Greg, being Greg, went for that.
He’d do anything for me.
Even let me go.
Something the men in my life always seemed able to do.
Then again, I also seemed perfectly capable of asking them to.
But I hadn’t kept my promise. I had reason. My life was swirling down the toilet. We’d talked a couple of times and Greg knew this so he didn’t pressure me. Then again, he wouldn’t pressure me anyway. That wasn’t his style.
On leaden feet, I moved to his table and rounded him, carefully arranging my face so he saw I was welcoming, not wary. He caught sight of my movement and his clear, bluish-gray eyes came to me.
“Hey,” I greeted.
“Heard you were working here,” he replied.
I leaned into the table and tucked my tray under my arm. “Yeah. Better money.”
He nodded. He’d offered to help me out financially, repeatedly. I’d declined. Repeatedly.
“It’s good to see you,” I told him.
“Yeah, you too,” he told me.
I forced my lips into a grin. “Breakin’ the seal on The Dog,” I noted on a careful tease.
“Like I said, heard you were working here and haven’t seen you in a while. Thought I’d take a chance.”
“Glad you did,” I lied. It was a lie not because I didn’t want to see him, just that I didn’t like being surprised by his showing up at my work.
It was then Greg forced a smile.
“Can I get you a beer or somethin’?” I asked. “I… well, our other girl is out sick so it’s only me on tonight. I probably can’t hang at your table but I’ll get you a beer and do my best.”
“That’d be good, Zara.”
I nodded and asked, “Newcastle?”
“Yeah.”
I forced a smile, turned away, and moved toward the bar.
Ham moved toward me, his eyes sharp on my face.
“Newcastle,” I said the minute I hit the bar.
“Who’s that guy?” Ham asked a nanosecond after the final syllable left my mouth.
And again, Ham never missed anything.
I held his gaze. “My ex-husband.”
Ham’s jaw got tight and his eyes went to Greg
“Ham,” I called and his eyes came to me. “It’s cool. We’re cool. It wasn’t ugly.”
“Way I see it, babe, your house cleaned out, him leavin’ you stuck with a mortgage you couldn’t afford, that’s plain not true,” Ham returned.
I leaned into him. “I’ll explain later but, honestly, Ham. It’s cool. Seriously.”
“Right, you want me to believe that then you best stop lookin’ like takin’ a Newcastle to him is like walkin’ to the electric chair.”
Luckily, Greg didn’t have superhuman perceptive and deductive powers like Ham did so I was relatively certain I’d pulled the wool over his eyes.
I’d never been able to do that with Ham.
“I hurt him,” I said quietly.
“Shit happens. People deal. They don’t show where you work and make you look like you look right now, cookie.”
I couldn’t do this now so I asked, “Please, can you just get me his beer?”
Ham studied my face before he got me Greg’s Newcastle.
I took it to Greg and slid it in front of him. “There you go.”
“Should I open a tab or pay for this now?” Greg asked and that was so Greg. He didn’t know how to pay for a beer in a bar.
I tipped my head to the side and forced another smile. “You plannin’ on gettin’ hammered?”
Greg’s eyes moved over my hair before they came to mine and he answered, “No.”
“Then feel free to pay as they come, honey, but that one’s on me.”
He shook his head and straightened his back. “No, Zara. I’ll—”
I put my hand on his bicep. “Let me buy you a beer.”
I watched him pull in a breath and then he nodded.
“I’m gonna do a walk-through. Soon as I have everyone sorted, I’ll come back. Okay?”
“Sure, Zara.”
“Okay,” I said softly, then did as I said I would.
This took a while because I had a lot of customers. This was also not easy, knowing Greg was there and feeling Ham’s acute attention on me and my ex-husband the entire time.
When I was free for a few minutes, I took Greg a fresh Newcastle and put it in front of him, whisking away the empty.
“This one, I’m paying for,” Greg announced.
Again, I forced a smile. “I’ll allow that.”
“You got two seconds?” he asked.
Damn. Greg didn’t get out and about much so I had a feeling he was there for a reason and not just to see me. And I really didn’t have it in me with all that had been going on to deal with this if his need for two seconds was going to hit deep. He’d been really cool with me all along but I always worried one day, something would trip, he’d realize I did him wrong, and he’d stop being cool.
I worried these two seconds would show he was done with being cool.
I could give him that. He deserved it.
But not with no warning, at work, and with Ham watching.
“Yes,” I answered.
He looked to the beer, the wall, then twisted on his barstool so as better to face me.
“It’s public record but I didn’t find out that way. Guy at work’s wife works for a judge and she talks. She mentioned you. He knew about you and me, so he mentioned you so I know you changed your name back to Cinders.”
Of all the things I thought he might say, and truth be told, I had no idea what he was there to say, I just guessed he was there to say something, that wasn’t it.
“Yeah, I petitioned the judge a while ago. Why?”
“You took their name back.”
I pressed my lips together.
He knew about my parents. Then again, everyone in town did but Greg knew more than most because I told him.
He hated them. He didn’t hate anyone. He was a kind soul and didn’t have a judgmental bone in his body. But he hated my parents and he’d never even met them.
“You said you’d never take their name back,” he went on.
“Greg—”
“You asked for us to be over, Zara, and I didn’t like that but I left and the only thing I could think of to make me feel better, not having you, was that I gave you that. I took away their name and gave you mine. I thought you’d keep it.”
“Honey, we aren’t married anymore. It’s not mine to have.”
“That’s the only good thing I gave you.”
Oh God, now
“That’s not the only good thing you gave me, Greg,” I told him gently.
“It’s the only thing you let me leave with you. Made me clear everything of mine away. I thought you’d keep
“I asked you to take your stuff because it’s
