Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Hey, bro. I’m surprised you’re still here.” Kyle strode behind the bar and picked up two longnecks. He was dressed in a suit, though he’d obviously shed the tie at some point in the evening. He nodded Leslie’s way. “I’m taking one of them to Chef, and this one is my tax for grabbing it for him. You got my mom’s wine? She’s had a day.”
The only time Kyle would call their stepdad Chef was here at Top, but then Sean tended to go into “chef” mode the minute he stepped inside the doors. It was like “general” mode except with food.
Leslie passed him a big glass of Cab. “Always. Let Grace know we’ve got it all handled tonight. She should put her feet up and relax.”
Kyle chuckled as he grabbed a tray and placed all three drinks on it. “I doubt she’ll do that, but I appreciate it.” He turned back to David. “You want to join us? I’ve been told there are plenty of leftovers. They’re doing family dinner, but I think Sean’s setting up a private room for us. I think they want to talk.”
He was still hungry, but it wasn’t for food. “I should get home. I’m going to miss the last train if I don’t get a move on.”
Kyle stared at him. “Come on, man. You can’t run every time.”
Run? He wasn’t running. Except maybe he was. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his mom, and he liked Sean, but he had never felt like he fit the way Kyle did. Kyle and Sean got each other. Their talks were easy, and they seemed to genuinely enjoy each other’s company.
Sean tried. He did. Sean asked about what was happening at the college and how his book was going, but they’d never found the easy repartee he and Kyle had. Or Kyle and Luke. Their youngest half sibling was growing up Taggart, and that meant he was good looking and popular and athletic.
At least he could talk to Carys. Carys called him for advice all the time, and that made him feel like he was a part of the new family his mother had started.
“I’m not running. I stopped by to talk to Carys. Is she still here?”
Kyle shook his head. “She went home with Ian and Charlotte. She’s spending the night with Tash and the twins. Was she okay? It looked like she’d been crying.”
He was glad she was spending time with her cousins. Tasha was the oldest Taggart, and she had a good head on her shoulders. She would listen to Carys and give her sound advice on how to handle the situation. And the twins would bolster her emotionally. Kenzie would cry with her and Kala would help her plan bloody vengeance. All in all, they would be a solid team. “Someone posted shit on social media about her. It’s mean-girl stuff.”
“That sucks,” Kyle said but seemed to dismiss it. “Come on. It’ll mean a lot to Mom if you have dinner with us.”
He was going to have to go. “I thought you already had dinner. Didn’t you go to the private party?”
“I didn’t actually go. I worked the party,” Kyle explained. “Apparently there’s always someone after the billionaire head of an energy company. I had a taste of it though. The quail was delicious, but I would have needed four of them to fill me up. I had to sneak Ian a burger. Did you know he can eat a whole burger in two bites? That’s a big freaking burger.”
If he’d worked the party, maybe he knew something about Tessa. She’d been a guest, and if he knew the way McKay-Taggart worked, someone had run background checks on all the guests. Didn’t a Malone actually work for MT? It had been years and years since he’d spent any time at Sean’s brother’s office. He’d had a couple of summer jobs when he was doing his undergrad, but he hadn’t worked cases or anything. He’d filed a lot of paperwork and organized things for his mom when she’d been the office manager there.
He dropped a thirty dollar tip for Leslie since she’d taken care of them all night and she wouldn’t charge him for anything. Apparently neither he nor Kyle were allowed to pay Top for anything. It was one of the reasons he rarely came. It felt weird to not pay. He wasn’t some trust fund kid. He’d worked his way through school, and he made his own way in the world.
“It was for the Malones, right? The family that owns the oil company.” He could tiptoe his way around this subject. The last thing he needed was his brother giving him shit about a woman.
He followed Kyle as he started for the big office their mom and stepfather shared. His mom had taken over the daily operations of the restaurant empire while Sean oversaw anything creative, including the TV deals he’d made.