Page 45 of Waiting For A Girl Like You
Rowan checked the hall. Later, he’d erase this conversation from the security recordings. “Killian agreed,” he said.
Vivian’s tears vanished, her expression turning cold. “Then let it begin. Give Samuel what he wants and end this.”
“Ben is completely unaware of the whole thing.”
“Benjamin has enough sins on his scorecard and doesn’t need more, but I can tell you right now he isn’t totally unaware,” she stated plainly. “He’ll ignore it. The man sitting here just now wasn’t the ruthless bastard I once knew. Laura Jean changed him, but her death… it brought that old darkness back, twisting it into something even I can’t recognize.”
Yeah, Rowan could get that. The stories he’d heard about Ben back in the day were almost unbelievable now. “Samuel wrestled with this decision for a long time. But after everything that’s happened, he’s ready to pull the trigger.”
“Then allow your brother to pull it, Rowan.”
Guilt over what to do wasn’t the cause of his hesitation. He had been taught early in life that there was a distinct difference between doing what was right and what was necessary. Samuel was the same, and they were both keenly aware his plan wasn’t the plan of a good man. It was the plan of a desperate one.
And while he felt that same desperation, Rowan didn’t want the McIntyres involved. He wanted time to find another way, but time was something they didn’t have.
“I worry about Killian,” he admitted. “This isn’t our fight. If it goes wrong—”
“Is it your fight, Rowan?” Vivian’s head tilted to the side. “Is this Fairweather problem yours?”
He knew what she was asking and told the truth. “I would marry her tomorrow if she would have me.”
“Then this is our fight,” Vivian said. “But I don’t want you anywhere near it. Samuel, that ex-FBI security person, even your brother, can run, but you can’t.”
Annabeth.
He couldn’t run if things went sideways because of Annabeth. Samuel and Liam had the means to restart their lives elsewhere if they were caught. It would break hearts, sure—but their people would understand. Their women and Samuel’s girls would, of course, go with them. Ben would continue to run Fairweather, with Damon likely taking it on after him. It would be the same for Killian. If his brother needed to flee, McIntyre Industries would survive with Caitlin at the wheel once she figured out where and how to steer it.
But Annabeth? She could never disappear if their plans were discovered. Haven House remained her prison. A beautiful cage that refused to release her from its clutches.
And because of that, he would stand down. He would allow Liam and his brother to decide how to move forward without him. He would let Samuel shoulder the guilt of giving the order.
“I hate the Fairweathers,” Vivian whispered, as if Haven House might strike her down for saying such a thing. “They’ve used me, poisoned me, and broken me in ways I will never allow anyone else to see.”
“Aunt Viv—”
She laid her hand on top of his, effectively silencing him. “But I love you and will stand by you. I will stand by your brother. We’ll greet this end together because it’s time.” A shudder ran through her, the old ghosts of the past making their presence known. “It’s time for Charlie’s son to die.”
Standing on the front porch, Rowan tucked Annabeth against his chest as his family pulled away down the drive.
“How long are they staying?” she asked.
Rowan rubbed his chin along the top of her head. “Viv said they’reflying back to Texas today.”
As the SUV disappeared around the bend, Annabeth turned in his arms. “She’s nothing like I expected. Everyone always said Vivian was a pushover.”
“A pushover? Well, I guess that depends on who’s telling the story,” Rowan said. “But when she kicked Charlie out, and Aiden swept in? That changed everything. My uncle worships her. And I think having someone love you like that allows a person to start loving themselves.”
“It’s amazing how that works.” She stretched on her toes to kiss him. “Loving the right person makes you feel powerful.”
She hadn’t said it out loud yet. TheI love youthat would, in essence, seal her to him forever.
But it was coming.
He could feel it.
Their lips connected, the kiss sweet and simple since cameras were on them. “I am so pissed at Jamison for leaving me,” Annabeth muttered against his lips. “That heifer is probably out on the water having the time of her life while we’re stuck researching another dead-end lead.”
“I have an idea.” He waggled his eyebrows. “A naughty, unbelievably good idea.”
