Page 143 of Always Us

He gets out of the booth and stands next to Brandon. He looks like a giant next to Brandon. Garret’s a lot taller and he’s been working out constantly to get his shoulder back in shape, so he’s really muscular. Way bigger than when I met him.

Garret holds his hand out. “Garret Kensington.”

Brandon looks confused. He wasn’t expecting the handshake, but he shakes Garret’s hand. “Brandon Lintz.”

“That’s lesson number one. When you’re introduced to someone, you look them in the eye, you shake their hand, you smile. Basic manners.”

“What the hell does—”

“Lesson number two.” Garret glances over at Sara. “Cover his ears.”

“What?” Sara’s confused.

“Cover Caleb’s ears.”

She does, and Garret continues talking to Brandon. “Lesson number two. You treat the mother of your child with respect. I don’t give a shit if you don’t like her, don’t want to date her, don’t want to marry her. The woman gave birth to your child. By herself. With no support. And you’re going to treat her with respect.”

“I didn’t even want the fucking kid. I told her to get rid of it.”

Garret checks to make sure Caleb’s ears are still covered. “You think she didn’t deserve a say in that?”

He waves his hand at Sara. “The bitch got her way. The kid’s right there.”

“Already forgot lesson number two, huh? You’re clearly too fucking dumb to comprehend any more of my lessons, so we’re done for today. Now do as Sara asked, and Alex asked, and get the fuck out of here.”

“I get it.” Brandon laughs. “You and Sara. Makes sense.” He looks at Alex. “I didn’t think she’d go out with that loser.”

“Alex is her boyfriend. Not me. And before you open your mouth again to show us how fucking stupid you are, turn around and walk your ass out the door.”

“I’m not leaving. I still got a full beer left at the bar.”

Garret sighs. “I’m not going to say it again.”

“I don’t give a fuck how many times you say it. I’m not leaving.”

Caleb starts crying.

“Get that thing to shut up,” Brandon says to Sara.

Garret gets in Brandon’s face. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but what the hell? I love beating up assholes like you.”

“Garret, no!” I scoot to the end of the booth. “You’ll get arrested again.”

Brandon steps back. “You got arrested for fighting?”

Garret slowly smiles. “Yeah. I did. Arrested and thrown in jail. For beating up an asshole just like you. The guy had no manners. Treated women like shit. I started punching him and I couldn’t stop. I have a bad temper and my rage just took over. I broke his nose, bruised every square inch of his body, and pounded his face in the wall so hard he went unconscious.”

Brandon looks scared. Like seriously scared. He takes another step back. “And you only got jail time? You should be locked in prison for something like that.”

Garret shrugs. “I’ve got friends in high places. And friends in places you’d never want to go, unless you had a death wish.”

Brandon’s staring at Garret, breathing fast. I think I even see his forehead sweating. That story about Garret beating up Blake really freaked Brandon out. Hearing Garret describe it, it did sound pretty bad and yet that’s exactly what happened. Damn, my husband’s a real badass. Not that I like him beating people up, but Blake deserved it.

“This is bullshit,” Brandon says, walking backward, away from Garret. “I’m outta here.”

Garret watches him. “Hey. Before you go, I need you to apologize to Sara.”

“For what?”

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