Strawberry Kisses (A Rocky Harbor Novel Book 2) Read online

  Wrapping her arms around her legs, she rocked back and forth until her heart rate slowed to a normal speed. What was I thinking? She didn’t fear Jake. Didn’t think he’d physically hurt her. She knew it was him behind her, but she used the excuse of surprise to take her aggression out on him.

  Just like Dylan used to do to her. Rachael broke down in ugly, sobbing tears. She was no better than her ex. How had her life come to this? Anger rushed through her body again. Only this time it wasn’t anger at Jake, but at herself. She dropped her arms from her legs and set her feet on the floor.

  After years of holding herself together, of looking, speaking, and acting the way Dylan wanted her to, she’d finally let loose. And it felt good. Yes, there was some sense of guilt for taking her physical aggressions out on a man, but she proved she wouldn’t be walked all over again.

  Rachael lifted her head and saw her reflection in the mirror over her bureau. She allowed herself to look deeper, beyond the red eyes and puffy mouth, to see the Rachael she once was. A trembling grin escaped her lips. Slowly she lifted her hands and brushed her hair out of her face. There, in the mirror she saw the old Rachael begin to resurrect herself.

  Eyes that used to be full of life. A mouth that used to be full of wit and sass towards her brothers. And a body that used to walk with confidence.

  In taking Jake to his knees—literally—she proved to herself that she wasn’t a fragile weak-minded bimbo as she’d been led to believe. The new, revived Rachael could hold her own. The fire inside roared, and for the first time in years, she felt whole. Confident. Like her old self.

  Needing a shower to wash away the tearstains, she stripped and stood under the spray until she felt rejuvenated. A fresh start. Come Monday she’d whip up a new soup recipe, put the final touches on Maddie Montgomery’s seventh birthday party for the following weekend, and start all over again.

  ***

  She’d have to start all over. Again. Her sourdough proof didn’t look right. Her mind had been distracted all morning and she kept forgetting if she’d added the yeast or sugar. Coast & Roast was normally busy on a Saturday, but today’s eighty-degree sunshine-filled day kept people at the beach and at ice cream stands, not in line for hot coffee or soup.

  “Rach?” Mackenzie’s concerned voice startled Rachael. “Have a minute?”

  “Sure.” She dumped the batch of starter mix in the sink and washed the bowl.

  “I know things didn’t go well with shirtless sexy-abs landscaper.” Rachael smiled at Mackenzie’s lack of proper name usage. “Maggie told me how you punched him out the other day.”

  “I didn’t punch him. And it isn’t like Maggie to spread gossip.” Maggie was a reputable psychiatrist and would never speak about anyone without their consent. Rachael had confided in her many times and owed much of her emotional growth to Maggie.

  “I’ll clarify. Lucy told Maggie, who happened to be sitting with me, so I heard the story as well. But only pieces. Mags filled me in on the Mike Tyson move. I’d give you a high-five if I wasn’t afraid you’d knock me on my ass.” Mackenzie’s smile told Rachael she was kidding. Maybe.

  “Let you be warned,” she teased.

  “Yeah, so about the six-pack…what would you do if you saw him again?”

  “I don’t know. I still have one more self-defense class to go to.” Rachael shrugged. “Maybe I’ll apologize. Maybe pretend nothing ever happened.”

  “Was this over another woman?”

  Rachael dropped the dishcloth in the sink and turned. “What do you know?”

  “Nothing. Only…”

  “What is it, Mackenzie?”

  “He may be out there.” She flicked her shoulder toward the door. “With another woman.”

  “May?”

  “Okay. He’s here. With two women. I didn’t get a look at them. He ushered them to the back corner table while I was waiting on other customers. Before he came to the counter to place his order, I heard him call one of them Julia. He asked if you were here.”

  “What did you tell him?” Julia. Rachael’s throat closed and her eyes misted. She blinked back the tears and struggled to force her belly to stop convulsing.

  “That you weren’t here. I’m a really good liar.”

