Hunter’s eyes shifted from Sally over to me. “She always this forthcoming?” he asked.
“This is only the third time we’ve hung out, but I’m thinking the answer is yes,” I answered. His lips turned up into a smile. It was a good smile that lit up his face and softened his extremely masculine features.
“Sorry, sweetheart. Zane is definitely not coming back tonight,” he told Sally. He turned to fill an order and she shifted to face me.
“Damn!” she hissed. I watched her throw back her second tequila shot. After sucking on the lime, she sighed, “Well, shitballs. Order me a vodka tonic. I’m going to the bathroom. After I down it, let’s roll by Dragonfly so I can check in with Dillon about my schedule this week.” Disappointment colored her voice and I felt bad for her.
“Are you okay?”
“Curveballs are my specialty, babycakes,” she replied, patting my cheeks. “I’ll get over it. Be right back.”
I watched as she rounded the bar for the bathrooms and then turned my attention back to the bar and Hunter. Once I caught his eye, I asked for a vodka tonic and another Guinness. When he placed both in front of me, I scooted the vodka over to Sally’s empty spot. He lingered before asking if I needed anything else. Not in a particularly talkative mood, I simply said no and thanked him for asking. After filling a few more drinks, he came back and once again tried to engage me in conversation. Evidently, Hunter had spent a substantial amount of time in Sweden when he was a kid. Sally returned as I was explaining the differences between a Scottish pub and the typical American bar. At some point in the conversation, he asked if I was seeing anyone.
I opened my mouth to say yes, but Sally blurted, “No! Can you believe it? Sarah is a free agent. I mean, look at her. Isn’t she gorgeous? If I swung that direction, I would so make her my bitch.”
My face heated with mortification as I sputtered out an embarrassed, “Sally!”
“What?” she innocently asked. “What can I say? You have it going on.”
Hunter threw his head back and belted a boomingly loud laugh. My scowl at Sally turned into a big smile. I couldn’t help it, Hunter’s laugh was infectious. Once he calmed, he asked me out. Yep, just like that, he asked me out on a date. I gave him my number and then instantly wanted to take it back. Getting under this guy was not going to get me over Cas. I watched Hunter fill a few drink orders and finally said to hell with it. If he calls, he calls. If not, no big deal.
Half an hour later, we were about to leave when something across the bar caught my eye. It took me a couple of glances to make sure I wasn’t imagining it.
Bobby.
He was sitting next to a gorgeous blonde, but was staring straight at me. Noticing his attention was not on her, the blonde followed his eyes to me. Her eyes narrowed in contempt. Just to tweak her, I wiggled my fingers in a sexy wave and blew a kiss in his direction. Bobby’s eyes widened in surprise and he practically spit his drink across the bar. I fought to suppress my laughter when blondie lit into him.
And my job here is done.
On the ride to Dragonfly, I burst into a fit of giggles. I can’t believe I gave that guy my phone number.
“What’s so funny?” Sally asked.
“I was going to tell Hunter I was seeing someone,” I confessed.
“I’m glad you didn’t,” she retorted. “Life is too short for you to wait around for Cas to get his head out of his ass and see you for who you are, babe. I wasn’t lying when I said you had it going on.”
“You seem to understand what I’m going through. Care to share?”
“Believe it or not, I know exactly what you are feeling. Maybe one day, when the wounds have scabbed over a bit more, I’ll tell you all about it.”
“I would like that,” I told her.
We pulled into Dragonfly and parked. As we made our way to the front door, the image of Cas pressing me up against the wall flashed into my head and I almost face planted on the sidewalk.
Cas kissed me and then rejected me the last time I was here. Sally’s right. Life is too short.
I stepped through the door and slammed into Sally’s back.
“What.The.Hell?” she hissed.
At first I thought she was referring to the horrible music, but then I saw her glaring towards the bar. I followed her gaze and saw Dillon leaning over and talking to a dark haired woman that was not Isabella.
“Who is that?” I asked.
“That is the reason Izzy left Charlotte and Dillon two weeks ago. That spawn of Satan needs to get it through her thick head Dillon is taken. Follow me.”
