Page 16 of Cody

What the fuck was so special about Alina? And what was holding me back from going after her? That wasn’t my MO. I always took what I wanted, and my gut told me she’d be up for a good, hard romp. She probably even expected it. For all I knew, she was asking herself why I hadn’t fucked her up against the wall that morning at Dotty’s. Next time, I just might. I should just take her and fuck her out of my system. That was the solution.

What held me back was that I was afraid that fucking herwouldn’t bethe solution, and I’d end up with the same problem I’d had with Evelyn, only in reverse. I’d be the one clinging to Alina, wanting more, and it wouldn’t be pretty.

I thought about my life thus far. My growing up years. My years in the Marines. Then the last few years I’d spent here in Coldwater. Most anyone who knew me understood that I liked living alone. I’d never yearned for the same trappings that most other people had, the kind that locked a man down into a routine that grew old after time. I’d known too many friends who’d resented the pressures of being tied down, of going home to the same woman or man every day, and having the responsibility of a family.

Love didn’t always last, and I was lucky that I’d figured out what was good for me early on with a little help from Maggie’s betrayal. I’d even had a vasectomy when I was in the Marines. Did that make me selfish? I didn’t think so. Staying single and childless was sure a hell of a lot better than committing adultery or becoming a dead-beat dad. I’d seen a lot of that in my lifetime, and while I didn’t judge, I didn’t like it either.

Lincoln finally emerged from the woods and made his way over to me. King wanted us to take a ride up to Stoney Ridge Mountain to work with the crew he had there. He had a deadline to meet, and three of his guys hadn’t shown up today.

Lincoln opened the driver’s side door. “Jesus, King is pissed.” He climbed in and started the engine.

“I don’t blame him.”

“He’s afraid if he goes up to Stoney Ridge he’ll kill someone.”

I snorted, thinking of the men who hadn’t shown up that morning. “He’d have to find them first.”

“You didn’t hear the latest.”

I glanced over at Lincoln, slightly worried now.

“One of the guys who didn’t show up was the crew foreman. Now everyone’s fighting over who’s in charge.”

I shook my head with a disgusted laugh. “Great. Good thing we’re retired, right?”

None of us regretted having let King talk us into moving to Coldwater, but all the hunting and fishing he’d tempted us with to get us here hadn’t exactly panned out in the way we’d thought it would. It had been a strong selling point, but we hadn’t considered what activities we would be engaging in between all the hunting and fishing.

None of us liked being bored.

So now we kept busy and raked in a little dough by taking on the occasional handyman job one of the locals might have, like Dotty’s porch. Because King’s family was established in Coldwater and he owned a logging company, he was the first one they called. Then he offered the jobs to us. Anything to keep us busy.

“Hey, we’ve got nothing better to do,” Lincoln reminded me. “We’re too young for retirement.”

I just grunted my response.

“King can’t wait for those last two contracts to get done.”

“He might change his mind once that baby gets here,” I deadpanned as we exchanged a look. “Might want a reason to get out of the house.”

Lincoln smirked and put his attention back on the road.

Being the sole owner of a logging company wasn’t something King had wanted, but no one else in his family had wanted it either. They’d already accepted future contracts when King arrived in town, and being the man that he was, he’d bought out his family and was making good on filling those contracts now. He wasn’t taking on any new jobs, so that once the existing ones were fulfilled, he could sell the company.

After driving a while, Lincoln asked, “You gonna be at his cookout Saturday?”

“Planning on it.”

“Bringing anyone?”

I took a breath. Alina’s pretty face immediately came to mind, but just as quickly I shook the image away. “Haven’t given it much thought, but I might.”

“Who do you have on standby?” Lincoln joked. He knew me, knew that I didn’t do that exclusive shit.

“Not Evelyn,” I snapped.

“That’s good.” There was a brief pause before he continued. “Since she’s going with me.”

My head snapped in his direction. He didn’t exactly look happy about the idea of taking her, which caused me to grin. “Are you taking my sloppy seconds now, man?”

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