by Josie Kerr
“You two haven’t seen each other in thirty years, you didn’t grow up around each other, and hell, you’ve got different fathers, and yet, you’re so similar.” Rory shook his head. The brothers looked at each other and both shrugged.
“So, Colin, have you found a place yet?” Rory circled a finger over his head to signal the bartender for three of the same.
Colin sighed. “No, and I’m getting very frustrated. This agent that I’m dealing with isn’t really listening to me. I know the gym I want. It’s a little place that’s by the rec center. It needs work but the bones of the place are good and there’s plenty of room for expansion, and it’s super-cheap, so we could go all out refurbing it. He keeps trying to push me to this new place, Belle Avalon? I know it’s supposed to be a hip and awesome multi-use place, but it leaves me cold. Man, he’s pushing it though.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Mick asked. “It sounds like it would be ideal for you, living close to where you work, and you could get a lot of clients from the residential development.”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right. And anyway, there’s another newish MMA training facility right near there, Raptor Pryde. I know both Jett Raptor and Bruce Pryde. Pryde’s an okay person and a fantastic trainer, but Raptor? He’s a grade-A asshole. I stopped by the facility just to check it out. It’s nice but way too slick. That’s not the type of clientele I’m after anyway.”
“You want something like the place in Wisconsin, then?”
“Yeah, like an old school Fight Club. You go in, you sweat, you train. You meet people that want the same things, form a family, and make each other better fighters and better people.”
Rory laughed. “That sounds exactly like Doyle’s Fight Club. My Da is gonna love the grown-up you, Colin.”
“I’m gonna need all the help I can get, Rory. I’d love to pick his brain. I know jack-shit about the actual management of a gym.”
“He’ll be back down again for good in a few weeks. We’ll get you two together.”
Colin turned to his brother. “And I know you’re tired of me interrupting your...couple time, Mickey. I’ll check into a hotel for a bit until I can find a rental that I like. I know for sure that it’s not going to be something at Belle Avalon. This guy, Tolbert, is all ‘it’s perfect for your lifestyle.’ I don’t have a lifestyle. I train, I eat, and I sleep; that’s my lifestyle.” Colin shook his head, disgusted. “I just need a place that I can relax and maybe a backyard where I can grill. I sure as hell don’t need ‘a sweeping view of the city from a private balcony’.” Colin made air quotes around the phrase and sneered.
“I live in one of those high-rise places,” Rory said with a frown. “What’s wrong with it? It’s got a gym, valet, security, shopping. Everything you could need. And the women who live there are spectacular and they have lots of friends.”
Colin made a face. “That is so not my scene. I’d like something like you have, Mick. Something that I can live in and maybe rent out the other half for income.”
Rory shook his head, amused. “You two make me laugh. Man, you are so much alike.” The brothers grinned at each other and shrugged again, their movements mirror images of one another.
The men’s discussion was interrupted by the arrival of Em and Ashley. Mick got up and kissed Em deeply, his hands wandering over her backside and giving it a squeeze. Rory gagged mockingly and Ashley punched him on the arm, hard.
“Girlie, did you just frog me?” Rory said as he rubbed the rapidly bruising knot on his arm. “Sweet Janey Mac, that hurt.”
Colin barked out a laugh.
Mick snapped his fingers. “Ashley’s a real estate agent. Maybe she can help you with your search, Colin.”
Ashley turned to Colin with interest.
“Who are you using now?” she asked. Ashley knew just about every agent and broker in Atlanta. If she couldn’t help Colin, she could find someone who could.
“Richard Tolbert is the seller’s broker, and he’s supposedly a buyer’s agent as well, but I’m not impressed so far.”
“Ugh, Tolbert. I bet he doesn’t listen to a word you say, does he?” Ashley sneered. “Sorry, that was unprofessional. He brings out the worst in me.”
