Unbearable (The Port Fare Series) Read online

  Unbearable

  Book Three of the Port Fare Series

  Sherry Gammon

  Copyright 2014 Sherry Gammon

  Copyright 2014 Wordpaintings Unlimited

  &

  Creative Prose Publishing LLC

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to:

  Booker Fans Everywhere

  Thank you for your patience

  Praises for the Port Fare Series:

  ~ Unbearable ~

  I've been a fan of all of Sherry's writing. She knows how to tug the heartstrings. Every one of her books has affected me emotionally. I didn't think she could get me any more than she did with Not So Easy . . . but then came Unbearable. I promise, this is one book you won't want to miss ~ Cindy C Bennett, author of The End of Feeling

  A heart-wrenching tale of fear, friendship, and breaking down walls. Once again, the whole crew unites as Gammon seamlessly combines action and romance, tension and angst, love and loathing. A well-written, touching conclusion to one of my all-time favorite series ~ Jamie Canosa, Author of Falling to Pieces

  Unbearable has the perfect mix of romance, suspense, intrigue, and drama. The story is both heartbreaking and inspiring as Booker and Tess fight to be free of the past and find happiness. I laughed. I cried. I cheered. I would highly recommend the entire Port Fare series ~ Cami Checketts, author of Fourth of July

  Gammon doesn't disappoint with swoon-worthy Booker in this finale. Unbearable is a romance that will have you crying, cheering, and falling in love with your Port Fare friends all over again ~Juli Caldwell, author of Arms Wide Open

  While reading the Port Fare series, you can feel your heartbeat racing, excitement building with the suspense of each story, never truly knowing where Sherry Gammon is going but highly anticipating her next moves ~ Keelie of Kiki Reads Hear

  ~ Unbelievable ~

  For 24 hours my life consisted of nothing but this book. The twists and surprises kept me on the edge of my seat with this one~ Erin of Wrathqueens Books

  Just when you think the series can’t get any better...it does!!! I totally loved the story of Lilah and Cole...Not to mention catching up with the rest of the gang...The way these books are written really draw you in and keep you there till the end -in my case 4am in the morning ~ KiwiBooknerd of Goodreads

  ~ Unlovable ~

  It's next to impossible to find the words to express what a phenomenal book this was. It was so beautifully written. The author was able to realistically portray a story of abuse, love, co-dependency, romance, and triumph in a way that is far beyond most books I've read ~ Mollie of Tough Critic Book Reviews

  Real, raw, undeniable emotions run through the pages of this amazing book. It's an eye opener and while writing this review, with a heart doubled in size, I'm experiencing a whirlwind of emotions just by reminiscing what I've read. If you aren't touched by this novel at all, you are definitely a rock. Really, I want to give a virtual standing ovation to Sherry Gammon for this novel that I cannot express into words how much I loved it. ~ Giselle of Xpressoreads

  ***

  After reading Unbearable, stick around for a sneak peek at Cindy C Bennett’s new novel The End of Feeling.

  Chapter 1

  Booker

  “Pink, Lilah?” I snatched the silky dress from her hands, my shoulders drooping and mouth pinched tight. “You know green’s my favorite color”

  “Sorry, Crookshanks.” Lilah smiled sweetly. Since becoming part of our makeshift family, she too adopted the cat jokes that Seth’s wife Maggie—or Magpie as I called her—loved so well. Why they couldn’t just call me Booker like everyone else amused me more than it should. “The thrift store was all out of green chiffon. You’re stuck with pink.” She waved and shut the bathroom door.

  I fisted the bright, 1980’s looking prom dress in my hand and groaned. “Okay, buddy. Man up and put on the dress.” I glanced into the oval mirror above the sink, and pointed at my reflection. “You made the deal. Now it’s time to pay.”

  Lilah had exploded on Port Fare in June to avenge her brothers’ deaths. Her three drug dealing brothers. Her sicko father tricked her into thinking my best friend Seth and I were responsible. Of course, technically we were. At the time, Seth and I were undercover agents for the MET, the Mobile Enforcement Team, a division of the DEA, and the Dreser brothers were part of our caseload.