Halfway between the bar and the door, Dillon registered our approach. The welcome smile on his face did not scream guilty. He said something to the dark haired woman, then stepped down the bar and pointed to two empty seats.
As we approached, he greeted us. “Well, hello ladies, what brings the two of you in tonight?”
“You said it was over between you two,” Sally launched in.
“Now Sally,” Dillon warned.
“Don’t Sally me, jackhole. Swear to me nothing is happening between you and that hosebeast.” Of all the words Sally had used tonight, hosebeast was by far my favorite. Of course I kept my inner commentary to myself.
Dillon let out an exasperated sigh. “Nothing is happening. I swear. This is a bar. I am a bartender. Dana is in here with a bunch of friends. Now, what can I get you two?”
“Yeah, well, just make sure it’s service without service,” she warned, crudely pumping her hips back and forth.
Dillon’s only response was to pour us both a beer from the tap. Sally finally chilled and proceeded to tell him all about our evening, including my supposed date next weekend with Hunter.
“Ba careful,” Dillon warned. “Hunter is a player. For that matter, all three of those guys are players.”
“I like a challenge,” Sally said with an evil grin.
I don’t, I thought.
Chapter Eight
Cas
‡
“Thanks for letting me crash with you last night. I’ve missed having you in the same town.”
My sister, Melissa, or Lissa as I liked to call her, surprised me last night with an unexpected visit. She was driving to see a friend in the mountains and stopped in on the way through. I can’t say I was too upset about it, as it gave me the perfect excuse to cancel a blind date Bobby had planned. Lissa rolled into town right at dinner time, so I took her for beer and wings. We were both beat after that and turned in for the night early.
Since we didn’t have much time to talk over dinner, I took the morning off to hang with her. As I poured us both a second cup of coffee and settled onto the barstool beside her, she asked how work was going. I told her the candy coated version of my job. No one but my team from LASH knew what we really did. It was safer that way. My phone dinged with a text from Bobby. He wanted to know when I’d be in because he apparently had found the missing piece to a case I was working on.
Garrett had me looking into Isabella Fisher’s douchebag of an ex. The past four days I’d been studying his client accounts. I could see money was being shuffled in and out of the accounts, but I couldn’t tell where it was going. It seems old James was stealing money from clients, but I wanted Bobby to take a look before I moved forward. I left the file on his desk with a note, and it looked as if he figured it out. I shot him a text telling him I’d be in after lunch and focused back on my sister. She looked good. I resembled our father in my height and color, whereas Lissa looked just like our mother with her blonde hair and brown eyes. Dad’s side of the family is Greek and Mom’s is Italian, which makes for some crazy holiday get-togethers.
Melissa swallowed a bite of bagel and smiled at me. “I’m happy to see you doing okay.” She waited a few seconds before adding, “Mom misses you.”
“I bet she does,” I sarcastically replied.
“She does, Cas, and at some point you will have to talk to her.”
Not anytime soon, if I
have anything to say about it.
Lissa scrunched her face at my lack of response and then she hit me with round two. “Have you heard from her?”
Pretending ignorance I asked, “Who, Mom?”
“No, Alexandria.”
Yet another person I did not want to talk about. All she had to do was mention Dad and the circle of people I hated to discuss most would be complete. “Not since last week,” I answered.
“I bet that’s been heavenly,” she muttered.
You have no idea.
Two weeks after our son was born I came home to find my wife passed out on the living room sofa. From the looks of Kalen’s shit filled diaper and his angry shrieks of hunger, she had obviously been this way for quite some time. At first I thought something horrible had happened to her, but then I spotted a half empty wine glass on the side table. What the hell was she thinking?
When confronted, Alexandria claimed she’d had a bad day and wasn’t thinking. “It’s not like I drank the bottle. I only had two glasses. I haven’t been sleeping well and it hit me wrong, that’s all.”
“The doctor said not to mix pain meds and alcohol, Alexandria. What if something had happened to Kalen?”
“He was in his crib. Nothing was going to happen,” she huffed. When she realized how angry I was, she conceded. “Please don’t be upset. I hate when you’re mad at me. I swear it won’t ever happen again. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt Kalen.”
