Free Persuasion by Martina Boone

closed and all this mess.”
    Eight waited until they’d finished the introductions, then nodded at Daphne’s uniform. “I thought you only worked on weekends,” he said.
    “Just picking up some extra hours.”
    Mary squeezed Daphne’s shoulder. “Girl won a scholarship, and now she’s tryin’ to cover the rest on top of it. Always feels like she’s got to do all the heavy liftin’ by herself.”
    “I wonder who I get that from?” Daphne smiled at Barrie and Eight, and both she and Mary excused themselves.
    Barrie turned to follow Eight to the table. Across the aisle and two booths down, she found the same guy still staring at her over the rim of his cup. Reddening, she looked away.
    “What’s Mary doing now that the tearoom is closed?” she asked as she slid in across from Eight. “Can she get another job? Pru and I could give her money.”
    “She wouldn’t take money. As for work, there’s not a lot of that in a town this size, and the summer jobs are all taken. With three grandkids to care for, she can’t leave the island, so it’s a problem.”
    “Three grandkids?” Ashamed she hadn’t known already, Barrie fiddled with her watch. “Where’s their mother?”
    “A drug house somewhere, probably.” Eight shrugged, but his voice vibrated in a way that said he cared more than thegesture suggested. “She’ll show up in a few years with a new baby for Mary to raise, promising to go straight. Then she’ll take off again a month after that. That’s how she usually does it.”
    More shame settled into Barrie’s stomach. “Then we’ll open the tearoom back up. To hell with the ghost hunters.”
    “And the second some idiot wanders into the woods and steps on a copperhead, you’re going to have a lawsuit. It’s too dangerous. Pru and Dad were right. People can’t go traipsing around unsupervised when you don’t know what they’re after. Look at that Obadiah guy.”
    “I’m starting to hate being a Watson.”
    Eight’s jaw softened, and his lips tipped upward. Not quite a smile, but close. “It’s not all bad. I know you’re worried about what Emmett did to Luke and Twila reflecting on you, but the Watsons have done a lot of good on this island over the years. That still means something. And you—you’re a hero as far as the people in this town are concerned. There have been rumors about Wyatt smuggling drugs, but no one suspected one of the big cartels could be involved. That’s over because of you. So don’t worry. No one is thinking less of you. Give people a chance and they’ll meet you halfway.”
    “Careful. You might fool someone into thinking you like this place.”
    Eight reached across the table to take her hands. “I never said there weren’t things here to like.”
    Kitty-corner from them, the big, dark-haired man levered himself out of the booth. His eyes were still locked on Barrie beneath lowered brows, and he made a point of bumping their table in passing. She tried smiling at him, meeting him halfway, as Eight had said.
    “Bitch,” he said loudly enough for the whole room to hear.
    Barrie’s face flamed, and her eyes watered. For an instant that felt too long, the walls tunneled in, and her heart pounded too fast.
    Eight jumped out of his chair, but she tightened her grip on his hands and refused to let go. “Sit back down,” she hissed. “We don’t want any more drama. Especially not here.”
    His cheeks blotched with rage, Eight watched the man’s retreating back. Finally, he dropped into his seat and sat back so that Barrie had to release her hold. Their only contact was his legs against hers beneath the table, and she was grateful to have that much.
    Eight leaned forward with his forearms on the table. “Ignore that guy. Don’t even worry about him. Ryder Colesworth is just the idiot who proves the rule. He used to work with Wyatt—they’re cousins. But he’s so crazy that even Wyatt wouldn’t have anything to do with him anymore. Nobody’s