Beautiful Days (Jason Of The Valley Book 5)

by Jason K. Melby

  "We're bringing the dog?"

  "Of course. He gets so sad when we leave him alone."

  "I'm pretty sure he just falls asleep on his bed."

  "Maybe, but I feel it in his heart. Besides, he's kind of our kid. I want him to know that he's a real part of this family."

  "He has his own bed, his own bowl and his own toys. If he doesn't think this is his home by now maybe we should give him his own room." Ken said, but as the words left his mouth, the sobering thought Adam may take him serious occurred to him. Adam turned to Smidgen as he straightened his collar.

  "Besides, I got him a new collar yesterday and he's just dying to show it off." Ken looked down at the dog and he noticed that the collar on the dog's neck was new. It looked like it was made of black leather with silvery studs dotted along it.

  "That's for boy dogs? Looks a little blingy."

  "It's for boys. There were two kinds and the other was pink with silver stones."

  "Fine. Let's get 'Junior' in the car and on our way."

  As they drove out of the garage, Ken felt relieved that Adam's attention was focused on the dog as he tried to fidget out of the dog seat belt contraption they had put in. As long as Smidgen was trying to earn his freedom, Adam would have no time to think, or ask, about Ken's job. Adam finally managed to settle Smidgen down and he turned to Ken and smiled.

  "At last. He's such a rascal."

  "Yes, he is."

  "I just realized. It's Sunday."

  "Yes, it is."

  "Well, don't you have to work today?"

  "Uh, no. This is my weekend off, remember?"

  "I thought that was last weekend. That's why we went out to the beach." Adam said. Ken felt a little panic sting at him.

  "They hired a new guy so they're giving me an extra weekend while they train him."

  "Another employee? Wow. I thought business at the store was bad."

  "It is."

  "So why hire someone new?" Adam asked. Ken felt sweat bead along his forehead.

  "It's not my store. I don't make the rules." Ken barked.

  "I know, but I'd think you'd have some insight into it."

  "Is it really that big a deal? I get an extra weekend off. No big deal."

  "It's time lost. Wages lost."

  "I'll bring it up at the next staff meeting." Ken then saw the store coming up on the left side of the street. He hoped once they were parked, that would end Adam's line of questioning. The traffic was light so he was able to sail into the parking lot easily and he saw a spot right away. He parked and as he shut the car down, Adam turned to Smidgen and released him from his seat belt.

  They both got out of the car and Ken let out a heavy sigh. He was beginning to see that he couldn't put it off any longer. He heard Smidgen's paws on the pavement and he came around to the other side of the car and they went on into the store. Adam grabbed a cart and then placed Smidgen in the upper rack. The dog lied down and fit in perfectly. Adam caught a number of people smiling and waving at Smidgen as they walked by.

  They wandered by the men's clothing section and checked out what was on sale. Ken noticed a rather handsome looking dress shirt and as he checked the label, Adam came up behind him.

  "Isn't that a little dressy for work?"

  "I wear dress shirts for other things, you know."

  "I know, but maybe we should spend the money on clothes you can wear at work for now." Ken turned from the shirt and toward Adam.

  "Why are you so fascinated with my work now?"

  "I just noticed how they cut your hours last week. You only worked up to Wednesday and then nothing. It may be a bad job, but it doesn't mean they can just cut your hours like that. I should talk to your boss. Is he at the store today?"

  "I don't know."

  "He must be there. I want to go by there and give him a piece of my mind."

  "Pleas, honey, I'll handle it," Ken said and then hurried back to the cart. "If you go in, guns blazing, you might get me fired."

  "That's true," Adam said as he followed close behind. "Although, I'm not sure how someone would get fired from a vacant store front." Ken then turned to Adam and his heart skipped a little faster.

  "What?"

  "I drove by the store the other day and it was closed up and looked empty. When were you going to tell me?"

  "Soon. I was trying to figure out a way to break it to you, but I just couldn't do it. I couldn't tell you I failed again."

  "Failed? You didn't fail. The store did."

  "But I'm unemployed again. Back to being useless."

  "Stop that talk right now. You are not useless. You're just on your journey. I know it's tough out there and I promise I'll try to be more patient with you. That's where I screwed up. It's been a long time since I've been on the front lines myself. I guess I forgot what it can be like."

  "Thanks. That's some little bit of relief. I just hate being out of work."

  "You'll find something."

  "And if I don't?"

  "Then I guess you'll just have to be the stay at home father."

  "Whoa! Father? Where did that come from?"

  "This doesn't change anything about me wanting to start our family."

  "Raising a kid in a single income home?"

  "We don't have to decide anything today, but it's something we'll have to take a look at soon."

  "How soon?"

  "Well," Smidgen popped his head up from his perch and Adam smiled and slid his finger under his little chin. "Let's get this one off to college first."

