That was the thing about small towns. Everyone seemed to be connected in one way or another, and there was very little anyone could do to escape the ties that bound us all together…and to the past.
“Probably. She’s mad about anything that has to do with that guy.” I rubbed a hand over my face and blinked my tired eyes. “Did Case ask you to come check up on me? I told him I would be fine, and I am.” Well, I was my own version of fine, which meant I was holding it together, barely.
“Her ex isn’t a bad guy, and he really does have the best interest of the kids in mind. I think after enough time passes, Shelby will recognize that.” Aspen lifted a midnight-colored eyebrow and tapped her fingers on the polished bar top. “As for your brother, no, he didn’t ask me to check up on you. He didn’t need to. Everyone’s been worried sick about you since you bolted from Hayes’s graduation party. I had a client cancel on me this afternoon, so I decided I would come and see how you were doing for myself.” She cocked her head to the side and gave me a slight grin. “I’m also starving, so I figured I would kill two birds with one stone.”
“You want your usual?” When she nodded, I turned and entered it into the point of sale system and poured her a glass of sweet tea. “How is Hayes doing?”
I loved my nephew. It was totally unfair that the news of my father’s murder had come at the same time my family was supposed to be celebrating Hayes. He’d recently graduated high school and was moving out of state to play college football. There were a lot of big changes happening in the kid’s life, and he shouldn’t have to deal with the upheaval my father’s death was bound to bring when his future was so bright.
Aspen shifted on the bar stool and traced the drops of moisture on the outside of her glass with her finger.
“I think Hayes is doing the same as the rest of you are. Confused and sad. Angry that something like this happened, even if it isn’t a huge surprise. Men like your father.” She shook her head. “Nothing in their lives is peaceful. Including the way they leave us.”
I rested my forearms on the opposite side of the bar and nodded. “My dad always knew how to ruin any good memory we were trying to make. We’re supposed to be sending Hayes off in style and planning a wedding, now we’re all focused on a murder and planning a funeral instead.”
Our middle sibling, Crew, had recently gotten engaged. His fiancée was another city girl like Aspen. Della was a classy chick with expensive taste. I liked her—I wasn’t as close to her as I was to Aspen, but she made my restless, troubled brother happy. I wanted them to have the wedding of their dreams and not have their happy moment overshadowed by my father. Even in death he was spreading darkness over our lives, and frankly, I was sick of it.
Shelby swung by the bar, dropping Aspen’s plate with her favorite fried chicken sandwich on the wood in front of her. She swished away without another word, causing both Aspen and me to roll our eyes at her behavior.
“I helped Case get everything together to lay your father to rest properly as soon as Hill and the Rangers release his body. No matter how awful Conrad was, all of you need to say goodbye and get some kind of closure. We need to do it as a family, united, the same way you survived him when you were growing up.” She gave me a curious look as she picked up a French fry. “Hill mentioned he still hadn’t had a chance to talk to you yet and that he was going to come by the bar. Have you seen him?”
I let my head drop so that I was staring at the floor. “He came by last night. I wasn’t exactly up to answering questions.” Or behaving like a civil human being. “I’ll track him down sooner or later.” If he had been the one behind the spring-cleaning of the bar, I owed him a thank-you. If I managed to get the words out.
Even when I had good intentions where Hill was concerned, they always seemed to go south on me. It was always hard for me to see around the sense of betrayal Hill made me feel and the blame I couldn’t seem to let go of. If he hadn’t shut me out, if he hadn’t turned a blind eye, maybe things would have ended differently…for all of us.
Aspen took a big bite of her fried chicken sandwich and let out a little hum of delight. She always ordered the same thing when she came in. I had no idea how she stayed as petite as she did.
Aspen gave me a knowing look. “I don’t blame you for not wanting to answer his questions. When he got involved in my case, he didn’t hold back when he was questioning me and brought some very painful truths from my past to light. He doesn’t play nice, which is what makes him good at his job. I can also see why he’s one of the few people Case trusts and believes in. They’re very similar in some ways.”
Case and Aspen had fallen in love during a tumultuous few weeks when my brother had been trying to figure out who wanted the sassy lawyer dead. After many bullets and more bloodshed than I wanted to remember, Aspen’s own mother was revealed as the mastermind behind all the attempts on her daughter’s life. The Rangers sent Hill in to help Case manage the media coverage of the case, and to help track down the shooter who’d put the entire town at risk while trying to take Aspen out. It didn’t surprise me in the least that Hill had grilled Aspen and dug up every secret she had. He was ruthless when it came to getting to the truth of a matter, which was why it was a bitter pill to swallow that he hadn’t been able to see what was happening with Aaron. He managed to dig up everyone else’s secrets, but had remained oblivious to how serious his younger brother’s struggles were.
I knocked my knuckles on the bar and muttered, “They’re alike in all the annoying ways. They’re both bossy, demanding, stubborn, and always think they know best. Anyway, I need to make some calls and smooth out ruffled feathers. Hill took it upon himself to wrangle my staff into deep cleaning this place late last night.” I made sure my annoyance at his high-handedness was clear in my tone.
Aspen chuckled behind the napkin she was using to wipe her mouth. “I was wondering why everything was so spotless.” She arched her dark eyebrows in my direction. “I think it’s kind of sweet he went out of his way to help out. He obviously knows how much this place means to you, and I know he’s been working crazy hours on your father’s case. He was probably exhausted, but he stuck around to make sure your bar was taken care of, and in even better shape than you left it.”
Scowling at her, I pointed at her now-empty plate. “You wanna pay in cash or put that on a card?”
She grinned at me as she reached for her purse. I typically never charged her, even though she always insisted on paying and leaving a tip, no matter how bad the service she’d received. “So you’re making me pay today?”
I snorted and crossed my arms over my chest. “When you’re Team Hill, you pay full price.”
Aspen tossed her head back and let out a loud laugh. I snatched her credit card up as she pushed it across the bar in my direction. “I’m always Team Lawton, but I can appreciate a good play by the opposing team.”
I sniffed in annoyance, reaching for the phone when it started to ring, more to save my pounding head from this discussion than from any real desire to speak to whoever was on the other end.
“Thanks for calling the Barn. What can I do for you?” I popped a hip on the back bar and tossed Aspen her credit card. She deftly caught it in one hand as I put the receipt in front of her and slammed down a ballpoint pen with more force than necessary. I ignored her quiet chuckle and turned my attention to the phone call.