Page 1 of Cold Foot Cash

Chapter One

“Do you see him?”

Harley Monroe squinted her eyes at the man walking across the parking lot of the cabinet-making warehouse, and then looked back at the picture on her phone. “They look similar.”

“Oh my gosh, it’s really him, isn’t it?” her sister, Carolina murmured over the phone. “Tell me it is.”

“Yeah, it’s probably the guy who is in the pictures, but probably not the guy who has been talking to you.”

“Should I come up there? Maybe I should be there.”

“I told you to just show up here two months ago, and you made up a dozen excuses, and never followed through.”

“Well, if this guy looks like Cash, then I was right. He exists. Maybe his mom really was in the hospital and maybe his face really was disfigured in that car crash and that’s why he couldn’t video-chat with me.”

“This dude looks one hundred percent hot, and scarless. He’s not even limping,” she uttered, tracking the man’s movement as he reached the front door to the warehouse. He definitely hadn’t broken both his legs in a car crash last week. Suddenly, he turned and looked directly at her with bright, glowing gold eyes. Harley yelped and flopped over sideways in the seat, so he couldn’t see her.

“Harley?” Carolina asked.

“Shh.”

“Don’t shh me, what’s happening?”

“I repeat, that man has zero face scars, there would be no reason for him to be avoiding a video chat with you. He is fine. Repeat, he’s freaking fine.”

“Is he six feet tall?” Carolina asked.

“Oh my gosh, why do you care about that so much?” she whispered, craning her neck so she could see if he was still there. Nope, he’d disappeared. He must’ve gone inside for his shift, thank goodness.

“Well, he said he works at Grizzly Cabinets, and he’s there, so I’m finding no lies so far.”

“Face scar, Carolina. Face scar. No limp. No casts on his legs. No car crash.”

“Well, maybe he’s shy and just didn’t want to meet me yet.”

“Mm mm, I saw the way he walked. That man has no problem with confidence. Plus he’s built like a gym rat. Beard on point. You’ve been talking to a catfish, or this guy is married with a family and has been playing you.”

“Gasp! He grew out a beard?”

That’s what her sister had taken away from that? A beard? “A short one. Designer scruff. He probably wears cologne. His shirt didn’t have any holes in it, and his hair looked like it had product in it.”

“Wait, why are you telling me this stuff?”

“Because you aren’t listening. There is no reason, if this is the guy you’ve been online-chatting with, that he couldn’t do a video call for three months, Carolina. It doesn’t add up.”

“Okay, are you growing a crush on my man. You keep talking about how hot he is. I will fight you, Harley.”

“Oh yeah? Like when you stole Frank Herder from me in the eighth grade, and then dated him all through high school, and then almost married him in college and I had to watch you sucking face the entire ti—”

Knock, knock, knock.

“—Aaah!” Harley screamed for way too long at the startlement the man caused by appearing like a freaking ghost right beside her window.

When her eternal scream ended, she just sat there slouched over in the driver’s seat staring up at the fine-ass man her sister may, or may not, be in a relationship with.

His lips were pursed into a smile.

“Hey crazy,” he said easily. “Want to roll down the window and talk?”

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