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My voice dropped. “Isn’t he always on the road?”
“He stopped trucking”—she waved her hand—“about five months ago when he was promoted to regional manager. All folks ’round here know is that the position is in Florida, but we don’t know exactly where.”
I sighed, releasing the sides of my slacks from my hands. “Goodness,” I hissed.
She blew out a ragged breath and crossed her arms at her employees, who were obviously watching us through her wide window; immediately, they acted like they were busy watching the children, like they should’ve been doing in the first place. Jake no longer had Suzette with him. He gave me a reassuring nod, which meant that he had just heard the news too. “I didn’t want you going around town unawares.”
I managed a small grin. Mrs. Muldoon could lose some business if she hired me. I knew she would. And despite Franklin Parks being a small town, there were one or two housewives with just as good of a reputation as her who would happily take business from her.
“I’ve been in touch with your Uncle Anton recently.”
“Ummm…okay,” I murmured. “I haven’t seen him for years.”
Mrs. Muldoon handed me his business card. “And he wants that to change.”
Chapter 2
Chase
“Can you do me a favor?” Pierce’s voice sounded unsteady.
I bet he was still hung over, or wasn’t done with whatever chick he left his party with. He had been talking to a lot of girls last night. And he liked having various options. He had to work this afternoon at the Paloma Hotel. Mr. Pruitt would give him major shit for not coming in on time, or fire him on the spot—like he had fired Cassidy, Pierce’s older sister, when she had come into work late. It wasn’t like she did anything other than prance around when she had been at the hotel. I didn’t even know what her official title had been.
For the past month and two weeks, I’d been staying with the Pruitt family and working with them since my professors assigned their final exams early. If I hadn’t lived with the Pruitts, I would’ve thought Anton Pruitt was an asshole to Pierce, but he really cared about his son.
It was supposed to be my day off, like every Tuesday. I had only had one real Tuesday off, though. There was always some task related to the hotel that needed to be done. Usually, Mr. Pruitt had asked me to do it. I’d done it for him. And I hoped that whatever Pierce needed was important. I hadn’t swum in the beach since I’d started working at the Paloma. The water was perfect; clear and warm. Most people were still laid out from drinking last night at the bar at the Paloma, the small bar on the other side of town, La Floridita, or from the crazy party Chase had in his penthouse.
“Can’t you get Joel or Rylan to do it?” They’d been his friends for years and they weren’t working this summer. They had plenty of time to idle around.
“Dad’s meeting is going over schedule. He asked me to pick up Beth ’cause he can’t right now, but I can’t keep my eyes open. And I am not having those knuckleheads pick her up. I know you’ll act correct. She’ll be with us for the summer. Joel and Rylan are my last resort. Mom is all the way in Fort Myers. Cassidy is MIA. And Beth doesn’t have a car.”
His cousin? A Pruitt without her own set of wheels? Pierce’s parents and Cassidy had talked about Bethany during dinner last night. However, I hadn’t paid much attention. I only remembered that Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt sounded regretful; they’d said that they should’ve stayed in touch with her. While I’d shared many meals with Pierce’s family this year as it was, I felt like I’d been intruding on their family time. Especially because I’d never heard Pierce mention Bethany in the year and a half that I’d known him. As if I didn’t have it good enough already with a summer concierge position that paid more than any other place would, I participated in a family life that wasn’t mine. And no one seemed to mind.
Mr. and Mrs. Pruitt had been offended when I’d tried to pay rent after they told me I could live in their home rent-free, as long as I worked. I knew Mr. Pruitt made Pierce pay rent. Pierce had finally stopped grousing about it days ago. Was it unfair? In some way, I supposed it was. Perhaps, Pierce’s on-and-off relationship with Mona kept him too busy to think about paying rent when I didn’t. The pay rate, salary, and benefits had to be why the Paloma Hotel had some of the best employee retention in the area. Some of the seasoned staff were on vacation. Some of the highly valued ones were on maternity leave, which was why I was not only the concierge, but also the unofficial on-call runner.
I went back into the house, sped up the stairs, and took off my swim trunks as I entered the guestroom. I threw on a clean white t-shirt and jeans. Maybe I could go for a swim later. If Pierce couldn’t keep his eyes open, I didn’t want his ass on the road, despite how inconvenient it was for me not to have some solitude on the perfectly clear blue waters.
“Are you gonna get Beth for me?” In the background, I heard Mona yelling at him to speak lower, when his voice had been low to begin with. I thought he would’ve dropped her by now like he had easily done with other girls that grated him; they didn’t have an exclusive relationship. At school, he had told me that when he came back here, he was ending it with Mona for good. I guess old habits died hard. According to what I’d heard from Joel and Rylan, Pierce had been hooking up with Mona since puberty.
“Text me the info.”
***
Bethany’s house was barely yellow, with chipped paint and a flimsy gate in the front. Not the kind of house I had expected her to live in, or the exact area for that matter. I shouldn’t have had any expectations. It was a two-hour drive and the only task I had to accomplish was to bring this girl safely to the hotel and go about my business. Some neighbors gawked at me like I had three heads, but I just looked for her house. I wasn’t in Vermont anymore, but the behavior was the same—the neighbors knew that I wasn’t from around here. They couldn’t find anything productive to do, and they wanted to instigate.
I got of my Nissan Altima so that I could help her with her luggage. Glancing up, I saw an unmistakable female silhouette in the window, followed by the closing of curtains. Five seconds later, a girl with light brown hair about her shoulders stepped out of the house with a heavy backpack that must have weighed a ton, and two suitcases. It made her lean slightly forward and it was hard for me to catch her face because she was short in stature. When she closed the door, she raised her head and had a sheepish expression.
I walked up to her and took the two suitcases from her. And damn. She was that pretty girl I’d seen standing on the line for the bus days ago when I’d had my meeting with Coach. She had pretty blue eyes. Her pert nose and semi-full lips looked tempting. And that curvy ass body of hers only stood out more in her fitted blouse and slacks. Even her feet were sexy. How was that even possible?
Why’d I have to be attracted to Pierce’s cousin? Mr. Pruitt’s niece? My jaw tightened as I recalled Joel and Rylan’s recommendation; despite my celibacy, I needed to get it in, and fast, before I salivated in her presence like a fucking bitch in heat. I couldn’t have any interest in Pierce’s cousin. It could complicate my friendship with him.
She appeared to be dissatisfied. I didn’t know if it was because I was the person who was going to take her to her family, something else, or a combination of the two. Her gaze connected with mine. Inwardly, I shrugged it off. I didn’t think she cared about the scar on the right side of my face. While she quickly looked at it, I didn’t see her gape at it like some people did.
“I am Chase.”
“Bethany.” She swallowed. “Thanks for coming out to get me on such short notice.” She bobbed her head
at me and glanced at my occupied hands, worrying those kissable lips. “I can handle the suitcases,” she said.
