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Chapter 1
Mondays were never a good thing in Holly Davis’s opinion. She always spent the day wishing for more weekend. She had woken up to a gloomy day that matched the melancholy mood she couldn’t get rid of. Maybe a hot breakfast would cheer her up, she told herself.
She entered Helena’s Diner hoping some food in her stomach would help her feel better before clocking into her shift at the hospital. She loved her job as a nurse. It kept her lonely days filled with activity, and she enjoyed being a help to people.
She sat on a stool at the long counter. She loved the neon clock on the wall, and all the other neon signs scattered around the diner. It gave the place a classic feel. She inhaled the wonderful aromas coming from the kitchen. Her stomach grumbled, reminding her she was hungry. This was a good idea, she reassured herself. She was feeling slightly better already.
“Coffee, honey?”
Dottie, the waitress, poured her a cup of steaming hot coffee after Holly nodded yes.
“What ya gonna have, Holly?” Dottie didn’t bother with a notepad or pencil. She had been waitressing for as long as Holly could remember. She was in her late forties and always remembered a customer’s name.
“Biscuits and gravy, Dottie.” Dottie nodded and went into the kitchen.
Holly heard the bell above the door as she reached for the creamer. She turned to the right and spotted Matt and Tony Smith coming in. They were still in uniform. Matt and Tony were deputies for the town of Red Hook, and both brothers were big, muscled men with a very intimidating look. Not many people tangled with them.
Holly groaned silently and focused on her coffee as if it were her lifeline. This was a rotten idea. It was not a good start to her week. Avoiding Matthew Smith in a town of this size was no easy task, especially when they had friends in common. She thought she had done a pretty good job of it so far, until today. Sometimes, their eyes met across a crowded room, and she would quickly avert her eyes and walk on. She had no desire to be his friend or be anywhere near him.
Last summer, he had broken her heart by dumping her. He had given her some “it’s me, not you” lame speech. She couldn’t even remember what she said back to him. She had high-tailed it out of there before she embarrassed herself by bursting into tears.
When their eyes had connected in the local bar last July, she had felt an instant connection. His strength hadn’t frightened her, but made her feel safe. She’d thought she saw real emotions in his eyes. She’d thought, This is it. I have met the man of my dreams.
She snorted silently. Yeah, right. All she got out of it was a bruised ego and broken heart.
They picked the stools next to her to sit on. She was tempted to ask Matt to scoot over, way over, maybe even to another restaurant or another town. She could smell his cologne and it reminded her of how much she still missed him, still dreamed and ached for him. She could feel heat radiating from his body. Being this close to him made it hard for her for her to act casual. Why was she so stuck on a man that didn’t
want her?
“Hey, handsome.” Jackie, one of the younger waitresses, flirted with Matt. She put her hand on his arm and caressed his muscles. “Catch any dangerous criminals? I bet you don’t even need a gun.”
“Not unless you count Mr. Miller arguing with his neighbor about the dog doing his business in his yard,” Matt answered the flirty waitress with amusement.
Holly refused to look toward Matt and see him flirting with the young brunette. She should have known he would never take any woman seriously. Holly considered herself quiet, shy, and average-looking. She lacked the self-confidence to be bold and flirty like Jackie. She didn’t wear revealing clothes or know any fun, sassy pick-up lines. Maybe that was what men wanted and what she lacked. She’d never had much luck with relationships.
Her appetite was completely gone now, and all the joy went out of her morning. She hoped this wasn’t a sign of how her Monday was going to go.
Dottie brought her the order. Holly picked up her fork and started to eat. She would eat fast and get out of here. Now that she knew Matt and his brother came here, she would avoid the place at all costs. Another place scratched off her list of places not to go. Soon, there would be no place left. Maybe she was the one who needed to relocate, but her family and her friends were here.
“Hello, Holly.”
She heard his voice, but it took her a minute to realize he was talking to her and not the flirty waitress. She turned toward him and looked into his green eyes. His short brown hair was hidden underneath a black baseball cap that read “police” in gold letters. His khaki uniform could not hide his huge, muscled arms or trim waist. She knew his thighs were just as thick and strong, too. She remembered every detail about him.
“Morning, Deputy Smith.” She hated how her stomach flip-flopped with excitement and her breasts felt heavy and sensitive. Although she had never had sex with him last summer, she still remembered how his big hands felt cupping her breasts underneath her shirt. She looked away as she felt her cheeks heat up. She looked down at her food, feeling awkward and not knowing what to say. Thank you for breaking my heart and making me miserable?
“Just going in to work?” he asked. She nodded yes without looking at him. She pushed her food around on the plate with her fork, not wanting to strike up a polite conversation with him. Maybe if she ignored him, he would leave her alone. Damn it, why hadn’t she chosen a booth to sit in? Would it be rude to carry her plate and drink over to an empty booth?
