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He already knew it wasn’t Gault. Good thing, too, given that Bliss and he had…
Don’t think about that right now.
“Didn’t stop her from shaking him down.”
Alvin waved off that comment. “I don’t think Gault looked at it that way. He thought highly of your mom. He told her she was wasting her time following the band around, that she had real talent she ought to develop. He was the one guy she never came on to. I think she had real respect for him. He respected her, too, like I said. He said she was a powerful earth goddess or some such.”
It had been a long time since Granger had seen his mother in a positive light like that. Powerful? Okay, sure, if powerful included causing lots of trouble for lots of people.
“I see a lot of her in you.” Alvin leaned forward and settled a hand on his shoulder. “I see that power she had. And I see you’re trying to use it for good.”
“Trying,” Granger said briefly. “Any chance you know where to find this Banshee? Or the other two?”
“Banshee’s gone. Died in Germany a few years back. The other two, I’d have to think of their names. I’ll work on it.”
“You knew them all. Do you…do I…look like one of them more than another?” It felt almost pathetic, scrounging for information like this.
“Let me ask you something, son. Why are you trying so hard to find out?”
“Why? Why not? There’s medical reasons. Hereditary diseases, that sort of thing. What box do I check on the damn census form. I know I’m not your average white boy. So what else am I? Identity reasons. What if I have children? I have to tell them something about that side of my family. My wife might want to know too. Assuming I can find one who can put up with me.”
Alvin chuckled at that outburst. “I hear you, son. I hear you. Sorry I can’t help you more. But if you’re thinking about a wife and kids—“
“I’m not,” Granger interrupted.
Alvin continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Then you ought to think about that money. Gault didn’t mind setting up that fund. It was the kind of thing he did a lot. He would have liked to know it was being used for a good purpose.”
“Like your restaurant.”
“Like whatever Nora Pitt’s son wanted to do with it.” Alvin let out a long yawn. “That wedding knocked me out. I gotta catch up on my rest before we open up again. Anything else you want to ask me while you got me here?”
Granger went silent. So many things…and yet, what was the point, really, when that one question was still burning, unanswered, taunting him? “Thanks for your time. I…it would have been…different, growing up here, with your family.”
Alvin looked at him with wise eyes. “But you don’t regret how you did grow up.”
“Not really. Made me who I am. Can’t regret that, can I?”
“Wise man. So what’s next for you? Gonna stick around Lake Bittersweet for a while?”
“Don’t really have a reason to.” A glimmer of a smile tugged at his lips, as he thought of the main reason he’d stuck around, Ms. Bliss Gault.
“Do me a favor. Give Thomas Cooper a call before you go.”
“Interrupt the man’s honeymoon? I don’t know about that.” Granger rose to his feet.
“Just do it. For the sake of an old man who wishes he could do more for you.”
They shook hands, but that wasn’t enough for Alvin, because he pulled Granger closer and thumped him on the back. “I’m glad you came back here. I’m glad you came to see me. Don’t let Kendra tell you otherwise.”
“Don’t let Kendra do what?” She was there, fists on hips, eyes bright with curiosity. A beautiful woman, and yet he couldn’t summon a single spark of attraction. Weird how that worked. Alvin Carter would have been a top tier father-in-law.
As for Thomas Cooper, maybe he’d call him, or maybe he’d just disappear the way Bliss had. His business in Lake Bittersweet was done. He had no reason to be here anymore. So what if that thought left him feeling empty?
Empty wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle; he was used to it.
Back at the suite in the Bittersweet Inn, he packed up Moses’ dog toys and other stuff. Emmaline was due to pick him up shortly. How had one little Chihuahua acquired so many things in such a short time? Bliss, that was how.
He picked up Moses, then he pulled out his phone. Alvin had asked him to call Thomas Cooper before he left. Should he? What was the point? He was moving on, checking out, going back to his real life.
