Sins of the Past (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

shape. Cole could run circles around those younger guys if he wanted to. “You know you can crash here anytime you want. There’s a guest bedroom so you don’t even have to sleep on the couch.”
    “Thanks man.”
    They talked a few minutes more, until Jacob felt himself starting to drift off to sleep. After hanging up, his thoughts were on Valente. Jacob knew he needed to make plans. If he really was on Valente’s radar, then the man would eventually catch up to him. When that happened, Jacob would be ready for him. He had a feeling that was one of the reasons Cole was planning on staying with him as well, even if the other man wouldn’t admit it.
    The last thing Jacob thought of was his neighbor. He had never laughed so hard with anyone other than Cole. He had enjoyed himself with Lorna so much that he had been reluctant to go home when the time came. Jacob smiled. Cole was going to love her. He couldn’t wait to introduce the two.
     
    * * * *
     
    Jacob barely resisted the urge to scream as he stared at the bare white walls of his living room. He was so bored. Back at the base there was always something for him to be doing. He had always been on the go. Now that he was no longer in the military, he had no idea what to do with his time. Fighting and war were all he knew.
    Jacob sighed. “Maybe I should take up a hobby. Great, now I’m talking to myself.” He stood and grabbed his crutches. Jacob couldn’t wait for Cole to get there, but in the meantime, he needed to find something to do to keep himself from going crazy.
    Hobbling his way to the kitchen, Jacob opened the refrigerator only to slam it closed again. The shelves were still just as bare as they had been when he had looked a few hours ago. He stared at his keys on the kitchen counter and contemplated how hard it would be for him to go on a grocery run. He hadn’t taken any pain meds since he woke up so he was okay to drive. The problem was how he was going to push the grocery cart around once he got to the store, because there was no way he was going to use one of those motorized shopping carts. Jacob shrugged his shoulders and snatched his keys off the counter. The lure of getting out of the house and actually doing something was too much. He decided he would figure something out when he got there.
    As he made his way slowly down the porch steps and over to his car, Jacob offered up a prayer of thanks to whoever was listening that he had been shot in his left knee instead of his right. At least he could still drive and wasn’t a complete invalid. He backed out of the drive and glanced over at his neighbor’s house. If he was lucky enough, maybe he would see Lorna in town.
    Jacob took his time as he drove through the small town. It was around lunchtime and though the day was hot, there were still people out on the sidewalks shopping. He spotted a diner and he was tempted to stop in to grab lunch, but he drove on past when he caught a glimpse of the crowd through the window. He wasn’t in the mood to be around a lot of people yet. He wanted to recover a little more before he got to know the people in the town he chose to move to. Jacob didn’t want to have to answer any questions about his injury.
    Instead, he pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store and parked. Jacob told himself the disappointment he felt wasn’t because he didn’t see Lorna’s car as he drove through town. As much as they had talked the night before, he realized neither of them had gotten around to talking about what they did for a living. He had no clue where his neighbor worked. All he knew was she left early every morning in ragged jeans and a T-shirt covered in grease stains and she didn’t return until dark covered in even more grease. Not that he had been watching for her. He just happened to be looking out the window at those times.
    Cutting the engine, Jacob made his way to the store. Once inside, he leaned on his crutches and stood staring at the line of grocery carts. There was one lonely motorized wheelchair with a basket strapped to the front sitting next to the pushcarts as if it was mocking him. Jacob refused to even acknowledge its presence. There was no way his pride would even let him consider it.
    “Oh, bless your heart.”
    The nasally voice came from behind him and Jacob turned to see a woman standing behind him looking at him as if she was about to start bawling on his behalf at any moment. Before he could even say anything, she had her