Chapter 1

            Tyler Steele hosted the weekly guys night out in the former den of his childhood home.  After a stint in the Marine Corps, Ty bought the house from his parents when they retired to the Ozark mountains.  The  overstuffed couch and big screen television had long since been replaced by a pool table and a mini fridge stocked with cheap beer and expensive wine.  Miss October 2008 was pinned to one wall while Dale Earnhardt, Sr., owned the wall next to her.  Over the bar hung a gaudy neon Budweiser sign that Ty salvaged from the Beebe flea market and in the back corner stood his dad’s NASCAR pinball machine and a vintage jukebox that only played Elvis and Patsy Cline tunes.

            Ty and his best friend, Jake, had discussed the possibility of holding a fundraiser to have a pole installed, though neither of them was sure who exactly would be willing to spin on it for them.  The long string of ex girlfriends didn’t look too promising.

            “So, is this new guy gonna show up or what?” Chuck asked as he pulled the darts from the board.

            “I stopped by his place today.  I haven’t been able to catch him at home.  I left a note in his mailbox telling him that if he wanted to stop by tonight, he should bring a six pack of his choice,” Ty related.  “I think he’s been here a day or two.  Maybe he’s just not the social type.  You know how those ex-cops can be.”

            “How do you know he used to be a cop?” Junior asked, chugging his third Budweiser.

            “When Jasper died he left his ranch to his nephew, Blake.  He had an attorney out in California that handled all the paperwork and then the lawyer here who settled the estate is a friend of my dad’s.”

            “Hell, Jasper’s been dead for a year,” Junior replied, belching before crunching the empty can and tossing it into the recycling bin next to the bar.

            “Yeah, I know.  Apparently the nephew just took an early retirement from some outfit in California and decided to move out here and fix up the house.  I heard he’s planning on doing some consulting work or something.  Anyway, dad said we should be neighborly seeing as he’s gonna beliving down the road.”

            “Cabot is a far cry from California.  This guy’s probably an asshole who wouldn’t be caught dead hanging out with a bunch of rednecks,” Chuck said.

            “Or a faggot,” Jake interjected, laughing.  “Lots of faggots in California.”

            “Well, I guess we’ll just have to see.  Since he used to be a cop, maybe he’ll be your type, Jake,” Junior said, popping the tab on beer number four.

            “Hey, we’re all grown-ups here.  If he’s fruity, we can handle that,” Ty said, rolling his eyes.  “I think we’re all secure enough in our manhood.”

            “Shit, I know I am.  You can ask Ginny.  I gave her the ride of her life in the back of my Tahoe last night.  She could barely walk when I dropped her off,” Chuck bragged.  Chuck had never shed his stud reputation that followed him since he was quarterback at Cabot High School back in the day.  Rumor had it that in his senior year he sacked the homecoming queen and her entire court, with the exception of the freshman princess.  He drew the line there.  She was only fourteen years old and Jake’s first cousin.  No one was sure if it was her age or Jake’s affection for shotguns and pipe bombs that kept Chuck away from her.

            “Ginny, huh?  She’s been married and divorced how many times since high school?” Jake asked, while chalking his cue and giving Chuck a faux look of confusion.

            “Twice,” Chuck answered.

            “Hope you suited up.  Everybody in town with a dick has hit that,” Jake joked, leaning over to break.

            “You know my motto... no glove, no love.  I’m not looking to catch anything  or hatch any ducklings just yet,” Chuck said, as he threw the first dart in his match up with Junior.

            Ty remembered his first real girlfriend in tenth grade.  Well, she hadn’t really been his girlfriend but she was his first.  Rumored to be the easiest girl at Cabot High School, Suzanne had asked him out and, since he was too young to drive, she picked him up.  They went to a movie that Ty paid for with his lawn mowing money and they’d held hands while sharing popcorn and a Coke.  Afterwards, she drove him to the dark parking lot behind the high school gym.  Turning off the car, she turned toward him. 

            “So, Ty, tell me a joke,” Suzanne said, twisting a brown curl around her finger.

            Tyler’s heart was pounding as he watched her.  She wasn’t glamorous and tanned like the cheerleader types, but pretty like the girl-next-door.  She had round brown eyes that deceivingly made her look innocent and when she seductively bit down on her full bottom lip he lost his focus.

            “A joke?” he asked, swallowing nervously.

            “Yeah.  Make me laugh.  I love a guy that can make me laugh.”

