Zachary Flynn was going to be staying in Houston for good. He’d told me the news over an hour ago, and it was still all I could think about. Even while I was pouring shots and mixing martinis, my brain was focused on one thing: he was always going to be around now.

For the first time in a long time, I felt whole. My body was lighter, and there was a smile on my face that I couldn’t shake no matter how hard I tried. How a man I barely knew was capable of having such an effect on me, I had no idea. But he did. And he was going to be around much more often.

Things were going to change.

Rosie was leaning over the bar and chatting with Zach. She was being playful, as was her nature, and Zach was keeping up with her need for silliness by throwing her jokes right back at her. Her laughter was bright and bubbly, and his was warm and deep, and the sound of it cut through all the other noise in the pub and echoed in my ears.

I was certain I could listen to him laugh for hours upon hours and never get tired of it.

I offered Zach another beer, and he shook his head. He was the polar opposite of Brett. If my boyfriend had been sitting at my bar, he would already be six or so drinks in. It took him about ten beers before he started showing signs of his drunken idiocy. And once he hit that point, there was no slowing him down—not until he passed out and was facedown on the bar, our bed, or the kitchen table.

I chewed the inside of my cheek as my brain worked through all the feelings raging inside me. Zach’s news had me thinking about the future and considering what I actually wanted for myself for the first time in five years. Everything had been all about Sam, as it should have been, but I was starting to think that maybe Sam would be better off if Brett wasn’t around.

I’d been successful at keeping the drunk and mean side of Brett away from my son, but I wasn’t stupid. It was only a matter of time before Sam saw what was happening and started picking up on the unhealthy dynamic.

I should have kicked Brett to the curb years ago. As soon as the first red flags started popping up, it should have been over between us.

But I wasn’t capable of telling people no anymore. Back before I left the Coast Guard, my favorite quality about myself was my ability to stand my ground. I didn’t shy away from confrontation. I didn’t seek it out, but if it found me, I didn’t shy away, either. I wasn’t afraid of anyone. I was fierce and strong and full of fire.

Now, I was weak. I let Brett bulldoze me on a daily basis. I catered to his needs and convinced myself that I was being selfish by wanting more than what he could offer me. When realistically, all I wanted was someone who respected me and someone who wanted to be part of my son’s life.

Maybe Zach could be that someone.

I shook my head. Girl, what has gotten into you? This train of thinking was only going to lead me to a steaming pile of hurt—and fast. Zach probably didn’t want the same things. There was no way his thoughts were heading in the same direction as mine.

It was only a kiss. Not a proposal. Life is not a movie, you silly girl. It’s never as simple as that.

I glanced up at Zach as I did a quick wipe down behind the bar. He had engaged in conversation with the couple sitting beside him. He was smiling and nodding as they told him something he found humorous. His eyes were warm and bright, and his body language was open and inviting. He was the kind of man I had wanted Sam to look up to.

And he was his father.

As I watched him move and talk, I found myself aching to kiss him again. I wanted to feel the warmth of his hands on my body. I longed for him to gather me up in his arms and hold me to him with such passion that I believed he would never let go.

“If you want better, you have to leave Brett,” I muttered to myself as I used the blender to make a margarita. No one could hear me over the crushing of ice inside, and speaking the words aloud was incredibly satisfying. I knew what had to be done. I’d known for a long time. Unfortunately, it took someone from my past coming back and reminding me how much better things could be to light a fire under my ass to make a change.

I owed Sam an apology.

As I poured the blended red margarita into a glass, I saw Ryan come in through the saloon doors. Rosie beamed up at him as he passed her at the hostess station, but he walked right past her. His face was screwed up with anger, and it had been a long time since I saw my brother looking that way. His shoulders were tense, and his fists were clenched at his sides.

I passed the margarita off to one of my other servers and asked her to bring it to the young woman at the end of the bar. Then I went to meet Ryan on the other side of the bar, but he had moved too quickly. He was already behind the bar, and he closed the space between us in two long strides. He grabbed my elbow and pulled me out of earshot from the customers sitting at the bar. He dropped his head to speak quietly to me and quickly glanced over his shoulder. He spotted Zach, who was now focused on us.

“What’s the matter?” I asked, my stomach flipping over nervously. “Is Sam okay? Where is he?”

“Everything is fine,” he said hurriedly.

“Okay, Ryan, just tell me what’s going on,” I said, studying the hard lines of my brother’s face.

