Reed (Allen Securities) (20 page)

“You okay with this?” he asked in her ear.

“Finn says there is a good chance things will die out in a couple years,” she said.

“And if it doesn’t?” Reed asked quietly.

Olivia looked over at her brother as he tied off the rope.

“We’ll figure it out,” she said taking Reed’s hand. “Together.”

Liam hopped off the boat and handed over the keys and a folder.

“It has been great to meet you, Justin Brown.” Liam stared at them all pointedly. “All the papers you need are in here, thanks to Charlie. Finn has arranged for a contact up north. There is also a phone and banking information in there.”

Liam looked over to Olivia, who nodded her thanks. She tossed him the keys to the Mercedes. “Tell Finn it’s a fun ride.” She grinned.

“I’m sure he’ll love that,” Liam laughed.

Olivia watched as Liam walked into the darkness.

"So this is it," her brother said from behind her.

Tears welled in her eyes at the thought of him being out in the world on his own. She blinked them away.

"I suppose it is, Justin." She winked at him.

He came in to give her a crushing hug.

"So you set all this up? The new boat, the name, and the exchange?"

She smiled at him. "I had some help." She flashed back to her conversation with Charlie.

"I saw Mom," she said quietly. Looking into his eyes, she saw the years of wanting a good mother. "She cares. They both do. Charlie said you should use this as your chance to reinvent yourself as a better kind of man."

This time the tears did fall.

"Besides," she laughed. "You're kinda shitty at the whole criminal thing."

Ben laughed. "I think you might be right." He looked around her to Reed. "Looks like I didn't need to worry about you getting the life you deserve."

The sob in her chest broke out, and she wrapped her in his arms. "It won't be the same without you." She mumbled in his arms.

Ben pulled her back to look her in the eyes. "I'm going to go and be the kind of man that deserves your tears. And it's not like I can't sneak in from time to time to see you."

"Oh Lord." She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Didn't we already establish you aren't good at this?"

The light from a neighbor’s house came on and they froze. When it clicked off, her heart had trouble getting back to normal.

"I think that's my sign to leave." Ben boarded the boat and looked back to her. "Much nicer than the last one."

She winked. "Figure you needed an update from the 1908 version."

Ben shot her a wounded look. "You mean 1964." His gaze wandered to Reed. "Take good care of her for me."

Reed nodded and looked at her. "Always."

Tears still streaming, she wrapped her arms around Reed, as they watched Ben pull away. Before long, he was far enough out to flip on the lights and drift into the horizon.

Olivia shivered as the first light of dawn appeared over the water.

"Long night?" They jumped at the break in silence.

James Allen stood on the edge of the woods, staring at them knowingly.

"If you boys couldn't get away with this when you were teens, what makes you think you can now?" He ambled down the slope with ease.

"We thought you might be too old to hear us now," Cage said with a bright smile.

"You’re smart mouthed." James walked over to swat him on the head. "Get inside. Your mother’s been baking all morning."

In silence, they made their way to the house. As they reached the door, James pulled her back for a moment.

"We figure that was about your brother," he said, looking off into the distance. "You all feel free to use our dock when you need to." He gave her a boyish grin. "You about gave poor Doris next door a heart attack. She already thinks the docks are haunted without your help."

Olivia grinned back. "Thank you so much." She gave him a great hug.

"Well now," he said, pulling back and ushering her inside the cinnamon sweet home. "That's what family is for."

Olivia smiled and welcomed the warmth she felt inside and out.

Author Bio

By day, Madison Stevens is a mom, wife, house cleaner, short-order cook and underpaid custodian. When night comes, she gets to hang up those jobs, enjoy the silence and become a sex goddess, or when she has a headache, cook and read. Her husband is also an accomplished author, and the two have great conversations about both writing and reading.

She can be contacted at [email protected]

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