Broken Beginnings: A High Heat Small Town Romance Suspense (Citrus Cove Book 1)

I’D BEEN SMILING for days. Smiling so much that my cheeks were starting to hurt.

Not really, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they started.

I sat in the kitchen across from Honey, the two of us drinking our coffee and reading. She read her newspaper, and I scrolled my phone mindlessly, thinking about Cam.

The last few days had been perfect. We’d yet to get to the picnic, although the plan was for this week, because we’d been in bed what felt like the whole time. We’d found a nice rhythm too.

Wake up, have breakfast, make love, have lunch, make love, work at the bar for a few hours, and come back to his place and make love until we passed out. I had to make a point to come by Honey’s today and grab my laptop and pack a bag—and to also have breakfast with her instead of Cam.

“You might as well be whistling,” Honey teased, eyeing me over the edge of the paper. She took a sip of her coffee.

“I’m not that bad,” I hissed.

“Thou doth protest too much, sweetie. You got that look. I felt that way about your grandfather.”

I looked up at her, surprised to hear her mention him. There were only a few things that she never talked about, but he was one of them. I’d never known him. He’d passed in a car wreck before I was born. I had a suspicion that my mom started struggling around the time he went.

“You never talk about him,” I said softly.

She swallowed hard, her shoulders sinking some. “I’ve been thinking about him more recently. About how proud he would have been of you. Of Sarah. I think seeing Mr. Johnson has got me in my feels. But your grandfather was the light of my life. I loved him more than anyone else in the whole world. And he was a good dad too.”

“It makes me happy to hear about him,” I said.

“It makes me happy to talk about him. A little sad, still, but mostly happy. He would have liked Cam.”

“You think?” I asked.

“I know,” she said, beaming. “I like him. He’s good. And hopefully that means you’re staying here for good.”

I blew out a breath. I wasn’t sure about that. In fact, I’d done my best not to think about it.

“We’ll see,” I said.

She pursed her lips but didn’t say anything else, going back to her paper. I studied her for a few moments and then finally asked something that had been bugging me for almost a week.

“Why is Sarah refusing to see me? To speak to me? I saw her at a cafe last week, and she refused to talk to me. I get that it has become tense between us, but I never did anything to her. And I’m concerned about her and David.” All of it came spilling out, but Honey never interrupted.

“I don’t know exactly when things changed,” she said, putting down her newspaper. “Quite frankly, I blame that man. He doesn’t seem to hit them. No physical abuse. But I worry about her, and I worry about the boys. Everyone in this town knows that he drinks. Cam would know, certainly, since he’s banned him from his place.”

“So is it David, then?” I asked. “Are you sure she’s okay?”

“No. But she claims she is. I barely know her anymore.”

Fuck. I glared at Honey and then shook my head. “Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you tell me about any of this? She’s my sister.”

“And I raised her as my daughter. This has been a tough situation. And I didn’t want to burden you.”

“Burden me?” I asked, setting my phone down. “This is a big deal. I saw the way he spoke to her, Honey. It’s not right. Something ain’t right.”

“I agree,” she said, exasperated.

“Then why isn’t anyone doing anything?” My voice was a little louder than I’d intended, and I quieted back down, leaning back in my seat.

“Sweetie. I love you. But you haven’t been home in a long, long time. Things have changed around here. I’ve done my best to be here for her, but you can only do so much. And I love those boys, so I’m not going to rock the boat with David.”

Rock the boat. I hadn’t heard that phrase in so long, but it infuriated me. There had been so many times growing up that I’d been told to quiet down. To be placid. To not cause any trouble.

Asking valid questions and seeking answers was not looking for trouble. If my sister was being harmed, then someone had to hold the person doing the harm accountable.

This was why I’d left. Things like this. The only parts of me that I shed when I moved were the toxic habits ingrained so deep into families that it was a pollution in the roots.

“I know this sort of thing upsets you, but I think you should focus on yourself. On you and Cam. And on forgetting what happened in Baltimore. That was a nightmare, and you’ve already had enough of those in your life.”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

I took a deep breath. Counted to three. And made myself let it go. Because I wasn’t going to get anywhere with her.

But I needed to get my sister alone. Maybe then she’d talk to me.

“What’s her address?” I asked.

“Haley.” I heard the warning in her voice and ignored it.

“What is her address, Honey? If you don’t tell me, I’ll just find out from someone else in this hellhole.”

