AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I ignore the jab. “I want to know why she’s here after all this time. Is it guilt? Or is it something more serious?”
“Serious how?”
“She collapsed on my steps this morning.” I run a hand over my tired face. “Maybe she’s here because she needs my help in some way.”
“That’s a lot to take in. It might be best to see how this plays out and keep your distance.”
I level Rhett with my gaze. “I want to know how to convince her to stay.”
“Are you breaking your rule for her?” Rhett leans back in the chair and lowers his foot to the ground as if he’s stabilizing himself for my response.
Yes.
No.
Fuck.
“I don’t know,” I spit in answer. The very thought turns my stomach. Only those closest to me know about the rule I set to keep me from ending up in this exact situation, and look how that fucking turned out. The rule was supposed to keep us all safe. The sentiment from that morning three years ago swirls again in my head. I fucked up. “Does it matter? The deed is done, and clearly, my vasectomy failed. She doesn’t have to stay with me. She just needs to stick around town. I’ll be damned if I let her run off with my kid now.”
“Evie might be able to help you with that.”
“How?” I lean back in my chair and drag my fingers through the hair atop my head. The vodka dulled my frayed nerves, but I’m still restless.
“She’s refused to set a date to marry me until she could get Caiti to agree to come. Since Caiti’s been avoiding Evie’s phone calls for the past three years, I’m thinking she has a pretty convincing reason to guilt her into sticking around.”
Having good friends is absolutely fucking priceless. It hasn’t even been one day, and they’re already lending solutions.
“She’s a known runner.” The memory of waking up to disheveled, empty sheets flashes through my thoughts.
“Evie rolled into town after running from her family and her ex. She ran from me once too. If I can get her to settle, I think this plan has a decent chance of working out.”
“If Evie can crank the guilt up to one hundred, I’d be grateful.”
Rhett slaps his hands against his knees and stands. “You got it. It’ll all work out.” He fishes his phone out of his pocket. “I have three missed texts wondering when I’ll be home so Evie can get Ophelia back here, so I better go.”
I rise from my office chair. “That’s my cue to put in an order with Duke. I promised to feed all the girls tonight.”
“Give us an hour. I want to fill Evie in and give Tommy a little more time to play with his new cousin.”
Thinking Ophelia might already have a friend in Rhett’s six-year-old son puts a rare smile on my face.
“You got it.”
“If we weren’t already like family, this would have sealed it.”
“Yeah.” The word draws out on a sigh.
Rhett exits left out the back, and I head right to the kitchen. I give Duke, my assistant manager and cook, an order to have six bacon cheeseburgers with fries, condiments on the side, and an order of mozzarella sticks ready in an hour.
“Feeding a small crowd tonight, Boss?”
“Something like that. Are you good to cover for the rest of the night?”
Duke’s head bobs while he cleans the sizzling grill. “Not a problem. My old ball and chain is at book club until nine, in which case he’ll catch a ride home with one of the gals’ husbands and be conked out by nine fifteen.”
“Is book club a code word for something I’m unaware of?” Duke’s partner Ronnie is naturally the life of the party. Even in their sixties, the couple knows how to have a good time, but I can’t imagine how a book club could be enough to knock the man out.
A snort from across the room pulls me from my thoughts. “Let’s just say the stuff he reads keeps us young. I’d think the books were an excuse to get rip-roaring drunk with his friends if it weren’t for the way he puts out while reading ’em.”
“That’s a visual I didn’t need.” I shake my head.
His cackling laughter follows me out the swinging door into the restaurant.
