A Place with Briar (Harlequin Superromance)

by Amber Leigh Williams

  “It’s too convenient,” she argued. “Did you really think I wouldn’t see straight through it? My family has never taken charity, Byron, and I’m not about to start now.”

  “Whoa, whoa, hold it,” he said, stopping her with raised hands. “Who said anything about charity? Both of them are retired, they have extra cash lying around. They want to invest in real estate. Hell, my father made his living in real estate for forty years. And my mother ran her own bakery in northern Georgia, so they love small business. Trust me. You’re not going to find two people more perfect for this.” He stopped her again, reading her thoroughly. “And I didn’t give them a nudge. They came to me about investing. The first person I thought about, of course, was you. But if you can’t see this as a win-win all the way around, I’m at a loss.”

  She scrutinized his face for a moment. Several moments. When she found no crack in the exterior and couldn’t bring herself not to trust what she saw beaming through his eyes, she found a smile curving slowly, warmly across her lips. “This is too good to be true. You realize that, right?”

  He shrugged, leaning back in his chair with that boyish grin again and reaching for one of the nectarines in the bowl at the center of the table. “I’d say it was meant to be.”

  “Meant to be,” she repeated as she watched him bite into a perfectly round red nectarine. She threw her hands up in surrender. “Well, what are you waiting for? Bring them in. I’ll make coffee. We’ll talk business.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  SHE NEEDED A distraction. The winds of change were blowing at her back. Tomorrow she would be signing papers with the Strongs and solidifying their investment agreement.

  Hanna’s would be saved. It might no longer be hers in the grand scheme of things, and she would have to work for years to ensure she paid back every penny to Byron’s family, but it was saved.

  The night air was heavy and tepid. The humidity had reached its climax and would remain that way, suffocating the residents of the Eastern Shore without mercy well into August. Her flowers still hadn’t recovered from Brett’s wrath so there was nothing between her and the fresh, briny scent of the bay. Moonlight dappled on the restless rise and fall of the water. Any other evening, she would have stopped to watch—to meditate and remember.

  Tonight, however, she headed for the refuge of sound and light. Distraction. The music pounded out of the tavern. Somebody had Skynyrd’s “Call Me the Breeze” rocking on the jukebox.

  Olivia worked with Monica Slayer behind the counter, pulling tap beer and mixing drinks, exchanging monies and chatting up customers.

  Watching her cousin work brought Briar some clarity and the momentary calm she’d desperately been seeking tonight.

  She would keep Hanna’s. Olivia would keep the tavern. And her friends Adrian and Roxie would keep their businesses. The county, state and any future debt collectors wouldn’t be able to touch any part of her friends’ businesses. Aside from her mother’s legacy, that would be the most rewarding thing about signing the papers tomorrow.

  Removing the light sweater she’d worn around the inn, Briar stepped into Olivia’s peripheral vision. “Hey. Put me to work.”

  Olivia’s grin fell when she found her cousin behind the bar. “You sure? You’ve been working your tail off to keep the inn spick-and-span for the Strongs’ visits.”

  “I’m fine,” she said. The assurance was practically becoming her litany. “You’re full up and both you and Monica are working double-time. Give me a job, Liv.”

  “If you say so.” Olivia jerked her thumb toward the sink. “We need clean glasses for rotation.”

  “I’m on it.” She rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

  The mindless task coupled with the thumping speakers did her well. As she, Olivia and Monica moved around behind the bar, she barely noticed when the jukebox segued into Elton then Journey. Then a little bit of Green Day before The Beatles’ “Come Together.” By this point, she was clearing tables, filling orders and had managed to let her troubles slip to the back of her mind.

  “What the hell is he doing here?”

  The hostility in Olivia’s voice made Briar’s head swivel toward the entry doors. When she saw the man standing just inside them, her mouth dropped. “Daddy? He never comes here.” She looked at Olivia. “Does he?”

  She shook her head. “If he’s here to make waves, I’ll be happy to have Freddie and Ty haul his ass out.”

