Page 47 of Rowdy Hearts

I wanted to be alert and ready for whatever might come my way later tonight. And I really hoped there’d be something good coming my way.

“No. I’m staying with Raffi and The Colonel. They were kind enough to give Krista and me a room with them while…”

While what? What should I say? Especially to someone I’d only met a day ago? At home, I would never consider spilling my guts to a practical stranger. Hell, I didn’t talk about some things with my closest friends. Only Denee would’ve been able to get me to talk, but Denee was gone and had been for years.

Olivia reached across the table and put her hand on top ofmine, resting on the table. “I’m not digging for info, hon. Honest. I get that you don’t want to talk about whatever you’re going through. I just want you to know you’re not alone. A lot of us have stories about how we found our way to St. David.”

“I didn’t exactly find my way here. My car blew a tire and left me stranded.”

The younger woman’s smile widened, golden-brown eyes striking against her darker-toned skin, as she waved a hand. “Same diff. My parents moved here from Miami because my dad thought the name was a sign.” She rolled those eyes as she shook her head. “My dad is…unique. Don’t get me wrong. I love him. But he wasn’t born in the right decade. You remember the dad from ‘Valley Girl?’ I mean, who doesn’t, right? That’s my dad. He’s one-of-a-kind. He makes furniture. It’s a good thing my mom runs their business, or they wouldn’t eat. Anyway, after one too many hurricanes, he and my mom decided they wanted to move somewhere where it snowed instead. They literally threw darts at a map. One of them landed on St. David. My dad’s name is David. He called it fate.”

Surprisingly, I’d kept up with all of that, including the “Valley Girl” reference, because I’d once been up for role in a remake that had never gotten made. But before I could say anything, Olivia continued.

“Now, I don’t know about fate, but when we moved here, I wasn’t happy. Like, at all. And I made sure everyone knew it. So here I was, a teenager from a big city where I had everything to do, living in a town where the only thing to do in the winter is hockey. And the only thing to do in the summer is fish. Yeah, no. That ain’t happening. But then Caity decided she was going to be my friend and told me to join the cheer squad. And what do you know? I was damn good at it. And if we hadn’t moved here, maybe I never would’ve known how much I loved it. What about you, Tressy? Do you love what you do?”

It took a second for my brain to catch up with the conversation.Between Olivia’s rapid-fire delivery and the relentless stream of pop music from the eighties, it’d been hard to keep up. But that last question had rung out during the slow section of “Come On, Eileen.”

“I do.”

“Well, that’s good. And it’s clear you love that little girl. She’s adorbs, by the way. Not prying, but she’s got a little Latina in those genes. Those eyes… So gorgeous. I’m guessing you’re not still with her daddy, and I still ain’t prying,” She splayed her hands in front of her, “but if you’re gonna tangle with Rowdy, I figure you should know he has kind of a reputation. The guy’s a cinnamon roll. All that sweet icing on the top and soft and squishy on the inside but boy, does that man have layers.”

I had to bite my tongue against a torrent of questions because I knew if I kept quiet, Olivia would just keep talking. The woman seemed to have no filter or off button.

“He doesn’t want anyone to know, of course, but you can tell. You’d think someone like him, who had everything handed to him, would be a real asshole. But The Colonel and Miss Raffi, they raised those kids right. Hell, the man makes sure old Mrs. Garfield gets to her weekly hair appointment, even if that old buzzard was the meanest teacher in high school.”

By this time, I thought I might be halfway in love with Olivia and wondered if the woman had any aspirations to act, because with her looks and her attitude, I could definitely find her work, even if she was at least fifteen years older than most of my clients.

“So what do you think?”

I didn’t have a clue what Olivia was asking. “About what?”

“Do you think you’re going to stay in St. David awhile? I mean, it looks like you’re doing okay for yourself wherever you came from, but you could’ve ended up somewhere way worse.”

I bit my lip for a second before answering. “I am thinking about staying a little longer.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Rowdy’s voice startled me, and I turned to see him standing behind me, hands in his pockets and dark green henley stretched across his broad chest. Did any piece of clothing this man owned not fit him well? Seriously not fair.

“Livi, you spilling all my secrets?” He slid a glance at the other woman.

Olivia scoffed. “You know nobody has secrets in this town. But I haven’t told her anything that’s not common knowledge. You’re just an open book, aren’t you?”

If I hadn’t been watching him so closely, I might’ve missed his slight wince. What was it about Olivia’s words that made him look like that?

“Of course. No secrets here.”

Oh, now that was definite bullshit. Everyone had secrets. And if they said they didn’t, they were lying. So Rowdy was lying. I wanted to dig into those secrets, wanted him to tell me all about them. Even while keeping my own. No, it wasn’t fair but life wasn’t fair.

“You want another beer?”

I raised my half-full bottle and shook my head. “I think I’m done after this one.”

“And I’ve already hit my limit,” he said.

That definitely felt like a hint. With Olivia hanging on his every word, he leaned a little closer. “I’m ready to head out whenever you are.”

I’d been waiting for him to say exactly that for three hours. Not that I hadn’t been having a good time. I’d enjoyed talking to everyone and the last half hour or so with Olivia had been enlightening. I understood that Rowdy had obligations to his team and the fans. To be with them to celebrate opening night. And he was good at it.

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