Chapter Fourteen #4
a year before me. He was the one who sat with me that first night and told me
it wasn’t so bad. Even though it was for him. He tried his damnedest to make
sure it wasn’t as bad for me.”
“Shit.” Jack’s head fell back. “And that’s how he ended up
in prison.”
“Doesn’t that sound familiar?” Abby fell to her knees and
looked up at her husband. “Jack, she’s attracted to them on many levels, but
the most important one is they remind her of her fathers. Master, I know you
want to protect them, but you already did that by raising them right. They know
what they want.”
“Olivia wanted Scott once.” Jack seemed to want to hang on
to being right.
Abby’s head shook. “She wanted to start her life. I doubt
she would have gone through with it even if he hadn’t proved to be a massive
asshole.”
Jack looked right at Garrett, eyes narrowing. “I’ll drop the
charges against Keane and give you both five million dollars to get out of my
daughter’s life.”
“No.” Garrett could see through this. “I wouldn’t take that
deal for anything in the world. Keane wouldn’t take it either, even though he
fully believes Olivia will reject him once she knows what happened in the past.
He still won’t take that money. He certainly wouldn’t take it in exchange for
the one thing he’s found that makes it all worthwhile. I’m not going to tell
you his story. That’s his, but talk to your brother. There’s a reason Lucas
wanted him to have this chance.”
“You won’t take the money?” Jack sounded confused.
“You cannot buy me, and in this case I’m going to speak for
my Dom, too. He won’t take the money and he’ll take his chances in prison,
though you should know it’s the one thing he’s feared for years.”
Jack considered him for a moment. “You’re speaking for your
Dom?”
“Could Sam speak for you?”
Jack sighed and reached for his wife’s hand, tugging her up
and onto his lap where she settled in like it was something she had done a
million times before. This was the comfort of a long-term marriage. She calmed
him and made him feel safe enough to be vulnerable. “Of course he could. He
always could. Since the day we met.”
“Now that I do understand.”
Jack seemed to breathe in his wife’s scent and relaxed. “I’m
going to have to apologize. I hurt him and I shouldn’t have. I hated the look
in his eyes when he walked out.”
When he’d said I’m no one’s son.
“You could start by talking to the sheriff and getting him
to back down. You have proof it wasn’t him,” Garrett pointed out. “Getting him
out of that cell will go a long way to fixing things. Once you get to know
Keane, you’ll understand he’s exactly the type of man you want on Olivia’s
side.”
Abby gave him a beatific smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The door came open, and Sam was suddenly in the doorway, a
worried expression on his face. “Jack, we’ve got trouble.”
Garrett immediately stepped forward. “What is it? Is it
Keane? I’m his attorney.”
Jack frowned as he gently guided Abby up. “You are not. You
are a corporate attorney. We’re getting him the best criminal defense lawyer in
the state if I can’t convince the sheriff he’s got evidence to exonerate
Keane.”
“It’s not Keane,” Sam said. “It’s Olivia. She’s been arrested.”
“What?” Garrett wasn’t the only one who said the word. Abby
and Jack were right there with him.
“She’s lost her damn mind. She said she was going to talk to
Keane tonight one way or another, so she slapped the shit out of that Jessica
girl, though I will say she did that before she said the stuff about talking to
Keane. I think she really wanted to do that, and the girl deserved it. So then
when the girl ran away, Olivia told Jimmy he could arrest her or she would call
Betsy Ann, since he was flirting with the girl, and he caved. They’re taking
her back now.”
“You know they could have done that without actually
arresting her,” Abby said with a frown. “I knew she would do something like
this.”
“He didn’t book her or anything,” Sam allowed. “I think he
was trying to get her not to tell his wife. I think we can get her out.”
“Don’t.” Garrett held a hand up. “She wants to talk to him.”
Jack turned to him. “She’s heard the news. What if she’s
going in there to tell him off? We should talk to her first. Didn’t you say
Keane thinks she’ll reject him?”
Garrett’s head shook. “She won’t. That’s Keane’s insecurity
showing. It has nothing to do with her. I always knew if she loved us, his past
wouldn’t matter. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s going to make her love him more.
Let her deal with him. She knows what she’s doing. She’s not allowing him to
sit in there alone brooding about losing her.”
“But she’s in a cell,” Jack said. “It could be dangerous.”
