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“Nothing. I’m just caught up in this case I’m working and I forgot, that’s all.”
Deciding on the homestyle scramble and hash brown potatoes, Bailey put the menu down. “I don’t think that’s it at all.”
“Yeah, well, your judgment isn’t exactly the best these days, now is it? Tell me, Bay, what the fuck are you thinking hooking up with someone like Boudreaux?”
Aaand there it was. Bailey sat back in his seat and placed an arm across the table, drumming his fingers on the Formica in an effort to rid himself of the irritation that had just bypassed his concern for his brother.
“I’ll make a deal with you. I’ll tell you about Henri if you tell me what the hell is going on with you, and what you wanted to talk to me about before you lost your mind yesterday.”
Sean’s mouth opened, but before he could repeat the same lie, Dawn, the waitress, stopped by their table and said, “Hey, boys, what can I get you this morning?”
Bailey glanced her way and made sure to aim a smile in her direction. It wasn’t like he was annoyed at Dawn, and it wasn’t fair to take his mood out on an innocent bystander. “Hey there. I’m going to go with the homestyle scramble and potato hash. And he’ll have the same, thanks.”
“I’m not—”
Bailey pinned Sean with a look that said zip it, and for once in his life, Sean did.
“Got it,” Dawn said, looking between the two. “Any juice? Another pot of coffee?”
“Yeah,” Bailey said. “I’ll grab an OJ and definitely another pot. You’re the best.”
Dawn winked and shoved her pen behind her ear. “That’s what they tell me. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“Will do,” Bailey said, and after she’d left the table, he turned back to Sean. “So, what’ll it be? We going to talk about the reason you actually came to see me yesterday? Or are you going to keep being a dick? In which case, I’m more than happy to sit here and talk about the weather until you get bored.”
Sean grunted as he looked Bailey over. “Wow. I see Boudreaux’s already rubbing off on you. I can’t remember the last time you—”
“Called you out on your shit?”
Sean’s eyes widened. But it was true. For so many years Bailey had watched Sean work himself into the ground and idly stood by, feeling it wasn’t his place to tell his brother how to live his life.
But if Sean was going to dish out relationship advice, then Bailey thought it only fair he got a little wake-up call. The fact that neither of them were indifferent to the possibility of pain and heartbreak being inflicted on the other still showed they cared. It was just crazy that it had been Henri who jump-started the heartbeat of this brotherly bond.
It was a surprise all three of them hadn’t seen coming, but one they now had to deal with. Because as far as Bailey was concerned, Henri was going nowhere, and Sean needed to get on board with that.
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Bailey nodded. “Well, I’m calling you out now. What’s going on? And don’t tell me nothing. Don’t tell me it’s just this case, because I won’t believe you.”
Sean let out a sigh and ran a hand through his thick hair. “I’m stuck.”
Bailey knew how much those two words had cost Sean to say.
He twisted his lips into a scowl and shook his head. “I’ve got three dead girls, not one solid lead, and the guy I know is responsible for this? I’ve got nothing on him. I’m stuck. And I’m never fucking stuck.”
Bailey could feel the frustration rolling off his brother in waves, and as Dawn approached with the coffee and juice, she must’ve sensed it too, because she quickly placed the items down and hightailed it away from the table.
Sean was back to looking out the window. As Bailey examined him closer, he knew he needed to ask this next question before they continued. It was the one thing he wouldn’t tolerate if he was going to offer up his help. But breaching the topic was going to make the tension at the table reach nuclear levels.
Oh well, here goes nothing. “Have you been drinking this morning?”
Sean whipped his head around and cut his eyes to Bailey’s, the frustration from a second ago turning to anger. “What did you just say to me?”
Bailey swallowed around the lump lodged at the back of his throat and couldn’t help but remember all those times he and Sean had gotten into fights as boys. Being three years older than him, Sean had always been bigger. But Bailey had always been quicker on his feet, nimbler, and right now he would give anything to be able to duck a punch and make a run for it.
