She looked at me with her doe eyes. She was probably wet just looking at me. Not to sound arrogant, but I make a hell of a first impression.
“Don’t tell me she’s going to drop me for you,” Grant said when she left.
I shrugged. “I can’t help it. The lady’s got to make up her own mind.”
“She’s no lady.”
“I bet she ain’t,” I said, nodding. “Besides, I ain’t looking.”
“How is that?” Grant said, looking at me.
“What do you mean?”
“Twelve years, Faith waiting for you with your baby, what did you do for release?”
“You want to know what I did?” I said.
“I mean, don’t tell me if you don’t want to. I’m just curious.”
“I kept it in my pants, Grant.”
“The fuck you did,” he said, looking at me.
I nodded, holding his eye.
“Jesus Christ, you’re serious.”
“Of course I’m serious. When I saw Faith, I knew she was the one. That baby was no accident, Grant. I meant to make her pregnant.”
“And you stayed true to her?”
“It’s the least I could do. She was raising my son.”
Grant clinked his bottle against mine.
“Well, fuck,” he said. “I don’t know if I’d have been able to do the same in your position.”
I looked back at him. “Yes, you would. When you meet the right one, you’ll know it.”
“We’ll see,” he said, “if it ever happens.” He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a bunch of change. “Go on,” he said. “For old time’s sake.”
I looked at him, then I slid the change off the bar into my hand and got down from my seat. “Any requests?” I said.
“You choose.”
I went to the jukebox and flicked through the discs till I got to Sound Garden. I was feeling reminiscent. The night before my father died we’d been down here, listening to Sound Garden on the juke box. I knew he’d remember.
Chapter 27
Faith
MY HAND WAS SHAKING. I picked up the phone and dialed Lacey’s number. I swear, if it wasn’t for Lacey I’d have lost my mind long ago.
“Faith?”
“How’d you guess?”
“I’ve got a team of detectives working on it.”
“What?”
“Caller ID, silly.”
“Oh,” I laughed, but the strain in my voice was obvious.
“What is it, honey?”
“Did you hear?”
“Hear what?” she said.
“It’s on the news. He was murdered on an oil rig in Texas. As far as I can tell, that’s the last of Los Lobos.”
“The last one?” Lacey said.
“Yes. I think so. I think they’re all dead, Lacey.”
“That’s great. That means you and Sam are finally safe.”
I was silent. Lacey was silent on the other end too. We both knew what I was thinking but I couldn’t bring it up so she did.
“So that mean’s he’ll come back for you now, Faith.”
Another long pause.
“Is it silly to hope for that?”
“Of course it isn’t.”
“But, you know, twelve years? What guy would hold out for a girl for that long? I don’t even know if it’s possible.”
“It’s possible. Think of all the great love stories you’ve ever heard. Men’s hearts are deeper than we give them credit for. They’ll wait a lifetime for the woman they love, Faith.”
“But is that what I am?”
“The woman Jackson Jones loves?”
“Yes.”
“Of course you are. You know it. What did he say to you?”
“It was so long ago, Lacey.”
“Tell me what he said.”
She knew every detail of the three days I’d spent with Jackson. I’d told it all to her a thousand times.
“He said I was his and he was mine.”
“Yes, and would he have said that if he didn’t mean it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Faith,” Lacey said, using her stern voice. “Come on. You know better than that.”
“I’m doubting myself.”
“Don’t doubt yourself. Don’t give in to fear. If Jackson said he was coming back to you after the job was done, he’ll come back.”
“I guess this means he’s still alive.”
Lacey was silent. I didn’t know what she was thinking but there was something on my chest that I’d been dying to get off it and I took the opportunity.
“Lacey,” I said.
“Yes?”
“There’s something else. Something I didn’t tell you.”
“What?”
“It happened about a week ago.”
“Oh my God, Faith. Tell me what it is.”
“I picked up a man.”
“You what?”
I laughed nervously. “Not like that. I didn’t pick up. But there was a man on the road, I nearly hit him with my car. He was all right, but I gave him a ride down into the valley.”
Faith said nothing.
“I think …”
“You think what, Faith?”
“Well, remember I told you about the first time I met Jackson, in the Los Lobos bar, and he snatched a chain from around my neck?”
“Of course I do.”
“Well, this man last week. There was something strange about him.”
“He reminded you of Jackson?”
“Yes. He did. I didn’t realize it until he was gone, but he … reminded me of Jackson. And he left something hanging from my mirror.”
“What was it?”