AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m not some kid who has time to do this,” I say.
“Then you may never know what this is all about and if it had anything to do with Gramps,” Zach warns.
“I don’t think this is about Gramps,” I say. I’m not sure of this though. It was important enough for him to leave on his desk where he knew we’d find them. How much time did he have to think about the end of his life? What did he think of us? Was heproud or disappointed? I don’t think I want the answer to this last question. I look at the name on the paper again.
I read it out loud. “Who in the hell is Professor Courtney Kingsleythethird?” I ask. Zach shrugs. “The third?” I scoff. “That sounds more like a womanyou’dwant to know.”
“I’m not a snob, Blaze,” Zach grumbles. I laugh.
“Yeah, says the man wearing a freaking five-thousand-dollar suit and two-thousand-dollar shoes on aranch,” I point out.
“At least I don’t dress like a homeless person,” Zach replies.
“I dress comfortably. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Maybe when you were a teenager. But everyone has to grow up eventually.”
“I don’t believe that. We can choose to live our lives any way we want,” I counter.
“Are you going to follow the map?” Zach asks.
“I think you should,” Callan adds. I’m shocked either of my corporate brothers think I should do this. The note is right, I love adventure. I don’t like being told what I have to do, and I definitely don’t like feeling like a puppet on strings, but part of me really wants to do this.
I look at the papers again. The other part wants to lift the pieces of paper and rip them to shreds. But the part that can’t stand to walk away from a challenge knows I’m not going to ignore it.
“Maybe,” I say with a sigh as I sink down into a chair.
“You can’t ignore this, Blaze,” Zach tells me. Finally we all sit.
“I have an assignment first,” I tell him.
“You work for yourself. You can put it off,” Zach points out.
“I bet you can take time off considering the circumstances,” Callan adds. I don’t want to be here right now though. I need to clear my mind, need to figure out what I’m going to do next. Traveling to some Third World country is just what the doctor ordered.
“Let’s have a drink and put this out of our minds for the night. I’ll come back, and I’ll most likely follow the damn map. But for now, I want to drink a toast to Gramps.”
Callan smiles before rising and moving over to Gramps favorite liquor cabinet. He finds a 1930 bottle of Macallan Scotch and lets out a whistle.
“Damn, Gramps might just return from the dead if we crack this open,” Callan says with a smile.
“Then I say you better get to opening it,” I tell him, my mouth watering.
He reverently opens the bottle. None us dare to think about how much this bottle is worth. I’m sure Gramps got it on one of his adventures with his sister. He was probably saving it for a perfect moment. I say this is that moment.
Callan places ice in three glasses and gives us each a big splash. He hands out the drinks. I swirl my glass and watch the amber liquid catch the light from the lamp next to me. It’s a thing of beauty.
“To Gramps,” Zach says as he holds out his glass. Callan and I bring ours out and the three of us clink glasses, then we sip the liquid, a cascade of flavors dancing on our tongues.
We sit in Gramps’s office, switching to another bottle of Scotch, saving the rest of the first one for another time. We stay up until midnight, then I stand, a little wobbly on my feet. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this strong of a buzz. Saying goodbye to Gramps is a good excuse for it. I look at my brothers, glad we’ve had this night.
“I have to do this job. I’ll be back when it’s finished.”
“Come back,” Zach says, an almost pleading look in his eyes I’ve never seen before.
I nod at him. “I will,” I promise.
“See you soon, brother,” Callan says. The emotion is too high in the room and I think all three of us want to flee from it.
