Page 1 of Heatwave

Prologue

“I fold.” Rhett threw his cards onto the table when the pot got too rich for him. There was no way I was folding with my hand. I was holding a Jack-high straight flush.

“Call,” I said, throwing in two more blue chips totaling a twenty dollar raise. If Liam and Tyson stayed in, they were either bluffing and had one hell of a hand, or they’d drank too much to realize they needed to bow out. Beers had been flowing tonight for the guys, but as always, I stuck to drinking water or sweet tea. If the guys got carried away, I could clean up at poker night.

Giggles floated down the stairs from Serena and Skylar; I saw Tyson and Rhett both turn toward the sound and smile. “You guys are so pussy whipped,” I laughed, taking the cards from the table and shuffling the deck for the next hand.

Rhett shrugged, not giving a shit that everyone saw how wrapped up in his woman he was. I didn’t know him or Skylar that well, but I was the one that did a background check on him the night that he met her at the rodeo. He came out clean, and from what I could tell, they seemed to be good for each other.

I’ve known Tyson since we were in grade school. Liam and I had been his groomsmen at his first wedding, and I was named Olivia’s Godfather. Though, I have no idea why they chose me. I knew nothing about kids, and I had a less than stellar role model for a dad. Liam was the obvious choice for the position, but for whatever reason, Tyson and Delilah had chosen me.

It was good to see my friend happy again. I was just shocked that it was Serena Crawford of all people who brought him back to life. If I’d have known that, I’d have stopped taking her back to her father’s house when he’d call me to go find her at whatever club she was getting drunk at.

Serena was a party girl before she met Tyson. I even tried to dissuade him from taking on responsibility for her when her dad all but sold her as a live-in nanny to Tyson. I was wrong. I’m man enough to admit that because she and Tyson brought out the best in each other.

“Maybe your landlord’s daughter will be the one to finally get you to settle down,” Tyson said, giving me a lopsided grin. He knew my opinion on relationships. I wanted nothing to do with a long-term commitment.

“Nope. I’ve met her before, and I’m not interested in any woman for longer than a few hours. I don’t need a relationship, and I sure as shit don’t need a woman barely out of high school.” I winced when I realized what I said. Both Rhett and Tyson were with women who just turned old enough to vote. Serena and Skylar were both eighteen years old and going to Georgia Coast University in the fall. My friends seemed to love that barely legal pussy. I wanted no part in it.

“When do your new roommates get here?” Liam asked, giving me a wolfish grin. The bastard was relentless. If this turned out as bad as I was expecting, I’d be camping out at his house.

“Tomorrow, and they aren’t my roommates, Fucker. They will be in the main house. I’m only there as a safety net if they get into trouble.”

Tyson and Rhett shared a knowing look, “They’re teenage girls striking out on their own for the first time. Trouble is their middle name,” Tyson said, picking up the cards I’d dealt him.

“Not interested. Now, let’s play.” I threw my ante in to start the betting and put an end to the conversation. Tyson was dead wrong about Paisley and her friend. I’d probably hardly ever see them. Nothing in my life was going to change because they were moving into the big house while they went to school. I was sure of it.

Chapter One

“We are almost there,” Paisley’s voice sounded through the speaker system of my car. I was following behind her as we headed from our home in Nashville, to her parent’s second home in Sunset Falls, Georgia.

“Thank God,” I said, doing my best to stretch in my seat. We were in the last twenty minutes of an eight-hour long drive.

“I know, but anytime we go back home, we can take one car and split the drive.”

“Road trip,” I said, grinning, even though she couldn’t see me from the lead car.

“I know it will be fun. We will make it just in time to see the sun setting off the beach. Oh my God, Lex, you’re not going to believe the view.”

“I’ve seen the pictures, Paisley,” I chuckled softly through the phone at her antics. She was light and bubbly to my subdued, calm nature. We were opposites in almost every way, but that made our friendship stronger.

We talked as I followed her the last few minutes of the long drive. Nashville to southern Georgia was no joke. Eight hours on the road was a pain in the ass—literally. I couldn’t wait to get out and stretch. Maybe go for a swim or lay out on the beach for a while before dinner.

The thought of food reminded me that I hadn’t eaten anything since we ate breakfast at my mom’s house this morning, and that was after loading up the cars and taking a year’s worth of photos. Mom smiled and hugged me tight before I left. She was putting up a brave face, but I knew that she was holding back tears.

I felt bad for leaving her alone in Nashville, but I was hoping without me there, she’d worry less about being an amazing mom and more about herself. She deserved to find someone to love again. It’d been too long since my dad died, and she’s been alone ever since.

My dad died a hero, but that only offered so much comfort to a nine-year-old little girl who thought her dad hung the moon.

I would never forget seeing the chaplain come to the door and hearing my mom’s gasp of anguish as they told us my daddy would never be coming home. He died doing his sworn duty—protecting a woman from her abusive husband who’d been released on a technicality. The husband had come back to kill his wife and child, and he killed my dad instead.

I made myself two promises when I was a kid. One: I was going to go to law school and become the best damn lawyer I could, so people that belonged behind bars stayed there, and two: I was never going to get involved with a man who had a dangerous profession. No firefighters. No EMTs. No military. And definitely no cops.

“Earth to, Lexi,” Paisley said, laughing through the phone.

“Yeah?”

“Where’d you go? You were right behind me and then I looked back after the turn and you were gone.”

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