  Briar firmed her mouth as her father’s eyes found hers and his feet began moving toward the bar. “I can handle him.”

  “The last thing you need is someone upsetting you,” Olivia muttered. “Briar, let me take care of the old buzzard while you get me three draft Miller Lites and two Yuenglings.”

  Reluctantly moving to the tap, Briar kept an eye on her father as she went about filling the orders. He chose an empty stool on the far side of the bar, and Olivia crossed her arms as she faced off with him. “Howdy, stranger. Haven’t seen you around these parts in a while.”

  He flicked her a terse glance. “Could I get a shot, please?”

  With a shrug, Olivia reached under the bar. “If I remember, it’s a shot of Jack, right?”

  “That’s what I said, isn’t it?”

  Olivia raised a brow at his tone and placed a jigger on the bar, flipping a bottle of Jack Daniel’s upside down. “You all right, unc?”

  “I’m fine.” When Olivia passed the shot glass over the bar, he tossed it back quickly. “Another.”

  Briar met Olivia’s pointed look with a perplexed frown. She didn’t know her father drank—and she didn’t like where this scene was heading. Olivia, however, reached for the Jack Daniel’s again and filled another jigger for him.

  “Get me a couple more.”

  “Don’t overdo it now,” Olivia warned.

  “Just do your job.”

  Briar took a step forward. Monica placed a hand on her arm before she could intervene. “She’s got him,” Monica said simply. “Don’t you worry, hon.”

  Olivia’s glare could’ve sheared glass. Hudson’s was no less forbidding, but Briar knew him well enough to see the telling glint of sadness under the stern veneer. Pity welled within her, but as he tipped back another shot, she squelched it. After all he’d done, how could she feel anything but cool resentment toward him?

  The entry bells drew her attention to the door again. This time her mouth fell open in shock as Cole Savitt walked in, eyes combing the crowd and servers.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she heard Olivia say.

  Despite the immediate tension that entered her body at the sight of him, Briar felt her heart drum as his gaze locked on her and stayed there. It went from narrowed and searching, to round and full of plea.

  She balled a dishcloth in her hand and frowned deeply. It was going to be a longer night than she’d anticipated.

  * * *

  A WHOLE PLAYLIST of songs later, Cole was still there, along with Briar and, puzzlingly enough, her old man. Cole had chosen a spot out of the way, a table in the corner. Monica had taken it upon herself to serve him while Olivia was tied up with Briar’s father, Hudson, whose presence itched like a burr between Cole’s shoulder blades. Briar had done her best throughout the night to pretend neither of them were there, sticking to one side of the bar, her eyes never trekking farther than the few seated tavern-goers on the stools in front of her.

  Cole couldn’t help but watch her. It’d been foolish coming here tonight. He’d known it even as his Harley roared down the familiar path to the inn and tavern. He hadn’t gone far since leaving Hanna’s—a motel a respectable distance from Briar and the others, but still close enough to be considered within Fairhope city limits. He hadn’t been able to go farther away from Briar or the town. Whether he’d wanted to or not, it was all home to him now and he didn’t know h
ow to let it go.

  But he’d come to the tavern tonight for a good reason—to try and talk to Olivia. She likely wanted to give him a piece of her mind, and he was prepared to take it—he deserved it. But maybe, just maybe, after it was all done she would lend him her ears long enough for him to reason with her. He planned to win Briar back, in a big way. And with all the bad he’d done, a grand gesture was the only way to prove his love for her.

  He didn’t have the money to get the inn out of debt. That was the most obvious plan of action. There had to be some other way.... He’d come to Olivia for ideas.

  It was just a bonus and pure luck that Briar had chosen tonight to help Olivia behind the bar. Not that the tavern was particularly busy. Olivia and Monica seemed to have everything under control—minus the crusty old crab on the other side of the bar.

  It seemed to be a night of heavy drinking for Hudson. The strong line of the man’s back had slowly deteriorated over the past half hour of inebriation, and he’d loosened his tie. As he glared down at his own hands spread before him on the countertop, Cole thought that somehow the man looked older. Brittle.

