Page 50 of The Moment They Can Never Forgive
“Any chance of a drink, Red?”
“Yeah, hold yours, Beau!” Red roared back.
Sawyer raised his middle finger at Beau Keller, his mortal enemy since his first day of school, and Beau returned the gesture.
“And there will be no more talk about me or my love life,” Dan said when Red left.
“So there is a love life?” Brody added.
Dan ignored him and drank more beer.
They talked, he listened, and then he talked some more, and if he was honest, he did feel better inside because of it. His brothers were the best men he knew besides his uncle. They’d had their moments, and rebellions, but at their core, there were good values.
Around them there were noise and people, but Dan was with his people, and they knew him better than anyone else.
Dan took off his cone of silence. “I need the bathroom.”
The Rollaway bathrooms were as you would expect of a bar like this, with one exception. Written on most of the available wall space were quotes, and they were changed out weekly. He’d never asked if the girls’ bathrooms had those too.
Dan read the one on the back of the stall door he was now in.“The stronger a man is, the gentler he can afford to be.”
True,he thought,and a few men could be better by understanding that.
He’d always been a creature of habit, so he’d chosen the last stall on the right. From there, Dan heard someone talking while entering.
“Grill’s looking for somewhere else now that she’s back in Lyntacky with the kid.”
As there was no reply, Dan’s guess was that the man was talking into a phone.
“Yeah, well, chances were someone would want to live there sooner or later.”
More silence.
“At least we got everything out before she returned. Shame, as it was a good spot. Let’s hope she leaves again soon. But until then, we’ll keep looking.”
Dan stood where he was until the conversation had finished, and the man had left the bathroom. Only then did he let himself out, wash his hands, and walk back to his brothers. Tomorrow he would be having another conversation with his uncle about what he’d overheard because, though he couldn’t be certain, as no names were used, what if they’d been talking about the Reynolds farm?
Chapter 14
It was early evening when they both heard the crunch of tires on the driveway from the shade house four days after she and Dan Duke had made love on her kitchen table.
Every time she entered that room, she saw it…them, and Leah had tried everything to remove the image from her head. She’d moved the table and rearranged the kitchen. Nothing worked.
The problem was, Dan wasn’t just a good lover, he was the only one who had ever made her feel that way. And admitting that, even to herself, left her unsteady. The doubts she’d tried so hard to silence were surfacing again, fed by every kind word she overheard in town. Everywhere she turned, someone seemed ready to remind her what a good man Dan Duke had become. It was harder and harder to reconcile that man with the enemy she’d clung to for so long.
Focus on Hudson,she reminded herself.He’s what matters. Not Dan.
“Who do you think that is?” Hudson asked.
“No idea, bud, but we should probably go and look,” Leah said, getting to her feet.
She brushed off the dirt from her knees, and together she and Hudson made their way back to the house.
Their day had been spent planting out his garden and preparing the soil ready for hers. They’d enjoyed the work with the sun on their backs, and being outside together.
Four women stood beside a large SUV. Nina, Zoe, Phoebe, and Birdie. All were dressed like they were heading out for the night.
“Ladies,” Leah said when she reached them.
