Shameless: A Small Town Single Dad Romance (A Wildrose Landing Romance Book 2) Read online

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  “A masterful blend of joy and angst.

  Praise for Abby Brooks

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  Praise for Abby Brooks

  Shameless

  A Wildrose Landing Romance

  Abby Brooks

  Copyright © 2021 by Abby Brooks

  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.

  Cover image copyright © 2021 by WANDER AGUIAR PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

  Cover design by Abby Brooks

  WILDROSE LANDING

  Fearless

  Shameless

  Reckless

  THE HUTTON FAMILY

  Beyond Words

  Beyond Love

  Beyond Now

  Beyond Us

  Beyond Dreams

  It’s Definitely Not You - Joe’s story

  The Hutton Family Series - Part 1

  The Hutton Family Series - Part 2

  A BROOKSIDE ROMANCE

  Wounded

  Inevitably You

  This Is Why

  Along Comes Trouble

  Come Home To Me

  A Brookside Romance - the Complete Series

  WILDE BOYS WITH WILL WRIGHT

  Taking What Is Mine

  Claiming What Is Mine

  Protecting What Is Mine

  Defending What Is Mine

  Wilde

  THE MOORE FAMILY

  Finding Bliss

  Faking Bliss

  Instant Bliss

  Enemies-to-Bliss

  THE LONDON SISTERS

  Love Is Crazy (Dakota & Dominic)

  Love Is Beautiful (Chelsea & Max)

  Love Is Everything (Maya & Hudson)

  The London Sisters - the Complete Series

  IMMORTAL MEMORIES

  Immortal Memories Part 1

  Immortal Memories Part 2

  AS WREN WILLIAMS

  Bad, Bad Prince

  Woodsman

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Epilogue

  Reckless sneak peek

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Abby Brooks

  Connect With Abby Brooks

  Chapter One

  Jack

  Was something in the house burning?

  Again?

  I turned off the hairdryer aimed at my daughter Charlie’s head and gave it a sniff. Nope. The appliance was ancient, but it wasn’t the source of the stink. I smelled her half-dried curls and got a whiff of strawberry shampoo. Not there either, thank goodness. She’d forgiven plenty of mistakes with me doing her hair, but I’d never live it down if I caught it on fire.

  Her bright eyes met mine. “Whatsa matter, Daddy?”

  I sniffed again. Definitely smoke coming from somewhere. “Do you smell—”

  “Dad!” Connor’s voice thundered down the hallway with the shriek of the fire alarm following behind.

  Charlie’s mouth formed a surprised O as I handed her the hairdryer. “Stay here.”

  “But Daddy…”

  “Just stay, Charlie.” I launched down the hallway toward the cloud of smoke creeping from the kitchen. As I rounded the corner, Garrett tossed a cup of water into a pan on the stove.

  “I got it!” he yelled, steam and smoke billowing from the mess.

  Garrett snatched a stack of mail off the table while Connor hauled a chair under the screeching fire alarm. My sons scrambled up together to fan the device while I yanked open a window to let in the morning air. Birdsong replaced the fire alarm as Charlie appeared in the doorway, her hair half-dry and completely frizzed. Hopefully the babysitter would know what to do for her because there was no way I could fix that—especially considering I was already late.

  “What happened?” she asked in her six-year-old voice.

  I swiped a hand through my dark curls then carefully carried the still smoking pan to the sink. “I forgot about the pancakes while I dried your hair. This one burnt to a crisp.”

  “Oh.” Charlie’s face fell. “I’m sorry.”

  The pan hit the sink with a hiss, and I hurried across the kitchen to crouch in front of her. “No, no, no, baby. This isn’t your fault.”

  “Yeah.” Garrett bobbed his head and puffed out his bottom lip. “It’s Dad’s fault.”

  I scoffed, then turned to him with incredulous eyes. “Oh yeah? You think you could do better?”

  “Probably.” My oldest shrugged, his gaze hitting mine before rolling away. His message was clear: You’re not exactly killing it, Old Man.

  “Mommy always did Charlie’s hair after breakfast.” Connor smiled helpfully.

  With a sigh, I stood, nodding. “Got it. First stuff your faces. Then fight the curl monster.”

  And, somewhere along the way, I needed to find time to shower, shave, and get ready for work without burning the house down. It had been infinitely easier when they were in school. Now that summer break had arrived, our mornings were unpredictable, which spelled disaster for me. I needed the structure of deadlines and schedules. This free-for-all approach to the morning was gonna kill me. Maybe I needed to tighten our routine? Set their alarms like they were getting up for school? The thought of an itemized checklist on the fridge and my kids marching through the morning in an orderly fashion was hard to resist.

