Since Last Time

by Danes, Ellie

  I woke very early in the morning and felt him stir next to me and pulled me back into his embrace. This was everything I wanted, but a feeling of betrayal festered in me. What would Eric do if he knew? My next thoughts never came as I felt Dalton’s lips on my neck and our symphony began again.

  Chapter Ten

  Dalton

  I woke up next to the most beautiful woman. A woman I’d dreamed about for almost a decade. Last night was more than I ever could have imagined. The young man I had been never would have been able to enjoy what I had last night. I had been selfish, immature, and my fantasies did not match to the reality of what I had found.

  There had been women through the years. Some stayed around for a while, quickly discouraged when they realized my work held more interest for me. No one had touched my soul like Taylor had on the night of her eighteenth birthday. Pops had little to say after I had come out of the kitchen. But it was that little bit that had changed my world.

  “Do you love her?” he asked.

  I stammered. “I don’t know.”

  “You better know, Dalton. I love you like a son, but my daughter, she’s special to me. You don’t deserve her.”

  My male pride took offense, and I was just about to let him have it. How dare he?

  He made one small movement, raising his hand. “Yet.” He shook his head. “I saw this coming, Dalton. The way you’ve been looking at her. You need to grow up and know who you are. Then come back and see where it is. Let her grow up, too.”

  The movement in the bed next to me took me away from the past and brought me back to the present with a rush.

  He was right. Pops was always right. I don't know if it was because of her innate sweetness, the way she handled everyone, even the drunk bar patrons, with kindness. I had taken to watching her at the bar when I thought no one was looking. I knew I couldn’t tell Eric. At that time, I couldn’t tell Eric anything, as most days he was out boning Courtney.

  As I watched her sleep, I didn’t know if it was just the amazing chemistry between us. What we had shared last night, I had never had before. What I did know was when she moved, she pulled me with her and when I moved, she came.

  I never expected to find that when I came back here. The previous women didn’t want real attachments. They either wanted the attention of a prominent bachelor in town or they wanted the free ride of going out on my arm for a day, a week, a month. They weren’t really interested in me, just the exposure I could give them. The people they would meet, the connections they could find through me.

  To say I didn’t care about them would be callous. What I can say is that the attraction of what I did for a living and building a business far outweighed what these women wanted. Those women I had dated expected nothing from me, and it allowed me a certain type of freedom. The ones who were clingier had been gently steered toward other men more suitable through introductions at the clubs.

  Having the responsibility of caring for someone was never in the cards.

  I heard Taylor sigh, and I rolled over and wrapped my arms around her. If my world had toppled and ended last night, I wouldn’t have care. The moment her lips touched mine, I wanted to be nowhere but by her side. I was chained to her by my own heart.

  I took a look at the hotel clock and realized I only had a few hours before I had to be up. I’d promised Eric I was going back to The Boar to look over inventory and bills. He was very happy to have someone who knew something about running a bar to talk to about his issues. I was happy to help him. Anything I could do to mend our bridges and make them stronger, I would do. For me, and for Taylor.

  Yesterday, progress had been made in getting the books together on the Cloud. I had a better feel of how things were going. Today, we were tackling the kegs and inventory, and if time prevailed, bills. A huge stack of them.

  I wrapped my arms around my sleeping beauty, waking her gently. “Baby.”

  She rolled over in my arms to smile at me. I fell into those gorgeous green eyes. They had always reminded me of the waves at the Outer Banks, as they gently caressed your feet as you walked through them.

  “Morning,” she said.

  “I need to head down to the bar to help Eric.”

  She smiled at me and my heart soared. “I’m glad. You don’t know what it means to him, knowing you're back, even for a little bit before you leave. Just knowing you care about the bar and our family is really helping him.” She smiled sleepily at me. “With all the stuff that happened with Pops… it was so fast. We never had a chance to learn from him.”