He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Brett came by to pick Sam up at noon like he was supposed to. But he was completely shitfaced, Jo. Like falling down drunk kind of shitfaced, and he tried to force Sam to leave with him.”

I thought I was going to be sick. My stomach flipped over again, and I pressed a hand to my chest. “What?”

Ryan nodded and rested a hand lightly on my shoulder. “Everything is fine. Sam is fine. I didn’t let Brett into my place.”

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

Had Ryan not been so pissed, he might have laughed at my question. “No. He tried to fight me, but he could barely stay on his feet. I had to take the truck keys off of him because he tried to drive home. I called him a cab and sent him away. Jo… this shit is getting serious now. And I know you can handle yourself and all, but I can’t sit by anymore. Not when he’s going to jeopardize you or Sam.”

“Who’s Sam?”

My eyes widened as I heard Zach ask the question from where he sat at the bar. I looked up at Ryan, panicked, who clenched his jaw and waited to see if I was going to answer the question. My voice was lost. I couldn’t believe this was how Zach was going to find out I had a child. Ryan’s shoulders slumped a little, and he looked at Zach. “Sam is Jo’s son.”

Zach’s expression remained completely neutral, but his eyes slid slowly to me.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I can’t explain any of this right now. I have to deal with this. Fuck.” I pressed my hands to each temple and tried to sort out what move I should make first. “Where is Sam now?”

“I dropped him off at home on my way here. Brett has sobered up, and Sam is playing with his chem set in his room.”

I stretched up to the tips of my toes to peer over the heads of customers in the bar. I spotted Rosie and cupped my hands to my mouth. I called her name, and she glanced up from the table of young guys she was taking orders from. She held her hand up to me to signal she needed a minute, and I untied my apron.

“Ryan,” I said. “Can you step in for me? Just for tonight. I know you have shit to do, but I need someone to hold down the fort while I deal with Brett and—”

“Jo, just go. It’s fine. I’ve got this.” Ryan sank his hand in his pocket and pulled out his car keys. He pressed them into my hand.

“Thank you,” I breathed. Then I locked eyes with Zach, and guilt fluttered in my chest. “I’m sorry,” I said again, and then I hurried out from behind the bar, where Rosie met me.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, her eyes full of concern.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the bar with me. “I need you to come with me. There’s something I need to do, and it might get messy. I need you to take Sam for the rest of the day.”

“Okay. No problem. Slow down, Jo, I’m wearing heels for fuck’s sake.” She half ran, half stumbled along behind me as we blew out the front doors and down the steps.

I spotted Ryan’s black Challenger and rushed toward it. Rosie rushed around the hood, heels clicking on the pavement, and slid into the passenger seat as I unlocked the doors.

“What the hell is going on?” she asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

“I’m kicking Brett out.”

Rosie’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? What did he do? Is Sam okay?”

“Sam’s fine, thanks to Ryan. But I can’t let this keep going. He’s going to hurt my son. Or me. Or someone else. I should have done this a long time ago.”

I put the car in reverse and pulled out of the parking space. Rosie reached over and put her hand over mine as I pushed the shifter into first. “It’s okay. You’re doing it now. And you have all of us behind you.”

I blinked furiously as tears started to burn my eyes. Damn my fucking emotions. This was not the time to cry.

I shifted into second and then quickly to third and fourth as I put my foot down on the gas and tore out onto the main street. “Fuck him.”

Rosie squeezed my hand. “Hey. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not,” I spat. “It’s my job as his mother to protect him. And I let that bastard sleep in my bed for three years. Enough is enough.”

“Jo—”

“I’m going to show him he fucked with the wrong woman.” That ferocious lioness inside me was roaring to escape, and it felt fucking good. I felt powerful, just like I used to. My blood was pounding in my ears. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. “Don’t worry, Rosie. I’ve got this. You just take Sam out of there when I bring him out to you. You can drive stick, right?”

Rosie shrugged. “I can. Not very well, but I can.”

“Don’t go far then. I’ll call you when you can come back.”

“Okay,” Rosie said. She sounded scared.

I looked over at my friend. My tears had vanished as quickly as they appeared. “Hey. Don’t worry. I can handle this. I’ve dealt with much worse before. Brett is nothing.”

Rosie bit her bottom lip but nodded. “Okay.”

I fixed my glare on the open stretch of road before me. It took all my self-restraint not to press my foot down flat on the gas. Fury coursed through my veins and settled in my chest where it burned with a vicious heat.

“He’s nothing,” I whispered.