“Bye, Uncle Fallon!” Charlotte chirps.
“Night, Squirt.”
Elizabeth leads the way and ushers me through the house and out the front door to where I parked my motorcycle, its chrome wheels reflecting the yellow hue given off by the porch lights.
She hunts for something in my face that I can’t let her find. “Thank you for a wonderful day.”
“Anytime, Kitten.”
Taking my hand, she flips it over, then slips something cold and metallic into my palm. A house key. She just placed a piece of her world into my hands, and my fingers curl around it and hold tight, the symbolism of the small object monumental.
“Come back when you’re done,” she says softly.
“Always.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
FALLON
He’s Back
I seehim sitting at the end of the bar as soon as I walk into O’Reilly’s. Shoulders hunched, head down, and ignoring the world around him, Jay is the embodiment of a man who wants to be left alone with his thoughts. Too fucking bad.
I push through the line of people waiting to get their drinks and get Ben’s attention.
“Hey, man. Long time,” he says when he sees me.
Ben is a good man and a good friend to Aurora. After he lost his wife, Aurora stepped in to help lessen his burdens. Little things like babysitting his daughter or making sure his fridge was stocked with meals that he didn’t have to cook and could quickly reheat. Aurora also did a little matchmaking and introduced him to his current wife, Renee. My sister is tough as nails, but her heart is as soft as dandelion fluff.
I have to raise my voice over the noise of overlapping conversation and a baseball game being played on the widescreen. “Just got back into town.” I jerk my head in Jay’s direction. “How long has he been here?”
“Couple hours. When he first came in the other night, I thought he was Julien.”
“Twins.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“How much has he had to drink?”
Jay and hard liquor are old friends. Ry said it got really bad during the year and a half Elizabeth was missing. The night he left town, he got drunk and attacked Elizabeth. I had to kick the damn front door down to get inside the house to get to her. I’ve never been more terrified in my life.
“Nothing. He orders a beer but doesn’t drink it. Just sits there for a few hours, then leaves. He tips well. Want anything?” Ben asks.
“I’m good. I’ll let you get back to work. Busy night.”
“Never knew one that wasn’t.”
O’Reilly’s is a Highland tradition and has been since it first opened fifty years ago. When Ben bought it, he didn’t change much. Why mess with something that’s already good? The food is much better, though.
Keeping Jay in my sight, I navigate through the throngs of people and sidestep waitstaff rushing to take food to tables.
“Move,” I tell the guy sitting on the stool next to him.
He glances up, and without a word, takes his beer and slinks off.
Jay sighs when I take the vacated seat. “You can fuck right off. You have nothing to say that I want to hear.”
“I disagree.” I wave off the bartender manning this end when she starts to come over.