  Sure. Father of the year, right there.

  While that would make things easier for me, it would righteously
suck for the kids. I couldn’t do that to them.

  I ruffled Connor’s blond hair, then pulled open the cupboard. “Looks like it’s a cereal kind of morning.”

  “I can do it.” Garrett yanked open the fridge and hauled out a gallon of milk, then met my uncertain gaze with a frown. “Seriously, Dad. I can do it.”

  As the oldest of the Cooper crew, he’d tried so hard to step up after Natalie passed, but a nine-year-old’s help often led to more work on my part. Even so, the tick of the clock had me nodding my agreement as I raced back to run a comb through my hair and throw on a tie. The crash and scatter of cereal hitting the floor had my hand hitting my forehead.

  “It’s okay!” Charlie’s voice bounced down the hall. “We’ll clean it up!”

  Eighteen months and I was still scrambling to fill Natalie’s shoes.

  The kids were falling apart.

  So was the house.

  And me?

  I didn’t have time to worry about me. I needed to hold it together and keep things normal for the kids. (As normal as possible, anyway.) They lost their mom and I’d be damned if I let them lose everything else that felt good and right about the world too. They needed consistency and if that meant running around like a madman trying to fill both roles, then so be it.

  My children deserved it.

  The doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of the sitter, and I groaned. “Please let them be good,” I whispered to my reflection before sprinting to the door and hauling it open.

  The teenager I’d hired to watch the kids jumped in surprise, her eyes wide as she tore her gaze from her phone. “Oh! Mr. Cooper. Hi. You scared me.” She peered over my shoulder, concern drawing her brows together as she sniffed the air. “Is something burning again?”

  A knock on my office door had me checking the time. My appointment with the Tarringtons wasn’t for another half hour, though they were often early—usually in an attempt to talk to me about their still-single daughter, Lisa. They meant well, but damn. The last thing I needed was someone else in my life to worry about. If I had my way, I’d never get serious about anyone again. Casual dating? Sure. Maybe. But not for a while. The kids didn’t need me any more distracted than I already was.

  I downed the last of my second cup of coffee. “Come in!”

  Instead of portly Isaac Tarrington and his pencil thin wife, Gwen, Jude Malone swung open the door and leaned against the frame. He and I had been friends since middle school, along with our buddies Austin O’Connor and Alex Prescott. The four of us had gotten into our fair share of trouble over the years, usually because of one of Jude’s ‘great ideas.’

  “Damn, Jack. You look like shit. And you smell like—” he wrinkled his nose “—burnt toast?”

  “Pancakes.” I sniffed my shirtsleeves and sure enough, I stank. Great. I quirked a brow at Jude. “Everything okay?”

  He looked baffled by the question. “Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

  “Because it’s nine o’clock and you’re not exactly a morning person. And last I checked, you don’t work here. Just doin’ the math.”

  “I had to pop into Cheers ‘n Beers and talk to someone about an ad campaign, then look at inventory. You know, the boring owner stuff that’ll steal my soul if I let it. I’ll tell ya. If younger me knew what really went into running a bar, I never woulda opened the place. But…I thought I’d drop in on my way and be the bright spot in your otherwise boring morning. I don’t know how you talk about numbers all day and don’t lose your mind.” He flashed me the smile he’d dubbed the ‘pantydropper’ and I shook my head with a wry laugh.

  “Am I missing something?” I looked over my shoulder, then down at my chest. “Did I turn into a woman overnight? ‘Cause I could swear you’re hitting on me. Showing up at my office on your way to work. To be the bright spot in my day.” I made air quotes as Jude scoffed.

  “It’s been a while, man. Since the only place anyone ever sees you is here…” He ran a hand through his blond hair, then jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Tabitha said you had a few minutes, so I came on back.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Are you trying to say you missed me? Is that what this is all about?”

  Jude huffed as he pushed off the wall. “Fuck, man. Life misses you.”

  Ahhh, that old chestnut. Sighing, I pinched the bridge of my nose and closed my eyes. When I glanced up, my friend held up his hands, palms out.

  “Look, Jack…” He stepped forward, “I know it’s hard without Natalie, but you can’t keep going like this. You work. You go home. You repeat. It’s no way to live. You know she’d hate to see you so…I don’t know. Shut down.”