Her eyes glimmered, but she caved. “1210 Honeydew Lane. If a blue car is in the drive, that’s David’s, and you’d be smart to move on.”

I was so frustrated. So fucking frustrated. I stood up and went to the foyer. I slipped on my tennis shoes and grabbed my bag, keys, and a ball cap.

As I went out the door, I could have sworn I heard her whisper that she was sorry.

It hurt. It hurt knowing that Sarah could be hurting. And it hurt knowing that Honey let it happen. But I couldn’t put that on her entirely.

My phone buzzed in my pocket as I walked out to my Corvette. I pulled it out and sighed.

He called me sunshine, but in truth—Cam was the rainbow through my storm.

Cam: Hey pretty lady. How about some lunch? I know you miss Honey but she can’t keep you all to herself…

I snorted.

Me: It’s funny, she said something similar earlier. 

I hesitated but decided to tell him where I was going.

Me: I’m going by Sarah’s. 

Cam: Everything okay?

No. Yes. It was hard to tell.

Me: I’ll tell you later. I’ll meet you at the cafe after?

Cam: How about we finally do our picnic instead? 

Me: Yes. I’ll come once I’m done

Cam: Preferably while I’m inside you

I hissed through my teeth, my cheeks flaming. This man drove me wild in ways I didn’t know were possible.

I sent him some kissing emojis and then got in my car, cranking it on.

I decided to stop by the gas station on the way there to fill up and grab a couple of Pepsis. When Sarah and I had gone rounds when we were younger, that had always been our truce beverage.

Maybe it would pull her out of her shell.

I hopped out to pump the gas and then went inside to pay. The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I went to one of the coolers. I glanced up, seeing the reflection of David standing there.

I spun around, my heart skipping a beat. He’d already turned around so I didn’t see his face.

Maybe he had a lookalike? The clothing he wore was different from anything I’d expect to see David Connor in. I snatched my Pepsis up, my gaze following the man as he went outside to his car.

I breathed out. Definitely not David. He was driving a small electric car.

I took my sodas to the counter and paid for everything, shaking off the jump scare as I went back out to my car.

Within a few minutes, I was easing down Honeydew Lane. I slowed as I passed her house, staring at the driveway. It was empty, aside from a small Honda. Her old Honda.

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered.

That thing didn’t have AC when we were teens, and I somehow doubted it had any now. The fact that she was still driving that made me feel bad. I went to the cul-de-sac at the end of the street and turned back around, pulling up to her drive and parking.

She was going to be pissed, and I braced myself as I went to the front door and knocked, holding the soda out as an offering.

It took a few moments, but the door pulled open.

“I told you I don’t want to talk,” she growled, but her voice held no bite.

“I know when you’re lying, Sarah,” I whispered. “It doesn’t matter that I haven’t talked to you in so long. I know you.”

Her cheeks flared red, her gaze sliding down to the drink. One moment, two, three… And then her eyes filled with tears. “You can’t be here, Hal. You can’t. You can’t come in.”

“Then come with me,” I pressed. “I’ll drive you out of town. We’ll take a day trip. We’ll go talk somewhere safe.” I needed to get her out of here. Cam would understand.

She shook her head. “No. I have to be here. And I have a shift later tonight. You can’t come in.”

Pain. Rage. Sadness. All of those emotions whirled inside me, but through it all, I felt worry. A deep-rooted worry that my sister wasn’t okay.

“Sarah,” I said. “I’ll meet you at your work tonight. Okay? I’ll be in the back. We’ll be sneaky like we used to.”

She crossed her arms, but she nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay,” I breathed out. “Is he hitting you?”

“He doesn’t hit,” she said.

Somehow, that didn’t make me feel better.

“What time do you work?”

“Meet me at 10:00 p.m.,” she said, her voice sounding a little stronger. “But you need to go. Everyone knows your car, Hal. And he doesn’t like visitors here.”

That fucking bastard.

“I love you,” I said, my voice soft. Softer than I’d meant to be. I shoved the soda at her and she took it reluctantly.

“I love you too.” She shut the door.

I stood still for a moment. How had things become so fucked-up? I felt tears in my eyes, and I fought their harsh sting as I went back to my car.

Everything was falling apart. My life. My career. My family.

I started the car and felt my phone buzz again. I sighed and pulled it out, expecting Cam.

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