"Are you in trouble at work?"
"I had to argue for making this trip today. My manager wasn't happy. She thinks I'm jeopardizing my job, but she agrees that I haven't broken any rules. Nothing I've done for Walter has been medical in nature or occurred when I'm on duty. Still, it's a gray area, and if Catherine goes after me again, it could put me in a tricky position."
"And that hasn't made you reconsider this trip to the bookstore?" he asked.
"No. I don't believe I'm doing anything wrong. And I'm not going to let Catherine scare me off. She may not be that impressed with me, but I am also not that impressed with her. I reminded my boss that we've been to Walter's apartment three times, so it's not like he's being well taken care of."
"That might not be her fault. He is a stubborn man."
"You're right. I'm just saying that the suspicion goes both ways where she and I are concerned."
"Got it. But let's not forget I'm part of this, too," he said.
"Yes, and I'm glad about that. I was afraid I might have to bail, and I was hoping you'd take Walter if I couldn't."
"I would have done that." He shot her another glance as he stopped at a red light. "But I prefer doing it with you."
She felt oddly touched by his words, or maybe it was the look in his eyes that seemed far warmer than any he'd given her before. "You seem different today—more relaxed."
He immediately turned away with her personal comment. "Maybe."
She wondered if his better mood was because of his music session on the beach, but she had already decided to let him keep that time private. She still hoped that at some point he would open up to her. But that wasn't going to happen now. So, she'd take a more relaxed Jax Ridley without question and enjoy the warmer atmosphere between them.
Ten minutes later, they pulled up at Walter's apartment. When they arrived at his door, he opened it with an eager smile. He was dressed in a dark-blue suit and had his hat in his hand, as if he'd been waiting for them for a while. There was no sign of his granddaughter, which made everything easier.
They ushered Walter down to the car. He got into the back seat with a spryness she hadn't witnessed in their previous encounters. She was happy to see him looking well. She just hoped he wasn't heading for a crushing wave of disappointment. But they were going, so it would be what it would be. As they drove, she asked Walter to tell them about the club.
"It was warm and inviting," Walter said. "A dark, dimly lit space, filled with people and laughter and music. When I entered the lounge, I felt like I was stepping into another world. The music was so good. And Reina was the best. She sang like an angel. Her gift was clearly from God."
"Did her sister sing there as well?" she asked.
Walter seemed surprised by the question. "You know about her sister?"
"Jax and I tried to find information on Reina, but there was more about Anita."
"Anita was the star. She was four years older than Reina, and Reina was always in her shadow. Outside of the lounge, she was Anita's backup singer, but the Starlight Lounge was too small for Anita, so Reina would get her chance to take the stage there on her own. She was damn good."
"So, you and Reina were friends?" she ventured, turning around in her seat so she could see him better.
"I was in love with her," Walter said candidly. "But we never had a chance. We were in our early twenties. I was getting deployed soon, and her sister wanted to take her on tour as backup, so time was quickly running away from us. Knowing that, we started spending time together away from the club. It was a great couple of weeks, and then my orders came in. The night before I left, she told me when we said goodbye that she would leave me something at the Starlight Lounge in case she wasn't there when I got back."
"What was she going to leave and where was she going to put it?" she asked.
"She didn't say what it was," Walter replied. "But she told me there was a loose brick in the dressing room where she would stash it. No one knew about it but her."
"A loose brick?" Jax queried, doubt in his voice. "That doesn't sound like a great plan. Why not just give it to you before you left?"
"She said it wasn't ready yet," Walter replied. "And Reina believed in fate. She thought if we were meant to be, fate would bring us together again."
"Did you ever go back to the lounge?"
"I was deployed for over two years, and a few days before my unit was due to come home, we were ambushed, and I suffered serious injuries. I spent six months in a hospital in Germany. When I was discharged, I was transferred to a base on the other side of the country where I could continue my rehabilitation. By the time I was fully recovered, three years had passed since I had left Oceanside, and Reina was just a lovely memory. It felt too late for us. I met my wife a few weeks later. We built a life and a family together."
"Why look now?" Jax asked. "It sounds like you made your peace with what happened a long time ago."
"Living on the other side of the country, it was easier to forget about this place. And I never wanted to be disloyal to my wife. I loved her, too. I want that to be clear. But she passed away several years ago, and since I came to live with Catherine, all the memories of Reina and me came back."
"That makes sense," she said.
