Falling for Trouble

“Nah.”

Red nodded once and stood. “Well, I’m here if you want to talk about your girl.”

Abe looked up at him, unsurprised Red had known what bothered him.

“You know, I used to have a friend, a girl who took care of me and didn’t ask any questions. She was gorgeous and kindhearted, but I didn’t see what was right in front of me until it was too late.” Red looked out the bay doors, as if he was lost in thought, and despite his better judgment, Abe found himself asking the question that plagued his mind.

“What happened to her?” He knew Seth Red wasn’t married, and as far as he knew, he didn’t have a girlfriend either. For a long while, Red didn’t move, didn’t say a damn thing, but then he turned to Abe with an almost lost look on his face.

“Not sure. Last I heard, she married some guy and moved to Montana. She is no doubt a mama by now and has that little house and white picket fence she was always talkin’ ’bout.”

Abe didn’t ask any other questions, because the hard look in Red’s eyes told him it probably wasn’t safe, but Red surprised him yet again by continuing.

“What I do know is if I could change it all, I would, in a fuckin’ heartbeat. I would take her in my arms, tell her that I loved her from the moment I first set eyes on her, and kiss her senseless. I would do everything in my power to be with her, to make her stay beside me. I wouldn’t let anyone take her away; that’s for damn sure. I’ll tell you one more thing, boy, and then I’ll let you get back to takin’ your aggression out on my tools.” He grinned, and Abe heard the teasing note in his voice. “When you got something good, you don’t let it slip between your fingers, because once it does, that’s it.” He snapped his fingers to emphasize his point. He gave one more nod and headed back into his office.

Abe sat there for a good long while, contemplating what Red said. It sounded good, but was Red the kind of prick Abe was? Is that why he lost the girl he loved?

He turned his attention back to the motor and tried to get his mind off Kid, which was impossible.15It was seven in the morning, way too damn early for Abe to be conscious, but he was trying to make a point. Since speaking with Sophia and hearing Red’s story yesterday, all he had been able to think about was how to show Kid he wasn’t a douchebag anymore. He didn’t want to go through life wondering “what if.”

He wanted her in his life, wanted to be by her side and not let her down. He had spent far too many years trying to cover up his past with random women and bottomless bottles of liquor. It was definitely time for a change.

He knocked on her front door, even though he had a key. Kid was the type of woman who deserved respect. It took her only a few minutes to answer, and when she did, the surprise on her face was evident. It made him feel like shit. She shouldn’t be surprised to see him on her doorstep.

“Abe? Hey.” She wore a tiny white tank top that showed her nipples right through the thin material and a pair of boy shorts. She actually wore that shit to answer the door, so any douche could see her? Well, fuck him.

Her dark hair was mussed from sleep and fell around her face. She was sexy as fuck, especially with the little reading glasses she wore. His damn dick started to harden. Gritting his teeth, he forced a smile and held up the box of doughnuts and the drink tray with two cups of coffee in it.

“Hey, Kid. I know you said you couldn’t come over today for breakfast, so I thought I’d bring it to you.” She stared at him for a moment and then glanced at her watch.

“It’s like seven in the morning. I didn’t even know you could get up this early.”

He chuckled but didn’t tell her that he had hardly slept last night. All he could think about was how her date had gone and if she planned on going on another one. “Can I come in?”

“Oh yeah. Sorry.” A pretty pink hue touched her cheeks, and he bent down and kissed her temple as he passed through the door.

“I…”

He set the stuff on her table and looked over at her. “Can you maybe put some clothes on?” He didn’t stop his eyes from traveling up and down her body. For a moment, she just stared at him, like she had no clue what he was talking about, but then realization set in, and her face got red.