Wouldn’t hurt if you used your connections to grease the wheels.”
“I can do that. But damn, Cole how hard is it to just ask?”
“Hard,” Cole said, pushing his hand through his hair. “Especially when you’re afraid asking is going
to blow up the family.”
Cade nodded. “So we both know.”
“Yeah.”
“And Lark doesn’t.”
“Nope.”
“Keep it that way?”
Cole tapped the side of his beer bottle. “I don’t know. I don’t like being a part of the deception.”
“We didn’t lie, Cole; he did.”
“But we know the truth. Do we keep covering for him?”
“He never covered for us. He’d tell Mom on us, and then she’d whup our asses.”
Cole laughed. Sometimes the memories were still good. They still seemed intact and not just like a
facade that hadn’t meant a damn thing. “Yeah, he did. But he’s not alive to answer for it, or learn from
it.”
“How about we drink alcohol and make no decisions?”
“I’m cool with that.”
Cade took the bottle opener off the fridge and popped the top off his beer, taking a long drink