His father picked at his fries. “I remember.” Falling back in his chair, he began rocking.
“Quinn lives with Rae now. He’s been at her place since February.”
“That’s why Mik’s angry?”
“Correct.”
The chair stopped rocking. Evidently, hearing the whole story gave him pause. Griffin wondered if he’d made a mistake, burying the lede. He should’ve told his father at the outset about Quinn moving into Rae’s place—if only to make him take seriously the threat Mik posed. He hadn’t because the boy’s living arrangements shouldn’t matter. The way Mik had threatened Rae was reason enough to fire him.
The chair groaned as Everett set it back in motion, his expression cooling. Inexplicably, he sent the conversation in a new direction.
“Son, you’ve always been a disappointment. I’ve made my peace with it. I doubt you have a clue how much you’ve passed up, turning down the job as my second-in-command. Marks Auto is worth millions. The most profitable dealership in Geauga County, bar none. In plain English, I can’t make you assume control of my life’s work when I retire.”
The words were a blade, cutting Griffin to the quick.
But he managed to chuckle. “Not even if you beg.”
“Have it your way, smart-ass. I’ll leave the dealership to your sister and Trenton—who closes three sales a month, if he’s lucky. But you’re my son, Griffin. You have an obligation to carry on my name. You can’t do that by starting up again with Rae. She crushed your heart under her boot when she was a kid.”
“Drop it, Dad.”
Everett wasn’t listening; from his standpoint, his expectations were all that mattered. “Rae took off and had a baby on the fly,” he continued, “then dumped that guy too. Oh, there were people who wondered about her pregnancy, especially when she began to show that summer, after your high school graduation. But don’t you worry, Griffin. People knew Everett Marks raised his son right. Everyone in town knew my son would never stick a toe out of line. The Marks family, why, we’re upstanding people. I’m a pillar of the community.”
In anguish, Griffin briefly closed his eyes. He suddenly understood why he’d stopped dating Katherine in a hurry. She’d reminded him of Everett. Outward facing, concerned only with her image. Focused solely on how the world viewed her.
His father wasn’t finished. “I loved Rae back then,” he admitted. “It still tickles me, how a girl could heft a rifle and pick off a target every time. I looked forward to the babies she’d give you. Figured someday I’d have a grandson in the marines or heading a SWAT team. But Rae Langdon is flighty. Take my advice, Griffin. Set your sights elsewhere.”
There was nothing in the monologue worth dignifying. Checking his anger, Griffin came to his feet.
“Listen close, Dad. I’m going to spell it out. Mik isn’t finished with Rae or Quinn. Are you willing to gamble their safety?” Striding around the desk, he towered over his father. “Fire Mik. No one else in the county will take him on—everyone knows he’s not worth it. Let Mik go, and he’ll move someplace else.”
A chill descended between them. Welcoming it, Griffin kept his attention trained on his father. He’d had enough. If Everett made the wrong decision, they were done, over. He’d walk out of his life for good.
A prospect his father clearly sensed as he rubbed his chin with swift, agitated movements. “All right,” he muttered.
“Mik’s gone?”
“At the end of his shift.” Everett snapped up his wrist, checked his watch. “In three hours.”
“Do yourself a favor. Don’t tell him until he’s clocked out.”
Without awaiting a reply, Griffin walked out.
Chapter 26
Teenagers flooded into the corridor. The school day was over.
Letting the crowd carry him forward, Quinn scanned the sea of faces. When his gaze alighted on a swish of long brown hair near the lockers, his heart lifted.
“Hey, Ava.”
She twirled the lock. “Hey! I was hoping to see you.”
“Here I am.”
Pulling open her locker, she hoisted out her book bag. “We’re still meeting, right?”
“Five o’clock?”
She smiled. “I’ll be there.”
Most days when Quinn worked at Yuna’s Craft Emporium, he had a standing date to meet Ava at the coffee shop on Chardon Square. Not a date, exactly. More like chilling over a latte in hopes it would lead to something better. Ava showed up after cheerleading practice. Or she walked up to the coffee shop from her home on North Street. When she did, she sent a text and Quinn took a twenty-minute break from stocking shelves. Usually he’d find Yuna grinning at him as he pulled on his coat and dashed into the alley.