Page 6 of Take Me Slowly, Part 1 (Aurora Hollow duet #1)

LEAH

"Uh-oh." Whitney's head turned like she was watching a hockey game, sliding from her brother to a man who stood just inside the doorway.

The six-foot-four wall of muscle watched Connor approach, dark eyes unflinching, as openly hostile as Whitney's brother.

"What do you want, Lachance?" Connor snarled.

"Who is he?" I whispered to the other women.

Holly hadn't said much, but it was her who answered now. "Dash Lachance. He and those two have had bad blood since forever." She nodded to Riley, who stood at Connor’s side, no less angry and aggressive than his friend.

"That's an understatement," Fiona said. "Those three hate each other. They'd throw each other off the falls given half a chance."

I caught Whitney giving her a sharp look.

One of Fiona's eyebrows twitched, but she was unrepentant.

"Why do they hate each other?" I asked.

"You'd have to ask them that," Whitney said. She gave both women a warning look. This time they pressed their lips together. Whatever was going on, they'd closed ranks against me.

"It's a free country, Ferguson." Dash shouldered past Connor and strode toward the bar.

"Not here it's not," Connor said. "You're not welcome. You forgot after last time?" His hands were curled into fists.

"Maybe he needs a reminder," Riley said.

"I'm just here for a beer." Dash leaned against the bar like he had all day.

"Get it somewhere else," Connor snarled. "Get out before we throw you out on your ass."

Dash turned slowly to face him, his lip curled. He had at least ten years and a couple of inches on Connor, and Connor was angry. Angry men tended to make mistakes.

To me, it looked like Dash was giving him and Riley enough rope to hang themselves.

"Why shouldn't he drink here?" I found myself on my feet, speaking loud enough to be heard through the whole room. Too late, I realised all eyes were on me.

Shit.

"He can pay, can't he?" I asked. If he couldn't, then he might as well leave, but I didn't think this had anything to do with him skipping out. No, whatever was going on between these three, it went deep.

"Mind your business," Connor snapped to me.

I stepped out from behind the chair and closer to him. "Is his money not good enough for you?"

"Not nearly fucking good enough," Connor agreed. "He could put a million dollars over the bar and I'd set it on fire."

I rolled my eyes at him. "That would be sensible," I said sarcastically. "And I don't believe it."

"Believe it," Riley said. "His money isn't worth shit here. And neither is he."

"He's right," Dash said. "I'm not worth getting your pretty little pussy in a twist over."

I squinted at him. I didn't know why I defended him in the first place. Clearly he neither needed nor wanted any help from me. It was possible whatever bad blood there was between them was justified. Who was I to get in the middle of that?

I just… I really hated when people ganged up against other people. Especially when it might come to blows, which it looked as though it was. I didn't want to help pick up teeth or clean up blood off the floor.

I raised my hands to either side. "No twisting here. I just figured if these guys were going to be dickheads…" I shrugged.

"They're always dickheads, sweet cheeks, but you know what?" He leaned toward me. "So am I. Ask anyone here." He jerked his head toward the rest of the room. "It's been…entertaining." He gave me a sarcastic, loud air kiss before stepping around me and back out into the night.

"And stay the fuck out," Connor shouted after him. He drew in a furious breath and loudly let it out. "That fucker seriously needs to stay out of town."

Was Dash the one they were talking about in the café the other morning?

They'd walked in the door raging about someone.

Connor said similar words then about him staying out of Aurora Hollow.

Was it strangers in general he didn't like, or just me and Dash in particular?

Presumably the latter, since his livelihood depended on strangers coming to town.

Although, he could be a good actor around them, pretending they were welcome until they were parted from their money.

"Does every man in town have a goddamn chip on their shoulder?" I slid back into my seat. It certainly seemed like it. They got bigger with each one I met.

"Just those three," Fiona said. "They might get over it someday."

Whitney laughed. "Connor and Riley hold grudges like their lives depend on them. They're gonna keep hating him until he's dead, or they are."

"It must have been bad," I said. "Whatever caused this. Was it over a woman?" They wouldn't be the first guys to lose their shit over someone. They wouldn't be the last.

Yet, this seemed to be about something else. What could be so important it would cause so much anger and animosity between them? Dash was too much older than Connor and Riley to have gone to school with them. What else might it be then?

Honestly, I could guess until the flying pigs landed and still not be right. I might be better off not knowing if it was that bad. Staying away from all of them would be a better option. For me and them.

"Like I said, you'll have to ask them," Whitney said. Once again, she gave Fiona and Holly a warning look. After a beat or two, she said, "Let's lighten things up, shall we? Fiona said you like to paint and draw. Any chance you want to come and do a class with my kindergarten kids?"

