AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He’s not going to give up. He’ll just try something else. He’s already plotting Plan B, and he’s not even to the car yet. Hell, he probably knew we wouldn’t go for it, and he already had Plan B. He’s on the phone putting it into action.”
Cooper could be a tad dramatic at times, but Zack didn’t disagree. Joel had to have known that he wouldn’t win this argument. This was only the first salvo in a long war. They’d won this first skirmish, but it wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.
“Why is he so against this?” Zack wondered out loud. “And why am I so suspicious of his actions today?”
“Because you have good reason,” Cooper countered. “Because you can’t trust our old man any further than you can throw him. I’ve always said he knows something he hasn’t told anyone, and I’m even more convinced after this. Dad is covering for himself or someone else. Mark my words. He’s going to make our lives very fucking difficult now that we haven’t caved to his demands. You might even not be his favorite for about five minutes.”
“That’s fine with me.”
“He thought he could get you on his side,” Cooper laughed. “It’s like he doesn’t know you at all.”
“He doesn’t know any of us. Not truly.”
That had been a hard realization that Zack had come to the last time he’d been home to visit. Joel still thought he could somehow make them be what he wanted. He didn’t see them as individuals with lives, wants, and needs separate from himself.
And now he was against hiring a new private investigator.
It wasn’t a huge shock, but it did beg the question…
What was Joel Winslow so afraid of that he’d come to an apartment he’d never been to and ask his sons to stop investigating? That was an answer that Zack would love to have.
* * *
“It’s great, isn’t it?” Ethan said with a grin, lifting his beer in a toast. “All of us together again. It’s just like the old days, and it hasn’t happened in eighteen years. It may be eighteen more so let’s enjoy every second of it.”
They clinked glasses and all took a drink, laughing at the idea that it might be a couple of decades before they saw each other again. It was probably not far wrong, to be honest. Most of these guys still lived in their little town, and if they couldn’t find the time to get together for a beer, the rest of them didn’t have a chance in hell.
But then again most of the guys his age were busy with careers, wives, and kids. Zack didn’t have any of that. He was free as a bird, no commitments in sight.
Unless he counted the job offer from his friend Gary. Then he’d have plenty of responsibilities.
He hadn’t called Gary back yet. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do about his career or lack of it.
There were six of them around the table - Zack, Ethan, Dave, Leo, Alan, and Jay. In high school, Zack had pretty much spent every day of his life with these five guys. Now sitting here today it was…bizarre. They’d been practically brothers back then, but now it felt like Zack barely knew them. Had it all just been a moment in time? There was that saying about how a person can never go home again, and Zack was beginning to think it was true.
And yet when he’d run into Lucy, he hadn’t felt any of that. He’d been right at home in her company from the first moment. So why did he feel so out of place with his old friends?
Jay had moved away as well, and he didn’t seem to be uncomfortable at all. He was chatting and laughing the whole time like it was senior year all over again.
Maybe there’s just something wrong with me. Maybe Piper was right about my existence being in some sort of flux state. I don’t belong in New York, but I’m not sure I belong here either.
It was a strange way to live. Until recently, Zack had never been unsure about his place and where he belonged.
“Tell us what’s going on with Lucy Gilbert,” Leo said, elbowing Zack. “We all saw you leave the wedding with her last night.”
“I gave her a ride home.”
From the guffaws from his friends, it was clear they didn’t believe him.
“We saw you on the dance floor,” Alan said. “You looked pretty chummy. So what’s going on? She’s nice-looking. Not a supermodel, but definitely attractive.”
There had been a time that Zack had talked about girls with these guys. His friends knew all the details of dating his ex-girlfriend Angel and their inevitable breakup.
But that was then, and this was now. He wasn’t the type to kiss and tell anymore.
Plus, he didn’t much like how they were talking about Lucy.
“I’m not sure why everyone thinks I date a lot of supermodels. For the record, I don’t.”
