Chapter 24: Chapter 23

I WOULD NEVER HAVE GUESSED that the bookstore would be this busy after opening its doors. Every day was just another surprise and proof of why Magnolia Falls was the best small town around.

The locals had rallied around me, and it meant a lot. Even people I’d never expected to see at a romance bookstore had come in to show their support. I was grateful, even if some were slightly awkward.

“I’ve got some questions for you,” Will Goldy said. He was the science teacher at Magnolia Falls High School. He hadn’t been there when I was in high school because he wasn’t much older than me, but I’d known him most of my life.

“Sure. What do you want to know?”

He was flipping through a historical romance book, and he turned to face me. “How much romance will I find in this type of book? I’m here more for the education, the historical relevance, you know?”

That’s what they all say, Will.

“Right, yes. Well, I’ve read this series, and it’s fabulous. There is a lot of detail about Scotland, and you really feel like you’re living in the 1700s when you read these books. But there is also an epic romance, which is the focus of this book.”

“I’ll take it,” Midge Longhorn said from the other side of the store. I bent down to scratch the top of Noodle’s head because she brought her dog with her everywhere now. “That sounds like a really good one.”

“Are you interested in Scottish history?” Will Goldy asked, his chin held high like he was trying to have an intellectual conversation.

Midge snorted. “No. I’m interested in hunky Scottish men getting it on with their heroines.”

Will’s cheeks pinked, and his eyes widened. “Midge. That’s slightly inappropriate.”

“Will, you’ve been coming to my diner since you were a toddler when you had the nickname Booger. I knew you when you were still shitting in your diapers. This is a romance bookstore. Lose the pretentious attitude or take a hike.”

His mouth dropped open, and I used my hand to cover my mouth and stifle my laughter. It wasn’t lost on me that Will Goldy had come to a Magnolia Falls council meeting when I was getting my permits in place. He’d tried to stop the store from opening, but he’d lost that battle.

Will made all sorts of gaspy sounds, making it clear he was completely offended. “I am far from pretentious. I just choose to read things that stimulate me intellectually.”

“And I choose to read things that stimulate me in other ways,” Midge said with a wink, and I shook my head and chuckled.

“Okay. Let’s agree to disagree. All the books in this store are primarily romance. But this section over here is clean romance. That means they are closed-door sex scenes. Nothing is explained; you are just to assume things happened.” I walked him over to the section at the other end of the store.

“Also known as boring,” Midge sang out as she grabbed the historical romance books and set them on the checkout counter. “Those will be perfect for you, Will.”

“I’m thinking these might help me with my dating life,” he admitted as he pulled one from the shelf.

“Oh, yes. You can get some very romantic ideas from the pages of these books,” I said, as the door swung open and Oscar Daily waltzed in.

“Saylor. I need a book about how to fix a grandfather clock. Do you got one of those?” he asked, scratching the back of his neck as he moved toward the mafia romance section.

Midge raised a brow and smirked. “Well, you sure as hell aren’t going to find it over there.”

“I told you that I don’t sell those types of books, Oscar.” I walked to stand beside him after I finished ringing up Midge. “You can probably just google it and find something online.”

“Yes, that’s right.” He shot me a look, and I realized exactly what he was here for. He’d bought book one in this mafia series last week, and he’d said it was for his daughter, but I had a hunch he wasn’t being completely truthful.

“Did Sabrina enjoy the first book in the series?” I asked, pulling book two from the shelves for him and holding it out.

“Uh, yeah. She liked it. I guess since I’m here, I may as well get this one for her, too.”

“Pfft. These men and their embarrassment over reading romance books. It’s ridiculous,” Midge said.

I made my way behind the counter as the three of them argued back and forth. Oscar insisted the book wasn’t for him. Will insisted that he hoped the book he’d chosen would teach him about cooking because the hero was a chef. And Midge gave them both a hard time and called them out repeatedly.

It was a relief when they were gone, and I moved to the back hallway, where the new shipment of books was stacked in boxes along the wall. I started unloading the new inventory when the bell chimed and the door opened.

