about a person in silence. Sometimes they were skittish. Other times awkward. Sometimes they said too much. Other times too little.
And Reid…
Reid always said a lot.
“You’ll find Blackwater’s changed, but it’s the same, too,” Reid explained just then, breaking the silence. “Same fuckheads, same addicts, same rich fucks, same line right down the middle.”
“What side of the line are you on?” Conor asked,
Reid smiled, pausing briefly to flick his thumb in the direction of his house. “Same side, cuz. Haven’t upgraded if that’s what you’re asking. Trying to live humbly.”
Thames glanced briefly at the pretty sportscar in the driveway. “Looks…humbling.”
Reid chuckled. “I have my weaknesses. I think love for cars runs in the family, don’t you think?”
“I think we have our own version of love for them.”
“Yeah? What’s your version?”
Glancing once more at the sleek sportscar, Thames said, “I never liked to buy a new car. Never liked owning something so damn pretty without having turned it pretty myself.”
Reid’s smile wavered. “You were always gifted with that. Putting junk together. Making ugly things…useful.”
Thames redirected his gaze at Reid, catching the underlying meaning in those words. Cheeky fuck. Leave it to Reid to not let go of the past. Leave it to Reid to reopen an old pain right out of the gate all these years later.
With a faint smile, he replied, “Never ugly things, Reid. Neglected, more like. Beauty is always there but only wasted in the hands of the one who didn’t value it.”
Reid couldn’t keep his smile intact. His nostrils flared as he sniffed and looked away. Thames watched him carefully, wondering how short this man’s fuse was. Just how long did a grudge last? He supposed it depended on how much Reid cared for what he felt slighted over. And could it be that Reid cared so much for Charlotte that he still carried a grudge all these years later?
Or perhaps it went deeper than that. Perhaps it was a harsh blow to his masculinity he was still recovering from. After all, the town had witnessed his loss, and he had made Thames’ dove suffer for it.
Now that was a grudge Thames felt as strong as the day he’d learned of it.
“So how’s your old man, Reid?” Thames asked curiously.
Reid shrugged one shoulder. “He had a stroke a while back. Had to put him somewhere.”
“Where is that?”
“He’s being looked after.” Reid was being vague on purpose. “He’s fine.”
“Awfully vague, cousin.”
“Well, he made enemies, and I’m not willing to part with that information with just anyone.”
Ah. There it was, the truth. Good old Uncle Dave was too much of a cunt to the wrong person. Unsurprising. He was always dirty, and judging by what Thames had heard recently, Reid had followed in his footsteps.
“That’s what happens when you get into business with the wrong people,” he commented, sussing Reid out.
“Regardless,” Reid returned, “business is better than ever.”
“Guess you took advantage of my absence well.”
“Less competition the better.”
“Still, must have taken a lot of capital to get to where you are now.” On that thought, Thames added, “My house burned down.”
“Yeah, it made it in the news at the time. Electrical fire, wasn’t it?”
Thames didn’t respond for a moment. He stared long and hard at Reid. “I got robbed.”
Reid kept his face neutral, but the corner of his mouth flickered. “That sucks, Conor.”
Yeah, Thames knew straight away this fucker was responsible for it.
No wonder his shady business surged.
The capital came from Thames’ basement.
The front door of the house burst open just then and a woman stepped out, cigarette in hand. She began to call out Reid’s name when she stopped abruptly, noticing him and Thames. Her movements slowed as she quietly lit up her smoke and watched them.
Reid looked at her from over his shoulder and said nothing, but Thames caught the frown lines on Reid’s face. A storm brewed in his eyes as he swung his gaze back to Thames. It was startling to see his demeanour change so abruptly. Thames recognized that behaviour. He’d seen it in his dad, and in Reid’s dad too.
“Back with Rebecca,” Thames noted just then, trying to assess this man’s odd demeanour.
Reid gave him a dry look. “Remembered her name? Impressive.”
“What’s more impressive is she took you back.”
“Why wouldn’t she?”
“You were never really a one-woman kind of guy.”
Reid shrugged dismissively “Becca’s always been good to me. She doesn’t mind having an open relationship, and she doesn’t ask questions. That’s what you want in a relationship. A girl that talks back is a