  “He didn’t buy it.” Rachael toyed with the hem of her shirt. Today’s read I Bake Because I Knead the Dough. The irony. She couldn’t get a batch of dough made for the life of her.

  “Maybe. He had this tough-guy-turned-puppy-eyed look as he stared through the back door. I felt bad for him, but then his tattoo sort of slapped me in the face and I remembered he was a badass. I mean, a pain in the ass, and I’ve totally got your back.”

  Rachael shook her head at Mackenzie’s logic. She and Lucy were two of a kind.

  Knowing she needed to apologize and wanting to see this Julia girl who meant so much to him he dumped Rachael at the curb, she wiped her hands on her apron and pulled back her shoulders.

  “I’ll go out there.” The old Rachael would have stood up to any guy who ditched her so disrespectfully. And so will the new Rachael.

  “I’ll keep an eye out. I have 911 on speed dial if you feel the urge to deck him again. Or should I wait and let him bleed it out?”

  It was good to have friends.

  Rachael moved ahead of Mackenzie and made her way to the seating area. Jake sat at a table with three paper cups and a pile of cookies in the center. The two chairs across from him were empty. The pocketbook slung on the back of one meant the women were still around. Probably in the ladies’ room.

  “Jake.”

  She startled him and he jumped to his feet when he saw her. His nose looked fine, but his left eye had a purple half moon under it. “Rachael.” His sad smile left a quavering in her belly. He lifted his hand as if he was going to touch her. When she backed up, he stuffed it in his pocket.

  “I came out to apologize for hitting you. And elbowing you.” She looked down at his knee. “And kicking you.”

  “I’m glad my lessons have paid off,” he joked. His adorable smile filled his face, making his purple eye look charming and roguish at the same time.

  “I hope you’re not in too much pain.”

  “Just my ego,” he teased again and dropped his smile when she didn’t return his. “Rachael. I’m sorry about the other night. It was rude of me. I shouldn’t have left in the middle of our date. I should have driven you home. It was…rude and I’m deeply sorry.”

  “Yes. Yes, it was. You’re a spoiled charmer who thinks he can get his way by flashing his muscles and boyish smile, but you’re a…an asswipe.” She picked up many appropriate euphemisms from Lucy and figured she might as well share them with Jake.

  “What did my son do now?” A dark haired woman with kind eyes appeared next to her, blowing out a sigh while shaking her head at Jake. “I taught you better than that. You know how to treat a lady.”

  “Mother, this is Rachael. Rachael, my mother, Lesley Morgan.”

  “Rachael. Lovely to finally meet you. I take it this is about Julia?”

  Rachael’s stomach clenched, her body stiffened, and her eyes rounded in surprise. She didn’t know if she should look straight, to her left, or behind her when she felt another presence at her side.

  “Yes.” Jake sighed then smiled brightly again when he looked over Rachael’s shoulder. “Rachael, this is Julia. My twin sister. Julia? Meet my friend Rachael.”

  Sister? Hesitantly, Rachael turned and her body softened when she saw the woman before her. The woman was beautiful, though her expression seemed limited. She met Rachael’s eyes slowly, but once she did her face lit up.

  “You—re…pre—tty,” she said. Or at least that’s what Rachael thought she said. Her words were slurred and hard to understand.

  “Thank you. You’re very beautiful too. You look like your mother.”

  Julia beamed and rocked back and forth.

  “Have a seat, honey. Your hot chocolate is nice and cold now.” Lesley helped J
ulia to her seat. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a hundred degrees out, when we go out for special treats Julia wants either chocolate ice cream or hot cocoa. They don’t serve ice cream here so we settled on the cocoa.”

  Julia tilted her head, her face skewing as if in pain.

  “She’d rather have a glass of wine, I’m sure,” Jake added, placing a kiss on his sister’s head. A faint smile showed on her lips.

  Rachael watched the three of them interact; their mother babied Julia while Jake treated her like an adult.

  “Please join us,” Lesley said, patting the chair in between her and Jake.

  Jake held out the chair for his mother, then sat on the other side of his sister. He brought the cookies closer to her and handed her the biggest one. “You snooze you lose, sis. Better eat up fast or those cookies are mine.”

