“He seems to have a knack for landing in hot water.” Sayer said it lightly and without censure.

Rule got up off the stool and threw some money down on the bar. “It happens to all of us now and then.”

He told me good-bye and hollered the same to Asa as he appeared behind the bar. I introduced the bartender to Sayer as well and he thanked her in much the same way Rule had, only with far more charm and a grin that was designed to make her want to go to bed with him. I hoped it didn’t work. I was just getting used to the idea of having a sister. I couldn’t even begin to try and work my way through how the idea of her sleeping with a lothario like Asa made me feel. He told us drinks were on the house for the night and gave me a smirk like he knew exactly what part of the gutter my mind had nose-dived into. I flipped him off as I followed Sayer to one of the tables that was up near the stage Rome had built during his remodel of the Bar. It was going to get busy later but for now it was quiet enough we could talk and not have to shout at each other over bar noise.

I was surprised when she took a bottle of Coors Light instead of ordering a mixed drink or a glass of wine, though I wasn’t even really sure they served wine here that wasn’t the equivalent of the stuff that came out of a box.

“I’m glad you asked to meet with me.” She talked in a way that was very cultured and even but her constantly moving hands gave away how nervous she was.

“Sometimes it takes me a minute to work my way around to where I’m supposed to be. Like I told you in your office you didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. I’m usually a pretty decent guy.”

“Maybe not, but I get that this is all kind of hard to process.”

I picked up my beer and looked at her over the top of it. “You had to process it as well.”

She nodded a little and picked at the sticker on her beer bottle. “My dad was always finding new and perfectly horrific ways to mess with my life. I’m used to trying to process through it all.” Her eyes that were an identical match to mine darkened like a cloudy day. “When I started trying to track you down I was mad at him. I was alone, you were alone, and he knew it all along. We could have had each other and helped each other and he purposely kept us apart until he was gone. I’m pretty sure he counted on you being a greedy, selfish bastard that would just snap the money up without a thought. He was trying to hurt me, but really he gave me the one thing I always wanted.” The corners of her mouth tilted up just a little bit. “Someone else to call family, someone else to care about and share things with. The fact that you are a good man, and that you turned out so amazing all on your own, really is an epic ‘screw you’ to the old man. I could love you unconditionally for that alone, Rowdy.”

I paused with the beer halfway to my lips and just looked at her. That was probably one of the nicest things anyone had ever had to say about me.

“I’m really not interested in taking half of your inheritance, Sayer. I don’t make lawyer money but I do all right and I can support myself just fine.” I finally took a slug of the beer and put it back down on the table. “It sounds like you earned every single cent in the hardest way possible.”

She moved some of her hair over her shoulder and leaned a little closer to me so that she could prop her elbow on the table and rest her chin on her hand.

“I’m going to be really presumptuous and overstep my bounds for a second, so don’t get mad at me.”

I lifted an eyebrow at her but grinned because she really looked concerned about what my reaction might be. I couldn’t blame her. I hadn’t exactly rolled out the welcome mat for her thus far.

“I’ve spent some time with Salem. I adore her and think she’s about as perfect for you as any girl could ever be. I know you guys have some history lingering between you but from the outside the two of you act like you’re a team. Before you dismiss saying yes to money that is rightfully yours, you might want to think about the fact you are not operating independently anymore. That money could pay for a wedding. It could pay for a down payment on a house. You could use it for a new business, or for college if you have kids down the line. It’s no small sum, and honestly, Rowdy, you earned it just as much as I did.”

Fuck me. I hadn’t even started to think about what an unexpected windfall might mean if my relationship kept moving forward with Salem the way it was. There was no doubt she had ahold of my heart and had always owned my soul. Sure I was probably going to put a ring on her finger down the line and the way this group was popping out kids left and right that would probably be on the agenda at some point as well. I just hadn’t really thought about it in terms of being right around the corner.

“We are a matched set.” I liked Salem’s way of looking at how we fit together. Sure there had been others along the way but no one fit in the empty places the way she did, no matter how hard I might have tried to force them. “You’re right. I need to talk to her before just turning the money down cold.”

“She’s a very dynamic young woman.”

I laughed because that was one way to put it. “She’s a force of nature.”

“The tattoo she has on her back, the one you drew for her when she was a teenager, I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. I think your drawing is amazing and the fact she carries her favorite gift she ever received with her every day is pretty special.”

I had never really looked at it that way before, but Sayer was right. It was special. Really special, just like the relationship I had with Salem was. “I always thought I had bad luck, ya know?” I leaned a little closer to her as well. “My mom died because some dirty bastard tried to carjack her.” I sighed and felt the weight of that loss settle on me like it always did. “I’m sure you know that because you dug into my life trying to find me, but what you don’t know is that she was out that night because I was sick. I had a fever and was throwing up, so she was just running to the store real quick to grab some 7 Up and kid’s Tylenol for me. We didn’t live in a good part of town, so she never would’ve been out unless it was for me.”

Emotion crawled up my throat and made it hard to talk. I had to look down at the table because the sympathy in Sayer’s gaze was too much for me to handle.

“Then there was the Cruz sisters. I needed Salem and she left. I thought I loved Poppy and she didn’t want me. More bad luck.” I gave a broken laugh that sounded like it was coated in rust. “Then there was football. I was good at it, really good, but I didn’t love it and what I did love I couldn’t see a future in.”