Page 51 of The Heartbreaker (Chandler Brothers 3)
Before Chase could ask questions or Rick could explain further, Kendall slipped into the open fourth chair. “Hi, guys.”
Chase groaned at the interruption, but he figured it would be too much to expect Rick to ask his wife to leave.
Sloane turned her gorgeous smile toward Chase’s sister-in-law. “Hi, Kendall. Nice to see you again.”
“Hi, honey.” Rick wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulder. “Can you give us a second? We’re conducting business.”
Chase raised an eyebrow. Apparently, he’d misjudged his sibling.
Kendall gave him an understanding smile. “Sure. I’ll just go say hi to Pearl and Eldin. They’re up front placing an order. A huge order, come to think of it.”
“Pearl and Eldin?” Sloane asked, leaning forward, propping her chin in one hand. “Who are they?”
“My tenants,” Kendall said.
“Hard to call them tenants when they’re living in our guest-house for free,” Rick said wryly.
Chase laughed. “It’s a long story,” he said to Sloane.
Sloane’s eyes lit up. “I’d like to hear it. I’m beginning to enjoy small-town life.”
He wondered if she was serious or if Sloane Carlisle was just being polite.
“Tell you what. I’ll bring them by after you finish talking, and I promise you, Pearl will sum up her life story in one minute flat.” Kendall planted a kiss on Rick’s lips and headed for the front of the restaurant.
“She’s my dream wife,” Rick said, laughing. “Never questions when I have to do business and disappears when I need her to.”
“Something tells me she’s your dream wife for more reasons than that,” Sloane said indulgently.
Chase caught the hint of wistfulness in her voice and knew he wasn’t imagining things. She’d been through so much recently, not the least of which was the betrayal of her parents. She was missing out on love, trust, and dependability, Chase knew. And she sensed the depth of which Kendall and Rick felt those things for each other. She wanted it for herself.
The notion brought a lump of pure fear to his throat. Because he had a hunch that Sloane’s vision of love, trust, and dependability included hearth, home, and stability, the very things he swore he was finished with.
“Earth to Chase.” Rick tapped his fist on the table, jarring the silverware and Chase jumped. “What the hell’s got you so distracted? Kendall’s gone, so let’s talk.”
Chase blinked and realized his brother and Sloane were staring, waiting for him to focus. “I’m ready now,” he muttered, offering no explanation for spacing out on them.
“Okay.” Rick leaned forward, motioning for them to do the same. “First things first. Off the record, the explosion at Samson’s was no accident. The boiler had been tampered with.”
“What?” Sloane’s voice raised to a high pitch and Chase lay his hand over hers to calm her down.
“I thought you should know.” Rick splayed his hands in front of him.
“We appreciate that. And we have something we need to tell you too,” Chase said.
Sloane tipped her head to the side and whispered in his ear. “No, please. Not yet.”
“You promised if we found out that the explosion was deliberate, we’d go to Rick,” he reminded her.
“What’s going on?” his brother demanded. “If it has anything to do with the explosion, I don’t want you holding out on me.”
Chase met and held Sloane’s gaze, knowing he had to push her and hating it at the same time. “Do you want to fill Rick in or should I?”
* * *
Sloane grit her teeth. Chase’s tone brooked no argument. Someone would be informing Rick that her father’s men had threatened Samson and two days later, his house had exploded.
“It’s my story to tell.” She explained what she’d overheard between her father’s men and how she and Chase planned to go back to Crazy Eights in Harrington in order to look for Samson. Tonight.
Rick pinched the bridge of his nose, and in that instant, the brothers who didn’t look alike suddenly had an eerie resemblance. “You two don’t do anything halfway, do you?” Rick asked, and motioned to his wife to rejoin them.
“She plans on going with or without me,” Chase muttered. “So I’m in.”
“And so am I. I’m off duty tonight, so I’ll go along.” Rick patted the gun in his holster. “Because you two might need backup.”
Sloane was shocked to discover her eyes welling up with tears. The bond between the brothers, the lengths to which they would go to help one another, were all something she envied. Something she shared with her family, but since finding out that her life had been based on a lie—that her family wasn’t really her family—she felt the enormous loss.
She cleared her throat, trying to push the emotion aside. “Thank you, Rick.”
“He’s the best,” Chase assured her. He winked at his brother, and Sloane cleared her throat once more.
“We already have an APB out on Samson,” Rick said, all business. “Carlisle’s men can be questioned, but tipping them off without real evidence isn’t smart. In the meantime, we’re all going to Crazy Eights tonight,” Rick said.