            “Okay. Um?  How do you keep a blonde busy for hours?”

            “Tell me,” she encouraged him, batting her eyelashes.

            “Write please turn over on both sides of a piece of paper.”

            He felt really stupid, what a dumb joke.  He wasn’t really good at being funny, but Suzanne was kind and tipped her head back, giving him a hearty laugh.  Her chest poked out and he stared at the curve of her breasts against her tight white t-shirt and he wanted to touch her. 

            “Not bad, farm boy,” she said, tilting her head to the side and smiling at him.  “You’ve got potential and you’re just adorable.” 

            Great.  Adorable described a puppy or a baby.  He thought he’d just lost his chance to score when she leaned closer to him.  His breathing involuntarily became shallow.

            “Am I going to have to make the first move, Tyler?” she asked, exaggerating her Southern drawl.

            Ty wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted him to do, so he put his arm out across the back of her seat.  Obviously impatient, she crawled across the console and straddled his lap which instantly responded.  Her mouth tasted like bubble gum as she unbuttoned his Levi’s and pulled up her skirt up.  The whole thing was over in less than ten minutes.  After a few more dates which always resulted in mind numbing sex in her Mustang and it was over.

            There were a myriad of other girls who’d spent quality time in the backseat of his car by the time he graduated and a few girlfriends post high school with none lasting more than few months except for Tanya Crandall.  That relationship lasted six months for Ty but was going on eighteen months for Tanya.  When Ty told her he wanted to slow things down Tanya had a nervous breakdown on his porch and Jake had to forcibly remove her from the property.  She still drove by at least twice a week and, if Ty was outside, she’d flip him the bird through the sunroof of her silver Jetta.

            “Are we gonna order pizza or something?” Junior asked.  “I’m starving.”

            “Yeah, I’ll call Mac’s and have it delivered,” Ty said.  “I think I have a coupon somewhere.”

            Ty called in three large pizzas.  He was a purist and liked plain cheese pizza.  Crust, sauce and cheese.  No vegetables, no meat.

            Ty and Jake were in a neck and neck eight ball game when the doorbell rang.  Ty had the coupon and everybody’s pizza money and headed for the front door.  “Don’t touch my cue, you bastard,” he yelled to Jake as he flung the front door open. 

            On his porch stood a woman with long blond hair gathered up into a messy ponytail.  She was grinning a thousand watt smile that dug a dimple into each cheek.  Her face was fresh scrubbed and makeup free.  Her blue eyes sparkled under the porch light illumination.  Hot!  That was the word flashing through Ty’s mind.  Pizza delivery girls were getting way hot!  Wait.  She didn’t have any pizzas and it had only been about ten minutes since he’d called in the order.  He looked over her shoulder at the Jeep parked behind Chuck’s Tahoe.  There was no Mac’s Pizza marquis on top.  He looked down at her again.  She was wearing a gray hoodie with CSULB emblazoned in gold lettering across a very ample rack.

            “Hi,” she said.

            “Uh, hi.  Can I help you with something?” Ty asked, his mind already flashing to all the ways he’d like to help her.

            She lifted her hand up to reveal a six pack of Corona long necks.  “I’m your neighbor.  You left me a note about a party tonight.”

            Maybe he left the note at the wrong house.  No, there were only three houses on this road.  His, Jimmy’s and Jasper’s.  Remembering his manners, he stepped aside to allow her to come inside.  He didn’t really care if he left the note at the wrong house.  There was no way in hell he was going tell her that she wasn’t his intended invitee.

            She didn’t look like the type that hung out with roughnecks.  She might turn tail and run when he led her into a back room with five burly guys and a pool table.  He could imagine her envisioning some kind of fraternity gang bang scenario.

            “Come on in,” he said, as she stepped into the foyer.  She was small in stature and  smelled like cherries or apples, something sweet.  As they walked back to the game room he said, “I’m Tyler Steele.”

            She turned around and stuck out her hand, “Blake McCade.  Nice to meet you.  Can I call you Tyler?”

            Her handshake was firm and confident and he made a concerted effort to pull his chin off the floor.  Holy crap!  So, Blake was a chick.  Must be the niece of Jasper McCade then.  Why the hell did his dad say it was his nephew?  It must have been the name, most people would assume Blake was a man’s name.

            “My friends call me Ty,” he responded, as they entered the game room.

