Page 41 of The Bad Brother

I KNEW THE SECOND SHE PULLED THAT dress out of the closet where she was going. That she wasn’t going to her shift at the hospital because not even a spoiled, rich creeker like her would wear a designer dress to operate in.

You’re being a little unfair, aren’t you?

Nothing about Sloane has ever presented as spoiled.

She can’t help who her parents are, any more than you can.

Just admit that you’re not mad at her. You’re mad at yourself for not telling her the truth about who you really are to each other, as soon as you figured it out.

Maybe.

Probably.

But that doesn’t make watching her get dressed up to go lunch at the club I’ve been black-balled from with a bunch of people who think I’m a scumbag, any easier.

So, are you mad because Sloane belongs there or are you mad because you don’t?

Yes.

The answer is yes —to both.

And again, not her fault. Sloane’s been honest about who she is from day one. Can you say the same?

Fuck.

“Hey.”

Angling my phone screen away from prying eyes like I’m watching porn and not Sloane, putting on lipstick, I look up to find Sera standing in front of me, a serving tray tucked into her hip and a slightly harried expression on her face.

I can’t blame her. This is the busiest Saturday we’ve had in a while.

Seems like Cade’s theory about people wanting a front row seat to the next round between me and my asshole brother is true.

Closing the camera app on my phone, I shove it into my back pocket. “What’s up?”

“Gemma Pierce is here to see you,” Sera says like Gemma told her she’s here to burn the place to the ground. “Says she’s here for an interview?”

Swinging my gaze away from her, I look toward the door to find the woman Cade mentioned, seemingly in passing, last night when I mentioned we need to hire more waitresses if we have any hope of keeping our heads above water.

Gemma Pierce is indeed, grown up, and watching me from her place by the front door with a mixture of hope and apprehension.

Fucking Cade.

Looking away from her, I find him standing on the other side of the bar.

Working the taps, he’s filling a pitcher full of beer while doing an excellent job of pretending he can’t feel me staring a hole into the side of his face.

Before I can tell Sera I’m not the one who called Gemma, she pulls my attention away from her brother with an exaggerated sigh.

“Look—I don’t really give a shit who you hire, Jen,” she tells me on a shrug.

“As long as you hire someone . Riv and I are drowning down here so, unless you’re able to talk the doc into quitting her fancy hospital job and come slum it with the rest of us, I say give Gemma a shot.

” Backing away from me on a laugh, Sera shakes her head.

“I mean… what’s the worst that could happen? ”

Well, Gemma Pierce is a creeker, so historically speaking, the worst that can happen is pretty fucking bad.

Shooting Cade another dirty look, that he deftly ignores, I give in to watch Sera saunter her way over to where Gemma is standing by the front door. After a brief conversation, Sera shoos her toward me with a flat good luck smile.

Whipping a towel off my shoulder, I get busy wiping down the bar while I watch her approach from the corner of my eye. “Look…” Shaking my head while avoiding eye contact, I decide to let her down gently. “I’m not sure what Cade?—”

“Doesn’t really matter what that asshole said, does it?” Gemma says on a sunny laugh that completely contradicts her words. “He obviously lied about you being willing to hire me on.”

Stopping, mid-wipe, I look up from the bar to find Gemma staring me down, arms crossed over her chest. Slinging the towel back over my shoulder on a sigh, I shake my head. “I’ve got enough trouble around here,” I tell her quietly. “I can’t risk it.”

“Oh, I’ve heard all about your trouble ,” she tells me on a laugh while she lets her gaze drift across the crowded bar.

“ From the looks of things, so has everyone else.” Dropping her arms on a sigh, Gemma shakes her head, sending her thick blonde ponytail bouncing between her shoulders.

“I’ve been living in Barrett, taking care of my grandfather, since I was seventeen, Jensen,” she reminds me.

“I’m no more a creeker than you are. Not anymore. ”

Hearing her mention her grandfather, I suddenly feel like shit. “I was sorry to hear about what happened,” I tell her. “I always liked Denton—he was a good man.” More than that, Denton Pierce was one of Tank’s best friends.

“He was a good man,” she agrees with me, her tone thickening slightly. “And he always liked you too. The way I remember it, he was just about the only person in this town who didn’t give Tank shit for taking you in.”

She’s right.

