Page 22 of His Custody

“Do you know if Bill owed anyone else money?”

Talbot was doubled over, coughing. Jasper gave him a minute before he nudged him with the toe of his shoe. “Do you?”

“I don’t know. But I don’t think I’d be the first person he called on in a pinch, so my guess would be I wasn’t the first person he came to. Or the last.”

Jasper settled his hands on his hips, mind whirring. Why the fuck would Bill O’Connell need to borrow money? And if he had, why didn’t he do it from Jasper’s parents? Or for that matter, Jasper?

“Do you know what he needed it for?”

Talbot narrowed his piggy little eyes. “Are you serious?”

“Would you like me to demonstrate exactly how serious I am?”

Though he was already cornered, Talbot tried to take another step back, and put his hands in the air. “That won’t be necessary. But I thought you knew. Sean O’Connell isn’t the only one who spent a lot of time at the tables or with bookies.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying Bill was up to his neck in gambling debts.”

Jasper’s blood ran cold. How could Bill have done that? After watching Sean slip into ruin? How could he have done that to his family, and how could he have lived with the lies?

He needed to get his hands on the full financials sooner rather than later so he could see if he could untangle this web of ruin and figure out if Bill owed money to anyone else. Also, he needed to get Keyne out of here in case there was some other creep who thought he was owed something and made a pass at her or worse.

***

The morning after Bunny’s party, Jasper woke Keyne up by rubbing her arm as he sat on the side of her bed.

“Get up, Tinker Bell. We’re going out.”

She groaned into her pillow. Is this what it was like to be hungover? She hadn’t had anything to drink last night, but the anxiety had taken its toll. Jasper had found her in the bathroom where she’d holed up. He’d been upset about something, but she couldn’t tell what and he’d been trying hard to hide it so she left it alone. He tried so hard for her.

With a tug of her hair, he said, “Come on, sleepyhead. Ada’s making you waffles.”

She liked the pull on her scalp, maybe in a way she shouldn’t, but that wasn’t what got her head off the pillow. “Waffles?” Food had been starting to taste like something again, maybe even... good? Her mouth watered at the idea of hot, buttery waffles.

“With strawberries and whipped cream. Better hurry before I eat it all.”

He avoided her attempt at a punch with a tousle of her hair.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

She scowled. She didn’t like surprises and Jasper knew it. “You need to at least tell me what to wear. You’re not making me go to church, are you?”

His bark of a laugh said hell, no. “Workout clothes, unless you’ve got something you need to confess.”

This time he couldn’t deflect her punch and she caught him right in the ribs.Ow. It was like punching a brick wall. Jasper snagged her wrist as she shook her hand out, and curled her fingers into her palm. “You’re not exactly Laila Ali. Don’t want you to break anything. Now get a move on.”

Jasper’s hand encircled her other wrist, expecting the jab she aimed at his stomach. Her breath caught and excitement,pleasure, dropped from her throat down through her stomach and settled lower from the contact, the restraint.

She pulled back on impulse and Jasper let her go. She wanted to tell him no, don’t, it felt good to be held, but she couldn’t get the words out. Besides, whenever she’d tried to explain to anyone, even Gavin, she was left feeling like she was alone in the world. So she’d stopped trying and kept it to herself.

When she got downstairs, Ada was pouring a ladle full of batter into the waffle iron and Jasper was at the breakfast bar, putting a forkful of strawberries and cream in his mouth while he read the paper. A dot of cream had stuck to the corner of his mouth and she absentmindedly swiped it with her thumb, sucked it off while she slid onto the stool beside him. Ada made the best whipped cream. She must do something special to it.

He passed her the crossword and a pencil without her having to ask, and she started poring over the clues while she waited for her waffle. She liked these silent Sunday morning breakfasts with Jasper. He was there, but not, and it was easier to let her mind focus on filling in the squares instead of how much her heart hurt.

A waffle and a half later, they walked out to the garage and slipped into the Audi.

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