Conrad’s standing there with his fiancée, Penny Pepper, beside him. Penny Pepper…the murder podcaster.
Fantastic.
If anyone can see through me, it’s her.
Maybe it’s not too late to peel out of here, make a break for it before she picks up on anything. If I stick around, it’ll be the murder of my career she covers next.
I roll down the window. Cold air rushes in, stealing what little warmth had built up.
“Everyone’s heading to Sammy’s,” Conrad says, his breath creating clouds with each word. “You coming?”
Sammy’s, the team’s usual haunt, sits about three blocks away. It’s usually a great place to down some wings and a couple beers. Not tonight.
“Not really in the mood.”
Penny leans down. “You looked rough out there tonight.”
“Thanks for the support.”
“She means—” Conrad starts.
“I know what she means.”
Conrad glances at Penny, and she nods slightly, understanding something unspoken. I guess that’s how it is when you’re dating someone.
“I’m an ice cube,” she says. “So I’m getting in the car. But Conrad’s not leaving until you talk, so for everyone’s sake, just talk to him.” She squeezes Conrad’s arm and saunters off toward his car, a few spots away.
Conrad, meanwhile, heads over to my passenger door, opens it, and drops into the seat with a grunt. He waits all of one second before cutting to the chase. “What’s going on?”
I stare for a second, then, well, why not? If anybody could understand, it’s Conrad. “I’m in a situation.”
“I’m listening.”
“Made a deal that seemed simple, but the stakes are higher than I thought.”
He waits.
“And if I screw it up, it could end my career. So…that’s great.”
Conrad’s looking out the windshield at the empty parking lot and the distant lights of downtown St. Paul. “Been there.”
“…And? What do I do?”
“You show up. You play with everything you got. And you leave the rest to God.” He shrugs, a gesture that seems too casual for the weight of what he’s saying.
I blink at him. He can’t be serious. “That’s it?”
“That’s it.” He turns in the seat to face me more fully. “Someone told me once, faith isn’t knowing it’ll work out. It’s doing the thing anyway. It’s showing up when you want to run, believing that God is with you.”
His words fill the darkness, settle over the silence like a thick, heavy blanket.
A beat passes and Conrad sighs, slaps a hand on my shoulder. “Hang in there, Kane. I’ve been where you’re standing. But sometimes faith takes a leap.” He holds up a fist. “See you at Sammy’s.”
I tap it. He gets out, his words still caught in the clouded breath, lingering.
God is with you.
Hardly. God left the day I buried my mother.
