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Hearts on Fire 4: Kisses Sweeter Than Pie(4)

By:Dixie Lynn Dwyer


But looking at Trent and Johnny, and feeling pretty damn lonely and unconfident they would find someone, he hoped that things would change soon. If they didn’t, then each of them would fall deeper and deeper within themselves and never open up their heart again to another woman.



* * * *



“You guys are out of your minds. I can’t believe that Serefina is letting the three of you hang out with us at the Station tonight,” Buddy Landers said. His brothers, Trent and Johnny, chuckled.

“She’s an amazing woman. If she were ours, we’d be home with her right now.” Trent Landers teased his cousins some more.

“Yeah, right. You three are never going to settle down. Too caught up in your careers,” Ace said then took a slug of beer.

“That’s not it at all,” Johnny added as he looked around the Station and then back toward his cousins.

“Who the hell do you keep looking around for?” Buddy asked his brother.

“No one. Just looking.” Johnny winked at Bull before he took a slug of beer.

“You’re all talk, Johnny,” Trent told his brother and then looked at Ice.

“So, any new leads on those small fires in Fairway and near town?” Ice asked Trent, who was the arson investigator for the county. It included Treasure Town and Fairway, a town adjacent to theirs.

“So far no one has seen a soul around that seemed suspicious. I can tell you that they’re amateur, though. There’s nothing complicated or clever about their setups or accelerants.”

“But they’re getting brazen. My concern is how far they’ll go for the attention they’re starting to get with the media,” Buddy added.

“Yeah, that’s all we need is for this person or people to start hitting occupied buildings,” Trent replied, looking angry.

“Oh no, we definitely don’t want that. Have the neighborhood watch programs started yet or is the town board still holding up the process?” Bull asked.

“You know how they are over there in Fairway. They think the moment the signs go up that say ‘Neighborhood Watch’ the neighborhood will lose its upscale name. They fear people won’t want to buy in the new condominiums going up along the causeway,” Johnny Landers told them. They all agreed.

“Well, they should focus on how secure it will appear with those signs posted. To me it states that the townspeople are looking out for one another and aren’t afraid to report crime if any occur. It’s a good thing,” Bull said.

“We have that here in Treasure Town. I just don’t see what the big deal is,” Ice said.

“I don’t know either. I’m supposed to meet with Charles Walters from the board. I have our board here in Treasure Town making themselves available for any questions or concerns they might have so we can get things moving on the neighborhood watch. Buddy talked with the sheriff and Jake is on board with having a few extra patrols circling the area at night especially. That seems to be when our little arsonist is most busy,” Trent said.

“Well, good. Spreading the word is important. But people also have to be aware of what’s going on around their neighborhoods. This is their home and arson isn’t something to take lightly,” Ice said, and they all agreed.

“Well, wish me luck for tomorrow. This ought to be pretty darn interesting,” Trent said. They chuckled, even though they were all concerned about stopping this criminal before things got out of hand.



* * * *



Once the guys left and it was just Trent, Buddy, and Johnny, Trent thought about what their cousins said. Trent and his brothers hadn’t been serious in a relationship ever. They hadn’t even met anyone lately that interested them. Trent had the hardest time being intimate with a woman. He tended to go for the no-strings-attached thing, and he knew why. He was self-conscious about the burns on his body. He went through a stage where he didn’t feel good enough for a pretty woman. Especially with his brothers and him wanting to share. Finding someone who fit all their personalities and who they each found attractive was difficult.

“What’s that expression for?” Buddy asked Trent. Johnny looked up, and although no words were exchanged, Trent felt as if Johnny’s mind was on the same thing.

“I was just thinking about the prospects here tonight,” he lied and glanced around the bar. It was the same people. He even noticed a few women he’d hooked up with over the last year. His stomach churned. Neither were relationship material and as pompous and as much of a double standard that it was, he didn’t want to settle down with leftovers. Those women probably slept with plenty of men over the years. He was getting older, pickier about women, and he was feeling like settling down wasn’t going to happen.