I looked up to see Barry step inside. I wasn’t afraid of the man. He would never do anything in public. He saved everything for behind closed doors. Everyone in town thought he was this charming man, but I knew who he was. And after Hayes and I had been taken out of our home as teenagers, the rumor mill ran rampant. He hated that people wondered what he’d done.

“Hey, I didn’t expect to see you here.” I settled my hands on my hips, and he stopped in front of me, but it was impossible to miss the anger radiating from him.

“Well, if I don’t come here, I won’t ever see my daughter.”

My daughter.

The man had never been a father to me. He’d come in and made a bad situation worse. He’d found a woman who struggled with depression and made her feel like she couldn’t function without him. He was controlling and possessive, and I’d never liked the man. Not from the first time we’d met.

“What can I do for you, Barry?”

“For starters, you can talk to that asshole brother of yours. He’s the reason that our family is broken.” He ran a hand over his jaw and shook his head. “People fight. Kids get spanked, and it’s not a big deal. It sure as hell doesn’t mean that you cut them out of your life. He’s hurting your mother, which means he’s hurting me. And I’m about done with it.”

“Really?” I made no attempt to hide my sarcasm, and my fingers instinctually moved to my necklace. “Are you really going to come into my store and talk poorly about my brother? Are you really going to minimize the hell you’ve put my family through? People fight, yes. People don’t get physical. They don’t raise a hand to their wife. To their daughter. To their son. And you did that. You can’t blame Hayes for saying that he had enough. And I’d watch what you say about him because he’s not a little boy anymore. He’s looking for a reason to have a go at you, so be very careful, Barry.”

“Un-fucking-believable. A few backhanded swats and you’re all high and mighty, like that doesn’t go on in families all the time. It’s called discipline, Saylor. You asked for it when you got hit. You involved yourself in a fight that wasn’t yours. That was between me and your mother.” His beady gray eyes narrowed. His shoulders squared, and his hands formed little fists at his sides.

I noticed these things because I’d been trained to notice. When you live in a home with a man who is unpredictable and violent, you quickly learn how to read the signs.

I raised my chin, making it clear I wasn’t afraid of him. “You were choking my mother, and I tried to stop you. You were the cause of all of it. You hurt her, and then you hurt me. I was a goddamn teenager, Barry. You threw me down, and I fell through a coffee table. I was knocked unconscious. That is all on you.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. You shouldn’t have gotten involved in adult business. That’s on you, Saylor. And with you living back in town and refusing to come over when I’m there, it’s causing a strain in my marriage. Your mother is being distant and barely speaking to me lately. And I’m about fucking done with it, do you hear me?”

I never heard the door open or the bell chime. Kingston was there and moving between us in a blur. “Barry, I’m going to give you one fucking minute to walk out of this store before your teeth are in your throat.”

Kingston shifted me behind him, his hand remaining on my arm to keep me there.

“Is this a fucking joke?” Barry chuckled this maniacal laugh and pointed at Kingston. “It’s a public place.”

“I’m not asking you twice. The choice is yours. Personally, I’d enjoy knocking your teeth out. I’ve wanted to do it for more than a decade. Give me a fucking reason.” Kingston moved forward, his hand dropping from my body as he crowded Barry.

“You and your fucking friends think you’re better than me. I make more money than all of you put together. You’re a bunch of fucking losers.”

“Keep chirping, Barry Boy.” Kingston moved forward, and with every step he took, he forced my stepfather back, closer to the door.

“You disappoint me, Saylor. No fucking loyalty to the people that raised you. That piece-of-shit father of yours was not the one who put a roof over your head. That was me.”

A lump formed in my throat as two tears sprung from my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. “You disappoint me, too, Barry.”

Kingston bunched up the fabric on Barry’s dress shirt and kicked the door open with his foot before shoving him outside.

“I could have you arrested for putting your hands on me, you little punk.”

“Go for it. I’ll have my lawyer explain why you aren’t welcome here.” Kingston chuckled. “And stay the fuck away from her, because we’re all watching. I promise you that.”

The door closed, and Kingston rushed me, placing his large hands on each side of my face. “Are you hurt?”

