“Go put on something nice.”
He didn’t own anything that even came close to that description. Nothing like the black buttoned down shirts his brothers wore. But he had black t-shirts. He bought those every time they went on sale, so he pulled on one that had hit that sweet spot of being broken in enough to be soft to the touch, but not yet stretched out and worn.
In the bathroom, he glowered at his face in the mirror. Should he shave? He ran a hand over his five o’clock shadow. No, he was fine. He needed to get past the bouncers, but he didn’t need to actually impress anyone. The stubble could stay.
When he returned to the living room, Will was giving his boots a quick toe polish, and Adam was making cooing sounds at Charlie. “Your grandpa’s going to have a good time tonight,” the traitorous uncle said in a sing song voice. “Yes he is. Oh yes he—”
Owen cleared his throat. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
But once they were piled into his truck and driving down the highway toward the city, he not-so-grudgingly admitted to his brothers that Becca’s instincts had been right. He should have realized sooner she needed an empty house in order for Charlie and Hayden to bond properly.
“Remember when you caught Josh with a girl in his room? How old was he?” Adam laughed.
Owen’s neck burned at the memory. “He was seventeen. Fuck, that was embarrassing for all of us. But don’t bring that up now, God damn it, Adam. She gave birth two weeks ago. Donotput that shit in my head.”
“She’s not going to do anything with Hayden.”
From beside Owen, Will did a slow turn to the back seat. “You know this how?”
“We talk,” Adam said. “What? I’m the cool one. And I’m closer to her age than Owen’s. She grew up with me in the next room, remember? I’m her big brother.”
“No you’re not,” Owen grunted. “But if you’ve got reassuring intel that she can barely stand Hayden and is being a mature co-parent, I’m all ears.”
“No dice, bro. She loves him—sorry, but it’s true, and you know it. That’s no secret. But she doesn’t trust him, and she’s holding him at arm’s length. So yes, she’s being a mature co-parent. That part is bang on. She learned that from you and Rachel. You can’t blame her.”
Owen rubbed the back of his neck. “That feels like a backhanded compliment.”
“That’s because it was,” Will said dryly. He pulled out his phone. “Changing the subject, some people from the unit are going to be at the club tonight.”
Owen made a face. As a senior army reservist, he didn’t always like to hang out with army people. The rank stuff got blurred during social events, and he didn’t love that. Of course, as he was being forced to examine more and more these days, when did he love anything other than holding his grandson and watching a baseball game?
Will waved off his bad mood. “Don’t worry. It’s 90s Throwback night at the club, so not the younger guys. Some senior NCOs, their partners. Rafe Minelli and his wife.”
“Stevie’s coming,” Adam piped up from the back seat. “And some of the crew from Warriors Moving.”
“Should be a good night,” Owen murmured.
When they arrived, they had to park down the street because the lot was already full. At the door they paid their entrance fees, had their ID checked—always amusing for Owen, who had felt too old to be ID’d since before he was even of age to buy booze. Having a kid early did that to a guy. He’d been old before his time, and now… well, at least the bouncer didn’t kick him out for not wearing a nice enough shirt.
By the looks of some of the people in line with them, the boot shine hadn’t even been necessary.
Have a good time, he repeated to himself. A good challenge.
After their eyes had adjusted to the dark, Will gestured around the space, which Owen had never been in before. “The bar is over there,” he yelled, pointing to the left, and around the dance floor. To the right, where he pointed next, was a stepped up seating area, darker and hard to see in, but just as full of people as the dance floor was. “I’m going to look for the guys from the unit. You two hit the bar, then let’s meet over on the far side.”
Even though the music was from the 1990s and the crowd was more mature than the average club-goer, Owen still felt older than dirt as he followed Adam. His younger brother elbowed his way toward the bar like a pro.
When was the last time Owen had bellied up to any bar, let alone one surrounded by scantily-clad nubile bodies? Did going to the Hedgehog a couple of times a year even count if he just played darts and Lore brought him beer like he was some kind of antisocial ogre?
He winced.
Hewasan antisocial ogre. And everyone was having a great time. He could learn something from them. Scanning the crowd, he forced himself to keep an open mind about the evening.
That was when he saw her, in the middle of a pack of women.
Dark bouncing waves, and a lot of skin.
Kerry twisted to the music, a little halter top shimmying around her torso as she moved. It was metallic, reflecting the light. Her skin sparkled too.
