Page 23 of Players Like Us
If you’re really sorry, then make sure nothing like that ever happens again. That’s how you get over it and get on with it.
Daniel pushed aside his wife’s desire to make things right with the man she’d hurt and added his own thoughts. “Jameson’s solid. I’ve visited him at the restaurant a few times, shared a bourbon or two. Meredith knows about it, but she’s never asked to come with me.”
“At least there’s that. And he doesn’t work the lunch crowd anymore, so everyone’s safe.”
“Yeah.” Daniel blew out a sigh. “You’re right.”
“So? You didn’t come to talk about my sister’s over-imaginative brain… And if you had good news to share about an expansion in the Reese family—” his voice shifted, softened “—Meredith would be sitting beside you.”
Of course, he was right, but how did the guy know? “What gave it away?”
“Easy.” Tate picked up a pen, twirled it between his fingers. “When do you ever call and ask for an appointment to see me?” He didn’t wait for an answer before he said, “Never?”
Daniel shrugged, worked up a smile. While he might give Tate a quick call to see if he was busy, he never set up a formal meeting time. That would just seem odd, considering how well he and Tate got along. “I’m worried about my sister. Rachel’s always been a wild card and I’ve tried to leave her alone, but...” He dragged a hand over his face, recalled the years of arguments with her over freedom and letting her live her own life. “She’s not a kid anymore, even if she still acts like it sometimes. Anyway, my parents don’t need that kind of worry, and while my sister says she’s fine and life is great, I don’t 100% believe that.”
Tate laughed. “I hear you. You mean like when my sister used to go on these ‘adventures’ with several of her new best friends and was surprised and sad when they dumped her after a trip—the one she’d paid for…?”
Meredith was a kind soul with a good heart, but sometimes that kindness was too welcoming, the heart too trusting. “Exactly. I need to make sure Rachel’s on the right track and isn’t going down some harebrained trail with the wrong people.” The wrong guy. Again.
“Sure, I understand. Don’t think I wasn’t worried when my sister headed down the wrong trail with the wrong guy.” He eyed Daniel, lips unsmiling, as if to indicate Daniel was that guy. And then he laughed. “But the guy turned out to be the right guy. In fact, he turned out to be the guy.”
“You’re never going to let me forget what I did, are you?” Daniel couldn’t forget it, even if his intentions had been honorable and meant to help his father.
“After what you did for my sister? Named a collection after her and told the whole world who you really were? I like to tease because you are such an easy target.”
“Right. But I wonder what would happen if your wife’s brothers started to torment you? Maybe said a real man should know how to operate a drill and a miter saw? And what if they said a real man should know how to work up a sweat that didn’t come from exercise equipment or the gym?”
Tate’s cheeks turned red beneath his tan, and he cleared his throat. Twice. “Point taken. No more joking about that part of your relationship with my sister.”
Daniel hadn’t expected that sort of reply, but he’d take it. “So, back to my sister and her questionable lifestyle. I just want to know that she’s doing okay and isn’t waist-deep in debt or hanging with the wrong people. Yes, the wrong guys. I don’t want my parents to keep worrying about her and while my mother says a parent doesn’t stop worrying until they close their eyes for the last time, there are different types of worrying. I wanted to hire an investigator to deliver the goods. I figured it was quick, efficient, and businesslike. Of course, Meredith had a fit. She told me I absolutely could not do that, said she’d lived most of her life under an investigator’s eye and I had to find another way.”
Tate nodded. “And did you find another way to gather this information without going against Meredith’s wishes? Because we both know you get one shot in the honesty department and you do not want to disappoint her again.”
Daniel didn’t try to hide his frustration when he answered. “Of course I know that. I would never go against her, but I’m worried about my sister. Meredith came up with a plan and that’s where you come in.”
“My sister has a plan?” The raised brow and frown said that could mean trouble.
“She does and I agreed to it, but with conditions.” His wife hadn’t been delighted with the necessity of “conditions” but she’d agreed. “I think Meredith might not be objective enough in this situation. In fact, I’m sure she won’t be.”
“Ah, so...what’s the plan?”
“It involves your brother.” Had the man just cringed? Daniel focused, tried to determine if Tate’s breathing pattern had changed, sped up the tiniest bit.
“What about Neal?”
Yes, that had been a cringe and Daniel didn’t miss the dread in Tate’s voice. Great. This was worse than he thought. “Meredith suggested that since Rachel and Neal live in the same city, Neal could do a little reconnaissance work, keep tabs on her, see where she lives, what she does, who she’s hanging out with... She’s only been there a few months, but there are a lot of vague answers when my parents or I ask her questions. Easy ones like, where are you working? Do you have enough money? Do you plan to stay? Typical Rachel never gives a complete answer, which makes us all think she’s not giving an honest answer. I want to help her, give her money to start a business, pay her expenses, or whatever she needs, but I want her to at least think about her next plan. Does she have a plan? Or is she just bouncing from one disaster to another?”
“And Neal agreed to do this?”
“That’s the thing. Meredith said he did, but she didn’t sound too convinced, like he wasn’t thrilled with the idea.” Daniel blew out a long sigh, asked the only question that mattered right now. “I know he’s your brother and I mean no disrespect, but do you think the guy’s trustworthy? This is my sister we’re talking about.”
“You mean because Neal doesn’t have the most exemplary record when it comes to honesty and dependability?”
“Uh...right.”
The sigh said it would take days to convey the whole story behind his brother. “I haven’t seen him in a while and I’m still annoyed he couldn’t make it home for Meredith’s wedding. Don’t ever count on Neal and if he shows up and actually does what he said he’s going to, consider it a big win.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.” Meredith had a difficult time seeing the dangerous side of people, especially her twin brother. He’s just misunderstood, she’d said. You have no idea what it was like growing up with a father like ours. Neal deals with things by pretending he doesn’t care, but he does care. Very much. Daniel didn’t care about the guy’s sad story or how he’d been mistreated. All he cared about was whether the guy could find out details about Rachel’s life in Virginia and do so without touching her. Both requests unsettled him because he wasn’t certain the man could deliver on either.