“I bet Ashley could find you the perfect place in no time,” Em said. “She was the one that secured the Victorian for me. I’m very happy with it.” She beamed up at Mick, who grinned at her and placed another soft kiss on her mouth. Rory made more gagging noises but grinned, ducking when Ashley took another swing at him.
“You’re punchy for a girlie thing, aren’t you?” Colin said with a laugh. “Looks like you have a mean right hook.”
“I should. I have a cop father that made sure that I knew how to defend myself, and five younger brothers who are all in law enforcement or the military in some shape or form,” Ashley said with a sniff and a toss of her blonde hair over her shoulder.
“That totally explains it,” he laughed.
Colin told to Ashley what he was looking for and a smile spread across her face.
“I’ve got the perfect property for you. We can go over to see it when we finish here.”
A few hours later, Colin stood outside a small blue duplex. It was centrally located very near downtown Atlanta, but near the colleges as well, and it was a few miles from the gym that he was interested in. Each unit had two bedrooms and one full bath and a powder room, but each also had a spacious sun room. The communal fenced backyard boasted a huge brick patio and a beautiful pergola.
“And you said that there’s already a tenant living in the other half?” asked Colin. “How long have they been there?”
“Only about two months or so, but she’s solid.”
“That’s great. I don’t even have to find anybody then.”
Ashley exclaimed as a small blue Honda pulled into the driveway. “Hey, there she is.”
“Bailey’s the tenant?” Colin looked surprised, but smoothed his features quickly. Ashley grinned.
“Hey, Bailey, let us help you with that, sugar,” Ashley said when she saw the pregnant woman trying to juggle milk and a few bags of groceries.
“Thanks, Ashley,” Bailey said, obviously relieved. “What are you two doing here?”
“You remember Colin, Mick’s brother?” Ashley asked as she took a bag, which Colin promptly stole from her, along with all Bailey’s other parcels.
“Yes, I do. Hey, Colin,” she said.
“Hi, Bailey. Good to see you again.”
Ashley stifled a laugh at the sight of Bailey’s pink cheeks and Colin’s pinker ears. Well, well, well. I think someone’s got a little crush.
They got Bailey settled in the house and made their way back to the unoccupied part of the duplex.
“It would be immediately available for me to move into, right?”
“Yes, it would. The sooner the better, as far as the seller’s concerned.”
“Let’s do it. I want to put an offer in, all cash, immediate escrow.”
“I’ll draw up the offer when I get back to the office, but in the meantime, Colin, welcome to Atlanta.” Ashley laughed and put her hand out to shake.
Her smile faded as Colin stood and looked at her, his face inscrutable. Man, I would not want to play poker with this guy.
“Not so fast, Ashley. I want to talk to you about another property, an MLS commercial listing.”
“Who’s the listing agent? Maybe I know him.”
“It’s that Tolbert guy, but it’s not in Belle Avalon.”
“Why are you so opposed to Belle Avalon, Colin? I understand that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but you seem especially vehement about it not being the right place, and, honestly, on paper? You’re the pretty much the perfect demographic.”
Colin looked at Ashley for a long moment as if weighing how trustworthy she was. After a long pause, he spoke.
“Because my guys couldn’t afford Belle Avalon. My guys are bicycle
couriers and construction workers and service industry guys, with a fireman or an EMT thrown in. The only way they could live at Belle Avalon would be if every single one of them shared a townhome, and yeah, not happening.”
“Yeah, that wouldn’t fly at Belle Avalon at all.”
“That building in College Park has three floors above the gym itself that could be built out into studio apartments. And even better, there’s two blocks of row houses right across the street that would be perfect for family living.”
“Colin, that’s a hell of a lot of money you’re talking about,” Ashley said with a chuckle of disbelief. Mick’s brother was a nice guy, but he was completely delusional if he thought he could afford all that.
“Ashley, I have a fuckload of money,” he said.
“You do?” Ashley blinked.
