Page 15 of One Chance to Stay
“I play him a song?”
Jon shook his head, and Amanda leaned across the table. She hooked a finger, demanding I come closer. “Patrick, we’re gonna need some flair.”
Flair? I hadplentyof flair. Half my job behind the bar required putting on a show for patrons. The more glass flips and setting drinks on fire, the more the tips hit the counter. If they wanted flair…
“I reach around and pull out my—” I checked my character sheet. “— my harp of seduction?” Roll with it. “I belt out a tune about a… a… dancing king!”
Jon cheered. Jason rolled a die, and everybody cheered when it landed on sixteen. “Your magic is working. The Lich King is enamored.”
Sure, I could end the battle right now. The game might be over, but after seeing how vigorously they played, I needed to come up with a fitting solution. Having worked plenty of leather events at Spectrum, I knew the power of devotion. Maybe I could get my new plaything wearing chaps?
I rose to my feet, pretending to strum a harp. “I lure the Lich King closer.” Jason nodded his head. “Just as he gets within arm’s reach, I pull out a rope and tie it around his neck.”
Jon and Amanda’s eyebrows shot up.
“Call me your bard daddy.”
They all snickered as Jason rolled the final dice. “Patrick… I mean, Elric the Bard, now has himself a Lich King sub.”
Jon shrugged. “Not the weirdest end to a campaign.”
“So… Patrick.”
Amanda locked eyes with me while Jon continued his victory dance. Jason grabbed the dice, putting them in a velvet bag, but she never looked away. I could swear my cheeks burned from the intensity. Leaning back in her chair, she folded her arms.
“I heard a rumor.”
Jon stopped his dance, plopping into his chair. Resting his chin on his hands, he batted his eyelashes. “Town gossip!”
I didn’t tense, but I didn’t laugh either. I should have known the moment I opened my mouth that rumors would circulate. It either came from Logan or Gladys. The only person I knew who didn’t open their mouth was Seamus. I suspected that he didn’t partake in town gossip. I kept my mouth shut, not adding or confirming to whatever tasty morsel Amanda had at the ready.
She tried baiting me. “Have anything to say for yourself?”
“You know I grew up down the road, right? You’ll have to work harder to drag me into small-town gossip.”
“So, Seamus saved you from being a popsicle?”
Jon’s sour face meant he didn’t know the name. Living on the outskirts of town, I expected as much. I’m sure Seamus came to work, did his job, packed up, and returned home without any fuss.
The name caught Jason’s attention. I could see in his eyes that the lifelong resident had intel on Seamus. It wouldn’t be as simple as asking a casual question. Every request for information would need to be paid in kind. This was the downside of tight-knit communities. A conversation could never be a simple discussion without it being laced with assumptions.
“I found his house when I got lost. He let me crash and helped me get home the next day.”
“The hermit of Firefly let you stay?” she asked, as if he might be incapable of doing a good deed.
“What my loud-mouthed friend is saying,” Jason started. “Seamus doesn’t really interact with anybody. He’s a nice enough guy, but he’s a tough nut to crack.”
I didn’t confess my determination to break him open. Hearing that his gruff exterior hadn’t been reserved just for me made me want to uncover the secret softie. “I got that feeling. It explains why he answered the door with a gun.”
Amanda pointed at me and then touched her nose. “That’s more like it.”
“What’s his story?” I kept it casual. No snide remarks or giggles from the crowd. Could I navigate this conversation without an interrogation?
“Grace and I both played flute in the band,” Amanda said.
Grace? A daughter. Seamus got more interesting by the moment. If nothing else, it gave me something to talk about tomorrow night. It meant she was closer to my age, and he must be somewhere in his mid-fifties. I filed it away for a conversation starter.
“She was nice. Outgoing. A good girl. I think she works in Bangor. She got out of Firefly and didn’t look back. Her dad?” Thinking of Seamus as a dad made me grin. Did he have the same grumpy attitude with her? “As for him, couldn’t tell you much other than he showed up at the concerts. He’s been a loner since he moved into the old Miller farm.”
