Head Start (Cedar Tree #7) by Freya Barker Read Free Book Online

with the doors firmly locked do I allow myself a deep breath.
    Holy schnikes. What a head case.
    Looking through the windshield, I see him standing at the edge of the parking lot. His hands on his hips and staring at me through the glass. In just seconds, I have the car started and drive past him without sparing a glance his way. My heart is pounding in my chest. I’m cursing myself for having wasted time on this guy. He’d seemed like a nice enough guy on paper, but obviously a bit creepy and intense in real life. 
    Just in case, I circle through a few side roads before driving home. By the time I pull into my parking spot, I’m pretty sure no one could have followed me. For a moment I am tempted to call Neil, but quickly dismiss that thought. I don’t need to encourage him even more.
    I quickly get to work on the empty boxes that are waiting for me, packing up my kitchen and loose odds and ends throughout my apartment. By the time I’m done, I’m dead on my feet. It doesn’t take me long to clean up in the bathroom before slipping on my oversized T-shirt and crawling under the covers of my mattress on the floor, exhausted.
    Still, it isn’t until I can hear the faint chirping of birds announcing the onset of dawn, that my mind finally lets me drift off.

CHAPTER FOUR
    N eil
    “One americano, one latte, please,” I tell the woman at the Silver Bean. It’s a quaint aluminum Twinkie trailer, converted into a coffee shop, sitting at the start of Main Street in Cortez. “Oh, and add a couple of breakfast burritos and two cinnamon rolls, please.”
    I turn my back on the trailer and look out on the road. It’s surprisingly busy for an early Saturday morning. I’m lost in thought, wondering how to capitalize on the time I’ll be spending with Kendra today. Breakfast seemed like a good place to start, which is why I pulled in here. I’m hoping to score points with the Latte, her favored way to drink coffee. I pay attention, making it a point to know as much about her as I can. Too bad all she wants to see is the joking, gaming, young buck. I’ve been trying to eradicate those preconceived ideas for a long fucking time. Of course I worked hard myself in establishing that carefree impression to cover up memories of dark nights on desert hills. Most of the guys at GFI know I served overseas, but they never asked and I never told. Gus is the only one who knows I was a sniper with one of the Special Ops units. It’s not something I advertise. My technical skills weren’t the only thing Gus was interested in when he hired me, but I was happy to play the techie nerd for everyone else. It also worked in my favor that I look younger than I am. The guys know my birthday but not the year, except for Gus, and I never volunteered the information. I made my own bed, regarding Kendra, who has some serious hang up about age, and despite the fact that the difference isn’t as big as she thinks, she is still older, and it’s the one thing I cannot change about myself for her.
    “Two breakfast burritos, two cinnamon rolls, an Americano and a Latte.”
    I turn around, grab the two brown paper bags and slap a twenty on the counter before picking up the tray with the coffees. Hope she’s hungry.
    Her apartment is close by. I pull into a parking spot closest to the front lobby and, armed with breakfast, make my way to her front door. I have to knock on the door a few times before I hear the click of a lock being turned on the other side.
    “Hey,” she says, her eyes swollen with sleep and hair a mess, barely stifling a yawn. She’s wearing nothing but a large shirt which she tugs down to cover as much of her legs as she can. The pillow creases on her face show me she just woke up. She looks cute, cuddly, like a wrinkly little puppy.
    “Let me guess,” I wink at her as I slip by her into the apartment. “The mattress on the floor didn’t quite cut it.” Turning back to her, I see she is still standing with the door partially