Wrecked for You Read online

  Wrecked for You

  An Exposed Hearts Novel

  Kristin Mayer

  Copyright © 2018 by Kristin Mayer

  Published by K. Mayer Enterprises, INC.

  Cover Design: Sommer Stein with Perfect Pear Creations

  Interior Designer: JT Formatting

  Editor: Jen Matera at Write Divas

  All rights reserved.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products, bands, and/or restaurants referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Visit my website:

  http://www.authorkristinmayer.com/

  Kelly Elliott,

  because she is simply amazing and the bestest friend EVER!

  I’m also pretty sure she came up with this kick-ass title.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Note to the Reader

  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

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Epilogue – Changed by You

  Other Books by Kristin Mayer

  Note to the Reader

  Wrecked for You is written as a stand-alone. However, for the full reading experience I would suggest starting with Drake and Alexa’s story in Intoxicated by You.

  Chapter One

  Hayden

  The lightning startled me as I sat in the car, watching the house glow white from the light. It was a large house in a pretty upscale neighborhood, and for the tenth time, I questioned my presence there.

  Should I be here?

  For what seemed like forever, I looked at the house, wondering if I’d made the right choice. Another streak of light raced across the sky. Is she home? For the last twenty minutes, I’d wrestled with the idea of cranking the car around and heading back home. I reached for the key but froze when the light in the front of the house flipped on. A shadow moved in front of the window.

  My heart beat faster, and I gripped the door handle before reminding myself to stay in the car.

  Kory.

  I knew it was her. Every molecule in my body came to attention as I watched the shadow move across the window.

  Should I be here?

  It was a tough question. But as I watched her stop in front of the window, I knew the answer.

  Yes, I should.

  There was no way I could walk away knowing she was so close. I wanted what my brother had—pure fucking happiness. And Kory was the only woman who’d ever had me wanting more.

  Last night, while having dinner with our family, my brother Drake had announced his engagement to his girlfriend, Alexa. And for some reason, the advice he had given me about not waiting until it was too late clicked. If I never tried to figure out what had happened with Kory, I would spend the rest of my life regretting it.

  Drake’s world began and ended with Alexa. I envied that with every ounce of my being.

  I want what he has.

  The blonde beauty I’d met this summer in Ketchikan had been on my mind nearly every second of every day since she ended things between us.

  I shook my head, trying to figure out what I should do. I knew what I wanted to do, but I also feared being rejected. I’d never put myself out there like this before. What if she doesn’t want to give us a try? I had no answer for this.

  Stalling, I pulled out my phone and texted my brother. He was the only person I’d told about my plans to come to Washington.

  Me: I’m here.

  Drake: What did she say?

  Me: I’m still in the car.

  Drake: Dude, stop stalling. It’s worth the risk, Hayden. I know I sound like a sap, but when you find the person you think could be the one, don’t let her go.

  Me: Thanks.

  Drake’s words helped. Either way, I would know where we stood. Five minutes. I just needed five minutes, and then I would force myself to get out of the car. First, I had to get my thoughts straightened out before I rang the doorbell. My palms were sweating, so I rubbed them against my jeans. I had never done anything like this before in my life.

  But everything changed the last time we made love—something… happened. We’d connected in a way I never thought possible. The intensity had been off the charts.

  And it had scared me shitless.

  It must have scared her, too. After that night, when I’d flown home to Skagway, communication between us had been minimal at best.

  Falling for each other had never been part of the plan. When we started seeing each other, it had been clear from both sides it was just for fun—no strings, no attachments. But that hadn’t happened. At all. No, the exact opposite had happened, and I started to care.

  And then she’d left.

  Her only message? A three-word text.

  Heading home. Good-bye.

  I hadn’t seen the text from Kory for nearly a full day. I’d been in the woods with my other brother, Kane, and there had been exactly zero cell phone service. When I’d tried to call back, the number had been disconnected. A little lost and a lot confused, I’d sat on my ass for nearly three weeks, deciding what to do.

  I huffed out a breath that fogged up the lower part of the driver’s side window.

  Getting her forwarding address
from the little restaurant where Kory had worked in Ketchikan had been a miracle. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Maggie, the owner, knew me, I wouldn’t have known where to find her. But Maggie had taken pity on me, leaving the room to “help a customer” with Kory’s forwarding address on top of her desk.

