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- Herausgeber: WS
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Serie: Love in Mission City
- Sprache: Englisch
Noel
I've tracked down my wayward sister to Cataluma, California, and my goal is to drag her back to Canada before she gets in trouble with the American authorities. The problem? She’s gone and fallen in love with some dude and refuses to come home. I need to stick around to talk some sense into her, but there’s only one damned inn in this podunk town and they insist they're full. I can't get the handsome innkeeper to make an exception, not even for the few days I'll need to get Kendra safely headed back across the border.
Aaron
I love my job as the owner of the quaint Cataluma Inn. I also pride myself in being a peacemaker. When I find squawking siblings arguing about a good friend of mine at our traditional barbecue, I have to step in. Next thing I know, I’m offering to share my one-bedroom apartment with a very attractive Canadian. Oh, and he’s gay too…
Love Without Reservations is s story in the Love in Mission City series. The book is a 38k word small-town gay interracial romance novella with a grumpy Canadian entrepreneur, a sunshine American motorcycle rider, and the love they never saw coming.
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Seitenzahl: 191
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
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Love Without Reservations
A Love in Mission City Novella
Gabbi Grey
Copyright©2023Gabbi Grey
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously.
References to real people, events, organizations, establishments or locations are intended to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, organizations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.
NO AI/NO BOT. We do not consent to any Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarize, or otherwise replicate any part of this creative work, via any means: print, graphic, sculpture, multimedia, audio, or other medium. We support the right of humans to control their artistic works.
No generative AI was used in the creation of this book.
Edits by ELF
Cover by Jo Clement
Dedication
Michele
Lisa
Contents
Chapter One
Noel
Showingupatsome random dude’s house to track down my wayward sister wasn’t the craziest thing I’d done to try to keep her safe—but pretty damn close.
As I pounded on the door of the two-story house with white siding, I questioned my life choices. What was I doing in Cataluma, California? Why was I so obsessed about making sure Kendra didn’t make yet another mistake? How could I possibly persuade her to come back to Canada with me? She’d made a commitment to our father that she’d leave in two day’s time—Monday morning—but I had zero faith in that. Our father suggested she was interested in this small town. And given she’d not answered any of my many-dozen messages, I really needed to have my head examined for showing up here unannounced.
If you told her that you were coming, she might’ve left.
Yes, well, that was a distinct possibility.
Again, I pounded.
“Young man.”
I spun.
An older woman stood just a few feet behind me. She wore a flowered dress, a pillbox hat, carried a fabric purse and…wore slippers.
Unsure how to react, I stepped forward. “Yes, ma’am.”
“You may call me Mrs. Jensen.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She scowled.
“Yes, Mrs. Jensen. And how are you this evening?”
Eyes narrowed. “You’re here to see the Fernandez boy?”
A myriad of responses came to mind, but I figured I’d go for simple. “Yes, do you know where he is?”
She scowled. “At the dance. With that floozy.”
Inwardly, I winced. Odds were, the woman was discussing my sister. At least I assumed that—given Kendra’s Harley sat in the driveway. “Do you know the floozy’s name?”
“As if.” Another scowl. Then she leaned in, as if to impart some great secret. “She’s one of many. Javier’s a philanderer. A different woman each week.”
Okay, I was really not liking this Javier guy. Worry for Kendra’s safety clawed at my throat. Maybe this guy was a serial killer—and the women he brought home were never heard from again. Or maybe he got them knocked up and then abandoned them. Or maybe—
“When you see Javier, tell him I’m disappointed. I knew his father. Good man. His mother…well, the less said about her, the better.”
I wasn’t even going to try to interpret that statement. “So, which way to the dance?”
She pointed, and I tried to envision the town in my mind. Likely I’d need to go back to the main road and… What? Surely there’d be signs to this Strawberry Festival. My keys sat heavy in my hand, and I itched to race over there, but consideration had me offering my arm. “May I help you home?”
