Page 45 of Four Tattoos

As much as I’m certain of this, my determination to make things right is being met with a lot of internal resistance, and I find myself looking for faults in Zipper’s logic, though I haven’t found any yet.

Someone as sweet and pure hearted as she is doesn’t belong with men like us.

The bell rings, alerting me that someone’s come into the shop.Shit.I’ve been so distracted that I forgot to lock up after the last client left. I step out, prepared to tell the person that we’re closed, and see a man who looks vaguely familiar. It only takes a moment to place him.

If I didn’t already recognize him, the grim look on his face would be a big clue.

“I need to talk to you,” Rose’s brother says, striding toward me. It’s been a while, but I recall seeing him at the coffee shop when I used to go there, before we started having all of our drinks delivered.

If it weren’t for the storm clouds behind the man’s eyes, I might worry that something happened to Rose, but I’d be willing to bet the shop that I know exactly why he’s here.

“What can I do for you?” I ask, squaring up my shoulders. The music is still blaring, so I slide my phone from my pocket and dial down the volume, noticing with irony that the song playing is “About a Girl” by Nirvana.

“I’m Patrick Morrison. I own the coffee shop, Island Java.”

I nod my head in acknowledgement, peripherally aware that the other three men have stepped out of their stalls to come stand behind me. If Rose’s brother is intimidated at all by the four of us, he doesn’t show it.

“My shop has been delivering to you. More specifically, my sister Rose has been delivering to you. I’m here to tell you to leave my sister alone. As a businessperson, I want to have good relationships with other businesses on the island, but I’m sorry to tell you that we won’t be offering delivery to you anymore, and it will be best if you take your business elsewhere.”

To this, I give him a half nod. It’s his right to do as he pleases with his coffee shop, but I don’t know why he thinks his control should extend to his Rose. “Are you aware that your sister is an adult who can make her own decisions?”

The man’s jaw hardens and his eyes narrow. “My sister is my concern, not yours. I didn’t come here to start any trouble, but I think you’ve been playing games with her, and it’s going to stop.”

“What does Rose have to say about this?” Mace asks in a cold tone I rarely hear from him.

“I’ll be talking to her later,” Patrick says, equally as icy. “Right now, I’m here to tell you to stop talking to her and stop contacting her. Whatever’s been going on, ends now.”

After leveling a hard glare at each of us, he turns and walks out without another word.

34

CHRISTIAN

“That’s some kind of bullshit. Who does he think he is to come in here and tell us what to do?” I’m tempted to follow the man out, and the younger me definitely would have, but I have more self control these days.

None of the others speak, though Mace’s irritation is visibly apparent. Zipper looks grim, and Hutch looks troubled, before he finally says, “He’s just trying to protect Rose. I’d probably feel the same way if I had a sister.”

“So you don’t think Rose should be with us?” I accuse. I direct my anger at Rose’s brother toward Hutch, but I regret it when I see his pained expression.

“No, she probably shouldn’t,” he says quietly, shaking his head. “Even though we’d never intentionally hurt her, she’d be better off with someone else.”

I turn toward Zipper, unreasonably feeling like the entire situation is his fault, but he doesn’t say a word. He’s already planted the seeds, and his plan to grow discontent is well underway.

As Mace watches Hutch, the fight that was in Mace’s eyes fades away. “She’s Miss Sunshine,” he says, sounding miserable. “I don’t know what she’s been doing hanging out with us grumpy bastards anyway. We’re only going to bring her down.”

“I don’t want her getting hurt,” Hutch says.

“Much as I don’t want to listen to what her jerk brother has to say,” Zipper grumbles, “the truth is that we’re going to hurt her eventually. We’re not right for her.” Seeing that we’re all looking at him, he adds, “You all remember Mariah, and how that turned out. Do you really want things to go down with Rose like that?”

“It wouldn’t be like that,” Hutch says, pushing a cart out of his way with unnecessary force, causing it to bang into the wall.

“Her brother trying to control her pisses me off, though,” I say. “We shouldn’t stop seeing her just because he told us to. No one tells us what to do.”

Zipper glares at me. “Stop being a selfish asshole and think about what’s best for Rose. We wrecked Mariah’s life, and I don’t want us wrecking Rose.”

“Where’s this all going?” Mace asks. “What are we going to do?”

The four of us look around at each other, no one offering an answer.

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