  I blew out another long breath, which fogged up the window all over again. The rain was coming down harder. There were no other lights on or shadows appearing in the window. It looked like Kory was home alone.

  Hell, I hoped she was.

  If another man answered the door, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. At times, I’d sensed something weighed heavily on Kory’s mind, but then she’d smile and return to her normal, happy self. The last time we’d been together, I felt like we’d seen the depths of each other’s souls. Hell, I sounded like a pussy. If Kane knew, he’d give me hell about it like he had Drake.

  One minute to go.

  If Kory had another man in her life, would I have sensed it? I’d like to think I would have. But I hadn’t. So why had she left?

  A sense of calmness came over me. In my gut, I knew I had to see her tonight. I couldn’t explain it. I’d flown my twin-engine plane here after dinner. It was the only plane out of the three I owned that could fly the distance from Alaska to Washington. Due to the weather, I almost had to cancel the trip. But the storm had held off just long enough to get the all clear to take off.

  Is she okay?

  What happened?

  What made her leave so abruptly?

  Originally, Kory hadn’t planned to leave Alaska until today. Instead, she’d left nearly a month early. All I had were questions with no answers.

  My head hurt as I tried to piece it all together. I wasn’t used to these feelings, and quite frankly, they bothered me. The desire to actually want a relationship felt foreign. But the thought of never seeing her again was more terrifying.

  Now I understood how Drake felt when Alexa abruptly broke up with him two years ago. Two years. I wasn’t sure how he’d kept it together. After a month, I was a mess.

  Another streak of lightning flashed across the sky. The storm was getting worse. There was no way I’d be able to fly home tonight. Air traffic control would never clear us with the stalled front coming in.

  Now or never.

  I opened the car door and walked up the pathway that led straight to the front door. The heavy rain quickly soaked through my jeans. I’d found a raincoat on the plane, but it did little to keep me dry. The wind was whipping the water around every which way. Once I got to the door, the covered porch helped shelter me some.

  I took a deep breath and then knocked three times.

  Stay calm. Whatever happens, at least you’ll know.

  The door opened, and warm light spilled out into the darkness. My word, she’s beautiful. There she stood in her jeans and light pink T-shirt with her blonde hair pulled up into a bun on the top of her head. It was hard not to pull her to me and kiss the life out of her.

  Her startled eyes met mine. She’d been crying. Seeing her red, blotchy eyes and tear-streaked cheeks slayed me. My fists clenched, and I reminded myself not to rush this. Kory’s lip quivered. Only a couple of feet separated us, but they felt like the width of a canyon.

  I began to speak, but she beat me to it, her voice sounding sadder than I remembered. “Hayden, what are you doing here?”

  Shit. Thunder roared through the skies and my heart plummeted. That wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for.

  Unsure how to respond, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Why did you leave?”

  There were a million other things I wanted to ask, like why she was upset, but her question threw me. If things were over, I wasn’t going to put myself out there even more.

  She looked around outside before pulling me in the house. I stumbled at the sudden movement but caught myself. The door slammed shut, and in the next moment, Kory threw her arms around me, holding me as if her life depended on it. Without another thought, I wound my arms around her, inhaling her sweet vanilla scent. This was the greeting I had hoped for.

  This felt right. So fucking right.

  Kory let out a sniffle before saying, “You came for me. You actually came. When I needed you the most, you came.”

  I held her tighter. “I’m sorry it took so long. The way things happened with us and how you left did a number on my head.”

  She pulled back, and fresh tears filled her eyes. “You have to go back to Alaska and forget you ever met me. You can’t be here.”

  What. The. Fuck.

  My hands dropped, and she took a few steps back, shaking her head. “You have to go. You can’t be here. They’ll be here any minute. I can’t involve you like this. It isn’t fair to you.”

  They?

  The entire situation didn’t sit right with me. Something else was going on. Kory was normally a self-confident woman—unless she had been pretending the entire time. I swallowed hard and asked about the only thing I could think of that might keep us apart. “Are you married?”

  Her mouth dropped open in shock. “No. No. Of course not. I would never cheat. It’s not that at all. It’s… complicated.” Taking another step back, she wrapped her arms around herself. “Forget you ever met me. Forget what we were. Please. I don’t want you caught up in this mess.”

