Mabe's Burden (8 page)

“
Hey, Portly. How ya doin’,
boy?” She rubbed the dog’s head. He chuffed out a greeting, his
tail waving back and forth. “Hope’s a friend of mine, I know where
everything is. I’ll take care of it. You go finish your run. Try
not to plow down any old ladies while you’re at it.”

“
Jeeze, I said I was
sorry.”

Grabbing a dishtowel out of the cabinet
by the sink, she went to the freezer. She tried holding the rag
while she reached in for the ice, but pain shot from her elbow all
the way into her shoulder. “Ow, damn it.”

“
Here, let me get that for
you.” He rushed to her side.

He smelled like a forest after a rain
as he reached around her to get the ice. He placed two handfuls
into the towel, wrapping it expertly into a makeshift ice pack, and
passed it to her. “Try this.”

Easing onto one of the white ladder
backed kitchen chairs, she gingerly placed the pack on her tender
elbow. Purple bruising had started to bloom from the knobby point
all the way down her forearm.

He gave her a wet paper towel to wipe
the scrape then grabbed a chair, straddling it. “Even though you
dumped a beer on my very pricey suit, I still didn’t mean to run
you down. I didn’t see you.”

Mabe glanced up from examining her arm.
She was trapped by his look of concern. “Thanks for the apology, I
guess. You didn’t seem very sorry a minute ago.”

“
That was before I saw your
damn elbow turn purple before my eyes. You better go have it
checked out. I’ll pay for it. It was my fault after
all.”

For some reason, it touched her he’d be
so willing to take all the blame. She’d been at fault too. It was
an accident really. She debated on whether she needed to go to the
hospital. Her instinct told her it was just a really bad bruise,
but it was swelling alarmingly fast. She prayed it wasn’t broken.
Gritting her teeth, she attempted to move it. Pain shot up her arm,
halting her efforts. It hurt like hell. It’d be a while before she
pulled any pints. She settled her elbow back on the ice pack,
choking back a whimper. There was no way she’d let this man see her
display any weakness.

“
It might be broken,” he
repeated.

“
I don’t think so. I
probably just jammed it the way I landed on it. It wasn’t your
fault. I should have slowed down.” She looked at him through
lowered lashes. His look of concern melted what anger remained
inside her. “Listen, Mr. Shaw—”

“
Aaron, please. I think
first names are doable since we’ve knocked each other on our
asses.”

She sucked in a breath. “I didn’t even
think to ask. Are you all right?”

His mouth curved in a slight smile.
“I’m fine. Just hurt my pride is all.”

“
Good. And….” She shifted in
her seat, uncomfortable with what she was about to say. “I’m sorry
about last night. I shouldn’t have dumped beer all over your nice
suit.”

“
You’re right, you shouldn’t
have.”

“
Oh, and are you saying you
didn’t deserve it, Mr. Smuggy McSmugass. Strolling into my pub,
thinking you’d charm me into signing some paper selling my
inheritance.”

The corners of his mouth twitched. “No,
I didn’t deserve it. You don’t invite someone to stay in your pub
only to douse them with a beer for no reason. I’m no threat to you,
Ms. O’Banyon. I’m here to offer you a way out of a very sticky and,
I might add, dangerous situation.”

“
Oh, please. What danger
could I possibly be in from you, other than getting plowed down on
the sidewalk?” She turned her arm slightly and winced.

“
It’s not me you should
worry about. Those men who loaned your father money are not to be
trifled with. They don’t want the pub, they just want their money.
They know the place is insured. If you don’t pay them soon, you’re
liable to find your precious pub in ashes. I’m just trying to save
a nice piece of real estate from ruin.”

She stared at him. From his serious
expression, he wasn’t kidding. A trickle of fear crawled up her
spine, but she shook it off. She’d known the men her father had
“borrowed” from, but she didn’t think they were any threat. Aaron
was probably using a scare tactic. Something she didn’t
respect.

