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“Or else what?” I asked.
“We’re on notice, basically. Any trouble, we lose our license.” He handled a weight Drake had left lying about and picked it up like it was a blanket.
“This place gets shut down, you mean?” I asked.
“We can keep the commercial side of things going.” He scratched his bearded jaw. “The boot camp’s getting a lot of interest. Mainly from the corporate scene. But I’m here to help the boys. They’re all good lads. I’ve grown fond of them. Until he turned up the other day. He’s on Billy’s back. Keeps making fun of his mother, who’s in a wheelchair.”
“You’re kidding.” I shook my head in disgust. “No wonder he wanted to punch him out. That dickhead was sledging Billy about his disabled mother.”
“Yep. A rich son of a bitch. Can’t stand him. I’m going to have a word with Declan.”
“I will too. Billy strikes me as someone who can hold his own. But I’d hate to see him jailed for defending his mother. But, boy, I’ve never seen anyone punch into a bag like that.”
Carson nodded. “He’s talented, all right. We’re bringing in a boxing master. Maybe a ring.”
“Hey, that’s a great idea. Boxing’s a very popular sport.”
“As a pacifist, I hate it.”
I studied Carson, and my eyebrows rose. “Right.” He didn’t have the body of a man who hated fighting. It was like someone with perfect pitch hating music.
“Billy’s a shit-stirrer, but he’s a good kid.”
“What got him locked up?” I asked.
“Hit someone on a boozy night. The victim lost an eye.”
I screwed my face. “Shit.”
“He’s paid for it. I read the counsellor’s notes. He cries himself to sleep virtually every night. He’s also really close to his mother, always making sure she’s okay when she visits. He’s got a big heart, that boy.”
I nodded slowly. Being there had been a big eye-opener.
After the gym, I dropped into the hall for a coffee before my meeting at the spa. I found Declan arguing with our mother in the library.
“Hey what’s up now?” I asked.
My mother rolled her eyes. “Your brother disapproves of the boundary for the resort.”
“You bet I do. You said three farms. Now you’re encroaching on a fourth?”
She tapped her pen on her desk.
“I disagree on principle.” Declan turned to me, looking for my opinion.
I opened out my hands. “I haven’t seen the plans.”
“That’s because you weren’t at the board meeting,” my mother said dryly.
“I’ve got to go,” Declan said.
“The soiree. Will your wife perform Debussy, as promised?” she asked.
Declan puffed. “Theadora has agreed, despite my misgivings.”
Her eyebrows drew in. “Why would you not wish to parade her talent? We need all the support we can get over this marriage of yours.”
He pointed at her. “She’s not an object for show.”
