Since Last Time

by Danes, Ellie

  While there, I developed a plan of attack. I had an idea of what was going on, but I needed someone to run down some information for me. I would have to wait until normal people woke up and then I’d call Henry. I needed him to work on getting the bar opened, but I needed Henry’s expertise to find out if there were any legal ramifications about probate here in Asheville. By now, I was thinking there were probably more people involved than just George and Courtney. It was obvious that they were involved, but why?

  Taylor had brought a laptop with her for work, and she could easily do it with the wi-fi connection at the hotel. Truth be told, it would probably be a bit less stressful than her being in the house. I estimated that we had about two weeks to figure everything out. Two weeks before the bar would go under. Two weeks before maybe leaving and heading back to LA.

  As I poured myself a cup of coffee from the coffee maker in the kitchen, I wasn’t feeling the move back to LA. It was always an option, but as I pulled open the French doors and walked onto the balcony, I admitted I would likely have come back within a year. It was time. Time to come home.

  I sighed as I took a hot gulp of coffee. If I could get Henry working with the judge and Taylor working online this weekend, maybe we could find something. Some nugget we could work with.

  I looked over at the clock. It was about eight in the morning. Henry should be awake shortly. I needed to take a look at the records in the bar. I stopped midmotion of another gulp. Most of the records would be online. Asheville was quaint, but it wasn’t too far from the Research Triangle of North Carolina. Technology reigned supreme here. I had been talking out my ass about the probate to George, but it would probably be online shortly as well as the updated ownership of the bar.

  I took out a pad of paper. I needed to start making a list. Finding that information out online, I’d leave to Taylor, as she could get it done quicker than I and definitely quicker than Henry, as it was Sunday and no one was at work. She could also take a look and see if there was an actual issue with the taxes or if it was just a smokescreen for something else.

  Checking my watch, I found that it was still way too early for Mabel to be up, so I’d have to save her for later. I needed her to change my schedule up for the next two weeks while we worked here as a team. And to be a team, I needed to get Eric back on Team D&E.

  Glancing over at the bed, I wanted to make sure my little sleeping beauty was getting the rest she needed. The last few weeks had been really rough on her, and I wanted to show her that she meant the world to me. I grinned to myself. I hope she understood all the showing I was giving her last night.

  Finishing up the first cup of coffee, I put it down and thought about the receipts I saw at The Boar and Brew. Rhonda had brought back the receipts after supposedly getting them paid at the courthouse. She was involved somehow. Eric said she’d been working there a couple of years while she went to school. She seemed just like any other college senior. Bubbly, friendly, nice enough, though I really hadn’t talked with her.

  I checked the clock and gave Henry a call. He was happy to help and said he was drinking buddies with the judge who would be handling the case.

  I ordered Taylor breakfast, texted Mabel the changes, as well as letting her know I may need to free up some money to purchase a piece of real estate here. There really wasn’t anything that could be done until tomorrow so today we needed to begin planning to take back what was ours.

  The room service arrived with breakfast, and Taylor started stretching and moving around on the bed. I walked over to her with the tray of eggs, fruit, toast, orange juice, and coffee. I put it on the nightstand and sat on the bed next to her.

  “You’ve been busy,” she yawned at me.

  “Couldn’t turn my brain off.”

  Taylor locked at the bedside clock and yelped in surprise. “Why did you let me sleep?”

  “You looked so peaceful I don't want to bother you.” I leaned down and gave her a kiss. A kiss that just filled me.

  “I always get up at 6:01 every morning.”

  I handed her the coffee. “It’s okay to add a little bit of change to your lifestyle.”

  “I'm not good with change.”

  “I’m realizing that,” I told her. “But change can be good.”

  She put the coffee down and went into the bathroom, stark naked. I inhaled her scent as she walked by. Taylor came back out of the bathroom and sat on my lap.

  “Yes,” she said. “Change can be very good.”

  She wiggled around in my lap, and my thoughts jumped away from work and to the wonderful woman sitting on me. She leaned over and grabbed some toast.

  “You’re going to get crumbs on yourself.”

  She shrugged and pushed me down on the bed.

  Later that morning, I outlined my plans for today and the research needed on the property value of the bar and the property surrounding it. I also needed the name of the court clerk and as much information as she could find on the Harris family. Also, any business deals that may be in play for the property currently.

  Taylor filled me in on what she had found with Eric a couple of nights ago so that we were all on the same page. Except for Eric. I needed to get him over here, so we could talk, and I hoped he was going to stop being such a stubborn jerk.

  Taylor worked until about midafternoon dressed only in a pair of panties and the robe. She really dug in once she was in front of the computer. The only time she stopped was when I fed her some grapes and other assorted fruits.

  She looked up at me and said, “I wish you'd stop bothering me.”

  “I’m not bothering you. I’m spoiling you.”

  I peeled an orange and fed her slice by slice. She didn’t seem too bothered by the juice running down her chin that I licked off.

  “I think we need to talk to Rhonda.”

  “I think we need to show up in force, all of us,” she said.

  I nodded in agreement. She got up from the computer and stretched.

  I took her in my arms. “Babe, you have the next two weeks to figure everything out.”

