Dawson's Stand (Welcome to Covendale Book 4) Read Online Free Page B

drunker than she thought. Then she realized Matt had seen and probably heard them talking earlier—and now she was just confused. Gage seemed like a nice enough guy. “Why not?” she said. Not that she was planning to. It just struck her as wrong to talk about people behind their backs like this.
    “Because he’s a Dawson.” The bartender glanced toward him again, as if he thought Gage might overhear. “All the Dawson boys are bad news.”
    “Dawson boys?”
    “They’re brothers. Three of them—Gage is the youngest. He’s bad enough, and the other two are worse.”
    Kyla shook her head. She didn’t want to believe it, especially since it sounded like the worst kind of rumor. He’d seemed fine to her. But she couldn’t exactly consider herself an excellent judge of character after the way her marriage turned out.
    Then again, everyone else thought Michael Patrick Finley was a great, stand-up guy.
    “I, uh…” Her gaze shifted unconsciously toward the pool tables, where it looked like Gage and Jenny were arguing. He gestured angrily at the table, she crossed her arms and spat something. He snatched a leather jacket from a nearby chair and yanked it on, and she turned her back on him. “I don’t feel so good,” Kyla murmured. “That’s the bathroom, right?”
    “Yes, right over there.” The bartender looked concerned. “Are you all right? Should I call someone for you?”
    “No. I’ll be fine. I just…” Blinking rapidly, she slid off the stool and took a moment to steady herself. The dizziness had gotten worse, and now her stomach churned sourly. “I just need the bathroom.”
    Somehow she managed to make it to the alcove beyond the bar, past a back door with an exit sign above it and into the ladies’ room. She tottered into a stall and locked it, then sank to the floor next to the toilet and waited for the drinks to come back up.
    They didn’t. Gradually, the dizzy feeling started to abate and her gut settled into an approximation of normal. She decided to sit here a little bit longer, until she could cleanse her mind again. Just thinking about Mike for a few minutes had turned her into a quivering wreck, and changed what might’ve been a decent night into a disappointment.
    So much for freedom.
    * * * *
    Gage stared at Jenny in disbelief. “What did you say?”
    “Come on. You know what I mean.” She stepped closer and put a hand on his arm. “It’s real mild stuff,” she said in low tones. “We could get a nice buzz, and…just see where it takes us.”
    He jerked away, shaking his head. They hadn’t even finished the game, and she’d suddenly announced she wanted to go out to the parking lot and toke up. This date was definitely a mistake. Maybe Mark was right about him not thinking things through—but he sure as hell wasn’t going to admit that to his know-it-all brother. “I don’t touch that shit,” he said. “I get enough trouble from the law around here as it is. Does Dean know you’re using?”
    She snorted and crossed her arms. “I don’t have to answer that.”
    “Yeah, well you just did.”
    “Screw you, Gage.”
    “No thanks.”
    Her mouth dropped open for a second, and she turned her back on him.
    Christ, no wonder she was with Dean for so long. The two of them were perfect for each other—petty, stubborn, and shallow as mud puddles. He grabbed his jacket and stuffed it on, more disgusted with himself than anything for agreeing to this in the first place. “Come on,” he said. “I’m taking you home.”
    “Fine.” She faced him again, sliding something in her pocket as she turned. Looked like her phone. Maybe she’d been texting all her girlfriends to tell them what a piece of shit he was—not like that hadn’t happened before. “Let’s go.”
    “Ladies first.”
    She rolled her eyes and flounced off toward the back door.
    Gage followed slowly. He really didn’t feel like taking Jenny anywhere. But he’d driven her here, so he was responsible