The Way Home (Chasing #3) by Linda Oaks Page B

the bar; new waitress uniforms, and the list went on and on.
    How the hell they had managed before I came was a fucking mystery.
    It was almost six, so I shoved my chair away from the desk and stood. I’d had enough of this shit for one day. There was still the task of inventory, but I didn’t give a damn. I was going home; home to Miley and Sierra. In a couple of hours I’d return to start on the rest. I wanted to hurry and get everything squared away so I could spend my time making sure Miley and Sierra were safe. There was also the little order of business of tracking down Ryder Blade. I had a score to settle with him.
    A knock at the door had me lifting my head. Fuck, it was Cecil. His big hulking frame blocked the doorway. “What do you need, Cecil?”
    “We need to talk.” From the tone of his voice I could sense whatever he felt he had to say was serious. I motioned for him to take a chair and walked around to lean against the corner of the desk. I rubbed my temples again. My head was throbbing and Cecil glaring at me didn’t help.
    “So talk.”
    He crossed his bulging forearms over his massively wide chest. It was as plain as the nose on my face that Cecil didn’t care for me, not one damn bit. Well, woopity fucking doo, I didn’t give a rat’s ass as to whether he liked me or not. It didn’t matter. I was still his boss.
    “You want to take a seat?”
    “No,” he said and after a moment of silence, whatever little patience I’d had left disappeared.
    “Have you ever heard of the old saying, shit or get off the pot?” I asked him, and his eyes narrowed menacingly.
    “I’ll make this short and sweet,” he growled. “If you hurt Miley, I will hurt you.”
    Who the hell did he think he was coming into my office and threatening me? “You need to back down, Cecil. This is none of your concern.”
    “You heard what I said,” he taunted and then turned and walked away without giving me a chance to reply.
    My blood boiled. I pushed away from the desk going after him. The sound of her name coming from his mouth was enough to make me want to knock him flat on his ass. He was already half way up the hallway. For a big man, he could get the hell out of Dodge when he wanted to.
    “Cecil!” I barked. He paused and turned around to face me. With anger fueling my steps, I walked up the hall toward him. We stood toe to toe, and I looked him square in the eyes .
    I didn’t take any shit off anyone, especially not the likes of him.
    “If and when there is ever anything between myself and Miley, that’s our business. None of yours, do you understand? And don’t you ever disrespect me again in my place of business, or you’ll find yourself on your ass and out of a job.”
    He started to speak but must have thought better because his big mouth snapped shut. His eyes flashed angrily as he nodded his head and then disappeared into the kitchen. In the end, I may take an ass beating, but I’d be damned if I’d let that overgrown jackass come into my office and threaten me.
    When I walked out front, Maggie was at the bar and glanced my way. Maggie was in her late thirties, a single mom raising two kids. She’d seemed nice enough when I’d met her earlier. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours,” I told her. She nodded and then returned to pouring the drink.
    I needed to get away from The Eight Ball… to cool off and go home. Since I’d left the house, there had been no word from Miley. She hadn’t called the bar, and it made me uneasy. In my haste to take care of everything, I’d forgotten to ask for her phone number. A couple of hours ago I’d spoken with the Sheriff, and he’d assured me a patrol car was in the area. He’d said a deputy had even stopped by the house earlier. Silently, I wondered what Miley had thought about that. I bet she hadn’t liked it one bit. She still needed to press charges against Ryder. I was going to try my best to convince her to do just that.
    During the drive home,