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Birch stopped walking and squinted out at the dark beach. He could hear the waves rolling in but they didn’t soothe him like they had when he was a child, sleeping with the windows open to listen to the waves instead of dwelling on the berating he’d received from his mother or sister that day.
“Yes,” he admitted, in a low tone.
“Thank you, Birch,” Abe said solemnly. “The police told me what you protected her from.” He cleared his throat. “Thank you.”
Birch didn’t deserve her brother’s praise. He’d failed to capture the guy and he’d been rude to Allison. Even if he couldn’t date an actress, he should’ve been kinder. Yet when she’d revealed her career it had hit him hard, terrified and revolted him, especially as he’d been so invested in her.
“Don’t thank me too much,” he said to her brother, “I allowed him to escape.”
“Only because he sliced you open with a knife,” Isaac said, obviously knowing the details of the story. “You okay, man?”
“It was superficial, only twelve stitches. I simply didn’t expect it, and it gave him time to get to his vehicle.” He wanted to curse again. He loved cursing. Only mild curse words, nothing too harsh or crazy. Ironically enough, his immoral and unethical mother and sister couldn’t handle it when he cursed. So he’d kept the bad habit for many years simply to quietly upset them.
“You protected my sister,” Abe said. “If you want the job, it’s yours.”
Did he want the job? The pros were getting away from his family with a valid excuse, doing what he loved, and being close to a beautiful, intriguing woman. The cons … only one: she was an actress and completely off limits for him.