  Chapter 38

  Strange Bedfellows

  Matt returned from another day of house hunting. He had seen a few promising candidates, but he still wasn't sure he was ready to commit to anything. He knew he had to choose soon though, as he was growing tired of living out of a hotel room. He held a white paper bag in his hand and he could smell the seductive aroma of French fries inside of it. He was hungry and there was a burger joint he knew about on the way back. He swung in and grabbed a quick dinner to go. He set the bag down and was anxious to take the first bite, but then there was a knock at his door. He let out a frustrated sigh and then set the burger back down and ran to the door.

  "Hi." David said. Matt stood back, a little surprised to see him.

  "David. What are you doing here?"

  "I need your help." David said as he breezed in. David seemed focused on something and his bravado was testing Matt's nerves.

  "Come on in."

  "I'm sorry, but this is urgent. Matt noticed a large envelope in David's hand that he was clutching in his fist.

  "What do you have there?"

  "Test results," David said as he held the envelope out to Matt. "From a drug test."

  "Drug test?"

  "I spoke with Mike and he suggested I may have been drugged that night at the bar. It was a leap, but I thought it was worth looking into. I had some tests done and they did find something." Matt opened the envelope and pulled out the results. He scanned them up and down. They were a little hard to read at first, but he soon found what he needed.

  "Positive for THC."

  "Don't mind that. Jason knows about that. Lower." Matt's eyes traveled down and he saw some large words he had never seen before.

  "What are these? Are they drugs?"

  "I don't know. Even my doctor was stumped. He has no idea what those traces are, but I think that proves that there was something in my system that night. I wasn't in my right mind."

  "Fine. Great. You got drugged. What do you want from me?"

  "I want you to find out who did this."

  "What about Jason?"

  "I'd prefer to tell him about this myself. I just think it would be better if we had the person responsible as well."

  "So you're asking me, your boyfriends ex, to find a way to help get you two back together."

  "I don't know you well, Matt, but what I do know is that you are a good person and you love Jason. You love him enough to be honest."

  "O
r I could frame you. Make it worse for you and make sure he never wants to speak to you again."

  "But you won't."

  "No, but why come to me?"

  "I think it would mean more to Jason if it were you. He trusts you. I've lost his trust."

  "So, you're hoping to borrow a little bit of mine."

  "In a way, yes."

  "I don't even know where to begin with this, but I'll do my best."

  "Thanks."

  "And, I'm afraid the standard fee applies." David then reached into his pocket and pulled out a check and handed it to Matt.

  "I figured. How's this?" Matt took a look at the check and smiled.

  "Not bad for a down payment."

  The next day Jason swung by the bistro in some hopes of finding some normalcy. Since David moved out, Jason sensed something odd in his world. Nothing felt the same and he was growing a bit disoriented by it. He was starved for familiar faces and he knew Mike would be working that afternoon.

  As he walked through the door, he saw Mike running across the dining room and a feeling of relief came over him. Mike turned and their eyes met.

  "Hey! Wait by the bar. I'll be over in a second." Mike called out. Jason nodded and took one of the stools at the bar where Haley was sorting through some bottles.

  "Hey, stranger!" She said with a smile.

  "Hi. How've you been?"

  "Just slinging suds and what not. I heard about your boyfriend. I'm sorry."

  "Thanks. I'm dealing with it though."

  "You two break up?"

  "Not really."

  "You caught him getting a BJ in the bathroom of the bar and you're giving him a pass?"

  "No, but he says that he thinks he may have been drugged."

  "And you believe that?"

  "Honestly, yes. It was so out of character for him. Being drugged is as good an explanation as any."

  "I don't know. It's kind of a dangerous precedent. Now if he does any crazy thing, he could claim the drug defense."

  "I could too." Jason said. Haley thought it over and she gave the idea an approving smile.

  "True. That's a way to work it."

  "Hey," Mike said as he approached. "You think you could get out there and pull a little weight? You can do inventory later."

  "Fine. Fine." Haley said as she came around the bar.

  "And push the special. I want to unload that salmon before the end of the week."

  "You got it." Mike then turned to Jason and smiled.

  "Busy day?"

  "No more than usual. How are you? I haven't seen you in a while."

  "I know. I think you know how I'm doing. How about you? Ken told me that you're dating Jeff?" Mike's smile grew.

  "I guess you could say that"

  "And you don't mind that he and your father,"

  "We don't talk about it. In fact, we haven't really talked in a while."

  "Haven't see each other?"

  "No, it's just we don't talk. We just fuck."

  "What?"

  "We tried to date. We really did, but we found that we really have more fun when we just get down to the sex."

  "So you're just hooking up?"

  "No. It's more than that, but most of the time we're together, we're naked."

  "As long as you're happy."

  "And it's hot, too. I mean, I've never had it like this. He is a freak! We've been doing stuff with leather and toys and he really likes to get spanked."

  "And that's my sharing limit for the day."

  "Sorry. It's just really kind of exciting. I always thought I was adventurous in the bedroom, but Jeff takes it to a whole other level."

  "I'm sure."

  "I'm not wearing underwear."

  "Excuse me?"

