damon’s fridge either.” Haley saw a large Maine Coon cat sitting in the kitchen, as if he was guarding the threshold. He hissed.
Ninja hissed back, the fur on the back of his neck rising.
“Maybe that isn’t such a good idea,” Haley said, but Shannyn urged her inside.
“Fitzwilliam is all talk. He’ll go hide in the living room as soon as you come in.”
Haley put down Ninja’s carrier by the door and sure enough, the other cat hissed one last time. He circled the carrier, as if provoking Ninja, then marched out of the kitchen, tail high.
“See? What can I get you?” Shannyn asked and Haley had to admit that she was hungry.
“Scrambled eggs and toast?” she suggested and Shannyn smiled.
“Easy, peasy.” Shannyn started another pot of coffee as Haley looked around. The kitchen was beautiful, large and sunny, and very welcoming. The cabinets were white and there was a lot of wood, but the wall tiles were gorgeous punch of color. Haley had a good look, knowing she had to lift her game when it came to making a house into a home. It looked like Shannyn might be able to give her some ideas.
“We’re going to sell Damon’s mom’s place and buy another house, to make a fresh start.”
“That sounds great. In Queens?”
Haley nodded.
“Ty’s sister, Paige, might know a real estate agent. She’s really enthused about houses and he’s the contractor who did a lot of the work here.” Shannyn chatted as she took food out of the fridge and Haley had a feeling they’d get along well. She felt welcome in their home, as if she’d stepped into a large supportive circle of new friends because of Damon’s connections.
“Don’t you need the car to get home?” Ty asked Damon. “I mean, Haley must have her stuff with her.”
“And that car’s not big enough for anything,” Shannyn said, her tone teasing. “You can put a toothbrush in the trunk and not much else.” The pair exchanged a hot glance and Haley guessed that Shannyn liked to give Tyler a hard time about his car.
“One bag, one framed picture and one cat,” Damon said. “We can manage in a cab.”
“Is everything else being sent later?” Ty asked, looking between them.
“No. That’s everything,” Haley admitted, seeing his surprise. “I’ve always been ready to go, but now, I’m ready to stay.”
Damon slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her close, his gaze warm as he looked down at her. “Suits me just fine,” he murmured and Haley could have drowned in his eyes. She felt like the luckiest woman in the world to have found him and didn’t care who knew it.
“I’m glad,” she whispered and Damon flicked a glance at Ty and Shannyn. They were apparently consumed with their tasks, breaking eggs into a bowl and putting bread into the toaster, joking with each other as if they cooked together all the time.
Damon winked then bent to brush his lips across Haley’s mouth. Her heart jumped, right on cue, then she pulled his head down for a real kiss.
Their future had already begun—she was ready for that and so much more.
Next up in the Flatiron Five Fitness series is Cassie’s book, Just One Hometown Hero. Turn the page to read an excerpt!
Just One Hometown Hero
Flatiron Five Fitness #4
Available Now!
An Excerpt from Just One Hometown Hero
Flatiron Five Fitness #4
Cassie has everything she wants…
Cassie Wilson’s life is pretty much perfect, with a dream job, great partners—and the freedom to do as she pleases. The last thing she wants is to go back to Montrose River, the town she couldn’t wait to leave, and revisit the past. But when her oldest friend asks her to be a godmother, Cassie sees an opportunity to make a difference in Emily’s life. Maybe teaching Emily to dream big will be her legacy. Besides, one weekend in the Midwest won’t kill her. She’ll be back in Manhattan so quickly that they won’t have time to miss her at Flatiron Five Fitness.
Reid knows what he wants…
Reid Jackson is convinced that luck has to be made. Keeping his eyes open has been the secret to his triumph over his past, along with a lot of hard work. He might have come from the wrong side of the tracks, and he might have the reputation of being bad to the bone, but he’s built his own brand of success. When Cassie Wilson comes breezing back into town, Reid is ready to find out if she really is different from everyone else. Cassie turns his expectations inside out, fulfilling his dreams and shaking up his routine. But when Cassie decides she wants more than a fling, Reid knows he’s not the man she wants him to be—can Cassie convince him to hope for more?
Excerpt from Just One Hometown Hero
©2018, 2020 Deborah A. Cooke
It was good that Cassie had left Montrose River. Within hours of her arrival, she was feeling a familiar desperation to run. She knew she would have died of boredom by now if she’d stayed one minute longer than she had. Everything was exactly the same as she remembered. There was almost no work. There was a tragic quantity of warm, practical clothing and she’d forgotten her dislike of hunting gear in camouflage orange. There were too many pickup trucks, and not one restaurant that would have survived a New York minute in Manhattan. Even the music in the Shop ’n Save was the same.
She’d also forgotten about Huey Lewis and the News.
She’d liked their music once, in another lifetime.
If this is it...
The scary thing was that she remembered the words.
Coming home was a step into the past, which meant Cassie hated Montrose River more than she had as a teenager. There were more stores boarded up on Main Street, and the ones she remembered looked tired. She found it depressing, and even though the Shop ’n Save had been updated a bit, it was close enough to being the same.
She was already wondering why she’d come on Thursday instead of Saturday. She’d had a bad travel day, with a delayed flight from New York meaning that she’d missed her connection at O’Hare. She was trying to remember why she’d decided that staying with Nick and Tori was a good idea and doing her best to be cheerful and helpful to her friend when she marched down the pickle aisle, slipped, and was caught by Reid Jackson.
Montrose River’s original bad boy.
And its only superstar.
What the hell was he doing here?
He was still good looking—wickedly handsome, actually—still tall and dark with those glinting eyes. But Reid had grown up. Big time. He’d kept that steady stare with a hint of challenge in it, the look that dared you to prove that you were as audacious as he was. You could see that his nose had been broken once, but now she understood why he’d never gotten it fixed. It gave him a dangerous air, one that suited him well. He had two days’ growth of beard, which made him look like a pirate, but it wasn’t sloppy. She’d guess he spent a lot of time trimming his beard so it was just so. Her mother would still say he was trouble on a stick—or maybe that he was an accident looking for a place to happen.