Chapter Twenty
Dalton
Eric and I cleaned the bar glasses while we waited for Courtney and company to arrive. The idea that these people had systematically hurt the people I cared for since I left hurt and hurt deep. I wanted my little slice of revenge pie.
I heard a buzz in my earphone. “They’re coming.”
Courtney arrived first. She was dressed to kill in a barely-there dress and high black stiletto heels. Rhonda came through the front door next, followed closely after by George.
“Are you freaking joking, George?” Courtney walked over to him. I guess she didn’t know about Rhonda. “This little tramp is the one you’ve been hooking up with? She’s not even in the same zip code.”
“Why do you care? I’m sure someone will keep you warm tonight. I think we have barely slept in the same bed for years.”
I raised my hands. “Listen, could care less about your marital problems. We’re here to talk to you about the sale of our business.”
George looked slightly hesitant, but his greedy little tongue flicked away at his lips. “You didn’t seem too interested yesterday when you were at the townhouse.”
“At the townhouse. You set her up at our townhouse?” Courtney shrieked.
“My townhouse and yes.”
I looked over all of them bickering at each other.
Eric caught my eye and just shook his head. “Can we get talking about this? I want to close up and get going. How about some drinks?”
Eric pulled down a bottle of Crown Royal and started filling up the shot glasses.
“The good stuff. Night’s looking better already,” Rhonda said as she shot her drink.
Courtney sipped on hers, and George slammed his, little drops dripping down the side of his mouth. Eric and I shot ours as well but having a stronger tolerance for drink and full stomachs, I figured we could hold our own. But we needed to get them talking and fast because I sure as hell did not want to be here all night.
“Another?” I asked as I poured it in everyone’s glass again. And once more, they drank it down. This continued for a few more shots, but Eric and I hadn’t drunk since the first ones, just held them in our hands.
“Don’t know what you want to do with the place, but just so you know, things come up missing all the time. Kegs, food, liquor. We need to get a little bit of money for our inheritance, since it is going to take so long to get through probate.”
Rhonda wobbled a bit on her feet as she tried to cozy up to George. He was having none of it. He was trying to play big man on campus and didn’t want a drunk hanging on his arm.
“That was me,” Rhonda slurred.
“Shush,” George told her.
“What? You told me you were going to buy the bar for me if I just took some things. It was just a few things I knew you wouldn’t miss.” She glanced in Eric’s direction beseechingly. “You guys had so much. I didn’t think you would miss anything.”
I could see Courtney out of the corner of my eye. If steam could actually come out of someone’s ears, it would be doing it right now out of hers.
“You are really dumb, aren’t you, Rhonda? Just the latest in a line of lovers he’s had since we’ve been married. He doesn’t want this dump. He just needs to show it to the investors and talk about the plans to build townhomes here.”
I leaned over the bar. “I hadn’t heard of any townhomes going up.” I poured another round and down the hatch they went.
“That’s because there isn’t one, you idiot.” She turned on me. “Just another way to get money from the investors and get Paul to pay for Peter.” She laughed noisily at her joke. She then pointed tremulously at George. “He barely even has a pot to piss in himself.”
George turned to Courtney. “We would have had more if we didn’t have to keep bailing your parents out of their debt.”
She waved him off.
George leaned across the bar to Eric and me. He waved us in closer. I really wanted to smash my fist into his face, but that wouldn’t help us in the least. I poured him another round. He seemed to hesitate and then drank it down.
“See, you get the deals, they pay you, and then you pay them back as other money comes in. There’s never any deal.”
Eric leaned back. “So, it didn’t bother you that all of this was happening to my father, who was ill at the time?”
George tried contrition, but it didn’t look good on his face. “Sorry about that.”
Eric and I both looked at each other as we heard the next words that came through our headsets.
“We’re coming in.”
The doors slammed open, and Tommy and a few other officers came in and arrested George, Rhonda, and Courtney. It felt like a night well deserved. I felt bad for Tommy, however. I could hear all of them squabbling with each other as they were being led out. I don’t even know if they were sober enough to understand what was happening.
Two weeks later, Taylor and I walked arm in arm into the bar. Today was the day the contractors were coming in. The TVs were on over the bar and the local news channel was on at noon.
“Hey, look.” Eric pointed to the TV. Kris came in from the office and put her arms around Eric. He leaned down to kiss her. I’m glad he finally got that out of the way. She settled nice in his arms as did my Taylor in mine. The news flashed with the latest of the Harris case.
Getting them arrested while they were at the bar gave enough cause that the police were able to search all the homes and real estate that Courtney and George owned. Rhonda was going to cop a plea from what I heard, feeling she was coerced into helping with all she thought that George had. Which really was nothing in the long run. But I didn’t think she would get off that easy.