In the end, her tears and pleading won me over. I told her if she was so tired, she should hire some help. Within the week, she’d hired Vicky to be our full time nanny. Vicky turned out to be a life saver, but even she had her limits, especially when it came to my wife.
“Mr. Ashford, it’s time for me to leave and your wife is not home.”
I can’t count how many times over the next nine months I heard those words out of Vicky’s mouth.
At first, Alexandria played it off.
“I was out with the girls and lost track of time, Caswell, that’s all. You know how horrible I am with time…”
“I had a few drinks and my head hurt. I never get to go out anymore. Surely you understand…”
“Daddy needed help at the office and we had a drink after. Surely Vicky can stay later. It’s not like she doesn’t get paid for the extra time…”
No matter what the situation, Alexandria had an excuse for it.
“Cas, Mom and I are at the house. We are supposed to have lunch with Alexandria and Kalen, but it seems she’s locked herself in the bedroom. We’re worried because she won’t answer the door.”
“I haven’t been sleeping well. I took a pill to help me sleep and didn’t hear them knocking…”
“Mr. Ashford, I think you need to come home. Mrs. Ashford seems to have the flu again. She has vomited all over the master bedroom floor.”
“I hurt my lower back and had to take a pill for the pain. It made me dizzy all of the sudden and I threw up. I will make an appointment with the doctor first thing tomorrow…”
“Mr. Ashford, I think Mrs. Ashford has been drinking again.”
“I haven’t touched a drop of liquor. You’re just saying that because you hate me! You all hate me!”
As time went by, it became glaringly obvious how little I knew my wife.
When Kalen was ten months old I arrived home to find him sitting by himself in the middle of the kitchen floor. He had emptied out every cabinet within his reach and was trying to stick his fingers inside the blender, where the blade was. After divesting him of it, I went on the search for both Vicky and my wife. Vicky was gone, but I found Xandria passed out in her bed upstairs. On her nightstand sat a bottle of pain pills and a glass of what I thought was water, but in reality was vodka. When I spoke to Vicky about it, she said Alexandria let her go early, so she could have special time alone with Kalen. When Xan was sober enough to explain, she gave her usual song and dance about how something or other was bothering her again and she had to take a pill to make it stop. She just happened to wash it down with a glass of vodka. Enough was enough. I finally could no longer deny that my wife had a problem.
I wanted to send her to rehab.
She convinced me counseling would do.
If I had listened to my gut, our son would still be alive.
“How much longer does Xan have in rehab?” Lissa asked.
“She gets out the middle of August.”
“Will you hand her divorce papers then?”
“I wish. My hands are tied until October. Trust me, I am counting the seconds.”
“I bet you are. You know, at some point you are going to have to talk to Mom.” She was beginning to sound like a broken record.
“I will speak to Mom when I am good and ready, Lis, and not a second before. I need you to hear me on this, okay? I also need you to help me get Mom to understand this.”
Her eyes welled with tears. “She’s just so damn sorry,” she softly said.
“I know she is, sweetheart. So am I. I’m just not ready to talk about it, yet. Okay?” I slipped off my stool and gave her a big hug.
“You should have told us how bad it was,” she sniffled into my chest. Mom knew how bad it was, she just didn’t want to admit it. Of course, I didn’t tell Lissa this.
“Shhh, No more tears, Lissa. You have cried enough. No more.”
A little over eight months ago, I had to take a three day business trip to Atlanta. My last night there, I received a phone call that blew my world apart.
“Caswell, it’s Mother.” I knew by the tone of her voice something was wrong.
“What happened? Are you okay? Are Dad and Lissa okay?”
“You need to come home now, Son. Y-you need to be here,” she stammered. My mother was the most level headed person I knew. In fact, in all my years, I had never seen her lose her cool. The desperate tone of her voice told me how bad this was.
“Mom, you aren’t making any sense. I need you to tell me what has happened,” I repeated. The next thing she said made my blood run cold.
“She was fine when I left the house, I swear.” Her pain filled whisper had me clinching my steering wheel hard enough to leave indentions on it.
