Beautifully Broken Pieces (Sutter Lake, #1)(39)

“That’ll be fun,” I replied, the picture of polite distance.

“You’re coming with us.”

My head snapped in his direction. “No, I’m not.”

“Come on, what are you going to do? Stay home alone and work out all day?”

I had planned to attempt another cooking project and swim laps, but I didn’t say that. “My plans are none of your business.”

“Your plans are coming to the lake with the entire Cole family. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

I huffed, crossing my arms at this familiar refrain. “Does pushiness run in your family gene pool or something?”

Walker let out a bark of laughter. “Why, yes, ma’am, it does. So, you might as well give in now.” He swung his truck to a stop in front of my stairs. “I’ll be here at nine a.m. to pick you up.”

“Fine,” I gritted out.

“Goodnight, Short-stack,” he called as I jumped down from the truck.

“Goodnight, Bigfoot,” I called. But to myself, I huffed, “Stubborn, ornery, no-good, troublemaking men.” Apparently, I was going to the lake.





21





Walker





My truck bumped along the gravel drive as I pulled up to the guest cabin to pick up Taylor. I grinned as I remembered her reaction to me telling her that she was going to the lake with us today. She had been a hissing, spitting little kitten.

I loved getting her riled. It had become a favorite pastime of mine. Over the past few weeks, we’d gone running together almost a dozen times, and I always got a perverse joy out of heckling her along the way. She needed to know that she couldn’t push me or any other members of the Cole family away with her prickliness.

I shut my door with a soft push and climbed the stairs, rapping on Taylor’s front door. “Coming,” I heard through the wood, followed by the thundering of footsteps. Geez, the girl was all of one hundred ten pounds soaking wet, but it sounded like a herd of elephants were headed my way.

The door swung open, and the sight that greeted me was enough to have my shorts tightening and my jaw hardening. Taylor stood before me, sunglasses perched on the top of her head, long, golden hair tumbling down over her shoulders. She wore ridiculously short denim cutoffs with frayed edges and a tank that dipped low enough to give a peek of the white bikini underneath.

I was fucked.

“Hey,” she said, tossing her beach bag over one shoulder. “I’m ready.”

“Great.” My voice sounded hoarse.

Taylor quirked a brow at me. “Are you okay? Not getting sick, are you?”

I cleared my throat. “Nope. Probably allergies,” I lied through my teeth. I led the way down her steps to my truck. Opening the passenger door, I said, “We have to make a pit stop at the bakery on our way to get donuts for everyone.”

Taylor clicked her seatbelt into place. “The bakery? You’ll get zero arguments from me.”

I grinned at the ground and rounded the truck. Less than ten minutes later, we had snagged a prime parking spot in front of the bakery. “Have you had donuts from Sutter Lake Bakery yet?”

A faint blush stained Taylor’s cheeks. What in the world was that about? She coughed. “Uh, yeah. Your sister brought them by one morning. They’re amazing.”

Huh. I’d have to get the rundown from Jensen about why Taylor blushed over donuts. “They’re the best. I called ahead, so they should have our order all ready to go.”

“Perks of being a town cop?”

“Perks of any lifelong town resident.”

She nodded, and I pushed open the bakery door. The place was packed. The to-go line was at least fifteen people deep, and another crowd of twenty waited to be seated. I loved checking out who was out and about on a Saturday morning. I spotted Tuck in a back corner with his latest bed buddy. Bryce and Ashlee were being shown to a table. And, unfortunately, Caitlin was there with her bitchy friend, Bridgette. I turned my gaze away as Caitlin’s eyes narrowed on me.

I ushered Taylor ahead of me with a palm on her lower back. I swear my skin tingled. What was this, the fifth grade? Hard-ons and butterflies without so much as a kiss?

Shaking the thoughts from my head, I scanned the bakery staff. Nina raised a hand in a one-minute gesture, and I jerked my head in a nod.

“It always smells amazing in here.” I had to lean my head down so that I could hear Taylor’s words, and her minty breath tickled my ear.

“Best donuts in the county.”

“I believe it.”

I soaked in the delicious smells and the feel of Taylor pressed up against me. But my happy buzz was soon ruined by a shrill voice. “You have got to be kidding me.” I turned to see Caitlin’s face a mottled red. “You drop me like a piece of trash, saying you’re not ready to commit, and I find you here weeks later with this skank.”

My spine went ramrod straight, but Taylor let out a chuckle. “Friend of yours?” she asked. “She’s charming. It’s hard to see why you’d ever want to get rid of her.”

The comment had me biting back a grin. “Caitlin, this isn’t the time or the place.”

Caitlin’s hands went to her hips, and her eyes narrowed to slits. “Since you refuse to return any of my phone calls, this is exactly the time and place.”