‘Yes,’ I say to Mac, and he reaches for a notebook. ‘He very much is.’
Chapter Twenty-Six
Jake
At eight-twenty, Serenity sends me a text.He’s here, she says.
At the house, we’ve already had dinner. Though I wasn’t hungry, my stomach tied up in knots. The TV is on. Gramps and I are both wearing suits. He thought we’d be taken more seriously that way. Sat on the couch opposite me, I give him a nod and slide my phone back into my inside pocket.
‘So, remind me where it is you’re going tonight?’ Mom asks innocently, without taking her eyes off her property show.
‘Uh, it’s a hotel bar over on Main,’ I tell her. ‘I forget what it’s called exactly.’
‘And your father is not invited, why? He was an NFL player too.’
She already doesn’t like that I surprised her with a visit from Gramps yesterday, or that he’s not wanted to spend every second of his day with her today. ‘Figured I don’t wanna be seen like I’m bragging, you know?’ I tell her. ‘Besides, the guys just wanna shake hands with the legend that is Art Mackabee. They can meet Dad anytime. Some of them have already.’
On the other couch, River puts her arms around my dad’s shoulders. ‘You’re still a legend to me, Daddy,’ she murmurs. ‘Even if you were never a quarterback.’
‘Everybody justlovesa quarterback,’ Dad replies with a sigh of acceptance.
‘You snapped that ball with the best of ’em,’ River says, by way of consolation, rubbing his head. ‘It’s a shame nobody was paying attention.’
Dad rolls his eyes playfully at her.
River knows everything. She was desperate to accompany us, just so she could see the inside of a strip club. I managed to talk her down. She knows why we’re going, and why she can’t come along.
‘Shall we go then?’ Gramps says, getting to his feet, and I do the same. He then picks up a black zip-up binder – the contents of which I hope will be Serenity’s salvation and her ticket out of working for Kale McCoy.
‘Have fun you guys,’ River says, and checking Mom and Dad aren’t looking my way, holds up two crossed fingers toward me.
I offer her a nervous smile in return.
‘Yes, go enjoy yourselves,’ Mom says. ‘Daddy, don’t you be getting carried away now. I know what happens when younger players start offering to buy you a beer.’
‘I’ll be on my best behavior,’ Gramps mumbles as we head for the door.
At Surly’s, the music is loud and the lights are low. I follow Gramps inside the entrance, the both of us bathed in a glow the shade of neon pink.
‘You ever been to a strip club before?’ I ask him over the noise.
‘A few, back in the day,’ he responds to my surprise. ‘They just weren’t dressed up quite as nice as this one.’
We pay the entry fee. I’ve kept my cap on, as I know from Serenity that the CCTV is extensive. A waitress shows us to a table near the stage and she gives Gramps an odd look, as though he’s a senior citizen and looks a little too respectable for a joint such as this.
‘I’m here to speak to Jaxon,’ I tell her, and she gives me a nod. We order a couple of beers. The girl on stage is not Serenity. She’s raven-haired and dancing wearing only a thong and a pink feather boa. She seems popular with the guys surrounding the stage.
Gramps watches her.
‘You think we can do this?’ I ask him.
He drags his eyes from the stage and fixes my stare. ‘Depends on whether our friend Mr McCoy is prepared to play hardball.’
It’s a while before Jaxon makes his appearance. He wears jeans and a jacket, a logo on his T-shirt that’s snug around his belly.
‘You’re Jake, right?’
I stand and we shake hands. ‘Yes. This is Art Mackabee,’ I say, introducing my grandfather.
