Page 18 of Turning Tides
Kieran dragged a hand down his face, a telltale sign that he was reaching the end of his rope, but trying desperately to hang on. Out of the three of us, Kieran was the brains. He often called Brodie, our younger brother, the courage. And I was the heart. I had a feeling it was my heart getting me in trouble again.
If this was about Archer, I’d rather let Kieran believe I was thinking with my heart instead of my dick. God, I still ached when I walked. I don’t think I’d ever had sex that good and I wanted more. I hated myself a little for being my own cockblock, but Archer deserved a fresh start.
“I heard you leased the space above the bar.”
And there it was.
“You heard correctly.” I grabbed a mug from the mug tree on the counter and robbed a cup from the coffee pot. Kieran had been appalled at my mug tree when I picked it up at a yard sale, but I’d always wanted one. I didn’t even know why. It was another thing Kierandidn’t understand, but eventually rolled his eyes and let me have my way in peace.
“How much are you charging?”
I hid my grin with my cup and turned to face him. “Probably not enough.”
Kieran sighed. He knew there was no talking me out of something once I made up my mind, and that if I could make it happen with limited impact on my life, I would. I wasn’t a huge risk-taker.
“I’m leasing the space to Archer, Cyrus’s younger brother. He ran a tattoo shop before his business partner cleaned him out. Legally, he can run a business upstairs once he gets his license sorted. I’m going to charge him what he can afford until he gets his business off the ground.”
Kieran’s posture softened and he begrudgingly crossed the room to grab a mug from the tree. His lack of comment on it was another win. “I guess I can’t be too angry about that,” he said.
“You could, but it wouldn’t change anything.”
“I could, but then you’d probably pay him to rent the space. This isn’t as bad as I thought.”
“What did you think?” I knocked my shoulder against Kieran’s. “Did you think I was going to turn it into some kind of above-the-bar brothel? My very own Twinks-R-Us?”
Kieran let out one of his signature belly laughs. “You’re ridiculous.”
“So are you. I know you worry about me giving all my money away—”
“Because you’re always giving it away. Money doesn’t grow on trees, and you didn’t win unlimited funds, Shane.”
“I know that. This is costing me nothing. Archer rents the space for what he can afford. He gets his business off the ground. Oncehe’s established, he either finds a better space, or he pays a reasonable amount for rent.”
“Is the upstairs even a good choice for a tattoo shop?”
“Archer didn’t have any complaints. He said he could make it work.”
Archer said a lot of things upstairs and I tried not to think of any of them. I couldn’t pop a random boner standing next to my brother. He probably already suspected something. Kieran had a nose for this kind of thing. He claimed that my face was like an open book to him.
“And you’re sure this is a good idea?”
“I’m sure it’s not a bad idea. You wanted me to get a tenant in the space and I did.”
“This isn’t what I had in mind.”
“It’s what you’re going to get.” I shrugged. “I’m not going to go broke, Kieran.”
“Because I won’t let you. If it were up to you, you’d give everything away.” Kieran tried to make it sound like he thought it was a bad thing, but the reality was that he cared as much as I did. He was just more pragmatic than I was. I was the dreamer. Kieran was the realist. Sometimes he had to burst my bubble, but it was only because he wanted me to be able to be a dreamer in as many things for as long as I could.
I let his words roll around in my mind. “I mean, there are worse things to do. As long as I still had The Anchor, I’d be okay.”
Kieran gave me a soft, soupy sort of look. “You’re a good man, Shane.”
“Oh gross, don’t get all mushy on me. It’s too early.”
“It’s noon.” Kieran drank the rest of his coffee in two big swallows.
“Exactly. My noon is your five in the morning.” I wanted to check my phone to see if Archer had texted. Maybe I could offer to help himmove his stuff in. I’d love a chance to see him again. Even though things between us had to be professional from here on out, I still couldn’t help the way the memories made me feel.