“Aren’t you just a gentleman? Yes, that’s my house.” She pointed across the street.
She linked her arm with mine, and we walked across to her home.
Despite my impatience, I waited until she was inside and the lock clicked into place. Then I spun, strode across the street, and got into my car. I made my way back to Prospector’s Row and took a gamble as to the probable location of the dance. Soon enough, I came across a park. At the very edge of a large lot, a car was pulling away.
I eased into the spot. My suitcases were in the back of my SUV, so I locked it, hoped no thieves cased the lot, and headed toward the noise.
As I approached, I spotted two men standing on a stage. One was tall and what my mother would’ve said was distinguished. His tuxedo seemed incongruous with everyone else’s shorts, khakis, or jeans. The other man was about the same height but younger. Closer in age to me, if I had to guess. As they conferred at the microphone, I surveyed the crowd.
Kendra.
She stood with a couple. The man and woman held hands, so probably a couple.
I approached the group quietly, not wanting to make a scene. I grabbed Kendra’s arm and started pulling her.
She whirled and took a fighter’s stance, obviously prepared to do battle. Jesus, I shouldn’t have snuck up on her. And if we started fighting here, at this…event…it’d look bad. But I needed to get her out of here and get us back on the road as soon as possible.
“Noel?”
Her face registered shock, given her slack-jawed expression and the narrowing of her blue eyes.
Eyes so like my own.
“Hey, let go of her.” The tall man glowered at me.
My first reaction was to tell the guy to fuck right off. This was my wayward sister, and I knew what was best for her. Anger simmered within me, and my heartrate increased.
“Hey.” A shorter woman with curly hair came up to me and got right into my face. She even had the temerity to poke her finger at my chest. “You let her go.”
I wanted to swat her hand away like I’d swat a mosquito, but the guy was by her side and, clearly, they came as a unit. And I’d have to risk letting go of Kendra, and that so wasn’t happening.
“Yeah.” A random voice from the crowd carried. “Let her go.”
Damn, this is getting out of hand. Fuck.
More people chorused in and, suddenly, I considered what this looked like. These people didn’t know me. Didn’t know my relationship to Kendra. Didn’t know I had only her best interests at heart. I didn’t spot any law enforcement, but that didn’t mean they weren’t around. Reluctantly, I released my grip on her arm. “Look, you need to come with me.”
“I don’t need to do anything.” Kendra crossed her arms and rubbed the spot where I’d grabbed her.
For show, or had I really hurt her? Yet another damn.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Noel?”
“You know this guy?” The dude with long hair looked back and forth between the two of us. I wouldn’t put it past him to step in. I’d bet I could take him, but likely the crowd would take his side and, just as likely, I’d get arrested.
The nosy woman with the dude squinted. “You’re siblings.”
Kendra’s hair was lighter than mine, and her eye color wasn’t obvious in the fading light, but certain similarities existed between the two of us. Not to mention the Barker nose as well as the fact she was so tall, we were able to see eye to eye. I had an inch or two on her, but that rarely meant anything.
“He’s my brother, but I have no idea why he’s here.”
Jesus, was she really that dense? Or was she playing some kind of game? With my dear sister, it could go either way. “I’m here to get you. To stop you from making a huge mistake.”
She tilted her head in that way that drove me nuts. Her way of saying I’m going to play dumb. The truth was that she wasn’t dumb. Not by a long shot. Scatterbrained and flighty? Sure. Dumb? Not a chance.
“And what mistake would that be?”
God help me. “I find you shacked up with some guy—”
Her eyes flashed. “Jesus, Noel.” Then a frown marred her brow. “How do you know about me and Javier?”
“Maybe the fact your phone is at his house. And he’s a well-known player in town?”
The shorter lady demanded. “Who told you that?”
“His neighbor. A nice older woman who was only too happy to enlighten me about the string of women he’s had come through his house.” Although what the point was of this, I wasn’t sure.
