Page 37 of Always Be My Baby

“I’m considering whether I want to do that or not. I told him that everything that was in the envelopes were gone. He said he could sue me.”

Girard popped out a laugh. “Good luck with that one.”

“I don’t really think he’s serious. I think it was just threats from a man who cares aboutthatchild.”

“Lee.” That was all he said. Just my name. And yet it said so much.

“Anyway, he said Lachlan has a gambling problem. I told him it wasn’t my problem. Do you know he actually wanted me to drop the charges?”

“That man’s an ass. I don’t want you talking to him anymore, especially not by yourself.”

“I blocked him. But I do need to call Tess and Jimmy again to let them know that Dear Old Dad is up to shit.”

“I promise, sweetheart, it’s not always going to be this hard. Everyone has storms to weather in their lives. This is just one of ours. The great thing about weathering storms is it’s usually smooth sailing for a while afterward.”

God, I hoped so.

Girard

Polk came back after a week down in Detroit. No Becks. He wasn’t his usual lighthearted self. When we gave him the envelope containing the money everyone working at the restaurant had collected for him and his family, the man actually broke down and started crying.

Becks stayed back in Detroit. His baby girl was going to be there for a while as doctors ran tests to figure out what was wrong with her. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bring the atmosphere of the restaurant down, though most of us tried to maintain positivity for Harrison, who was getting married in like a week. With everything happening with Polk, he opted to go in a different direction for the catering. I appreciated it. As much as I wanted to celebrate with my coworker, there was simply too much going on to add a wedding into the mix. We were a family at The Bell Jar, and all families had ups and downs, it just sucked that our ups and downs were happening simultaneously.

Sawyer, some of the other guys at work, and I tried to make sure that Polk wasn’t alone too much of the time. Lee encouraged me to take him out to get his mind off things. I didn’t want to take him out drinking too often, though lord knew he needed it. But early March in our neck of the woods didn’t provide too many escapes from reality, save maybe for those escape rooms that got so popular a few years back. We still had a couple that were open up in Traverse City. Other than that, we hung out at his place and watched whatever game happened to be on that night while making sure the man got fed.

What else could we do?

And then, wasn’t that when trouble always found you? When you least expected it? I’d been so distracted by Polk and his problems that I dropped the ball when it came to protecting Marilee. I should’ve been protecting Lee.

Since he didn’t know where she lived, just like his son, Darren Bell, of all people, walked his sorry ass into the restaurant.

The nerve of that guy.

You could see a slight family resemblance. It was in the eyes. Lee and this man shared similar eyes, the shape and color. That was the first clue for me as to who he was when I saw him walk right past the hostess station into the main dining room.

I’d been talking to one of the patrons, who enjoyed her meal so much she’d wanted to speak with the chef.

But when he belligerently started calling out, “Where’s Marilee?”, I had to intervene.

Lena stepped up to him first. “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m going to have to ask you to keep your voice down.”

“I’ll do anything I damn well please. Now where’s Marilee?”

Oh, hell no.I excused myself from talking with the patron and walked over to assist Lena. “This is a place of business,” I said calmly but with more than a hint of irritation.

He stood to his full height in a vain attempt to intimidate me because I stood about two inches taller than him and had the build and power of a twenty-nine-year-old, rather than someone in his fifties. “You don’t know—”

I stood to my full height, too, folding my arms over my chest before cutting him off. “I’m fully aware of who you are. I also know that you’re making a scene in our place of business. I highly doubt that’s going to do much for your son’s case.”

“And who the hell are you?”

For this part I looked him dead in the eye. “I’m the man whose home was broken into,” I bit out low for only he and Lena to hear me. “Thousands—and you heard me right—Thousands of dollars’ worth of damage done to it.” The man had enough sense to wince, in any case. “Byyourson. Now, unless you’d rather be escorted out by the police, I suggest you turn around and leave right now. You do not walk into someone’s place of business and start throwing a fit. Lee has worked hard for everything she’s gotten—no thanks to you.”

How in the world could a woman as smart, and bright and beautiful as Marilee come from this guy? This close to him, I saw the wrinkles along his forehead, his mousy brown hair graying at the temples and the dark patches and wrinkles surrounding his eyes. Lee, by contrast, had this remarkable shade, a deep, rich chestnut. If it weren’t for the eyes, I’d wonder if she carried any of his DNA at all.

“I need to talk with—”

“I see you’re not getting this,” I said, cutting him off again. I’m giving you to the count of three to turn around and leave peacefully, or I’ll call the police and have you escorted out. It’s your choice.”

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