Page 1 of Resisting Temptation

Chapter 1

Noah

Seventeen years ago

Staring at the television screen in front of me, I’m in total disbelief. It’s halftime in the biggest game of the Bay Raiders football season, and I’m in the locker room watching the breaking news story with the rest of my team. For them, he’s their mayor. For me, my father. The person I looked up to and respected my entire life. I thought he was a local hero. But it turns out he’s nothing more than a criminal in an expensive suit. Corruption, bribery, money laundering, he’s done it all. I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of what he’s been doing behind this town’s back for years. It seems like everyone is looking at me for answers, but I don’t have any. He concealed all of this from his family as well as his town.

Now

That night changed my life forever, it’s the reason I achieved such enormous success in my football career. Scouts were sitting in the stands, and they saw me. The shiny Super Bowl ring, the MVP awards, they can all come right back to that one moment. Halftime in that grimy locker room, drenched in sweat and utterly drained from a grueling match, as the news anchor revealed my father’s true identity to the world, I realized my purpose. I might have been a kid, but I knew right from wrong, and I knew my mother needed me to be the one to save us. I was going to take charge and make it happen. When I received the call from the University of Georgia with a football scholarship to play for the Bulldogs, I knew my life would never be the same again. It was my ticket out of that town. And I was ready to sign on the dotted line because I knew what it meant, for me and my mother.

Her gravestone is bathed in the soft glow of the late-afternoon sun. I lay down a bunch of wildflowers and clear off the dusty plaque, consumed by sadness. My beautiful mother left me three years ago this summer, and it’s been a year since I last visited. Way too long for a mother who deserved better from her only son. Guilt eats at me, knowing I shouldn’t be so selfish. She sacrificed so much for me, the least I could do is visit her once a month and leave her fresh flowers. But life has been hectic. The boys urgently needed me, especially Brody, with the mess the hotel was in. I’ve been back home in Deception Bay for six months, and coming down here was so difficult for me that it’s taken this long. But today’s her birthday; she would have been sixty-five, so I figure the least I can do is bring flowers and have a visit.

A shadow falls over her marble headstone, sending an icy shiver down my spine. When I catch a glance behind me, I find a burly man wearing a raincoat and rubber boots approaching, his expression solemn. His graying beard covers most of his face, and what it doesn’t is shadowed by his beanie. His piercing blue eyes regard me with familiarity. I try to place him, but for the life of me I don’t think I’ve seen him before. Could he be the groundskeeper?

“Noah Harrington?” the man asks, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that seems to vibrate in his chest as if he’s been a lifetime smoker.

My spine straightens, and I offer an uneasy nod. “Who’s asking?” I grumble, not liking being interrupted here. It’s not unusual for people to recognize me, especially now that I’m back home in Deception Bay. I’m their sporting superstar, but there’s a limit to when they should approach me, and the cemetery’s it.

“An acquaintance of your father’s,” he replies like it should explain who he is. “Sorry for your loss.” With a nod of his head, he signals toward Ma’s gravestone.

My heart skips a beat. This is getting creepier by the second. Was he waiting here for me? If he’s one of my father’s friends, I really fucking hope not. The low-life scum he was found to associate himself with aren’t worth acknowledging. “What do you want?” I demand, searching my surroundings for where he might have come from. The grounds are empty apart from the rows of headstones and the oversized magnolia trees, the Spanish moss draped over their branches blowing eerily in the cool February breeze.

For a second, I wonder if I should take off for my McLaren. I’m not as fast as I used to be, but I could still make it over there before this old dude. But when I glance back at him, his expression softens. He takes a step closer to me, his eyes searching my face. “You’ve grown up so much. I watched your football journey. Your father would be so proud of you and everything you’ve accomplished.”

“My father.” I shake my head, disgust filling me at the thought of him. “I stopped caring what my father thought a long time ago.”

His head drops. “I understand you’re angry, son, but you don’t know the whole story. I know things that might interest you.”