A bark of laughter escaped the woman. “You’re talking about Mrs. Jensen. Lost her mind years ago. She only thinks she knows what all is going on. Heck, she thinks Sequoia’s a woman because of his hair.”
Sequoia. What kind of name was that? Undoubtedly some hippie California surfer dude. Although we weren’t that close to the ocean.
Focus.
“She said—”
“You tracked my phone?” Kendra’s high-pitched and indignant shout drew the attention of several onlookers.
Damn, a crowd was gathering to watch the show. “How the hell else was I going to find you? You tell our father you’re in some town with a strawberry festival, and I find you’ve finally left your phone on long enough to track…” I’d put the software on the damn thing when I gave it to her as a gift—because she was forgetful and had lost several in the past. This one’d been damn expensive, and I wanted us to have a way to find it if she ever left it behind somewhere. I’d never foreseen using it to track her.
So you tell yourself.
“That sounds like stalking.” Sequoia’s brow knit. “Isn’t that illegal?”
“I told her I installed the software when I bought her the phone.” There, see? I could defend myself. Not that I should have to.
“You told me that was in case I lost it.” Her anger hadn’t diminished—if anything, it increased.
I put my hands on my hips. This is getting us nowhere. “You assumed. I never actually said—”
“Kendra?” Some guy barrelled through the crowd—the guy I’d spotted on the stage earlier.
Just great.
He came up behind her and stood so close that if she leaned back, she’d be flat against his chest.
Ah, so this was the dude. Javier Fernandez. He was taller than me by a couple of inches. But while he was wiry, I had a bit more heft. Even in the darkening night, his tanned skin was visible, and his eyes were almost black. Likely he had some kind of Latino or Hispanic heritage. I wasn’t going to be derailed. “This the guy?”
“Who is this?”
Javier’s voice carried what I assumed was supposed to be menace. I still believed I could take him. Just not him and Sequoia and whomever else might jump into the fray. Didn’t put it past the woman with the tats and the dour expression not to jump in as well.
Why was I obsessing about fighting? I was a pacifist by nature. Maybe not like I assumed these hippie people to be, but I never fought. Even growing up, I’d defended people weaker than me, but always with words—never with deeds.
Kendra blinked. “This is my brother.” She grabbed Javier’s hand. Then she spun back to me. “And this is the man I love—Javier.”
Jesus fucking Christ.
I staggered back a step.
Okay, flighty, fanciful, daydreamy, Kendra believed she was in love? She wasn’t, of course. Apparently, she’d been in town all of four days, and people definitely didn’t fall in love in just four days.
Goddammit, they’ve had sex.
I so did not want to think about my sister’s sex life, but she tended to, uh, do it with guys quite quickly after meeting them.
She claimed she needed to know if they were sexually compatible because, otherwise, she wasn’t wasting her time with them.
I bristled. “You’ve known him for how long?”
Javier pulled her back and wound his arms around her. “Time is irrelevant. We both know what we want.”
Oh, great, two irresponsible people. Just what I need.
“She’s a child, Javier.” Did he not see? “Never finished university, never held down a proper job, never—”
“I know all that, and I don’t give a shit.” Javier wrapped his arms around her waist. “You have a different perspective. You’re protective of her—which is great.”
Kendra didn’t appear pleased with that concession. She continued to scowl.
“You talk about time.” I scowled right back. “She has to come back to Canada shortly, or she’ll be in big trouble with the immigration authorities.” Surely she’d figured this out by now. “There are rules.”
I expected her to say fuck the rules, but she didn’t. I hadn’t done research on immigration, but my friend’s parents came south for the winter, and they had to be back in Canada before the six-month mark or they risked pissing off both the American and Canadian authorities.
Kendra’s lower lip stuck out. “You just don’t want me to be happy.”
Jesus, is she for real? “I’ve only ever wanted your happiness, Kendra. But I don’t think running away—”
“Maybe I was running to something.”
