Page 65 of The Choices I've Made
I’d forgotten how busy it got around here, even in the off-season.
I spotted a happy family of four walking toward their car, and I slowed to a crawl. The husband and wife held hands while the two kids skipped and jumped over tree stumps. It was a picture of perfection—something that would normally make me roll my eyes and wonder who the father was banging in his spare time.
But, tonight, I couldn’t help but stare as the jealousy rose in my veins.
It had been ages since I envisioned myself as a family man—someone who would devote himself to one person for the rest of his life.
Someone who would look at his children, beaming with pride.
I’d seen the downfall of marrying a surgeon.
We were unreliable outside of the hospital. Unrelenting workaholics, we would choose our patients over a family any day. It was why my dating life had been reduced to torrid affairs and one-night stands. I couldn’t do complicated.
Yet, somehow, I’d stepped right back into the middle of it.
I stalked the jovial family all the way to their car and patiently waited for them to leave. Once parked, I locked up the rental and headed in the direction of food.
What I found instead had my blood boiling.
I’d always known Molly’s younger sister was a wild card.
From the moment she’d blackmailed me out of cash after catching Molly and me in bed together, I had known that pigtailed little girl wasn’t exactly cut from the same cloth as the rest of the McIntyres.
When I walked onto the covered patio of the restaurant, my suspicions were confirmed instantly.
“It’s Jake Jameson!” Millie hollered, her fingers roaming through the hair of a tall stranger.
It took only minutes to find her sister.
While I would normally expect to see Molly planted firmly in the corner, drinking a sensible amount of alcohol while mentally creating her to-do list for the next day, I instead found her in the thick of things.
And in the arms of another man.
“What the hell?” I uttered.
“Come join us, Jake! We’re celebrating our youth!” Millie announced while the rest of the bar cheered.
What had once been a low-key place to hang out in after work, Millie McIntyre had managed to turn into an outdoor club, complete with loud music and horny men.
I turned toward the bar as I tried to keep myself from ripping the guy wrapped around Molly in half. The bartender, a guy I recognized from high school, gave me a look that was filled to the brim with desperation.
He’d clearly lost control of the place, and with Millie here, I didn’t blame him.
“Hey, Jake. Heard you were coming back,” he said, greeting me with a firm handshake over the bar.
“Sounds like you’ve got a rough crowd tonight, Billy,” I said, looking behind me.
Molly was looking up at the tall surfer dude with a mixture of nervousness and curiosity. The guy, who I now wanted to kill had a fat, happy grin plastered across his face. My fist tightened in anger.
“Yeah,” he said with hesitation. “Any way you could help a guy out? Otherwise, I might be forced to call in Macon.”
I nodded in understanding.
Macon was a rising star with the county police. He was young and hungry for action, having grown up here with the rest of us. I’d never been a fan of the guy. He’d been one of those kids who threw guys in the dumpster just because he could.
From what I’d heard, not much had changed since then.
Except for the badge.
