The Bad Boys' Reluctant Woman(9)

“Well, write a decent book and make it so we all don’t have to work.”

“Why would me getting rich, stop you from working?” Brent asked.

“I could be your advisor and Connor your cook. It would be perfect.”

“In your dreams, Jake. I’m happy with the life we’ve got, fixing cars and constantly being rejected by our woman. It makes a guy feel young.”

Jake heard the humour and the pain in his friend’s statement. They all wanted Zoe, and yet they were all growing weary of her pushing them away. The only time he’d seen her walls crumble was last night. He knew she wanted them. What Jake didn’t understand was why she kept pushing them away.

They changed quickly and made their way back to the front of the shop. The town was beginning to wake up. Several people walked past giving them a wave before moving on. Jake liked knowing the people. There were times he wanted to get out of Law Castle, while at others he wanted to do nothing but stay and make his own traditions.

Drew and Noah walked in after nine looking very happy and well fucked. Jake knew they’d dropped Cheryl off at the local bakery. He envied their happiness. When he saw all three together as a family, the way they all were, it was as if the whole world didn’t exist for them. He wanted that kind of relationship. Jake hoped Zoe would be that woman even though he had his doubts.

“What have we got today?” Noah asked.

“The same crap as yesterday. A couple of cars with cheap ass owners. They don’t want to believe their thirty-year car is ready for the junk heap.” Jake grabbed a wrench from the wall where they kept their tools.

Noah shook his head. “Then I guess we fix the car up to the best of our ability and hope the owner changes his mind.”

Connor walked in several minutes later. Jake stared at his youngest friend. He was really worried about him. The quieter Connor got, the more he’d learned to worry.

“You’re late,” Noah said.

“Bite me.”

Noah went to say something else, but Jake gave his boss a warning nod. He waited until Connor was out of ear shot before talking to Noah. “He’s not sleeping again,” Jake said.

“Fucking great. I don’t need a temperamental mechanic in my place. He either sorts his shit out or he’s gone.”

Drew and Noah were two of the few people who knew about Connor’s anger and attitude. Connor would start with the insomnia. That would eventually turn into anger, which made him lash out at anybody who got in his way. Then the fucking would come into it. It was the main activity that Jake hated. He loved sharing a woman with his two friends. When they were all in their right minds it was amazing to watch a woman come apart. When Connor was in one of his moods, it was not fun. Jake knew his friend was trying to forget his past or whatever shit was going on.

They were best friends, and he still did not know everything that went on behind closed doors in the Andrews household.

Jake watched Connor get to work and decided to not worry about anything until he needed to.

****

Zoe groaned as she rolled over in bed. A squeal left her as she rolled over too much and ended up on the floor on her ass. Her face flamed even though she was in her own company. “Great wake up call, Zoe. Real smart.” She untangled herself out of the sheets then made her way into the bathroom.

She flushed the toilet, brushed her teeth, washed her face and then walked into the kitchen. Glancing at the clock she saw it was past ten. She rarely slept for long periods of time. A yawn escaped her as she filled up her small kettle.

While it began to boil she moved back into her bedroom. She glanced around at her small space and winced at the lack of furnishing. The money wasn’t a problem. She’d saved enough to put down her roots, but she didn’t know what was stopping her from taking the next step.

She changed out of her shirt for a pair of jeans and long shirt. No matter how many times she’d tried to buy shorter shirts to show off some of her breasts, she chickened out at the last minute. Long shirts and baggy clothes were what she wanted in order to make herself feel comfortable.

After brushing her hair, she moved to the kitchen and poured herself a coffee. Zoe glanced out of the window and saw several children alone on the park around the back of her building. She let out a hiss of annoyance. Where were their parents? Didn’t they care?

“Fucking figures,” she muttered to herself. On her way out of her apartment she grabbed a book.

Once she locked her door she made her way to the stairwell. She paused for a second when she saw Bill handing over some foil packet to another guy.

Closing off her panic signals, she walked down the stairs hoping Bill would leave her alone. She didn’t know anything else about him other than the fact his name was Bill. Zoe knew he was dealing drugs. She wondered if the Sheriff’s office knew about any of the goings-on over here.