  I knew Lilah was in on her father’s plan to kill all of us, despite her insistence that she was merely an innocent pawn in the scheme. After I did my best to make her life miserable, she struck a deal with me that if she were telling the truth, I’d have to apologize to our group of friends, and hand wax her car . . . in a dress.

  Well, not only was I wrong, she went and married my good friend Cole. Now I stood in their bathroom, cowering at the sight of the gaudy dress in my hand, about to keep my word. I always kept my word.

  I stripped off my t-shirt and jeans, setting them on the counter as I wrangled my way into the dress’s many layers. The thing hung on me like a tent. I tugged the tag from the collar forward and glanced at the size.

  “3X. Really?” I yelled through the door. Both Lilah and Magpie laughed.

  I turned back to the mirror, running my fingers through my dark brown hair, smoothing it back into place. I was right, the color washed out my face. And the fact I even recognized that was disturbing on so many levels.

  Fingering the skinny shoulder straps, I thought about Maggie and Seth in their bulky sweaters, and Cole and Lilah wrapped in thick wool jackets. “I’m gonna freeze.” Only mid-October and the temperature had already dipped into the thirties. Welcome to Upstate New York.

  I had no one to blame but myself for the rotten timing. If I hadn’t been so busy setting up my law practice, I’d have waxed the car sooner, but today was the first Saturday I had any free time since quitting the MET. I also had some healing to do after the run-in with Lilah’s father’s hitman this past summer. I touched my still somewhat tender nose. Thankfully, with my law practice I’d have no more violent encounters to deal with. I could now live a quiet, peaceful life.

  At least the skinny shoulder straps showcased my biceps. I flexed in the mirror. I’d like to say my devotion to the gym did that . . . but sadly, it was more my lackluster love life. What else was I supposed to do with my spare time?

  “Enough with the pity party, Gatto. You chose to live a monk-like existence.” However, working side by side with Tess Bennett, setting up my office for the past two months, had weakened my resolve to abstain from the fairer sex.

  She used to work in the hospital’s ER department until Cole asked me to find her a job after she fainted on a patient covered in blood. The girl didn’t do blood, at all. I needed a secretary, and with his assurance that she was good, I hired her. Smart move. Tess knew how to work, putting in countless hours of overtime helping me setup and organizing my filing system. One on one, Tess was much more open, and she actually spoke, something she rarely did when she worked at the hospital. It took a couple of weeks, but eventually she smiled directly at me, instead of at the ground like she’d done for the past four years since I’d met her. “She has a great smile,” I murmured, turning sideways to the mirror.

  Whoever wore the dress before me had an impressive bust line. I bounced the excess material, grinning as an idea hit me. If I had to eat crow, I might as well have some fun with it. I grabbed my t-shirt before jamming my feet into the hideous bedazzled sandals Lilah set out for me. Thankfully, they weren’t high heels.

  Waves of laughter and wolf whistles filled the living room as I entered. Seth stepped over and poked my voluptuous bust line. “Did you get a boob job, too?” He peeked down my dress. �
��What’s in there?”

  “My t-shirt,” I beamed, slapping his hand away. “I was going to add my jeans, but didn’t want to look too Dolly Parton-ish.”

  “Hey, Booker!” A flash of light greeted me as I turned to Lilah.

  “I better not see that on Instagram,” I warned, pointing at her camera and blinking out the spots in my eyes. I cleared my throat. Time to pay the piper. “I believe part of the deal was that I had to apologize in front of everyone.”

  “No, you don’t have to. I understand.” Lilah waved both hands, her curly brown hair bouncing as she shook her head.

  “I made a promise, and I always keep my promises.” I took her hand in mine, bowed dramatically, and kissed it. “I apologize for being a complete a . . . a . . .” I turned to Magpie and grinned. “A complete pain in the rear-end.”

  I’d asked Mags to help me curb my swearing. She taped a label to an old jar that read Curse Jar, and cut a slot in the lid. Whenever I slipped up, I had to add a quarter to the jar. It sat on my desk at work. Most times it had several quarters in it. I was truly a work in progress.

  I squared my shoulders. “In all seriousness, I do apologize, Lilah.”

