Page 70 of Rolling Thunder

“Evan,” Hank said. His voice was pained.

Evan lifted his chin and looked his dad squarely in the eye.

“I didn’t know.”

“Well. I guess I didn’t tell you,” Evan said, his voice turning gravelly.

“And neither did I. And I was the one who really should have,” Jake said.

Evan considered him. Jake had weathered lines on his face that made him look older than he was, and the obvious distress of knowing his wrongdoing made them seem deeper. The bright point of anger Evan had lived with for so long dulled.

“Why did you change your name?” Hank asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Because I was all over the news and people knew that I got a payout from the state. I had gold diggers trying to get with me. I wasted six months with that girl Amber. She only wanted the money, Dad. It seemed like every single person in my life screwed me over. I wanted a fresh start.”

“Guess I was one of those people, son,” Hank said, his voice thick with emotion.

“Yeah, you were.”

“And so was I,” Jake said.

While Evan had done hard time, Jake had partied in the Keys and started a successful business. That had eaten away at Evan. This was the first time forgiveness was truly an option.

Now Evan understood that odd look on Jake’s face. He was falling on his sword to make things right between Evan and their parents. Jake had nothing to gain from this. It was a completely selfless act. There was something else that Jake wasn’t telling him even now, but he would have to wait until they were alone to try to find out what.

Despite sometimes wanting to punch his lights out, he loved his brother fiercely. That love was the only reason he’d sacrificed himself to save him from the Pirates.

“Suppose you’d let me make it up to you?” Hank asked finally. “I’d sure like to see the work you’re doing on these houses.”

It was as close to an apology or an olive branch as Evan ever thought he’d ever get from the tough old man. So he nodded.

“Waitress!” Hank called out, straightening up and waving his hand in the air.

“Let me buy you a beer?” he asked Evan.

“Make it a whiskey,” Evan corrected.

Bev reached across the table and grasped Evan’s hand. She’d stopped crying, but her eyes were still red.

“We’d love to meet your new girl, Evan,” Bev interjected, squeezing her husband’s hand so tight, her knuckles were white.

“Yeah, I’ll ask her.” Evan replied hesitantly.

CHAPTER 29

“You’re kidding!” Kayla exclaimed when he told her the abridged story of the meeting with his parents. Her face lit up, and she hugged him. “That’s great!”

After a beat, she added, “Right?”

“Yeah. I mean…I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still kinda angry with them.”

“But they came all the way here to try to make it right. That’s huge.”

He nodded, but he didn’t quite share her enthusiasm.

“They want to meet you.”

Her face seemed to slowly freeze over. The reaction set him back, and he had a terrible doubt that he’d risked literally everything for this girl and what if she wasn’t really in it with him? What if she was just using him like Amber had? A cold, bitter feeling hollowed him out. It was just one kick too many, and he didn’t have the energy to deal with it.

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