AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jake shoves his hand in Lennon’s face. “Give him hell later. Cal, tell us what went down.”
Lennon attempts to burst my head with his glaring. I deserve it, and my brothers deserve the full story of why I’m here, falling apart. I keep glancing forlornly at the wall, wishing I could see through the bar, into Jo’s office. Be there for her when Francisca blindsides her with an eviction notice. How can I offer support when I’m the cause?
“I’ve always had this impulse to help,” I say, rubbing the back of my still-hot neck. “Smooth issues over for the people close to me. But when WITSEC hit, that impulse became more of a need.”
Jake resumes his role of Eye Contact Champion, staring me into submission. “So you did stuff to feel like you were more in control of your life?”
“Yeah, but I was also worried about all of you. About Jo and my friends back here. How everyone was coping.” I spill the secrets I’ve kept, including some of the dealings I’ve done: buying into Ben’s gallery to see him succeed, getting Javier a discount on his work equipment, helping Jo when she had car and roommate troubles, sending her gifts when tragedy struck, keeping an eye on each of my brothers as they moved back to Windfall.
“Let me get this straight,” Lennon says, his bearded jaw firmed, “you’re the reason my first date with Maggie came with flowers and free dessert at the restaurant?”
I nod and tense, waiting for him to smack me again.
He grins. “Thanks, man. Definitely earned me points.”
E rocks on his heels. “You needed all the help you could get.”
“Not me.” Des puffs up his broad chest. “Unlike you assholes, I didn’t need interfering. I won Sadie back all on my own.”
“The shock of the century,” Lennon mumbles.
“All well and good,” Jake says. “Buthow? How’d you pull off that stuff from Houston? And how’d you keep your name out of everything?”
I shrug. “I have a shell company when necessary and a spy in town.”
Jake’s expression hardens. “What the fuck do you mean,a spy?”
My brothers crowd closer, eyes narrowing like they’re one being working in sync. Their mission is to make me crack. They won’t let this go, and the secret doesn’t matter any longer. The faster I get this over with, the faster we can get to the fiasco at hand.
“Sandra, okay? I hired Sandra. Found her shortly after she moved to Windfall, and she’s worked for me for years. She spied on you idiots as needed, but I’ve since cut ties with her. Unfortunately, the last issue I had her resolving has become a disaster. When Jo learns about it, she’ll leave me and hate me forever. I royally fucked up.”
“Fucking Sandra.” E shakes his head, laughing to himself. “I knew she was a spy.”
“We’ll unpack that shock later,” Lennon says, getting up in my space. “What did you do to Jo?”
I cross my arms and dig my toe into the gravel. “Sold her bar.”
“What?!” my brothers shout in unison, except Jake, who’s glaring at me.
“She hates it, okay? At least, I thought she did. We had talks about how much pressure she felt living up to her aunt’s expectations. She has other dreams she hasn’t chased, things I thought would make her happier, but I knew she wouldn’t walk away. So I had the choice taken away from her.” The building sold. Her business evicted. I confess it all, along with her latest bombshell that she hadn’t sharedallher feelings about the Barrel, the way people sometimes focus on the negative with their closest friends, ending with her and Larkin’s planned partnership—a dream I’ve since killed.
“I don’t know how to fix this,” I say, breathing hard again. “I came here to tell her what I did, assuming she’d be mad but would be relieved in the end. When I saw how excited she was about revamping the business, the panic attack started and Francisca showed up. So Jo doesn’t know what I did yet.”
Jake grips my shoulders. It’s his standard move, aside from forced eye contact. The vise that holds us all together. “You need to quit thinking you’re everyone’s guardian fucking angel.”
“I know.”
“You can’t fix all our problems.”
I try to hang my head, but his grip tightens, keeping me where I am. “Agreed,” I say.
“And you willnotlose Jo. We didn’t go through hell for that to happen.”
“That part’s easy,” E says but doesn’t go on.
Des snarls at him. “Want to share with the rest of the class?”
“Simple. Someone else goes to Francisca and matches the brewpub offer or beats it. Francisca was close with Jo and her aunt. If she had a choice, I bet she’d choose the offer that allows Jo to keep the Barrel.”
