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“Ethan, I’m not sure what to think about this. All I know is you’d better not be involved in anything illegal, because I’ll bust your ass, family or not. Got it?” Connor warned. There were things rooted deep within him, and following the law was one of them.
“Trust me, Connor, it’s not. It’s personal.”
That was going to be harder to uncover. He did much better with facts, hard evidence. Feelings were subjective, hard to pin down. “Don’t make me regret giving you my blessing, Ethan. Because I promise you, I’m not someone you want as an enemy,” Connor warned.
“I told you before, I’ll never do anything to hurt Kollette,” Ethan stated.
“I sure as hell hope not, but remember, secrets are as bad as lies.”
Ethan’s phone rang. He glanced at it, and by the expression on his face, Connor could tell he didn’t like who it was on the other end.
“Tell me that’s not Kollette’s call that you’re avoiding?” Connor asked.
“Hell no. It was Alex, your boss.”
One of them. “Nice to know you ignore their calls.”
“Unlike you, I don’t work for them.”
“True,” he replied.
He wondered why Alex was reaching out to Ethan. Before this meeting, he never would’ve given it a second thought. It was going to be awkward, and possibly unethical, but he’d have to do some investigating. His gut said there was a lot more to the casual business relationship than either the Hendersons or Lawsons wanted to publicly admit. Connor didn’t like to get blindsided. Thankfully, Connor knew Roger Patrick, a former colleague in the DEA who was tightly linked to the Hendersons. It might not be a bad idea to invite him for a drink and see what Roger was willing to share. Roger was a decent guy and wouldn’t stand by and work for someone who was involved in illegal activity.
Ethan downed his beer and said, “Thanks for meeting me.”
“I’m not really sure why you wanted this to be kept private. It’s not like we actually discussed anything.” The Hendersons knew that Ethan was married to his sister. They wouldn’t question the two of them meeting. So maybe it was Kollette that Ethan was hiding from. It’s a slippery path, if that’s where he’s going.
“I didn’t want my brothers to know I was in the city. At least not when I don’t have time to see them on this trip.”
“Why are you here, then?” Connor asked.
“Besides meeting with you? I was here to meet with a realtor.”
“Buying or selling?” Connor asked. Kollette hadn’t mentioned anything to him, not that they’d spoken much lately.
“Both. My place is a great bachelor pad, but it’s not where I want to raise a family. You wouldn’t be interested, would you?” Ethan asked.
Connor laughed. “I think it’s out of my price range. But I’m glad to see you’re…settling down.”
“Not ready to move full-time to Tennessee, but I know there are changes that need to be made. I thought I’d surprise Kollette with this one first.”
“Another bit of advice. Don’t go buying a place without the wife seeing it first. A home might be a man’s castle, but the queen rules over it,” he chuckled.
Ethan raised an eyebrow. “For a single guy, you give a lot of advice.”
“Yup. Seen a lot of marriages fail. Don’t want my sister’s to,” he said bluntly.
“Then I guess I’d better get going. I’m flying back home tonight. I don’t like leaving Kollette alone that long.”
“I wouldn’t say she’s alone. Isn’t her father with her?” Connor said.
Ethan laughed. “Okay. I’m going to save her. He’s trying to help, but they don’t see eye to eye on anything on the wilderness lodges that Kollette is supposed to be running.”
“I think he regrets not living closer. You know, since he’s going to be a grandfather.”
“Miami isn’t that far,” Ethan replied.
He couldn’t see Ralph living in the woods of Tennessee, not even for a grandkid. But Ralph trying to persuade Kollette to move back to Miami. Well, that was a different story. He wasn’t sure who would win that battle. “Maybe you should build a room for Ralph and let him move in,” Connor teased.
