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“And why is that?” I ask.
“Because Hank can’t shoot you in here.”
Startled by Mason’s comments, I can’t help but ask, “Have either of you done anything to warrant being shot at?”
They both smile and then frown, “Well… yeah.”
“Here you go boys,” the waitress says as she puts down three beers and three chicken baskets in front of us.
“Thanks, Gladys. You’re a peach.”
“That’s what they all say,” she quips. “See you’ve got a new member of the club.”
“What club?”
“The victims of the Harris girls,” Hank says from behind me. “And you’re all a sorry bunch. I’ve been telling these two for years to pull their thumbs out of their asses, but I thought you had more meddle than that.”
“You know that Merritt and I would be nothing but bad news if we ever got together,” Wyatt says. “She’s too wild for me.”
“She’s wild for sure, but you’re still an idiot,” he says before turning to Mason. “And you…”
“What about me?” Mason asks. “I’m not the one who needed to get their thumb out of their ass. That’s Audrey. Besides, I heard she has a baby now so someone else got in there first.”
“A baby?” I ask because sure, Brenna is young, but she’s not a baby, and then I see Wyatt subtly shaking his head no.
“Yeah,” Mason bites out. “A baby. I’ve been waiting for years. I thought after all the shit I went through, I’d have something good to come home to—Audrey—but she was long gone. And now she has a baby. So excuse me if I don’t want to sit around and get my ass chewed for trying to do the right fucking thing.”
And then he drops several bills on the table and storms out.
“So…” I start. “The elephant in the room.”
“Yeah,” Wyatt says and Hank just sighs.
“I’m guessing he doesn’t know he has a daughter?”
“Nope, and Audrey is determined to keep it that way,” Hank says. “Not that I can blame her with the way he left things. But I guess I don’t blame him either. War changes things.”
“That it does,” I say quietly, understanding that Hank, Mason, and I are all linked in that way with the traumas of the past still haunting. “That’s going to hurt when they hit the ground.”
“It always does,” Hank says with a firm look at Wyatt.
“Anyway, I have a date to get ready for,” Wyatt says as he finishes his beer and stands.
“Thank God for Parker is all I’m saying,” Hank mutters. “That girl is the only one with a solid head on her shoulders.”
“I don’t know about that,” Wyatt laughs.
“She’s got a good job and a boyfriend, and she owns her own apartment in New York City,” he says. “She’s the only one who doesn’t make me want to tear my hair out.”
“There’s still time,” Wyatt replies. “I’ll see you around.”
“Idiot,” Hank bites out and Wyatt just waves as he walks out the door. I’m liable to agree with Hank on this one. “Now, about you.”
“What about me?”
“Are you really giving up so soon?”
“She’s not answering my calls.”
