Sea Breeze 03 - While It Lasts

daughter and the next- door neighbor.”
    “Oh, so there’s a farmer’s d aughter?” T he teasing tone in Low’s voice made me chuckle. Yeah, there was a farmer’s daughter alright but it wasn’t what Low was thinking.
    “There’s a farmer’s daughter but she hated me on sight. Crazy I know , and to think , I thought it was impossible for a female to hate me until after I bagged her then forgot her name in the morning .”
    “She hates you? That’s… odd.” Low’s voice trailed off like she was in deep thought.
    The loud sound of the barn door swinging open caught my attention.
    “Low, I gotta go baby. I think the old man’s here.”
    “Okay, be on your best behavior. ”
    “Always,” I replied before hanging up and slipping my phone back into my pocket.
    “Hello?” a deep burly voice called out.
    I walked out of the small broom closet they’d stuck me in and headed for the sound of his voice. As I turned the corner , I stopped short. The dude was huge. At least six-foot- seven and three hundred pounds of hard muscle. The straw cowboy hat cocked back on his head showed that he was completely bald.
    “You Cage York? ” he asked. His serious e xpression reminded me a lot of C oach but that was as far as the similarities went. Coach was not this fucking massive.
    “Yeah,” I replied and the man’s eyes narrowed and he took a step toward s me. It took every last bit of my self- control not to back the hell up.
    “Boy, your Daddy ever tell you it’s rude not to respect your elders? I expect any kid your age to respond to me with a ‘yes sir’. That understood?”
    Really? What the hell was C o ach thinking? This would never work.
    “ When I ask you a question I expect a response,” the giant growled.
    Fine. I’d give him a fucking response, “No.”
    His frown grew deeper and annoyance flickered in his eyes. I had a lot riding on this damn job but I wasn’t one to handle this kind of shit well.
    “No, what ?” he asked in a slow drawl.
    “No ; my dad dy didn’t teach me anything but that his fucking fist s were bigger than m y m omma’s and how to skip out on your family, ” I replied with a sneer in my voice.
    The angry scowl on his face didn’t change. I hadn’t expected it to but then I also hadn’t expect ed to tell the man my personal shit. It had just come out. My family was something I’d only ever talked about with Low and that had been when we were younger and it still affected me.
    I watched as he reached up and rubbed the scuff on his jaw, never once taking his eyes off me. I was ready for this meeting to get over with and him to tell me what it was I was supposed to do exactly.
    “Mack wants to help you. I trust his judgment. But listen here and listen good . I ain’t above kicking your ass of f my prop erty if you do any drugs , or drive a vehicle while drinking. That was stupid , kid . Beyond stupid. And most importantly, stay away from my little girl. She’s completely off limits to you. Got that?”
    Considering Eva hated me on sight, t he man had nothing to worry about. Besides, no girl was worth fucking up my future. Not when there were so many other willing available females in the world I could enjoy.
    “Got it. I don’t want to lose my scholarship,” I replied with complete honesty.
    With a nod of his head he stuck his large ha nd out toward me, “In that case, I’m Wilson Brooks. Now, let’s get your ass to work.”

    Eva

    “Boy ain ’ t got no Dad. Those a re the kinds you stay away from, ” Daddy said in way of greeting as he opened the screen door and walked into the kitchen. I rolled my eyes as I went back to battering the chicken breasts I was going to fry for dinner.
    “I mean it Eva. He ain’t h ad the same upbringing you have and he’s cocky with no respect for authority. Just rubs me the wrong way. ” Daddy se t his hat down on the table and walked over to fix himself a glass of sweet ice d tea.
    “ I wasn’t impressed by him . Stop preaching at me. I’m not on the hunt for a man .” I’d never date again. I had Jeremy and until he met a girl and fell in love , I would have a companion to do things with. The familiar pang in my chest reminded me that I held him ba ck from a life. I hated that he put everything else aside to take care of me. He was always so worried about me. I knew for a fact Chelsea Jacobson had a crush on him. I really needed to do something to push him in her direction.
    “ Hmph ,” Daddy mumbled as he