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Brady kept his voice low and said, “Jake said you haven’t been coming to work, and no one could get a hold of you. We just wanted to make sure you were o
kay.”
“Oh.” Natalie’s cheeks were tinged with embarrassment when she replied, “I’m fine. Zeke’s just been needing me around here is all. Tell Jake I understand if he has to let me go.”
“Are you okay?” I asked, my eyes darting toward the back.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied, her voice shaky.
“Does he always talk to you like that?” Brady asked, his face hard with restrained anger.
Natalie shrugged and said, “He’s not so bad.”
“Does he ever … hit you?” I asked, feeling like I was overstepping my bounds, but needing to ask the question anyway.
Natalie shook her head.
“No, he loves me … He just works so hard, he gets upset when he comes home to a messy house. I’ve been working so much that I’ve fallen behind on my duties. “
“You don’t deserve to be treated that way, Nat; you should leave,” Brady said, leaning down to look her in the face. “We could help you.”
“I’m fine,” she said, her back straightening a bit, letting us know that she wasn’t beaten down yet. “You should go before he come out. He doesn’t like me talking to other men, and he wouldn’t take kindly to you being in his house.”
“You know how to get a hold of us if you need anything,” Brady said, making one last attempt. “Anytime.”
“C’mon, bro,” I said, tugging his arm, wanting to get the hell out of there before the shit really hit the fan.
He left willingly, and I looked behind to see Natalie closing the door behind us, her expression sad.
“Goddammit.” Brady hit the roof of his car, surprising me with the level of pissed off he was feeling. That car was his baby, and I’d never seen him lay a hand on her in anger before.
“Drink?” I asked, knowing he needed to talk, but wanting to get him the hell out of this trailer park before he changed his mind and confronted Zeke.
“Yeah.”
“Follow me,” I said, jogging to my bike and hopping on, hoping to expedite this process. I knew a little bar not too far from there with great Friday night Happy Hour specials, so I got us there as quickly as I could without breaking any laws, and clapped my brother on the back as we entered the darkened building.
“It’ll be alright, bro,” I said cheerfully. “Whatever you need tonight, I’m here for you … Just you and me.”
Brady was scanning the room, which was why he saw them before I did. It wasn’t until he said, “You sure about that?” that I looked up and saw Bronagh and Ming sitting in a corner booth.
This day just kept getting better and better…
Chapter Twenty-Four ~ Bronagh
“Two o’clock,” Ming said, causing me to look up from the label I’d been peeling in confusion.
“Huh?”
“Look at your two o’clock,” she murmured, shifting her eyes to the right.
“Ohhhh…” I replied with a slight laugh, finally getting it.
My stomach dipped when I looked over to see Brendan and Brady heading toward us. I wasn’t quite sure how to feel seeing Brendan so soon after our escapade in the closet, and the last time I’d seen Brady, he’d chewed my ass.
“Be cool,” I said under my breath, talking to myself more than Ming, then pasted a smile on my face, hoping the longing I was feeling didn’t show, and said, “Hey, guys.”
Brendan’s face showed a myriad of emotions. Tenderness, hope, and regret, before it turned blank and showed nothing.
