When I walked in, I saw a nice fire going. It was a welcome sight. I sat down in one of the big, overstuffed chairs and put my feet up. Jackie took one look at me, then brought over an ice bag and a Canadian.
“Now what?” he said.
“My face is having a hell of a week,” I said. I held the ice bag over my left eye.
“You gonna tell me what happened?”
“Sit down.”
He sat in the other chair and put his feet up next to mine.
“First you gotta tell me something,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“You gotta tell me about your father.”
“Come on, Alex.”
“I’m serious. I want to hear it. Start at the beginning.”
“It’s a long story,” he said. He looked into the fire.
“My evening is free,” I said. “Tell me.”
So he did. While the wind blew outside, I sat by the fire and listened to the story of Elias Connery, how he came to Lake Superior when he was twenty years old, how he fell in love with a girl in a bar, and also with the lake itself. He went to war, he had a son, he came back to the lake, and now he was a part of it. And would be forever.
I didn’t want him to finish, because then it would be my turn. I’d have to tell him what had happened over at O’Dell’s place. After fifty years, he was about to lose his best friend. Meaning he’d be stuck with me now. Alex McKnight would be his best friend in the world.
Talk about a big job. I hoped I could handle it.
I sure as hell was gonna try.