The Best Goodbye by Abbi Glines Read Free Book Online

alive. I hadn’t been willing to lose that.
    “Came to warn you,” he said, in what always reminded me of a growl. He was the angriest human I’d ever met. Combine that with his massive frame, and he could be intimidating. He was a solid brick wall covered in tats. “Someone’s here. Don’t know who, but they traced you here.”
    I frowned. “Someone after me because of a former job?”
    He shrugged. “Don’t know. You’ve just been tracked down. Keep your eyes open.”
    Shit. I didn’t want to bring my former hell anywhere near my sister and her family. “How long they been here?”
    “At least a month. Maybe more.”
    And they still hadn’t done anything? That wasn’t typical. This was screwy. “I’ll find them.”
    “I’ve got to fix some of Major’s shit,” Cope said, then headed back down the dock. He wasn’t a man of many words, but I’d always liked him.
    I wasn’t worried about someone tracking me. If they were here, they wouldn’t sneak up on me; I’d feel their presence first. Only a matter of time before I figured out who it was.

Rose
    I had touched up my roots last night after Brad left, so my hair was an even darker red today. Coloring my blond hair wasn’t something I had wanted to do. It was high-maintenance, but it was part of my cover. That and the glasses made me look different enough from the girl he once knew. I had also grown up, and my cheekbones were more defined, my breasts had filled out, and my hips had a flare to them after giving birth that they hadn’t had before. I’d also lost that twinkle of wonder in my eyes.
    On that first day, I’d believed deep down that he’d recognize me anyway. That he would know who I was, that my facade would be in vain, because he’d be a wonderful man who knew me instinctively and would adore our daughter once I told him about her. But that hadn’t happened. He’d hardly even glanced at me. The most he’d ever spoken to me was to tell me what I needed to do.
    Last night, when Brad and I had our pizza date, I’d realized that I missed having that kind of connection. I hadn’t experienced it in my adult life. Someone to laugh with and talk to about adult stuff. I wasn’t saying I could fall in love with Brad, because honestly, I didn’t think there was even a slight chance. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, River still held a large piece of my heart that Captain hadn’t been able to kill.
    Sometimes, when he wasn’t looking at me, I could see his thoughtful expression as he worked something out in his head, and I’d feel like I was in the presence of River in that moment. Those little glimpses were enough to keep a firm hold on my heart. But loving River had been my world. You can’t tell your heart to stop loving someone. I’d been trying that for years, simply to ease the ache of losing him.
    Taking a deep breath, I walked into the dining room ready to face another day. I expected to see Elle ordering everyone around, but instead there was River—Captain—shouting out commands and complaining about things that had been done wrong. I quickly hurried over to listen to him before clocking in and putting away my purse.
    “The flatware has to be rolled to the specifications given. Elle gave three classes on this, and all of you needed to attend at least one. The flatware rolling will be done by every server every night at close until there are three hundred prepared and ready to go. This shit isn’t anywhere near right. Can one of you demonstrate how this should be done?”
    No one raised their hand. The strained look on Captain’s face had silenced them all. Stepping forward, I held my hand up. “I can.” I’d been through two of Elle’s classes, and she’d taken every opportunity to make an example of me. I had wrapped more than thirty sets all by myself one day, because she kept saying my work was sloppy. I had no doubt I could do it.
    Captain’s eyes locked on me, and he picked up a linen napkin and a set