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I said, "So, you know the whole story, right? About whatever happened to her on the rez?"

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I said, "So, you know the whole story, right? About whatever happened to her on the rez?"

I had just let him listen to part of that song Wyatt sent me, while we sat at the big bar in one corner of his big living room. Sexy apartment in the sky, he had. One of the new, swanky buildings downtown. He was so different from Duke.

He said, "Not my place to tell, man. I'm sorry. But when she wants you to know she'll tell you."

I sighed and let that sink in. And then I asked him, "What's in that glass?"

He held up the little gold rimmed shot glass and said, "Red Breast. Dream Cask. Shit sold out in a few hours when they finally released it. Two bottles a minute, they sold, at $594 a pop."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope. My guy got it for me. One who gets us the good stuff for The Club. He's a member of their little online clique or whatever, so he got the heads up in advance."

"So pour me one."

He watched me for a minute, then grabbed a little glass, poured a little bit in it and handed it over.

It was kind of bittersweet, but it still burned going down. So I sort of coughed and then I laughed at myself and said, "Okay, not the best idea I've had all day."

Rick chuckled and said, "Apparently."

And then he sighed and said, "Look, he's kinda right, that principal guy. You bring up a lotta memories that were dead and buried. And then again, you make her feel like it could be different one day. Like there's hope."

"Don't we need hope?"

"Dude, what's she hoping for with you? Why would you even want her to do that?"

That was direct enough. Which meant they'd gone pretty deep, him and Wyatt. I wasn't surprised, just a little unnerved that it was out there, you know? That she'd been totally honest with him. More honest with him than with me, even. In a way.

"Okay, aside from the...other stuff, she could have a killer career," I said. "She could help create something that she'd be proud of for the rest of her life."

"Colton, the woman would be working with you. The whole time, she'd be watching you and Kendall out...truckin' around, saving the planet. Who wants to do that?"

"C'mon! That's...she'd be working with those people we found who build schools and all that. It'd be pretty much her running the show, not me."

He leaned on his arms on the bar and said, "Look, you...have it all. You do. If all this stuff went away today, you'd still have me, Joie, the girls and now Kendall, too. And life would go on pretty much as it always has and you'd be just fine, right?"

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