“Who was fine, Mom? Alexandria? What did Alexandria do?”
I heard a muffled sob on the other end and then, “Cas? This is Sterling,” my father-in-law announced. “I’ve sent the jet for you. There’s been an accident.”
All sorts of horrible thoughts raced through my mind. “What kind of accident?” my voice cracked. I could feel my heart racing inside my chest. My hands were so clammy I had to keep switching the phone from one hand to the other, so as not to drop it.
“We’re not exactly sure. All we know is Kalen somehow got out the back door.”
My whole world stopped at those words. “What did you say?”
“No one knows how long he was in the pool. He’s on a respirator. They’re not sure he’s going to make it. Do you have a pen? I need to give you the information so you can meet the jet.”
I quickly grabbed a pen and piece of paper and wrote down the address. Then I hung up the phone and headed straight for the airport. On the drive there I tried to call Vicky, but got her voicemail. I left her a message to call me. A million questions buzzed through my head. Where was Vicky? She was supposed to be there. I fucking paid her not to leave Kalen’s sight. What did Alexandria do? What did my mother mean by, “She promised?” Where the hell was Vicky? Please tell me I’m not going to lose the only thing that means anything in this fucked up world. Life cannot be this messed up, can it?
The answer was yes. Life could be a real assfuck.
I took Melissa to lunch and, after saying goodbye, headed to the office. Bobby was going over the file when I arrived.
“Thanks for canceling on me at the last second, dick head,” he bitched.
“What was I supposed to do, bring Melissa along? I’m sure whoever you set me up with would appreciate hanging with me and my little sis
ter,” I snapped. “Where did you end up going, anyway, Dragonfly?”
“Bubbles lives near Plaza Midwood, so I took her to Whisky’s.”
I tried not to laugh. “You went out with a girl named Bubbles?”
“Her real name is Belinda, but she goes by Bubbles. She’s the one I was telling you about the other day, you know, with the boobs.” He held his hands out in front of his chest, indicating how big they were.
“Funny, you failed to mention her name was Bubbles,” I joked.
A knowing smile spread across Bobby’s face. “Trust me, the name fits. I would have gotten in there a lot sooner had your girlfriend not fucked with us.”
“My girlfriend?” Then it hit me who he was talking about and I started to get angry. “Sarah was there?”
“Yep,” he responded.
“At Whisky’s?” I clarified.
“Yep,” he responded, again. “She busted me staring at her, while she was trading numbers with Hunter, and you know what the sneaky bitch did? She waited until she had both mine and Bubbles’ attention and then she gave me a sexy wave and blew me a kiss. Bubbles about lost her mind.”
Nothing he said registered after his first sentence. “What do you mean she and Hunter were exchanging numbers? Are you sure?” The thought of Sarah with a guy, much less one like Hunter, made me see red.
Zane Nichols owned Whisky’s. He was ex-Army and, for the most part, ran a clean business. His two managers, Blake Moreno and Hunter Lake, however, did not. Rumor had it those two were into some bad shit. Rumor also had it that Zane was in the habit of turning a blind eye, when he wasn’t cleaning up after them. Max would lose his ever loving mind if he knew Sarah caught the attention of either one of those two fuckers. Just the thought of her with another guy, especially Blake or Hunter, made me want to hurt someone. I began to ask for more details, but was interrupted when the door opened and in walked Tut.
Shortly after Bobby and I arrived in Charlotte, Garrett approached us about buying into the business. Bobby had zero interest in being a business owner. At first, I agreed with him, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I wanted it. I was sitting on a shit pile of money. I was never moving back to Wilmington. I was getting a divorce. All I had was my job here in Charlotte. I was already working the hours, why shouldn’t I buy into the business? Max and I bought in around the same time. However, Max had zero interest in the business side of things. Being that he knew nothing about the security business, he had no desire to be in on the day to day happenings. He would confer on all major business decisions, but otherwise he would leave things to us and take a cut of the money once we were up and running. Our first item of business was hiring Tut. We were aware Tut had a criminal record and none of us had a problem with it. He would be a great asset to the team.
Keep It Simple (MMG Series Book 4) Page 10