Mama Didn't Raise No Fool (I Ain't Your Mama Collaboration)

  Mama Didn’t Raise No Fool

  I Ain’t Your Mama Collaboration

  USA Today Bestselling Author

  Winter Travers

  Copyright © 2019 Winter Travers

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduction, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) utilization of this work without 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 products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products 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.

  For questions or comments about this book, please contact the author at winter@wintertravers.com

  Dear Reader!

  I ain’t your mama is a collaboration comprised of 9 authors who have come together to bring you brand spanking new stories where strong, leading ladies show exactly good they can do it! Women are incredible beings, filled with beauty and grace, and these heroines will have you cheering them on as they go after their own slice of happy!

  Each book is a standalone and can be enjoyed while sipping an ice-cold drink, spiked or not that’s up to you! So, one-click, pull up a comfy chair, and dive into these fun reads where women end up on top!

  Also by Winter Travers

  Devil’s Knights Series:

  Loving Lo

  Finding Cyn

  Gravel’s Road

  Battling Troy

  Gambler’s Longshot

  Keeping Meg

  Fighting Demon

  Unraveling Fayth

  Skid Row Kings Series:

  DownShift

  PowerShift

  BangShift

  Fallen Lords MC Series

  Nickel

  Pipe

  Maniac

  Wrecker

  Boink

  Clash

  Freak (Coming July 29th)

  Powerhouse MA Series

  Dropkick My Heart

  Love on the Mat

  Black Belt in Love

  Black Belt Knockout

  Nitro Crew Series

  Burndown

  Holeshot

  Redlight

  Shutdown

  Sweet Love Novellas

  Sweet Burn

  Five Alarm Donuts

  Stand Alone Novellas

  Kissing the Bad Boy

  Daddin’ Ain’t Easy

  Silas: A Scrooged Christmas

  Wanting More

  Mama Didn’t Raise No Fool

  Table of 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

  Coming Soon

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Nova

  “The new neighbors are moving in today.”

  “You get a glimpse of them yet?”

  I rolled my eyes and pressed the phone between my ear and shoulder. “Just the movers I’ve seen.” I pulled the curtain back an inch and watched two muscled guys carry a couch down the ramp of the moving truck. “Though the movers aren’t too bad to look at.”

  Mom clucked her tongue. “Focus, Nova. Your last neighbors were god awful. You need to scope out the new ones and figure out if you need to put your house on the market today.”

  “Mother,” I scoffed. “I’m not going to sell my house just because of the neighbors.” I was also trying not to focus on the fact that it was Saturday afternoon and I was spending my day watching the movers move my next door neighbor in. I led such an exciting life. Jeez...

  “Johnny, Brian, and Chuckie.” Mom enunciated each word and my stomach dropped.

  “I don’t think there are another two boys and their dog like them.” At least I hoped there wasn’t. I had to believe Johnny and his brother, Brian, were the only ones in the world and hoped to god there wasn’t another dog like Chuckie. While that dog had only been a chihuahua, he chased me around like he thought he was a Doberman and had nipped my ankles more times than I could count.

  “Knock on wood.”

  “What?”

  “Knock on wood, right now!” mom screeched.

  Good god. Even my mom was traumatized by my ex-neighbors from hell. I knocked on the wooden window frame though because even I was a bit superstitious when it came to finally getting decent people to live next door.

  “I have a showing in half an hour and I need to get some cookies in the oven to get this house smelling like home and not divorce and litigation.”

  “You should put that on the sign, mom. I bet you’d sell it in an hour.”

  “I’m so glad to know you got your father’s dry sense of humor.”

  “About the only thing I got from him,” I mumbled. I couldn’t ever remember meeting the guy but mom told me all the time I had the same dry wit he did.

  “Scope out your neighbor and let me know about selling. Toodles, hon.”

  She hung up before I could even get the ‘b’ in bye out of my mouth. I dropped the phone onto the table and turned back to watching the hot movers.

  “Hello, daddy,” I mumbled. The two bearded movers were gone and replaced with another bearded hottie that was ten times hotter. “Hot damn,” I gasped. I fanned myself with my hand and bit my lip.

  Now that was what a man should look like.

  Broad shoulders. Wide chest. Arms that would put an anaconda to shame. Golden brown tanned skin (thank you, early summer sun.). And that face.

  Hot. Damn.

  He walked into the trailer and reappeared with two large boxes in his arms. “Lift those boxes, baby,” I whispered.

  By some strange force the sexy mover glanced over at me window and I about broke my neck ducking down so he wouldn’t see me ogling him. I crouched down on my knees and counted to ten before I slowly rose up to peer over the window sill. He was still staring my window with a smirk on his lips. His eyes connected with mine and he nodded.