  Her eyes light up.

  “How does room service, champagne, and that awesome jet tub I saw in the bathroom sound to you?”

  At this point, she smiled, let the robe fall down her shoulders, giggled, and ran to the bathroom. I wasn’t a fool, so I quickly followed her.

  The rest of Sunday afternoon went by in a very satisfying blur. Taylor and I spent the day and most of the night learning about each other and talking. It was something I missed. Business was my work. I had no friends, just business associates and people I did business with.

  Monday was a whirlwind. I spent it with Henry, trying to hold off the tax sale and get them to open up the bar. We were trying to figure out what was happening. Henry talked to his old friends. He had never cared for the Harris family.

  By the end of the day, we had the bar opened while it went through probate. A good cause clause allowed us to do that. A hail Mary pass. Peggy was there with bells on, and so were many of the staff. She fussed and groaned about how dirty it was and took to cleaning. The bar never got dirty. I firmly believe dust was afraid to lay down because it would have to deal with her. We were only out of business for two days, but you would have thought it was a month from how she was acting.

  Peggy had us rocking and rolling in about ninety minutes. Taylor was on the Internet. She had a two-for-one deal to help us deal with getting through probate and several really clever ideas for marketing. Though we got the bar back and rolling, Eric barely talked to me. Before I left, I had Peggy tell Eric to meet me back at my hotel after work, so we could talk.

  Taylor was still at the hotel, working away. I told her Eric was coming.

  She nodded. “It would be best if I wasn’t here, so you guys can talk.”

  I wrapped my arms around her as she kissed me. God, she felt so good.

  Eric arrived shortly after the bar closed about 2:30. He walked in with a chip on his shoulder.
/>   “I’m here and you said you want to talk so you better make it good, Dalton.”

  We might be reluctant partners, but we were partners and we needed the air cleared so we could work together.

  “I need you to get through what Taylor and I have so we can work on a plan on how we can make a go of it here. Both as a bar and as a family.”

  He waved his hand for me to go on as he walked over to the balcony and took in the early summer smells of June in the night air.

  “Taylor and I have been working on various pieces of it all day, and I need to find out about some staffing issues before I can go any further.”

  “What staffing issues?”

  “Rhonda. Who is she and what do you know about her?”

  “Rhonda Thompson. Not too much, college kid, been working for us about eighteen months or two years.”

  “As long as the troubles have been going on?”

  Eric nodded. “Pretty sure.”

  “We need to talk to her and the court clerk. I have the bank records that show that money has been paid and the receipt that you have from the courts. We can show it was paid. However, we don’t know why it never made it to the courthouse.”

  Eric thought about it for a minute. “Rhonda’s back on Friday. I’ve been calling her about her shifts and haven’t been able to get her to call us back. Peggy’s had the same issues. We can talk to her then.”

  “She’s out of town quite a bit, but we have time and can wait until Friday. We got a ton on our plate as it is. How about we tackle the county tax clerk tomorrow?”

  Eric yawned and sat on the sofa.

  “How about you spend the night? You look about ready to fall over.”

  He never heard me. He was already fast asleep. I covered him with a spare blanket and texted Taylor. I’m sure Taylor would let Kris know. He hadn’t said one thing about Kris, but we were staying away from anything confrontational.

  After a good breakfast and coffee, Eric and I headed over to the county tax office. Before we went over there, we went to the office and made copies of the receipts from the county clerk.

  The surprised young woman at the desk gave Eric a look usually reserved for celebrities or politicians who showed up out of the blue. I just stood back and watched Eric work his Southern charm.

  Eric turned the name plate around. Tammy Johnson.

  “Tammy, I’m looking for a Ms. Emma Banks, and I sincerely hope you can help me.”

  Tammy stammered a little bit. “Ms. Banks worked here but she retired about a year and a half ago, Mr. Price.”

  Eric nodded. “How do you know my name?”

  “I go to the bar every now and then with my girlfriends on our days off. I noticed you there.”

  Her cheeks blushed. The interesting thing with Eric was that it wasn’t that he was actively flirting, he was just being nice, and he would never notice that she was into him. That’s why he was so oblivious to Kris for so many years.

  “Well, Miss Johnson, my father’s been paying taxes on that bar for eighteen months, and we have the receipts for them, but yet they don’t show up on the records.”

  “Let me check on that for you.”

  Tammy pulled our account. She shook her head. “Nothing’s been paid since the beginning of last year.”

  I stepped forward. “One of our employees, Rhonda Thompson, has been dropping them off and we’ve been receiving receipts from the county tax office saying they were paid.”

  “Do you have the receipts on you?”

  I gave her the receipts.

  She shook her head. “These aren’t our receipts. Our receipts are notarized and stamped and there are neither on here. These are just plain receipts.”

  I took the paper back from her and folded it, putting it in my back pocket.

  Tammy looked at us. “Will you be paying on the taxes today, sir.”

  I looked over at Eric. “I don’t even know how much is owed.”

  The nice young woman printed us out a statement. I hadn’t seen that many zeros in quite awhile. I would need to liquidate some assets, and I couldn’t do it that day. I’d give Mabel a call in a bit and have her start working on that.

