2. Jeremy

CHAPTER 2

Jeremy

S ighing, I stare out the window of the newspaper office. My head won't stop wandering back to Petra's pretty, perturbed face when she glared at me in the back of her family's store.

Little does she know that I've been secretly talking to her parents and my own and we've all been making plans. Plans that could lead to a permanent fix for our broken families.

Which aren't nearly as broken as she thinks. In fact, while she was gone at college, we all made up. My parents and hers kind of helped set her up with the job since my dad actually used to be the editor for our local paper.

Until I took over. After she took the job and moved back.

Okay, it was a little sneaky. But I'm a desperate man and I've been in love with Petra for so long it's like second nature now.

I fell in love with her back when we were in second grade. Or whatever little boys do with the girl next door. I teased her, tugged at her long, golden pigtails and generally made myself such a pain in the ass that I'm lucky she ever spoke to me.

But she just laughed and smiled and we hung around together every second that we could. We went to the diner together when we got older to hang out after school and study.

Or rather, she studied and I stared at her like a damn creeper. Her dark blue eyes, tilted like a wolf, make my heart pound out of control. It's like I'm having a heart attack. But in the best way possible. She's always had that kind of reaction from my body. She's my weakness. She's the only woman I've ever been addicted to.

If there is such a thing.

But the point is that our families knew that I was in love with her. Unfortunately, that didn't mean much when our parents got pissed at each other and stopped talking. Immediately she and I were supposed to pick sides and even though she tried to keep from getting involved, I ran full-tilt into the mess and got my heart broke because of it.

So the paper was a god-send. Except she still didn't want to talk to me. The damn woman started taking her lunch breaks outside where I couldn't find her. She wouldn't even go to the diner where I could track her down.

Nope! Instead she wandered the town and kept herself away from me. I have a feeling for the most part she was with Promise, her best friend. But Promise isn't my biggest fan.

I sit up and then stand, my hands stretching over my head. "That's something I could check into."

I walk out and lock the paper doors. One of these days, we might have to shut our doors but not now. We're still the local news and everyone in town seems to buy the paper.

We've mostly shifted online though. It's cheaper and easier to format. Some older people insist on the paper versions, wanting to hold it in their hands and not trusting tech sometimes.

For right now, they're safe. Hopefully, we'll continue to keep our heads above water.

The sheriff dips his head to me across the street and I grin at him. I walk by and the fresh air has me turning my head to the water. I can see the lighthouse where the podcast from KMAG takes place. I try and listen to it every time a new one drops. It's always fun to listen to.

I pass the Riverside Cafe which is bustling with business right now but I keep going. I've got a mission right now and no time to stop for a Three Way sandwich and some fries.

When I finally pass the newly renovated bed and breakfast that opened last month I can see that Kade has definitely been busy. He's even got fall mums and some scary pumpkins on the front porch. Their little kitty Tigerlily refuses to stay contained anymore. She's always sneaking out and I see that she's lying curled up on the porch railing. One of her eyes sneaks open and she watches me cautiously.

"I'm not gonna tell on you, Tigerlily. Enjoy your sunshine."

She huffs and yawns, her sharp teeth sparkling in the sunlight.

I chuckle and keep on walking. Hands of time rears up in front of me and I take a deep breath, walking in the door and wincing when the bells jingle above me.

"I'll be right there!" Promise calls from the back. I'd think it was Petra except I hear a deep rumble and groan, turning my back towards the rear of the store. No way in hell do I want to catch even a glimpse of the shop owner's extracurricular activities with her fiancé. They haven't even slowed down since they found out they were pregnant and they're quite the talk of the town.

A piercing whistle behind me makes me turn around and I flush when I see Kade's possessive smirk as he walks past me.

"Howdy, Jeremy! Hope you've got a cup! She doesn't really care for you, man. You're either really brave or really stupid."

With a happy smile back at his woman, he backs out the door, blowing Promise a kiss.

She smiles for about one second until she gets a look at me. She huffs and turns towards her desk on the far wall.

"What the hell are you doing here, Jeremy?"

I cringe. I hope this goes better than it sounds. I was hoping to at least only have to deal with friendly fire not outright warfare.

"I was hoping I could talk to you. You know I've been trying to talk to Petra. But she's being kinda difficult about it."

She grins. "Bit of a blast to your fancy image and ego, isn't it?"

I grit my teeth and ignore her digs. "That's not the problem here. The problem is that I know Petra loves me. She just doesn't want to admit it because she's upset about being fired."

An auburn brow lifts and Promise glares at me. "Yeah. I'm with her."

"Look, she doesn't need to be upset about it. I'm not mad at her. These things happen. But I really want to kiss and make up."

Promise chokes on a snort and her finger points at me. "Dude, if you try and kiss her, you're gonna be picking yourself up off the floor and crawling away because she's gonna neuter you."

"I was hoping maybe you could help me try and work things out with her."

She shakes her head, her red hair like fire in the bright sunlight. "I'm not helping you with a damn thing, Jeremy. If you want to make up with Promise, do it. But it's up to her whether she wants to or not and so far….she's not even remotely interested in letting you off the hook for firing her."

"I had to. She lied to me. And she told the whole town. The paper would have been implicated in any lawsuits and bad press. I couldn't let that lie go by without dealing with it. Maybe a little harshly."

Promise eyes me closely. "And you've told her everything, haven't you, Jeremy?" Her soft voice slithers over my skin.

"What do you mean?"

But we both know.

And I nod my head, hoping that she keeps my secret as well as I keep all of hers.