Page 19 of Maverick
I was seated at the kitchen table, refilling Dad’s weekly medicine box. It was no wonder he got mixed up. I could barely keep it straight myself.
I heard the door open. “Haven’t seen you in a while, Ivan. Come on in. You can meet my daughter.”
Ivan?
My dad walked back into the room with a gentleman in a dark tailored suit. I guessed him to be in his late forties, with dark hair gelled back and a diamond stud in one ear. He reached out a hand to shake, and I noticed a gold signet ring.
“Where have you been hiding this beautiful woman, Larry? I thought we were friends.” He bared his teeth in an awkward smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m Ivan. Your dad sells me vegetables.”
I blinked, trying to hide my shock. Vegetable guy was a real person? I stood up and shook his hand. “Kat. Nice to meet you. I’m from out of state but came down for a few weeks.”
“A few weeks? I hope it’s for pleasure and not something more serious?” His eyes lit up before a look of concern masked his face.
“It’s those stupid people at the hospital.” Dad scoffed. “They called her down here, scaring her into thinking I was on death’s door. Crackpots. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine. But I’m happy for the company.” Dad turned to me and smiled.
“Ahh.” Ivan gave me a knowing look. “I see. Well, I’ve been telling you Larry, this is an awful lot of house for one person. I heard about the fire the other night.”
Dad shrugged. “It was the damnedest thing. Somebody must have thrown out a cigarette from the road.”
Right. And then the wind blew it a thousand feet to the back of the house.
Ivan’s eyes cut to mine before returning to Dad. “Don’t you think you’re getting too old to manage this place? Chasing away illegal hunters and fishermen is a young man’s business. I’d hate for something unfortunate to happen.”
“Illegal hunters?” I asked, looking between the men. What fresh hell was this?
“Oh yeah,” Ivan continued. “Your dad doesn’t allow anybody off the street to hunt on his land, which is very smart. You obviously don’t want strangers running around your place with guns and crossbows.”
“Crossbows?” My eyes widened. I’d barely gotten used to the idea of guns, now I had to worry about crossbows?
“But some people out there don’t respect people’s right to their property. You remember what happened to Justin Snowfield. Got shot walking through his woods one day. By the time they found him, it was too late.”
Dad nodded. “Yeah, that was a real shame.”
“What? He died?” My head darted between the men.
“Oh yeah, poor guy was what, seventy? Eighty?” Ivan’s voice lowered, and he leaned toward me. “That’s why I’ve been so worried about your dad all alone out here.”
I nodded, feeling a little shell shocked at this new thing I had to worry about. “I guess it’s good there’s a motorcycle club next door.” Surely someone wouldn’t wander dad’s property with those guys around. And since Dad allowed them to hunt, they probably took care of any unauthorized people. I’d have to remember to ask Mav.
Ivan’s eyes narrowed. “Those thugs?” He spit the word out and shook his head. “Hardly.”
Thugs? My heart stopped. They didn’t come across as Boy Scouts, but thugs seemed a bit strong.
“You want to wait here while I get your veggies?” Dad asked.
Ivan smiled. “Sure. If Katie doesn’t mind keeping me company.”
“Kat,” I reminded him. “It’s fine.” I’d have preferred not to be left alone with Mr. Shit-Don’t-Stink, but I didn’t want to upset Dad. He’d been having such a good day.
“Perfect. We’ll be right back.”
Dad grabbed an empty grocery bag from the drawer and left with Noodle trailing behind.
I walked to the sink and filled a glass with water to get a little distance. I was far from an expert on the Exiled Reapers, but what I’d seen so far didn’t make them thugs. Baller had sat with my dad for hours watching the fire before trading off with another guy when the sun came up.
Maybe this guy in his high-priced suit didn’t like edgy bikers. I looked down at my own designer clothes. I wasn’t a snob, though. At least, I didn’t think I was.
“So, you’re the guy who pays a hundred dollars for my dad’s vegetables? I have to be honest, I wasn’t sure you were real.”
