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gestured around the room—“what the hell are you doing here, playing house with Riley again? Last time we saw her, some guy was proposing to her.”
    “They broke up.”
    “Huh. Because of you?”
    “No, last night was the first time I’d seen or talked to her since Colorado.”
    “Still doesn’t mean you weren’t the reason she dumped the doc.”
    “Am I supposed to be sorry she got rid of him?” I asked, my anger mounting as it did every time I thought about Riley with someone else. “’Cause I’m not. We all know he wasn’t the right guy for her.”
    Kane rolled his eyes. “And you’re the one who gets to decide that?”
    “When you’ve loved someone as long as I’ve loved that girl…” I shook my head. “Forget it. I don’t want to get into that right now. I just wanted to tell you that I saw the old man last night.”
    Kane simply stared at me, and at first I had to wonder whether he’d heard me. “Our father? You saw our father? Where? How?”
    “I had a thing in Vegas last night. He showed up after everyone else cleared out,” I said, looking down when I realized my hands were clenched. “Let’s say he caught me off guard.”
    Kane jumped up and paced. “I can’t believe he had the nerve to show his face after everything he put Mom through. If I’d seen that son of a bitch, I would have torn him apart.”
    “I was tempted, believe me.”
    “I thought you of all people would have laid him out,” Kane said, glancing at me, his hands fisted at his sides. “Why’d you hold back?”
    “Honestly? I think I was in shock.”
    Kane asked finally, after he’d paced for a full minute, “So, what did he have to say?” Raising his hand, he said, “No, wait, lemme guess. He wanted to hit you up for money, right?”
    Since that had been my first thought, I couldn’t blame Kane for making the same assumption. “No, he claims he has a job.”
    “Doing what?”
    “Driving a truck. Says he’s been doing it for a long time now.”
    Kane scowled before curling his hands around the headrest of the white upholstered chair facing me. “You believe him?”
    I’d thought about my conversation with him repeatedly, and as his words replayed in my head, I had to admit they had a ring of truth to them.
    “About the job?” I shrugged. “I guess so. But he made some other claims.”
    “This I gotta hear.” Kane took a deep breath. “Okay, what else did he say?”
    “He said he’s been sober for years, that he went to meetings and had a sponsor.” I watched my brother carefully, waiting for a response. “The whole nine yards.”
    “Why the hell did he think you’d want to know any of this?” Kane shouted. “What makes him think any of us give a damn whether he’s living or dead?”
    Kane was usually the unflappable one. Given his job, he couldn’t afford to crack under pressure. That was why I’d reached out to him first. Of all of my brothers, I assumed he would be the voice of reason. I guess I’d underestimated how much he still hated our old man.
    “Could have something to do with our half-brothers.” I let that sink in before I said, “Maybe they want to get to know us.”
    His jaw dropped before he whispered, “He had more kids? When? With who?”
    “He told me he’s remarried. I don’t know how old the kids are.”
    “Man, I don’t believe this,” Kane said, taking an unsteady breath.
    I felt guilty for telling him. It was bad enough I had to be burdened with this knowledge. Kane shouldn’t have to suffer too, especially right before his shift, when he couldn’t afford to be distracted.
    “Look, I know this is a lot to process. Maybe you should think about calling in. Let them know you can’t make it today. It’s not like you ever take any personal time. I’m sure they’ll understand. We can go out and grab a beer and a pizza, maybe talk about it some more.”
    He shook his head slowly. “I can’t call in, bro. We’re a man down as it is.”
    I would never