Their youngest brother, Jace, was leaving the Air Force to come home. He needed a place to stay, and their old family home, the one their father had sold to a local when he’d been alive, had just come on the market.
Kayden dipped his head. “Yep. Closing’s in a couple weeks, but he doesn’t think he’ll make it so he’s asked me to be his power of attorney to sign the paperwork. When I asked when he’d be back, he was vague about it all and wouldn’t give me an exact date.”
Cody chuckled. “Sounds like our brother. Never one to be tied down by a date.”
“Well, something more exciting could pop up,” Kayden said with a grin.
Cody whistled. “Talking about exciting, four out of the six of us will be home. Haven’t had that in years.”
“The odds probably won’t get any better for a while,” Eastern said, taking a sip of his beer. “Nylah’s happy with Liam in Cradle Mountain, and Lock will probably never leave his position on his Ghost Ops team.”
Kayden nodded. “Yeah, that guy’s in for life. It’ll be good to have Jace home though. I’m trying to get him a position working at the new skywalk, at the visitors center.”
Cody’s brows shot up. “Is it ready to go?”
“There’ve been some delays, but hopefully by the time he gets home.”
Cody nodded and turned to Eastern. “And what were you saying about Jamie? She still causing you trouble?”
“She hasn’t shown up again since coming to Avery’s school, but her texts are nonstop.” Jesus, he still got angry thinking about the school incident. “My lawyer’s ready to go for when she makes a move. So far, no one’s contacted him.”
He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse. The sooner this thing started, the sooner it would finish.
“No judge would retract your rights,” Kayden said under his breath. “She fucked up. Even the school can corroborate Avery’s stories. And now that she’s back, she’s not even trying to do better, just thinks she’s entitled to Avery.”
“That’s Jamie though, isn’t it?” He lifted the beer to his lips.
Cody’s gaze shifted over Eastern’s head, eyes narrowing. “Speak of the devil.”
Oh,fuckno.
He glanced over his shoulder and, sure enough, Jamie was crossing the space between the door and the bar, gaze directly on him.
He leaned back on his stool. “What are you doing here, Jamie?”
“Getting a drink. Is that a crime?”
“It’s maybe not the best choice when you’re an alcoholic.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’mnotan alcoholic. I can handle my drinks, just like my lawyer will handle getting me custody of my daughter again.”
He turned to face her. “Let’s say you did get custody of Avery. Youwon’t, but let’s pretend—what happens when your boyfriend gets tired of parenting a kid who isn’t his? Or if you break up and want to get out of town again and having a child doesn’t fall into those plans?”
“WhenI get custody, andifeither of those things happen, I’ll let you know my plans.”
Eastern was fighting for calm when shouting sounded again from the back booth.
“Yeah, chump, chug it!”
His back teeth ground together as he glared at them. Jamie followed his gaze. “Still get easily annoyed by rowdy drunks?” she asked.
When he didn’t respond, she lifted a brow, a challenge in her gaze. “They look fun. I might go say hi.”
Of course she fucking would.
She slid off the stool and made her way across the bar.
“Want me to throw herandthem out?” Cody asked the second Jamie had walked away. “I don’t mind. In fact, I’ll enjoy it.”
