Hold Me (Fool's Gold #16)(87)

“Kudos on taking him on,” Raoul added. “You know Gideon has Special Forces training, right?”

Kipling hadn’t known, but didn’t see how the information made any difference. He wasn’t going to stop protecting Starr because his opponent was dangerous.

Rafe shook his head. “If we could stay on topic...”

“I wasn’t off topic,” Raoul told him. “I was just saying, it took balls.”

“Big ones,” Kipling said. “Now why are we having this meeting?”

The partners exchanged a look that confirmed they’d all been in contact. Kipling was going to be the last to know, which meant the news wasn’t good.

“The women are upset,” Kenny said with a shrug. “The Man Cave is doing steady business. Not what we were at the opening, but still enough that they’re worried about Jo and how this is affecting her. Now personally I think she can take care of herself and her bar, but it’s not my decision. It’s Bailey’s.”

Kenny Scott was a big guy. Tall, muscled and a former NFL player. If Kipling had to pick the one person who wouldn’t be pushed around by the woman in his life, he would say it was Kenny. And he would be wrong.

“Let me see if I understand you,” Kipling said calmly. “We opened The Man Cave because there wasn’t a place in town for a guy to go and have a beer. Jo’s caters to women, and the restaurant bars aren’t the same. So we created this place together to solve a problem. Now you’re telling me you want out because it’s working?”

The other men shifted uneasily in their chairs.

“It’s not that simple,” Rafe began, then nodded. “But yeah, that’s about right. Look, the bar is great. I like it here. When I have a potential buyer in town, this is exactly where I want to bring him. But Heidi doesn’t like it. She and Jo are tight.”

“Jo talked to all your wives?”

Everyone nodded.

“And because she’s upset, you’re pulling out?”

“No,” Sam corrected. “Jo’s great, but I’m doing this for Dellina.”

The phrase “* whipped” came to mind, but Kipling knew there was no point in stating the obvious.

“Then go,” he said. “The business will survive without your support. I’ll make arrangements to buy you out.”

“No rush,” Rafe told him. “Start-ups need cash. You can pay me back last.”

“Me, too,” Jack said. “I just need to be able to tell Larissa that I’m out.”

“What he said,” Raoul added. “Except it’s Pia, not Larissa.”

In a matter of minutes, they were all gone. Kipling stood by the bar and wondered what the hell had just happened. Two days ago he’d totally screwed things up with Destiny, and now this?

Nick walked in from the back, his expression sympathetic.

“I take it you heard them,” Kipling muttered.

“Enough.”

“I thought we were doing something here. How’s the business doing, anyway?”

“Receipts are down. The tourist trade is steady, but it’s not enough. This isn’t exactly a place to bring the kids, and the majority of folks coming to town have families. So we need the locals to survive. If the women tell their husbands to boycott, we’re screwed.”

“You’ve lived here all your life. Any suggestions?”

“Talk to Jo.”

Kipling had already figured out he was going to have to. “And say what?”

“I don’t know. She’s a woman. Apologize.”

“That is not happening.” He thought about putting his fist through the bar, only the bar was solid wood. So it would win.

“I’m not the bad guy in all this,” he told Nick, only to remember the look in Starr’s eyes when he’d been unable to say he loved her sister. Because while thinking about that was hell, it was still easier than thinking about how he’d hurt Destiny.

“You’re not,” Nick agreed. “But you still have to fix it. Or we’re going to have to close.”

* * *

KIPLING WALKED TOWARD Jo’s Bar via his sister’s bakery. He wasn’t sure what to think about what had just happened, let alone what he was supposed to say to the mysterious and powerful Jo. He figured Shelby might be able to offer advice.

When he got to the bakery, the teen at the counter waved him toward the back. He found Shelby standing over a couple dozen unfrosted cupcakes. But instead of smoothing on toppings, she was staring at the far wall. Her shoulders were slumped, her expression sad.

“What?” he said, concerned. “Tell me what’s happened.”

She jumped, as if he’d startled her, then she wiped her cheeks and shook her head.

“Sorry, big brother. There are problems you can’t fix.”

“I can fix this one.”

“I doubt it.”

“Tell me.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s about my love life. Or lack thereof. Men are jerks, someone hurt my feelings and then he left town. Before you ask, no, you can’t fix it.” She gave him a shaky smile. “I love you like a brother, and you have to let this go.”

He glared at her. “Tell me.”