I didn’t care if I had to buy a building for her to rent, I’d make sure my sister had what she wanted for her business.
Hanging up with Taylor, I shove the phone back in my pocket and step inside the bar. My eyes find Amelia immediately restocking the coolers, shifting the older ones to the front, putting the new ones in the back.
Amelia’s eyes come to me, and she gives me a smile. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
“Wanted to talk,” I tell her, getting right to the point of what I’m here for. It’s not in me to go gentle with the shit I learned regarding her ex. It’d be different if she’d come to be about it already, but she hadn’t.
“Okay, what about?” she asks, losing the smile. She cocks her head slightly and mutters, “What’s wrong with you?”
“What?” I ask, cocking a brow.
“You have that pensive look you always get when you have to deal with Taylor,” she states. “Did something happen?”
“Considering I just got off the phone with Taylor before coming in here?—”
“Your mom said Taylor was coming to town in a few weeks,” Amelia states, interrupting me.
“I know she is. Taylor told me herself.” I grunt and fill Amelia in on what Taylor said.
“You’re going to help her out, aren’t you?” Amelia asks, watching me closely.
“Yeah, I’m gonna help her. I’ll find a place for her to use and have it ready when she graduates and takes the bar. It’ll be my gift to her.”
I’d do the same for Amelia if not something more. Amelia was all but raised by my parents from early teen years. They signed the papers for her to marry Russell when she told us she was pregnant with Dylan. The two of us have been closer than Taylor and I will ever be. That doesn’t mean I don’t care for Taylor and wouldn’t kick someone’s ass for her, the same I would for Amelia. It’s simply my cousin and I have a tighter bond than I do with my sister.
“That’s nice of you,” Amelia murmurs, nodding. “Last time I saw her, she seemed different. She appeared to be focused. She spent most of the visit at your parents with her nose in the books she’d brought with her, studying.”
Yeah, my mom had told me about that visit. Usually, Taylor would have gone out with friends, having a happy-go-lucky time without a care in the world.
“We’ll see what ends up happening.” I shrug and shift back to the reason I came here. “What’s going on with Russell?”
“What about him?” Amelia asks, squinting her eyes.
“Has he been around since last week?”
She pulls her lower lip between her teeth, seeming to stall. Finally, she huffs out a breath. “Only once. He came to apologize and ask me for money. Typical of him.” She releases her lip and reaches for a rag. Wiping down the bar, she lets out a little laugh. “I’d actually be concerned if he came here and didn’t ask me for something.”
“Tell me you didn’t give it to him.”
She scoffs. “Fuck no. I’m not stupid, Shadow, and I’m no one’s ATM, least of all Russell’s.” She lifts her gaze to mine. “Supposedly, he got a new job.”
“If he got a job, why’s he asking to borrow money?” The asshole was totally messed up in the head and enjoyed fucking around on Amelia and jacking her around. If he weren’t Dylan’s dad, I’d fuck him up for all the shit he’s done to my cousin and her son. Only my respect for the kid has kept me from doing anything. That and the fact Amelia has asked me to stay out of it.
I can only do that for so long before I end up beating his ass to a bloody pulp.
“I don’t know. Why does Russell do anything?” Amelia snaps and lets out a heavy breath. “Look, Shadow, just leave it. I don’t need you getting involved. I can handle Russell myself.”
“I’m not going to drop it, Amelia, I can’t. You’re my damn flesh and blood, you and Dylan both. I can’t let him get away with this shit anymore. He keeps fucking with you constantly, and that needs to end.”
This shit needs to be done for her. If I can help, then that’s what the fuck I’m gonna do.
“Damnit, Shadow.” Amelia’s voice fills with uncertainty mixed with her anger. “I said I have it under control. Russell isn’t going to ask me for a cent. I can promise you that. But if you want to say something to him, then tell him to stop calling Dylan. I tried myself, but he doesn’t seem to get the point, and Dylan doesn’t want him calling him anymore. If he persists, I’m going to have to change his number.”
“You know that ain’t gonna stop him,” I tell her, anger coursing through my veins. “How about this, ‘cause you know me, you know I’m not gonna let it go. I’ll look into him without getting in his face. Russell won’t even know about it. I find anything, I’ll let you know. That is, unless it’s some shady shit, then I’m dealing with him. That work for you?”
I didn’t want Amelia having to deal with her ex’s shit any more than she had to. The fact she takes everything on her own pisses me off. She more than anyone else knows that I’ll be there to help her out anyway she needs me to.
Amelia doesn’t answer me right away, her eyes narrow to little slits, and she looks ready to yell at me, but she doesn’t. After a long moment, she nods. “Fine, but you better not do anything that will land you in trouble. You know Russell is nothing more than a pain in the ass. You looking into him will just prove it all over again. When you do, you’ll drop it, and leave it to me to handle as I’ve asked.”
