Unlovable (51 page)

Booker laughed. “I carry a small, but
powerful little gun, strapped to my calf, just in case. I was
waiting for the opportune moment, but it seems you beat me to
it.”

“
And I knew Booker was right
outside, or I wouldn't have given up mine,” Seth added. It'd dawned
on me as I was falling into the cabinets that neither he nor Seth
would have given up their guns so easily without some sort of
backup plan.

After a series of yawns, Cole kicked
everyone out. “You should get some sleep, Maggie, we’ll come back
later.” I wanted to argue, but I was already falling
asleep.

One Month Later

“
Please,
please
don’t do this to me, haven’t I already been
through enough? I thought you loved me?”

“
Mags, you’re overreacting,”
Seth said, pulling the rest of my belongings from his car and
setting them on the lawn in front of Booker’s house.

“
Overreacting? Okay, fine!
You move in with Booker. I’ll stay at your house.” I dropped onto
the hood of the car in defiance.

“
Mags, you know why it has
to be this way.” He pulled me up into his arms. “You’re just too
appetizing.” He began playfully nibbling on my neck. “It’s hard
enough keeping my hands off you, but having you with me, alone,
night after night, it’s killing me!”

“
It’s hard for me too, but
moving in with Booker seems a little drastic. Can’t I sleep in the
garage?” He rolled his eyes. “Okay, how about Cole’s? He has a huge
house, I’ll bet he wouldn’t mind if I stayed there.”

“
Cole’s never home, he
spends most nights sleeping in the resident quarters at the
hospital, which means you’ll be alone. It has to be this way until
we can find Harry Dreser.”

That could be forever. All leads, and
90 percent of the heroin sales, died when Alan did. The MET
operation at the high school was to be terminated at the end of the
year, allowing them time to tie up a few loose ends.

I decided to pick up some hours
volunteering at the Lunch Swap. I needed to work, it helped me feel
stronger. Seth readily agreed, probably because he could keep an
eye on me easier. He didn’t like knowing Harry Dreser was out there
still, probably plotting his revenge, and no one knew
where.

I buried my face into his chest. “I’ll
go crazy living here.” My head bounced against his chest as he
chuckled.

“
I could move back into my
trailer, I’ve proven I can take care of myself. Booker can hook up
an electric zapper alarm thingy.” I knew the trailer was a losing
argument, we’d had it several times already, but I was desperate.
It’s not that I didn’t love Booker, I did, very much, but his
constant teasing was enough to drive anyone up the wall. Seth
assured me it wouldn’t be that bad, and he promised Booker would
stop after a few days.

“
Maggie,” he said solemnly.
“If anything were to happen to you, I’d go crazy.”

Okay, falling in love with this
beautiful guy yet again. How could I fight him now? I resigned to
my fate. “Fine, I’ll stay.”

“
Did you ever ask him how he
got the name Booker?” he asked with a sinister grin.

“
No, I forgot.”

“
Hey ya,
Magpie, or should I say
roomie!
I have your room all set up.
Pink’s your favorite color right?” Booker knew it wasn’t, we’d
already discussed it. “I bought a lacy pink bedspread and matching
eyelet curtains.” I doubted Booker even knew what eyelet was, still
I decided to play the game.

“
Oh, goodie! Maybe we can
pop some popcorn later and paint each other’s toenails?”

“
Sure, I only have black
polish though,” he warned, gathering up the last of my belongings
off the lawn. He twisted back toward the house,
whistling.

Across the yard, a black furry object
raced toward us. It tripped and tumbled, head over heels, before
bouncing back up on all fours, oblivious to the fact that it had
just fallen.

“
Is that your puppy?” I
stepped toward the little black lab and dropped to the ground. The
puppy jumped into my lap and began bathing my face in puppy
kisses.

“
Mine? No way, I hate dogs,”
Booker said, with disdain. “She’s yours. Daisy May, meet your new
owner, Magpie. Magpie, Daisy May.”

“
Booker…”

“
She’s no Fluffy, but she is
pretty cute, for a dog,” he said casually. “And you’re cleaning up
all the puddles,” he added.

“
Thank you, Booker.” I held
her tight to my chest. “I take back every mean thing I ever said
about you.”

“
Yeah, right, until
tomorrow!” he laughed. “I’ll bring your stuff in the house before
it gets dark. Come on, flea bag, let’s leave these two love birds
alone.” Booker turned and stepped into a fresh pile of puppy
poo.

“
And this is why I prefer
cats!” He scraped his shoe along the grass, grumbling at the
“flea-bitten mutt” as he made his way inside.

“
Great, now I feel bad.” I
slipped into Seth’s arms.

“
He’s a pretty great guy.
I’d better get going, we’ve got a math final tomorrow, and I want
to get some studying in,” he teased.

I laughed and began kissing his neck.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come in and watch one of those
goofy old movies you like?”

“
My movies are not goofy,”
he said.

“
Enough talk, we can debate
this later.” I pulled him to my lips and wrapped my arms around
him. All too soon, he pulled back.

“
I’m going to have to get a
hobby.” He gathered up my face in his hands and lifted my mouth to
his again. I could almost feel the blood racing though my
veins. After several minutes, he pulled away. “A very
involved, time consuming, physically exhausting hobby.”

I was happy, really happy, for the
first time ever in my life. I was coming to grips with my mother
and my co-dependent ways, thanks to the intense counseling sessions
with Mrs. Gianchi. Some days were better than others, but I was
healing. I felt stronger, more alive, and in charge of my life for
the first time ever. I decided to put off college for a year and
focus on getting my feet under me.

I had people in my life that truly
loved and supported me, my future looked bright, and I was in the
arms of the most wonderful guy in the world. Life doesn’t get much
better than that!

About the Author

Sherry Gammon has been an
educator for a number of years. Her
writings have been published in newspapers and a national
education magazine. She is excited to share her first novel,
Unlovable, with you! Please visit her webpage at

WWW.
WordpaintingsUnlimited.blogspot.com

***

Book 2:
Unbelievable
- Cole story: It’s been
two years since the Dreser brothers tried to take over Port Fare.
Rumor has it their father, Harry Dreser, was killed in a drug deal
gone badly; but rumors are not always true. The Dreser brother’s
half-sister, Delilah Lopez Dreser, has come to town to finish what
her brothers started, and now Cole is brought into the
mix!

Book 3
:
Unbearable
-
Booker’s story: Booker left the
police force to pursue a career as a lawyer. True to his
Save the World
ideas,
he’s hired a nervous, timid woman named Tess to work for him as a
secretary. As Tess and Booker grow closer, Booker learns of her
secret and is determined to free her of the past while convincing
her to take a chance on love again. But is
he
ready to take the chance
again?