  I gave a lame wave then ducked back down.

  Caught eyeing up the movers.

  Just great.

  I planted my ass on the floor and figured I was going to just have to die of embarrassment right there.

  At least I wouldn’t have to worry about who my new neighbors were since I was never going to move from this very spot.

  Thirty years old and I just got busted ogling a hottie.

  Yup, totally dying right here.

  *

  Chapter Two

  Tucker

  “What the hell took you so long?”

  I dropped the boxes next to the kitchen counter and grabbed a beer. “Caught a glimpse of the neighbor.”

  “Aw hell,” Nick snickered. “He’s already eyeing up the neighbors.”

  I took a long pull off my beer. “Basically just saw her hair.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and sat down at the island. There were boxes all over and it looked like I was never going to be able to wade my way through them all anytime soo
n.

  “Color?” Brad demanded.

  “Blonde.”

  “Oh hell,” Nick snickered. “Tucker is going to have her in his bed by the end of the week.”

  I shook my head. “I didn’t even see her face, assholes. Besides, I really don’t think I want to mess around with the chick next door. No running from the chick if she is living next door.”

  “Touché,” Brad hummed.

  “Like that is going to stop you.” Nick leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “You two ever notice you guys talk about my sex life a hell of a lot for being two straight, married guys? Lot of interest on where my dick goes.”

  “You just answered your own question. Brad and I are married. We have to live vicariously though you now that our dicks stay at home.”

  I hung my head and laughed. “Pretty sure that was a choice you made willingly.”

  “It was,” Brad agreed. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t keep up with what you’re doing. You’re last of the lone wolves.”

  “The lone wolves?” I snickered.

  Nick threw his head back and howled. Brad joined in and I looked back and forth between the two of them. “What in the hell are you two doing?”

  “Howling,” Brad explained simply.

  “Yeah, I got that, but I mean why?” I knew I shouldn’t ask for explanations from these two because I knew it was going to be ridiculous, but I couldn’t resist.

  “Because we’re the Lone Wolves.”

  “Used to be,” Nick corrected Brad. “Tucker is the last standing member.”

  “You’re both fucking crazy. You know that, right?” I finished my beer and tossed the bottle into the trash. “Help me get the rest of these boxes into the house and then you two can head back to your wives, who for some reason actually chose you.”

  “You’re just jealous we don’t hang out with you much anymore,” Nick chuckled.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled.

  I didn’t see Nick and Brad as much as I used to, but I was good with it. They each had gotten married the past year and I would be an idiot to think they were going to ditch their new families to come hang out with me anymore.

  Brad snapped his fingers. “You know what you can do? Have a house party.”

  “A house party?” Nick laughed. “You really think Bev would be good with you coming to a rager at Tucker’s?”

  “No, no,” Brad grumbled. “I meant a housewarming party.”

  I grabbed a box marked kitchen and hoisted it onto the counter. “Pretty sure I’ll pass on the housewarming party.”

  “Wait, wait,” Nick butted in. “I think this could be a good idea. We can get drunk and act like morons like we used to and just use the guise of a housewarming party as our cover.”

  “Uh, I’m pretty sure if we tell Bev and Nat about the housewarming party they are going to want to come with,” Brad pointed out.

  “They can hang out in the kitchen and do chick stuff.” Nick pulled out his phone and pressed a few buttons. “I’ll get the kegs ordered.”

  “Hold up, hold up.” What in the hell was going on? We had gone from Nick and Brad living the married life to Nick ordering Kegs. “There is no way in hell I am ready to have a housewarming party. Hang the phone up.”

  Nick held up his finger to silence me. “Uh, yes, hello. I was wondering if I could reserve two kegs for two weeks from today.”

  “Two weeks?” I hissed. I barely had any furniture and it was going to at least take me six years to get all these boxes unpacked.

  Brad slapped me on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, bud. Nick and I got this shit covered. You just get your shit put away and we’ll take care of the rest.”

  “You’re both fucking crazy. We’re not having a rager in my new house two weeks from now.”

  “That’s what you think,” Brad whispered. He headed out of the kitchen with a high five to Nick.

  “This is not happening.” I might as well have been talking to myself because Brad was out the front door to grab more boxes, and Nick had stuck his finger in his ear to listen to the person on the other end of the phone.

  What in the hell were these two idiots getting me into?

  *

  Chapter Three

  Nova

  “There’s a three bedroom bungalow up for sale on Thurston.”