  I nodded, my heart in my throat. This will business was going to throw a wrench into everything that was currently happening. It would be like a Band-Aid, I told myself. Pull it off quick. The devil on my shoulder agreed, a Band-Aid made with duct tape. I closed that thought off in my mind and pulled her closer. Her lips came to me and after that, I forgot everything that was going through my mind.

  A couple of hours later, I was down at the bar with Eric. How Taylor and I would be able to keep meeting in secret, I didn’t know. She glowed from just being around me, and I was sure I did as well. Hopefully, it wouldn’t have to be a secret for too long. We just needed to know how Eric was going to react. Taylor was pretty sure Kris would keep her word to me, and I was, too. Eric, however, would be unpredictable.

  I was dropped off by Uber again. I’d be getting a rental later today as I really didn’t want to be riding around town in a limo. This was a country town with long roots. Limos were customarily frowned upon. I walked through the back door and across the hardwood floors of the bar to the office. I glanced over at the bar inventory. It seemed to be going quicker than it should. Including the kegs, even from the wake two days ago.

  Maybe the college kids were overpouring. Pops always knew and would say something. Maybe he had gotten too sick to know. I had strict protocol in my all my nightclubs and great managers who were paid well to make sure we made a profit and stayed honest.

  As I walked through the bar, my mind tried to figure out a problem that I didn’t even have a question for yet.

  “Eric,” I called out.

  “Hey, Eric!” I tried again.

  “Down here,” I heard him yell from the cellar.

  When I got down there, I saw him scratching his head.

  “You know, I was pretty sure we had more kegs yesterday. We didn’t have too much business, as it was Thursday.”

  I looked around the cellar, and my eye caught the table where Taylor and I had become reacquainted.

  Eric snapped his fingers in front of my eyes. “Wow, it must have been some lady last night.”

  I shook my head, shocked, but then realized he didn’t know anything about last night. “No. Nothing like that. I was thinking about being down here when the kegs were turned two days ago, and I think you’re right.”

  He walked around. “Some of the more expensive craft beer is gone. Looks like some of the hard liquor was moved out of the cage as well.”

  All the hard liquor was kept in a cage in the storage area. You needed a key to get in. We went back there now. Wine was missing as well.

  “Do you have people you trust working for you?” I asked.

  Eric shrugged. “College kids mostly. No one has a key but Peggy and family.”

  “Let me give Mabel a call and see about our security we use for our liquor cabinets and get some installed here.”

  Eric scratched his stubble on his face. “That would be great. Who’s Mabel? Girlfriend?”

  “No, she’s my executive assistant. Handles everything I can’t get to. She handles the scheduling of flights to the various clubs or online meetings with the managers of each club.”

  “You need to tell me more about how you became the lord of the free world when it comes to night clubs.”

  I laughed. “I’ll be here long enough to tell you tales. We better find out sooner rather than later what is happening here.” I took a deep breath. “So, how’s Taylor been?”

&nb
sp; “She’s good. Listen, let’s take a look at the bills. We need to see if they match up.”

  As we walked back up the office and the stack of bills, I tried again to bring up Taylor to Eric. I just had a niggling fear in my gut what the reading of the will was going to do to Eric and Taylor. I wanted to have Taylor and I out in the open with Eric before we got there. I didn’t want to keep it a secret from him.

  I got on the phone with Mabel. She handled everything wonderfully and sent me the number to the locksmiths we used. I texted Taylor that I wanted to let Eric know.

  She gave me a text back, Are you nuts?

  I grabbed a pile of bills and so did Eric. I couldn’t talk about how involved Pops and I were, but I thought it would be very bad not to let them know before this afternoon’s meeting. A promise was a promise, and Pops wanted it told in his own way. However, one of the bills had me distracted.

  “Eric, didn’t Pops pay the property tax this year?”

  Eric put his stack down and walked over to me. “Yeah, every year. Like clockwork. Pops calls, gets the current amount, and flirts with the county clerk like he does every year. She tells him what he owes, and he runs it over there.”

