I follow him outside, across the street, to Rudy's. One nice thing about bars that serve lunch is that they tend to be pretty quiet during the day.
Mike leads us to a corner booth.
“I’m thinking burgers,” he says.
My shoulders ache as I hunch them to shrug. It’s okay, though. When our server shows up, Mike has me covered.
"Two cheeseburgers with fries and Cokes," he says. The woman scribbles down the order and then leaves us.
After a series of painful swallows, my throat loosens enough for me to croak out, “Thanks.”
“Gotta eat something,” he says, like it’s no big deal. But it’s a massive deal to me.
Before Hollywood and Cal got together, it was just the two of us, Holly and me. Then suddenly, our party of two expanded to include an entire found family of people willing to embrace us without expecting anything except basic kindness and decency in turn.
I didn’t trust it at first. I thought there had to be a catch. But time and time again, I’ve been proved wrong in that assumption.
“It’s not just the food,” I tell him. “I’m rusty when it comes to dealing with assholes like that.”
“Is this the first time one of ‘em’s come into the firm?" Mike asks. I nod, and he snorts. “Brazen motherfucker. I take it he’s not the only one crawling out of the woodwork since Jim Davis’ release.”
“Mostly it’s just been calls and emails, which isn’t so bad. But for a while it seemed like things were finally slowing down.”
“You’re still getting emails?”
I nod. “Somehow they always find me even after I change my address.”
Mike frowns, looking puzzled. He’s rougher around the edges than Austin is, but he looks so much like his brother when he squints.
Our server returns with our Cokes. I sip mine tentatively, not wanting to upset my already precarious stomach. I catch Mike staring at something behind me and turn to see what it is. Scanning the bar, my gaze lands on his ex-girlfriend, Lola, standing by the lectern with her arms crossed.
“She looks happy to see you. What exactly happened there?" I ask because I’m both curious and desperate to aim the spotlight away from me.
He rubs the back of his neck. “We can talk about something nicer than that.”
“Like what? The number of damnation threats I’ve received this week from my adoring public?”
He cracks a sardonic smirk.
“Touché.” He pauses. “I guess you could say Lo and I disagreed on the important things.”
“Such as?”
He shrugs, and I wait. Finally, he says, “Such as, how far is too far to go to ensure your significant others’ safety.”
“Your brother would probably say you can never go far enough.”
“My brother forgets that he’s a retired soldier, emphasis on retired. But he’s comfortable playing the hero.”
“I noticed.” I drink some more of my Coke.
“Don’t get me wrong, I respect the hell out of him for it. He cares about people. And he’s saved my ass in a big way more than once.”
“How so?”
An unreadable mood passes like a shadow over Mike’s features. He drums his fingers on the table like he’s debating whether or not to respond.
“Has Austin told you anything about our dad?”