New Beginnings : A Novella (Men of Whiskey Row Book 2) Read online

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE

  COPY RIGHT PAGE

  PLAYLIST PAGE

  AUTHOR’S ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  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

  NEW BEGINNINGS

  BY

  D. A. YOUNG

  Copyright © January 2016 by D. A. Young

  Cover Art by Karen Kunz/[email protected] © December 2015 created for D. A. Young

  Editing by Little Pear Editing Services/[email protected] Copyright © March 2016

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book only. EBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this e-book is a crime punishable by law. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including printing, photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/).

  This book is a work of fiction and intended for mature audiences aged 18+ only. All names, characters, places, businesses and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and have been used factiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales or events is entirely coincidental.

  NEW BEGINNINGS PLAYLIST

  WILDEST MOMENTS - JESSIE WARE

  HO HEY – THE LUMINEERS

  THESE ARMS OF MINE – OTIS REDDING

  EXES & OHS – ELLE KING

  THEY DON’T KNOW – JON B.

  LIKE I’M GONNA LOSE YOU – MEGHAN TRAINOR FT. JOHN LEGEND

  TAKE YOUR TIME – SAM HUNT

  SWEET LOVE – ANITA BAKER

  WE’VE GOT TONIGHT – PHILLIP PHILLIPS

  AUTHOR’S NOTES

  This book is dedicated to everyone who read Sweet Obsession! Thank you so much for taking the time to read it. If you liked it, thank you! If you loved it, thank you! If you disliked it, thank you! All of the feedback received was TRULY appreciated. Thank you for your support, patience and understanding. I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions. Please email me at [email protected]

  To my family and friends, thank you so much for all your love, support and encouragement that helped me to get through the challenges I was facing. Words cannot express how much you mean to me.

  Sincerely,

  D. A. Young

  Interested in what I’m doing next? Follow me on Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/D-A-Young-1695356880704195/

  Chapter One

  Washington D.C.

  Casey Sullivan rang the buzzer and anxiously waited for a response. Although he’d called and left several messages, none of them had been returned. This unexpected visit was his last resort, and he could only hope for it to have a positive outcome.

  “Yes?” the calm, melodic voice on the other end inquired. Even after all these years his stomach clenched whenever he heard it. Casey wondered if the feeling would ever go away.

  “It’s me,” he said and waited to be granted access to the elevator.

  “Well, hello ‘me’. What can I do for you?” Damn. She was going to make it hard for him.

  “I…I just wanted to…to…” Casey grew frustrated as he tried to find the right words to express his feelings. His hand clenched tightly around the large bouquet of red and white amaryllis he carried. As a lawyer, he was eloquently persuasive, so why did he have such a hard time expressing himself to this woman? “Look…can you please… just let me up? It would be better if I told you in person. That way it doesn’t feel so awkward with your doorman watching my every move.”

  There was no response, but after a minute, the door finally clicked open, allowing him access. With a sigh of relief, he entered the elevator and pressed the button to the sixth floor. When he arrived, slowly he walked down the hall to the door numbered 6051. Casey knocked on the door and patiently waited for it to open. Two minutes later it did, and the petite, older lady leaning against the door raised her eyebrows mockingly.

  “To what do I owe the honor of being graced with your presence?” Dr. Laura Klaus asked, glancing down at her slender wrist where a dainty gold watch rested. “At six-thirty in the evening.”

  “I come bearing gifts,” Casey drawled and held up a large takeout bag in one hand. Giving her a charming smile, he thrust the bouquet in his other hand at her. “Here, these are also for you.”

  “Thank you, very much. Most people prefer poinsettias, but I love amaryllis at this time of the year. I guess I’ll let you in, seeing as how you went to so much trouble to get on my good side.” Dr. Laura turned away from the door, and he quickly followed her in, taking note of the huge Christmas tree with twinkling lights in the living room. The O’Jays sang holiday music from hidden speakers. “What’s in the bag?”

  Casey watched as she pulled an empty vase from a console and walked into the kitchen. She filled it halfway with water and gently removed the flowers from their wrapper. Then she placed them into the vase and strategically arranged them. Pleased with the results, she set them in the middle of the kitchen island to admire her work.

  He had a great fondness for Dr. Laura Klaus, the woman who’d been his family therapist for most of his life. She was a little bit more relaxed than others in her field, but in Casey’s opinion, that’s what made her so good at what she did. For instance, she didn’t dress in professional attire. Dr. Laura only wore men’s, oxford, button-downs, jeans, and Converse sneakers. Her salt and pepper hair was always cut in a close crop to her head, and she wore tinted, reading glasses. She loved music and played everything from Frank Sinatra to Kanye West.

  In her spare time, Dr. Laura taught hip-hop dance and yoga. When Casey and his brothers first met her, she took them on tours and long walks around D.C., discussing everything, from its political history to architecture. She was kind and extremely patient, waiting for them to open up to her.