  I pushed the bill over. “Did he do that this year?”

  Eric thought about it. “You know, this year and last he didn’t. He had Rhonda go each time. He would get the receipts back from the clerk and file them.”

  Eric turned around and went to the filing cabinet in the corner and dug up the taxes file and brought it over to me at the desk. “See. Here it is.”

  He pulled out a stack of receipts, including the ones for the last year. “Rhonda did it every quarter this year and last.”

  I pushed the tax notice over to him. “I think we better talk to Rhonda. Who is she?”

  “She’s a college kid. Been working for us for about two years.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “Classes just ended for the semester, so she is supposed to be back at the end of the week after some decompression time down at Hilton Head.”

  “We need get some answers.”

  At that moment, Peggy poked her head into the office. “Hey, boyos. Take a look at the clock, why don’t you? You got about fifteen minutes to head over to the lawyer’s.”

  “Shit,” Eric and I said in unison and headed out to the bike out back. There would be no talking now about Taylor or about anything.

  All I could do at this point was handle the fallout. I was pretty sure once Taylor and Eric knew the other reason why I was here, I may very well find myself back in the doghouse. I didn’t know how they were going to feel when they found out that as much as Pops helped me, I helped him. I swallowed. It was all going to come clean in the wash. And all hell was going to break loose.

  I didn’t want to lose what was just starting up with Taylor or bust the bridge Eric and I were building. Eric wouldn’t have a choice, and, by extension, Taylor was really going to hurt. Secrets. I’d never know why Pops wanted to keep everything so close to his chest. Now we needed to deal with the consequences. And by we, I meant me.

  Chapter Eleven

  Taylor

  I tried hard to contain my excitement at the prospect of seeing Dalton. I brushed at pretend crumbs on the table and on my skirt just to give my hands something to do. My pulse skipped around at the excitement of seeing my lover at the same time my mind was flipping out from the idea that we had to keep it from my brother. With a face like mine, I could never lie. Even jokes fell flat. My brother and I had always been close, and it just seemed so wrong to keep anything from him. Though, I have to say, I never did tell him about kissing Dalton. At the time, he had other things to think about and later, I just wanted to keep it to myself.

  Henry’s secretary, Betty, showed me to the swank but old-school conference room when I showed up about half an hour before anyone else. I dressed conservatively in a black skirt and white top; sexy, but not. The mahogany conference table was oval and not too large, as there would only be the four of us, Henry, and his secretary, if she was going to be there. There was even a coffee server. Everything said upscale and classy, but laidback. No wonder Pops had liked Henry. I smushed my fingertips on the table, and sure enough, it picked up my prints from being freshly polished. I rubbed them out with my sweater. Where was everyone?

  Walking to the coffee server, I poured myself a cup of joe. They had sugar cubes, so two of those, but no milk… was that cream? I splashed a bunch in there just to cool it off. My mind wouldn’t shut down.

  Why was Dalton going to be here? Was this what he was so hesitant about last night? Why did Pops want him here? It seemed Henry showed up at the cemetery to make sure of it. There was something going on besides the obvious. My mind whirled with different ideas, picking up one, dropping it, and picking up another.

  My journalistic mindset spidey sense was going off big time. Not only trying to keep my secrets but trying to find out what Dalton’s were was setting them on overdrive. I was so afraid of giving us away to Eric. Kris knew, but she’d keep it secret. That’s what good friends did. She wouldn’t do it forever. She was not one for being quiet, except about how she felt about Eric.

  I got up, jiggled, and paced around the room. Eric was the first to show up, dressed extremely casual in a t-shirt and jeans. My brother had no sense of style.

  “Really, bro?”

  “What?”

  “Jeans and a t-shirt. Did you even wash those?”

  Eric shrugged. “I have to head back down to the bar afterward. Seemed silly to get dressed up, go home, change, and then turn around and come back downtown. The bar is like five blocks away.