  “I just want to verify again, Miss Johnson, that my employee has never been here, and these are not the correct receipts for the tax office.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Thank you for your time,” Eric said as he turned to leave.

  I caught sight of her fanning herself as she watched Eric stroll out of the room. She caught me staring and turned beet red. Totally unaware. That was our Eric.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Taylor

  Eric came to the door on Tuesday absolutely exhausted. But I was up waiting for him, sitting on the stairs. It was 3 a.m. but I was not going to have this any longer.

  He came through the door and saw me sitting there. He rolled his eyes, but at least he didn’t try to get around me. “I do not want to be doing this right now, sis.”

  “I get that. I really do. I understand. However, as your sister, you need to understand a few things.”

  Eric shook his head. “I get it. You like Dalton. We’re talking. It’s all good.”

  “I’m not talking about Dalton. He’s our partner, and we’re together, so what you like or don’t like needs to find a place to sit down and get out of my way. I’m talking about Kris.” I stood up to my full five-foot-four. “It makes me sick that you hadn’t even noticed her or had the slightest idea. Have you even bother to call her since Saturday?”

  At the mention of Kris’ name, Eric smiled a goofy little grin. “No, I haven’t. I don’t know what I’m feeling right now, Taylor. I never really thought of her like that before the other day.”

  “If you have no experience since Courtney with relationship issues, don't you come here and give me a hard time about my relationship with Dalton. I want you to be a part of our lives, Eric. Dalton is a part of our lives and so is Kris. As fucked up as that may get at times, and it will get royally messed up, you need to get on board and clear out some of the debris and hubris going around in that head of yours and get things going right.”

  He kicked at the bottom step. “So, you mean I have to listen to the thumping and shaking in the middle of the night.”

  I looked up at him. “Eric, that’s just gross.”

  “Where are you all going to live if not here?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Are you going back to California with him?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “There’s a lot of ‘I don’t knows’ in there, sis. Before you start knocking me, maybe figure those out as well.”

  I took a deep breath. “That’s a good point. It really is. I will get those answers for you. I may not know what the future may hold but let us understand that there is something between all of us.”

  I walked over to my brother and wrapped my arms around his waist. “You’re my big brother, and I love you dearly.”

  I felt him kiss the top of my head. “Love you, too, sis. But can I please get some rest?”

  I laughed. “Yes, but it’s not over.”

  “It is for now. Rhonda gets back into town on Friday, and we need to talk with her before her shift. So, let’s just get everyone together for some drinks after the bar closes tomorrow night.”

  I agreed and put the issue, and myself, to bed.

  The next night found us all in the bar. Peggy, Kris, Dalton, Eric, and myself pulled tables together. We needed to hash out what the duties were going to be for all of us.

  Dalton set the pace and from the corner of my eye, I watched Eric and Kris. They still seemed really uncomfortable with each other. Kris maybe even a little bit subdued, if that was even possible.

  Our meeting lasted until about four in the morning, where we all called a halt and needed to get some rest. Dalton was going to have some of his assets liquidated so he could at least take care of the taxes while we dug deeper into Courtney, George, and whatever Rhond
a was doing. Were they all connected or were we blinded by the fact that we had no idea what was going on with Rhonda?

  I heard Eric ask Kris if she could stay and talk. I hoped they worked it out. Kris’ outgoing fun nature was exactly what I think my brother needed in order to get going in his life.

  As I walked out to my truck, I heard the steps behind me that I recognized as Dalton’s.

  “Would you like me to escort you home?”

  I turned toward him. “I would love to have you escort me home, just so I don't drive off the road in extreme exhaustion. However, if you are expecting any reward at the end of your trip, I will just as likely fall asleep as anything else.”

  He grinned. “I can live with that. I think my question to you, my dear Taylor, is do you want to wake up in the morning alone or would you like to wake up in the morning with a man who loves you?”

  “You love me?”

  “I thought I was clear about that. If I wasn’t, Taylor Price, I’m very much in love with you.” He strode forward to me and kissed my trembling lips. “What’s your answer, babe?”

  I woke up the next morning, happily snuggled next to Dalton, smelling the coffee brewing downstairs. I looked over at the clock, which I had not set the alarm on. I had once again way overslept my alarm. Sometimes, change was good. It could be scary, freeing, and give you the feeling you were running off the cliff, but once it had occurred, it was also exhilarating.

  All Thursday was spent with all of us working our little angles. Henry may have found a lawsuit being filed against the Harris family. He was heading into the courts to see what that was all about. I had the new marketing campaign for The Boar and Brew.

  Most interesting was Dalton had me contact Mabel, and I started doing marketing for the other D&E nightclubs around the country. It was fascinating all the pies that Dalton had been working on. Mabel had a grandmotherly sort of voice, and it made me feel immediately comfortable with her. I’m sure she was solid iron under all the sugar and spice and no one got through that gate keeper.

  The next day, Friday, we all met at the house. Kris rode up on her bike, and we all took the Viper over to Rhonda’s. Feeling Dalton’s hand in mine as we drove made me tingly in all the right places. I squeezed his hand, and he grinned over at me.