Nope, she thought, nothing had changed at all.
Chapter Seven
Sam watched Abby laugh as Christa ordered another round of drinks. The girls were enjoying those pink fruity things the women on TV liked. He didn’t care what it was. It was loosening Abigail up, and after the scene at Delbert’s, Sam would have given years of his life to put a smile back on her face.
“Tell me you’re going to crucify that fucker, Jack,” Sam said as his partner sat back down at their table at The Barn. It was hours later, but the rage still simmered close to Sam’s surface. It had taken everything he had to walk Abby out of that place and soothe her wounded pride. He’d gotten her back to the car and then made a few calls while she retouched her makeup. Sam hadn’t missed the tears in her eyes. The first call had been to David Sandberg and his wife, Polly. They were old friends of his who ran The Barn. Sam had been explicit in his instructions, and he hadn’t been disappointed.
Abby had smiled when she was shown into the small, private dining room at the honky-tonk. It was in the back of the building and mostly used for storage, but it was quiet, and Polly had done wonders turning it into a little romantic space. She had gone all-out in the twenty minutes she’d had. There was an intimate table with a pretty table cloth, and candles were the only light in the room. The light made everything soft and gauzy, and he’d watched Abby relax as Polly had played the gracious hostess. She had soft music playing and glasses of wine ready for them. He and Jack were really more beer drinkers, but they could handle a glass of wine on occasion.
They had carefully avoided the subject of the scene at the steak house after Abigail had tried to apologize, and Jack quickly shut her down. He let her know that there was nothing to be sorry about. It was their fault for taking her to a place that would treat her like that.
Abby had slowly started to laugh again as they enjoyed their quiet meal. Sam and Jack told her all about the pitfalls of cattle ranching in the modern age, and Abby told them stories from her life as a trauma nurse. Sam had been awed by her intelligence. It took guts to put herself through school when she was a new mom. Her life had been tough, but she had made the best of it, and he was so proud of the woman he intended to make his wife. It had been nice to share a meal with her. He had done it many times over the last month, but this was different because all the cards were on the table.
“I’m gonna kick his ass, you know,” Sam stated flatly.
Jack’s lips curved into a knowing smile. “You’ll do what you need to do, Sam. Just make sure to let me know what your alibi is so we can have our stories straight.”
Sam nodded. Mike Wade sat down at the table with his second longneck of the night. Sam had been thrilled to see Christa and Mike were at The Barn. Abby could use a girlfriend.
“So the rumors are already all over town.” Mike looked protectively over the girls at the bar.
“That was fast.” Sam knew he shouldn’t be surprised. It was a small town.
“Oh, I bet it wasn’t five minutes after it happened that Christa got the call.” Mike took a long swallow of beer. “She’s friends with one of the bartenders. Christa said the staff thought Luther would have a heart attack after Jack had his little talk with him. They said he was white as a sheet and went home early. What the hell did you say to the man?”
“I pointed out a few facts of life he overlooked,” Jack said evenly. “I explained to him that he had roughly six months worth of business left, so he should start looking for a new career or move to a new town. He did that sputtering thing. You know, the one where people tell you they don’t believe you, or you can’t do that. I find that part of these conversations very annoying. I greatly prefer to move on to the part where he realizes I’m going to bury him. Men handle this one of two ways, I’ve found. They get pissed off, or they cry. Luther, it turns out, is a crier.”
Mike whistled. “Damn, Jack, what did you tell him you were going to do?”
“Offer the Treasure Cove a thirty percent discount on all our products. Pull our beef out of Delbert’s, obviously. I happen to know that the owner of the Cove has had trouble getting a loan to redecorate and expand his selection. He wants to hire a new chef. I believe I feel like investing in a restaurant again. This one turned out well.”
“Damn straight.” Sam loved it when Jack plotted. Sam would have just kicked the man’s ass, but this was much better. Of course, he would still kick the man’s ass, but Jack’s revenge was longer lasting. Sam’s would just make him feel better.
“If that still doesn’t tempt the good people of Willow Fork away, I’ll just buy the property and kick him out,” Jack finished. Like Sam, Jack had ditched the jacket and tie. He watched Abby with an unmistakably possessive gleam in his eyes.
Mike nodded. “Well, I’m with you. I believe in retribution. There are people in this town who more than deserve a little justice coming their way for how they treated Abby. I saw they already towed the car.”
“Yeah, her new one will be delivered tomorrow.” Sam grinned at the thought of Abby tooling around in her brand new convertible. He’d ordered it himself when Jack had informed him Abby needed a new car. Sam had chosen a pretty, pearl Mercedes. It would look nice with Abby’s auburn hair.
“She’s going to put up a fight, you know,” Jack mused.
“That’s half the fun.” Sam sat back. He was looking forward to Abby’s reaction when she got the car. “She looks awful cute when she’s yelling at us.”
“That she does.” Jack turned to Mike after taking a long swig of cold beer. “This is really all about some boy who died more than twenty years ago? I don’t understand what the problem is. From what I’ve heard, Abigail wasn’t even in the car with him.”
Mike rolled his eyes and sighed. “Abby and Adam had a big fight that night. Practically the whole town heard it. They said some awful things to each other. You gotta understand, Adam was wild. He ran off, got drunk, and killed himself driving too fast down the highway. One of his friends said he was trying to get to Abby so they could make up. He wouldn’t have been on the highway if he hadn’t been trying to see Abby. It’s ridiculous, but they blamed her. Ruby, his mama, said Abby changed him. Back then, they ran this town. I suppose they still do. They used to be the biggest employers in Willow Fork. Ruby’s dad ran a textile mill. It closed down shortly after Abby left. It hurt the town, but the Echols family didn’t seem to lose much cash.”
“Then why does everyone follow their orders?” Sam had noticed a certain portion of the town practically worshipped at the old biddy’s feet.
Mike shrugged. “I suppose it’s a habit. People want a king, I guess. Especially in a small town. I guess that person is usually the town’s mayor or the richest family or the biggest employer.”
“Two out of three ain’t bad,” Jack commented with an arrogant smile.
“It’s going to have to be. I don’t think either one of us wants to be the mayor.” Their packing plant was small, but it still employed more citizens than any other business around.
“No, but the mayor might be more willing to stand up against the Echols family if you and Jack mentioned that you might have plans to expand in the future,” Mike mused. “Plans that might not include Willow Fork.”
“They might not.” Jack’s eyes narrowed. “If this town doesn’t accept our queen, then this set of kings will take their business and their money and their jobs elsewhere.”
Sam exchanged a look with Jack. Sam would go along with whatever needed to be done. It would be hard, but they could do it. He wouldn’t have Abby treated like that.