I wanted to demand to know what. This guy? She hadn’t known him. Or had she? Maybe they’d hooked up on some dating app. Or maybe he’d lured her here with promises he never intended to keep.
Javier pressed a kiss to her temple. “We’ll find a way to make this work.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” I was ready to lose my ever-loving shit.
“Go home, Noel. Go back to Canada and leave me alone.”
I moved toward her. She appeared momentarily startled, but she didn’t look like she was going to back down.
Javier glared.
“Hey, how’s everyone doing?”
As a group, everyone turned to face another dude.
The guy wore jeans and a crewneck, light-blue shirt. His eyes were almost as black as his dark skin. He was my height, with broad shoulders and a firm stance. Him, I would’ve noticed—even without the friendly intervention.
“None of your business.” Even as I said the words, I felt compelled to hold the guy’s gaze. Drop-dead gorgeous with kind eyes.
You’re obsessing over his eyes? Really?
The man spoke. “Look, why don’t you come with me? We can take a walk.”
He’s serious? “I’m talking with my sister.”
“Who isn’t in the mood to listen.” The guy met my gaze and held it. “But she’ll be here tomorrow and, when everyone’s cooled off, you can have a rational conversation.”
“I’m not letting this go.” I pitched my voice low so only Kendra and Javier could hear. I probably didn’t need to add so much menace—but I needed them to know I was serious.
“I’m not letting her go.” Javier gripped her tighter.
“I’m not leaving.” Her chin jutted in that way. Boy, I was in for a world of hurt.
The newcomer put a gentle hand on my arm.
After what felt like a moment that spun out forever, I acquiesced and followed him away.
The music started up, but it quickly faded as we walked away from the park.
What have I gotten myself into?
Chapter Two
Aaron
I’dlivedinCataluma my entire life. Occasionally trouble would crop up at the Strawberry Festival—usually when some out-of-towner over imbibed. Well, there was the time the Watsons and the Wainwrights took their feud public and had a showdown at the Saturday-night dance. Jeremy Watson and Isabel Wainwright declared their love and had threatened a Romeo and Juliet if their families didn’t reconcile their, frankly, petty differences.
That’d been back in eighty-six. I’d been knee high to a grasshopper and hadn’t understood the fuss.
I’d grown up a lot in the intervening thirty-six years.
Witnessing Kendra and Javier was like watching the Wainwright/Watson feud all over again. I hoped the conflict resolved itself much as the old one had—Isabel and Jeremy had five children, two grandchildren, and lived happy lives.
As I guided Kendra’s protective older brother out of the park and toward the cars, I held my tongue. Guy probably thought I was an interfering busybody.
He wasn’t wrong.
I didn’t like conflict. I’d grown up with too much of it in my household, and I’d sworn never to let it back into my life. Sure, being the proprietor of the Cataluma Inn meant dealing with issues—unhappy guests, disgruntled staff, and other stuff. But I’d learned to let skirmishes roll off my back. I was stronger than that.
“You can let go of me.”
The man’s softly spoken words alerted me to the fact I still held his elbow. I’d led him—gently. And he’d followed—willingly.
With some reluctance, I let him go. “What’s your name?” I wracked my brain, but couldn’t remember it.
He halted under a streetlamp. “You didn’t hear everything?”
I shook my head. “Only the last few words.”
“Then why’d you step in?”
Good question.
“Just seemed to me that I could help. You attracted quite a crowd, and I didn’t figure you were a guy who liked the spotlight.” That might’ve been a stretch, but I had a gut-deep feeling about this guy.
He cleared his throat. “Noel. Noel Barker. And you’re right—I don’t like causing scenes. Yet, when it comes to Kendra…”
Ah. “I have a much-younger brother. I love Trey, but he’s been a handful.”
“How much younger?”
“Twenty-two years or so. Theoretically, he’s my half-brother, but I helped raise him, and I see him as my flesh and blood. Labels don’t mean anything to me.”