  She struggled with the mug and Rachael watched as Jake casually helped Julia lift it to her mouth. The scene was so sweet. So precious. And yet sad.

  Lesley continued filling the air with idle chatter while Rachael used that time to process. So the calls were from his sister, who obviously adored him, and he her. After Julia finished her chocolate, Lesley stood. “We’re going for a walk to check out your landscape work, Jake. We’ll be back in a bit.”

  Once they were gone Jake seemed to relax. “You left me at the restaurant to go to your sister,” Rachael said.

  Jake nodded. “She had another seizure and was being rushed to the hospital. Julia responds best to me, must be a twin thing, so I really needed to go. My mom sent a bunch of texts and, when I didn’t reply, sent me one from Julia’s phone, knowing I’d answer right away.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  He looked out the window, staring at nothing. “I’m a private person.”

  “Are you ashamed of your sister?” That would be a deal breaker.

  “No!” He seemed truly offended. “I love my sister more than anything. She wasn’t always…she’s had a rough life, and the least I can do is be there for her whenever she needs me.”

  “So why keep her a secret from me? I told you about my brothers and sister.”

  “No. You told me their names and occupations. Not their dirty laundry.”

  “Your sister’s condition isn’t dirty laundry.” Appalled at him, she stood abruptly, bumping the table and spilling his coffee in his lap.

  “Rachael. That’s not what I meant,” he called after her but she’d already rounded the front counter and retreated to the safety of her kitchen.

  “Ratbastardasswipeprick,” she mumbled as she measured and mixed the ingredients for rolls and pounded another pile of worthless dough. With her heart lodged in her throat once again, she slammed around in the kitchen, making more of a mess than usual. She’d worked hard over the past year to get some sense of stability back in her life. The roller coaster ride with Jake only set her back.

  She wanted to hate him for his tattooed, biker, badass looks, but they were only a cover to his sweet, sensitive side. He cared deeply for his special needs sister yet seemed ashamed of her at the same time. His incongruous behavior baffled her and toyed with her already sensitive heartstrings.

  “Rachael?”

  She jumped, knocking a bag of flour on the floor. “What is it with people sneaking up on me? Didn’t you learn your lesson the last time?” Cringing at her own snotty attitude, Rachael marched to the corner to grab the broom and dustpan.

  “I kept my distance this time,” Jake joked. “I don’t need another black eye. Seriously though, I didn’t mean to startle you. I don’t make it a habit to sneak up on women.”

  “Could have fooled me.” Rachael attempted to shush him away with the broom, but he took it from her.

  “Let me. I’m the one who caused this mess.”

  Yeah, in more ways than one. After he dumped the rest of the flour in the trash, he returned the broom to the corner and leaned against the wall, still keeping his distance. The wet spot on the front of his khakis made it look like he peed himself; Rachael bit back a smile and remembered to be annoyed and hurt.

  “Will you come to dinner with me tonight?”

  “I don’t know. Is Erin available to bring me home after?” Her sassy comeback pleased her. No more wimpy, cowering girl.

  Jake rubbed his hands across his face and dropped his chin to his chest. The black ink crept its way up his neck but was still indecipherable. Traces of the image showed on his tricep. She’d need him to take his shirt off so she could examine it more closely. No. Don’t go there.

  If he stripped his shirt she knew she’d succumb to whatever Jake was asking.

  “I promise never to do that again.”

  “And if your sister has another seizure?” Great. Now she sounded like a jealous girlfriend. “I’m sorry. That was inappropriate. This isn’t your sister’s fault. She seems like a sweet woman.”

  “No, this is all my fault. I could have brought you to the hospital with me. I didn’t know how long I would be and didn’t want you to have to deal with…this.”

  “You could have told me.” Jake nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me about your sister?”

  Jake stepped closer keeping the center worktable in between them. “I want to. I will. At dinner tonight. I can meet you somewhere if you’d prefer.”

