“I’m fixing up the old farm,” I said.
“And how long’s that going to take?”
“I don’t know,” I said. I’d accomplished a lot in the week since my return, but there was so much left to do.
“Too long, that’s what.”
My father had lived on the old vineyard till the day he died. That was the last time I’d set foot on the place. It had been empty twelve years and even though it was beautiful, it needed work.
It was a ramshackle old hacienda, the porch rotting, the paint peeling, the roof in need of more than a few tiles. If it ever rained, it got washed out. Of course, if it ever rained, the vineyard would be doing a lot better too.
Grant rode down with me the next morning and we got to work, stripping out old, rotten wood.
“Why don’t you just live up at the mansion with the rest of us?” he said.
“I need this place for Faith. I’ve got to have something to offer her.”
He nodded. We’d gotten a lot of work done and it was time to call it quits for the evening.
“Can I borrow your bike?” I said.
“You headed to town?”
I nodded.
“Getting drunk?”
“Depends.”
“You want company?”
I shook my head.
“Suit yourself, brother.”
He made to throw the keys but didn’t let them go. I’d made to catch them and he smirked.
“Forget it,” I said. “I’ll take the truck.”
“Jackson, I was kidding. Here, take the bike.”
“Keep it,” I said.
I was touchy. I’d give my life for that man, but I had my guard way up. It’s like I was afraid to show any hint of weakness. I guess that’s the way it goes. I’d spent so long looking over my back, it would take time for me to settle back to normal life.
I don’t know if it’s like that in other places—men who pretend they’re made of rock because they’re scared shitless someone will put them to the test, find out they’re flesh and bone after all.
Maybe I was being unreasonable.
I stopped walking and turned around.
“Grant.”
He turned to face me. I made a little motion with my head, like when you want your dog to come with you but you don’t have to say it.
“Don’t invite me to be nice,” he said. “I got things to do too.”
“Come on. I could use the company. Let’s get a beer.”
“You buying?”
I laughed.
“Where are we headed?” I said. I wasn’t sure what bar was the favorite of the hour.
“Rusty,” Grant said.
“You’re sure we won’t run into anyone I know?”
Grant shook his head. “You think Faith would be caught dead in a place like the Rusty Nail? She stays up in the Hills, where it’s civilized.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” I said. “That’s where she belongs.”
“She’s a good girl, Jackson.”
I nodded.
“I mean it. I noticed. There’s not a lot of women who’d wait twelve years for their man. I don’t care who he is. But Faith waited for you. She didn’t even look at another guy, not for one second.”
“You watched her?”
“I didn’t watch her, but I’d have noticed if she stopped waiting for you. I wouldn’t have blamed her. You were gone so long she’d have had a right to start over.”
“Yes, she would have.”
“But she didn’t, Jackson. She didn’t.”
*
I DROVE US UP THE dusty road to the Rusty Nail, our old drinking haunt. It was at a nice spot on the road overlooking the vineyards in the valley.
Other than the view, the place was a real shit hole. There was a stray-looking, yellow dog in the lot.
“I see nothing’s changed.”
Grant nodded. “Hey, at least you got to see some of the world.”
I laughed. Twelve years planning the murders of highly protected criminals wasn’t exactly a leisure cruise.
We entered the bar and it really was just as I remembered—stale beer, the neon glow of a Bud Light sign, a young waitress in a skirt that barely covered her ass.
“What can I get you boys?” she said, looking at me like maybe I’d recognize her.
Hell, maybe I should have recognized her. But I didn’t.
“Two beers,” Grant said.
We sat on stools and slumped over the bar just like old times. The waitress put our beers in front of us and lingered like she was waiting for something.
Grant winked at her. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he said.
She was chewing gum. She had nice tits, two little melons that wanted to be squeezed. She leaned forward and pressed them together with her arms, creating more cleavage for our benefit. I stared right at them. Hell, why be subtle if she wasn’t?
“I see you brought your friend,” she said to Grant.
“Friend? This here’s my brother. Just got back from traveling the world.”
The waitress held her hand out to me like she was the Queen of England. I took it.
“Name’s Jackson,” I said.
“I know who you are.”
“This here’s Sue,” Grant said.