“Not sure how much help I’ll be,” I said, grinning down at the older man. “I’m still too new in town to be up on all the gossip.”
“Well, this one’s about you, sugar,” Danno added.
At that, I felt my whole body go on alert. “A rumor about me?”
It was Scooter who spoke next. “That’s right. Now, you said you’re from Connecticut, right?”
I nodded tentatively in confirmation. “That’s right.”
“And your last name’s Hyland.” Oh shit. “That mean you’re one of the Hylands?”
I chanced a peek at Cannon to see he was looking at Scooter in confusion. “Who the hell are the Hylands?”
My limbs went stiff, my fingers gripping the tray I was holding in front of me so tight I could feel the lip of it cutting into my skin as Scooter turned to him and answered, “They’re one of the richest fuckin’ families in the US of A. Ain’t you ever heard of Hyland Steel?”
I couldn’t take my eyes off Cannon as Scooter continued to explain my family’s legacy. I hadn’t come to this town with the intention of hiding my identity, but I knew firsthand there was a stigma when it came to the kind of wealth my family had.
Cannon’s gaze shifted to me, the expression on his face so inscrutable I had to look away.
“Uh, yeah. That’s my family. But I’m not involved in that business.”
“Christ girl!” Fletch hooted. “You got money like that layin’ around, what the hell you doin’ slingin’ drinks in a bar?”
I knew he hadn’t meant to be offensive, but that comment rankled. Trying not to let my frustration show, I kept my tone light as I responded, “Never was much for sitting on my ass, being lazy.”
“Good for you, darlin’,” Scooter said. “Shane told me all you been doin’ to help her. You’re good people.”
My focus was finally pulled from Cannon when I looked at Scoot with big eyes. “She told you about that?”
“Girl’s my niece,” he answered, pride weighing heavy in his voice. “Practically raised her. Been watchin’ her break her back tryin’ to take care of that sweet baby for years now, so when she told me you been havin’ Darla sneak your tips into her cut each night, the wife and I almost had our wills redone to add you.”
Heat infused my limbs. I dropped my head, trying to hide behind the curtain of my hair when everything around us went still.
“You really did that?” Clay asked with astonishment.
“Wasn’t no one time thing either,” Scooter continued. “She’s been paddin’ Shane’s tips since damn near the beginnin’.”
“I just wanted to help,” I said on a timid whisper.
When Fletch spoke, the admiration in his voice rang out loud and clear. “That’s real good of you, honey.”
The group lapsed into a silence that sat heavily on my chest. I hated being the center of attention. When all eyes were on me, I felt like I was going to come out of my skin. I was seconds away from bolting when I felt something brush down my arm.
I looked over just in time to see Scooter’s grizzled fingers wrap around mine, and when I met his gaze, he was smiling with a fondness that made my heart ache.
“Thank you, darlin’.” His tone was soft and gentle, but the meaning behind the words beat out like a drum. “Don’t know if I’ll ever be able to put into words what that meant to me, so the best I got is thank you.”
I returned his smile, turning my hand so we were palm-to palm. “That’s more than enough, Scoot,” I replied, giving his hand a squeeze. “And you’re very welcome.”
“All right,” Danno called out. “So how about another round,” And just like that, the mood shifted, and I let out a breath of relief as I pulled out my order pad and began jotting down a slew of drink orders.
* * *
The rest of the shift was blessedly uneventful. There was no more mention of my family or their money, and the guys over by the pool tables continued to drink, growing louder and more hilarious as one hour bled into the next.
The bar remained packed, and Shane and I ran our feet off for the rest of the night.
At one point I looked back and noticed that Cannon had taken off. I shook off the apprehension that niggled at me at his sudden disappearance and buried myself in work, telling myself it was late, and he was probably just tired. I was sure he’d tried to wave or get my attention somehow, and I’d just been too swamped to notice.
Closing time rolled around, and I shooed Shane out of Bad Alibi just as soon as the doors were locked, telling her I’d handle the prep work for the next day. After all, she needed sleep a lot more than I did.
