Flawless Surrender (The Surrender Trilogy, #2)(3)

Too many adults looked at her with pity over the years, supposedly sympathizing with her plight, while standing by and allowing it to continue. Her parents never hit her, or physically abused her in a way that would be punishable by law, but they sure were good at neglecting her.

She could remember countless mornings waking up shivering in a house with no heat in the dead of winter, or taking a bath in the creek behind her house because the water had been shut off. The kids at school didn’t know the extent of her situation, but they knew she wore grimy clothes that didn’t fit right. So she became an outcast. Finding Rachel in the second grade was the only good thing that had happened to Zoey in her whole childhood. Rachel’s parents had just split up, and her father had run off to another state with his secretary leaving his family behind. The gossip and chatter put Rachel on the outcast list too, and they connected.

“My mom wasn’t a good mom, and for that matter, my dad was pretty shitty too. It’s not a big deal.”

Rachel and Parker exchanged a look, and for one brief moment Zoey was afraid Rachel would say more, but Parker seemed to shut her down with one of his “don’t mess with me” looks. Instead, Rachel turned and asked her, “So what is this about a developer?”

“Oh yes, that’s the other big news. Langley gave me notice this morning that he sold the house to that developer who just moved here. I don’t remember her name, but she is planning on tearing the place down and building a small sub-division. Apparently the folks in the city like the idea of small town living—as long as they get to keep their suburban housing. So I will be out of a place to live in four weeks, no matter what.”

Zoey let her head fall back on the sofa and closed her eyes. Saying it out loud made it all the more real.

“Shi-oot.” Rachel corrected herself before she cursed in front of Parker, and Zoey looked up just in time to catch the heated look the two lovers shared. “You can always stay here, girl. Now that the remodeling is done on the Master Suite we have a guest bedroom.”

“Um, only one? Didn’t this house have four bedrooms before?” Zoey asked with a raised eyebrow.

Parker chuckled and Rachel snorted before explaining. “I have four husbands, but there is only one of me. So two guys per night can share the bed. That means the other two are on their own, and Juliet has her own room. That leaves one guest bedroom.”

Zoey was instantly sorry she asked as images of her best friend and her four scorching hot husbands sharing a bed and other activities filled her brain. “God, I’m sorry. That was insanely rude of me to ask.”

Parker just laughed while Rachel waved it off. “No biggie. No reason to lie about it. Besides, these guys are taking their lives into their own hands every time they sleep next to me. I kick like a donkey.”

“That ain’t no shit,” Parker muttered under his breath and then grimaced when Rachel cleared her throat. “Sorry, it slipped out. You know Zoey, Tanner Keegan has a room open right now. In fact, he was just saying the other night at Robin’s that he was going to be looking for a renter soon. It’s the room over the garage I believe. Like an apartment type thing. You should call him.”

Zoey’s stomach clenched. Sure, that was easy for Parker to say. If he knew the history between her and Tanner, he never would have suggested such a ridiculous plan.

Tanner Keegan was the only man currently residing in Stone River who could make her blood boil with just his presence. Her vagina wanted him more than anything else, but she had already tried to walk that road once.

Zoey had basically thrown herself at Tanner several years ago, and he had bluntly rejected her, telling her that he only took women to bed, not little girls. It had left her self-esteem shattered, and her ego squashed. No. No way was she ever going to let that man have that kind of control on her life again. Besides, it was highly unlikely Tanner would ever consider allowing her to rent the room from him. When she was around, he acted as if she had leprosy or something twisted and contagious. Stephen King couldn’t have written a better story of avoidance and horror than the relationship she had with Tanner Keegan.

“Uh-no, thanks anyway. I’m sure I’ll find something acceptable within the next month.” She looked down at the empty chocolate wrapper she was twisting in her fingers rather than meet Parker’s curious gaze.

“Tanner would rent it to you at a fair price. His brother, Dalton, do you remember him?” When Zoey nodded silently, Parker continued, “That was his place until he left for medical school. Hasn’t been back in ten years. Tanner has rented it out a few times to make extra money when the cash flow isn’t as high. With that drought last season, everyone’s pinching pennies this season.”

Zoey felt like a cornered rabbit. How was she supposed to explain to Parker why she couldn’t be around Tanner? Not to mention how her pu-ssy clenched at the mention of the beautiful God-like Dalton, who she hadn’t seen in a decade. “Actually, Tanner and I aren’t the best of friends.”

Parker looked surprised right before his eyes narrowed and he did that weird Alpha male thing where he looked down his nose at her and made her feel about two inches tall. “Zoey Carson, I’ve never known you to be afraid in your life.”

“I’m not afraid of him!” she blustered vehemently. “I just don’t want to subject myself to his presence any more than necessary. I will start apartment hunting as soon as I can push my mom out the door and send her back to her newest fu-ck toy.”