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Jess ih”—she shot hirin over her shoulder—“I need more wardrobe space Your second bedroom maybe?”
“Wait” Cat stared at theether?”
Cooper hugged Jess close, giving his sister a look that said, Back off “We didn’t see any point in waiting”
“Of course you didn’t” Cat shook her head in disbelief “It’s never been sloith you two so I don’t knohy I’m surprised”
“Are you mad?” Jess said
“Who cares if she’s mad?” Cooper huffed
Jess frowned at him “I care”
At that Cat gave her a big smile “Did I mention lately that I like you?”
“Me, too!” Joey cried “Are you going to be my aunt?”
Noas Jess’s turn to blush a little “Not right this second”
Cooper wrapped his arainst his chest “Someday, Joe And you’ll be my best man”
Joey smiled “Really?”
“Of course Who else?”
His nephew cocked his head to the side “Will I have to wear one of those stupid penguin suits?”
Cooper flicked a look at Cat She shrugged “What? They are stupid penguin suits”
“Probably,” Cooper told Joey
“Oh Okay I suppose that would be okay”
There was one absolutely still in his arirl out with the wedding talk”
He winked at his sister and then pressed a kiss to Jess’s neck “Okay Notalk At least for a while”
Jess relaxed at his teasing tone and shook her head “It’s a good thing I’estured around the bar—“are more than a little crazy”
“Ach” Cat grabbed Joey’s hand, striding toward the door “What’s life without a little crazy?”
“Boring,” all three of them said
Cooper grunted in a, his nephew looking up at his ood kid who loved his mom
And that hen it hit him
The piece of the puzzle that had beenhe’d found it
Because right then, standing in his bar with the he’d ever need
EPILOGUE
Jessica
To say the chair of the city board of licenses appeared extremely uncomfortable hat Cooper and I had to say was an understatement
“I can assure you that no one on my board would take a bribe,” Christine Rothwell said sternly
“I’ is not outside the realm of possibility,” I said
She looked down at her desk “And who are you proposing is bribing someone on my board?”
I found her avoidance ofI hoped like hell that whoever had taken the bribe wasn’t the freaking chair of the board
“You knoe can’t say who,” Cooper said “That opens us up to slander”
“So let ht” Christine sat back in her chair “Everyone who has signed this petition”—she gestured to it on her desk—“will close their doors if Mr Lawson’s liquor license isn’t renewed?”
“Exactly”
“This is blackmail You could be arrested for this”
“Maybe so,” I said “But along with a huge hit to the town’s economy, there will be a media frenzy That media, as well as the police, will look into our concerns and I’ into your board”
“We have nothing to hide” She lifted her chin in defiance
“Are you sure about that? Because we’re sure someone on your board has taken a bribe and we’re sure we knoho paid the on this Are you?”
Christine considered us, her eyes hard with anger “Give me a moment while I retrieve your file, Mr Lawson”
They waited patiently as she typed away at her coether “You reapplied a feeeks agoand there is a notice on the application” She shot us a wary look “It has been denied”
Cooper tensed beside me “Any reason on there for it?”
“It states here that the police have been called to the bar on a number of occasions in the past year for antisocial behavior”
“That’s bullshit,” Cooper said, sounding calh I kneasn’t
I glowered at Christine Rothwell “I’m sure all you have to do is make a few calls to the police for them to deny any such claims”
“And all Mr Lawson has to do is appeal to the state to have his license renewed”
“That’sless patient “Perhaps a year I can’t lose out on a year’s income, Ms Rothwell”
“It’s the legal way to do this,” she bit out “Not barging into my office to blackmail me”
“We’re not black you a heads-up Have you heard of Vaughn Trened the petition” ih”—she shot hirin over her shoulder—“I need more wardrobe space Your second bedroom maybe?”