A Chance at Love (A Ferry Creek Novel): (a billionaire romance novel) by Karolyn James Page B

also made him think of Annie. He
needed to call her and have her bring the kids to see their grandfather. She
was against it, because she didn ’ t
want to believe in death so she completely ignored it. Bobby understood it, but
for Christ ’ s sake, it was
his kids grandfather. The man wasn ’ t
going to live his time and now Bobby feared that much longer was going to be
cut shorter for two reasons.
    If by some chance Bobby really had
an older brother - Sullivan Chasen - and the man came from Virginia to North
Carolina to meet his dying father, then that would be it. That was Bob ’ s dying wish; to meet his older
son. That would bring Bob the closure he needed and deep down inside, Bobby
knew that his father would then let go and die.
    Gosh, it was such a horrible thing
to think.
    If that wasn ’ t bad enough, there was the possibility - the
greater possibility - that Sullivan Chasen wasn ’ t
related to Bobby or his father. Imagine what that would do him.
    The usual routine of the day
settled in and Bobby got to the diner as Richie was unlocking the backdoor. He
caught the man ’ s hands
shaking like it was the dead of winter.
    “ Hey,
Richie? ” Bobby asked.
    Richie jumped and threw his fist
forward with the key in his hand. If Bobby was a foot closer he probably would
have been stabbed.
    “ What
the hell are you doing? ” Richie yelled.
    “ Whoa,
calm down. Are you okay? ”
    Richie blinked fast and licked his
lips. “ I ’ m fine. I just don ’ t like to be snuck up on. You
know that. ”
    “ I ’ m sorry, ” Bobby said. His heart pounded. He knew Richie didn ’ t like to be snuck up on.
Everyone knew that. His reaction was just part of his recovery... or nightmare,
depending on how you looked at it.
    “ You ’ re shaking like a scared dog,
man, ” Bobby said.
    Richie stuck the key in the lock
and turned it. The door was already unlocked because Bobby had already come
down to start the coffee. He didn ’ t
have the heart to tell Richie that, fearing it would set Richie off. Two steps
into the place, Richie stopped. He reached into the breast pocket of his
flannel shirt and pulled out a flask. He tossed it over his shoulder, leaving
Bobby hurrying to catch it.
    “ What
the hell... ”
    “ Read
it and pour it, ” Richie
said as he disappeared into the diner.
    Bobby looked at the flask. He
studied the inscription on it.
    Nobody left behind
    The three words made Bobby ’ s stomach turn. Those three
words had more meaning to Richie than anyone would ever understand. If it made
Bobby sick to his stomach he didn ’ t
want to know how it made Richie feel.
    Bobby twisted the top off and
smelled the flask. He prepared for the harsh smell of whiskey or scotch or
vodka... but there was no smell. Bobby turned the flask upside down and watched
nothing pour from it. The flask was empty.
    That explained Richie ’ s hands shaking. He must be
going through one of his sobriety phases that came and went like the coastal
storms in Ferry Creek.
    Checking on Richie proved to be the
morning ’ s activity for
Bobby. The man seemed fine though. He cooked. He didn ’ t miss a beat. He cleaned the dishes. He put away.
It just showed Bobby how important the job was to Richie. The diner meant so
much to all the people who came in and out all day. The second Bobby got the
keys to the diner he wanted to unload it. But time had allowed The Pot Diner
and Ferry Creek to hold him in place, for now.
    All he needed was the phone call
about Sullivan Chasen. The man who may be his brother.
     
    Jess poured a refill to Tyler as he
sat in his uniform with two rough looking men. They had thick beards, black
fingers, and looked the part to work and live outside. One of the men was Jack
Haude. He didn ’ t look like
a wealthy man but he did look like a construction worker. Jack liked anything
to do with outside. He also liked money and Ferry Creek. Next to him was a man
Jess hadn ’ t been formerly
introduced to. She caught his name