“
I mean, do you have two
hundred large just lying around you can hand over to these guys
when they come calling?”

“
First of all, it’s none of
your damn business what I have lying around. Second, I know the men
my father gambled with and they wouldn’t hurt me. They’ve known me
since I was a kid. I’m not afraid of them.”

He grabbed two bottles of water from
the fridge. He set one in front of her. “I don’t make offers on
property lightly, Ms. O’Banyon.”

“
Mabe.”

“
What?”

“
You said we should be on a
first name basis. My name is Mabe.”

He raised one eyebrow. “Who names a
girl Mabe?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s short for
Mable. I hate the name, so I shortened it.”

His mouth twitched again. “I see. Can’t
say as I blame you.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re a real
jerk, you know that?”

“
I’ve been called worse.
Anyway…
Mabe
…I did
my research on this property. I talked to your attorney, Gavin
McCain. Apparently, this time, your father really got in over his
head. He didn’t deal with his regular bookie, but someone connected
to the mob. He was in deep, I’m afraid. They are not patient
people.”

She snorted, choking on the
water she’d just lifted to her lips. She reached for a napkin,
still laughing. “Oh come on. Aren’t you taking this thing just a
little too far? The
mob?
What the hell would someone from the mob be doing
in Monticello? They’ve got bigger fish to fry, I’m
sure.”

“
Do you remember a trip your
father took to Vegas not too long ago?”

She jerked her head up, wincing when
the movement caused her to bump her arm on the table. “How did you
know about that?”

“
I told you I do my
research. He borrowed the money in Vegas. I’d say he chose his loan
shark poorly.”

Tears pricked the back of
her eyes, and she fought them back. She couldn’t think of anything
more humiliating than to be told her father had been involved with
gangsters. It sounded so 1920’s. Surely these men would give her
time to at least get the life insurance proceeds in the works. No
one kept two hundred thousand dollars just lying around. Then
again, the trip her father had taken to Vegas had been nearly two
years ago. Perhaps these people had already been patient enough.
Then a thought occurred to her chilling her to the bone. She had to
ask him. It was better to know than not know. What had her da
always said?
Keep your friends close, but
your enemies closer.

“
Are you part of the mob,
Aaron? Are you looking after your own interest here?”

The expression of shock on his face
told her what she needed to know. She’d insulted him, but she
didn’t care.

“
Uh…
no!
” He rose and paced the kitchen.
“Look, I’m just a broker trying to work a deal here. I like the
property. I’m willing to make you an offer. Enough to pay them off.
It will keep you and your sisters comfortable at least for a little
while.” Turning his back on her, he raised his arms, slapped them
back down. “She thinks I’m a fucking mobster.” He shook his
head.

Her eyebrows rose at the dropping of
the f-bomb, but she didn’t speak. She still didn’t trust him, and
it was time she got home. She still needed to deliver this
wonderful piece of news to her sisters. They needed to figure out
something…and fast. She rose, holding her arm close to her chest.
Grabbing the ice pack, she dumped the unmelted cubes into the sink
and hung the towel over the oven door handle. “I’ve got to get
home. Thanks for the ice.”

He spun toward her. “Let me take you to
a doctor. I really don’t like the look of your arm.”

“
I’ll be fine. Don’t worry
about it.”

“
What about the pub? At
least let me sit down with you and your sisters, explain my
offer.”

“
We’re not selling, Aaron.
We’ll figure something out, but I’m not letting my pub
go.”

An exasperated sigh followed but she
was already heading out the door. She strode to the gate, and gave
a small wave as she rounded the hedge. She and her sisters had a
lot of planning to do in a short amount of time.