  Wanting to know the story and needing to prove to herself she could stand up to any man who got in her way, she agreed. “I’ll meet you at the Lobster Shack at six.” It would be packed with tourists and they’d likely have to eat on the rocks or beach, but they’d be surrounded by people, and she wouldn’t feel so closed in.

  Jake’s chocolate eyes melted on her and she was tempted to climb over the table and lick him. Why did he have to look so sexy? So sweet? So perfect? He rounded the table and cupped her chin in his palm. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  ***

  Jake

  Jake arrived twenty minutes early and secured a picnic table. When a family with three active children looked at him with hopeful eyes, he gave up his table and paced the parking lot. Maybe Rachael would be more relaxed if they ate down at the rocks or found a spot on the sandy beach.

  He checked the time on his cell phone for the fifth time since he’d arrived. Six fifteen. Rachael didn’t strike him as the late type. Maybe she wasn’t coming. No, she wouldn’t leave him hanging.

  Yes, she would. He deserved it for being a prick the other night. Although she did get him back pretty good.

  Jake smiled when he saw a familiar blonde get out of a maroon sedan. He wanted to jog over and greet her with a long, wet kiss, but didn’t think she’d appreciate his gesture.

  Instead, he shoved his hands deep in his pockets and waited for Rachael to notice him. In the meantime, he took in her long, tanned legs, the bottom of her denim shorts barely covering the tops of her thighs. She’d changed out of her pink shirt she’d had on earlier. This one read ‘Does Not Cook Well With Others’ with a picture of a cleaver. Message read loud and clear. She was still pissed.

  “Nice shirt,” he said when she spotted him and was within earshot. Rachael stopped in her tracks. Her sunglasses concealed her eyes and he could imagine her squinting, probably trying to get a read on him. He bit the inside of his cheek to prevent his grin from taking over. “Another gift from your brothers?”

  She shook her head. “My mother.”

  Jake tipped his head back and laughed, startling a smile from her lips. “Not one for sharing her kitchen?”

  Rachael shrugged. “I used to like cooking with her. I learned from her and she’s the best, but sometimes I like to be alone, especially when I’m trying new recipes. Mom likes to talk a lot and ask what ingredient I’m putting in next and how much. Sometimes I don’t know, I wing it, and I get annoyed with her questions.”

  “Dually warned.”

  “I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

  “Oh? You’re not worried about me bothering you in the kitchen?”

  “You won
’t be in my kitchen, so it won’t be a problem.” She shook her head in a sassy manner that was probably meant to annoy him but only made him want her even more. Rachael had spunk. He liked that.

  A lot.

  “Let’s get in line. Who knows how long it’s going to take to get our food.”

  They stood in line and talked about trivial things like the weather, the Red Sox’s pitiful losing streak, and fishing.

  “You like fishing?”

  “My brothers used to sneak off to the pond behind our house and I would tag along. They’d only let me hang out with them if I baited their hook. You didn’t show your weaknesses in the Riley house or they would be used against you until death. I knew if I showed Luke and Graham how disgusted I was with the worms that I’d find a bucketful in my bed.”

  “I like the sound of your brothers. I always wished I had one.”

  “Which brings us to the purpose of this evening.”

  Not ready to stop the flow of their easy banter, he tried to sidetrack. “Want to share a fisherman’s platter with me?”

  “You’re pathetic.”

  Jake studied her, unable to read her eyes behind her large glasses, just as she couldn’t see his behind his aviators. Thankful for the temporary shield, he played dumb. “You’re right. I would probably eat most of it. Want a lobster roll again or something different?”

  Rachael crossed her arms over her chest and bit her lip. “Fried haddock and fries and a bottle of water. Please.”

  He placed their order and they waited off to the side in silence. When his number was called, Rachael grabbed some napkins while he picked up the tray. There weren’t any tables free so he followed her to the outcropping of rocks.

  “We can sit in the back of my truck if the rocks are too uncomfortable,” he suggested.

  Shaking her head, she swiped a fry off his plate before sitting down. “This is fine.”

  Jake hadn’t eaten since earlier in the day and his stomach would need to be full to tell her the ugly truth about how he ruined his sister’s life.

  ***