  “I brought Chinese: mushu pork, kung pao chicken, spicy, seafood wontons, and brown rice. And for dessert, I’ve got your favorite red velvet and salted caramel cupcakes from D.C. Cupcakes,” Casey said, wiggling his brows.

  Dr. Laura gave him an assessing look. “My, my, my…I’m impressed.” Then she shook her head in disapproval. “Unfortunately, you can’t just show up here unannounced whenever it suits you, Casey. I actually have plans this evening, and I intend to keep them.”

  “C’mon, Doc. I just need a little bit of your time. Things are slowly changing for me now,” Casey wheedled. “I promise to behave myself.”

  Laura shook her head in exasperation before reaching for plates and silverware. The Sullivan charm strikes again. That family had it in spades, which given what they went through, wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. She’d watched them grow from emotionally- traumatized boys to confident and successful men and secretly rooted and cheered for them every step of the way.

  Sometimes her husband David cautioned her that she was too invested in th
em. Perhaps it was true, but he didn’t understand what a special place they held in her heart; how shattered they were when she first met them, Vivienne Romankov included. “Get that smirk off your face, Sullivan. You better just remember those words once we get started, because if you pull back on me again….” She would allow him to use his imagination.

  “I won’t; I promise,” Casey interrupted with a grin. He quickly grabbed two water bottles from the fridge and brought them to the dining room table. Then he grabbed the bags of takeout and pulled out her chair, waiting for her to sit before seating himself.

  “Okay, you have forty minutes of my undivided attention; and yes, I am billing you time and a half for it,” she stated firmly. “My husband is out doing last-minute shopping before D.J.’s flight arrives. We have tickets to a play tonight, and I will not be caught running around like a mad woman at the last minute. So here we go. How’s work?”

  “Thanks a lot, Doc. Work is good.” Casey picked up his fork and speared some pork onto his plate, along with a scoop of brown rice. “I’m thinking of opening another office; I just don’t know where yet. I won the case that I was having problems with only because the control exercises that you recommended worked.” He grimaced and Laura had the feeling that Casey was disappointed that he didn’t get a chance to get physical with the scumbag. “Darby helped her family to relocate, and he’s also put a security detail on them. By the way, did you get your invite to the ball?”

  As survivors of domestic violence, the Sullivan brothers always donated to charities for that specific cause. This year, they decided to go forward with publicizing their past. For so long, the pain they lived in kept them paralyzed; and by trying to conceal it, they realized they were denying themselves the chance to both get and give help.

  Successful in their own right, the three of them together, a public relations whiz, an athlete, and an attorney, were a formidable force. The Sullivan brothers formed the Take a Stand Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on domestic violence. All of the proceeds would assist women and children in need of assistance. As an ex- professional hockey player, Darby decided to use his celebrity status to draw more attention to the issue by hosting a fundraiser at the Miramar Resort in Whiskey Row on New Year’s Eve. Six hundred invitations had been sent out, and five hundred and twenty had already R.S.V.P.’d. Those who were unable to attend made or pledged to make a generous contribution to the foundation.

  Laura beamed with approval. “I never doubted you would win. You’re an excellent attorney. What I did doubt was your ability to stay in control of your emotions in order to get there. And yes, I did get my invitation, thank you. I can’t tell you boys enough that I think what you are doing is wonderful.” Regretfully she said, “Unfortunately, David and I will be in Japan visiting my parents, but we did make a donation.”

  Casey reached across the table and grabbed her hand. Eyes filled with gratitude, he said sincerely, “Thank you, but you didn’t have to do that, Doc. My brothers and I can never repay you for all the time and hard work that you put into us. Thanks for never giving up.”

  Laura squeezed his hand tightly, before letting go and allowing him to finish his food. Carefully she watched him as he ate. Something was different about him. Even as a child, Casey was very guarded and close-lipped, always playing his cards close to his chest and hesitant to speak. Tonight there was a certain restless energy around him. He was dying to get something off of his chest. Laura glanced at her watch and noted the time. All right. Let’s do this.

  “So what brings you here three days before Christmas? Shouldn’t you be with the rest of the gang in Tennessee?” At his surprised look, she explained, “Vivienne and I had lunch together last week, and she mentioned that everyone was spending the holidays there.”

  Casey grinned widely. “I still can’t believe she’s going to be there too, but it’s the place everyone wants to be now that Ruby is here. She’s changed us all so much. The fellas used to send me the craziest, raunchiest jokes and memes, but now all I get are pics of that pretty, little darlin’ just livin’ her beautiful life.” He shook his head in disbelief, voice softening, “I can’t lie, Doc. It makes me jealous that I don’t live there to see it on a daily basis, even though I’m only a hop, skip, and a plane ride away. Too often I find myself Skyping with Jack and Noelle when I should be reviewing notes for upcoming cases.”

  “Sounds like your niece has cast quite the spell on you,” Laura said with a chuckle as Casey grinned bashfully. She decided to go in for the kill, slyly adding, “But then she’s not the only one, correct?”

