“So Connor killed him.” Davey’s voice rose.
“No, no, he didn’t, honey,” Jess said.
“He came to our house and they took Chico One away and Chico died! He killed Chico One!”
“It was my fault that Chico got off his chain,” Jessica said. “So it was my fault that Connor got bitten. And when a dog bites a kid, they can’t—”
Unfortunately, that was when Connor came in. Early. He was supposed to wait, damn it. “Hey, guys,” he said.
“Get out!” Davey screeched. He grabbed his cardboard container of lunch and flung it at Connor, who ducked, chicken wings raining down behind him. “Go away!”
Keith put his arm around Davey’s shoulders. “Settle down, Davey. Come on, now.”
“Get out! You can’t be here!” Davey said, furious tears spurting out of his eyes. Jess felt her own throat tighten.
“Davey, listen to me,” she said, gripping his hand across the table. “I wouldn’t be friends with someone who was mean to dogs, would I? I love dogs. I loved Chico One, and I loved Chico Two, and I’m crazy about Chico Three. Right? You know that. I wouldn’t let anyone hurt a dog.”
“You let him take Chico One. You brought Chico One to the mean men.” He started sobbing.
Oh, God. It was true, of course. Her throat locked with tears.
“Listen, Davey,” Keith said, turning his son’s face toward him. He took a napkin and blotted his tears. “Chico One did a bad thing. Mommy and I, we should’ve kept a better eye on him. You might not remember, but Chico One only liked us. He chased Connor and bit him, and when dogs bite someone like that, they have to...go to heaven.”
Davey put his head on the table and wailed, and Jess felt her heart crack.
Keith stood to greet Connor. He gestured him over and shook his hand. “Hi, I’m Keith. Jessica’s father. You must be the nice guy she’s dating.” He spoke clearly; the nice guy was obviously meant for Davey, who didn’t look up.
Connor glanced at Jess, then looked at her father. “We’ve met before.”
“Right, right. Of course. It’s good to see you again.”
“He’s not nice,” Davey said without looking up. His skinny shoulders shook. Jess swallowed, hard.
“He seems nice to me,” Keith said. “Want to sit down, Connor?”
Davey looked up, his eyes darting between their father and Connor, his long lashes clumped together with tears. He looked utterly, wretchedly confused. Jess’s stomach twisted. This wasn’t fair. Things that were true for Davey stayed true. It spared him a lot of heartache in life, because when he thought of Dad, for example, he remembered the father who loved him. That Dad had left for eight years didn’t matter; Dad loved him, the end.
And Connor was bad, the end.
She hated that he looked so lost.
Connor sat down and took her hand under the table and squeezed it. “Hey, Davey.”
Davey’s mouth tightened. “I want to go home.”
“I’d really like to get to know you,” Connor went on. “Jess loves you so much. She talks about you all the time.”
“Shut up!”
“And I want you to know I never meant for Chico One to...go away.”
“I hate you!” He banged both fists on the table. “Leave me alone! Jess! Make him go away!”
“This isn’t working,” Jess whispered. “Maybe you should go.”
Connor looked at her. Scrubbed a hand across his jaw. “Okay. I’ll call you later.” He got up, touched her hair, then walked out.
He didn’t even get to eat.
“Connor,” her father called. “We’ll see you again soon.”
Connor waved and went out into the rain.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ONE THING WAS clear to Connor—Davey Dunn was excellent at manipulation.
If the decision was left to Jessica, Connor would never darken their door again. She was used to caving to her brother. Con understood.
This would be just the two of them. Time to cut out the middle man, or in this case, the middle woman.
After lunch, he went back to O’Rourke’s, cooked up five shepherd’s pies with mashed potatoes so creamy they would make angels weep, did a few quick meatloaves from veal, pork and beef and made a vegan dish that could be served with regular or gluten-free pasta. Then he handed the control over to Rafe and said, “I’ll be back in an hour.”
“Hey,” Jordan breathed from behind the bar.
“Hey, Jordan. Be back soon.” The girl blushed and overfilled a mug of lager.
He drove up to Keuka Candle, which was a low industrial building just over the hill toward Dundee. Sat in his car for a few minutes, then went inside.
There was Davey, amiably chattering to a dark-haired girl next to him, the trauma of lunch past, now that he’d gotten what he wanted. Yep. Manipulative. Oh, he might not know it, but he was just the same.
“Hey, Connor,” said Petra, who managed the place and was a regular at O’Rourke’s. “What’s cookin’, good-lookin’? Get it? Since you’re a chef?”
“Yeah. Never heard that one before.” She smiled. “Can I talk to Davey Dunn for a few minutes?”
“What it’ll get me?”
“Nachos on the house?”
“Deal. Davey, over here, hon!” Davey looked up and, seeing Connor, his expression darkened. “He doesn’t like you, does he?” Petra murmured.
“I’m dating Jessica.”
“Ah. Davey, you be chill, you hear me?” Petra said. She took a few steps away to help one of the workers.
“What do you want?” Davey demanded, his fists clenched at his sides.
“I want to date your sister, and I need your permission.”
“No, no, nope, never. I hate you.”
“I understand that. But you’re the man of the house, aren’t you?”
Davey hesitated.
“You look after your sister. Right?”
“Yes,” he said, though he sounded unsure.
“So I need your permission.”
“Why don’t you just go die?” Davey folded his arms, seeming rather pleased at his comeback.
“That was very rude.” Connor glanced over Davey’s shoulder. “Would that girl like hearing you say something like that?”
“What girl?”
“The one who’s watching you. The pretty one.”
Davey glanced back at the girl he’d been talking to. “Miranda?”
Bingo.
“Yeah. Miranda. I bet she likes nice guys, not rude boys.” Davey scowled. “Look, Dave,” Connor continued. “Your sister loves you. She loves you way more than she loves me, I know that. And that will never change. But I want to take her to the movies and come over sometimes. And I want her to come to my house sometimes.”
“No.”
“Just the way I bet you’d like to have Miranda come over and watch movies. And be your girlfriend.”
Davey’s face flushed. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Dude, we’re all the same, us guys. She’s cute. You like her. Don’t you?”
Another scowl.