Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
ROBBIE
Lissa’s dad’s country club is thirty-three minutes outside Winsome—thirty-eight if you hit the lights wrong.
Nothing about this place would make me hike out here on my lunch break, especially after spending eight hours in the freezing cold, fighting a chimney fire that refused to die, except Lissa begging me to meet her.
The way her eyes light up when she spots me in the doorway to the dining room is almost enough to make me forget the long night, my upcoming meeting to handle Greene’s breach of protocol, several texts from my brother asking for “a loan,” and the conversation with Ames I can’t stop replaying.
I need someone who’s in my corner and will suck my dick while he’s ? —
“Rob, sweetie!” Lissa stands to hug me when I reach the table. She kisses my cheek, leaving a smear of vanilla lip gloss she swipes away with her thumb. Her pink sweater’s made of fluffy clouds that hug her curves and snag on my fingers as I pull her against me, softness on top of softness.
Right now, it feels like Lissa’s the only part of my life that makes sense.
She brushes her hands over my shoulders, smoothing the creases out of my polo shirt. “Thanks for coming out here, honey. I know you must be tired.”
“Yeah, but it’s no problem. You look amazing today, by the way.”
Lissa laughs. “Thank you, but we both know you’d rather be eating at Watchfire since Ames has butternut soup on the menu.”
“Nah. Greenvale’s menu has good stuff too,” I say lightly, even if she’s kind of right.
But the unexpected mention of Ames throws me off a little.
I need someone who’s in my corner and will suck my di ? —
She beams. “Exactly! You should expand your horizons, honey.”
I blink at her for a second before I realize she’s talking about… soup. Fuck .
“So how bad was the fire?” As she takes her seat, she scoops her long, blonde-streaked hair back. “Your message said it was a long night.”
“Yeah, chimney fires are tricky. You think you’ve got ’em knocked down, and they flare back up. We were out until three.”
Lissa reaches across the table for my hand and squeezes gently. “I don’t care what you say, you work way too hard. It’s not sustainable.”
I laugh lightly. “Nah. I’ve sustained it for… going on eleven years. ”
“Yes, but you’re chief now. Doesn’t that mean you get to delegate a little? At least the late-night calls? My father runs the bank, and he still gets personal time.”
I force my smile to stay in place. “We’ve talked about this, Liss. Small-town life means there’s not a lot of backup. But I love my job. I like being the one looking after my people. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Her smile dims a little. “I know, but?—”
“It does work up an appetite, though.” I smile again, harder this time. “I’ve got a disciplinary review with one of the probies this afternoon, and I need sustenance.”
“Sounds good. Let’s feed the beast.” She laughs, letting the topic go, and signals to the waiter.
Once he’s gone, Lissa leans forward and bites her lip, probably tasting vanilla. “Okay, I admit, I had an ulterior motive for asking you to meet me today. I have news .”
“Oh?” I smile back, charmed by how sweet she is.
This is why I can count on one hand the times Lissa and I have ever argued. She’s adorable and easy to be around.
“You know how membership at this club is really exclusive, and you usually need, like, five letters of recommendation to even begin the application process?”
I blink at her. I don’t know where I thought this was going, but it wasn’t to Greenvale Country Club. “I… didn’t, but okay.”
“Well, Daddy talked to the board, and they approved your membership! You’re in . Officially. Isn’t that wonderful?” Her smile is bright as the crystal chandeliers overhead, suffused with genuine happiness. “And Daddy’s covering your first-year dues as a wedding present! ”
“F-first-year dues? Wow. That’s… generous.”
Even if I don’t know exactly what the annual dues are, I can say confidently that it’s not pocket change. There’s a reason why a lot of the members are high-level corporate types, like Lissa’s banker father or her real-estate-dealing ex-boyfriend.
There aren’t any mid-level public servants on the membership roster here, as far as I know.
Or there weren’t .
Lissa reaches out her other hand, holding mine in both of hers.
“It’s going to be so good for us, Rob. We’ve talked so much about wanting a family, and now this.
Our kids will grow up here at the club just like I did.
Sledding in the winter, golf lessons in the summer, the Christmas fundraiser.
It’s such a special community. And it’s not just parties.
Joshua said he’d be keeping an ear open in case there are any house listings that might be right for us.
” She pulls up the menu to take a quick peek.
Maybe my tiredness makes me slow, maybe her casual mention of her real estate agent ex-boyfriend throws me off, or maybe I just don’t want to understand. “Listings, like for houses? Why would we need that? I already have a house.”