Aside from the Montgomerys and the McLeods—both families Barrett by blood, if not by name—Denton Pierce was the only person in this town who didn’t lock his car doors and shoo his kids into the house whenever I walked by.

Everyone else told Tank he’d regret the day he gave me his last name and I’ve been trying like hell to prove them wrong ever since.

Shit.

Before I can tell Gemma that, against my better judgment, she’s hired, I catch a swirl of black and white polka dots in the corner of my eye and turn, just in time to watch Sloane walk into the room.

I’m not the only one who notices her. The entire bar stops on a dime, just to watch her glide across the floor on her way toward the door.

That’s how beautiful she is.

“ Hole-eee shit ,” Gemma mutters under her breath just before the spell is broken and everyone resumes whatever they were doing before Sloane walked in. Looking at me with an arched brow, she lets out a low-tone whistle. “And you’re worried about me causing trouble?”

“River rented her my loft upstairs without my permission and I’ve been trying to get rid of her ever since.

” It’s a lie. A dirty fucking lie, and I feel like shit the second it leaves my mouth but it’s out there before I can reel it back in.

Like she heard me, Sloane’s gaze finds me, just before she reroutes herself toward the bar.

“Here’s the deal—I need this job,” Gemma says to the side of my face. “When my grandpa died, he left me the house and a pretty big tax bill to go with it. Life insurance took care of most of it but there’s about fifteen grand left and I can’t swing it. Not with what June pays me, and?—”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask her why she doesn’t just ask her mother for the money but I don’t because I know why.

I understand. There’s are strings attached to everything tied to the other side of the river.

Gemma can’t ask her mother for help without getting herself tangled in them.

Gut twisted into knots, I tear my gaze away from her and focus on the woman in front of me. “You work at June’s?”

Gemma looks at me for a moment like she thinks I might have brain damage. “I was your waitress yesterday when you came in with River.”

“You were?” When she nods at me with an are you okay? sort of expression on her face, I shake my head while offering up an excuse. “I’ve got a lot going on right now.”

“Yeah…” Looking at Sloane again, Gemma laughs. “I ca n see that.” Waiting a beat, she adds, “I’m going to lose my grandpa’s house if I don’t do something— fast .”

Goddamnit.

Here I go, doing nice guy shit again.

“We’re closed Sunday and Monday,” I tell her, while I watch Cade and Sloane argue in my peripheral.

“Tuesday and Wednesday are slow—Sera and Riv can manage just fine on their own, for now. It starts picking up on Thursday.” Sera swoops in and gets between them before things can escalate.

Still doing my best to ignore Sloane, I decide to let her handle it.

“By Friday night, the dance floor is packed and by Saturday, people are swinging from the rafters—that’s when I need you. Six to close.”

If working weekends is a deal-breaker, Gemma doesn’t let on. “Works for me.”

“Alright then,” I say with a nod while Sera pours Sloane a shot of Clase Azuel. “I pay fifteen dollars an hour plus tips. I don’t know how it works at June’s but we don’t pool ‘em here—what you make is what you keep.”

“Sounds fair,” Gemma tells me with a nod while down the bar, Sloane slams her empty shot glass down with a loud bang.

Opening her purse, she pulls out a single bill.

Sliding it across the bar, toward Sera, Sloane turns away and strolls out the door without a backward glance.

It’s taking every ounce of self-control I have to stop myself from chasing after her.

“Do you need to go take care of that?”

Looking away from the door Sloane just disappeared behind, I give Gemma a stiff head shake.

“No,” I tell her, my tone making it clear that the creeker I have living in my loft is not an open topic of discussion.

“Tell me right fucking now if I’m going to have a problem with you and Cade,” I say in that same hard tone.

“It’s obvious you’re here because he’s trying to make amends but if you can’t play nice, there’s no point in taking this any further. ”

“I don’t care what his motives are,” Gemma says with a definitive head shake. “I’m here because I need a job. So long as he keeps my best friend’s name out of his mouth, Cade and I will get along famously.”

In other words, it’s only a matter of time before Cade fucks this whole situation to shit and it blows up in my face, but she’s Denton Pierce’s granddaughter and if I didn’t at least give her a chance, Tank would kick my ass.

“Come back at six,” I tell her on a fuck my life sort of sigh. “I’ll have Sera get you sorted out.”