By the time I hit my room at the Redbud Inn I was still riding a bit of an adrenaline high from everything that had happened with Cannon earlier.
There was no way I was getting to sleep, so after greeting Crash, washing off my makeup, and pulling on my PJs I climbed into bed and snuggled down with my phone in hand. It was the middle of the night, but Bennett had always been a night owl. The man functioned on even less sleep than I did. He’d stay up all hours reading one of his beloved murder mystery novels, so I knew he’d be awake.
Sure enough, he picked up halfway through the second ring, his voice coming through the line and wrapping around me like the most secure blanket in the world. “Everything good, my sweet Farah?”
My sweet Farah. God, I loved that. I loved him. I’d never just been Farah to him. I was always his sweet Farah.
“Everything’s fine, Ben. I just got in from a shift and couldn’t sleep. Figured you’d still be up, so I took a chance.”
His deep chuckle had grown raspier with age, but it was still one of the most comforting sounds on earth. “You know me well, child. But just a heads-up, calls at this hour usually mean bad things. Have a care, darlin’. My old ticker’s not what it used to be.”
“Oh spare me,” I giggled. “You know as well as I do that you’re gonna outlive us all.”
That earned me another laugh. “That might’ve been the case a couple months ago, but since you moved away, I’ve been under a lot more stress, worrying over you.”
I didn’t want to cause Bennett any stress, but it meant everything that he cared enough to worry as much as he did. “I love you too, Ben. And if you ever want to get to me, you know where I am. I’ll buy your plane ticket myself if it means I get to see you.”
“A few more weeks without seeing your pretty face, I may just take you up on that.”
That went a long way in easing some of the tension a long shift at the bar had set into my muscles. But there was something that had been weighing on my mind since I moved to Redemption. I’d always shied away from asking, worried there was a story there that Bennett didn’t want to tell, but now that I’d discovered just how incredible this little town was, I had to know. “Hey Bennett? Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything, my sweet Farah. You know that.”
“Do you ever regret not coming back? I mean, I know you said you didn’t want to leave me and Jase, but do you ever look back and wish things had been different?” My question was met with such a long silence, I began to worry I’d overstepped. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked that. It’s not my place—”
“We’re family. Whose place would it be to ask a question like that if not yours?”
I burrowed deeper into the bed and began tracing the pattern of the pretty quilt with my fingernail. “I know.”
“What’s really on your mind, sweetheart?” That was just his way, always cutting right to the chase.
I inhaled deeply, summoning the courage to admit what had been worrying me for weeks. “This place is amazing, Ben,” I started quietly. “I always had this picture of it in my mind from all the stories you told us growing up, but now that I’ve seen it firsthand, it’s even more beautiful than you described. I guess . . . Well, I just worry that Jase and I held you back.”
There was a seriousness in his tone I’d never heard before as he demanded, “Get that thought out
ta your head, girl. I don’t ever want you thinking like that. You hear me?”
“Ben—”
“I’ll give you honesty, because that’s what you deserve, but after tonight, I never wanna hear you questioning your worth to me. Got it?”
It was hard to speak past the massive lump in my throat, but I managed to eke out, “I-I got it.”
“The truth is, I never had any intention of being gone as long as I have. If you and your brother hadn’t come into my life, there’s a strong possibility I would’ve gone back. But let me make one thing perfectly clear. Not once, not even for a second, have I regretted that decision. Home is where the heart is, girl, and as much as the two of you do my head in, you and Jase are my heart. You’re the best things that ever happened to me, and there’s not a single day I haven’t thanked the good Lord above for bringing you to me.”
The tears came so fast, I wouldn’t have been able to stop them if I tried. “I’m glad to hear that,” I croaked, batting the dampness off my cheeks. “Because I feel the same. I don’t know where I’d be if you weren’t in my life. You and Jase were the only bright spots I ever had. You saved me, Bennett. And I’ll love you for the rest of my life. I want you to know that.”
