Page 18 of Legacy

And I wasn’t that man.

Abruptly, I pulled away and pushed at her side slightly.

She staggered back, and I nearly reached out for her. Regret shamed me, but I didn’t touch her again. Instead, I stood there, chest heaving, as she stared up at me, looking like fucking sweet with her eyes wide and her lips swollen.

“I’m not a good man, Felicity. Just stay away. It’ll be good for both of us.”

And then I stomped out the back door, leaving her alone in my house, and knowing that the taste of her would be forever branded into my lips.

I was a careless man, and I did not deserve Felicity Carter.

And that would be the last time I let myself break.

LEGACY

LEGACY

With one scowl, I fell just that much harder for Callum Ashford—NFL star turned small town brewer. He’s not only older, but he’s my brother’s best friend. Two very important reasons I should stay away.

Only two years ago, after the worst night of my life, he kissed me and I can’t keep him off my mind.

When the only house available to rent in town happens to be the one across the street from him, the close proximity does its work.

We can’t keep our hands off each other. Yet as the heat rises, so do feelings. He might want me, but he wants peace more.

There’s a darkness within him I know he fights. Just as there are secrets his family needs to uncover. But when the danger comes full force, it won’t be from the obvious corner. No, we both have our pasts we chose to hide.

And our fears.

Yet when I break, he catches me.

And I hope I have the strength to do the same.

**Legacy is an age gap, best friend’s little sister, small town romance and the first in the Ashford Creek series featuring Callum and Felicity. Each one can be read as a complete standalone. A HEA is guaranteed!**

Chapter 1

Callum

Ashford Creek. Home of small town lore, single dads, a bakery that judged you, a brewery owned by a former NFL linebacker, a couple of restaurants without a rivalry, family drama, secrets, and most likely a murderer.

And why the hell did I continue to live in a town that my family had not only founded long ago but tried to destroy multiple times? I’d run from what crawled beneath and moved out of town. Gone to college, played a sport to the best of my abilities, had a career in which thousands upon thousands of people knew my name.

Found a life.

Lost that life.

Then, I moved back to this hellhole known as Ashford Creek.

Yay.

“What’s crawled up your butt?”

I narrowed my gaze at my best friend Rune before going back to pull the tap. A customer needed a beer, a shit beer since it wasn’t one of mine, but the customer was always right. At least, that’s what they told me.

“Nothing,” I finally answered, since Rune wasn’t about to let me off with just a glare. The man was damn persuasive and annoyed the hell out of you until he got the answers he wanted.

That was probably why we were still best friends after all these years, despite the fact I’d lived far from the area for over a decade, and why he was such a damn good bartender. It didn’t matter that he owned the bar and grill. He was at his best when he was behind the bar, watching over the town residents and making sure we stopped fucking things up. We weren’t always great at it, but Rune did his best.