He’s right. Max Connelly can fuck off. Kelsey is more important, and it’s time I started acting like it. I’ll tell her everything tonight. If she feels that same about me as I do about her, she’ll understand.
* * *
I pick Kelsey up for dinner and ever since she got in my truck, she’s been acting weird. She hasn’t spoken much, and every restaurant I mention, she’s against it. It started to snow first thing this morning and the roads are getting icy. I hadn’t wanted to drive far, but now we’re driving down the road with no specific destination in mind.
I plan to take her any place she wants tonight. I trust that she will believe me, but having her in a good mood when I tell her why I originally came to help Sara with the bar will help.
My hands are sweaty as I grip the steering wheel. I can’t wait any longer. I need to just tell her. I glance over to see her eyes are glazed over as if she is about to cry.
“Are you sure everything’s okay?” I ask her for the hundredth time. Last time she snapped at me, but I don’t know what else to say.
She lets out a frustrated sigh that sounds exaggerated.
“Yes, I’m fine, Now will you please stop asking me that?”
“You’re very snappy, and to me that means you’re not fine.”
“Snappy,” she huffs. “That’s a polite way of calling me a bitch.” She crosses her arms. Her eyes narrow as she fixes them on me, and I’m quickly regretting what I said.
“I don’t mean it like that, You’re just … acting standoffish. That’s all.”
“Let’s just drop it, okay? We can just go to the BA or something. It doesn’t need to be a special night,” she says and her body freezes. “Wait, never mind. Go wherever you want.”
If she wants to go the BA, I’ll take her to the BA. I don’t like it when she isn’t happy, and I will do anything to change that.
She doesn’t say anything as we find a parking spot. Nor does she say anything when we join Logan at one of the tables inside. She just sits in silence, staring off into space, and I really wish I knew what she is thinking right now. I reach my hand under the table to give her thigh a light squeeze. If I knew what was wrong, maybe I could fix it.
Whatever mood she’s in, it isn’t giving me the encouragement I need to tell her about my dad. I don’t want to make her even more upset, and right now that seems to be all I’m doing. Tonight is definitely not the night I tell her, but fuck, I’d better do it before it’s too late.
Chapter Twenty-three
Kelsey
“Ethan,”
The deep boom of a man’s voice causes us all to jump. Standing next to our table is a man whose presence instantly makes my skin crawl. He stands tall, with dark hair and even darker eyes. He scans the table, pausing briefly on each one of us with those disapproving eyes. When his eyes reach Ethan they immediately turn to disgust.
Who is this man?
“So, this is what you’ve been up to.” He stretches his arms to his sides and twists slightly. “And here I thought my son was successfully running a business.”
Son.
Ethan sits still with his head hanging in front of him. He slowly withdraws his hand from mine, and his father watches him the entire time. Now is probably not the best time to make my announcement. Oh hey, you’re Ethan’s father, nice to meet you. Guess what? Ethan’s going to be a father. Congrats, Grandpa.
“Ahhh, and this, I assume, is the reason you haven’t been returning my calls,” his father says, raising an eyebrow directly at me.
I swallow hard and take a breath. Ethan hasn’t moved. An awkward silence falls over the table, and Logan slides out of his chair without saying a word. What could Ethan’s father be so upset about? Ethan’s only covering until Sara comes back— it’s not like he’s preparing to take over. And if my father spoke to me that way, I wouldn’t return his calls either.
“Don’t be a coward, Ethan. Look me in the eye when I’m speaking to you.”
Ethan slowly lifts his head. His eyes briefly meet mine before he looks directly at his father.
“Better. Now get off that stool and follow me to the office,” he demands.
Ethan doesn’t say a word. He just nods and obeys.
I don’t move from my seat until the office door is closed completely. The way Ethan is acting is completely strange. Why would he be afraid of his father? I spring off my stool and quickly make my way to the back room to find Logan. Something is going on and I am going to find out what it is.
“Logan, where are you?”
“Geez, I’m right here, Kels, so stop yelling,” he says, stepping out from behind the linen rack. I position my body right in front of him, putting my hand on my hips with my elbows out. I block any chance he has of getting by.
“What’s going on? What’s Mr. Connelly doing here?” I shout. “And don’t tell me you don’t know, because you slipped away from the table so fast, I know you know what’s going on.”
Logan shakes his head and tries to take a step around me, but I shove my hip into his. “Tell me what’s going on, please, Logan. I’ve never seen Ethan act that way around anyone, and I’m worried.” My voice is beginning to sound desperate, and when a tear sneaks its way out, Logan releases a breath.
“It’s not my place to say anything, Kelsey. Ethan will tell you when the time is right, and with his dad here, I’m guessing that time is pretty close. Just wait till his dad leaves, okay?”
Logan squeezes past me. Wait till his father leaves. What does that mean? His father just got here.
Ethan wouldn’t even look at me. It was like I didn’t exist.
I storm out of the storage room, marching right past Logan, heading straight for the office. Someone’s going to give me answers and they’re going to do it right this minute. My patience has completely disappeared. I intentionally ignore Logan as he begs me to wait with him. What part of “I don’t want to wait” doesn’t he understand?
I raise my fist to knock on the door and stop midair as the yelling on the other side startles me.
“What in the hell were you thinking?” Ethan’s father’s voice gets louder. “Getting involved with an employee nonetheless. Your actions are disappointing. I thought you were better than this.”
Deciding it might be best to wait a minute, I do the next best thing. I eavesdrop. I lean my ear as close as I can to hear the end of their conversation.
“She’s not just some employee, Dad, so stop referring to her that way!”
“I hope you mean as much to her as she does to you. Tell me, what did she say when you told her why you’re here? Did she understand and support you?”
The silence that follows is terrifying. You’re here to help your cousin, Ethan! Tell him.
“I figured. I didn’t think she would support your intentions to pull this bar out from under her best friend.”
What did he say?
“Dad, stop!”
“No, you stop! You’re going to follow through on this plan and you’re going to do it without any distractions, do you hear me? You’re going to find me the evidence I need to steal this bar form my brother even if it means using that little brunette out there to do it.”
My entire body starts to shake as I take a step back. Ethan’s been using me.
I stumble when I bump into a nearby table, and my unbalanced body falls over the surface and onto the ground. I see Logan in front of me and his lips are moving, but I don’t hear anything.