Abby Read online

  Abby

  Tate Family Holidays

  Hope Ford

  Abby © 2019 by Hope Ford. All Rights Reserved.

  Editor: Kasi Alexander

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Cover designed by Hope Ford

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Hope Ford

  Visit my website at www.AuthorHopeFord.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Epilogue

  Chapter 1

  Abby

  I put the phone on speaker and set it down next to me so I can put my boots on. “Yes, Mom. Jackson and Megan just left and I am waiting on Derrick to get here and pick me up.”

  “Well, was your brother all right? Was he surprised about Megan being his date?” she asks, and I can hear the excitement in her voice.

  I can’t help but laugh at her tone. “Yes. He was definitely surprised but I think it’s going to work out. Look, Mom, you have guests about to show up. Let me get off here and finish getting ready. I’ll see you soon. Okay?”

  “Okay. Love you, honey. Be safe,” she says before I hear her end the call.

  Picking up my phone to hit the end button, I walk back to the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror. Not bad, Abby. I picked an easy costume; most of it I had already in my closet. Since I’ve been working out at the boxing ring, I even had the boxing gloves.

  I’m applying a fresh coat of lipstick when I hear my front door open and “Honey, I’m home.”

  I paste a smile to my face and walk out to greet him, trying not to grind my teeth together. I hate when he walks in without knocking. I really need to remember to start locking the door.

  “Hey… Why do you have a suitcase?” I’m staring at it like it’s going to jump out and bite me. But it’s definitely not part of his lumberjack costume.

  He drops the offending object by the door and starts walking toward me. “I got kicked out. I’m going to need to stay here a while.”

  I put my hand out to stop him from coming any closer. This is my own fault. I should have ended this a long time ago. Why do I always date the men that need taken care of? “You can’t stay here.”

  His shoulders go rigid before he relaxes them and then walks over to me and puts his arms around me. “Sure I can. Just until I find somewhere else to stay. Plus, we’ve been dating for several months now, Abby. Don’t you think that it’s time we take this to the next level?”

  Sex. I know that’s what he means. But I’m not interested. At least not with him. Man, why didn’t I end this? Because you liked having a date, I answer my own question. Yep, growing up with three older brothers and working construction has not really made me a man magnet. Plus, the way I like to control things pretty much tells you what type of men I attract. But even with all that, it still hasn’t stopped Derrick from getting too handsy with me.

  I struggle to get out of his arms, but when his grip doesn’t loosen, I stomp on his foot. He releases me instantly. I go over to the door, put his suitcase outside and gesture for him to leave. “No. There is not a next level. I’m sorry, but it’s over between us. You need to leave.”

  “I don’t have anywhere else to go,” he whines and it takes everything I have not to roll my eyes. Man, I’m sick of men that expect me to take care of them. When am I going to wake up?

  I straighten my back and point out the door. “Derrick, you know that you can go to your mom’s house. Your cousin’s house. Your uncle’s house. You have a long list of places you can go. And I don’t care where you go, but you’re not staying here.”

  He walks up to me and stands so close that I press my back against the open door. I can feel his hot breath against my cheek. I can see the anger written on his face. “Fine. You’re too much damn work anyway… and not worth it.”

  “Knock, knock. Trick or Treat. Everything okay here, Mrs.?” At the sound of the voice, both our heads turn to the door. I didn’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t expecting that. A tall man is standing at my door, his hands fisted tightly in front of him. His short hair, strong jaw and his stance exudes power.

  “Get lost, mister. This is none of your business,” Derrick says, but even I can hear the uncertainty in his voice.

  I get out from between the door and Derrick, slide into the hallway of my apartment and grab his bag, shoving it at him. I smile briefly at the stranger beside me. “Thank you for your help. But he was just leaving.” I point to Derrick.

  Derrick looks as if he may argue, but then when the man takes a step toward him, he grabs his bag and starts walking down the hallway.

  Derrick gets down the hallway before he calls over his shoulder. “I’ll see you at the party, Abby. And hey, mister, you’re wasting your time with this one. She doesn’t put out. Just so you know.”

  The man starts to go after him, but I stop him with a hand on his shoulder. “Trust me. He’s not worth it.”

  He stares at me…hard. My eyes are locked on him and I couldn’t look away if I tried. “No man should ever talk about you that way.”

  I almost laugh, but something stops me. He’s serious. I guess working with a construction crew has made me insensitive to the way that some men talk. “It’s not a big deal. Really. He’s harmless. So, uh, where’d you come from?” I look up at him and try not to appear like I’m leering at him. The man is hot. He has on khaki pants and a blue button-down shirt. The blue matches his eyes perfectly.

  He points to the door behind him. “I moved in this morning. I’m your new neighbor. I’m Brent.”

  “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Brent. Thank you for your help with everything. I’m Abby.” I slide my hand into his and ignore the jolt that shoots up my arm at the contact. I pull it back quickly, before I embarrass myself and cling on to him.

  “Well, it was nice meeting you.” When I turn to walk back into my apartment, he stops me. “What did he mean that he would see you at the party?”

