Read Fire and Ice: Rekindled (The Fire and Ice Series Book 2) for Free Online Page B

in. "I'm not talking
about just a job, Kellan. I'm offering to sell you the place," he
confessed. Continuing to try to convince me, he went on to explain, "Look,
business is steady, and the staff is solid...well for the most part. I even
followed through on your suggestion, and hired your old next-door neighbor.
You'll be walking into a turnkey business, Kellan, and you know this place
inside and out. This is a no brainer." He looked at me anxiously with a
wide grin on his face.

 
    After looking at him, momentarily dazed, I responded,
"Thanks for the opportunity, Jim, but I already told you I have a job. I
can't just up and shirk my responsibilities, pick up my life, and move half way
across the country."

 
    "Ah, horseshit!" Jim bellowed. "You're
afraid."

 
    Looking at him with indignation, I replied, "What the
fuck am I afraid of, huh?" He gave me a knowing look, and I continued to
counter him. "I told you...I have a job, a life , and it doesn't include..." I trailed off. Sighing, I
said, "Regardless...I don't have the money," hoping my plethora of
excuses would get him off my back. There was no way he could argue with that
aspect.

 
    "That's not an issue," he stated flatly.

 
    Shaking my head in confusion, I asked, "How in the fuck
is that not an issue? What the hell am I supposed to buy it with...my good
looks and charm?"

 
    That got a laugh out of him before he honed back in on the
conversation. Raising his brows and waggling his finger at me, he said,
triumphantly, "See...I got your wheels turning in that head of yours. I'll
finance you...you can pay me back over time," he argued his case.

 
    Clearly not getting through to him, despite my lack of
subtlety, I finally barked out, "For the last time...I'm not interested,
Jim."

 
    His expression fell, as he relented, saying, "Well, if
you change your mind..."

 
    "I won't," I stated harshly, pulling the door
open, and taking long, quick strides out of the bar.

Chapter Seven
    Kellan

 
    Jesus, what a clusterfuck that whole visit had been. Had I
known I was going to be hit with the barrage of incidents that ensued, I'd have
stayed planted in Reno, and sent out a card to Jordan's parents. Finding out
the ugly details of Jordan's death, the news of him and Hailey being married,
and Jim basically begging, rather than offering me to take over the bar, had
all turned into one huge atomic bomb that landed right in my lap, and I was
just beginning to feel the after effects of it.

 
    The more miles I put between myself and Chambers, the more
the dust had begun to settle. I was weary and worn out, both mentally and
physically. Yet, as my thoughts wandered back to my reunion with Hailey, and
our incidental brushes with each other, my mind had begun to reel with
possibilities. I was suddenly anxious and amped up, gripping my steering wheel
tightly as I pondered whether or not I had made the right choice to return to
Reno.

 
    Reno was no joke, and I would be stepping up to the big
leagues, vying for a top spot, along with every other new bar hoping to stay
afloat long enough to make their brand on the growing city. The competition was
intense, and I'd be betting my whole life on one big hand to pay off. The odds
of going bust were more likely than not. Jim's offer now had me second-guessing
my options.

 
    As I had passed the halfway mark between Chambers and my new
home in Reno about an hour ago, I suddenly found myself at a desolate
intersection with no other cars to speak of in sight. I was literally at a
crossing point in my life. The choice to turn my car around and head back to
the sanctity of familiarity was tempting, but so much shit had happened back
there, and I wasn't sure if I could ever put the past behind me with it staring
me directly in the face every day. Was I just deluding myself to think that I
could ever go back, come to terms with a lifetime of disappointment, and make a
decent life for myself? Talk about being stuck between a rock