She pointed to a sunrise watercolor of the Hawk Mountains. One of Jane’s paintings.
“I can help you,” I said.
The store closed at seven but I stuck around to thank the employees and take care of a few tasks. Finally at a quarter to eight I locked the doors and headed down the street to Sheen’s.
It was the same dim, hole-in-the-wall bar I remembered walking past a thousand times when I was a kid. Because this was Friday night it was pretty crowded with a bunch of people watching the baseball game on the screen above the bartender’s head. Others played a game of darts. The game seemed like a bad idea given the human density in the place.
Kevin hailed me from a table. He was sharing it with another person.
Son of a bitch.
Travis Hanson, former high school quarterback and all around cocky asshole hadn’t crossed my mind in years and yet today he was occupying all kinds of space in my head.
He was also occupying the seat beside Kevin.
I pasted a smile to my face and took the remaining chair. Back in the day Travis had been a prick who liked to hurt people smaller than he was but maybe he’d changed. That happened sometimes.
“Nash,” he said, fist bumping me like we were BFF’s instead of former archenemies.
“Hey, Travis. How’s it going?”
There was a despicable smugness in his grin. He spread his arms. “I own this place now.”
“No kidding.”
“Yep. My dad fronted me the cash last year when old man Sheen retired and moved down to Tucson. I harassed him into giving me a hell of a deal too.” Travis snapped his meaty fingers and a cute brunette in a short denim skirt came scurrying over.
“Hey, sweetness, you remember Nash Ryan, right?” he said as his hand rested on the girl’s ass.
‘Sweetness’ didn’t seem bothered by the attention. She nodded. “I remember you, Nash. You were a senior when I was a freshman.”
“Right,” I said. I couldn’t recall having laid eyes on this girl in my life.
Travis snorted. “As if he was keeping track back then. Nash never cared if they were too young or too old. The boy got around, that’s for damn sure.”
The comment was in unbelievably poor taste. It was more than a dig at me. It was a veiled reference to old rumors. I’d never confirmed anything but that didn’t matter in a small town. Kevin shot me an apologetic look.
“I’m so sorry about what happened to your family,” the waitress said. “My mom knew Heather so she was at the funeral. She was still crying when she got home, said that earth had lost an angel when Heather was taken.”
Taken. That made the situation sound slightly hopeful, as though the possibility existed for Heather to return. But there was no way Heather would return. She’d died on a mountain with the man who loved her. For a long time I’d been furious with both of them. But it was possible now to remember things I hadn’t thought about in a long time, like how Heather used to pay off delinquent lunch accounts for kids during her brief career working in the front office of the high school. And the time she bought flowers for a classmate who was distraught after the girl’s dog was hit by a car.
“Thanks,” I said. “She’s missed.”
The waitress offered a gentle smile. “So what can I get for you?”
“Anything you’ve got on tap would be great.” I didn’t plan on taking more than a couple of sips anyway. I was tired, I wanted to pick up Colin and the bar scene was never my hangout of choice.
Travis openly leered at the waitress’s backside as she walked away “That’s mine,” he said proudly as if he was talking about a car.
“Good for you,” I said with sarcasm.
He smirked. “And let me tell you, there’s one tight pussy in there to go with that sweet ass.”
I didn’t want to hear about it. I caught Kevin’s eye. He looked uncomfortable.
Travis wasn’t done talking though. “Likes to mouth off on occasion though so I’ve got to keep her in line.” He belched.
My dislike for the guy instantly swerved from mild to severe.
“Careful someone doesn’t decide to keep you in line,” I said slowly.
Travis peered at me, the layers inside his thick skull evidently trying to decide whether or not I was kidding.
“That wouldn’t go well,” he said. “Thought you learned that lesson once already, Ryan.”
My hand curled into a fist beneath the table. “From what I remember you bled pretty hard that day, Hanson.”
Kevin coughed. “Pretty sure I bled harder than either of you,” he said good-naturedly. “My nose has been crooked ever since.”
“Sorry about that,” I said, keeping my eyes on Travis, who stared back with the flat look of a man who had a few screws loose.
“It’s okay,” Kevin said. “My lady says it makes me looks rakish.”
The waitress returned and set my beer down on the table.
“Thanks, sweetness,” Travis said, giving her another obnoxious feel.
I was tired of this guy, tired of being here. If I stuck around too long I’d get into trouble. Luckily the bartender showed up and quietly said something to Travis about the whiskey supply.
Travis frowned. “Everyone’s fucking helpless,” he grumbled, rising from his chair. “Gotta go deal with this.”
“Take your time,” I said and Travis fixed his gaze on me.
He was obviously weighing the idea of telling me to get the hell out of his place. I wouldn’t have been upset if he did.
But he just offered a cold grin and said, “Good to see you Nash.” His tone implied the opposite.
“What an asshole,” I said when he was gone.
Kevin chuckled. “He is a piece of work.”
“Can’t believe Sheen sold the bar to that guy.”
“Yeah.” Kevin made a face. “Listen, sorry I dragged you out here. I forgot that old feuds can still be raw.”
Kevin wasn’t trying to be profound. He was just talking about the fact that Travis and I still despised each other. But I was thinking of my dad. We’d never gotten along. We were unpleasant mysteries to one other and after my mother’s death that sentiment only festered.
With Travis out of the way, Kevin and I were able to have a pleasant conversation. He knew a lot about what I’d been up to since leaving Hawk Valley and I could only guess he’d come by that information from my father. I found myself wondering what my dad would think if he saw me here in his old stomping grounds, having a beer with his buddy and discreetly checking my watch because I wanted to be on my way to pick up my baby brother.
When nine o’clock approached I stood up and dropped some cash on the table.
“You got to get going?” Kevin asked.
“Afraid so. Colin’s an early riser.”
He held out his hand. “Hey, thanks for hanging out for a little while.”
“Thanks for asking me.”
He grinned. Back when he helped coach football and I was a linebacker with a shitty attitude, Kevin Reston had seemed old and about as interesting as an unpainted wall. I was wrong. Kevin was really a great guy. I was glad he and Jane had found one another.
As I left the table it looked like Kevin was going to stick around for a little while and nurse the beer in his hand.
“Chief,” someone bellowed over by the dartboard. “Why don’t you come over here and show us how it’s done?”