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“Yeah, yeah, I know, little lady. He’s not stupid. He’s just reta?—”
“Don’t say that word.” I fist the neck of his shirt so fast, and my jaw clenches so hard, the muscle cramps.
Lifting him off the ground, I shove him out of the pool area and into the dining hall, away from the crowd, and I’m ready to kick his ass all the way back to Birmingham.
Rachel follows me, along with Jack, Dylan, and Logan. Craig and Allie hang back in the room to distract the crowd and celebrate the winners.
Gloria speaks, and gentle clapping follows whatever she says. Thankfully, it seems the tournament attendees are easily redirected away from what’s happening here.
“Hey, okay!” Jayden holds up his hands as he puts space between us.
Protective rage burns in my veins, and I’m sure he sees it in my eyes. “If I ever hear you say that word to him or about him, I’ll ram it down your ignorant throat.”
A satisfied grin curls Jayden’s lips, and it crawls on my skin. I’m starting to realize this is all a game to him, another ploy—but to what end?
“You’re not taking Edward.” Rachel steps past me. “You don’t even want him. You’re mean and spiteful and everything you do is only to hurt people. You use people until you get what you want or until they don’t live up to your expectations, then you throw them away.”
“You sound just like your mother.” He huffs a laugh at her. “You’re even starting to look like her.”
“Mom was a good person until you came along.”
“We can debate that another day.”
I step up beside Rachel, putting my hand on her shoulder. Rachel knows this man a lot better than I do, but I’m a fast learner. I told her before she wouldn’t face him alone ever again, and I want her to know we’re here.
“It’s time for you to go.” Dylan enters the room. “I run this restaurant, and I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone—that includes you.”
Jayden steps back, looking around Cooters & Shooters. “You know, I was a part of this place. It looks real good now.”
I take another step forward, ready to throw him out the door. “You were never a part of this place. You were supposed to be, but you ghosted when it came time to commit.”
“I never had that kind of money.”
“Neither did they.”
“Give me a break. Your dad had all his football earnings saved up. He was set.”
“It was all he had, his life savings. He hadn’t played in years, and he had all of us to think about.”
“Looks like it turned out all right.” Jayden squares off facing us. “Your family is secure. That’s all I want for mine. I’m not the bad guy here.”
I’m about to argue when Miss Gina enters the room. “Then don’t act like the bad guy.”
She holds Olivia’s arm as the two of them step forward. “Don’t do this Jayden. Leave Eddie be. He’s happy here with us. He’s thriving, and we’ll take care of him.”
“Miss Gina.” He studies the old woman with a calculated eye. “Are you making me an offer?”
Her lips press into a frown, and she shakes her head. “That’s all that ever matters to you. One day you’ll see there’s so much more to life than money.”
“Easy to say when you got it.” His voice rises, and he levels his eyes on Rachel. “I’ll be back in a week to pick up my son. I expect you to have him ready to go.”
Turning, he stalks out of the dining room, letting the door slam behind him. My chest is tight, and when I look at Jack, he nods. We’ve been here before, and we have an idea of what to do.
I think about what he said, what Miss Gina said, the past, and what it all means. He gave us a week, but I’m not wasting a day.
“They triedto take Hendrix and Dylan after our parents died.” Jack is standing by the bar holding a beer. “We were able to stop it then.”
After the awards were handed out, the tournament crowd slowly dispersed, and Dylan took Eddie with his first place trophy and Kimmie with her cooters back to the house.