“My sweet Farah,” he whispered, his voice jagged with emotion. “I love you too, precious girl. Have since the moment I first laid eyes on you, and I will until my time on this earth is done.”
It was hard, but I managed to swallow down the sob that threatened to burst from my throat. “How hard do you think it would be to convince you and Jase to move down here with me?”
His laughter rang in my ear, making me giggle. And just like that, the tears dried up. “Not sure about that fool brother of yours, but I been thinking of retiring for a good while now.”
I shot up straight in the bed and blurted, “You can live with me! I’ve got so much room, Ben, I’ll never be able to fill it all. But if you wanted your own space, there’s a carriage house on my property that I’m converting into a little house. You say the word and it’s yours.”
I could hear the smile in his voice as he stated, “Let me think on that. In the meantime, you make sure to keep in touch, yeah? And I’m not talking middle-of-the-night phone calls.”
“I’ll keep in touch, I promise,” I whispered through a big smile.
“All right, darlin’. Now get yourself some shut-eye. Talk soon.”
“Talk soon, Ben. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Once we ended the call, I rolled over and put the phone on my nightstand then turned off the lamp beside my bed. A second later the mattress depressed with Crash’s weight as he hopped up and curled into a ball beside my chest.
And with his gentle purring in my ear, I fell right to sleep with the biggest smile on my face.
Chapter 13
Farah
“Pwetty, Fawah! Pwetty!”
Brantley launched himself at me, and I caught him with ease. Flopping to my back, I extended my arms and lifted him in the air, laughing as he giggled himself sick.
“You’re pretty handsome yourself, kiddo.”
“Careful, doing that,” Shane warned as she came around the back of the couch and flopped down. “More than once, I’ve played airplane with that kid and gotten puked on for my troubles.”
I shot her a look of panic and quickly sat up, pulling the rambunctious toddler against my chest. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
“Anytime.” Shane giggled and went back to folding the huge pile of laundry in the basket at her feet.
When I’d repeated my offer for babysitting at work the night before, she’d taken me up on it. I showed up earlier this morning with two coffees in hand and spent the better part of my day keeping little Brantley entertained while Shane got some much-needed housework done.
One of the perks was I also got to hang out with her outside Bad Alibi, and over the past several hours, we’d gotten to know each other a lot better.
“Thank you again for doing this. I can’t tell you how much you being here has helped. I haven’t had the chance to do laundry in two weeks. I was running dangerously low on underwear. One or two more days and I would’ve had to start turning them inside out.”
My top lip curled up as I laughed. “Well, I’m glad I was able to help so you didn’t have to start recycling.”
“You and me both.” She added a folded T-shirt to the growing stack on the coffee table while shifting the subject. “So, I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s up with you and Cannon?”
My good mood immediately dampened. It had been a week since that night in the stockroom, and while Cannon hadn’t necessarily been avoiding me, something was different.
He’d been by the bar a couple of times, and he was always polite, but things just seemed . . . off.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Cannon,” I admitted, letting a squirming Brantley go so he could run free. He raced over to the bin of toys Shane had tucked into the corner, and I shifted closer to the couch so I could help Shane fold clothes. “Something’s changed,” I explained, grabbing one of Brantley’s tiny T-shirts. “I don’t know how to explain it, but he’s been different with me this past week.”
“How do you mean?”
I heaved out a breath and reached for a pair of little toddler jeans as I gave that question some thought. “I don’t know how to explain it without sounding stupid.”
“You aren’t gonna sound stupid to me, Farah. We’re friends. You can tell me anything.”
Her referring to me as a friend was the push I needed, so I dove right in. “Well, he just seems, distant. Before, he’d call me Hummingbird and, I don’t know. I guess I just really liked that he had his own personal nickname for me. Now he just calls me darlin’ or babe like the rest of the guys. The only time he really talks to me is if I initiate the conversation, and even then, he’s barely giving me anything, you know? Like, I get the feeling he’s just phoning it in, hoping it’ll end soon. I mean, I could have sworn he was going to kiss me in that damn stockroom last week, and now nothing!”
