Chapter 2

A delivery truck rumbled into the yard.

“I gotta go check this out,” Jimmy said, put his beer on a coaster on the pristine coffee table, and went out.

Quinn got to his feet and walked to the back of the living room where Aunt Karen’s wall of family photos hung, neatly arranged as always.

In the middle was the family photo of Ian, Karen, and Jimmy, taken around the time Jimmy and Quinn had been in elementary school. Next to it hung a wedding snap of Ian and Karen, looking happy and young. They had been, Quinn was pretty sure.

He wasn’t surprised to see a picture of his own parents on their wedding day, either. It was a candid shot. His mom looked beautiful and amused at something his dad had just said, maybe?

There were other photos, one of the “extended family” also known as Ian’s crew that consisted of his trusted men and a couple of guys that had belonged to Quinn’s dad’s crew. “Uncles” they were called.

Quinn frowned at the still familiar faces. He hadn’t seen any of them in a decade. No, he’d seen Arthur, his dad’s best friend once. Arthur had come after Quinn and his mom, to make sure they were fine after his dad got his forty to life.

Two frames stuck out to him the most, because they sort of echoed each other. They were both dark wood, simple, and probably cheap, but the pictures inside were startlingly similar. In the older one, Quinn’s dad Robert stood next to his brother Ian, and they had arms around each other, grinning at the camera. They had to be in their late teens, based on their style of clothing and hair.

The other photo was of Jimmy and Quinn. He finished drinking his water as he stared at it. They’d been friends, almost brothers, once upon a time. Jimmy had always been the troublemaker and Quinn the tagalong. Jimmy had been dangerous with his temper since they were boys, and Quinn still had a scar on his forearm from when Jimmy slashed him with a broken bottle when they were barely teenagers.

“Reminiscing of the good old days?” Jimmy asked.

Quinn snorted. “The whatnow?”

“There were some good times though.” Something about Jimmy’s tone made Quinn glance at him. For a moment, Jimmy seemed almost wistful. Then the adult Jimmy, the one Quinn knew had to be itching to be the head of the MacGregor family business, took hold again, and Quinn looked back at the pictures.

“My mom was so pretty,” he said, nodding toward the wedding photo.

“How’s Clara doing?” Jimmy asked as he wandered back on the couch.

Quinn glanced at his father’s youthful face once more, then followed Jimmy. “She’s okay. Has a new toy boy and all.” Quinn grinned.

Jimmy laughed. “Does she now?”

“Yeah, he’s like five years younger than her. A really stand-up guy.”

Jimmy snorted at the phrasing. “Not this life, then?”

Quinn chuckled under his breath. “No, definitely not. She’s very much done with this life.”

“Does she mind that you’re still—” The question was interrupted by the sound of a car door slamming outside.

Soon enough, Ian MacGregor ambled in, looking a lot more gray and washed out than Quinn had expected, even with the cancer.

“Quinn MacGregor, as I live and breathe,” Ian said, smiling widely.

Quinn got to his feet and went to give his uncle a hug. “Uncle Ian, nice to see you still alive and kicking,” he murmured into Ian’s shoulder.

“Eh, starting to be more like flopping around than kicking, but alive for the time being.” He slapped Quinn on the shoulder and gestured for him to go back to his seat. “Were those truck tracks in the yard?” he asked Jimmy, his gaze sharp as ever.

“Yeah, Jesus needed to check on something with me on his way out of town.” Jimmy seemed almost too casual, his pose too relaxed, and Quinn immediately thought that this was exactly why he was here.

Ian harrumphed. “I saw Caroline parking in front of your place when I drove past.”

Jimmy took the words as the dismissal they clearly were and got up. He took their empty bottles to the kitchen and seemed to wipe the countertop quickly. Karen MacGregor was one scarily neat lady and everyone knew that.

“You’re sticking around?” Jimmy asked Quinn.

“Yeah, I rented a trailer from the middle park.” There were four trailer parks in town, but three were on the long as fuck Main Street. “Not sure where I’m headed so I thought I’d stay here for a bit.”

“Okay, well I’ll talk to you later, then.” Jimmy left.