  “I don’t have much of a choice, now do I? Being a single dad is really hard. I’m exhausted all the time, just trying to keep things normal for the kids.”

  “Maybe, and I’m just shootin’ in the dark here, but maybe it’s time to stop holding on to what used to be normal. Maybe it’s time for a new normal.” He grinned like he’d just delivered an epic piece of advice. “I know. Let that sink in a little. I’m fucking brilliant.”

  “Believe me, this normal is new. Nothing I’ve been doing for the last year-and-a-half feels the way it should.”

  And I hated it.

  As Jude looked shocked to learn his brilliant advice wouldn’t solve my problems, Tabitha appeared behind him. “The Tarringtons are here. Early, as usual.” She gave me a sympathetic smile and Jude a ‘please fuck me in the conference room’ onceover, then turned and walked away.

  “I’ll let you get back to work, but not before I tempt you with an irresistible offer.” Jude’s eyes lit up the way they always did when he had a great idea. “Everyone’s gonna meet up at Cheers ‘n Beers tonight. You should join us.” He held up his hands and dipped his head. “If you can get free.”

  “If I can get free.”

  I couldn’t. We both knew it, but hey, a guy could hope.

  “And if you can’t, you’ll be at Evie and Alex’s party on Friday, right? I’ve heard her friend is half crazy. Should be fun to welcome her to town.”

  It was right there. On the tip of his tongue. I could see it. The suggestion that Evie’s friend might be the right kind of half-crazy for a lonely guy like me. I braced, but thankfully, Jude knew me well enough to keep that shit to himself. If only the rest of Wildrose Landing would get on board. I’d had my fair share of people offering to hook me up with a cousin, or a friend, or some random girl they met at Mike’s Burgers.

  I sat back and threaded my hands behind my head. “Barring any fires, acts of God, or unforeseen emergencies, the Cooper family will be there.”

  “Great.” He grinned and rapped a knuckle against the doorframe. “If I don’t see you at the bar tonight, I’ll see you Friday.”

  As he sauntered away, I dropped my hands, my eyes wandering to the last family photo we’d taken before Natalie died. Charlie had been four. She was so small, her dark hair the same shade as mine as she wriggled in my arms. Nat had one hand on each of the boys’ shoulders, her face warm and genuine, her love for us shining through her eyes. Garrett and Connor had the biggest grins, their blond hair and freckles matching their mom’s. It had been a while since any of us had looked so happy.

  Isaac and Gwen Tarrington shuffled into my doorway and I straightened, forcing a smile.

  “Jack! Long time no see.” As always, his deep voice was a tad too loud for such close quarters.

  I stood and shook both their hands. “Good to see ya, Isaac. Gwen. Please, have a seat.”

  “Straight to business, then?” Chuckling, Isaac scooted out a chair for his wife, then lowered himself into the other, arms draped over the sides like a fat, old king.

  “Straight to business.” I didn’t have the patience for another conversation about their ‘perfect for me’ daughter.

  “We’ve known each other too long to skip the small talk.” Gwen folded her hands in her lap, her eyes analyzing my every movement. “How are the kids? Are they settling down, yet?
”

  “No, not yet,” I said, forcing optimism into my tone. “I’ve got a girl from Wildrose High watching them today and I hope they don’t traumatize her.”

  Gwen fluffed the ends of her bleach blonde hair. “You can’t keep that up, you know. Filtering through nannies and babysitters. Eventually, the kids will—”

  “The kids are fine.”

  They weren’t.

  They were loud and rude, and no one could get them to behave like they might one day grow into decent human beings, but I had even less patience for this conversation than the one about Lisa. My kids were my business. They’d been through a lot and one day, they’d settle down again.

  “Lisa’s coming into town next week.” Gwen sat up even straighter. “You should spend some time together. It might do you good to get out of the house.”

  I swallowed a groan. There was nothing wrong with Lisa. As far as I knew she was warm and kind and driven…and as her parents’ accountant, I knew she came from money and stability.

  But that would still be a hell-fucking-no from me.

  I’d rather be lonely the rest of my life than risk falling in love with someone else and losing her the way I lost Nat. It was bad enough the kids were gonna grow up and leave me someday. That was the natural order of things, but my heart wouldn’t stop dreading it. Having one person ripped from my life was enough and three more were scheduled to vacate the premises in a decade or so. Who in his right mind would sign up to let someone else in, knowing the heartbreak waiting for him when she was gone? Not this guy.