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“I’m feeling great,” Shane said. They were odd first words for an uncle meeting his nephew. Then again, Shane didn’t know much about this family.
Uncle Grady patted his shoulder. “That’s good. That’s really good. Come on, I’ll give you a ride over to the house, and you can get settled. We can get to know each other a little better after you get some rest.”
“What house?” Shane asked.
“I thought you’d be more comfortable in your own space,” Mimi said. “We have a ton of rentals around town, and one is currently empty, so we thought you could stay there.”
“Oh, I couldn’t—”
Mimi cut him off with a wave. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“That’s very generous.”
“You’re family. My grandson.” Mimi cupped his cheek, her hand the only thing giving away her true age.
Shane appreciated the gesture, but he didn’t come here to live off his rich family. His pride wouldn’t let him. “I’d like to at least try and get a job while I’m in town.”
Mimi patted his cheek. Her look of admiration made him uneasy, like he was some gift from God. He didn’t want to disappoint her, but there wasn’t anything special about him. He was an average guy who was a little more damaged than most.
“I think we can help him with that, don’t you?” Mimi said to Uncle Grady.
“Definitely. You don’t want to work with me at Town Hall, but I’ll tell you what. Your cousin, Connor would love to meet you, and he happens to be short a bartender right now. Last guy up and left to follow a girl across the country.”
“That would be awesome. Thanks.” Shane knew nothing about his cousin, but from what Milo had said, Connor seemed like a good guy. Not that he knew Milo from a hole in the wall, but the guy had no reason to lie.
“Stop at McConnell’s Pub tomorrow around noon, and I’ll tell him you’re coming.”
Mimi clapped. “Now that’s arranged, go get settled, and we’ll meet tomorrow first thing for coffee and breakfast before you head over to the pub. Then you can tell me about the last twenty-five years.”
“Not much to tell, but I’d love to talk about my dad. Know what he was like, why he left.”
She hugged him and pulled back, taking his face in her hands again. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
“Me too, but—” He stopped himself. He had a million questions about his dad and this new family, but it had been a long day of travel and it was late. The answers weren’t going anywhere. He would get some sleep, and come back tomorrow, awake and prepared to find out about the father who died before he was born.
Chapter 4
Olivia finished putting her makeup on, trying to hide the puffiness from a night and early morning of crying. It didn’t do much, but it was better than nothing. Mom would know she’d been crying the moment Olivia left her room, and no amount of makeup in the world could change that.
Her phone rang, and she glanced down to see her sister’s name flash on the screen. She hadn’t been ready to talk, but she also couldn’t avoid Cindy forever. She accepted the call and put the phone to her ear.
“Hey, Cind.”
“Hey. How are you holding up?”
Olivia paused. She hadn’t even had a chance to tell her sister about what had happened. She’d been avoiding it like a bad habit. “You talked to Mom, didn’t you?”
“I called her this morning, and she might have mentioned something.”
“Is anything sacred in this family?” God forbid Mom held onto a bit of information for longer than twenty-four hours. Olivia should have known she might have combusted if she tried.
“Twenty-five years old and you still question this?”
“It still amazes me that Mom can spread gossip so quickly.”
“As Mom says, words between family isn’t gossip, just the transferring of information.”
“We both know that’s her way to justify her inability to keep a secret.”
