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I knew I shouldn’t do it, but I thought he might be more amenable to talking if I covered his drink. I pulled out a twenty and placed it on top of the bar.
“I’ll pay for his.”
Ray smiled at the bartender. “My order was a double then.”
The bartender shook his head and looked to me, asking if it was okay. I nodded.
We sat side by side in silence until there was a half-full glass of amber liquid in front of my uncle again.
“Can I ask you something?”
“As long as you’re buying…”
“Why did my mother tell me you were dead?”
Ray scoffed. “Figures.”
“Did you two have a fight or something?”
He took a big swig of his drink and set it down with a clank. “Your mother was always too hurdy-turdy for me. Too hurdy-turdy for everyone and everywhere, including this town.”
“What was your mom like?”
“Boy, she didn’t tell you about your grandmother either?”
“Not too much.”
“If you ask most, they’ll tell you she was a nice woman. She kept to herself, not a lot of friends and such. Rose Langone was all about appearances. So the curtains were drawn while Ma drank her four martinis a day. And from what I understand, your mother’s pop was kind enough to only have one girlfriend at a time. Eventually he took off with one who didn’t have two mouths to feed. And my father moved in a month later. He liked to beat on us, and your grandmother pretended it didn’t happen.” He shrugged. “Just your normal, run-of-the-mill happy family.”
I guess I knew why my mother was the way she was. She cared what people thought and had a general disdain for men. Her not wanting to visit Laurel Lake made more sense now, too. Maybe it was better that I grew up not knowing much.
“Any other questions?” my uncle asked.
I shook my head.
“Good. Tell that boyfriend of yours he owes me a new hat.”
I stood. “Fox isn’t my boyfriend.”
Ray picked up his glass once again. “That’s good. Wouldn’t want my only niece to turn out like that man’s last girlfriend.”
CHAPTER 22
A Lifetime Ago
Fox
Four-and-a-half years ago
“What the hell?” If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought I’d walked into the wrong backyard. There were people milling around all over, and I had no idea who any of them were.
A skinny brunette wearing only the bottom of a bathing suit stumbled over to me. She threw her arms around my neck. “You’re cute. Who are you?”
I peeled her arms off. “I think the better question is who the hell are you and where’s your top?”
She pouted. “You don’t sound very fun.”
I ducked around the woman and dumped my equipment bag onto the back deck, scanning the yard for Evie. I found her in the lake with a red cup in her hand, so I walked down to the edge. Guess my plan to come home early, curl up on the couch, and watch a movie with my girl was out.
