Page 63 of If I Didn’t Have You

“Because John’s ranch is failing, too. There’s only so long he’ll be able to keep going, just like you.”

He had mentioned that, but I hadn’t realized it was really that bad.

“See, it’s not just our ranch, Dad. You’re not the only one who’s losing out.”

I was beginning to see that, but I still didn’t entirely like the idea of investing in the Callahan General Store. It just didn’t seem right after so many years of feuding. But my kids were making this work, and I couldn’t fault them for that.

“Well, you’d better show me what you’re doing.”

Beaming, she led me inside the seafood restaurant, which didn’t look much different than anything else. It was when she took me into the back that I finally understood what was really going on here.

“Holy shit,” I murmured, taking in all the gambling tables. “Is this legal?”

“Not strictly speaking, but the local law has turned a blind eye to it.”

“So…the whole town has been coming in here since you opened just to gamble in the back?”

“Well, it’s certainly not for the food,” she laughed.

“You don’t have a good cook?”

“Oh, we do. We just don’t normally have seafood.”

I looked at her funny, trying to understand that. “But you named it Seafood & More.”

“Yep. It’s the More part that draws people in.”

I shook my head, still not understanding, but I guess it didn’t really matter. They were making money.

I spent the rest of the day with Krista as she dragged me around, explaining all the various revenues of income she had built up with Jeff. Even Liam had started going in on rental properties with them. They had quite the setup going, and it had nothing to do with the ranch.

They had built something for themselves, and I couldn’t have been prouder of them.

“Where are we going now?” I grumbled as night fell over the town.

“The Beaver and Boot.”

“I was just there last night. I highly doubt going again would be good for me, considering what happened.”

Glancing over at me, she smirked. “Tonight is not for you. There will be no drinking. Only observing.”

“What exactly will I be observing?”

“Oh, you’ll see,” she chuckled.

I didn’t like the sound of that. Then again, the bar was owned by Lizzy and Liam, so it couldn’t be that bad. Or so I hoped.

“How’s Rob and Blake’s…detective agency going?”

“You would know if you bothered to show interest in anything other than yourself,” she remarked.

There was no bite to her tone, only proving a point that I had been absent from my family for far too long.

“It’s slowly building. They’ve gotten a few jobs, and Rob has set up a consulting side to the business.”

“Consulting? On what?”

“Cyber security. He’s flying out to New York next week.”