  She wrapped her arms around me. “Thank you for caring so much about Ducky,” she said softly. It was her new nickname for Cole since she learned his given name was Duckworth Grimshad at their wedding a couple of months ago. Poor guy.

  “Okay, enough sloppy emotions. Time to freeze my buns off and wax this orange VW bug of yours.” I turned for the door.

  “Now, Booker. Do you honestly think I’d allow you to freeze in those spaghetti straps?” Seth failed to hide his smirk. Oh, no. Now what? “I got you a coat.” Seth reached into a brown bag and pulled out a hideous, fluffy white coat.

  “He picked it out all by himself.” Magpie beamed as I slipped it on. It fell to just below my artificial bust line. “It’s a crop jacket,” she explained as I tugged on the bottom.

  “Thanks, bro.” I sneered at Seth. “However, I don’t feel comfortable wearing dead animal skin.” I started to remove the coat when Seth stopped me.

  “Booker, Booker.” He shook his head. “You know me better than that. This is fake fur.” Maggie and Lilah laughed. Cole had the decency to pinch his lips together to hide his grin.

  “Where’s Sofia?” I asked, looking around. Lilah learned only two months ago that the child she thought dead was in fact alive. Sofia was the spitting image of her mother, down to her audacious personality.

  “She’s napping,” Lilah assured me.

  “Good.” The last thing I wanted was for her to see me dressed like a woman. She’d won my heart from the start and I didn’t want to disillusion her. She thought I walked on water and I enjoyed having one female on the planet that believed the façade.

  I headed out the door, my entourage in tow. I tromped over to Lilah’s car after she handed me a green can of car wax and a yellow shammy. A nasty north wind shot up my dress, nipping at my assets . . . Man, never thought I’d say something like that, not even in my head.

  “We can wait ’til spring, Book,” Lilah said. “In fact, let’s call it good now.”

  “No way. A deal’s a deal.” As a second rush of icy air shot up my dress, I rubbed a scoop of wax on the fender. “This is just wrong,” I grumbled to myself, shoving the dress back down over my legs. How did women do this?

  “How the man-parts doing?” Seth chuckled. My glare only added fuel to his amusement.

  “You should’ve shaved your legs.” Cole grimaced dramatically.

  “You don’t care for the European look?” I tugged the chiffon up a few inches.

  “European is one thing. That’s more like the woolly mammoth look.” Cole, a walking accident if there ever was one, pressed at a loose bandage on his wrist.

  I buffed off the wax on the rear fender while singing the words, “Workin’ at the car wash.”

  “I’d still like to fix you up with the girl from my interior design class, Book. She’s nice. And she’s cute,” Magpie said. Ever since she and Seth got married in June she’d been trying to fix me up.

  “I’ve given you a list. Does she meet my criteria?” I asked.

  “She’s tall and has red hair,” she offered.

  “What about the rest of the list?”

  “Get real, Book,” she said, hands planted on her petite hips.

  “Those things are extremely important to me, Mags. She has to know how to handle a gun. I don’t want some sissy girl for a wife.” I loved yanking Mags’ chain. She hated guns and was a lousy shot.

  “I’m not a sissy, Garfield,” she complained. That was an understatement. She was anything but. Mags was strong, determined, a fighter. Living with an emotionally abusive, alcoholic mother for eighteen years did that to her.

  “I also said she had to have AB Negative blood,” I reminded her, rubbing at a stubborn spot on the passenger door.

  “You’re not serious about that, are you? That’s an impossible list,” she grumbled. “You’re impossible.” She shook her head. “Your boobs are hanging out, by the way.” She pointed to the t-shirt that had worked its way up. I shoved it back into the dress and now cheerfully whistled the “Car Wash” song. I needed to finish this job and get the stupid dress off.

  “Mommy, why is Uncle Booker dressed like a girl?” Sofia’s voice cut through my whistling. I spun to face the little angel as she stood next to her mother, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

  “Halloween’s coming, remember? Booker is showing us his costume,” Lilah said without missing a beat. She picked up Sofia, who was dressed head to toe in pink, and propped her on her hip.

  “He looks funny,” Sofia assured everyone. “Why is he washing your car?”

