Second Chance Pass (Virgin River #5)(86)

Mike sat up at the bar, just one stool separating him from the stranger. “I got that, Jack. I’ll have a beer. Take care of my friend here.” Mike pulled out a few bills. “It’s my pleasure.”

“You sure about that?” Jack asked Mike.

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

Jack set them up with drinks, then went back down the bar to where his trusty clipboard with inventory sheets waited. There was no conversation between Mike and the Shady Brady. Just silent, serious drinking.

Paige came into the bar carrying a fresh stack of towels. She recognized the man, was paralyzed for a moment, then gave him a very slight nod before escaping back into the kitchen. Mike half expected to see Preacher right away, but nothing more happened. Then there was a low, rumbled comment from the man next to him. “Things worked out then,” he said, having noticed the obvious pregnancy.

Mike chuckled in spite of himself. “Oh, yeah. Just fine.” He looked at the man and lifted a brow. “Once more on that boilermaker?”

“Nah. I don’t want to put you out.”

“Jack,” Mike called. “Fix up my friend here.”

Though Jack scowled disapprovingly, he served the whiskey and refreshed the beer. It was a strange situation—Jack appreciated the help the man had given them in an emergency, but he wanted nothing to do with growers. They were trouble. And he wouldn’t have their money in his till. He went back to his clipboard and counting, leaving the men to finish their drinks.

It wasn’t long before the stranger scraped back his stool to stand up. He looked at Mike and tipped the brim of his hat.

Mike pulled a hand out of his jacket pocket, put something on the bar and slid it toward him, turning his black eyes up at the standing man. He took away his hand and there, on the bar, was a padlock.

Shady Brady glanced over his shoulder toward Jack, finding him occupied with counting bottles beneath the bar. He slid the padlock off the bar and into his pocket. “Thanks for the drinks,” he said to Mike.

“Hey. Don’t worry about it. Even a private sort of guy like you should catch a break sometimes, huh?” He jutted his chin toward Jack. “He’s not real flexible.” Then Mike looked back into his beer.

For the first time ever, Shady Brady gave a quick, short grin. He touched the brim of his hat again, though no one was watching him. Then he quit the bar.

Mike smiled into his beer. There, he was thinking. Mike knew and Shady Brady knew he knew. Something about him was iffy—but not all bad. Their business was done. At least for now.

Fourteen

O nce the Haggerty family had been told a wedding was imminent, Paul called Joe. “How are those plans coming for Preacher and Mike?”

“Close to ready for you, buddy,” Joe said.

“Maybe you could sketch up another house and we could talk about design…”

“Yeah? What you got?” Joe asked.

Paul took a breath. “You’ll never believe it,” he said. “It didn’t go the way we thought it would. Vanni—she didn’t let me down easy. Turns out I was a little slow, which shouldn’t surprise you. We’re getting married.”

“Whoa! You serious?”

“Why wait?” Paul said. “It’s not like we need time to get to know each other.”

“But what about that little problem we talked about?”

“It turns out, it’s not my problem after all. And Vanni—God, man. She’s been just wonderful about everything—me taking so long to come clean, having a serious complication to work out, everything. We’re gonna get it done before Tom leaves for boot camp in two weeks. I thought maybe, if you had some plans lying around, it might be a good time to visit Virgin River. And if the plans work for your clients—I could stay right here and build.”

“Who’s the third set for?”

“Me and Vanni,” Paul said. “The general gave us a nice big parcel on the other side of the stable and, brother, having our own house down here sounds better all the time. Might as well build it before I get real busy.”

Joe laughed. “Good for you, man,” he said. “Any idea what you’re looking for?”

“Oh, yeah—Vanni loves my house in Grants Pass. But that’s set up for a bachelor or a couple without kids—sunken great room, that kind of thing. Raise the floor and level it, add a bedroom, more kitchen…You know what to do.”

“I know what to do.” Joe laughed.

“And come down for the wedding. It’s gonna be small and quick, but Jack tells me he’s calling the boys and there could be poker.”

“Deal me in.”

There was enough going on in Virgin River in June to create a great deal of excitement. First there was high-school graduation and the following weekend Vanni and Paul would be married. Somewhere between the two, Rick would be home on leave before shipping out to Iraq and for both his leave and the wedding, the rest of the marines would hit town.

Vanni had been busy in her father’s kitchen whenever she wasn’t tending to the baby, trying to prepare hors d’oeuvres for a Saturday-evening open house for Tom’s graduation. The youngsters would be roving from party to party and would barely make an appearance, but Walt still insisted Tom deserved a celebration of his own, not just one coupled with the wedding the following weekend. And he was right in this—Tom had graduated with honors and an appointment to West Point was a huge achievement. Even though Tom had a three-star for a father, it still required a near-perfect GPA and a congressional recommendation.