Expecting his request to be met with resistance, Brantley was surprised when he got a response within ten minutes: How’s six?
I’ll be there, he sent back.
And he was.
Brantley strolled into the diner at six o’clock on the dot. Now that he thought about it, six seemed to be when the dinner bell rang in Coyote Ridge. With a quick glance at the tables, he noticed Dante was waiting for him at a booth along the far wall.
“I’m meetin’ someone,” he informed the waitress who came to greet him.
She flashed a smile, then redirected her course while Brantley made his way past tables full of Coyote Ridge residents, a couple offering a wave for a familiar face.
When he took a seat, he could feel the tension coming off Dante. Clearly he knew why he was there, yet he’d come anyway. Had to respect that a little.
“I heard you were back,” Dante said, reaching for the iced tea he’d obviously ordered when he arrived.
“Yep.” Brantley flipped his gaze to the waitress who appeared. “Sweet tea for me. Plus a burger, well done. Keep the pickles. Two orders of fries.”
Her smile brightened as she glanced at Dante.
“I’ll have the same. Only one order of fries.”
“Sure thing,” she said kindly before sauntering to the back.
Although he’d had all day to gather his thoughts, decide what to say to Dante, now that he was in front of the guy, he was having a hard time swallowing the anger that he’d always harbored for the man. It took effort to keep from clenching his fist on the table or sending that fucker flying into Dante’s face.
“I know how you feel about me,” Dante said softly, clearly picking up on the tension. “I know you’ll never believe it was an accident, Brantley. I swear to God it was. Never would I hit JJ. Hell, I wouldn’t put my hands on any woman in anger.”
So they were going to get right down to it. “Then tell me why you did it.”
He still remembered the black eye JJ had sported thanks to a fight she’d had with Dante. Sure, it was more than a decade ago, but he’d never been able to wrap his head around it.
“Like I told you then, JJ was pissed at me,” Dante said, his tone smooth and even.
“You cheated on her, you asshole.”
The man nodded slowly. “I did. And I can’t tell you how much I regret that, but it is what it is.” He took a sip of his tea. “Anyway. She was pissed and hurt. Rightfully so. When she came at me, I didn’t try to stop her. I let her whale on me because I deserved it. But she hit me one too many times and her right hook … that’s some serious shit.”
“So you hit her back?”
“No.” Dante sat up straight. “God, no. I went to stop her, to restrain her in an effort to save myself. My elbow hit her in the eye. An accident. I was mortified when it happened. Still am, Brantley. Thirteen years later and I still think about that shit.”
It was the exact same story they’d both given him through the years. At some point, probably in the deepest, darkest recesses of his brain, Brantley had believed them. Otherwise, Dante would’ve been sporting a permanent limp. But he couldn’t explain the anger he still harbored, hence the reason he’d wanted a sit-down. He needed to work past this, especially since he was acclimating to this civilian world and being that Dante lived in the same small town, it was imperative they get beyond this.
Dante leaned forward, his voice lowered. “Do you honestly think she’d ever agree to work for me if I’d beaten on her? You know JJ, maybe better than I do. She’s not that girl.”
No, she wasn’t.
The waitress appeared, delivering his tea, pouring more into Dante’s glass from a pitcher she carried. Brantley promptly thanked her, then turned his attention back to Dante.
“She said you’ve got her hacking companies.”
He smiled, visibly relaxing. “Not as illicit as you make it sound, but yes. She’s helping me with cybersecurity. She uses her skills to reveal a company’s vulnerabilities. From there, I’ve got a team who’ll go in and shore them up for the client. She’s good at what she does.”
“You pay her well?”
“Of course. Better than well. Yet she still turns down the jobs from time to time.”
“You know why?”
Dante frowned. “No. That’s JJ for you, though. She’s a commitment-phobe.”
Yes, she was. Always had been. He figured that was the very reason JJ wasn’t married with kids at this point.
“Is that why you asked me here, Brantley? To get the lowdown on JJ?”
“No. If I want the lowdown, I’ll ask her.”
“So what am I here for?”
“To clear the air,” he admitted.
That revelation seemed to surprise Dante. Considering the guy hadn’t walked up to death’s door and knocked, he wouldn’t understand. But Brantley knew it was critical that he tie up all those loose ends. It was the only way he’d be able to move forward.