  Before anyone could answer, a battered Honda Civic pulled up, coughing and hissing in front of Cole’s yellow Cape Cod. Out stepped Tess in jeans and a blue sweater, looking fantastic. Of course, she’d look fantastic even if she wore a plastic bag. She opened the trunk and locked her purse inside before walking toward the house.

  “Hi, Booker,” Tess offered a shy smile as she passed. “Nice . . . dress.”

  I did love that smile of hers. She dipped her head and hid her eyes under thick lashes. Painfully shy would be how others described her. Unless I missed my guess, I’d say more like scared. She kept her hair dyed black and wore dark contacts. I’d been a cop long enough to spot a disguise.

  “I made a promise and I’m following through,” I explained, quickly moving to the other fender. The punishment needed to end before anyone else showed up.

  “Hi, Tess,” Lilah said. “He looks pretty good in a dress, don’t ya think?”

  Tess dropped her gaze to my artificial boobs. “Well, he certainly fills out a dress better than I do,” she said.

  Oh crap. I’d forgotten about the fake boobs. But at the same time I was impressed Tess made a joke.

  “Funny one, Tess,” I laughed, tugging the jacket around me to hide the stuffed bodice.

  “I’m sorry,” Tess blushed. “I guess that was a little uncalled for. I shouldn’t have—”

  “Tess, you have nothing to be sorry for,” Magpie assured her. “I was thinking the same thing about myself.” Magpie and Lilah fist bumped. Tess smiled behind her hand.

  “I’m sorry to come over without calling, but I couldn’t remember the restaurant you wanted to meet at.” Tess didn’t own a cell phone. I offered to get her one at the business’ expense, but she adamantly refused. Since Tess was never adamant about anything, I didn’t push it.

  “Lilah and I wanted to talk about that anyway,” Magpie said. “Let’s go inside while Book finishes. It’s freezing out here. You’re a vegan, right?”

  “Lazy vegetarian,” Tess corrected as the three women headed toward the house with Sofia still in Lilah’s arms.

  “What’s that?” Magpie asked.

  “I eat poultry and dairy, but no red meat or pork. I try to avoid processed food, too, but I do love a good chocolate chip c
ookie.” A guilty look hung on her face before she shut the door, as if eating a cookie was a sin.

  I was painfully aware of Tess’ vegetarian ways. She usually ate salads whenever we went out. Not wanting to look like the carnivore that I was, I too ate salads. What I wouldn’t give for a full rack of ribs from Sticky Lips Barbeque right about now.

  “She’s a beauty.” Seth interrupted my thoughts of animal flesh. “It’s nice to know she can speak in complete sentences.” Seth leaned against the fender I’d just waxed. “Are you two still dating?”

  “They’re dating?” Cole asked.

  “He brought her to my wedding,” Seth said. “And Maggie said the two of them went to a movie a couple weeks ago.”

  “The movie thing wasn’t a date. She commented that she was going to see the new Star Trek movie, and I wanted to see it, so we went together is all.” I finished the car and put the lid on the wax.

  “So tell me, how many times have you been to dinner with her over the past, say, six weeks?” Cole pressed.

  “I don’t know.” I rubbed my neck. I didn’t want to talk about it right now. “Maybe twenty times, but they were working dinners.” Both of their eyes popped wide open. “We’ve been setting up the office and we had to eat, right? I mean, she’s nice and all, but . . .”

  “I like her, don’t you?” Cole took the wax and shammy from me, dropping the shammy. We hit heads bending to pick it up. “I mean, what’s not to like?” Cole said, rubbing his head. “She’s a sweet person, kind, hardworking.”

  “And she laughs at my jokes, which is nice.” I tugged on the hideous dress. The straps cut into my shoulders. “She talks more now since she started working for me. Did you know she used to play lacrosse in high school?” Cole shook his head. “And she was a ballerina. Anyway, when I’m around her there’s this calming feeling, you know? Peaceful. I don’t have to put on an act. I can be myself. Well, except for the whole eating meat thing, but I think that’s my hang-up, not hers.” I glanced at my friends, realizing how much like a lovesick puppy that sounded. Dropping my head in defeat, I admitted, “Yeah, I like her, a lot. More than I want to.” I scrubbed my hand over my jaw.