SherriffMike Finch:A few months ago, Hugh was telling people to run over tourists and he’s free. I just wanted pictures!
Jackie Anne:OH, in that case, yes!
The beerin my hands was barely cold and tasted terrible. Clyde had said this place was one of the best in town, but both of us felt like we’d been scammed.
Clearly this place was trying to be like all the other popular bars. I normally didn’t mind that, but they had a limited stock, and the bartender clearly didn’t know what they were doing.
“Well, it’s at least some kind of beer,” Clyde said with a sigh. “You try to give a new place a shot and this is what you get.”
I could barely hear him and had to stare to make out what he was saying, but I nodded anyway.
Clyde had lost the remainder of his hair over the years, but he still had the same personality. After graduating, I wound up reaching out to him for freelance work. He’d taken me under his wing ever since.
I’d learned a lot from him over the years, including how to make connections. He’d been the one to tell me to shoot my shot at working with Wren, and that had gone well for me. After Dad was gone, he was the closest thing I had to a father, and I valued that more than anything.
I still worked with him a lot. Between the two of us, we’d garnered a respected reputation among anyone looking to build or renovate. When an office complex was announced out in Knoxville, he’d called me to ask if I would be willing to travel. I said yes, and here I was.
“At least the job went well,” I said. I was having a hard time cutting up like I usually did, and I had for months.
Ever since leaving Strawberry Springs, I’d been in a rut with everything, it seemed. I thought it would wear off over the weeks, but it didn’t. Clyde had noticed and grown worried. Mom had too on our weekly calls.
I had half a mind to think that Clyde invited me out to try to get me out of it. I didn’t know how it was going to go.
“You know,” Clyde said, taking another swig of his beer, “if something is ... changing with your body, you can tell me. No matter how embarrassing.”
I blinked. “I’m not a teenager, Clyde. What kind of question is that?”
“Your mom wanted me to ask.” Mom had called Clyde? She must have been really worried. “And plenty of things can change even when you’re young. It might be a receding hairline. Maybe ... things don’t stay up anymore.”
I’d jerked off. I knewthatwasn’t an issue.
“No, none of that is happening. I swear I’m fine. What about work? What’s coming up?”
“Oh, yeah. Get me talking aboutwork. That’s normal for you.” He rolled his eyes, but considered it. “Fine, we have a few more jobs in the future.”
That, at the very least, made me feel something. What I did earned me good money. I was lucky enough to never have to worry about paying rent, and I usually found a way to give any extras to Mom. She never complained to me about her finances after I moved out, but she had her own bills, and I wanted to help her.
She usually said no, so I found sneaky ways to do it.
The last time I’d helped her out, she’d threatened to hit me with a mop if I did it again. I’d have to figure out some way to pass on the luck.
“I’m your guy.”
“I know, kid. But you can’t live off of work. You need fun. Usually you always find that for yourself, but lately you come in and go home. That ain’t normal.”
He was right. The main way I had fun was finding a beautiful woman to spend the night with, but I also dabbledin other things, like hanging out at bars or playing poker whenever I got the chance. I hadn’t done any of that, choosing to distract myself with work more than anything else.
That ended tonight.
This wasn’t the kind of bar that had people playing cards in the corner. Nor was it the kind of place that had a pool table. It was all for dancing, and most people here were looking to meet someone else.
I surveyed everyone in the bar and my eyes immediately found a bachelorette party attendee staring in my direction. She had light blonde hair and blue eyes so bright I could see them from across the room. I’d had a lot of good luck with women at these kinds of parties, as they were always down to have a good time. Never with the bride-to-be, though. That would always be off-limits.
“And that’s my cue to leave,” Clyde said.
I was broken out of my trance. “I don’t mean to cut our night short.”
“It’s fine. I brought you here to talk about how you were doing, and you seem to be back to normal. Enjoy your night with her.”