“If Sarah invited you, she wants you to come.”
“It’s not Sarah I’m worried about. Jess hates me. And let’s face it. You and me—we’re friends. Josh and I are friends. Sara invited me to be peacemaker, I think.”
“And you’re not comfortable with that.”
“The whole situation sucks shit, and we both know it. But Josh is … was … my best friend. I’ve never taken sides, but…”
“I think it’s great you want to be there for him, Rick. God knows he won’t accept any support from me.”
Rick angled him a curious look. “Would you even offer it?”
“I don’t know.” Tom felt an old, familiar anxiety wind through him. “It’s too weird. But I don’t hate him, if that’s what you’re asking. I never did.”
Rick nodded. “I know that. I think Josh probably knows that, too.”
“Well, he could probably stand to see a friendly face, so I don’t see why you shouldn’t come. You don’t even have to talk to Jess, though why she has a bug up her ass about you is more than I know.”
Did Rick’s cheeks flush the slightest bit? It was hard to tell with the early summer tan already darkening his face.
“I came for another reason, too,” Rick said. He gave a half-smile. “Don’t know why I need it because everyone in this town knows me and has since I was in diapers, but I applied for a job with Jack Skillin’s charter operation. He wants references.”
Tom could understand why. Rick hadn’t exactly been a model citizen lately and any employer was taking a risk. It had nothing to do with his disability and everything to do with his very public drinking problem.
“You’re asking me for a reference?”
Rick sighed. “Yeah, I am. You’re one of the few people who still talks to me in this shit town. And before you say it, yes, I know why that is. I’m trying to get my drinking under control, Tom. I know it’s a problem.”
“You going to be working the boats?”
Rick huffed out a bitter laugh. “Nope. I get to work the sales shack. But it’s something. I’ve got to do something or I’m gonna go crazy. Besides, working the dock means I’m around if my mom needs me.”
Finally, Tom thought. He’d felt for a long time that Rick had too much time on his hands. He was like a powder keg waiting for someone to light the fuse, and now he was dealing with his mom’s illness on top of everything else. “The drinking thing … is that going to be a problem on Saturday?”
“I don’t always drink myself stupid,” Rick said dryly. “I do know how to have a few and lock it down. I just choose not to most of the time.”
Tom wasn’t quite sure he believed him, but he was prepared to give Rick the benefit of the doubt, especially if he was finally looking for a job and trying to get his act together. “I’ll back you up. You can tell Jack that.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Yeah, well, life’s a hell of a deal, isn’t it? We can all use all the help we can get.” He got up and took the glasses off the top of his head, putting them on a workbench. “Come on up to the house. I’ve got a few sodas in the fridge and some leftover pizza from Gino’s. We can sit out on the deck and watch the fish jump.”
For over an hour they sat on Tom’s back deck, feet propped up on the railing as the sun went down and the water of the cove morphed from peachy-violet to gray. They ate Tom’s cold pizza, drank Cokes, and said little, letting the quiet night work its magic. Tom’s thoughts went from Josh and Erin back to Abby.
Abby was about as different from Erin as she could get. Not just in looks, though there was that, too. She might be paying him to fix her house but she didn’t need him. She was independent and more than a little strong-willed. Sweet, but at the same time he got the feeling that she always made her own decisions and didn’t let anything stand in her way.
He thought of Erin buckling to parental pressure over the demands of her heart. The idea of the stubborn Abby doing such a thing made him laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Rick asked, swilling the last bit of soda from the can.
Tom shrugged. “Nothing, really. Just thinking about people.”
“Anyone in particular? That Foster woman, maybe?”
No one ever said Rick was stupid. Tom threw the crust of the last piece of pizza back into the box.
When Tom didn’t answer, Rick leaned forward and put his hands on his knees. “Talk around town is that she’s fixing that place up to sell it. Doesn’t look like she’s going to be around for long.”
There was an unspoken warning in Rick’s words. “Yeah, I’d be stupid to start something there, wouldn’t I?”