Page 10 of One Last Shot
Boo came back to the table. “Wasn’t Fox the guy who got in a fight with a fan at a concert?”
Blank looks around the table.
“Maybe that’s a different guy, but I thought thatwas him. Some guy threw a beer at him at a state fair event and he lost it. Jumped off the stage, beat the guy up.”
Riley raised a shoulder.
“Sounds fair,” Dodge said.
“Yeah, well, I think he got sued.”
“That’s rough. No wonder he’s doing this gig with Mike.” Riley handed Cee back to Larke and picked up his wife’s bowl, his own.
“How’s that?” Dodge asked, also getting up. He grabbed Echo’s bowl.
“If they survive all fifty hours without tapping out, they get 50K for a charity of their choice.” Riley brought the bowls to the sink. “Lots of good social media there.”
“Poor guy,” Larke said. “The internet remembers everything.”
“Which is why we live off-grid,” Echo said. “The last thing anyone needs is the internet reminding you of your greatest mistakes.”
“Like you have ever made any mistakes, Echo,” Larke said, laughing.
Echo gave her a small smile. “Everyone makes mistakes. It’s how you recover that matters.”
Right.And on that, “I gotta run. Thanks, Uncle Barry.”
He held out a hand and Boo grabbed it, then bent to kiss his leathery cheek. He even smelled like her dad, and that rattled her for a second.
Then she hugged Larke and Echo and raised a hand to Riley and headed to the door.
Dodge followed her all the way outside.
“Something on your mind, cuz?” She stopped at her Nissan Rogue.
He had always been a sort of hero in her mind—just a few years older, but bold and courageous, living up here in the last frontier. They’d spent little time together growing up, but her dad had kept her informed of the family’s wild exploits, a sort of whimsy in hisvoice when he did.
Probably that whimsy seeded her own.
“Your mom would be happy to see your survival gear in the back,” he said, obviously glancing through her cargo window.
“Minnesota winter driving rules. Can’t escape them.”
He laughed. “Yeah.” Dodge folded his arms, his dark blue eyes meeting hers. “I just want to know how you’re really doing,” he said. “I got you into this mess?—”
“Hardly. I needed a fresh start. Your email came at exactly the right time. I was going nowhere in Minneapolis. Now... I live here.” She held out her hands. “Fresh air. Wide spaces. What more could a woman want?”
Dodge drew in a breath, his gaze not faltering. “I wasn’t lying—Moose says you’re fantastic on the job, but that you haven’t really connected with the team. And that’s an issue. He is all about team unity?—”
“What is he talking about? Ishare a housewith London.”
“You don’t go to the team events.”
“At Moose’s fancy lake lodge? To roast marshmallows and play broomball, sing Kumbaya? Um, no, thanks. You don’t have to pal with a team to do your job.”
Dodge nodded. Looked away. “Yep.” He looked back at her. It seemed he was struggling for words until, “Just don’t let the past wreck your future.”
Whatever that meant. “I’m good, Dodge. Thanks for this gig. I won’t let you down.”