Revenge With Benefits (Sweet Tea And Scandal 3)

Ryan trotted up the stairs to his sister’s house, noting the darkness lurking behind the French doors that opened up onto the wraparound deck. The air of emptiness was unusual for a house that was usually blazing with light. With his uneasiness increasing, he rang the bell and barely heard the chime ring over the cacophony of insect noises.

The home sat on two acres and backed up to deep-water access just minutes from Charleston Harbor. Jefferson was an avid boater and loved to spend the weekends on the water with his kids. Susannah preferred to keep her feet on solid ground and didn’t usually accompany them on their adventures.

On the other side of the glass door a figure came toward him through the darkness. Ryan recognized Susannah’s housekeeper by her petite frame.

Candi opened the door and scowled at him. “It’s late.”

Ryan ignored the rebuff. “How is she doing?”

“How do you think she’s doing?” Candi had been with the Kirby family since Susannah and Jeff had married. She was an integral part of the household and fiercely loyal to Susannah.

“Can I come in and talk to her?”

With a disgusted snort, Candi stepped back and gestured him inside. “She’s on the dock.”

That caught Ryan by surprise. He would’ve expected to find his twin in the place she was most comfortable: her home office. “What is she doing out there?”

Candi glared at him. “She’s a grown woman, not a child for me to check on.”

Throwing up his hands in surrender, Ryan cruised into the kitchen for a beer before heading out the French doors leading from the kitchen to a set of stairs down to the yard. From the back steps to the end of the dock, it was the length of a city block. With each stride Ryan’s heart hammered harder and harder as he contemplated what sort of state his sister was in.

Although she had to hear his footsteps on the wood dock, she didn’t shift her gaze away from the moonlit water as he slid onto the Adirondack chair beside hers. A half-empty bottle of bourbon sat near her feet and she was swirling liquid in a crystal tumbler.

Ryan sipped his beer and filled his lungs with the night air while he waited for whatever Susannah felt like sharing.

“Jeff’s gone,” she said at last. “Just packed a bag and walked out on ten years of marriage.”

“Ah, hell, SuSu, I’m sorry.”

“You should be,” she said dully. “It’s all your fault.”

The accusation didn’t surprise him, but her defeated tone did. It wasn’t like his sister to give up.

“If it wasn’t for you, my campaign wouldn’t be under attack.”

Even though Zoe and her friends had caused Susannah’s current situation, Ryan recognized his actions had created the problem.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “If I hadn’t tried to help Kelly Briggs—”

Susannah seemed oblivious to the tears pouring from her eyes and soaking her cheeks. “What am I going to do without him?”

The raw despair in his twin’s voice savaged Ryan’s heart. He’d never heard anything like this from Susannah. She was the strong, steady one. Now, to hear her sound so despondent, it was as if some fundamental part of her had shattered, never to be repaired.

Ryan reached for her hand and wrapped his fingers around hers. “You can do anything you set your mind to,” he told her, squeezing gently. “Fix your marriage. Go on without Jeff. You are our family’s greatest success story.”

Susannah dashed the back of her free hand across her cheek. Her breath flowed out of her in a ragged hiss. She looked no less beaten, but her fingers pulsed weakly in Ryan’s grip.

“My husband cheated. And even though Abernathy didn’t get to leak the video, he will use it to attack my worthiness as a state senate candidate. I think most people would point to me as a blistering example of what not to do.” She picked up her glass and swallowed the remaining contents in a single gulp. For a long moment she stared out over the water. “Maybe I took too much for granted. My marriage. My career. It was always about what I wanted. What was good for me.”

“Don’t start blaming yourself. Jefferson had the affair.”

“Sure, but did I drive him to it?”

“‘Drive him’?” Ryan echoed with a heavy dose of skepticism. “Why? Because you were focused on your career and your family? Because he wasn’t your first priority? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Nothing this bad has happened to me before.” She turned her gaze on him. “I wasn’t there for you enough during the Kelly Briggs incident,” she said, her fingers tightening fiercely over his. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Ryan hated seeing his sister like this. “What can I do to help you? Name it. Anything goes. I can beat the crap out of Jefferson if it would make you feel better. Just say the word.”