  He sat down next to me where I was hoping Dalton would sit. Damn.

  “What’s with the grimace?”

  “No grimace.”

  “You’re acting really weird, sis. Something up? Besides the fact you are wearing makeup.”

  I smacked his arm. “It’s just a solemn occasion, that’s all.”

  “Naw, you wanted to look good for Henry.”

  “Shut up. I’m just concerned as to why we all need to be here.” I shrugged. “Probably nothing.”

  “You spend way too much time online. You need to cut the apron strings. Unplug, get a life.”

  I smacked his shoulder. “At least you look like you’re sleeping. Only three bags of luggage now.”

  Eric rubbed at his eyes. “Since Dalton’s been back, I’ve been feeling a lot better. He’s scanning everything over, and he’s finding some things I overlooked or just didn’t know about. He does have more experience with the office and finances than I do. I could learn quite a bit from him.”

  We heard Kris before we saw her, singing to the latest tune. She had her earplugs in, I just knew it. And soon she crossed the threshold dancing, ear plugs in, carrying her helmet.

  She saw Eric and cleared her throat embarrassed. “Ummm, sorry.”

  She sat on the other side of me. So much for sitting on that side. I was hoping to be sitting here next to Dalton and caressing his leg with my foot. I felt my face heat at the thought. Remembered the stroking I had given and received last night. All night.

  Kris caught my pinked ears and correctly assumed I was thinking about Dalton. She smiled and tucked her belongings away in her backpack and put her helmet on the floor.

  The very last person, who was punctual on the dot, was Dalton. He finished up a phone call and put the phone in his back pocket. Those damning blue eyes bored into me for just a second longer than appropriate before he sat next to Eric. Damn, he looked good. His suit today was more casual with a navy-blue jacket. Even in high school, he was fashion model good looking. Age just emphasized that. His suit had a nice cut to it, and I knew it must have cost a pretty penny to look so effortless. It was worth every bit of it, as it showed off his broad shoulders and tapered just right. That man knew how to dress. My heart pittered as I remembered what he looked like without it and how he felt under my hands. Finding that scar and how it m
ade him shudder when I ran my finger over it. Was the room getting hot, because I sure was.

  We broke into boy and girl groups it seemed, and I talked to Kris about nothing while she looked behind me at Eric. I just shook my head. She caught me grin at her and smacked my leg. As a group, we were in an unsteady truce, even though we seemed to be getting along.

  About five minutes later, as we were all just casually talking about life in general and staying clear of any topics which might cause any tension, Henry showed up.

  He was in his late seventies and had been a lawyer longer than I've been alive, but I always felt like he was one of the good guys. When I was a kid, he had a sucker for me stowed away and a kind word as I got older. He made me smile as he adjusted those coke bottle glasses. I knew this was not one of those times, but it made me feel better that he was someone I felt comfortable with and had been a fixture at our home for Sunday dinners after my mom died, telling me what my dad wanted us to do with his assets.

  There really wasn’t too much except for the bar and the house. We were always doing well enough except for the last few years with Pops out of commission, business slowing, and the medical bills. I didn’t know why it seemed more of a struggle, but I had faith Eric would figure it out and get us back on course. As long as we had each other, I knew we’d get through this.

  Henry cleared his throat and took off his glasses, wiping them down with the ever-present white handkerchief.

  “I want to thank you all for coming. Your dad wanted to do things a bit different. After years of having Taylor get on him about using technology, at the end, he went for it. Not only for you to know what he wanted but also, so you would know it was coming from him.”

  Henry looked at Dalton, who seemed to nod back. My spidey senses were going off the charts.

  The lawyer walked over to the wall and pushed a button. A quick whirring noise pushed aside a panel revealing a television set. He turned it on. He went to the intercom and called Betty down from her roost at the front door. That might sound harsh, but she always looked like a little chicken sitting there just waiting. She even wore fuzzy clothing, which should have looked odd in a woman of her advanced years, but actually made her seem more approachable.