“Shit.” I turned on my blinker and pulled to the next crossover, waiting to turn around. “Sorry, got lost in thought.”
“You ok?”
“Yeah. Just thinking about mom.”
“She’ll be alright.”
“I know,” I sighed. “What street am I turning on?”
“Cornflower. I pulled over; so, you should see me right when you turn.”
Thankfully, I’d only gone up two blocks too many. I turned around and got back behind Paisley and followed her the rest of the way. She was right. The pictures didn’t do the beach house justice. Most college freshmen were going to be living in tiny dorm rooms with shared bathrooms. We wouldn’t be lacking space in their vacation home, that’s for sure.
We pulled into the driveway of a sprawling brick home with a wide porch and three-car garage. It was gorgeous from the road. I could hear the sound of the waves lapping at the shore when I opened my car door. The smell of salt-water permeated the air as the heat from the Georgia summer sun beat down on us.
“You’re sure your dad doesn’t want rent for the next four years of my life?” I asked, not really believing that I was going to get to live here rent free. It was a dream come true. I mean, mom and I were ok as far as finances go. The department had insurance for dad when he died, and dad had thought ahead with a second policy in case anything happened to him. On top of that, mom was a teacher at one of the most elite preparatory academies in the country. She taught English at Madison Prep, where I met Paisley. Still, as comfortable as mom and I were, we wouldn’t be able to afford Georgia Coast University’s Ivy League price tag without these living arrangements.
“Dad’s just happy you’re here to keep me out of trouble.” She rolled her eyes and looped her arm through mine, pulling me toward the front door with her. “Gabe was supposed to turn the AC down and air the place out this week. Let’s hope he got the chance to do it.”
“Ummm, who’s Gabe?” I asked as she pushed the key into the large frosted glass-paned door.
“Shit, I didn’t tell you about him. Oh my god, girl, he is fine. He lives in the guest house and takes care of the property when we aren’t here. I’ve tried to get his attention for years, but I swear the man doesn’t even see me unless I call him Gabe, and then it’s only to growl at me,” she giggled. “He hates it.”
“He’s going to be living with us?” It took some convincing to get my mom to agree to all this, but I don’t think she would have agreed if she had known a man lived here, too.
“Not with us, Silly. Calm down. We’ll probably never see him. When we are here on vacation, he’s mostly at work. He works odd hours and comes and goes all the time. Plus, he lives in the guest house on his own. He doesn’t come to the main house unless he needs to check on things or get the place ready for us.”
“Now, stop worrying about Gabe and let me give you the grand tour,” Paisley squeaked, taking me through the downstairs of the house. There was a first-floor master bedroom that was set up as an office.
Everything was beachy, light, and airy. I loved how you could look out any window on the back of the house and see waves rolling up onto the beach. There was a large deck jutting off the back of the house that led out to a huge pool that was set up like a mini oasis—waterfall included. This was the type of house you saw in magazines—a house most people only dreamed about living in.
“This is my room, but you can have one of the other two rooms, your choice. Mom and dad’s room is the one on the end, so whichever room you don’t choose, dad said we could do whatever we wanted with it, a study room, lounge for us, or . . . a shared closet.”
I looked in both of the rooms and they were equally beautiful. It didn’t matter which room I chose, I had a view of the backyard and the beach beyond, but I decided to take the one farther down the hall and closer to the master. Paisley could have the second bedroom for anything she wanted. It didn’t matter to me. I had everything I needed right in this room; plus, it had something I’d always wanted—a bay window with a seat, so I could curl up with a book and read next to extraordinary views every day.
Living here for the next four years was going to spoil me rotten, and I was going to love every second of it.
Chapter Two
“Hey, Maddox! You want to go out for a few drinks?” I turned from my locker to see Burton and Holloway pulling on their street shoes.
“Nah,” I answered, pulling my duffle out and grabbing my jeans and t-shirt from inside. “I’m not in the mood.” I didn’t tell many people about my past, so nobody at work knew that I didn’t drink. They all just thought I didn’t like to work and play in the same sandbox. I know some thought I was gay. Others thought I was a total dick, but I didn’t care what the hell they thought as long as none of them suspected the truth. “Some other time maybe,” I said, but we all knew it was a lie.
I quickly changed from my uniform and shoved it into the bag. I grabbed my motorcycle helmet from its place on top of the lockers and made my way out to the back parking lot. It’d been a long fucking day and I was looking forward to the ride home.
Sunset Falls, Georgia wasn’t that big of a town. It wasn’t a tourist attraction like Savannah or Atlanta, and the locals liked to keep it that way. We were a big college town that bled GCU gold and blue. Georgia Coast University is to Sunset Falls, Georgia what Harvard is to Cambridge, Massachusetts. The university is the town’s pride and glory, and as I rode past the school, I thought about the two women I’d be keeping an eye on for the next four years.
Paisley was a harmless pain in the ass. She was like an annoying little sister that did things just to piss you off. Like her propensity to call me Gabe, even though I’ve told her a thousand times over the last three years to call me Maddox like everyone else.
Her friend was a wild card, though. I didn’t know the girl coming with her. All I knew was I’d be taking on the added roll of babysitter and making sure the two didn’t get into trouble while they were going to school here. If Monroe hadn’t offered me cheap rent in exchange for watching over his home when he wasn’t here, I’d have said no to this deal, but I was living on the beach with a cop’s salary. That kind of luck doesn’t find you every day.
The more I thought of this new situation, the more agitated I became. I didn’t like things being out of my control, and I felt like having the girls here was so far out of my control, there was nothing I could do but accept it.
I decided that I needed to head this off before they became trouble I didn’t need. As I pulled up to the house, I saw their two cars parked out front, still loaded down with their bags. They hadn’t even unpacked yet. Didn’t they know that was like an invitation for someone to break in and steal their shit? Yeah, we definitely needed some ground rules.
The house was empty, and the door was unlocked. I closed my eyes and sighed, counting to ten. They had no sense of self-preservation or safety.
“Hello,” I called up the stairs to see if they hadn’t heard me drive up. “Paisley?”