Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
And it was nothing.
It was Keane standing at the bar waiting. He was right by the place where the servers picked up drinks for customers out at the tables. He walked up and ordered three beers and then waited.
“There,” Jack said. “That’s it.”
Keane had moved suddenly and his hand went into his pocket and came back out with something.
“That’s his cell phone,” Garrett pointed out.
“He could have the drug stuck there,” Jack reasoned.
But Abby leaned in. “Which drink, Jack? Which one do you think he dropped the drugs in?”
“The margarita,” Jack replied.
“Which one?” Abby asked calmly, like she knew something no one else did. “You can always tell which one is Olivia’s.”
Keane got his beers and walked away, and the drinks there were clear. That was when Jack stared at the screen. There was a margarita in a fancy glass, three beers in bottles, and what looked like a rum and coke or maybe whiskey.
Jack sat back, going a little pale. “Her drink isn’t there. They told me Tim was behind the bar tonight. He wouldn’t serve her drink that way. Olivia prefers Grand Marnier to Cointreau. That’s not how they normally make them. They put an umbrella in hers so they don’t misplace it. They’ve been doing it at The Barn since she turned twenty-one.”
That was the moment Miranda showed up, bouncing to the bar like she couldn’t not move to the music. And the tall man with dark brown hair reached out and handed her a margarita with an umbrella in it. The bartender had just completed it.
“He didn’t do it,” Jack said.
“I told you.” Garrett couldn’t help it. “Something is happening, and I don’t like it one bit.”
Jack finally seemed to understand they weren’t the true enemies here. “I heard what happened and saw the file on him and I…”
“Jumped to conclusions?” Abby prompted.
Jack looked to his wife, his expression downcast. “She’s my baby girl. She’s the first child I ever held in my arms. You know I love Lexi like she’s my own, but she was grown when I joined the family. Olivia was the first time I held a baby and knew I would love her forever.”
Garrett took a long breath. This situation was salvageable. “Mr. Barnes, I understand. Well, I guess I understand on an intellectual level. I was young when my mother died. While she was alive, I had a family. They weren’t the big, warm one everyone likes to see on TV, but we got together. We had holidays, and I would play with my cousins and spend time at my grandparents’ place at the lake. Then she died and no one would take me in. They had all the excuses in the world. They already had too many kids. They were old. I wouldn’t be a good fit.”
“Your whole family?” Abby had a sheen of tears to her eyes. “How many aunts and uncles?”
“Three on my mom’s side and one on my dad’s,” he replied. “I didn’t blame her. Aunt Helen had a kid with muscular dystrophy. Caring for him took a lot of her time. Especially after her husband left her high and dry. It’s funny but I remember begging her to let me help. I told her I would take some of the load caring for Charles if she would give me a room. She cried but said no.”
“Unfortunately, I do know what that’s like,” Jack said. “And Keane?”
“He never had much of a family. His mom got pregnant in high school, and her parents kicked her out. She ended up in a trailer working two jobs. She had a lot of boyfriends, and the last one killed her.” Garrett laid out the facts with as little emotion as he could. “He’d been in the system for a year before me. He was the one who sat with me that first night and told me it wasn’t so bad. Even though it was for him. He tried his damnedest to make sure it wasn’t as bad for me.”
“Shit.” Jack’s head fell back. “And that’s how he ended up in prison.”
“Doesn’t that sound familiar?” Abby fell to her knees and looked up at her husband. “Jack, she’s attracted to them on many levels, but the most important one is they remind her of her fathers. Master, I know you want to protect them, but you already did that by raising them right. They know what they want.”
“Olivia wanted Scott once.” Jack seemed to want to hang on to being right.
Abby’s head shook. “She wanted to start her life. I doubt she would have gone through with it even if he hadn’t proved to be a massive asshole.”
Jack looked right at Garrett, eyes narrowing. “I’ll drop the charges against Keane and give you both five million dollars to get out of my daughter’s life.”