4
"Laurie! A round for the house! On me!"
Jack had been sitting in Work and sipping a draft pint while pretending to read a copy of Kick. He looked up and glanced around at the sound of Bolton's voice.
He'd been starting to think he'd been wasting his time, that Bolton would be persona non grata here after the fight, but apparently he wasn't the type to be easily deterred.
One good way to assuage hard feelings was to buy a round for the house.
Bolton had a distinctly unhappy-looking Dawn in tow. He spotted Jack on his way by, nodded, but didn't stop. Now he stood surveying the room as the two dozen or so habitues bellied up to the bar for a freebie.
Jack stayed where he was, watching Dawn. She stood at his side, holding a cola of some sort and looking embarrassed and red-eyed, as if she'd been crying. Trouble in paradise? If so, and if he could find out what it was, maybe—
"All right, everybody," Bolton said, holding a bottle of Bud aloft. "I want you all to meet my lady, Dawn."
Dawn's face reddened as the crowd murmured ragged hellos.
"I just want to let all of you know that today Dawn has made me the happiest man in the world."
Oh, shit. They're getting married? Christy would—
"Because today I found out that she's going to make me a daddy!"
Dawn turned crimson as everyone shouted their congratulations. Jack could only stare at the beaming Bolton as he lifted his glass higher.
"To Dawn!"
The crowd echoed the words and drank—all except Jack and Dawn. Her expression said loud and clear that she wasn't into this pregnancy. He had a feeling she'd be even less into it when she learned the father of her baby was her uncle.
And Christy… if he'd thought she'd go ballistic at the idea of a wedding, she'd be off the charts with the pregnancy, especially when she learned—
Then he noticed a grinning Bolton coming his way, dragging Dawn by the hand.
"Hey, Joe? Y'hear?"
"Sure did." Jack raised his glass and let Bolton clink his against it. "Congrats, man. And to you too, young lady." Dawn only nodded.
Bolton said, "This here's Joe Henry, darlin. Met him the other day. He's a gamer and a good one too."
"Pleased to meet you," Jack said. The next words resisted being spoken but Jack forced them out: "With you two as parents you gotta know it's gonna be a beautiful baby."
Pardon me while I find a shovel.
"More than beautiful—special. Special in so many, many ways." He pointed to the book lying on the table in front of Jack. "He'll never have to be dissimilated because he'll never be assimilated. A kick-ass Kicker from the git-go."
Jack tapped the stick figure on the cover. "Right on!"
"Ain't you finished that yet? You must be a slow reader."
"I'm studying every word. I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying it."
Jack glanced at Dawn's midsection. He now understood the "project," the "mission" Bolton had mentioned. Was this the "Key" he'd spoken of?
He shifted his gaze to Bolton himself and wondered what the hell was going on in his head. Then he finished his beer and rose to his feet.
"Wish I could hang around for the party, Jerry, but I've got places I've gotta be."
"Sure I can't buy you another beer?"
"Have to take a rain check."
Jack's plan had been to meet up with Bolton here and hang with him in an attempt to find out what he was up to and where he thought he was headed… glean a little more info before his meeting with Christy. The impending-fatherhood announcement had made that unnecessary.
It also had made Jack dread seeing Christy.
But he had an important call to make before he met her.