that he came looking for you, you lit up like a kid in a candy store. Look, I’m sure as hell not gonna tell you how to run your life, but I will say it’s clear how you feel. But he’s an inmate and he’s angry about that. He could lash out at you or he could latch onto you like a life preserver. My advice to you is to use caution so neither one of you gets hurt, okay?”
“I’m keeping my distance,” I lied. “He’s just another dog handler in my program, that’s all.”
“Good to hear, good to hear. Ok, moving on. What do you say we head to St. Elmo’s Fire after we polish off a side of ribs at RibCrib? We could get started tonight on that file of yours.”
Jumping off the counter, I kissed my father’s cheek.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“For being a great guy who is willing to help someone in need.”
“You’re just now figuring out I’m a great guy?” he chuckled as we headed for the door.
“No, but I figured it was about time I said so.”
***
Two hours and a full rack of ribs later, we were sitting in St. Elmo’s Fire having a beer, making small talk with the bartender when Dad finally asked him how long he’d worked there.
“My uncle owns Fire. I’ve been working here most of my adult life.”
Taking a pull from his draft, my dad let that lie for a moment. I didn’t know the best way to approach the man about what happened that night, so I let my dad take the lead.
“Seems I remember there was a murder behind the bar a few years back,” he finally asked.
Leaning across the bar to replace Dad’s peanuts, Gary, the bartender, nodded as he switched out the empty bowl for a full one.
“You know, it’s funny, we haven’t talked about that murder in a while and you’re the second person tonight to bring it up.”
Hearing that, the hairs on the back of my neck started to rise. I looked around the bar thinking that the killer had returned but didn’t see anyone who looked nefarious.
“Oh, yeah?” my dad prompted while I had my head turned.
“Yeah. Two huge guys; they asked to talk to my uncle. In fact, they’re still in the back room with him now.”
As if on cue, the door to the back office opened and two of the biggest, baddest, Hawaiian shirt covered men I’d ever seen—next to Kade that is—came marching out.
“Oh, my God, they’re huge!” I whispered.
“SEALs,” Dad replied with a grin.
We both stood as they made their way around the bar. All I could think about as they made their way towards us was that Kade was stuck in prison while these bozos looked like they were on vacation in their flower-covered shirts. Incensed and outraged on Kade’s behalf, I marched towards them both before I could check myself and shouted, “You sure as heck took your sweet time getting back here. Where the eff have you been?”
Four
My first mistake was walking away from my father. Scratch that, my first mistake was losing my cool; my second mistake was not moving out of the big blond man’s personal space when he grinned at me with mischief in his eyes. He looked down at me, one brow cocked in surprise, and his mouth pulled into a grin that spelled trouble with a capital T and, R.O.U.B.L.E for good measure. His eyes roamed my body slowly while I scowled at him, my arms crossed for added punctuation. He wasn’t intimidated though, instead, he grabbed me around the waist, pulled me into his big body, and began to dance to Conway Twitty’s “Hello Darlin’” blaring from the jukebox. I tried to explain what I was angry about, but the big galoot swung me out, then back in again every time I opened my mouth. Before I could even so much as say, “Kade’s in danger,” he dipped me low and planted his lips. Right. On. Mine.
“You wanna let my daughter up,” Dad laughed as I pushed at the blond man’s shoulders.
Hearing my father’s request, the massive SEAL looked up at him and grinned, if you can believe it. He had to be closer to seven feet than
“I’m keeping my distance,” I lied. “He’s just another dog handler in my program, that’s all.”
“Good to hear, good to hear. Ok, moving on. What do you say we head to St. Elmo’s Fire after we polish off a side of ribs at RibCrib? We could get started tonight on that file of yours.”
Jumping off the counter, I kissed my father’s cheek.
“What was that for?” he asked.
“For being a great guy who is willing to help someone in need.”
“You’re just now figuring out I’m a great guy?” he chuckled as we headed for the door.
“No, but I figured it was about time I said so.”
***
Two hours and a full rack of ribs later, we were sitting in St. Elmo’s Fire having a beer, making small talk with the bartender when Dad finally asked him how long he’d worked there.
“My uncle owns Fire. I’ve been working here most of my adult life.”
Taking a pull from his draft, my dad let that lie for a moment. I didn’t know the best way to approach the man about what happened that night, so I let my dad take the lead.
“Seems I remember there was a murder behind the bar a few years back,” he finally asked.
Leaning across the bar to replace Dad’s peanuts, Gary, the bartender, nodded as he switched out the empty bowl for a full one.
“You know, it’s funny, we haven’t talked about that murder in a while and you’re the second person tonight to bring it up.”
Hearing that, the hairs on the back of my neck started to rise. I looked around the bar thinking that the killer had returned but didn’t see anyone who looked nefarious.
“Oh, yeah?” my dad prompted while I had my head turned.
“Yeah. Two huge guys; they asked to talk to my uncle. In fact, they’re still in the back room with him now.”
As if on cue, the door to the back office opened and two of the biggest, baddest, Hawaiian shirt covered men I’d ever seen—next to Kade that is—came marching out.
“Oh, my God, they’re huge!” I whispered.
“SEALs,” Dad replied with a grin.
We both stood as they made their way around the bar. All I could think about as they made their way towards us was that Kade was stuck in prison while these bozos looked like they were on vacation in their flower-covered shirts. Incensed and outraged on Kade’s behalf, I marched towards them both before I could check myself and shouted, “You sure as heck took your sweet time getting back here. Where the eff have you been?”
Four
My first mistake was walking away from my father. Scratch that, my first mistake was losing my cool; my second mistake was not moving out of the big blond man’s personal space when he grinned at me with mischief in his eyes. He looked down at me, one brow cocked in surprise, and his mouth pulled into a grin that spelled trouble with a capital T and, R.O.U.B.L.E for good measure. His eyes roamed my body slowly while I scowled at him, my arms crossed for added punctuation. He wasn’t intimidated though, instead, he grabbed me around the waist, pulled me into his big body, and began to dance to Conway Twitty’s “Hello Darlin’” blaring from the jukebox. I tried to explain what I was angry about, but the big galoot swung me out, then back in again every time I opened my mouth. Before I could even so much as say, “Kade’s in danger,” he dipped me low and planted his lips. Right. On. Mine.
“You wanna let my daughter up,” Dad laughed as I pushed at the blond man’s shoulders.
Hearing my father’s request, the massive SEAL looked up at him and grinned, if you can believe it. He had to be closer to seven feet than
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