BOOKER

I feel my jaw drop as I stare at Will. I always thought that was just an expression, but I actually have to firm mine up. “Shit.” My brain feels as if it’s been flooded with light. “I should have thought of that, myself. But who the…?” Well, who else, genius?

“Dad,” I say grimly.

“Considering the bum’s rush he gave you out of Walla Walla after you and Lena got caught necking in your old Model T, it’s a reasonable theory,” Will points out. “I don’t imagine he’s thrilled with your speakeasy, either.”

“To say the least.”

Will’s shoulder hitches infinitesimally. “On the other hand, I raised the subject with Lena while she was mopping me up earlier, and her gut reaction was the iron-fisted Matron who ruled the Foundling home.”

“Or the two of them acted together.” I get up to grab the fifth of whiskey out of the dining room and bring it back to the sitting area. After splashing a couple more fingers into our glasses, I leave the bottle on the table between us. “I wouldn’t put it past the old bastard. He probably “donated” money to the foundling home, only to immediately turn around and say, ‘By the way, could you do me one little favor?’”

Every muscle in my body has tensed and I am so goddamn angry I could spit enough nails to build a new addition to the speakeasy. It takes every ounce of willpower I possess not to snatch up my car keys, jump in my car and drive the nine plus hours to Walla Walla for a showdown. God knows it’s long overdue.

“What do ya plan to do about it?”

Good question.

Wait. Fuck. Will’s talking about Lena, not my issues with my old man. Plowing my fingers through my hair, I blow out an exasperated breath. “Not much I can do now, except make a pact with Lena to at least treat each other civilly. We’ve paid lip service to the idea since she got here, but maybe this time we can actually put some muscle behind our efforts.”

He looks at me like I’m an idiot. “That’s it?”

“What did you expect? A helluva lot of time and water has washed under that bridge.”

Except...

The words no sooner leave my mouth than I realize Will was wrong about me not being a liar. If I didn’t this minute look an old friend in the eye and do just that, at the very least I’m a champion at deceiving myself.

Let’s call a spade a spade here. Will demanding the odds of not one piece of the correspondence Lena and I claim writing ever reaching the other shined a light on a realization I should have ...well, realized on my own.

And, the answer zero is a game changer.

So, I am full of shit, claiming my relationship with Lena is water under the bridge. So full of it, it isn’t even funny. Truth be told, I considered her mine within hours of first clapping eyes on her when we were teens. Add to that my body’s reaction every time she’s anywhere in my vicinity, both then and now?

Well, an idiot can see I still believe she is. And that’s in addition to me throwing punches with next to no provocation. I have rarely been a hothead, and I quit acting on impulse around the time I discovered war is not glorious at all, but rather muddy, bloody and most soldiers’ personal dance with the devil.

I square my shoulders. “All right, so maybe saying Lena and I are through is bullshit. I have no idea where we’ll end up, but I do know this much to be true.” I look Will in the eye. “I’m going to do my damnedest to get her back.”

A crooked half smile reshapes his mouth. “Now, that sounds more like the Booker I knew.” He immediately pins me with a hard look. “But understand this, buddy. If you hurt her, I will beat you into the ground.”

“If you really think I would do that you clearly don’t know whether to scratch your watch or wind your ass. Still—” I give him a terse nod. “Message received loud and clear.”

“So, what’s the plan for getting her back?”

Yeah, that is the question, isn’t it? “Well, like I said, I’m going to start out trying a little faith-based interaction with the woman.”

“And…?”

Shit. I’m not happy with the idea of telling him I have no concrete ideas at this point. I’m not about to lie to him, however. So, I settle on a shrug. “Guess I’ll figure it out from there.”