Fun was not the word I would have picked, but if Emily wasn’t afraid or worried, then that was what was important. If Tyler and his fathers were able to catch a glimpse of Ralph then we’d know his intent to confront Emily again. We’d be ready this time.
***
I was buttoning my shirt when I met the men as they came in the front door. I’d heard them approach the house, their voices loud like those who’d had too much to drink. Tyler had his arm over one of his father’s shoulders, laughing at something he said.
Once the door was closed behind them, the pretense slipped.
I shook both of Tyler’s fathers’ hands. They were both in their late fifties. While their hair was more gray than dark, they would not be men I wished to bother. They were powerful in town and had built the large ranch that Tyler and I now ran. I’d known them for years and they were the fathers I never had.
“Well?”
“First, congratulations on your marriage, son,” Roger Tannenbaum said, slapping me on the shoulder. He didn’t do it lightly. “It is good to see you smiling.”
I couldn’t help the grin, for I’d just left a sleeping and well pleasured bride. While Tyler was out with his fathers, I’d spent the time tending to Emily. While I itched to get Ralph behind bars, I’d enjoyed my evening’s activities probably more than Tyler had his. “Thank you,” I replied.
While they smelled of cheap whiskey, none appeared drunk. “Let’s go into the office and have a drink. And not rotgut.”
I followed the men. As Roger poured, the others took seats in the comfortable armchairs. Allen had raised Olivia after her parents had died, under the pretense of being a bachelor, all the while being in a plural marriage with Roger and Belinda. He had lived elsewhere with Olivia until a man set fire to their house. Then, Olivia had married Simon, Cross and Rhys and Allen chose to move in—finally—with his own family.
“I saw him,” Tyler said as Roger handed me a glass with two fingers of whiskey.
My fist clenched around the glass at his words.
“From what Tyler said, this man needs to be taken care of,” Roger commented, taking a sip of his whiskey.
“Hell, yes,” I replied.
“We need to let the ladies go shopping,” Roger admitted. I could tell he wasn’t pleased with the idea either.
“You’ll let him confront them?”
“Absolutely not!” Allen said, slamming his glass down on the desk. “They will shop, we will follow. Xander, you can watch the women with me and Tyler and Roger will grab the bastard before he even gets close.”
I shook my head. “No way. I want the man. Emily’s my responsibility.”
Tyler leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees. “Are you sure you want to tangle with the law?”
I looked at my friend closely, saw concern there. It was time I let my past go. Emily was my future and I had to ensure nothing—or no one—got in the way. “For Emily? Absolutely.”
EMILY
“What do you mean, they went after Ralph?” I asked, placing the pile of boxes containing my purchases on the entry table. My voice was shrill, my heart beat frantically. I could
n’t help it. The idea of Tyler and Xander confronting the man scared me. The enjoyment of shopping with Belinda disappeared and was replaced by fear. “We need to go to them. Stop them!”
Tyler’s fathers, both formidable men themselves, didn’t seem concerned about it in the slightest.
“No, Emily. They want you here safe,” Allen said, taking my arm and guiding me into the parlor.
“They weren’t supposed to go after him!” I countered, turning to face them. Belinda was tugging off her gloves and paused.
All three of them frowned. “What did you think they would do when the plan was to lure Ralph out into the open?”
I shrugged my shoulders and paced. “I thought he’d come up to me and I’d tell him that Xander and Tyler knew what happened, that it wasn’t a secret any longer. He’d leave me alone.”
Roger offered me a kind smile. “Do you think he’ll ever leave you alone? He might threaten to tell the authorities about what you did, or perhaps Tyler and Xander’s business associates.”
I never considered that. My idea was all at once ridiculous.