  I grabbed my steaming cup of coffee from the coffeemaker and sat down at the counter next to Mom. “I’m not moving. I love this house.”

  “You’ve lived here for seven years, Nova. You need to change things up while you’re still young.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Or you’re needing to get the house on Thurston sold.” Not that my mom would sell me a shitty house, but I knew she wasn’t above stretching the truth just a smidge to make a sale. Thankfully I knew all of her tactics.

  “It’s been on the market for a month,” she said simply.

  “I’m not buying it,” I replied firmly.

  Mom huffed but she didn’t press. “Have you met the new neighbors yet?”

  “No. It’s been pretty quiet over there. I haven’t even seen a glimpse who lives there.”

  “I tried to talk to Sam to see who she sold the house to but she’s on vacation in the Bahamas until next Friday.”

  I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my coffee. “You don’t need to snoop on my neighbor, mother. I figure I’ll eventually go over with a little something to welcome them to the neighborhood.”

  “Good thinking. Get on their good side before they start acting like assholes.”

  I prayed to god the new neighbors weren’t going to be assholes. I figured the fact I hadn’t even seen them yet was a good sign.

  Mom took a sip of her coffee and glanced at me. “Have you gone out lately?”

  Oh lord. This was not the subject change I was hoping for. I would rather talk about selling my house than my love life. “I went to the grocery store yesterday. They moved the ketchup to aisle four. It took me ten minutes to figure out where it was.”

  She wagged her finger at me. “You do know that is the number one sign you are getting old.”

  “What?”

  She took a bite of her muffin and wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Getting upset at the grocery store when they move things around. You know you’re old when that happens.”

  “I’m only thirty and that would be annoying to anyone, regardless if they are twenty, thirty, or one hundred.”

  “Right,” she drawled.

  “I swear you only come over here to drive me crazy and try to get me to sell my house.”

  She looked around the kitchen. “You have a house that would sell amazingly. The market is good for single family homes with three to four bedrooms.”

  “Really? Why didn’t you tell me?” I grumbled. Mom texted me at least twice a day with houses she thought I should buy.

  Don’t get me wrong. I had the amazing house I did right now because of my mother. I just wasn’t looking to find another house. I planned on living in this house for at least the next ten years. There was plenty of room to grow if I managed to find a guy who didn’t still live at home and I could actually stand.

  “Your sass is strong today.”

  “And this is different from any other day?”

  Mom scoffed. “I really can’t be mad about it because your grandmother used to always tell me the same thing growing up.”

  “Just carrying on the tradition of strong willed Jackson women, mom.”

  “Well, project the sass onto the world, and not your poor mother,” she scolded. She finished her coffee and moved to the kitchen sink. “I need to get going. I have a showing at five today and I need to stop at the store for a couple of things.”

  “Out of vanilla extract and allspice?”

  Mom grabbed her purse and hitched it over her shoulder. “Just the vanilla. I was able to get a bulk bag of allspice over the holidays that should last me all year.”

  “I might have so
me vanilla if you want it.”

  “No, no. You keep it for when you have company over. Having a pot simmering on the stove of water, vanilla, and allspice is perfect for company.”

  “As long as your company doesn’t try to drink it,” I chuckled.

  Mom rolled her eyes. “Thank god that guy ended up buying that house. I was worried he wasn’t smart enough to know how good of a deal he was getting after he tried to drink my air freshener.” She pushed her sunglasses over her eyes. “I’ll see you later.” She breezed out of the house with a small wave over her shoulder.

  I glanced out the window over to the neighbors. Nothing had changed the past week since they had moved in. The large moving truck that had been in the driveway was gone and I hadn’t seen anyone come or go.

  I worked from home so you would have thought I would have at least glimpsed the neighbor once or twice, but so far nada. I should be rejoicing the fact the ones from hell were gone and now I basically had nonexistent ones. When all it did was make me worried that these new ones were making me let my guard down and they were going to be the biggest assholes ever.

  Time was ticking and I wondered just when my neighbors were going to show their true colors.

  Tick. Tock.

  *

  Chapter Four

  Tucker

  “How many people did you invite?” I looked out into my backyard at the crowd of people milling around.

  “Uh, well, a lot.”

  A lot was an understatement.

  Brad stood next to me with a plastic cup full of beer and a chicken drumstick in the other. “This isn’t really what I had in mind when you said you wanted to help me throw a housewarming party. No one is even in the house.”

  Brad pointed his drumstick at the four tables lined up with drinks and food. “We tried to put all of this in the kitchen, but it wasn’t big enough. Nick and I figured it was better to have it all out here so you had more room to mingle with all of your guests.”