I needed a job.

I groaned. “Okay, okay. I’m in.”

Deacon pumped his fist, jumping as it caused him to spill hot coffee on his lap. I laughed at his predicament and we discussed plans for me to come in the next day just to have a look around and a feel for the space and what I would be doing. I was excited.

I waved to Deacon as he climbed into his car and sped off from the curb before shutting and locking the apartment door. Turning, I took a deep breath as I eyed that light which still shone from under Rose’s bedroom door. I knew I needed to talk to her now rather than later and hope that she understood where I was coming from. I tapped on her door, but there was no answer.

“Rose, I just want to talk to you.” I paused. “Please.”

I held my ear against the door and I could hear her voice talking quietly.

“I know, Daddy.” There was a sniffle in her words and I felt horrible that I’d caused her to be so upset. “I’m trying, I promise. It was just one time, next time I’ll focus better. I’ll try harder.”

My heart hurt for this girl. From what I’d gathered about her family, there was a lot of pressure on her to do well in school. I understood that parents pushed their kids because a lot of the time they needed it. But the level of stress her father was placing on her to succeed was completely ridiculous.

“Okay, I’ll see you soon,” she said sadly. “I love—” She didn’t finish the sentence, instead sighing in defeat.

I decided to just go for it and slowly creaked the door open, popping my head around the corner. She was sitting in the center of her bed, her knees pulled to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around them, one hand still gripping tightly to her phone. This was not the girl, who just a few hours ago, had sassed herself out of her room wearing a killer outfit and pushed me to go out.

“Rose?”

Her head shot up like she was surprised and hadn’t heard me knocking or open the door even though I hadn’t exactly been quiet about it. She pulled her hand up and wiped the back of it across her nose before clearing her throat, in what I figured was an attempt at straightening herself out and pushing away the emotion.

“Hey,” she said softly, moving her legs so they were folded criss-cross style and sitting a little taller.

I took that as an invitation and moved forward, sitting at the edge of her bed and smoothing my hands over the soft blanket that was folded there. “I didn’t mean to ruin your night. I’m sorry,” I said, finally finding the words. “I hope you get that I was just watching out for you.”

She sat silently and I wondered if she was even going to acknowledge my apology. Her eyes stayed downcast even as she spoke. “I know,” she whispered quietly. “I’m not used to having someone look out for me.”

The corner of my mouth turned up sadly. I knew what that was like, having no one to be there for you and tell you ‘no’ when you’re making crappy decisions. When there’s no one who steps forward to protect you when someone’s putting you down. I’d been there once. It was very much learned the hard way until I had enough balls to stand up for myself. And even then, I still struggled sometimes. That’s where friends came in, Harmony still felt the need even from miles away to stand and be my voice, my protector. It’s what friends were for. But it was obvious now that Rose lacked in that department too.

“What are friends for if they don’t intercept when you’re about to make a huge mistake,” I said with a smile even though she was still avoiding my eyes.

I saw her drag in a deep breath as she finally looked up at me, tears shining and making her eyes sparkle. “Those guys were pretty weird, huh,” she joked, even as tears trailed down her cheeks and she plastered on a fake smile.

I grinned. “Honey, we need to get you better taste in men.”

She giggled, a sob hitting her at the same time. I thought about hitting her with some questions about Blizzard, but I knew this was definitely not the right time for that conversation, so I stored it in the back of my mind for later.

“So I took Deacon up on his job offer,” I told her, rolling my eyes.

“Are you going to accept the invitation to the party in his pants that he keeps subtly throwing your way too?” My mouth fell open and I just stared at her, watching as the smile on her face got broader and broader until she started laughing.

“That’s not even funny,” I exclaimed as she fell back on the bed.

“Oh please!” she snorted. “That boy’s got a hard-on for you the size of Texas.”

I smirked. “You know who else has one the size of a small country?” She looked up at me and I wiggled my eyebrows. “A certain outlaw biker whose name begins with B and ends in lizzard.”

I saw the deep flush that coated her cheeks before she pulled the pillow from behind her head and tossed it at me. The girl had a good throw.

With that, I knew we were fine.

Deacon threw two pizza boxes on the workout mats next to where I was stretching.

“Pizza?” I smirked. “Really?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes healthy food just doesn’t hit the spot. I’ve also got some beer in the fridge if you’d like it?” He grinned and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“No thanks.” I held up my water bottle. “I’ll stick with this for now.”

“Spoilsport,” he mumbled, taking a seat on the mat next to me and tossing open the lid of one of the boxes and dived straight in.

The smell hit me directly and I couldn’t hide the moan that escaped my mouth. “Oh God. That’s so good.”

Deacon choked on the bite he’d just taken and I quickly reached over and patted him on the back. “You should not make those types of noises outside the bedroom.”

I giggled, squashing my resolve and stealing a piece for myself. “I’m sorry,” I garbled around a mouthful of deliciousness. “Wow, this is amazing!”

We ate silently for a while, Deacon scoffing down at least a whole pizza to himself.

“So … have you lived here long? I’ve never seen you around before and we know the town pretty well,” I asked as I dusted off my hands into the box and folded my legs.

He shook his head. “A month maybe? The coach of the local college football team actually recruited me. I worked with him when I was at college. When I say worked, I mean offered my services for free just to get some type of experience. He took over the team last year and I finally decided to take the leap.”

“Where did you live before?”

“New York mostly.”

“That’s a big shift for a job,” I observed, sipping on my water.

He moved his focus to the now almost empty boxes near our feet, shuffling them around. “Yeah, I guess. Gotta do what you gotta do and all that.” He cleared his throat and regained his composure with a smile. “What about you? What’s your story?”

I laughed. “My story is far too long. We’d need at least a day and probably a few shots to get through that.”

He smiled, it was soft and caring. “How about, how did you find yourself in Athens? You don’t have the Alabama accent so I know you’re not a local.”

“Nope, I’m actually an Idaho girl.” I fiddled with the lid of my water bottle. “I grew up in the system so as soon as I hit eighteen I was gone. So many crappy memories, I hate even thinking about the place.”

“Sorry.”

I shook my head and plastered on a smile—just like always, grin and bear it. “It’s fine. The day I turned eighteen I pretty much pulled a map out at the library, spun it around, closed my eyes and pointed. And here I am.”

Deacon’s face slowly morphed from sad into a beaming smile. “And is it everything you wanted it to be?”