“I do. It’s ridiculous,” Colin’s face lit up with a rare grin. He chuckled. “Mickey promised he’d not tell anyone about my net worth. Sounds like he made good on his promise.”
“Oh, of course. This makes total sense now. That’s why Tolbert’s trying to get you into Belle Avalon.” Colin just shrugged.
“He’s run my financials, and I’m pre-qualified. I did the research on the gym and the block. Both combined are less than a two new townhomes in Belle Avalon. It’s a no brainer. I’m definitely getting the duplex. Help me get the gym and the row houses, and I’ll be sure you get a commission on those as well. It’s not Belle Avalon money, but it’s money that we both can feel good about. Ashley, help me spend my money on something worthwhile.”
Well, damn. How could she say no to that?
“Okay,” Ashley said with an enthusiastic nod. “Okay, Colin. You win.”
He grinned. “All right! Awesome!”
His smile dimmed a bit when he saw Bailey back at her little junker of a car, digging for something in a large tote bag in the back seat.
“Colin?”
He shook his head to clear it. “Is she okay?”
Ashley sighed. “She plays it pretty close to the vest, but yeah, I think she’s okay. I know I feel better now that I know she’s going to have a good neighbor.”
“And that douchebag, Trent...”
“Tripp.”
“Whatever. He’s gone away for a while, right?”
“Yeah. Should be for at least eighteen months, but you never know.”
Colin shook his head. “What the fuck was he thinking?”
“He was thinking about himself, and only himself, as usual,” Ashley said with a derisive scoff. “He’s always been an entitled ass.”
“But you’d think with a baby on the way…”
“Yeah, you’d think, but it’s Tripp. Tripp does what Tripp wants to do, never mind the consequences.”
“Do you think he ever got physical with her?”
It was Ashley’s turn to sigh. “I don’t know. Bailey said he didn’t, but I’m not sure she’s telling us the whole story. I think he kept her pretty isolated and I know Em worried about her.” Ashley patted Colin’s arm. “But she’s safe now, and Tripp’s locked up, and you’re her new neighbor. How can things not be looking up, right?”
Colin managed a small smile. “Right.”
Chapter Three
Colin arrived at the pub about an hour or so before the band was scheduled to go on. Mick was sitting on a stool, quietly drumming, his bodhran on his lap, while another man watched him intently. The man repeated the pattern, and Mick smiled at him and nodded.
Colin hung back from the bustle on the stage, not wanting to get in the way. He leaned against the bar, watching all of the activity. He wondered, not for the first time, how different things would have been if he had actually grown up with Mick?
Colin snorted. He knew he wouldn’t be a musician, that’s for sure. He had pretty good rhythm and was a decent dancer, but his singing was absolutely terrible. He had heard Mickey sing before, when they all got together and Mickey and Rory pulled out instruments. Even Ashley and Bailey had nice voices, Ashley especially. At least he had a friend in tone-deafness with Em, who claimed she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, or if it had handles.
Em. She was the whole reason that he was even here, period. When she tracked him down in Wisconsin, he had been very skeptical that the little woman really knew where Mick was. After all, Duke had been looking for him for years, finding only a juvenile record and then nothing after their charming mother had surrendered him to the state.
Colin cracked his neck. No sense in getting pissed off and depressed about something that happened over thirty years ago.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and quickly turned, fist raised.
“Whoa! I forgot that you sneak up behind a fighter at your own risk. I was only trying to get your attention. B’y, you were a million miles away,” his older brother said, his Newfoundland accent still discernable even after many years away from St. John’s.
Colin grinned sheepishly. “I was just thinking about stuff.”
“That was obvious.” Mick laughed, but then his face grew serious. “You doing okay?”
Was he doing okay? He was a bit lonely, but that wasn’t unusual, really. He just really wasn’t that social, and had never been, being content when he was younger to hang out with his father when he wasn’t training or competing, and when older, be by himself.
