“You’re being awfully sincere,” I say, eyeing him skeptically. “You okay?”
He rolls his eyes, scratching at his neck.
“What? Did Sef tell you to play nice or something?”
“Believe it or not,” he says, walking toward the door beforeplacing one hand on top of it, “I simply want my little brother to have a good time when visiting his family.”
“Speaking of a good time…Do you know the name of the younger woman who works at Welch’s? Their daughter, I think?”
Nik runs his tongue along the length of his teeth, as his eyes weigh my words and find them guilty for whatever reason. “I met Mr. Welch, the owner. He mentioned he had a daughter…. He talked about her like she wasreallyyoung, though.”
“She’s at least Nadia’s age,” I say definitively, lowering to sit on the futon. “What else did he say?”
Nik’s eyes narrow further. “He’s a nice guy. Super friendly. A talker…I honestly don’t remember his daughter’s name, or his, though I’m sure he told me.” He pauses to scratch his brow with his thumbnail. “I do remember him saying that his wife’s name is Julia, though. He talked about her a lot. She’s, uh, she’s sick.”
“Sick how?”
“Alzheimer’s, I think. The early kind, from the sound of things.”
Fuck,that makes a lot of sense. And,fuck,that is so, so sad. I swallow, pawing at my neck. “I know her,” I tell him.
“The daughter?”
“No, the wife. She was my art teacher.”
Nik’s eyes flare as he puts the pieces together. “Welch, of course. Right, oh, shit…” His mouth twists into a frown, before he wipes it away with his wrist. “I’m sorry, man. I know how important she was to you back then.” He moves to sit next to me on the futon, wide-legged and hunched over, staring at the floor between his feet.
“Yeah…” I let the awkward silence breathe a second too long. “I think I freaked her out,” I admit, wanting to fill the quiet.
“The daughter?”
“No,” I say defensively. “Well…” I breathe out unevenly, feigning a laugh. “Maybe her too.”
“What happened?”
I tell him everything, from the moment Nadia shooed me out of the van to the moment we drove away. Minus the cigarettes. I’m not a snitch.
“Well…Shit.”
“Yeah,” I agree.
“It’s not your fault, man. You didn’t know.”
I sigh, placing my head in my hands. “I don’t know, Nik. If it isn’t my fault, why do I feel so guilty over it?”
He sighs, grazing the side of his thumb along the side of his nose. “Do me a favor and go over there tomorrow and apologize. Take some of our beer as a peace offering—he seemed to like it. You didn’t do anything wrong but…itisa small town and people talk, and rumors spread. We need everyone here to like us if the brewery is going to work out.”
I nod slowly as Nik stands and moves across the bedroom. “Yeah, okay. I will,” I tell him.
“And, Milo?” Nik says my name sternly, waiting for me to look up at him. “I don’t know if this girl wasactuallyflirting back or if it’s all in that huge head of yours but, either way, keep your hands to yourself, ’kay?”
I waggle my fingers at him, smiling crookedly. “These bad boys? They have a mind of their own.”
“Seriously,” he warns. “From what Sef has told me, the Welches’ daughter seems to be the town’s darling. Donothurt her.”
Killersuits my mystery girl a lot better than the nicknamedarling.“Scout’s honor,” I say, holding up a salute.
He mimes smacking his head into the doorframe, laughing. “Please don’t make me regret inviting you here.”