****

He watched her until she
rounded the corner. “That went well, you idiot,” he chastised
himself. He re-entered the kitchen and made his way up to his room.
He started the shower, so the water could warm up. He hadn’t meant
to approach her so bluntly. Their lawyer, Gavin McCain, had told
him she would be difficult to deal with, but he hadn’t mentioned
anything about how drop dead gorgeous she was. She’d thrown him off
his game. Had she been some ugly old spinster he’d already have her
eating out of his hand. But the fact she looked like a model put a
serious hitch in his stride. He’d never been comfortable around
beautiful women, and she was killer hot. Her flaming hair, combined
with pearlescent skin and laser green eyes sent all the blood from
his brain straight to his groin, rendering him unable to compose a
single coherent thought.
Damn
it.

It bothered him she’d called him a
liar. He was many things but not a liar. When he’d learned from
Gavin how in debt those women were and who they owed, it stirred
his knight-in-shining-armor instinct. He didn’t really need another
pub or sports bar. He owned two near Florida State University
campus already. But when the elderly lawyer had told him about her
situation, he thought he could help. Obviously, neither Mabe nor
her sisters were having any part of anything he wanted to give. If
they would at least hear him out, there might be a way to make
everyone happy. If they didn’t listen to him, something terrible
would happen to their inheritance for sure. It was entirely
possible one of those women could get hurt in the
process.

He stripped off his clothes,
turning to view his backside in the mirror. A large bruise spread
across his right butt cheek. He winced. He’d hit the ground a lot
harder than he’d admitted, but his rear end didn’t look anything
like her arm. Certain it was broken, he decided he would stop by
later to see if he could talk her into allowing him to take her to
the hospital. He’d really like to take her to dinner. She’d
fascinated him from the first time he’d seen her the night before
in the pub. Her sisters were beautiful, too, but she had that
spark—that
fire
—shining in her eyes.

He had no doubt she’d figure out a way
to save Shenanigans. He just hoped he could be a part of it. In his
twenty-eight years, he’d never met a woman like her. He’d never
been short on bedroom companions, but for the first time, Mabe
stirred something in him he hadn’t seen coming. He wanted more of
her, and pub or no pub, he was determined to have his
way.

Chapter Eight

Mabe entered the kitchen and went
straight to the fridge. Her arm had grown stiff on her walk home,
increasing her fear it might actually be fractured. One handed, she
snapped open a dishtowel and reached into the icebox, pulling out a
handful of cubes.

“
What are you…? Oh, my God.
What happened to you?” Meg exclaimed, walking into the kitchen.
“Sit down. I’ll get that.” She bustled her sister into a chair then
finished the ice pack. “Did you get hit by a bus or
what?”

Mabe winced while Meg poked her arm.
“Stop it! Ow!”

“
Honey, I think it’s broken.
What did you do?”

“
If you’ll quit firing
twenty questions at me, I’ll tell you. Where’s Mara?”

“
In her bedroom,
why?”

“
Go get her. I need to talk
to you both.”

“
Not until you—”

She shot out her other arm, pointed at
the doorway. “Go!”

Meg gave her an indignant stare. She
turned on her heel, yelling for Mara. Their older sister tromped
down the stairs then strolled into the kitchen

“
Oh, my God, what
happened?”

Mabe rolled her eyes. “Sit down, both
of you.” She proceeded to tell them of her early morning collision
with Aaron Shaw. She also shared with them the information he’d
imparted to her about their father’s debts.

Meg’s mouth dropped open. Mara peered
at Mabe’s elbow.

“
Ow,” she commented. “I
think it’s broken.”

“
It felt like I hit a Mack
Truck. He is more solid than a stone wall. We literally bounced off
each other and both landed on our butts. I just happened to be dumb
enough to drop my arm back. It caught most of my fall. I thought it
was okay at first, but I’m not so sure. Will you grab three
ibuprofen out of the cabinet above the sink, please?” When Mara
handed her the pills with a glass of tap water, Mabe continued.
“I’m not nearly as worried about my arm as I am about how much debt
the pub is in. I know all of Da’s normal loan sharks. According to
Aaron, these aren’t the men we owe.”