  I grimace, turning back to him. “Shoot. Yeah, my family is big into holidays. They have a big Halloween party every year. Derrick’s family are friends, so I’m sure he’ll be there.”

  He presses his palms together firmly. “I, uh, don’t like it.”

  With confusion etched on my face, I ask him, “What do you mean you don’t like it?”

  He takes another step toward me and the manly scent of him and his soft cologne hits my nostrils. I take a deep breath, wanting to commit it to memory. His hands go up on the door frame and his shirt stretches across his muscled chest. Sweet Jesus, the man is insanely beautiful.

  “I don’t like you going to a party with him there. Maybe you should skip it.” His jaw is set with determination.

  I laugh this time; there’s no holding it back. “Skipping it is not an option. My parents and brothers would come and drag me there anyway. Nope, I have to go.”

  He doesn’t hesitate. “Well, then take me with you.”

  My forehead wrinkles. “You want to go to a Halloween party?”

  He brings his arms down from the frame and crosses them across his expansive chest. “If it means keeping you safe, yes I do.”

  I really am running late now. I grab the boxing gloves, my phone and purse by the door and
with everything held in my hands, I tell him, “I can take care of myself.”

  He doesn’t move. He doesn’t back up. He doesn’t take his eyes off me. His voice is husky when he finally says, “You shouldn’t have to.”

  A deep burn fills my belly at his words. I clench my legs together and ask him, “Do you have a costume?”

  Brent

  There’s something about her. When I was coming back to my apartment and saw her pressed against her door by that puny boy, I knew right then that I wanted to – I had to – protect her. A possessiveness like I’ve never felt before came over me and I knew that I had to tame it down a little before I killed the poor bastard.

  I walk her into my apartment and apologize for the few boxes lying around.

  “When is the rest of your stuff coming?” she asks. “I can help you carry it in.”

  I stop and turn to her. This woman… I can tell she is really in for a rude awakening. Like I would let her carry anything heavy. “Honey, I have people to carry stuff. Plus, this is it. I’m only here for a few weeks. I have a house being built and it should be ready soon.”

  She tries to hide the disappointment on her face, but she’s not successful. I see it and a thrill shoots through my chest.

  She taps her chin with her finger, looking me up and down. “So do you have any idea for a costume?”

  I take my time and look at her. Really look at her. Her blond hair is in curls down her back. The red boxer robe is hiding her curvy body from me and I would like to take it off to see what’s underneath. Her shorts are short and tight and her tank top is plastered against her large breasts. My manhood twitches in my pants. “Yep, give me five minutes. Have a seat.”

  I walk back to the bedroom and undress quickly. My cock is hard and I give it a swift tug and adjust myself, willing it to go down before I go back out there.

  I pull my clothes on and lace up my tennis shoes before going back to the living room. “I’m ready,” I announce to her.

  Chapter 2

  Abby

  Sweet mother of all that is holy. When I stand up and turn around to face him, I drop my phone. It falls to the ground and is probably cracked, but I don’t care. My mouth hangs open.

  He stops a few feet away from me, looks down at himself and back at me. “Is this okay? I didn’t have any gloves or anything.”

  My gaze goes from his tennis shoes, up his muscled legs across his black gym shorts that I swear twitch under my gaze. I lick my lips and keep moving upward. No shirt. He doesn’t have a shirt on and his hard abs and chest are on full display for me to ogle. I can count his abs from across the room. My face pinches at the black silk robe he has on over it, stopping me from seeing his arms. When my gaze finally reaches his face, he has a smile a mile wide. Dammit. I’ve been caught.

  He flexes his pecs. “Do you like what you see?”

  My face flushes but I answer him honestly. “Yes.”

  The air crackles between us and he prowls over toward me. His hand comes up to rest on my cheek and he tilts my head back to look up at him. Eyeing him greedily, I lick my lips. He lowers his head, his lips only inches from mine, when my phone starts ringing. We pull apart with a start. “Sorry,” I stutter. “I have to answer that. It’s probably my family and they will send out the Cavalry if I don’t answer.”

  I assure my mom that I am on my way as he locks his door and then I follow him out to his truck. When I finally hang up, he’s opening the truck for me and helping me in. He seatbelts me in, even after I assure him I can do it myself. He just smiles at me with a smug look and walks around to the driver’s side.

  “Where to?” he asks me as he pulls his seat belt on and then grips the steering wheel.

  I give him directions to the dance hall and when he pulls out of the parking lot, I ask him, “So what brings you to town?”

  He hesitates. “Work.”

  I laugh. “Okay, what do you do? Or is it a big secret?”

  His jaw tenses, but he answers me briefly. “Investments.”

  I want to ask him more, but he changes the subject. “So tell me about your family.”

