wedding ring. He’d made such a mess of marriage the first time around, and though he was older than he’d been when he married Katie, he couldn’t claim to be any wiser. He still didn’t know what he was looking for in a life partner and wasn’t sure he was willing to put in the effort to figure it out. “Not everyone wants what you have, man. The big house in the suburbs, kids, dog? It’s not for everyone.”
“So you like living in a crummy apartment, seeing your daughter on weekends, having meaningless sex with women who don’t give a shit about you? That’s your idea of happiness?”
“Honestly?” Lee knew the only way to get his brother off his back was to ‘fess up. “I don’t know what’ll make me happy. I figure I’ll sort it out as I go along.”
Scowling, Drake asked, “That’s your plan? Jesus, Lee, you’re not twenty-one anymore. You’ve got to grow up.”
“I have grown up,” Lee said, trying to keep his temper under control. “I put my daughter first. I got clean. I let my wife go so she could be happy with someone else. I’m trying to help a kid put his life back together. I—”
“I’m sorry,” Drake said. “You have come a hell of a long way, and I have no right to judge you. Date whoever you want. It’s your life.” He held up his index finger. “As long as she’s not on my payroll.”
“Deal.”
“Good.” Drake grinned. “Let’s head back to my office and get that contract signed.”
“Before we do that,” Lee said, “I need to ask a favor.”
“Sure, anything.”
Drake’s response reminded Lee of how far they’d come. Years ago, Drake would have been wary if Lee asked for a favor, mainly because he would have expected it to involve money.
“I’m willing to accept your offer, but only on a trial basis,” Lee said. “I need to get a feel for this before I decide if it’s right for me.”
“You’ve been freelancing for me for over a year. I’d say that gives you a pretty good idea of what it’s like to work for me.”
“Yeah, but… I got another offer.” He hadn’t planned on telling Drake about J.T.’s offer because they were close friends, but he didn’t want to keep secrets from his brother either.
“What kind of offer?” Drake frowned. “If another studio’s offered you more money, I can—”
“It’s not another studio. J.T.’s offered to sell Jimmy’s to me.”
Drake blinked repeatedly before he said, “You can’t be serious.”
“I am.” The seconds that ticked by while he waited for his brother’s response felt like the longest of his life.
“Why would you wanna buy a bar, given your history with substance abuse?”
“I’m not that guy anymore. What better way to prove it to myself and everyone else?” That question had rattled around in his head all night.
“Sounds like tempting fate to me.”
“I disagree,” Lee said, He didn’t have to defend his position. At the end of the day, the only person he had to impress was the guy staring back at him in the mirror. “I appreciate your offer, and I’d like to see if we can make it work. But if we can’t and I decide to pursue a different path, I need to know there won’t be any hard feelings between us.” Drake was quiet for so long Lee was afraid he’d lost him. “We’ve come too far to let business come between us, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I do,” Drake said, looking him in the eye. “You’re my brother. I want you to be happy, no matter what.”
“Thanks, man,” Lee said, getting to his feet. He offered Drake his hand and pulled his twin into a back slapping hug. “Having your support means everything to me.”
“Always.”
***
Indie passed by the rape crisis center on her way home from work that day. She knew their evening meeting would be breaking up soon, and she needed to talk to her friend Jocelyn. The older woman had been the first person Indie met when she visited the center nearly five years earlier, and she was