Chapter 3

Gage

I held my daughter’s hand and brought her to her bed where I lifted her up and tucked her into the covers. “Daddy, will you read me a story tonight?” Ollie’s big blue eyes bored into mine; then she did that little fluttering thing that made me want to stand on my head and hand her my credit card, the car keys, and the deed to the house, although I didn’t think she’d know what to do with them. I was really going to be in a pickle when she turned sixteen, but I just couldn’t help myself.

“Of course, but I’m a little too tired to make all the motions.” She’d had me not only doing different voices for all of the characters, but she wanted me to act out their lines, too.

“But why, Daddy? I wanted you to do the monkey book. You’re funny, Daddy.” She giggled and then slapped her hands on the bed. “Monkey book!” She hopped out of the bed before I could stop her and ran over to the bookshelf as my phone rang.

“Get back in the bed, Oll.” I glanced down to see that Noah was the one to save me. “Hello, brother.”

“Oh, now I’m your brother, am I? Good, I could use a name change right about now.”

“Trouble in the Patrick family? That doesn’t sound right.”

“It’s nothing; I’m just bitter because the old man knows how to show his favoritism even in death. At least once this will had been read, it will be the end of it.” He let out a breath on the other end, and I could hear the exhaustion in his voice.

“Did the old man cut you out?” I knew things had been a little strained with him and his father, but nothing that would lead to him being disowned or disinherited.

“No, but you know the cabin out by Wade’s Creek? He left it to Lauren.”

“Ouch. I guess there goes our retirement plans.” We had always talked about me building a home close to him out there, and we’d both spend our days fishing in the creek.

“Well, I am her favorite brother, so maybe she’ll let me use it. But hey, speaking of favorite brothers and best friends who want to do all they can for me, I need a favor.”

“Monkey book, Daddy!” Ollie tugged my shirt tail, and I bent down to help her back into the covers.

“Sounds like you’re busy. I can call back later.”

“No! Don’t hang up.” I looked down at Ollie. “Daddy has to take this call, and I’ll be back in a bit. If you haven’t gone to bed yet, I promise I’ll read the monkey book, and I’ll do the voices and the actions.” There was no way she’d still be awake. She’d been yawning for the last hour and a half and nearly nodded off eating her dinner.

“Okay, Daddy. It’s a deal.” She held out her little hand. I gave it a shake and then leaned down to kiss her.

“Daddy will be right back, okay?” I turned and walked down the hall to my own room. “Okay, are you there?”

“I’m here. What’s with my favorite kid?”

“She’s got me performing nightly plays in her room, and she’s hooked on this monkey book. I made the mistake of doing it once, and now it’s all she wants. I nearly lost my voice the other night, and I stepped on one of her damned Barbie shoes. That thing hurt worse than fucking Legos.”

“You’re exaggerating; nothing hurts worse than that. But I’ll get down to business so you can go do your one-man show before the little angel falls asleep.”

“Take your time, please. I need a break.” The guy wasn’t going to cut me any slack. “Remember how we said we’d never let a girl come between us? That goes for my daughter, too. No choosing her side.”

“Doesn’t count, man. Sorry. She’s too irresistible.”

“Yeah, well how about you go ahead and ask that favor?” I could say no, too.

“It’s about Lauren. There’s something going on with her. She’s acting strange and won’t answer when I call, which is when I know she’s not working. She’s even responded with a text a few times, which isn’t her thing. I think it’s because she’s not alone, and she doesn’t want me to hear the man in the room. If she’s seeing someone she can’t tell me about, chances are it’s some dirtbag, in which case, I’m going to have to kill somebody.”

“She’s going to have to grow up sometime. Besides, she’s thirty now.”

“Dude, this is my little sister we’re talking about. You know how much I care about her. I wouldn’t even let you date her, and I love you.”

“I never asked to date your sister. She’s like my own.” I’d known Lauren my whole life, and while she had grown into a gorgeous woman, I knew better than to cross Noah.

“You sure told me enough how hot she was once she hit high school. It’s because of that I had to prepare myself for the assholes who were going to be hitting on her.”

“I was just telling you so you’d be prepared. But that was for when she was young and needed your protection.”