My glare intensifies to glacial, anger seeping into my veins for the first time in a long time. For the past seventeen years, I’ve been trying to erase all memories of the man who let me down and threw my family into crippling debt. My useless excuse for a father wasn’t worth another thought; it’s part of the reason I found it so hard to admit I needed to come home.

I turn away from the old-timer, not interested in what he has to say, instead focusing on my mother’s final resting place. She deserved so much better than the asshole she married. But she never once let it get her down. She was an eternal optimist, squeezing my hand and telling me that by letting us down, he gave us the best thing possible—a fresh start to do anything we wanted with our lives. I always wondered if she was dying on the inside as she said the words, but she didn’t look like she was. She radiated warmth and gratitude for every blessing she had, me being her greatest one. I miss her like mad. She was taken from me way toosoon.Goodbye, Ma, I’ll be back next month, I tell her. And this time, I know I will.

I keep my head down then turn back toward the man, who’s been silently watching me like a creeper. “I’m not interested,” I grunt out as I pass him.

My father’s crimes aren’t going to haunt me anymore. These last few months I’ve had a glimpse of who I could be, and I know coming home was the right choice. I have my friends around me and the prospect of making up for lost time. My injury might have ended my football career, but it isn’t going to stop me from moving on with my life. When I came back six months ago, I had one thing on my mind. Fixing what I broke. And dealing with anything to do with my father isn’t going to happen. That man was dead and buried to me long ago. Why should I care about what this guy has to say?

“Noah. This is important, you can’t just walk away.” His voice holds an air of desperation that seeps under my skin. What does he meanimportant?

My spine tingles, knowing I can’t let this go so easily. “Important to who?” No one has heard from my father in years, not since he got out of prison and just vanished into thin air. No matter how much I pretend he doesn’t exist, I am aware that he’s out there somewhere. The pathetic coward refused to come home and assist Ma during her severe illness, so why should I care about him and whatever is important to him?

“Your father.” He hesitates. “They set him up.”

A shiver runs down my spine. Now he’s got my attention. “How do you know?” I demand bitterly, aware of the implications of such accusations.

He reaches into his raincoat and takes out a key, holding it out for me to take. “Under the old oak tree in the backyard of your new home you will find a safe buried, this key will unlock it. What you find inside should tell you all you need to know.” His eyes rake over me again. “But be careful who you tell. If I were you, I wouldn’t trust a soul in this town.”

The cold metal sits in my hand, heavy and daunting. There used to be a part of me that hoped my father wasn’t the man they all said. But over the years, I came to believe it all. The media had a field day, his face flashing up on front-page news for weeks. That kind of story in a town this size was like gold to the media. Me and Ma couldn’t leave the house for fear of what would happen to us. Every story I read made it all look so legit. There was no other option. My father had to be guilty.

A black SUV pulls into the lot, and the old dude takes a couple of steps away from me, glancing over his shoulder shakily. “You’re not safe in this town. If you want to stay, you need to know the truth. His eyes bore into me, a darkness washing over him. But this old dude doesn’t scare me. “Not everything is so black and white,” he says quickly before ducking under a bush.

“What was he a part of?” I call after him. But he’s already out of view, vanishing just as quickly as he appeared. I walk briskly to my car, checking over my shoulder as I do. What the hell was that? Did my father send him to come find me? When I hop in my car, I lock the door in a rush, totally creeped out. The key he handed me is still clutched in my hand. Should I open Pandora’s box? There could literally be anything in there, but not opening it could be worse if it really isdangerous for me to be back. And I need to know what I’m up against if I plan on sticking around.

Chapter 2

Paisley

With a loud thud, I collapse onto the carpeted floor, groaning in pain. The room fills with laughter, the light-hearted cackle of a friend of mine, Jake McAllister. As I glance up toward where my body must have come from, a bed, I find him leaning over the edge. His longish dark brown hair is tousled like he’s just been rolling around in bed. His face sleepy. His chest bare. Way too bare for a friend. A flutter of panic races through me.

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