AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Just the two of them.
Maybe she could just put him to work and stay away from him. Or go to the vets and leave him to look after the animals.
Either way, she would try to put as much distance between them as possible.
Chapter 5
Will would be lying if he said he’d gotten any sleep last night. Lying on his back, hands tucked behind his head and blankets tangled around his waist, he stared up at the ceiling in the dark, picturing the constellations that sparkled beyond, and thinking about Rebelle.
He couldn’t get a read on her. She was stubborn, serious and incredibly guarded and all he wanted was to take a sledgehammer to her walls and explore what she was truly like.
He didn’t buy that this was who she was. There was more to her, he could feel it. And what his mind fixated on the most was the warning he’d seen in her whiskey eyes and the pound of his pulse when shecommandedthat he call her Rebelle. He knew he liked it when someone else took charge, taking the pressure off of him for once but he hadn’t realized just how much he liked it untilshetook control.
A lot,his dick piped up, but Will ignored it.
She intrigued him in a way no woman had before. She didn’t seem anything like the type of women that he was usually around and it was a breath of fresh air. She had awoken something inside of him and he wanted to get to know her, to get her to drop her guard so he could see who she really was.
Is there any point when you’re not sticking around?his brain interjected.
“Jesus, I’m not going to marry her. I’m just taking a longer vacation than I planned and looking to make a new friend.”
You don’t want to be her friend…
Will scoffed, feeling ridiculous for having an argument with his own thoughts. He tried to switch them off and stop thinkingabout Rebelle and start thinking about the shelter. He was excited to get there in the morning. He hadn’t felt this energized about a project in a while; probably not since he and Beau worked together on Beau’s first gym; and how long ago had that been?
He couldn’t wait to meet all the animals properly, clear away some of that rubble and help turn the place around. If he did a good job, would Rebelle be pleased? Would she smile? He was desperate to see her smile.
When the sun finally rose he decided to stop trying to sleep and got up, showered and put on his dress pants, suspenders and shirt. He wasn’t exactly dressed for manual labor but he hadn’t brought a lot of clothing options with him and besides, he was comfortable and looked good, so win-win.
He set off early, swinging by Ruby’s Diner on Main Street to grab two coffees figuring he would make a good impression and maybe get a smile from Rebelle. Because who didn’t love coffee?
“Well, if it isn’t my favorite billionaire,” came the gruff voice of the owner, Ruby. Will chuckled, taking in her wide, pink-lipsticked smile and purple hair curled to perfection. She was wearing a leopard print jumpsuit and if she was a day under eighty, he would be shocked.
“You’re here early, have you come to finally take me away from this place?”
“One day, Rubes, one day,” he winked, bending to kiss her cheek. They had become good friends since he’d come to town. He had used the diner as a work base for the last couple of weeks and enjoyed her banter.
She tsked. “Promises, promises.”
“In the meantime, can I get two coffees to go?”
“Sure thing, sugar lips. Where you off to so early?”
“I’m volunteering at the shelter,” he replied, taking a seat at the Formica counter.
Ruby paused and turned to stare at him, one overly penciled eyebrow raised. “The Take A Chance shelter that Rebelle Black runs?”
“That’s the one.”
She turned back to grab the coffee pot and fill two take-out cups. “Be careful, you know what they say about her, don’t you?”
He sat up straighter, intrigued and desperate for any information about Rebelle. “No, what?”
She turned back and placed the two cups on the counter and when her hands fumbled trying to put the lids on, he took the lids from her and did it himself. She patted his shoulder in thanks and managed a mischievous squeeze of his bicep.
“They say she murdered her husband…”
He fumbled the lids, surely he hadn’t heard that right. “Come again?”
