“Still, German engineering.I fought in Germany during the war, you know.”
Liam frowned. It was the first he’d heard of any military service, and he really wasn’t sure the years matched up. “What war?”
“Vietnam.”
“I—wasn’t aware there was a lot of fighting in Germany during the Vietnam War.”
“Sure. Bar fights never really go out of style.”
Liam sighed. What the hell was he doing in North Falls? “Were you even in Germanyduring the Vietnam War, or did you make that up just for the joke?”
“I was there. I did the standard backpack-around-Europe thing when I was a kid. Saw some pretty nice cars.”
Okay, they were back to—well, no, talking about cars hadn’t really been the point of the conversation. But it wasn’t as if Liam had any idea what the point of the conversationhadbeen. Maybe it was time he got a littlemore direct. “It’s good to see you. You look well.”
“Thanks. You too. Where are you staying while you’re here?”
Staying? Oh, no. No, that wasn’t what Liam was doing. Not at all.
But then Calvin said, “This isn’t the best place for a real talk. I know, it’s not Grand Central Station, but I do have customers coming in and out. We should have a few drinks tonight and get caught up.”
And suddenlyit sounded like the best possible way to spend an evening. Was it warm enough for a fire in Calvin’s fire pit? Probably, if they wore jackets. He and Calvin could sit back there with a bottle of scotch and a couple glasses, staring into the flames, talking when the mood struck them. Maybe Liam would even share the situation at work; Calvin had no patience with mindless authority and lots of respectfor people who did their jobs well and without drama, so he’d be outraged on Liam’s behalf. That would be nice.
“I guess I could stay. But I don’t know where. There’s still no hotel, I assume?”
“Connie and Dale Ingram have a bed-and-breakfast. I’ve never stayed there, obviously, but they’re good people. They’d do a good job.”
Liam recognized the names, but—a B&B? Possibly his worst nightmare.And he was less than three hours from the city. He could just hang out with Uncle Calvin for a couple hours and drive home afterward.
Drunk.
Shit.
“Do you have their number?”
“Nope. I don’t have much patience with those newfangled devices.”
“Telephones?”
“Blabber-boxes, if you ask me.”
“I’ve talked on the phone with you lots of times. Not lately, but there isn’t much ‘newfangled’ about—”Liam caught himself. He wasn’t going to be dragged into another one of Calvin’s nonsensical conversations, at least not until he had a glass of scotch in his hand. “Okay. How can I get in touch with them?”
“Just drive over. River Road, west of Main Street. It’s a purple house.”
“Purple?”
Calvin shrugged. “It’s a nice purple. Almost blue.”
“And they’re legitimately running a B&B. You’re notsending me over to some stranger’s house to embarrass myself with weird questions about wanting to sleep in their spare bedroom.”
“Damn. That would have been excellent—why didn’t you suggest itbeforeI sent you to the right place?”
It should have been reassuring, but Uncle Calvin was absolutely devious enough to pull that sort of double-cross, especially if he resented Liam for what had happenedwith Ben. Which surely he did. “Is there a sign or anything? Something that will tell me I’m in the right place?”
“When you see a purple house, you’ll know you’ve arrived.”
“And we can have a drink later? Maybe a fire at your place?”
