stay with a woman like her? Who knew how badly her actions hurt him, and didn’t bother to tell him? Who couldn’t offer up such an important truth?
God, he missed her.
“Meet you by the dartboard. I’ll get us a round of shots. James, you in for that?”
“You’re drinking with an Army man and a Marine. The real question is, are you in for how this night’s going to go?” That question came with another clap on the back. At least this time Alex saw it coming and braced for it.
James knew the truth about his fake engagement. Knew it was over, too. So Alex was able to grimace and lay his angry, bitter, pathetic cards on the table. “You guys may be tough-as-nails vets. But I had to dump the woman I loved. So who do you think that makes more of a danger tonight?”
“Faith an’ begorra, I’m not touching that!” James said in a horrible try at an Irish accent.
Teague snorted, then raised an arm. In response to his wave, Matt joined them. Amazing how the crowd sort of melted away to form a clear path for the chief. A Kiss Me, I’m Irish button was pinned to his bright green Oxford.
“You really Irish? Or just hard up?”
“Neither. If someone has to lean in to read it, they’re probably drunk enough to pour into a cab and send home. Easier than a Breathalyzer. And not as off-putting.”
“Can you play darts on duty?”
Matt scanned between the three men. “I can watch James beat both of you at darts while on duty.”
Teague elbowed Alex. “We’re not going to let that happen, right?”
Before he could answer, Alex felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. When he pulled it out, Teague groaned. “C’mon. No work. The inn will not fall down because we took a night off. There are no freaking drywall emergencies!”
“How about an actual emergency?” Alex tilted the phone to show the name of their security company flashing on the screen.
Matt’s relaxed stance didn’t change one bit. But his vibe did. Alex couldn’t explain it, but the man clearly went on alert. “Are Everleigh and Amelia on site?”
“No. Nora’s doing a cooking class at the retirement village on a full Irish dinner. They went along to help out.”
“Good. Answer it, and tell them that police have been dispatched.”
“How about I find out what’s wrong first? This is a new system. What if the wind tripped a tree branch someplace?”
“You’ve got a big property. I’m going out there to check on it, with or without you. Because that’s my responsibility. To take care of all the citizens of this town.”
That was…weirdly heartfelt inside a bar with the Chieftains blaring and green beer in puddles on the straw-covered ground. Alex answered, gave his security word, and had the satisfaction of watching Teague punch James in the shoulder when the man rolled his eyes at ‘Steelers.’
By the time he concluded the call, they’d shrugged into coats and were at Matt’s cruiser. Or rather, his decked-out Suburban.
“I’m driving. Get in,” the chief ordered.
Teague started to argue, clearly forgetting that they didn’t have a car there. “Why do you get to drive?”
“Because I get to speed recklessly and use my siren.”
“Plus, he’s got weapons in the trunk,” James said with glee as he climbed in the back.
Matt let out a long-suffering sigh that indicated this wasn’t the first time he’d tamped back James’s appreciation of his service revolver. “Let’s not escalate the situation before we even get there.”
There was a satisfying screech of rubber as he peeled out of the lot. Okay, maybe it was a little fun to ride shotgun in a police car. Silver lining to a break-in?
“What’d the security company say?” Teague asked.
Nothing that made sense to Alex. “That the front door opened without anyone disabling the alarm. Hang on, I’ll pull up the video feed they sent.”
He’d waffled on getting the security system. It was an added expense for a building they literally had to leave open much of the time for their guests. But Teague had read through a bunch of innkeeper forums—which had been a welcome surprise—that all recommended it, if for nothing else than the video feed. If it deterred the high school kids from trying to party in the barns, it was worth it.
Speak of the devil. “That little punk,” Alex said under his breath.
Guess that was one downside of small-town life he hadn’t considered. That you didn’t just recognize the people in the Irish pub. You recognized