Chapter 2
Hunter
I set the weights back on the rack, relishing the tremors in my biceps. There’s not much that feels better to me than a great workout. Cheesy? Yep, but also true. Ever since my years on the high school football team, and the hours spent in a dingy basement gym that smelled like Satan’s dirty underwear working out with my teammates, I’ve loved the feeling of pushing my body to the extreme.
The gym is where I work out not just my body, but my mind. It clears the cobwebs, calms the anxiety beast, focuses my thoughts, and helps me tackle the day in a way better headspace. It’s also one of the few places where I know I’m on a level playing field with everyone around me. It doesn’t take brains to workout, just brawn. And I’ve got plenty of that.
But lately, the one thing a good gym session hasnotdone is burn off any of the pent-up energy that’s been steadily building over the last two years.
Ever since I first met Kat Donnelly.
Yeah, I’m talking aboutthat kindof energy.
It doesn’t matter how fast I run or how heavy I lift, I can’t escape my never-ending fantasies of that dark-haired beauty. Her green eyes hold me captive every time I see her, and her smile is imprinted on my mind so firmly, I see it when I close my eyes. All I want for Christmas is to know if her lips are as soft as I think they are.
Then again, it’s more than just her beauty. There’s something about her that puts me at ease in an instant whenever I’m near her. With just one smile, I somehow always feel better about everything in my life. Better aboutmyself.She probably has no clue, hell, I don’t even know how she does it, but Kat is magic to me. A miracle. But one I know I’ll always only get to look at, never have.
“Hey bro, you about done with the thirties?”
I snap out of thoughts of Kat at the sound of Sawyer Donnelly’s voice.
He’s got even more muscles than I do and he’s a hotshot firefighter. Andnotthe kind of guy who would appreciate me fantasizing about his little sister.
“Uh yeah, go ahead.” I step away from the weight bench, grabbing my towel and water bottle as I make my way over to the treadmill. Sawyer would fucking kill me if he knew what I was thinking about, so a little distance between us just makes sense.
Another guy from the Dogwood Cove FD comes in and joins Sawyer, the two of them joking about something from their last shift. Seriously, those guys have it lucky. Two barbecues and two sleeps, that’s the joke at the police station. It's all in good fun, we know the firefighters work their asses off being first responders, and in the summer when forest fire season starts their jobs get even more rough. But we cops are on constant patrol no matter the day or time of year. It might be a small sleepy town on the coast of Vancouver Island, but we’re also responsible for a stretch of highway that gets its fair share of action.
Ignoring them, I turn up the volume on my music, and the speed on the treadmill, until I’m in a full-on sprint. Finally my head clears of everything, including thoughts of Sawyer’s little sister. Even if fantasies are all I can ever have with her.
Because I’ve already accepted the fact that not only is my dream girl not interested in anything more than friendship, she’s also way out of my league.
What would a woman who’s studying for a fucking master’s degree want with a small-town cop who’s a mental nutcase and almost flunked out of high school, anyway?
“Callaghan, settle something for me, would you?” Sawyer’s voice cuts through my music, and I press pause on the treadmill to turn and face him.
“What’s up?”
“Diaz here claims he meets the most women when he hits the bars in Victoria. I’m trying to convince him to give Westport a try. Why drive so far when we’ve got plenty of beautiful ladies close by? What do you think? Where does a young, virile cop such as yourself go to find some company?”
Sometimes Sawyer is so over-the-top ridiculous I don’t know how to respond. And this is definitely one of those times. I suspect he’s not quite the player he makes himself out to be, but that’s none of my business. And his question is one I really don’t want to answer.
“I don’t know, man. It’s been a while since I went out just for a hookup,” I answer lamely, wiping the sweat from my brow with a towel.
“Time to change that, my man. Why don’t you join us this weekend?” Sawyer’s friend — Diaz, I guess is his name — says with a grin. “I’m tryin’ to convince Sawyer to let his hot as fuck sister join us.”
“Shut the fuck up about my sister,” Sawyer barks out, glaring at his friend. Diaz’s hands go up in defense, and I have to control my own urge to smash his face in for talking about Kat. “Kat’s off-limits. Got it, probie?”
Well, that explains that. If he’s new to the department, then Diaz clearly hasn’t learned the unspoken rule among Dogwood Cove first responders. Everyone’s sister, daughter, or ex is off-limits.
“My sister is a fucking queen and deserves the best. And you ain’t it, buddy.”
Sawyer is still giving Diaz hell for his comment about Kat, and I can’t lie — I’m okay with it. I’d give the guy shit myself if it wouldn’t give my own attraction to her away in an instant.
“No one around here is good enough for her. No one.”
Ouch. That hurts, even if I’m not surprised to hear his opinion. I wonder how Kat feels about Sawyer’s proclamation. Something tells me the Donnelly brothers never hesitated to chase off her high school boyfriends. Hell, they probably still try to vet any date she goes on.
Which just confirms what I’ve always known. I don’t have a chance. Even if Kat was interested in me, I’m definitely not good enough for her.