“No. He didn’t touch me,” I croaked, as the tears broke free and streamed down my face. My family was such a mess. I had a father who wanted nothing to do with me and a stepfather who terrified me ninety-five percent of the time. My mother was drowning in her own bullshit, and then there was Hayes.

He’d always been my rock.

“You’re okay, Dandelion.” He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight.

“I’m fine. He didn’t do anything,” I said, pulling back and shaking my head. “I just hate that my family is such a mess.”

“Hey.” He placed his hand beneath my chin and tipped it up so my gaze would meet his. “Your family is who you make it. Hayes, me, River, Romeo, Nash, Beefcake, Demi, Ruby, and Peyton. My grandmother. That’s your family. And we’re not a mess at all.”

I swiped at my face, hating that I’d let Barry get to me. “I know. I’m fine.”

“Saylor. You don’t have to be fine on my behalf. That man is fucked up. He said some terrible things. You’re allowed to feel bad about it. But he’s not your family, and you need to know that. He doesn’t get to come near you. I’ll show up every fucking time. I promise I will.”

“How did you know he was here?”

“I have some friends keeping an eye on him, letting me know if he is seen in the vicinity of your bookstore. I heard he was downtown and knew he was coming to see you. Something in my gut told me that was true.”

Nash came through the door, eyes wide, as he looked around. “What happened?”

“He was here. Did his best to make her feel bad. And now he’s gone.”

“Oh my gosh,” I groaned. “You didn’t both need to come down here.”

Before they could respond, River and Romeo came hurrying through the door.

“Fuck. I was training someone and didn’t have my phone on me. I saw Nash’s call and came running over here. What happened?” Romeo asked as he stalked around the bookstore as if Barry was hiding in the bookshelves.

“Same. I was with a client and then saw the call.” River ran a hand through his hair.

“She’s all right. That fucker took his shot. But he’s gone, and I think he got the message loud and clear,” Kingston said, but his gaze never left me.

Romeo’s phone rang, and he looked down. “It’s Hayes. His ears must be burning.”

I knew they wouldn’t reach out to him about it until they knew if he’d come here. But my brother had always had a sixth sense about these things, so I wasn’t shocked he was calling.

I heard Romeo filling him in, and then he asked to speak to Kingston.

“Yeah. I’ve got you, brother. Don’t you worry. I won’t let her out of my sight.” Kingston stood in front of me, stroking my shoulder with his calloused fingers. “Yep. She can stay at my house if you’re concerned.”

“Give me the phone,” I said, shaking my head and taking the phone from Kingston’s hand. “Let me talk to him.”

“You all right, Say?” Hayes sounded really tired, and I immediately regretted giving him anything to worry about.

“I’m fine. He didn’t do anything other than tell me how horrible we are for cutting him out of our lives.” I let a long sigh leave my lips. “Kingston scared him off. I don’t think he’ll be back.”

“This fucking guy. How many chances does he think he should get?”

“I know. He clearly hasn’t changed. I made plans to have dinner with Mom this week, and I think he’s just mad that he isn’t invited. It’ll be fine.”

“Can you do me a favor?” Hayes asked, and the man rarely asked for anything, so it was hard to deny him when he did.

“Yes.”

“Can you sleep at King’s and stay in his guest room for the next few days? Just to be safe. Barry is a loose cannon. You mix that with booze, and who knows what that fucker will do.”

“Hayes, I’m fine. You’re the one in the middle of a gigantic forest fire. Stop worrying about me.”

“Tell me you’ll do this. Just for a couple of nights. I’ll be home soon. I just need to know you’re all right.”

I looked up to see Kingston watching me. “Yeah. I’ll do it.”

“Thank you. You can stay in his spare room. Hopefully, he can go a couple of nights without bringing anyone home. I’d hate for you to have to hear that shit.” He chuckled, and it was the first time he’d seemed relaxed since he’d called.

“I’ll ignore any noisy sex sounds coming from King’s room, okay?”

The guys all barked out a laugh, but Kingston shot them a warning look.

“All right. I’ll talk to you later. Love you, Say.”

“Love you.”

I ended the call and didn’t miss the glimmer in Kingston’s eyes.

I was going to be staying with him for the next few nights, and we didn’t even need to hide it.