            All motion in the room came to a glaring halt.  The discussions ceased except for Junior who had his back to the doorway as he recounted the anatomy of the carhop who served him a cheeseburger and fries for lunch.  “She had the biggest boobs I’ve ever seen.  Looked natural, too, you know.  They bounced and jiggled –”

            Ty cleared his throat to get Junior’s attention.  Realizing something had changed in the atmosphere, Junior turned around with a dart in his hand and bit his lip.

            Ty smiled at everyone, “This is my neighbor, Blake McCade.  Blake. . . the guys.”  He made the introductions as they all tried not to stare too hard.

            Blake looked around the room.  “Let me guess,” she said, looking back at Ty, “You thought I was a man.”  She flashed that smile that sent heat right down between his legs.  “Either that or you invited me here to become a crime statistic.”

            Feeling a little flushed, Ty confessed, “I have to admit that we were told you were Jasper’s nephew.”

            “Happens a lot.  Well, this looks like a guys night out kind of thing, so I’ll leave the beer and show myself out.  Thanks for the invite, Ty.”  She held out the six pack to him and turned to go.

            All at once the other four men in the room started talking.

            “Wait–”

            “You can stay–”

            “Don’t leave–”

            “We ordered pizza–”

            “Really, it’s no big deal.  I know you were expecting a man.”  Her eyes settled on Miss October then quickly averted to Dale.  Shit!  “It was nice meeting you guys.”

            “You’re welcome to stay, Blake.  I promise no one here is a registered sex offender.  In fact, Jake is one of Cabot’s finest,” Ty said, trying to convince her to stay.  Jake waved his hand at her.  She looked back at Ty and he noticed the small, crescent shaped scar next to her left eye just below the outer edge of her eyebrow. 

            “Well, honestly, I was looking forward to a Corona.  Maybe I’ll just have a beer and then I’ll head back.”

            If she weren’t standing right next him, he would have pumped his fist in the air like a kid who just talked his dad into buying him a new bike.  She reached down and snagged a long neck out of the carton before passing the rest off to Ty who swiftly placed the other five into the mini fridge while swiping Miss October off the wall and tossing her behind the bar. 

            Blake stood close to the door as she took a pull off her Corona.  Ty couldn’t take his eyes off her lips as they circled the bottle.  Stop that, you asshole!

            “What department were you with in California?” Jake asked.

            “Wow, no secrets in small town America, huh?  I was with LAPD,” she answered. 

            “Nope, everybody knows everybody’s business.  We were given the scoop on you except for the correct gender,” Ty offered, cracking open a Bud Lite for himself.  She looked cool hanging out with five strange men.  He guessed being a woman in a male dominated field would foster that sort of confidence.  She could probably kick all their asses with her hands tied behind her back.  When she lifted the bottle to her lips again he noticed a rubber band around her wrist.

            “Is Blake a family name?  It’s a little unusual for a girl,” Jake asked, flashing his pearly whites.  Jake knew just how to turn on the charm and he did alright with the ladies.  It didn’t hurt that he was good looking and so many women were suckers for a guy in a uniform.

            “No.  Actually, my dad wanted boys but ended up with two daughters.  Cameron is kind of a unisex name, but Blake hasn’t evolved.  We dealt okay though.  I think dad expected us both to try out for the high school football team and it broke his heart when Cameron made the cheerleading squad her freshman year.” 

            Blake has a sister.  Ty’s mind wandered all over the place as he fantasized about what she might look like.

            “Were you a cheerleader, too?” Kenny asked, his tongue nearly hanging out.

            “Nah.  I was a tomboy through and through.  Our dad had us in baseball as kids and he tried like hell to get us into flag football at the park, but they turned us down.  That was my first lesson in gender inequality,” she laughed.  “I played softball in high school which bought me a full ride to Cal State Long Beach.”

            “What was your major?” Ty asked.

            “Criminology and English.  I graduated early from high school and had some time to burn before I could apply for the police department.  So, I earned my bachelor’s degrees then hired on with LAPD.  I spent five years with them then decided I needed a change. So, I loaded the apartment into a U-Haul and took up my late uncle’s offer.  So, here I am.” 

            Ty pulled up a folding chair from the card table and offered it to her.  She sat down and rested her beer on the corner of the pool table.  Dropping her hands between her knees, she subtly snapped the rubber band around her wrist.  Ty didn’t think anyone else noticed and looked away before she caught him staring.

