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Also By S J Crabb
The Diary Of Madison Brown
The One That Got Away
(Part 1 of The Hardcastle Saga)
A Matter Of Trust
(Part 2 of The Hardcastle Saga)
Payback
(Part 3 of The Hardcastle Saga)
Falcondell
(The Devil's Son)
Falcondell Part Two
(Retribution)
Lucas
(The Devil's Son)
Savannah
(The Devil's Daughter)
Marius
(The Devil's Son)
My Perfect Life at Cornish Cottage
Copyrighted Material
Copyright S J Crabb 2016
S J Crabb has asserted her rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the Author of this work.
This book is a work of fiction and except in the case of historical fact, any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes only.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Note From The Author
Falcondell
The Devil's Children
Facebook Contact
Chapter One
So this is Bennigan's my soon to be home from home.
I look at the outside of the bar that my father has arranged for me to work at for the summer and take it all in. It looks ok and is surprisingly quite smart really; knowing my father though he has an ulterior motive for getting me this job.
Not wanting to think about him for a moment more than necessary I take a deep breath and push open the door in front of me.
Loud music greets me as I enter the dim interior. Looking around me I can tell that it is popular; the noise levels alone indicate that and the fact that it is so busy on a Monday speaks volumes.
As I venture in further I see that the clientele leaves a lot to be desired. Groups of men are congregated around large screens watching the game, shouting and cheering as their team scores. Despite the early hour they are knocking back the beers and my heart sinks.
Keeping my eyes down I head towards the bar. As I reach it I lift my gaze and just for a few seconds my breath leaves my body. Two gorgeous brown eyes are staring intently at me which I see belong to a guy about my age. He has dark brown hair that is slightly unruly and has a wild look about him. I notice that he is wearing a black t shirt that must be slightly too small for him because it clings to his body like a second skin. He has the most awesome biceps that are decorated with intricate tattoos which instantly intrigue me. My father is not a fan of tattoos which makes me like them even more.
Swallowing hard I try to focus and re-set the frozen mask of indifference on to my face.
He appears to be watching me with amusement which instantly gets my back up. He is probably used to favourable reactions from women given the fact that he is obviously not human; I mean perfection like that doesn't exist in the real world, well at least not in mine.
His eyes flash mischievously and he smiles. "Can I help you?" Feeling cross with myself I try to get a grip and just nod.
"My name is Scarlett Knight and I am here regarding the job that my father has arranged; you may be expecting me."
Looking interested he nods and shouts, "Dylan, new recruits here."
Looking over I can see that he has called to another man further down the bar. He looks slightly older but I can tell that they are related due to certain similarities in their appearance. Dylan comes over and smiles at me and his eyes sparkle. "Pleased to meet you. Scarlett isn't it? My dad's told us to expect you, I'm Dylan and this is my baby brother Drake." Flashing them a brief smile I nod.
"Hi, pleased to meet you too."
I feel a bit awkward as they both openly stare at me. I may not be the prettiest girl around but I know that I can hold my own. My sisters choose to make the most of their assets but I prefer to dress down and try to blend into the background. Unlike them I don't like to draw attention to myself and just aim to get by as best I can by occupying the shadows. When you come from a family like mine that is actually quite a difficult thing to do and I pride myself on my privacy and ability to get by unnoticed.
Dylan looks at me with interest. "You're nothing like I thought you'd be."
Feeling annoyed I snap, "What were you expecting some sort of busty Hooters style blonde or something."
The brothers laugh out loud and Drake says, "She knows you so well already bro. You'll have to watch her, before long your secrets won't be secrets any more."
Dylan grins. "Come on Scarlett, I'll grab you a t Shirt and show you how it all works around here."
As I follow him I can feel Drake's eyes burning into my back. There is something about him that I can't quite fathom out. I soon will though, let's just say it's a family trait. All of my family have the ability to discover everything about a person just by touching them. We know what they like and don't like and what their fears are. Kind of handy in some ways and I look forward to using this particular power on him.
Dylan hands me a similar black t Shirt to the one that they have on and I quickly put it on over the vest top that I am wearing. He looks at me appreciatively which makes me scowl and he laughs as he sees my expression, which only makes me even more annoyed.
"Come on Scarlett, I'll show you around and then you can start by clearing tables. Maybe tomorrow you can progress on to the next level of your training."
Raising my eyes I look at him with a blank expression. "And what would that be?" He winks and his eyes flash mischievously before he says, "Taking orders."
I soon set to work clearing the tables. It is mind numbingly boring but at least it gives me something to do.
I have been dreading this summer. I live with my mom in Rivercreek Falls for most of the time. My parents split up when I was very young and I don't see my father much, which is actually a really good thing as I hate him with a passion. There is no love there at all and I can't even begin to imagine what my mom ever saw in him. Unfortunately for me I have to spend all of my holidays with him and his many other children. It appears that he has had many wives along the way and I have two sisters and four brothers.
The only ones that share the same mother are the twins, Ashley and Savannah. Just thinking about my sisters makes me want to hurl. They are the complete opposite of me and everything that I despise. My brothers aren't much better and I avoid them all as much as I can,
which is actually quite easy as they appear to detest me as much as I do them.
Thinking about it this job is a godsend really because it keeps me away from all of them.
As I work I keep on catching sight of Drake. There is something about him that intrigues me. Occasionally I catch his eye and almost melt inside when he smiles or winks at me. Not that I would ever let him see the effect he has on me, no I am a master of the guarded expression. Because of it most people think of me as difficult and surly.
I have a very small group of friends back home which suits me fine. I know that if I wanted to it could be so different, in fact I could rule the school if I wanted to as girls are scared of me and the boys just want to possess me. Well I'm not interested in any of it and all I want is to fade into the shadows and forget who I am and where I come from.
By the end of my first shift my feet ache and I am exhausted. Not from the physical work, no that doesn't bother me, I am just exhausted at fending off the advances and gropes of the customers who obviously think that they have free reign to use all of the facilities- even the staff.
It's not just me; I watch the women flirting with Drake and Dylan and notice many a phone number passed across the bar towards them and I watch it all in disgust. Some people have no pride and I just hope that I will never be one of those women.
What annoys me the most though is the prickle of jealousy that I get when Drake smiles at or chats to one of the women. My feelings surprise me because I am not usually the sort of girl to obsess over a guy. Feeling annoyed at myself I resolve to get a grip.
As we clear up Dylan shouts over to me. "Great job Scarlett, you're a good worker, same time tomorrow?" I nod in agreement making sure that my expression is blank.
As I grab my stuff Drake says, "Do you need a lift Scarlett?"
I look at him in surprise and he looks almost embarrassed. "Look, I don't want you walking home by yourself at night, especially with some of our customers still roaming around."
I allow him a brief smile. "Thanks but I have a ride."
As if on cue I hear the sound of a motorbike outside and nod towards the door.
"I expect that's it, see you tomorrow."
As I turn to leave I think I see a disappointed expression pass across his face but then it is gone.
Instead he just shrugs and smiles. "Ok fine. See you tomorrow."
As I close the door behind me I realise that I am very much looking forward to tomorrow.