  Stiffening, Casey asked, “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Laura’s gaze remained steady on him, observing the color heightening his cheeks and the way his hazel eyes came alive. “I think you know exactly what I mean and to whom I’m referring, Casey,” she replied with a challenging look. “I was at the wedding, and even though I’m an old lady, I still have twenty-twenty vision. I believe Sidra is her name, correct? The one you couldn’t take your eyes off of, then later disappeared with?”

  He opened his mouth to deny what she was saying, but the words wouldn’t come. To deny Sidra would be like denying he needed oxygen, and he couldn’t; because it felt like he needed her as much as he did his next breath. And Casey wasn’t the least bit happy about it. The time spent apart had not diminished the raging desire he felt for her. If anything, it had increased tenfold; and much to his dismay, spread like the plague, seeping into other sections of his neat and orderly life.

  He thought about her a lot when they weren’t together; how sumptuous her milk chocolate skin felt, her porn star laugh, the way her eyes lit up when she was excited, and he especially thought of how tight her pussy clenched around his cock when she came…shiiit! Casey reached under the table to discreetly adjust his thickening shaft. It was driving him crazy how much of his time he’d invested into what was supposed to be a casual booty call.

  The more Casey was with her, the more he wanted to be with her; but Sidra was not having any of that. She was determined to keep things the way they agreed—private and casual, refusing to even meet for something to eat or drink. He tried to reason that everyone needed food and liquid to survive, so why not do it together? Sidra rebuffed all of his suggestions, infuriating him to no end.

  Three months ago, he’d purchased tickets to the Kennedy Center Honors for this month in the hopes of taking her. Casually he mentioned it to Sidra, suggesting that if she was in town, they should go. He even tried to sell it as an excuse for her to network, instead of labeling it as a date.

  “Oh, I’m already going with Dominick. Maybe I’ll see you there,” she’d replied airily, making him burn with unbridled jealousy. Casey spent the entire night searching for her. When he finally spotted her, it was with that fucking hippy’s arm around her waist as she posed for the cameras with him, looking way too sexy for her own good. She wore a black, long-sleeved, form-fitting dress that had lace-covered cut-outs; her hair was styled into a faux-hawk that showcased her signature dark blue and purple streaks. Sidra looked wildly sensual, untamable, and so far out of his league; it made his gut clench with insecurity.

  Casey wanted to obliterate Dominick Harris, the lead singer of Bison Blue, just for thinking he was free to touch and look at her the way that he did. Unfortunately, what could he say with Anna Dayton, an associate of his, on his arm? In the hopes of making Sidra jealous, he’d asked the Capitol Hill lobbyist to be his date. Yeah, he knew it was a shitty thing to do, especially since Anna had made it clear to him that she was interested in being more than just associates. But desperate times called for desperate measures. Sidra had him by the balls, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it, except try to fight fire with fire.

  Unfortunately, his plan backfired. Sidra looked Anna up and down with a smirk, her confident expression saying it all. Please, snowballs are hotter than that chick. Then she’d turned away and promptly ignored him for the rest of the nig
ht. To Anna’s dismay, he dropped her off at home as soon as the event was over, rebuffing her repeated attempts to get him to come in for an early nightcap. Instead, he’d spent the night waiting for Sidra to contact him, but she never did. Since then he’d not heard from her. Not one response to any of his calls, texts, and emails. As he’d never had to work so hard for a woman in his life, Casey was beyond pissed and didn’t have a clue on how to handle her.

  With a sigh of resignation, he confessed. “Yes, her name is Sidra—Sidra Jane Barton, and she is drivin’ me fucking crazy! Although it’s not surprising because she is crazy! A hot air balloon in a hurricane has more stability than she does!”

  Laura’s eyes widened in surprise, startled by Casey’s outburst, but he didn’t even notice as he continued his tirade. “She’s the bluntest, mouthiest, rudest, stubbornest, loud-mouthed, smart-ass person I have ever met. Wherever she goes, she leaves a trail of bitch dust in her wake!” Casey ranted. “She’s the kind of girl that smiles sweetly while ripping your heart out, and then bakes that shit into a casserole before serving you said casserole with a cheery ‘Enjoy!’ because she is that demented. I’ve been meaning to find a priest brave enough to perform an exorcism on her-”

  “And yet, you like her!” Laura stated loudly, interrupting him mid-rant. Casey looked at her dumbfounded, as she continued, “Sidra is the reason you are here, the reason you buttered me up this late at night, being a selfish jerk that’s unconcerned about the plans I’ve made with my family!” Bluntly she continued, “What I can’t figure out is, if she’s all those things you say she is, why are you even wasting your time with her? She sounds like a mega bitch to me.”

  There was a moment of silence as they stared each other down. Laura wanted to smile at the rage building in Casey’s eyes. Aha! Now we’re getting somewhere. Come on, Casey! Don’t hold it in! Come on…