together with her ex,” I half-heartedly assured him. At least I hoped she wasn’t.
“I’m not talking about that asshole. I’m talking about the curse.”
“The curse?” I started laughing, thinking he was fucking around. But when his jaw ticked I realized he wasn’t. “Wait. Are you being serious?”
“I saw you today, with Reagan. You know who it reminded me of? Pop, how he was with Mom. You saw what happened to him when she died.”
“I think that has more to do with him being an alcoholic than a make-believe curse.”
“I’m just saying. This is the only girl you’ve ever had any real feelings for, and the first time we have a family dinner, her fiancé shows up.”
“Ex-fiancé.”
“I like Reagan. I do. But I can’t see what happened to Mom, Uncle Will, or Pop happen to you.” He inhaled deeply and I could see the tortured look in his eyes.
If this was about something else, I’d give him shit and ask him if it was his time of the month. But I could see that this was really bothering him. He was genuinely concerned for my well-being. “Hank, I can’t promise I’m not going to die. But I can promise you that no matter what happens, I won’t end up like Pop.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“Yes I can. Because I have you. And Jimmy, but don’t tell him I said that. You guys would never let that happen. Just like I wouldn’t let that happen to either of you. If things work out with Reagan, then great. And if they don’t, it’ll suck balls but I’ll deal with it.”
Hank was silent for a few moments before he stood and headed for the door. There was still a dark cloud of doubt shadowing his face, but it seemed like he’d said what he’d come here to say. I figured he’d leave and we’d never talk about this Taster’s Choice moment again, but he surprised me by pulling me into a hug.
He gave me two hard pats on my back, then walked out without saying another word, leaving me confused and questioning everything I’d thought I knew about Hank in his wake.
I stood in place, not sure of what had just happened. I’d never doubted my brother loved me, but he’d never shown it like that before. And I’d had no idea that he’d ever given any real credence to the Comfort Curse. I was still trying to process that new information when Cash stuck his head through the door.
“There’s a woman at the bar asking for you.”
“If it’s not Reagan, I don’t want to see her.”
“She said her name is Tina and that she’s Reagan’s mom.”
“Her mom?”
Cash shrugged. “That’s what she said.”
On my way out to meet her, I was trying to think of all the reasons that Reagan’s mom would show up here, and none of them were good.
Was Reagan hurt?
Was Reagan gone?
Was Reagan going to get married to a man that would do something as stupid as cheat on the most amazing woman in the world?
By the time I made it to the bar, I had worked myself up into near panic.
“Is Reagan okay?” I asked as I approached the woman who’d come to my house to talk her daughter into getting back with her ex.
“Fancy’s fine.” She assured me and held out her hand. “I’m Tina, by the way. I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself earlier.”
I shook her hand. “Hi, I’m Billy.”
“Hi, Billy. Can we go somewhere a little quieter to talk?”
My stomach dropped as I nodded and ushered Tina back to where I’d just been. My office.
After we sat down she asked. “Do you know my daughter’s favorite color?”
I stared at her, wondering if this was some sort of trick question. “Yes.”
“What is it?” she asked as emotion began filling her bottom lids.
“Yellow,” I answered.
Her lips pursed. “Do you know what she is most scared of?”
“Snakes.”
“Do you know what time she wakes up every morning?”
“Is she okay? What is this about—” I started to stand.
“She’s fine.” She lifted her hand and repeated. “Do you know what time she wakes up in the morning?”
“Yes.” I slowly lowered back down. “Five twelve.”
Her lower lip trembled as she took in a shaky breath. “Do you know what the worst day of her life was?”
“Yes.”
“Was it the day that Hal died?”
I thought about lying to her and saying yes, but for some reason I didn’t. “No. That was the second worst.”
She gripped the edges of the chair as if bracing herself for