“But you understand younger siblings.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I’ve only ever wanted what was best for her.” Turning back, he met my gaze. “I have to find a place for the night. Even if I wasn’t planning to see Kendra tomorrow—which I am—I’ve been on the road since dawn.”
“You’ve come from Canada?”
“Yeah, I left first thing yesterday morning.”
I cocked my head.
He winced. “Yeah, I tracked her phone. Didn’t have a choice. She’s always losing it—”
“And you thought she’d lost it in Cataluma, and you’d come all the way down to get it?”
“Well, she confirmed to my father that she was in a small town with a strawberry festival. Between this hit on the phone and Cataluma’s town website, I knew I’d struck gold. I just didn’t know if she’d still be here. I stopped for a brief respite last night in Eugene, Oregon, but came straight through this morning.”
Good God, that was a long trip. Canada to Cataluma was over a thousand miles. “You need a place to rest.”
“Yeah.” On cue, he yawned. “I don’t suppose you know a place to stay?”
“Well, we only have a few shared accommodations in town, and they’re all full up. This weekend is the busiest of the year in Cataluma. Well, Christmas is hopping as well.” I hesitated.
He nodded encouragingly.
“I own the only inn in town.”
“Great—”
“We’re full.”
For just an instant, I caught the despair in his eyes. In his downturned mouth. “That’s all right—I can sleep in the back of my SUV.”
No way was I letting him do that.
Boldly, I touched his arm. “I have a spare bed in my apartment at the inn.”
“You live on-site?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I did some renovations when I took over. I liked the idea of living on-site and being able to deal with problems as they crop up.”
“That doesn’t sound like a healthy work/life balance.”
He had a point.
“Cataluma Inn is my life.”
“No wife, or girlfriend, or…” He winced and rubbed his forehead. “Damn, I’m so fucking tired.”
“Let’s get your car and drive back to the inn—it’s at the other end of town.”
He pointed to a nice black SUV with British Columbia license plates.
“You don’t mind catching a lift with me?”
I snorted. “I think I can handle my own if you decide to get frisky.” Of course, I wouldn’t mind if he got fresh with me. I was in what I hoped was the middle of a long dry spell. A spell I hoped would end soon.
Getting into the vehicle, I sank into the luxury of the seat.
He hopped in, closed the door, and put the key in the engine.
“Wow, are these heated seats?”
“It’s a Canadian thing.”
“Cool. We have them in the States too, but my brother’s car doesn’t.”
He started the engine.
As he pulled back onto the street, I casually mentioned, “It would be a boyfriend. Or husband.”
Even while driving, he shot me a look. Quickly, his eyes were back on the road, but I’d caught it. The look.
“Uh, yeah, cool.”
“The parking lot for the inn is up ahead.” I pointed.
He turned in and found the last parking spot. Anyone who came afterward could park on the street until nine a.m.
After shutting off the engine, he sat for a moment—keys in his hand. Finally, he cut me a glance. “I’m gay too.”
I’d been pretty darn sure, but never would have presumed. That’d gotten me into trouble a time or two. “Then we’re good.” I gave him a reassuring smile before we both alighted the vehicle.
He popped the trunk and snagged a suitcase.
After he closed and locked the SUV with the remote, we headed into the inn.
As always, a sense of well-being invaded my senses. The dining room was full to bursting with people here for the festival but who weren’t interested in the dance. I spotted a few friends I knew, but opted not to go and chat. Instead, I led Noel up the stairs all the way to the third floor. I’d renovated two large suites into an apartment. The loss of revenue was worth it for all the problems I’d resolved over the years by being here. My staff knew to only disturb me when something urgent arose. I hired—and retained—top talent. I was regularly voted one of the best employers in town. And I didn’t even have to bribe my employees to vote for me.
I unlocked the door and held it open for my guest to enter.
He did, although clearly with some trepidation, slowly stepping in.
What was he expecting?
