Since moving to Carson, Cliff had stayed away from women. The hurt from his past boiled near the surface anytime a woman had come on to him. But this one, with her bright colors and dark hair, had him wishing for something he hadn’t wanted in years.
And that thought terrified him. Cliff had seen too much – knew too much. And though he was an asset in his prior career, and still was to some extent, it was not a lifestyle for everyone. He learned that one the hard way.
So why did this woman in her quick passing bring forth a vision of a future that will never exist?
A deep breath soothed him and Cliff turned on his heels as the woman ran out of his line of sight. The run-down cabin off in the distance took his attention once more. With his camera still in hand, he lifted the device to his eye and snapped a picture of the lone structure that barely stood on its foundation in the middle of the woods. To the naked eye, it would appear that a stiff wind could knock down the building, but Cliff knew better. He and that cabin were kindred spirits. To everyone else, they seemed to be rough and broken, but what they didn’t witness was the strength in their bones. A solid force ensuring stability.
And like the sun that took her momentary spotlight off the cabin’s roof, wielding her rays across the valley, Cliff knew tha
t the mystery runner was his one ray of sunshine in the chaotic world of shadows that he lived in. He had felt awakened for the first time in years.
Heading toward his truck, Cliff cleared his mind of the woman that left him rattled. He had better things to do than to fantasize about a non-existent future. Instead, he steered his thoughts toward the tattoo shop he needed to open early for a client and a pit stop that needed to be had at his favorite diner to grab a quick breakfast.
But even as Cliff drove the needle into the soft skin of his friend’s arm a few hours later, he couldn’t rid his mind of the woman.
Cliff knew one thing for sure – he was in serious trouble.
Chapter One
“Hey, man. Good to see you,” Cliff greeted his friend Harlan as he entered the tattoo shop. They clasped hands and went in for one of those one-armed man hugs.
Harlan and his band Exoneration had been on tour for the last few months, despite his wife’s protests. But the band had taken a year and a half hiatus, and the short tour was required by their record label. Harlan’s wife Cassidy and their two-year-old son, Ryan, threw him a party because they were so excited to have him home.
“Glad to be home,” Harlan sighed, the relief evident in his words as he settled in the chair across from Cliff’s station.
Harlan had called him last night during a bit of insomnia, asking if Cliff could fit him in today. There was no way he was going to turn down his friend because he knew what they would be working on. It was one of Cliff’s favorite pieces to date.
When Harlan had married Cassidy, he wanted something unique to symbolize his love for his wife despite the days that they would spend apart with both of their demanding jobs. After a few minutes of discussion, Cliff had designed a dogwood tree in a way that he could continue to add leaves, branches, and flowers. A dogwood symbolized rebirth, an emotion Harlan felt whenever he returned home to his family. For every day that his friend was absent, they would add leaves to the tree to show his wife that she was always on his mind while he was gone.
Despite its beauty, Cliff knew that Harlan hated how many leaves were on the tree. There were also only three flowers – each representing a member of their family. It was no secret that Harlan and Cassidy wanted to increase that number.
Cliff hoped for his friend’s sake that the number increased soon.
“So, anything new?” Cliff asked as he set up the ink and prepared to freehand the ninety-three leaves for the tree. At this point, the tree was going to meet completely around Harlan’s waist soon,
“Naw, just happy to be home. I was so fired up to see Cassidy when I walked in the door that I almost locked her in the bedroom for the next few days. Too bad Ryan had other ideas. Who knew a two-year-old could be a cock block?” Harlan chuckled at his joke and Cliff couldn’t help but join in. Harlan’s brother-in-law, Logan, had the same complaint when he stopped by for a small tattoo last week. Except Logan had a trio of cock blockers with his three-year-old twins and a one-year-old.
“I’m sure you could ask Mrs. Connelly to watch Ryan for a few days so that you and Cassidy can have some alone time.”
It was no secret that Amy Connelly adored her grandchildren and constantly requested more additions to the brood. Cliff almost felt like an adopted son to her with the way she stopped by and brought him dinner leftovers. She apparently had a notion in her head that he couldn’t take care of himself. She knew little about his time on the battlefield, not only fending off the enemy, but fighting to stay alive with a lack of water and food.
With a subtle shake of his head, Cliff cleared his thoughts and went to work on finishing Harlan’s piece. It only took about twenty minutes of Cliff expertly placing each leaf on the branches, looking as if they’d been there all along.
“You’re all set.”
“Thanks, man. What do I owe you?” Harlan asked as he reached for his wallet, but Cliff shook his head as he held up his hand. “No way, I’m not charging you.”
“Dude, let me pay you.”
“No, I don’t want your money.” Even with his recent purchase, Cliff didn’t need Harlan’s money, or anyone to pay for that matter. The shop did well enough with the tourists in the summer and fall seasons, and his checks from the military were sitting pretty in his savings account. He barely touched any of the funds. When his parents died in a car accident when Cliff was fifteen, they had left him a hefty life insurance payout that would take care of him for longer than he would ever live.
“Well, can I at least take you out to lunch?”
Cliff accepted his friend’s request with a smile and cleaned up his space.
“The Grill or Angie’s Diner?” Cliff asked as they stepped out of the shop, Cliff double-checked that the door locked behind him.
“I need to check in with Dylan if we can head toward The Grill,” Harlan suggested. Dylan was the former FBI agent that ran The Grill, and the closest connection to the woman that left Cliff without a backward glance. He also happened to be married to Sydney, Cassidy’s sister.