Lissa frowns. “Well, no, I know. Joshua and I were just, you know, talking. He dropped something off at the house, and Daddy invited him in for a drink. Moving isn’t something we need to think about until after the wedding.”
I nod mechanically, but I can’t deny the flicker of unease churning up the calm water of my future plans.
I love my house a lot. It’s Arts and Crafts with three bedrooms and an office.
Not huge but not tiny. Great neighbors. A short walk to the center of Winsome and a slightly longer walk to work.
It has a big backyard and a front yard with a picket fence—“because you’re adorably literal like that,” Ames teases—and just enough room for an inflatable skeleton. It’s home .
And yeah, on the one hand, it’s just a house.
My dad was former military. We moved around enough as a kid for me to know the family inside is way more important than the structure itself.
But also… it’s not a thing I thought Lissa and I had to discuss any more than we’d discuss me keeping both arms attached to my body.
Which makes me wonder if things are as settled as I’d told Dr. Colburn they are.
Fortunately, the food arrives so I can put this aside.
“So what’s going on with your probie?” Lissa asks, taking a delicate bite of soup.
I take a bite of my burger before answering. “He deployed a fire extinguisher into the fireplace.”
“Oh.” A crease appears between her eyebrows. “What’s wrong with that? Isn’t putting out fires what you do?”
I smile. “That’s what he said, funnily enough. But deploying the extinguisher could’ve pushed the fire back into the house, kinda like shaking a hornet’s nest. Which is why he was told to stage inside and monitor. He disobeyed an order.”
“Well, don’t be too hard on him,” she admonishes. “Aren’t you always saying people deserve second chances to prove themselves?”
I muster a smile. I love that Lissa’s helping me see all sides.
Really.
I’ve always thought it was a benefit that she doesn’t really understand how firefighting works since it gives her a fresh perspective that keeps our relationship interesting. But it sure would be nice if she’d take my side?—
I need someone who’s in my corner and will suck my dick.
I aspirate my burger, coughing so hard that Lissa gets up and comes around the table to pound my back.
Jesus fuck, Robbie .
“Thanks,” I manage. “I’m good. Sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize.” She gives my back one final pat and then squeezes my shoulder before taking her seat. “So. Would this be a good time to bring up someone who really doesn’t deserve more chances?”
My stomach flips. “Liss, if this is about my brother, can we please not? Just for today?”
“Alright. Only because I don’t want to disturb our nice lunch.” Lissa sighs. “But you should know… he texted me.”
I stare at her in surprise. “Mike did? How’d he even get your number?”
“I don’t know. He started off saying he’s excited to welcome me to the family?—”
“Oh.” I blink. “Well, that’s not?—”
“But when I didn’t reply, he texted again, asking if me or Daddy could hook him up with a loan from the bank.” She scrunches her nose unhappily. “I’m only at the bank part-time, and you know I don’t have anything to do with loan approvals. Even if I did…”
My stomach churns. I should have called Mike yesterday after Holden mentioned him, just to see what’s going on with him, but between Ames and everything else, I haven’t had time.
And, yeah, maybe I didn’t actually want to know .
“No, I know. I wouldn’t ask that of you or your dad,” I say quickly. “I… I didn’t know Mike would do that. I’ll deal with it, okay?”
“How? I know you’re not giving him money anymore, but I don’t think he’s getting the message.”
“I’ll tell him to stop,” I promise. “Seriously. I’ll do it right now.”
I pull out my phone and type.
Dude. You don’t text Lissa for money. Ever. What were you thinking?
I show her the text before I send it, but Lissa still seems unhappy.
“Honey, you’ve lived in Winsome longer than I have. I don’t need to remind you it’s a small town, and people talk. If Mike’s reputation’s linked to yours, it’ll be linked to my family’s, too, once we’re married. So just… think about that, okay? About our future.”
Lissa’s right—it’s her business since she’s going to be my wife.
Just like Ames said yesterday.
She shrugs one elegant shoulder. “You’ve said in the past that you can’t cut contact with your brother because you want to be there for his girls.”
“That’s one reason. I… I don’t condone what Mike did. Not at all. But he’s going through a lot right now?—”
“When is he not?” she asks quietly.
I shut my mouth because Ames has said the same thing. Hell, Dr. Colburn said something similar too. And I know that when so many people say the same thing, I should listen.