“She’s my baby sister; she will always need my protection. Do you think Ollie will stop needing her daddy just because she’s grown?”

I let out a sound that could be considered a growl. “I see your point. What do you want me to do about it?”

“She and Reed are heading home for the reading of the will tomorrow. While she’s in town, I wondered if you could take her to dinner and find out what the hell is going on with her.”

“Gotcha. So, you want me to ask your sister out on a date?” I decided to fuck with him a bit. “Oh, yeah. I can so handle that, my friend. I’m sure she’s even hotter these days.”

“Dude, don’t make me regret asking.”

“I’m kidding, man. Again, she’s like my sister.”

He still didn’t laugh. “Yeah, well it doesn’t help that she always had that massive crush on you.”

“She did?” I might have heard that rumor once or twice, but I never put much stock in it due to the way she acted around me. She was mean to me often, and when she saw me coming would run the other way. Of course, when I mentioned it to him back then, he’d get angry.

“Come on, man. Stop dicking around with me. You know she did.” I just liked to hear him admit it.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I can’t believe you didn’t want me to date her. You love me.”

He let out a loud groan that vibrated into my ear. “When I see you again, remind me I owe you a good clip in the jaw.”

“I’ll be waiting for it, with your sister on my arm.” I laughed loudly as he groaned, and then he let out a breath.

“In all seriousness, man. I’m scared some asshole’s fucking with her heart. She’s a complete mess when I do talk to her, and a few times, I thought I heard her crying. She said it was allergies, but that was just an excuse.”

The thought of Lauren crying had me pissed off, too, and I could remember her as a young girl sobbing over a skinned knee.

“I’ll handle it, man. You can trust me, but I can’t guarantee any answers. She might not open up to me. It’s been years, and she’s bound to know we’re still close friends.”

“She does, and that’s why I think this will work. She’ll lean on you since she feels like she can’t talk to me. Just press her okay. She’ll cave. And swear to me that you’ll tell me, whatever it is.”

“Of course, I’ll tell you. Just don’t kill the messenger. You may not like what I find.” I had a feeling if things were like he said, she was indeed seeing someone he’d disapprove of. She might be ashamed.

“Just find out if someone’s hurting her, so I’ll know who to hurt.”

“Man, don’t go getting yourself all worked up. It could be nothing, and she’s a busy woman, right?”

“Yeah, she’s been at a new firm for the past six months. It’s been a great opportunity for her, but I’m always nervous about her being in that city. God knows what could happen to her. I see horrible shit daily, man. Horrible. It’s the things people do to one another that gets to me most.” He’d been an EMT for years now, and I knew he’d seen some awfully crazy and sad things.

“I’m on it. Text me her number when we’re done.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, man. I knew I could count on you. She’s been really worrying me; I couldn’t even make her laugh the other day.”

“I’m sure she’ll be okay, man. I’m on the case. And maybe I can get her to look over some of these papers for a potential client. I’m not sure he’s on the up-and-up.”

“That’s perfect. Make her think it’s more than just wanting to catch up, but I’m sure she’s going to love seeing you.” We said our goodbyes, and I hung up and lay back in my bed to stare at the ceiling. Lauren Patrick. It had been too many years.

Lauren had always been the prettiest girl I’d known, but with Noah being her brother, things were not only awkward because of it, but she was totally off-limits no matter how hot she’d turned out. Even Reed, their oldest brother, was protective, and with him in town, I knew I better watch my step.

I wasn’t worried; even if she did have a schoolgirl’s crush on me, she was all grown up now and had made a life for herself as an attorney like her brother, Reed, and her father, too. Noah was the black sheep, having become an EMT. He had joked with me before about how the others were always trying to catch up to him; they were ambulance chasers, and he was the driver. I laughed it off and decided I better get up and go check on Ollie.

As I walked down the hall, I imagined she was out cold. She’d never made it to this hour, and I stepped lightly at her door and then slowly turned the knob and pushed it open. She was laying like a little angel with the lights out, except for the multi-colored one glowing from her nightlight.

I was just about to shut the door when I gave her one last look. That was when her eyes opened wide, and she smiled big. She uttered two words. “Monkey book.”

Score one for Ollie.