“Yeah, she was.”
“I know a woman named Melanie.”
“Do you now?”
“She sounds a lot like your Melanie. She helps people.”
“Is she yours?”
How I wished she were, but that wouldn’t happen. “No, I’m not that lucky. I don’t have a woman right now.”
“So why’d you walk in here…Jonah, did you say?”
“Yeah. You can call me Joe.”
“So why’d you walk in here, Joe?”
&nb
sp; Should I tell him I’d been skulking around, trying to find someone to kick my ass? All the times I’d been down here, and never once had I stopped in this little bar. What had led me here tonight?
I took a drink of my gin—not CapRock by a long shot—and looked Mike in his rheumy eyes. “If I could tell you, I would, but I don’t have a fucking clue why I’m here.”
Mike chuckled. “You sure do remind me of your brother.”
“How can you say that? You only met him once.”
“Well, you probably heard this before, but you look a lot like him. The two of you could be—well—brothers.”
That got a smile out of me. This guy was all right. “Yeah, we do look alike. We have a younger brother too, and he looks a lot like both of us. We all favor our dad.”
“He must be a good-looking man.”
“He was. He passed away a while ago.”
“I’m sure sorry to hear that.”
Mike had no idea. If my dad were still alive, we might be able to get some real answers about what had happened to Talon. Like why the hell our father had swept it under the rug for so long. But nope, we were stuck figuring it out on our own. And I was stuck trying to figure myself out on my own. I had effectively screwed up the doctor-patient relationship with Melanie. Not that I regretted sleeping with her. I hadn’t had anyone like her for a long time. I wasn’t sure if I ever had.
That was bullshit. I had never had a woman like her, and I never would again.
“Hey, people die.” I took another sip of rotgut gin.
Mike sighed. “That they do. I sure miss my Melanie.”
“You ever think of dating again?”
He laughed so hard I thought he might choke. “An old goat like me? Who would be interested?”
I couldn’t help a smile. “A woman your age maybe? You seem like a nice enough guy.”
“No, I’m good by myself these days. No one could ever replace Melanie. I’m not looking for advice on my life. I’d rather go about giving advice to people who need it. Like you.”
“What do you think I need advice about?”
“Well, when I said you reminded me of your brother, I didn’t just mean in looks—although you do look just like him. He ended up here one day not too long ago, and I asked him point-blank what the hell he was doing hanging out down here when he could obviously afford a better place. And now here you are. What the hell are you doing out here, son?”
“Just came in for a drink.”