As a starter on the wrestling team in high school and college, and then later when he was a rising star on Wall Street, people were always around, trying to get his attention, but he never got the sense that they were truly interested in him for himself. And it got worse when he began fighting professionally. He didn’t make a habit of sleeping around or even dating the cage bunnies, which got him a reputation as a straight-edge prude and made some of the more aggressive women, women like his ex, Andrea, even more determined to get him into their bed.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Sometimes all this is really overwhelming,” he said in way of explanation.
“What’s overwhelming? Everything?” Mick said with a laugh. “I do get it. Your father died, you retired, and then moved to a new city where you really didn’t know anyone except for the half-brother you hadn’t seen in thirty years. Yeah, I could see how that could be overwhelming.”
“Holy! Is this that little kid that you were always hauling around with you?” Liam looked up at Colin. “It’s gotta be. You guys look way too much alike to not be brothers.”
Mick re-introduced Colin to Liam, the bassist of Skankin’ Janey Mac. The three chatted for a bit until Paulie, the lead singer, hauled Liam away to finish prepping for the show.
“Mickey, you wanna run through your song while we’ve got some privacy?” Paulie called after they had done some preliminary sound checking.
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” Mick said.
“Pay close attention, Colin. Here’s how you properly propose to someone,” Liam said with a wink.
And that’s the whole reason Colin was here at the pub. Mickey was planning on asking Em to marry him tonight. Colin’s family was rapidly growing, and he was thrilled.
“I’ll be Rory,” Alan piped up. “Pretend I’m wearing $5000 suit and a shit-eating grin.” The rest of the men laughed. Colin laughed, too, knowing it was all in fun, and that Rory would take the ribbing in stride if he were here.
Colin hung out with Mick and the band, and Rory Doyle, his brother’s best friend for over thirty years, joined them later, but before the women arrived.
Colin wasn’t quite sure what to think of Rory. The big Irishman was extremely extroverted and seemed to know everybody from business leaders to club owners and everyone in between, and he had taken it upon himself to introduce Colin to every woman that he could think of. That’s what Rory was pestering him about at the moment.
“But what about you, Colin? Last time we went out, I introduced you to some of the girls that live in my building. What happened there?” Rory looked like he already knew what happene
d, but was going to torture Colin into telling everybody anyway.
Colin groaned. “I told you before, Rory. That is totally not my scene at all. Those women remind me too much of the ones that hang around the MMA training facilities, all plastic personalities and bodies. They’re too aggressive. And I’m too old for most of them, anyway.”
Rory frowned. “I’m ten years older than you are, boyo.”
“Which means are you are way too old to be dating them, Rory,” Mick said, with an “I told you so” look. Rory scowled.
“So you like the subdued, submissive types?” Mick asked. Now that he had found someone to share his life with, he was interested in seeing if he could find his brother a companion.
“No, not necessarily. I just don’t like women who are all up in my face, boobs first, and acting all pouty and obnoxious when they don’t get their way. My last...whatever she was...was like that and I swear, never again.”
Jesus, what is with all these guys trying to set me up?
“Have you encountered anyone that you’re the slightest bit interested in?”
Colin hesitated, because the person who interested him was the very last person he should get involved with.
Bailey.
The whole Bailey thing had complicated and messy and disastrous written all over it. First of all, she was pregnant, and not with his baby. Second, she was Em’s good friend, and if things went south, it would be very awkward. Third, she was on the young side, he thought.
Yeah, being interested in Bailey wasn’t a good idea at all.
Colin exhaled loudly. “Maybe, but it’s a complicated situation that I don’t know that I’m ready to fully investigate.”
“Do we know this complication?” Rory asked, his curiosity piqued.
Colin couldn’t lie. “Yes, you do.”
Rory and Mick looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Colin covered his face with his hands, his pink ears betraying his embarrassment.
“Let’s see, who have we introduced Colin to that we both know?” Rory mused with a twinkle in his eye. Colin groaned.