  What the fuck is going on? There was one thing for certain. Forgetting Kory Reynolds wasn’t going to happen.

  Chapter Two

  Hayden

  “Kory, what’s going on?”

  She repeated on a sob, “You have to leave. You have to go. This isn’t part of the plan. You aren’t part of the plan.”

  Without thinking, I went to her and pulled her close. Clutching my wet shirt, she dug her nails to my chest, and I started to panic. This wasn’t like Kory at all. “Did someone hurt you?”

  She shook her head.

  Ding. Dong.

  The melodic chiming of the doorbell startled us. Kory took a step back, whispering as she pulled me further into the foyer, “Hayden, you have to hide. Please. They can’t know about you. It’ll complicate everything.”

  The look I’d thought was panic before was nothing compared to this. “What’s going on, Kory?” If someone thought they were going to hurt her, they had another think coming.

  “I’ll tell you everything. Just please don’t come out of this closet until I open the door. Please. I’m begging you. If you do, I won’t be able to tell you anything.”

  I didn’t respond.

  “Hayden, if you ever cared for me, please trust me. I’m begging you.”

  The doorbell chimed again. I cupped her face, making sure I could see into her deep blue eyes. “After this we’re talking. No bullshit.”

  “Promise.”

  She opened the door to the coat closet and pushed me in before slamming it shut again.

  I heard rustling, then the door opened, and a blanket was thrown at me. A wet blanket. What the fuck? I dropped it on the ground.

  The doorbell rang again. Before the chimes were finished, I heard the door open.

  “Mother. Father. What are you doing here?” Kory sounded slightly out of breath.

  “Did you not get my email? I said your father and I would come by to welcome you home at eight o’clock. Why are your eyes puffy?”

  “I was upstairs watching Steel Magnolias.”

  Today? She’d been home longer than today. And I knew she hadn’t been upstairs watching a movie because I’d been watching the house for damn well over thirty minutes.

  I strained against the door to hear the conversation, but they walked away. She’s hiding me from her parents? I reached for the doorknob but stopped myself. She’d trusted me to give her the chance to explain. I had to give her that chance. And if I walked out there, she’d never tell me what was going on. Remaining stock-still, I tried to slow my breathing and keep the irritation at bay.

  I hated games.

  Which was why I refused to get se
riously involved with anyone before.

  And now I felt like some sort of pawn.

  Give her time to explain.

  When she first grabbed me, I’d felt how much she missed me. But then she hid me in a closet. It was confusing as fuck.

  Back in Alaska, when we would meet up in Ketchikan, we’d agreed to not share too many personal details—her idea, not mine. And as time passed, I shared more about my family. Kory only mentioned her parents casually, but never gave me much detail.

  Footsteps came closer. I quieted my breathing. “Kory, do you have the itinerary?” The feminine voice was clipped.

  “Yes, Mother.” Kory sounded robotic.

  Her mother sighed. “I hope this isn’t how you greet Landon tomorrow.”

  Silence.

  Who the hell is Landon? I ground my teeth and reached for the doorknob again. Another man. A slow fury began to burn within me. I almost twisted the knob, but I stopped when her mother spoke again. “Don’t forget to study the binder. Your clothes are color coded for the different events. There are pictures with the matching accessory pieces you will wear. Are there any questions?”

  “No, Mother. I reviewed it earlier.”

  There was another long pause before her mother said, “Kory, we’re doing this for the survival of our family and our future. Your father and I love you dearly. Now get with the program. I spoke to Landon last night. He’s ready to move forward and excited to marry you.”

  Marry? Did she lie to me? If she had, I was leaving and never looking back. Hiding in this closet, I was quickly running out of patience.

  “Bye, sweetheart. We’re so glad you’re back in town. I’ll see you tomorrow at the bistro. All the details are in the folder. Kiss. Kiss. We love you.”

  “Bye, Mother. Father.”

  Thank fuck, I thought as the front door opened.

  “We love you dearly. But please stop watching movies that make you cry. And use the firming moisturizer. We do not need you looking miserable for your first meeting in preparation for your engagement. Your father and I are counting on you.”