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What’s been even more entertaining to witness was Brett’s slow downfall from bachelorhood. At forty and still battling a bitter divorce, his older brother by a year had sworn he wouldn’t marry again, let alone get involved with a woman so much younger and opposite from his usual type. Allie had set her sights on Brett her first visit to Casey’s at the start of summer, but it had taken a threat to her life before Brett caved to her wiles. It still surprised Reed and Slade how quick Brett had been to propose after coming close to losing her.
“Speaking of watching...” Reed jerked a thumb toward Brett who stood with arms crossed and booted feet planted apart, his focus on Allie’s swaying body.
“Who’d have thought?” Jordan lifted a finger to the two women who settled on barstools at the other end. “Gotta earn my pay. Are you joining the get-together upstairs after closing?”
“Plan to, after I help you straighten up down here.” He and his brothers were raised not to shirk their duties regardless of the wealth that enabled them to hire others to do the work. Their father might have been a poor husband and somewhat lackadaisical parent, leaving a lot of their summer supervision when they were at the ranch up to his foreman, but he took the time to instill a good work ethic in his three sons.
“Catch you later, then.”
Jordan strolled down to the women who kept casting flirtatious glances their way, but Reed found himself disinterested, and Jordan wouldn’t play the game as long as he was with Bianca. Left alone, Reed wished Slade had come out with him instead of waiting until they got together upstairs after closing. He and Brett were used to their youngest brother preferring solitude to socializing ever since he ended his days as a military sniper. If that’s how he needed to cope with his demons, he had their support. That didn’t keep them from giving Slade a hard time about it though.
Reed took another drink before turning to scope out the crowd, looking for a table of friends he could join rather than someone new to strike up a conversation with. His gaze landed on the mechanical bull corner as Brett reached down to assist Allie up from the floor. She must have lost her latest battle to beat her record, but that didn’t keep her from laughing at herself as his brother hauled her against him. The look of indulgence and profound caring reflected on Brett’s face so often when he was with her still took some getting used to. While happy for Brett’s good fortune, the tight clutch gripping Reed’s abdomen again proved what he wouldn’t admit aloud – how much he had been itching for such a relationship with one person lately.
Swearing under his breath, he forced himself to focus on Brett and Allie heading toward him instead of Lily’s concerned, sad eyes the last time he’d been in the same room with John, listening to him plead with her for another chance then go off on her when she shook her head. In the eight months since she left him and filed for divorce, John had subjected Reed to bitter tirades and bouts of drunken weeping regrets over and over, getting angry with him when he refused to get involved or told him to own up to his wrongdoings and let her go. Reed had lost count of how many times he’d told himself he didn’t care what either of them did with their marriage as long as they left him out of it.
Lying to himself was much easier than facing the truth.
“Maybe you should have stayed home with Slade tonight,” Brett said, taking the stool next to Reed and wrapping an arm around Allie’s waist to assist her to perch on his thigh.
Allie leaned forward and placed a hand on Reed’s knee, the rings adorning each finger glinting under the pendant bar light, her blonde head tilted. “Bad day, Reed?”
Reed schooled his expression to mask his lingering annoyance with John’s persistent calls, berating himself for letting his partner’s issues affect Reed’s day off. No wonder he was taking a hard look at resigning from law enforcement altogether.
“A persistent aggravation is all. I’m fine.”
Brett cocked his head, and Reed bristled at his probing stare. “As in your partner, John? And, don’t bite my head off for asking.”
Reed blew out a breath and relaxed his tense shoulders. Since they were kids, he’d been the one to soothe ruffled feathers or offer an ear. Not so much lately, though, always on edge after spending eight hours cooped up in his department cruiser listening to John cursing and weeping over Lily. He used to love patrolling the Wyoming highways with his friend and partner. Not anymore. “Yes, the same old crap, I assume. I haven’t answered his calls today.” His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out, rolling his eyes before he noticed his captain’s number on the display screen.
Wondering at a call from his boss interrupting his day off, he held up the phone to his brother, saying, “I’m going to take this outside.” Reed brought the phone to his ear and slid off the stool to head for the front door. “Hey, Captain, what’s up?”
“Can you get someplace quiet, Kincaid?” Captain Carmichael asked as Reed grabbed the door handle.
“Doing so now, sir.” Growing suspicious with a ball of dread forming in his gut, Reed stepped outside and moved away from the doorway before speaking again. “Sorry. I’m at Casey’s but outside now.” A tangible hesitation on the other end, very unlike his straightforward, blunt-speaking superior, caused his stomach to cramp. “Captain?”
“I’m sorry, Reed. John’s dead, apparent suicide or accidental overdose. We’ll have to wait on the coroner’s report.”
Captain Carmichael’s statement hit Reed with a shock wave of disbelief followed by a body-jarring stab of grief. His first thought was instant denial – there was no way John would take his own life or overdose. For one thing, his partner was too self-centered to even consider going that way, and he would never abuse his body with drugs. He thought too highly of his physique and worked daily to stay in shape.
“Who found him?” Reed asked, a wave of guilt slithering through him.
Here he’d spent the day cursing John for trying to intrude on his time off by pestering him with his problems and, instead, his friend and partner had been drowning in desperation. God help him, did he turn his back on John when he’d needed him most?
“His brother, Jason. Called headquarters when he couldn’t get hold of him and he didn’t answer the door even though his vehicle was in the drive. He swears there is no way John overdosed, not even by accident. I’m inclined to agree.”
“Which leaves suicide? I’m not going there, not without proof. He wouldn’t go that way, Captain.”Or did I miss the signs because of Lily?God, he hoped he didn’t have to live with that on his conscience.
“I’m calling it an accidental death until I get the autopsy report,” Michaels returned in the firm tone Reed knew better than to argue with.
They spoke another minute then he ended the call, trying to digest that mind-numbing news. With leaden footsteps, he walked around the side of Casey’s and sank down on the steps leading to the upper floor, memories assailing him, the good and bad times of the six years he’d known John. The two of them had hung out together a lot after becoming partners, Reed welcoming John’s friendship and company coming on the heels of his permanent return to Wyoming. With Brett still practicing corporate law at a big firm in San Antonio and Slade exhausting himself working the ranch from sunup to sundown, Reed had spent the majority of his days off with John until he met Lily. It didn’t take long after that for their relationship to sour.
Lily.
Thinking of the woman Reed was halfway in love with and wondering how she was taking the news of her husband’s death left him even more shaken.
****
Reed parked on thetree-lined residential street several doors down from the house John and Lily had lived in together before she’d left and filed for divorce eight months ago. He sat a moment, wondering how she felt being back in the cottage-style home she had taken great pains to decorate and make their own. The few times they had invited him for dinner, she’d shown him the most recent changes she’d made, inside and out, her face suffused with unmistakable pride and pleasure. Eyeing the people gathered out front and watching others come and go from inside, he would bet she had dreaded joining John’s colleagues and friends in saying their final goodbyes today in the home she had shared both good and bad times with her husband. Maybe as much as he did, although, that was difficult to imagine given his reluctance to get out of his vehicle and the remorse still plaguing him.
