“I know. High school was kind of fun,” Bubba said, trying to lighten the mood. Unfortunately, his attempt seemed to fall flat.
“Yeah, fun,” Zoey said unenthusiastically.
Sensing he was missing something, Bubba did what he always did…tried to solve the mystery. “So, why did you break up with Malcom again?”
She rolled her eyes, and Bubba couldn’t help but think it was cute. Her brunette hair was pulled back into a messy bun at the back of her head, her hazel eyes full of intelligence and spunk. He liked that. “We weren’t really dating,” she told him. “We only went out a couple of times.”
“Really?”
“Really. I’m sure it’s no surprise, but Malcom was a horn dog. All he wanted was to get me into bed.”
Bubba asked the question before he could think better of it. “And did he succeed?”
Zoey’s eyes narrowed. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no. I wasn’t that kind of girl.”
“Wasn’t?”
Shit, he really needed to control himself better. But Bubba was surprised at his level of interest in her answer.
“Wasn’t,” she confirmed, then went on. “Aren’t. Isn’t. Whatever you want to say. I don’t date men so I can have sex. If I want to get off, I can take care of that on my own. I date men because I want to get to know them. Because I like them. Because I enjoy being with them. He’s your brother, so I’m sure I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but it turns out after I got to know Malcom, I didn’t like him all that much. He was too selfish and annoying back then, and not much has changed. And I’m starting to think his twin isn’t too far removed, even if your dad did sing your praises.
“Now, I really am going to read my book this time and try to pretend that we didn’t have this conversation.” Then Zoey opened her book again, turned a little in her seat so her back was to Bubba, and bent her head to read once more.
Bubba mentally smacked himself in the head. God, he was an ass. Asking if she’d slept with his brother was rude and, frankly, none of his business. Rubbing a hand over his face, he sat back in the chair and sighed again.
He knew Malcom was kind of a jerk. He always had been. They’d been close when they were kids, but as they got older, Bubba realized that his brother used people for whatever he could get out of them. He’d date girls until they’d put out, then dump them. He’d begged Bubba to do the ol’ twin switcheroo game so he could get out of taking tests. Bubba agreed a few times, but got sick of the game and refused to do it again after they’d gotten caught one time in the eighth grade. It was juvenile and stupid and, by that time, Bubba already knew he wanted to go into the military, so he’d done everything he could to stay out of trouble.
Malcom, not so much. He’d been caught shoplifting and driving drunk. He’d also broken curfew too many times to count and regularly skipped school. Their dad was constantly punishing him and threatening to kick him out of the house.
But they both knew their pop wouldn’t do that. Malcom didn’t have anywhere else to go. So he’d apologize, clean up his act for a while, then eventually fall right back into his old habits.
Turning his head, Bubba studied Zoey while she read and did her best to ignore him. Now that he remembered who she was, he very clearly recalled when Malcom had gone out with her. Zoey had moved to Juneau in the tenth grade, and had always been quiet and kept to herself. Malcom been so smug that he’d gotten her to say yes to a date. He’d claimed she was one of the few girls he hadn’t had sex with and was thrilled that he’d finally get the chance.
Bubba told him that he’d probably have a girlfriend longer than a couple of months if he actually treated them nicely and less like a piece of meat. Malcom had blown him off and told him he didn’t know what he was missing.
It was only after a couple dates that his brother had come home one night, pissed off. Apparently Zoey had dumped him after he’d felt her up. He’d proceeded to trash her for the next hour, telling Bubba she was frigid and uptight and would end up an old maid.
The next evening, he went out with some friends and they’d crashed a college party, where he’d supposedly had sex with three girls.
Bubba remembered feeling sorry for Zoey for the way his brother had treated her. He’d always liked her back in high school…more than just a little, truth be told.
“Once again, I’m sorry,” he told Zoey. “I’d like to think I’m nothing like Malcom. I don’t know him as well as I used to. But what I said was out of line and rude as hell. My father had to really like and respect you, because I know he never liked people ‘all up in his business,’ as he always used to say.”
Zoey sighed and closed her book once more. She turned to look at him. “No, I’m sorry. We’ve definitely gotten off to a rocky start here, since we’re both doing a lot of apologizing. I shouldn’t have said what I did. And I loved your dad. He was always nice to me and really helped me out when I needed it.”
Concerned now, and not sure why, Bubba said, “That sounds like Pop.” He wanted to know why she’d needed help, and what his dad had done to help her, but he figured he’d already put his foot in his mouth once and he’d better not push his luck. “So, you’re headed to Juneau? Are you visiting your family?”
“You really have ignored everything going on back home, haven’t you?” she said with a small smile, letting him know she was teasing him. “I still live in Juneau. I rent a small house from your dad. He gave me a break in rent in exchange for helping him out. I only went to Anchorage to visit my mom. Your dad’s lawyer called while I was here and told me Colin had passed away, and he said I needed to come back for the reading of his will.”
Bubba was surprised at that. “You’re in my dad’s will?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “Apparently. But if you say anything rude about my relationship with him, I’m going to hurt you. I loved your dad, but not like that. We were friends. That’s all.”
Bubba shook his head. “No, I wasn’t going to insinuate anything, I swear. I’m just surprised. That’s all. I obviously don’t know much about his life…even less than I thought.”
Zoey pursed her lips. “When I left, he seemed happy, and he’d seemed to have gotten over whatever weird illness he’d been dealing with recently. He told me not to worry about paying rent this month, to use it on the plane ticket to get to Anchorage instead. He was the most generous man I’ve ever known, and he was like a father to me. I’m going to miss him.”
Bubba felt like shit. He knew his pop was a good man, but it hurt to hear things about him that he didn’t know from a stranger. The regret in his gut that he hadn’t visited years ago sat there like a hard lump.
Taking a risk, he reached out and put his hand on Zoey’s forearm. “Thank you for being there for him. I haven’t been the greatest son, but I’ve always wanted the best for Pop.” When she didn’t pull away, Bubba felt a little better. “I’m glad he included you in his will, and it doesn’t surprise me. Pop always took care of people he cared about.”