Discovering You by Brenda Novak Read Free Book Online

me.”
    â€œStubborn son of a bitch,” Mack grumbled. “So how’d it end? Did someone call the police or what?”
    â€œ I called. The fight didn’t happen outside the bar. It happened on the road when I was on my way home. And he needed an ambulance.”
    Mack whistled. “Which officer came out? Hope it was Howton. Far as cops go, Howton’s not too bad.”
    â€œNone other than Chief Bennett. Just my luck, right?”
    â€œHe’s not a big fan of yours, not since your ex-girlfriend filed that complaint claiming you beat her.”
    Rod grimaced at the reminder. “I never touched Melody.” He’d never even been tempted to strike a woman, but if he ever did, he wouldn’t have the police to fear as much as his older brother. Dylan would beat him to within an inch of his life—and Dylan was one of the few people who could do it. “She was pissed off that I was calling it quits and was trying to get back at me.”
    â€œI know that, and you know that. But once this kind of accusation’s been launched, the dude never gets the benefit of the doubt. There’ll always be people who wonder, and I think Bennett’s one of your skeptics.”
    Rod thought so, too. What Melody had done still enraged him. It was so unfair. But the more he protested, the guiltier he looked. He’d had to let it go. He could only hope that someday she’d come forward and tell the truth.
    Maybe when she was over him. Until then...
    â€œBennett’s not a big fan of any of ours,” Rod said as he shoveled another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. “But at least he’s not as bad as the former chief.”
    â€œYou would’ve gone to jail if Stacy was still in charge,” Mack agreed. “He loved to yank Dylan’s chain, and he knew he could do that by harassing one of us.” He poured himself some of the Wheaties Rod had on the table. “Does Natasha know you wound up fighting the guy who kept coming on to her?”
    â€œNot unless Grady woke her, too. Why?”
    â€œShe won’t be happy about it. You heard her last night. She thinks she can fight her own battles.”
    â€œYeah, well, it got personal when he crashed into my bike.”
    â€œI’m sure Grady didn’t wake her. He only came into my room to ask me to go with him, in case you weren’t in any shape to help load the bike.”
    â€œThen we won’t mention it,” Rod said, but he knew there’d be no keeping it from her. Not only did she live with them, when she wasn’t in school she also worked at the shop, doing the bookkeeping and other administrative tasks. She’d see his scrapes and bruises and know something was up.
    â€œSo what now?” Mack asked. “What’re the chances this incident will just...go away?”
    Rod dropped his spoon in his empty bowl. “Not very good. If that guy—Liam Whatever—decides to press charges, it could be a problem.”
    Mack scooped up a spoonful of cereal. “He started it. But that might not matter. You’ve been in too many fights to get the benefit of any doubt.”
    Rod didn’t appreciate the candor. “You’ve been in as many fights as I have, little brother.”
    Mack didn’t argue. He grinned, completely unrepentant. “Have you heard if the jerk’s going to be okay?”
    â€œHaven’t called the hospital yet.”
    â€œHe had no business trying to cop a feel off a nineteen-year-old girl.”
    That was true. She’d asked him to leave her alone several times. He wouldn’t, which was why they’d stepped in. But talking about Natasha always brought up something Rod didn’t like. He sometimes got the impression that Mack cared a little too much about their stepsister’s love life. Or, rather, he cared in the wrong way. Natasha was nothing like her insufferable mother. Rod was willing to look out for her