“Jimmy won’t let anything happen to her.” Abby slipped her
hand back into Jack’s and Sam moved to his other side, surrounding the Dom with
their affection. “He knows you would be upset, and I believe he peed himself
the last time you came around with a complaint. Let Olivia do what she needs to
do. Besides, you need to call your brother and tell him you’re not firing his
favorite coworker. He’s threatening to come up here, you know.”
Jack sighed. “I’ll do it.”
Garrett had some questions first. He couldn’t help but put a
few things together. Ruby had told him earlier that Jessica Fellows was in
Texas. Was she here looking for her man? Or was she here for other reasons? “We
need to talk about this witness. You said it, but I forgot her name.”
He wanted to be there with them, but he knew when to step
back. Not because they wouldn’t welcome him. They would. But this was something
Keane had to get through. They would always have each other, but they also
needed to know they could have individual relationships. Olivia had to learn to
navigate Keane’s limited insecurities.
And she would. Because she was the one.
“It was Jessica Fellows,” Abby said.
Sam’s head shook. “I never liked that girl. She was one of
those who was always sweet in public but nasty when she thought no one was
looking. She tried to play Livie and she wasn’t having it. She fell on purpose
and tried to blame Livie. That dumbass Jimmy bought it for a minute, so our
daughter decided if she was going to do the time, she might as well do the
crime and bitch slapped the shit out of her. I mean that girl will be lucky if
the handprint ever goes away.”
“So what you’re telling me is that this woman who hurt
Olivia before happens to show back up in town at the precise time when a whole
lot of bad shit is happening around Olivia.” Garrett’s brain was working
overtime.
“You’re not worried about that conversation that’s happening
right now?” Jack looked surprised.
Garrett waved the thought off. “I’m relieved. I know Olivia.
She wouldn’t go to these lengths to tell Keane off. She would be done and walk
away clean. She’s going in there to tell him he’s a dumbass if he thinks she
can’t love him. Now I am worried there’s going to be some jailhouse loving I
won’t be able to get in on, but sometimes one of us has to step back. It’s a
complex relationship.”
“And now we know who the Sam is.” Sam Fleetwood was grinning
from ear to ear. “I always knew I was the logical, reasonable one.”
Jack snorted and drew the other man in, an arm around his
waist. “You are that.” He was quiet for a moment and then he looked at Garrett.
“Tell me everything I need to know.”
“You’re not going to fight this relationship anymore?” Life
would be so much easier if this man wasn’t against him.
“I think my daughter is ready to kick my ass. I would like
to avoid that. It would help if you didn’t mention our conversation before,”
Jack offered.
Garrett saw a whole lot of opportunity in Jack Barnes’s
eyes. “Fine. I can do that, but I want something in return.”
Jack’s jaw hardened. “And what is that?”
“I want a cube. Everyone else has a cube. I think Keane’s
truck is held together with spit and his pure willpower.” That cube would mean
they were accepted. “We bought it for 750 bucks seven years ago. When we had
the money for something new, he insisted I buy one for myself so I wouldn’t
have to rely on Lucas to get into Dallas if I needed to go. I’m going to buy my
Master something new. I’ve saved, but I want you to present him with a cube.”
Jack seemed to relax. “We’ll go down to the dealership
together and I’ll show you everything he’s going to need.”
Sam snorted. “And he’ll have spent some time with Keane by
then and will buy it himself. You just watch.”
That wasn’t the point. The point was Jack needed to make
Keane feel welcome, and oddly, putting his broke-down truck through a compactor
and then displaying it like a trophy would do the trick.
“All right, let’s give them some time and I’ll tell you
everything I know about what’s happened since we got to Willow Fork.” Garrett
sat back down. It was time to figure out what was going on. “I have some
suspicions. This is either about one person being incredibly jealous. Or it’s
about money. A lot of money.”
Jack sat across from him, and Abby and Sam joined them.
“Maybe this is something I should sit in on.” Deputy Morgan
stood in the doorway. “I was wrong about your friend. I’ve got a call in to the
bartender. Apparently he’s out with some friends, but he’ll come in tomorrow
and make a statement. I’m doing the paperwork to let Keane out. I want to solve
this. I need to know.”
Garrett nodded, and Deputy Morgan took the last available
chair. Garrett leaned in and began to speak.
He wasn’t the only one with a lot to say. Olivia was making
her play. He hoped that somewhere in a jail cell, Keane would listen.