Matters of the Heart

Chapter 1

KYLE MONTERO

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I never thought my life would be what it is today. Here I am, 27 years old, helping to manage my cousin's newest casino in Reno, Nevada, a convicted felon and recovering addict. I'm not proud of my past, I mean who would be after everything I had done? I had a great girl, got lost in my insecurities, messed with the wrong crowd, and ended up hurting the one person I loved the most. When I found out she had found love again with my cousin, who was like a brother to me, I fell deeper into my darkness and ended up partnering with some really bad people to hurt her even more.

Since I've been out and have gone through rehabilitation and therapy, she, and my family, have forgiven me for my past sins and we have started to mend our broken relationship. But I have yet to forgive myself. I have yet to feel I deserve to be happy after all the sadness and hurt I caused.

My cousin, Xavier, thought I needed a change of scenery to get myself back on track, and to be honest, I could not have agreed more. I loved my cousin, and I was happy my ex, Cassie, was able to find love again with him. Their relationship was special, and I could see that he was the better man for her. Watching them together, the way they look at each other when the other is not looking, and the way they can calm each other with just a touch, or a look is something I've always wanted for myself. I thought I had it with Cassie, but I see now, my relationship with Cassie was never meant to be more than a close friendship.

I agreed to help oversee the construction of their new casino here in Reno, alongside my cousin, Austin, Xavier's younger brother. I was looking forward to being here. It was a new city where nobody knew who I was, where I was not surrounded by the constant reminders of my past. I could move forward with my life here and finally feel deserving of some type of happiness, or at the very least, figure out who I am and finally be able to forgive myself for what I had done to my family. What I knew for sure was I had to focus on myself first before diving into a relationship with anyone else. What good am I going to be to someone else if I don't feel I am good for myself?

At least, that was my intention when I accepted Xavier's offer. But then, when we had come out here to conduct interviews for our new staff, a tiny, dark-haired beauty, with the most alluring blue eyes I had ever seen, walked into my life causing me to reevaluate my goals. Well, her and the 4-year-old miniature version of her, who was just as beautiful. When I had laid eyes on them and they both looked back at me with their big baby blues, it stirred up feelings inside me I thought had died.

Jana Lynn Davis, a petite, kind-hearted woman, who was going through a rough divorce, had walked into my life and turned it completely upside-down. Her daughter, Athena, stole my heart the moment she smiled up at me. Jana had come to interview for one of the head waitress positions at our casino. When we first read her application, we had all agreed that we would hire her even before we met her. Then, when the day of her interview came, and we saw her arguing with her then douche of a husband in the parking lot with her daughter hiding behind her scared out of her mind, we all went into protector mode, me more so than the others.

After the week of interviews, Austin and I went back home to Las Vegas with Xavier and Ethan to pack our things. We were going to be returning to Reno and staying there to make sure the casino is ready for the grand opening. Austin planned to stay during the week and return home to his pregnant wife, Chelsea, on the weekends. Me, I was not sure yet if this move was going to be permanent or not, but I packed all of my belongings and brought them with me just in case. My sister Ashlie, and her son Lucas, have come out here to help us as well. She has a degree in Finance and Xavier had hired her to manage the books for the casino.

I think she needed this move just as much as I did. Lucas's father had passed away not too long after Lucas was born in a hit-and-run accident. She had been raising him by herself, with the help of our father and Lucas's paternal grandparents. She had not had much luck in the relationship department either up until recently when she met Rodney Hutchinson, a police officer with the Reno Police Department. They met about a year ago when she had come here on a business trip. So, when Xavier presented this job opportunity to her, she jumped on it, and I have to say, I have not seen my big sister this happy in a long time.