Chapter 1

chapter

one

Jack

Saddle Creek, Texas.

I look from one end of main street down to the other. It’s dotted with shops and offices and a couple of restaurants. It looks as good as any small town I’ve ever been in, but still the truth remains. I know exactly one person who lives here.

What the hell was I thinking?

What I was thinking is that I couldn’t fucking go back to Kentucky. I couldn’t go back home and watch Angie, my high-school sweetheart, almost-fiancée, living the life we’d planned together with another man. Some asshole she’d moved in with after six weeks of dating. He wasn’t the first though. What I’d heard was that she had started messing around on me less than two months after I left for Basic training.

So here I was, a month out as a civilian and I’ve come to the only place I could think of. A small town where one of my army buddies was from. He always talked about it so fondly. When we talked on the phone recently, he mentioned that he’d started a dog sanctuary with another guy from his last unit. Dane had told me I was more than welcome to show up and I could help.

He hadn’t exactly said anything about there being an actual paying job, but I came nonetheless.

I’ll catch up with Dane later. Especially since he lives outside of town. Besides, I need to find somewhere to live. Dane offered to help find me a place, but admitted that his house wouldn’t work. He evidently lives in a tiny home on his property with his new wife. They’re currently building a house, but for now, they have no extra room.

I suppose I need a place to stay and a job, in that order. I do have most of the money I made in active duty saved. I stopped sending any funds home as soon as I found out about Angie and all her boy toys.

I see a local diner on the opposite side of the street that advertises the best pie in Texas and free WiFi. Looks like a good place to start.

It’s cold as fuck out here with a biting frigid wind, but the chill on my face reminds me I’m alive, that I made it out. And I’ll take that any day of the week. Though, I always heard it didn’t get very cold in Texas.

The bell above the door to Ruthie’s Diner jingles as I step inside. The entire dining room of patrons turns to look at me. Yep, new blood in a small town.

“Welcome, sugar,” an older woman with bright red hair says. She’s got on bright pink lipstick which clashes with her hair, but her smile is friendly and genuine. She beckons me over to the diner counter. There are also tables and booths, but since I’m alone, no reason to take up that much space.

I slip onto a red Naugahyde-covered stool. There’s a girl—at least I think it’s a girl—sitting on the stool one away from mine. She’s got on blue jeans and a hoodie covers her head. She’s bent over a notebook sketching something.

“Coffee?” the older woman asks.

“Please.”

“I’m Ruthie. This here is my diner. What’s your name, gorgeous?”

“Jack. I’m a friend of Dane Whitmore’s. We served together in the Army.”

Ruthie’s smile widens. “Dane is good people. The whole Whitmore crew is. So I say any friend of his is a friend of mine,” she says that last part loud enough. It seems to jar the patrons back to their food so they stop starting at me.

“Welcome to Saddle Creek, Jack. First coffee is on the house.” She winks at me and slides a menu across the counter to me.

I’m reading over the options, mostly standard diner fare.

“Get a slice of her chocolate fudge pie,” a sultry voice from beside me says.

I turn to my right and am met with the biggest, brown eyes I’ve ever seen. She’s got a halo of hot pink curls framing her face. “You are a girl,” I say.

She cocks a brow, her lips twitching with a hint of a smile. “Nice of you to notice.”

I shake my head. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant to say.”

She’s got a round face, like a cherub, with full lips and those soulful brown eyes.

“You were hidden in your hoodie when I walked up, but I suspected you were—” Shit. I suck at talking to strangers. Especially strangers who are beautiful women? Might as well just kill me dead. I shake my head again. “You know what, never mind.” I turn my focus back to the menu because clearly talking to this woman makes me stupid.

She laughs and it’s real and authentic and so goddamn sexy that my abs tighten and I can’t help but glance back over at her.

“I’m Lucy,” she says, stretching a hand out to me.

“Jack,” I tell her.

Her nails are cut to the quick and when I slip my palm into hers, I am met with calluses. This woman works for a living and for some reason I find that incredibly attractive. Granted, so far I’ve found everything about her attractive.

Her nose is pierced, I realize. Just a tiny diamond stud. And while I never would have thought it before, it’s crazy sexy on her.

“I heard you say you’re an Army buddy of Dane. I’ve known him and the whole Whitmore crew my entire life. Went to school for a while with his sister, Daphne. So, you just passing through?”

I rub at the back of my neck. “I might stay awhile. I need to find somewhere to stay though,” I chuckle, “and a job.”

“Ah, so you’re just now out of the service, then?” she asks. “Dane’s been home a few years.”

I nod. “What did you tell me to order?”

“I got you.” She winks at me. “Hey Ruthie, get him a Lucy special.”

Ruthie grins and nods. “You got it, honey.”

“So Jack, I’m a local girl, know all there is to know about Saddle Creek. What kind of skills do you have and I can let you know if we’ve got any jobs around here that fit you.”

“I’m good with my hands.”

That brow of hers arches again and I realize how that sounded.

“I like to build stuff.”

She gives me a knowing smile.

“I’m a decent mechanic, but not great.”

“Let’s focus on the building stuff. Like home repairs? Because people around here can always use a handyman.”

I nod. “Yeah, I can do stuff like that.”

I grew up on a farm where there was always something that needed to be repaired. Even in the years that were profitable, dad was too frugal to hire someone else to do the work when we could do it ourselves.

Ruthie sets a plate filled with pancakes, eggs, bacon, and hash browns in front of me. Then she places a white paper bag that’s folded over next to it. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

My stomach growls as the scent of the bacon reaches me.

I nod to the white bag and notice Lucy has one, too. “What’s in the bag?”

“A sliced of chocolate fudge pie. You’ll love it. Provided you have any kind of a sweet tooth.” She laughs. “And judging from the way you’ve poured on that maple syrup, I’m guessing you do.” She tears a strip of paper off her notebook and jots something down and slides it over to me. “I’ve got an old house in town. It was my grandma’s and it’s in desperate need of some work. If you’re interested, the job comes with room and board.” She stands and gathers her stuff. “Nice to meet you, Jack.”

When she stands I notice that she’s short. If I stood too, she’d probably only go to my mid chest.

“Likewise, Lucy.” I turn and glance over my shoulder to watch her walk out the front door.

She speaks to several people on her way out, the conversations are short, but even from where I’m sitting I can see this girl is a kinetic ball of energy, full of spark and sass, who leaves a trail of smiles in her wake.

“That there is the sweetest girl you’ll ever meet. She’s had a rough life.” Ruthie is back and refilling my coffee cup.

“She was very—” I pause, trying to find the words to describe the instant and inexplicable pull I felt, but finding the right words has never been my strong suit, so in the end, I say, “—friendly.”

“You know she went all the way to New York city to some big art school. Got a full scholarship.” Then Ruthie shakes her head. “She came home after one semester. Just couldn’t handle the big city. She’s a hometown girl at heart.”

Hometown girl.

That’s what I’d always wanted. I thought I’d found a hometown girl once. Of course I hadn’t looked very far. Angie and I had met in the third grade and had pretty much been inseparable until I went off to basics. She was supposed to wait for me. But I guess I wasn’t worth waiting for.