"She teaches at the local school," Fiona supplied. "Holly too, but Holly teaches high school gym."

"I'd love to give a class," I said. "That sounds like fun.

" I liked kids and their enthusiasm for art.

They were always so imaginative and creative, until they were told birds could only have two legs, and that pigs didn't really fly.

I vividly remembered those days. I stubbornly refused to let them influence my creative eye.

If I wanted pigs with wings, I'd make them, or draw them.

In fact, I had. I filled notebooks with flying pigs of all shapes and sizes, but never showed anyone.

My rebellion was a quiet one. In class, I'd follow the teachers’ instructions.

As it happens, learning to draw and paint realistically worked out for me in the long run.

Those pieces of art were easier to sell.

"Great." Whitney smiled warmly. "Let me know when and I'll pencil it in."

"I'm not saying I don't like hairdressing, but that sounds like fun," Fiona said with a sigh.

"Told you to go into teaching," Whitney said. She gave the other woman a lopsided smile that suggested this was an old conversation, only brought up now as a joke.

"Told you being with kids all day everyday would drive me insane," Fiona retorted. "Once in a while is enough for me."

"Wait until Sarah gets to high school," Holly said. "I swear, most of the class spends the entire year waiting for pond hockey season. That's all they care about. Hockey, hockey, hockey." She bobbed her head to either side with each word, while rolling her eyes toward the ceiling.

"Is there another sport?" Fiona frowned at her, but the sides of her mouth were tugging upward as she fought back a smile.

Holly plucked the paper straw out of her drink and threw it at Fiona. "Of course there is."

Fiona's hand shot up to deflect the straw. It bounced off her palm and landed back on the table, leaving a trail of droplets behind it.

"No goal." She grinned.

We all laughed.

"There is another sport, baseball," Whitney said. "And to a lesser extent, field hockey." She glanced at me and asked, "What about you? What are you into? Wait, let me guess." She put up a finger in front of her. "Cage fighting."

I laughed. "Why cage fighting?"

"Why not cage fighting?" She spread her hands up to either side. "I mean, someone has to watch it, right?" She raised her hands and dropped them.

I thought we were about to have our own version of it a few minutes ago, without the cage, but decided not to remind her of that.

She seemed invested in not talking about it.

Who would have won a fight between those three anyway?

I had a feeling Dash could hold his own against both Riley and Connor.

Was it wrong that I was slightly disappointed not to find out?

"I'm not really much of a sports person like that," I said. "I was never really allowed to watch or participate, then… I got busy." I ended the sentence on an exhale.

All three of them looked at me like they knew I was going to say something else, but none of them was going to pry. Their response was another reminder of the difference between me and them. They grew up together, I'd known them for a handful of days.

Getting to know each other well enough to open up would take time. If it ever happened.

"You'll have to come and watch pond hockey when the lake freezes," Fiona said. "Practically everyone goes out to watch. And play. Sarah is in her second year with her little team. They take it seriously." She smiled indulgently, but I suspected she was just as passionate about it as anyone else.

"I'm sure she's adorable in her skates and padding," I said. Seeing her out there on the ice must be nerve racking, but I got the feeling Fiona couldn't have held her back if she tried. Sarah would have found a way.

"She is," Fiona agreed. "Looks like I need another drink." She held up her empty glass before standing and heading over for a replacement.

"Me too." I rose and followed, my heels clicking on the floor as I walked.

Everyone else in the place was in jeans, making me feel somewhat self-conscious.

I liked wearing skirts, but I didn't want to look like an outsider forever.

The city girl who turns her nose up at anything and everything.

Especially when I didn't turn my nose up at anyone.

Correction, I raised my chin when I passed the table Riley and Connor were sitting at. Both of them and the guys they were sitting with, followed me with their eyes all the way to the bar.

I ignored them. Whatever their problem was, I wasn't going to make it my problem.

If they wanted to have chips on their shoulders as wide as the Rockies, so be it.

They weren't alone in holding grudges. I held a few of my own.

I might add them to the list. They were both attractive, but my clit wasn't in charge here. My brain was. It had to be.

The way she throbbed when I was around them, my clit would lead me to do things I'd definitely regret.

"Those are paid for," the woman behind the bar said, pushing our drinks toward us.

I turned slowly to glare at Connor, who raised his drink to me.

"I can—" I started to say.

"Just say thank you," Fiona said. "Trust me, it's not worth getting into. If he wants to pay, let him. He needs to spend his money so badly, we can enjoy it." She picked up her wine and took a big sip. "Remind me to order the expensive stuff next time."

Reluctantly I picked up my bourbon, wrapping my fingers around the glass. It wasn't his money or my enjoyment I was worried about.

It was what he wanted in return.