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The door swung open, and in sauntered Ian.
Felicia offered me a small smile behind him before she shut the door, leaving Ian and me alone in my office. He wore an inscrutable smirk, the type that either hid anxiety or foreshadowed trouble. Loose jeans hugged narrow hips, a black T-shirt exposing scrawny arms. His longish, dark brown hair was mussed, greasy, as if he hadn’t showered since the last time he swung by.
But for all the unkempt details of his appearance, his eyes were what made me wary. A raven-sharp gaze that looked just like Trace’s intelligent and knowing gaze. Just like our dad’s.
“You’re back,” I said.
“Just wanted to stop in and see family one last time before I headed home,” he said, shoving his hands into his jeans. “Where’d Trace get off to?”
“A trip.” Fewer details were better, until I could figure out who I was dealing with. “I’ll let him know you stopped by. Where’s home for you?”
“Louisville.” He ran his tongue along his upper teeth as his gaze bounced around my office. “Unfortunately.”
“What brought you up here again?” I leaned back in my chair, interlacing my fingers.
“Just some business.” He shrugged. “Why do you ask?”
“This is pretty far from Louisville.”
“Well, I’ve got business near and far. Just like Trace. Must be in our genes, huh?”
I narrowed my eyes. “Sure. What line of work?”
He shrugged. “General.”
“Fine. So you finished up here and are headed back?”
“Duty calls.” He shrugged.
I fought against the urge to roll my eyes. The cryptic responses weren’t cute. They only ratcheted up my annoyance. “What did you want to talk to Trace about?”
“Just trying to get to know my brother. We lost a lot of time. I had to really dig to find you guys. My old man was secretive, until he just disappeared.” The smirk was back. “He chose you guys, which I get. You three had a better shot at making it big, and look at you now. Makes me wonder what might have happened if he’d stuck around in my life, too.”
I cleared my throat. I felt for the guy—I really did. But I couldn’t play therapist for him. My priority was to protect my own—and my brothers’—interests. I leaned forward and pulled up the folder on my computer where I’d saved Ian’s information.
“Well, it looks like you’ve done well for yourself,” I said casually, scrolling through the information I’d gathered. I paused when I came to the information that had stood out to me. “You started a family this year. That’s pretty big.”
His face darkened. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Just some information I was able to pull up.” I flashed him my empty but polite smile. “Digging, as you say.”
Ian didn’t say anything, his gaze fixed on the ground.
“Looks like you had a little girl a few months back. What did you name her?”
He sniffed, crossing his arms before he met my gaze. “It doesn’t matter. Ain’t even sure if she’s mine.”
“Ah. My apologies.”
His smirk had morphed into a scowl.
I pushed the façade of polite conversation a little further. “So what was your favorite part of New York? Meet any interesting people while you were here?”
His gaze returned to mine, right back to cocky. “You could say that. There’s all sorts of powerful, interesting people in this city. I had half a mind to take a job up here. Run away from Kentucky for good. Maybe that’s another thing in the Fairchild bloodline, huh?”
I shrugged. “Could be. Or maybe it’s just what a lot of kids from boring hometowns do.”
“Nah, I think it’s something I come by honestly.” Ian stretched out in his arms, knuckles interlocked. “Something I share with my brother Trace.”
