“Sup, bro? How was your week?” Declan slapped Donovan on his back when he pulled him into a man hug next to the pool table in Lucky.
Donovan returned his hug and said, “Okay, man. Thanks. And you? Had some good shifts?”
“Yeah, Cait and I had some good runs this week.”
Declan never elaborated about his work as a cop. It was part of the job that Donovan knew all too well, being a PI himself. He jerked his head at the pool table when Ronan broke a new game. He was on a roll tonight and had already won two games against Donovan.
“Want to grab a drink?” Declan asked while lifting his chin at his twin in greeting.
“Yeah, please take this sorry excuse of a pool player with you. It’s more exciting to play with my own balls than against Don.”
“Not sure how to take that really,” Declan joked.
“Ah, piss off, Dec.”
“Have fun playing with your balls.”
Ronan saluted his twin brother with his middle finger, and Dec chuckled in response. After Donovan and Declan had seated themselves on two barstools, Brennan joined them on the other side of the bar, since he was still working. Without the need to mention their preferences, Brennan placed two beer bottles in front of his brothers but immediately walked away to attend to a customer.
“How are things between you and Bree?” Donovan asked after taking a gulp of his beer.
Declan arched his brow. “You wanna talk about me and Bree?”
“Yeah, why not?”
“Well, the rest of our brothers know better than to ask me about her. Every time, a talk regarding Bree ends up in a fight. They’re still pissed about the way I handled things a couple months ago. Okay, except for Ro of course. He congratulated me, saying that dating a Ryan girl was nothing but trouble.”
Donovan had just about enough of his cocky brother. “Ro is so full of shit. If Fianna came back to Austin, he would be chasing her in a heartbeat.”
“Hmm. I don’t know. The last breakup between them was pretty bad.”
Brennan had joined them again and was wiping the bar clean with a towel. “I heard Dunc saying stuff like Fianna coming back home and perhaps joining his team at Duncan’s Dojo.”
“Fuck…”
“Yep, Dec. Fuck pretty much sums it all up.” Brennan peered over at the pool tables where Ronan was playing pool with two college girls.
“Why would he ask Fianna of all people to work for him? This is gonna be a nightmare.” Declan watched as Ronan bent one of the girls over the pool table and pressed against her, giving her tips on how to play the game.
“Apparently, Fianna called Duncan two days ago. She needed a job and had heard that Dunc had opened his own dojo. You know, if it wasn’t for the whole Ro and Fianna fiasco, she would’ve opened her own stable somewhere around here and settled down much sooner. She and Dunc have kept in touch over the years, and we all know he’s rooting for Ro and Fianna to get back together. God only knows why—it’s a train wreck waiting to happen if you ask me. I guess he just wants to help her out wherever possible so she moves back here.”
“Hi, guys, what’s up?”
The three Mills brothers turned their attention to Caitlin, who’d joined them at the bar. She was casually dressed, but even then, she always had a way about her—she could make an entrance so to speak. Her unruly curls cascaded down her back, and now that she was out of her police uniform, she resembled her younger sister Bree even more.
“Not much. And you? You here alone?” Declan asked as his eyes lurked over Caitlin’s shoulder, probably in search of Bree.
“Oh, I just came in with Kayla. We’ve had a last-minute change of plans and decided to stop in here for a drink.”
Sure enough, Donovan spotted Kayla talking to Ronan at the pool table. They were both ignoring the irritated glances from the two college girls as they laughed and joked around.
“So, is it true? Is Fianna coming back to Austin?”
“Don, I….” Caitlin sighed while glancing over at Ronan.
He continued, “We thought she would return home, seeing how her horse, Stormchaser, retired and she hasn’t entered any races for months, but she didn’t. So why is she coming home now?”
“Guys, I don’t know what to tell you. I guess she wasn’t ready before, but she is now.“