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“Asshole.” Harmony shook her head.
“Yeah, I’m done with men for a while, I think.”
“I was talking about your best friend, but yeah, fuck him too.” Harmony clarified as she lifted her glass again. “To being single and fresh starts!”
“To being single and fresh starts!” I lifted my glass in cheers as the one man who could tempt me from my single status walked into the bar.
Kane Kingston.
As I drank him in, a tingle of awareness spread through me like a shot of whiskey. His white t-shirt showcased his muscular chest and arms. Stubble covered his strong jaw, and even from across the room, his soulful eyes made my pulse race.
I hadn’t seen him since meeting his daughter at Sunset Acres the second day I was in town. I had to admit, I had been disappointed that I hadn’t.
“Speaking of being single.” Harmony glared across the room. “Kane Kingston lost me twenty bucks.”
“He did?” Cara took a sip of her drink.
Harmony nodded. “I bet Hud that Stella Barnes would wear him down.”
“What do you mean?” I asked trying to play catch up.
“Kane is basically Wishing Well’s most eligible bachelor,” Cara explained. “He’s a very hot commodity.”
“Oh, really?” I responded as if that was news to me, and I’d never looked at him in that way.
Harmony must’ve taken my reaction as a sign that I needed convincing. “Yes, he is. He’s top-tier talent. He’s a six-foot-four, hot, single dad who owns his home and makes no secret of the fact he wants to settle down and get married. Plus, you know, the uniform doesn’t hurt.” Harmony wagged her brows. I was sure she was referring to her husband, Hudson, who was a deputy sheriff. “All the single ladies in town have tried to get him to put a ring on it, but he hasn’t been interested, which makes him even more desirable. Everyone wants what they can’t have.”
I glanced over at him and saw that he was looking in my direction. The heat of his stare warmed me from the inside out. Harmony was right. I definitely wanted what I couldn’t have. But for the first time in my life, I didn’t want to let that stop me from trying to get it.
8
KANE
“People in hell want ice water, but that don’t mean they get it.” ~ Miss Dottie
As I walked into The Tipsy Cow, the sound of glasses clinking, music blasting, and people talking and laughing surrounded me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been out to a bar on a Friday night. It had to be before Harper was born. The only time I ever went to grab a beer was to watch a game, not to socialize.
Tonight, the plan had been to do just that: socialize. But my plans changed. When I’d dropped Harper off at her sleepover, JJ Briggs had been there, dropping off his daughter Lilah, and mentioned that his wife Destiny and his sister Harmony were going to take Ruby out on her last night in town.
So now I was here to keep my word to Remi. He’d asked me to keep an eye on Ruby, and that’s exactly what I’d been doing since she arrived in town. I was trying to convince myself that my motivations were purely altruistic, but I wasn’t buying my own bullshit.
For the past week, she’d kept a low profile. She’d spent every day at the nursing home visiting Dottie Higgins. I’d seen her car in the parking lot but hadn’t spoken to her since the second day she was in town when she’d met Harper.
Since the moment she stepped foot back in Wishing Well, she’d consumed my mind. I’d done my best not to think about her, but that was easier said than done. Her reappearance in town was all anyone was talking about. Word spread quickly about our run in at Pit Stop, and everyone felt the need to comment on it. There was no reprieve when I was home, either. This week, Harper had mentioned her every night. She’d talked about how much Ruby looked like a princess and how she sat on chairs so none of them would feel left out. Harper had a big imagination that was not limited to her belief that she was a mermaid and that furniture had feelings. Most people humored her, which she picked up on. But Ruby had jumped right in and joined Harper in her world.
Even though their interaction had been brief, it had made an impact on my daughter. I wanted to thank Ruby for the way she’d embraced Harper’s eccentricities, but I’d forced myself not to seek her out to do that. I didn’t trust myself to speak to the blonde beauty and not cross a line I had zero business crossing.
Thankfully, she’d be heading out of town tomorrow. Keeping my distance from her this past week had been torture. But after tonight, she would no longer be my responsibility.
So, tonight, I will keep an eye on her from afar. I scanned the room and immediately spotted her. Ruby was seated at a booth with Harmony Briggs and her friends and now sisters-in-law Cara and Destiny, and Kelsi was with them too. Kelsi moved to town a while back. I didn’t know her that well, but she seemed like a nice person. I didn’t think any of them would say anything to upset Ruby, but I’d be here if someone did.
All of the women at the booth were attractive, but none came close to the ethereal beauty that Ruby possessed. People talked about the ‘it’ factor, and Ruby definitely had that. She’d stood out all her life. It didn’t surprise me at all that she’d wanted to be in the entertainment field.
Forcing myself not to stare like a creep, I made my way over to the bar where Kenna was mixing a drink. Her eyes widened when she saw me.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, clearly surprised to see me.
I lifted my shoulder in a shrug. “Harp’s at her sleepover, and Grandad is still at rehab.”