  Another hour passed and closing loomed. Cole watched as Monica counted her tips as the last customers trickled out one by one into the humid night, leaving behind the subdued tune of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold.” He still hadn’t found a chance to pull Olivia aside. And Briar still hovered, wiping tabletops and avoiding his gaze. Maybe he should try talking to her now....

  As if knowing the train of his thoughts, Olivia caught his eye and gave him a sharp look. He felt his back straighten, thoroughly scolded, and lifted his beer to finish off the last swig in the bottom of the amber bottle.

  “I’ll drive him home,” he heard Olivia say to Briar as she edged closer, leaning on the handle of her broom as she put her back to Cole and considered Hudson.

  “No,” Briar said, her voice low and almost out of Cole’s earshot. “He can sleep at the inn.”

  “You told him he was no longer welcome there,” Olivia reminded her. “And for a good reason.”

  “Yeah, well, you’ve got a bar to close, and he can’t stay here all night.” She wiped her hands on the washcloth and folded it into her back pocket. “I’ll get him out of your hair.”

  “Be careful, cuz,” Olivia cautioned grimly.

  Cole swallowed as Briar approached her father’s bent frame. He didn’t like this situation at all. It took everything he had to remain rooted to his chair. He edged to the end of his seat to better hear the words exchanged between father and daughter.

  Briar hesitated only for a moment before lifting her hand to her dad’s back. “Hey, I think it’s time you come home.”

  Hudson slowly lifted his head from his folded arms. When his gaze found hers, a deep furrow formed between his brows. Then Cole saw his red-rimmed eyes clear and a hopeful light glimmer to life in his eyes. Briar’s mouth dropped open in shock when his hand lifted to her face.

  His voice scraped raw against his throat as he murmured, “Hanna, honey. I knew you’d come tonight.”

  She shrank back from his touch. “Daddy, what—”

  He shifted unsteadily to his feet, making Cole rise from his seat and cross the bar. Hudson gripped the back of his stool with one hand to hold himself up. The pain and hope conjoined in his watery stare as he lumbered toward Briar. “Let me hold you. I’ve missed you.”

  “Oh, God, Daddy,” she said, a sob working through her as her eyes filled with tears. “Don’t do this. Please.”

  “Come here,” he murmured. He tripped on a stool leg and lost his balance. Cole sprinted the last couple of feet and took the man’s weight before Hudson could hit the floor. “Whoa there, old man.”

  Olivia barreled toward them. “Come on, Uncle Hud. Let’s get you out of here.”

  “I’ve got him,” Cole said, meeting Briar’s dismayed gaze. Her face was streaked with tears. His heart wrenched at the sight. “I’ll take care of him,” he vowed.

  She pressed her lips together as if holding something back and gave a single nod.

  He turned to Olivia. “Where?”

  Her eyes combed his for ulterior motives. After a long hesitation, she jerked her chin upward. “Upstairs to my place. Go down the hall, take the second door on the right. Here, take the key. I’ll be up later.”

  He grasped it in his free hand and tugged Hudson’s arm around his shoulders so he could more easily support him. With one last look at Briar, Cole made his way behind the bar and through the swinging doors.

  * * *

  HUDSON LOOKED EVEN worse for wear the next morning when Cole brought him coffee. His clothes were rumpled, his eyes were bloodshot and the furrows on his face were still firmly entrenched there. He sat at the table in his niece’s kitchen, brooding shoulders heavily slumped.

  Olivia herself had let Cole in with a warning. “You’ve got five minutes,” she’d said, looking from the two thermoses full of coffee in his hands to the determined set of his face. Cole was glad she hadn’t tried to stop him from talking what sense he could into Briar’s father.

  Hudson’s eyes narrowed on Cole’s face as he approached the table. “What’re you doing here?”

  “I caught the show last night,” Cole informed him, crossing the room.