            “So, how long have you been with Cabot PD?” she asked Jake.

            “Six years.  I feel like I’m just getting started.  I won’t retire until I’m sixty.”

            She laughed and it reminded Ty of wind chimes.  “That sounds like a solid plan.”

            “So, you mentioned a sister?  Where is she?” Jake asked.

            “Cameron’s in Los Angeles.  She’s a lawyer.”

            “Older or younger?” he prodded.

            “She’s older, by three minutes.  We’re twins.”  Every guy in the room just fell into a Doublemint Twins fantasy.  Could this get any better?

            “Identical?”

            “According to DNA, yes.  But we’re very different.”  There is a God, Ty decided.  To create a woman as perfect as this one sitting in his den and clone her so the world would have two.  Praise Jesus!

            “My dad told me you’re into some consulting work.  How’s that going?” Ty queried.

            “I just set up all my computer equipment and I need to work on my website once I get the internet connected.  I spent a year in the gang intelligence unit with LAPD.  I’m thinking I can rent my expertise to other law enforcement agencies across the country. Possibly do seminars or training events.  It’s still fairly preliminary though.”  Snap, snap.

            That time she snapped the rubber band twice.  What was that about?  Who cares?  She’s hot and smart and Ty was in love already.  He’d let her shoot all the fricking rubber bands in Arkansas at him if she wanted to. 

            The doorbell rang again and Ty paid the pizza boy.  Thirty seconds later he was back in the doorway to the game room and almost laughed out loud.  Four grown men were practically drooling in their beers while Blake was standing by the window on her cell phone.  They were all checking out her ass and Ty could see why.  Damn!  She was built!  Like a goddamn brick house!

            He put the pizza boxes on the bar and walked behind it to grab some paper plates and napkins.  Blake snapped her phone shut and turned back around.

            “Pizza’s here,” Ty announced. 

            Nobody moved right away, except Blake.  Ty opened the boxes as Blake strolled over. 

            “I love pizza,” she said, inspecting the boxes.  Ty’s heart nearly stopped when she passed up the pepperoni and took a slice of cheese.  He was sensing the chemistry already. 

            “Cheese pizza is my favorite,” she said, sinking her teeth into the gooey pie.

            “Mine, too,” Ty responded, grabbing a piece for himself.  “Do you like pool?”

            “Sure.  I used to play all the time with my dad.”

            “What about your mom?  She was okay with your dad trying to turn you two into boys?”

            “She didn’t care.  She took off when we were two years old.  Told my dad she’d had it with the crying and the diapers.  She didn’t want kids at all.  We were an accident and then when we turned out to be twins, she just freaked.  She put up with it for two years, then packed up her stuff and we never saw her again.”

            Ty couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  How could a woman walk out on two little girls that, judging by her looks now, must have been the most adorable kids in the universe?

            “Dad tried his best with us.  I think he was halfway afraid of acknowledging we were girls.  It was tough on him.”

            “I’ll bet it was,” Ty responded.

            “So, is there a boyfriend waiting back at the house or in California?”  Chuck inquired over his slice of deluxe pizza, catching a piece of bell pepper as it fell and tossing it into his mouth.

            “No,” she replied, tersely.  No elaboration, no details.  By the change in her expression, Ty figured this was a sore subject that she didn’t want to talk about it.  Maybe it was an ex that prompted this move more than a career change.

            She finished her slice of pizza and guzzled the last of her beer.  Before he could change the subject, Blake said, “Thanks for the pizza.  See you guys.” 

            She turned around and walked out and Ty jogged after her.  He wanted to at least be a gentleman and see her out but she was moving fast and snapping the rubber band in succession.

            He reached out and touched her shoulder and she whirled around fast, still snapping the rubber band. 

            “What?” she barked.

            “I – are you okay, Blake?”

            Her face relaxed a little and she took a deep breath, “Yeah.  I’m fine.  I’m sorry to run off, I just. . . need to go.”

            “Okay.  Well, thanks for coming by.  You’re welcome to come back next Tuesday if you want to.  I think the guys took a liking to you.”  He winked and unleashed his most spectacular grin.

            She smiled back but it was halfhearted, “I’ll think about that.  Thanks.”

            Blake walked out and hopped into her Jeep and took off down the road.

            Ty watched her until her taillights winked out of view.  He was going to figure her out.  Starting with that damned rubber band.