“There’s nothing different, nothing that snags my attention. Besides, aren’t you guys getting tired of this shit?” Buddy asked, and then took a slug of beer from the bottle he held.

“Don’t start, Buddy,” Trent ordered.

Buddy sat forward, looked around then at Johnny and back toward Trent.

“Why the fuck not? If we are serious about settling down and putting the single life behind us, then we need to be on the same page while we’re looking.”

“You don’t set out looking for a partner, a wife. It will lead to trouble and heartache. There may not be anyone out there who’s right for the three of us. Just accept it, Buddy. I have,” Trent said.

“I disagree. I think she’s out there and we just need to keep our eyes open.”

“Johnny, you’re a dreamer. Listen to your oldest brother. I’ve got years on you, kid. Women come and women go. They can use guys just like guys use women. Don’t go falling for any traps. You’re feeling horny, go over to see Jessica. She’ll take you home and make you a happy man for the night and not even expect a call or even an acknowledgment afterward.”

“Fuck, Trent, why do you have to be such a coldhearted asshole sometimes? I mean, what the fuck,” Johnny said loudly and ran his hand through his hair before banging his fist on the table.

“Trent, he’s right. What’s your problem?” Buddy asked.

“Me? I don’t have a problem. I get it, that’s all.” He refused to get into a deep conversation with them on the subject.

“Trent, it’s okay to be self-conscious about—”

“Shut the fuck up, Buddy. Don’t. I’m not fucking having this conversation with you. Just order another round or we’ll head out. It’s over.”

Trent looked away from his brothers with a heavy heart and an emptiness that reached his gut. He wanted what his cousins had, what their friends had. He, Johnny, and Buddy wanted to be in a serious relationship with a wonderful woman and share her, take care of her, make her a real part of them. They wanted a family, a completion in their lives. But with all their individual heavy baggage, it wasn’t looking achievable. Every woman they met so far didn’t give them the sensations they knew were necessary for a committed relationship. He couldn’t help but wonder if their woman, the right woman, was even out there for them.

I’m thirty-four years old, a workaholic, and will probably end up alone. No beautiful, perfect woman is going to want such an imperfect bastard like me. Scars and all. Fuck it.

Trent got up while Buddy and Johnny were still trying to talk to him and he walked out of the Station. He just couldn’t bear the feelings of inadequacy. Not tonight. Not every night of his life.





Chapter 2




“This whole place smells incredible. Where the heck did you learn how to bake like that, Nina?” Cindy asked.

Nina smiled. She had gotten her first order for three apple pies for a party Cindy’s parents were throwing. Nina had handed out a bunch of fliers and was planning on baking a dozen or so pies and giving out samples to a few of the restaurants and cafés on and near the boardwalk. She was so nervous because this apartment she was renting was super small. The oven was shit, but she just needed to watch it carefully to not burn her crusts.

“I’m self-taught, and I love it. I really would enjoy owning my own little bakery someday, but I need to get my pies out there first.”

“Honey, if your apple pies taste as delicious as the one you baked for my parents to sample, you’ll be getting orders in no time.”

Nina smiled as she went about making the pies.

She looked at Cindy, who was texting some guy she liked. Cindy wanted Nina to go out, but Nina wasn’t ready for that. Her focus was on making some money, establishing a following for her pies so she could start a small business. It wasn’t going to be easy, especially as she tried to hide her past, her real last name, and work without proper identification. She should have remembered to grab her driver’s license. But then again she didn’t own a car, couldn’t afford one anyway, and if she used her ID anywhere where it was processed through a computer, then Rico could find her.

She swallowed that sick sensation she felt instantly as she thought of Rico.

Thank goodness she met Fannie. She was working for Fannie Higgins, a nice lady who offered her a part-time job at her little boutique called Angel’s Wings.

It had been six months since she left California with only two bags of clothing and three thousand dollars. She was very careful about how she spent the money, using more to sleep in a motel instead of on the streets somewhere if the neighborhoods seemed worse than others. She was grateful to be in the small apartment despite it being above a liquor store.