I did feel sad as I saw one face I hadn’t expected. As Henry predicted, there were people from all walks of life who were being brought in and one of them was the young woman who had eyed Eric up in the courthouse, Tammy Johnson. Turned out Rhonda and she were running a scam with phony receipts and keeping their money. There were several property owners, including us, who had suffered for that and the payback would be in the tens of thousands.
Courtney would more than likely get some time as an accomplice and even her family was being brought up on charges for accepting stolen property. It was going to fall heavy on George and some of his business associates. He would likely never see the light of day again.
I turned away from the news and pulled Taylor close to me. That little bit of time I’d spent in prison would be nothing to what George would have to experience. All those people with money lost. Even if it would be a white-collar crime and feel more of a hotel with bars experience, he would still be looking at around twenty years. George was already turning on his cronies. He would deal them all away to save his own ass and shave his time down to about a decade.
I looked around the bar. Kris and Eric were happily standing with their arms around each other. Every night they had off, they were outside of Eric’s house, working away on the old Chevy, laughing and drinking beer. She moved in just a couple of days ago. I asked Eric if maybe it was too soon, but he shook his head.
“Man, I’ve been blind for years. So lost in my own head I couldn’t see what was in front of me, staring at me with those gorgeous brown eyes. I’m not letting her slip away.”
For me, it was still life at the penthouse. I was moving my base of operations from LA to here. Mabel was handling things over there and then she, too, would come over. She wanted to meet Taylor and Eric, the people who had lured her Dalton away from his business. I could see her hanging with Peggy and getting into all sorts of trouble. I would have to watch those two.
Taylor spent most nights with me but preferred to be at home working in her media empire in the rehabbed cellar her father built. She was still grieving his loss, and this helped her feel close to him.
Speaking of rehabs, the contractors had started arriving yesterday. We had worked out plans for a stage as well as an outdoor patio. Pops would be rolling in his grave, but we needed to stay on the pulse of what people were going out for and what they wanted in their local community. Taylor kept up on surveys and public opinion. Kris did the leg work and people would tell her what they loved and didn’t love about the changes. So far, it had been pretty positive.
The only thing we couldn’t agree on was which farm should grow the hops for our specialty blend. Eric liked one, and I liked another. So, we made deals with both. One spring and one fall craft beer. Sold exclusively at all D&E nightclubs. I also made Eric a partner in D&E. Henry was handling that deal. Long overdue in my opinion.
I gazed around the bar at all the commotion of the contractors, the smell of the beers, the regulars at the bar, and the staff running around and felt like I was home. Most importantly was how everything was coming together. It wouldn’t fit perfectly like puzzle pieces, but we were going to make our own little tribe. Full of people with faults, tempers, misunderstandings, and loss.
From that, we would grow and heal and grow forward. Two months ago, I never would have thought that I would be here, back with my family, back where I felt I belonged. Now it felt like a piece of me had returned and found refuge. The four of us made a really good team. Our puzzle pieces were damaged.
Beautiful mosaic artwork was made from broken tile pieces. So far, this had been shaping up as well. I felt like Pops was smiling down on our frail and faulted family and was pulling on his pipe. Happy we had come together.
Out of the corner of my eye, by the open screen of the back door, I saw the dim glow of a cigar. I saw it be put out and the door opened, and Peggy walked over. No family would be complete without that one person. The person who stitched everyone back together with little hints and suggestions. She came over to me and gave me a hug.
“What’s that for, Peggy?”
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. Taylor turned toward her, momentarily concerned.
“You did good, boyo. You all did.”
I hugged her back and kissed the top of her minion head.
Yes, we did.
I felt an arm go around my waist. I looked down to see those sea-foam eyes I adored staring back.
“What is it you need, my little imp?” I asked her.
Taylor smiled up at me, innocent shy smile and mischievous twinkle in her eyes. She put her fingers on my lips and took me by my hand. We passed by Kris and Eric, who didn’t even notice, they were so wrapped up in themselves.
We went down to the cellar, where it all began. I picked her up and put her on the table. She pulled me to her and her kisses sent a shiver down my spine.
“So, what’s next for us?” she asked when she pulled away, leaving me breathless.
“I was thinking of us traveling around the world, getting you involved with Dalton’s Fancy and the other clubs. You need to see them first hand.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really, traveling? I’ve never been out of Asheville.” She tilted her head. “By myself?”
Surprised, I pulled back from her. “Not on your life. That is…if you want me tagging me along.”
“Oh, definitely.”
She grinned and pulled me close. “Now, where were we?”
Our lips met, and our bodies shortly followed to add the next stanza to the symphony we had begun a month ago. One we would never end.
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