  “Well, let’s see. Right before you got to my apartment, my older brother Jackson just left with his date, my best friend, Megan to go to the party. So, that’s new and I sort of planned it and I hope it works out. My other brother, Ford, is taking Jackson’s ex fiancée to the party tonight, so that should be weird. My oldest brother is in the army and we are hoping to see him around Christmas, if all goes as planned. My mom and dad have been married forty years and they are great. You’ll like them,” I ramble on to him. “So, uh, tell me about your family.”

  “No siblings. Just me and my dad,” he answers shortly.

  “Wow,” I exclaim.

  “What?” he asks defensively.

  “I bet it was nice not sharing a bathroom growing up,” I tell him and start laughing.

  It takes him a minute, but he smiles at me and his deep laugh fills the cab of the truck.

  Brent

  The more time I spend with her, the more I know I like her. She turns heads everywhere we go. I’ve had to stand next to her as old men all the way down to young boys take their turn hugging her or telling her hello. When I meet her mom and dad, they were obviously surprised to see me with her instead of Derrick, but they don’t comment. They were very nice to me and I stood with her dad and chatted while she took her mom aside to talk, to probably explain things, I’m thinking.

  “So, you’re pretty old to be out on a date with my daughter, don’t you think?” her father asks me.

  I turn to face him. “I don’t even know how old she is, sir,” I tell him honestly.

  “Twenty-three,” he grunts at me.

  “I’m ten years older than her, sir.” I take another swig of the water in my hands.

  “Do you have a steady job?” he asks me, looking me square in the face.

  “Yes, sir,” I answer, not taking my eyes off him.

  He’s measuring me up. I get it. If I had a daughter like Abby, I would do the same.

  He must see something he likes, because he slaps me on the back. “That’s good, son. Because she seems like a hard ass, but let me tell you, I’m about tired of these boys trying to take advantage of her good heart.”

  “Daddy, can I borrow Brent now?” Abby walks up to us, laces her hand with mine and starts tugging me away.

  We nod our heads at each other, like we have an understanding. I hold her hand tighter when I can tell she is about to let mine go. “So your father’s nice.”

  “Yep, but I’m sure he was about to give you the third degree. Much more than a first date warrants… I mean not that this is a date… or anything.” She stutters and her face blushes prettily.

  She looks away and gasps. I try to see what she’s staring at, but I can’t because of the number of people on the dance floor. “What are we looking at?” I ask her, with my mouth against her ear.

  Her tremble shakes her body and she answers me huskily, “My brother and my best friend.” She points to the couple kissing on the dance floor. I don’t think she realizes it, but she’s put her hand against her heart. The one with mine in it. So my hand is grazing her nipple as she holds our hands to her chest.

  “Well, it looks like your matchmaking worked,” I tell her.

  “Oh no, here comes Ford.” She drops my hand instantly.

  I watch the man coming toward us and I put my arm around her with my hand on her hip. I don’t know if this is another man going to try and cop a feel or just an innocent hug, but I know I’m over sharing her at this point.

  “Ford, this is Brent. Brent, this is my brother, Ford.” She introduces us and I shake the man’s hand right before she swats him on the chest.

  “What are you thinking bringing Jacksons ex fiancée to the party? Have you lost your mind?” She puts her hands on her hips and I can’t stop the smile that forms on my face. She’s a sassy thing for sure.

  “Abby, you know I don�
�t like her. Hell, it’s killing me.” He looks around us and then leans down to whisper, “The station is investigating her dad. They wanted some inside intel and since I have family connections I was nominated.”

  She nods at him. You can tell he feels guilty for bringing Jackson’s ex with him. Abby takes sympathy on him and points out to the dance floor. “I think Jackson’s okay with it.” Jackson and Megan are still kissing, when abruptly they break apart and he’s pulling her off the dance floor.

  “Shit. There’s Emily.” And he points to a woman standing in their path off the dance floor. Ford hollers bye over his shoulder and takes off to intervene.

  Abby doesn’t take her eyes off them. “You okay?” I ask her worriedly.

  “Uh, yea, I’m fine, it’s just, there’s something else going on with Ford. I’m just worried about him,” she admits easily.

  I grab her hand once again. “Well, do you want to go talk to him?”

  She shakes her head. “No. He’s got enough going on tonight. But I will definitely check on him tomorrow.”

  She smiles up at me. “So now you have met all of my crazy family—well, most of them. I have some pretty interesting cousins too, but they’re not here tonight. Anyway, now that you’ve met them all, what about something to eat?”

  I brush a stray hair out of her face and put my hands on each of her hips. I shake my head side to side.

  “No. You’re not hungry? Okay, what do you want to do?” she asks me, staring at me.

  “Dance with me.” I reach for her hand.

  Her eyes widen, alarmed. “I never dance. I’m not very good. Trust me, I’m doing you a favor by telling you no.”

  I tug her toward the dance floor. “I wasn’t asking.”

  Chapter 3

  Abby

  When Brent pulls me to the dance floor, he doesn’t stop until were at the far end toward the back of the room. The music is slow and he slides his arms underneath my robe, pulling me toward him until our bodies are pressed against each other. His hands are resting low on my back and I tense up thinking about him sliding them down my backside.