Page 31 of Mine to Keep

She hung back and tried not to stare too long at his rock-solid body. Though if he noticed, she’d tell him that she was merely admiring his ink.

The small one he had on his biceps of a fire hydrant, and the design on his ankle that she couldn’t quite make out.

“Why don’t we sit over there?” He pointed to a table where they could see the ocean.

“Sounds good to me.”

“Are you okay with Zadie? I don’t mind holding her for a bit.” He set the bag of food on the table along with the tray of coffees.

“She’s passed out cold, but thanks.”

“Bummer. I like babies.” He winked. But his smile quickly turned into a frown. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Suzie Walton. Excuse me a minute.” Jamison stood and stomped off back toward the restaurant, leaving Bryn with her heart in her stomach.

She squinted, covering her eyes, the sun now out in full force. She swallowed the fear that nearly choked her.

Could Suzie know who she was?

“You’d better not be takingpictures of me,” Jamison said with his hands on his hips, though he didn’t see a camera or any of her people. Still, that didn’t mean she wasn’t up to no good. “Or my friend. Because if you are, you know what’ll happen.”

“It’s nice to see you, too,” Suzie said with a sarcastic smile. “And for the record,your friend, as you call her, isn’t off-limits.”

“The fuck she isn’t. You know you’re not allowed to have me as the subject of any of your YouTube video or podcast thingies without facing a lawsuit. Or, better yet, my mother arresting you.”

“Your mom loves me.”

He laughed. “No. My mom enjoys my ex-wife. She thinks you’re a leech. Just because you were Cheryl’s maid of honor or whatever doesn’t mean that kindness transfers over, especially after what you did. I’m warning you. If you make Bryn or me the subject of any of your social media craziness, you will live to regret it.”

“If Bryn wants to—”

“She’s already said no.”

“You don’t speak for her.”

“I’m not. I was there when she made herself clear. Besides, her story, the one where she gives birth in the middle of town, includes me. Therefore, you can’t touch it without going to jail. So, I suggest you hop right back in your car and go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under.”

“I have no idea what Cheryl sees in you.” Suzie tossed her purse over her shoulder.

“I don’t, either,” he mumbled as he turned and headed back toward Bryn. He unzipped his shorts’ pocket and pulled out his cell, pausing on the sidewalk.

Jamison:Just ran into Suzie. I don’t know if she was following Bryn or me, but we were both at the café on the beach, having breakfast. Can you give her a friendly reminder about what will happen to her if she runs a story about me?

Dad:Sure. Dare I ask? You’re with Bryn?

Jamison chuckled.

Jamison:I ran into her while jogging and bought her a decent cup of coffee. That’s it. Also, she doesn’t want anything about what happened in town on some whack job’s podcast. Make that clear, too.

Dad:Consider it done.

Jamison rolled his neck. This next text would be a harder pill to swallow. He hated asking his mother for anything. He could ask one of his brothers, but it would be better if it came from the chief of police.

Jamison:Are you on duty?

Mom:About to be. Why?

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