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kept my hand in his. We walked through the pig-decorated upper portion of the pub and finally slipped outside into the cool night air.
    “It’s dark out,” I muttered. I had lost track of time.
    “Hattie, who was that?”
    “Everett. A friend of my brother’s. Well, a friend of ours. We all went to school together.”
    “He looked like he was getting a bit too friendly with you.”
    “Yeah. He thinks we should fall in love. What are you doing here?” I asked, changing the subject.
    “I was meeting a friend for a drink. He canceled at the last minute.”
    “A boyfriend?”
    Saul laughed deeply. “No, Hattie. A potential business partner.”
    “Oh.”
    “I’m not gay,” he said in a very serious voice.
    “Me either.”
    “How much have you had to drink?”
    I shrugged. “Maybe four or five?”
    “I’ll take you home if that’s okay?”
    “I don’t want to go home.”
    “You should sleep it off.”
    I shook my head side to side. “Every time I close my eyes, I see the fire. I hear all those people screaming.”
    Saul rubbed at his chin with his fingers. His five-o-clock shadow was rugged looking, and quite sexy. “You can come home with me if you want. I’ll make you some coffee. We can talk about what happened yesterday.”
    I looked down, realizing we were still holding hands. “You sure you don’t mind?”
    “I’m sure. But didn’t your mother tell you not to talk to strangers, or go to their homes?”
    “She died when I was born.”
    “Crap. I’m sorry, Hattie.”
    I shrugged. “It’s ok. I don’t remember her. Besides, you’re not a stranger. You saved my life.”
    “Let’s get you out of here and sobered up.”
    “Wait…Everett…he shouldn’t drive.”
    “Don’t worry. I’ll call the staff. They’ll call him a cab.”
    “You sure?”
    “Positive. C’mon, let’s get out of here.”
    He kept my hand in his and walked me down the sidewalk toward his truck.
    “Hattie!” I heard Everett yelling from behind us. “Hattie, you can’t just go off with some dude!”
    I felt Saul squeeze my hand as he slowed to a stop and turned to face my long-time-friend-turned-jerk-for-the-night.
    “Leave it be, man” said Saul in his husky voice.
    “No way, Dude. I don’t know you and Hattie’s not going off with some fucking guy I don’t know.”
    Everett was slowly approaching us. By his facial expression I could tell he was really pissed. Saul must have sensed it too, because he put an arm out in front of me to keep himself between me and Everett.
    “Back off, man,” said Saul. “I really don’t want to hurt you, but I will.”
    I had a feeling this might end badly. I stepped to the side so that I was still behind Saul, but so that Everett could see me.
    “Everett. Take a cab home, ok? I’ll see you tomorrow and I promise we’ll talk.”
    “This is horseshit, Hat. If this fucker hurts a single hair on your head Joe and I will both kill him.”
    “Go home, Ev. Just go home,” I said as I found Saul’s hand again and slowly pulled him toward his truck. I didn’t look back at Everett.
    ***
    I sat quietly beside Saul, trying to not shiver. It was a cold night and even though he’d turned the heater on, it hadn’t warmed the cab yet.
    “I’d offer you a jacket, but you took it home with you,” he said quietly.
    “I’ll be okay.”
    “It’ll warm up soon.”
    The drive to Saul’s cabin only took about twenty minutes. He was kind enough to not ask any questions about me and Everett. Once we were there, we were greeted with a welcome quietness; the gentle lapping of waves nearby, the barking of a sea lion in the distance, but otherwise just quiet .
    As Saul unlocked the ivy-draped front door, he looked at me sideways.
    “You ever go fishing, Hattie?”
    “Nope.”
    “Maybe I’ll take you.”
    He held the door open for me and I stepped into a dimly lit living room. He had left a single lamp on beside a big overstuffed couch that was covered in dark plaid fabric.