  A new line appeared between Hudson’s eyes as his gaze fell away in shame. He said nothing as Cole pulled out a chair and lowered into it. “Coffee,” he said, pushing the thermos toward him. When Hudson didn’t touch it, he shifted in his chair. “Drink it. It’ll help.”

  “Why are you here?” Hudson asked in a gruff voice. “I don’t owe you anything.”

  “No? Well, maybe you owe Briar something,” Cole said, his brow raised in question.

  “What I did was in my daughter’s best interest.”

  “I don’t think she’d agree.”

  Hudson lifted his shoulder. “She left law school for Paris and got robbed. She took up her mother’s mantle and what happened? She lost it all.” His flinty stare found Cole’s. “She entered into an inappropriate relationship with one of her guests who turned out to be in league with the very person who could destroy her. My daughter has the soul of a gambler, Mr. Savitt. Forgive me if I choose to remove a bad bet from her life.”

  Cole’s frown deepened. “Well, there I guess you have me. I am a bad bet. I think even she knew that from the beginning.”

  Hudson lifted a hand. “You’re starting to see things from my perspective.”

  “The thing is, Hudson, it wasn’t the shady parts of who I was that she chose to see,” Cole went on, thinking back to the beginning and all that had transpired since. “Under it all, Briar saw the possibilities of life left in me. I thought I’d lost that. She let me know they were still there, even before anything romantic happened between us. She shined a light in the dark for me that I thought I would never see again. Because, you see, the thing you’ve never been able to understand about your daughter, Mr. Browning, is that that’s what she does. She saw Hanna’s on the brink of faltering and she charged in to save it, even when she had everything to lose. Even when there was still a part of her that wanted to move on and pursue her own dreams. And that guy in Paris who conned her? I think she saw the light in him, too. He just chose not to let her in.”

  Cole crossed his arms over the tabletop and moved his shoulders over them, peering into Hudson’s face. Something flickered over the man’s expression. “I pity that man, Mr. Browning, because he’ll never know what I do now. That life without that light that Briar emits is hopeless. It’s empty, and I am nothing without it.”

  Hudson’s eyes cleared. The clarity was chased momentarily by pain before he lowered his eyes to the table to hide it. Cole’s lips parted. “That’s what she was to you, too, isn’t it? Your wife.”

  The flintiness was back as Hudson’s gaze ro
se back to pin Cole’s. “Don’t talk about my wife. You didn’t know her.”

  “Actually, I think I sort of do, sir,” Cole told him. “Briar’s her mother’s daughter, isn’t she? Not just in looks.”

  Hudson’s jaw quaked as he fought against the need to speak. He muttered an oath on an expelled breath and gave in. “The fight against Douglas Howard might’ve been a win, son, but it took years of her life. Five years of stress. Then she took it upon herself to fight for others. It’s what killed her, you know. The stress. He killed her. So when Howard’s daughter came knocking on my door, I knew what I had to do. You may think that I don’t care about Briar. But I did what I did because I knew she couldn’t win this—not without gambling something big in return. Something she couldn’t afford to lose.”

  Cole searched the old man’s face and saw the truth in the determined glint in the flinty eyes that stared back at him, challenging him to deny his best intentions. Cole didn’t know which of the two of them was more surprised to hear him say, “I believe you.” He cleared his throat when Hudson only blinked at him. Reaching for the thermos, he spun it around and around. “I still don’t believe what you did was right. But what we do for our kids’ safety or well-being isn’t always.”

  “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience,” Hudson observed.

  Cole nodded. “I did what I did for Tiffany so she’d let me see my son again.”

  “It’s not easy,” Hudson admitted, “being a father. Did you get what you wanted?”

  Cole thought of the papers Tiffany had delivered to his motel room days before. “Yes, but I’d love to give him what Briar showed me I could have again—a family. Home.”

  Hudson reached for the thermos and took it from Cole’s hand. He lifted it in acknowledgment. “Then it seems, Mr. Savitt, that, against all odds, we understand one another.” The bracket between his eyes appeared once more. “And it seems, where my daughter is concerned, there’s quite a bit of making up for lost time to be done by both of us.”