She arched her brows and let out a snort. “Girl, I saw the look on his face when he had you pressed up against those shelves. I thought he was gonna do a lot more to you than just kissing.”
I thrust a finger in the air and exclaimed, “Exactly! And he offered to take me for a ride on his motorcycle, but since then I haven’t heard anything. He’s never mentioned it again.”
I hadn’t realized I was twisting the jeans in a chokehold until Shane reached over and pulled them from my hands, giving me a sympathetic look. “You know, people discount women’s intuition all the time, but I’m telling you, it’s a very real thing. If you feel like he’s being different, he probably is. Listen to your gut. I say you track his a”—she shot a quick look in Brantley’s direction before amending—“his butt down, and ask him straight up, what’s going on.”
The plan had merit, but I wasn’t sure I had the guts to do something like that. Turning away from her and back to the clothes, I mumbled, “I don’t know, maybe.”
“Hey.” Sticking her hand in front of my face she snapped to get my attention. “Don’t do that. Don’t get all nervous and start doubting yourself. You’re awesome. You’re a hot, awesome chick who deserves to know what the hell is happening. You need to march yourself down to that garage and get some answers.”
“I appreciate the solidarity, honey, but I kind of turn into a mess when it comes to confrontation.”
Dropping the socks she’d been pairing up, Shane leaned down and rested her elbows on her knees. “Ask yourself this: could confronting him make you feel any worse than you do right now? Trust me, sister, uncertainty will eat you up inside.” Her chest rose on a deep inhale as she turned her eyes to Brantley. “Every day I wake up and wish I’d gotten the chance to ask Brant’s dad what the hell had changed, what had gone so wrong he needed to bail.” I could read the sadness clear as day in her face when she looked back at me. “I didn’t h
ave that chance, but you do. There’s no point in sitting around moping and wondering, when you can just find out, right?”
I reached over and took her hand. “You’re right. I’ll talk to him.”
She shook off her melancholy and forced a smile onto her face. “Good.”
“But, you know . . .” I paused, questioning if I should say what I wanted to say. But she’d called us friends. And friends were honest with each other. “Whatever happened between you guys, whatever changed, it doesn’t matter. It’s his loss. You know that, right?” Shane’s eyes began to shine with unshed tears. “You don’t need to wake up and wonder what went wrong. You only need to remember that you came out on top. Because you’re amazing, and Brantley’s the best kiddo in the whole wide world.”
She lifted her face to the ceiling and I knew she was blinking the wet from her eyes. When she looked back to me, the sadness was gone. “You’re pretty damn amazing yourself.”
A moment later, Brantley decided he was done with his toys and plowed into me with every ounce of strength in his little four-year-old body, taking me to my back in the middle of the living room floor. “Pwetty Fawah! Let’s do aiooplane again!”
Leave it to a toddler to make everything better.
* * *
My stomach was a jumble of nerves as I pulled my car into the forecourt of Banks Body and Auto Repair the following morning. I was taking Shane’s advice and getting some answers, but I’d decided to go about it a bit more delicately.
I’d been up all night, trying to think of a convincing excuse to track Cannon down, and sometime around three this morning, I’d had a lightbulb moment. So, after a few short hours of sleep, I’d climbed out of bed and gotten ready, taking longer on my appearance than I had since moving to town.
My hair was hanging around my shoulders in long, sleek waves, and instead of just my customary mascara and lip gloss, I was wearing a full—yet subtle—face of makeup. I wore a new pair of bootcut jeans that hugged my behind, hips, and thighs, and the wedges I’d worn my first night at Bad Alibi. The sleeveless chiffon top was a hint dressier than all my other clothes, but it still worked. It was flowy from my chest all the way to my hips, with the exception of a fun little drawstring that cinched at my waist, and the cream color looked awesome with the blush cami underneath.
Fall in Love Book Bundle: Small Town Romance Box Set Page 264