  "I'm bare down there! He suggested I try it. I told him I always thought it was kind of gross, but now I kind of like it."

  "Wow. He is really opening you up."

  "You don't know the half of it."

  "Stop! Please. I can make the rest of that up on my own. Thanks."

  "How are things with you and David?" Jason was relieved for the change of subject.

  "No real change. He is determined to prove he didn't know what he was doing."

  "What if he does? Would that change anything for you?"

  "I don't know. Maybe. He told me that he was thinking he was drugged. I don't know where he got that idea."

  "That would probably be from me."

  "You?"

  "Yes. You remember that guy at the bar a few years ago, right? Someone slipped him something and he started acting crazy."

  "And you think that happened with David?"

  "I think it was something like that because I don't think David would ever cheat on you. Especially like that."

  "I guess it would explain a lot."

  "So, if he had been drugged?"

  "I still don't know. How do you trust someone when you've seen something like that?"

  "I don't know, but I do know that David has been really good for you. I think you got it right with him. Don't be so quick to toss it away."

  "Thank you. I wasn't really coming here for this."

  "But it's what you got. You hungry? I'll go get you today's special. On the house."

  "Thanks." Mike then got up and retreated back to the kitchen. Jason sat still and listened to the sounds of the bistro. He heard the hushed conversations and the clinking of silverware against the China plates. It was busy and Jason had felt as though he had been trapped in some kind of solitary dimension and he was glad to hear others around him.

  "Jason?" David asked. Jason turned and saw David coming in from outside.

  "David. What are you doing here?"

  "I came by to see Mike, actually."

  "Yes. He mentioned that you spoke."

  "I'm glad you're here though because I have something to tell you."

  "What's that?"

  "I went to my doctor and got a blood test."

  "You really think you were drugged?"

  "I do, and I was."

  "What?"

  "The tests came back positive for some weird substances. My doctor didn't know what they were, but he knew they weren't supposed to be there."

  "That doesn't really prove anything."

  "I think it does. Something was in my blood and whatever it was could have caused me to act differently."

  "It's compelling, but,"

  "But what? Come on, Jason. Do you really think I'd have sex with anyone in a bathroom? I don't even like sharing the bathroom."

  "I want to believe it, and maybe I do, but for now all I can see when I look at you is that moment."

  "I see." David said in a cold tone.

  "I'm sorry, but it's the truth."

  "And I was out of my mind that night. I can't be held responsible for one mistake I made in that state."

  "I just need time. Please understand." David looked back at Jason with a hard gaze and then he let out a hard sigh.

  "Fine. Take your time. In fact, take as much time as you like, because it looks like you've already made up your mind."

  "Excuse me? Are you actually mad at me?"

  "I was drugged. I just brought you proof and that's still not good enough."

  "It's hard for me to get past this. I mean, it was a major breach of trust."

  "I realize that, but it wasn't me doing it."

  "It may not have been your mind, but it was your body. I've been betrayed by a lot of people and it's hard for me to just trust again."

  "But I'm not like those guys. This is me, Jason. If you can't get past this with me now, I don't see how there's any hope for us in the future." David then turned and walked out.

  Chapter 39

  Probing Deeper

  Matt asked David about everything he had done so far in his own investigation of what happened to him the night of Jason's book signing, and there wasn't much to go on. Due to a lack of any solid leads, Matt ventured back to Coconutz in hopes of finding Dennis an
d put some more questions to him. Based on David's description, Matt was able to recall who Dennis was. He wasn't anyone he had ever talked to before, but he was a familiar face around the bar.

  It was a Wednesday night and, as he expected, business was light. Tuesday nights brought in a lot of folks for Karaoke and Thursday night was cheap drink night, which left Wednesday as some forgotten evening stuck between two busier nights. Matt always figured some people blew all their money on Tuesday night, or were saving up for Thursday, which meant in either case, Wednesday was death.

  On Wednesday nights, the bar usually had some kind of strip show or go-go boy review and the only people in attendance were mostly solid regulars who could be found at the bar pretty much every night of the week. Matt had been to a few Wednesday nights years earlier and he found them to be terribly depressing and as he walked through the door of the bar and saw the small sampling of customers, it all came back to him.

  There were only about five or six people at the bar and there were two rather attractive go-go boys on the box. There was a cluster of three at the end of the bar. They seemed young and far more wrapped up in whatever they were talking about than the nearly naked boys just a few yards away. The others at the bar were alone and spaced out with about two or three stools between them each. They also were faced away from the dancers, more intent on their drinks. As Matt stepped walked toward the bar, all eyes went to him and he felt a heat rise up to his cheeks. He never liked the spotlight much, even at such a small scale. The bartender approached and offered his hand along with a friendly smile.

  "Hey, boss." He said.

  "Hi. I'll just have a Fosters. On tap, if you have it."

  "You got it." Matt then settled on the nearest stool and looked over at the dancing boys. They were young. One looked to be a skinny white boy, but by the bulge in his G-string, it was clear why he was up there. It looked like he was smuggling a cantaloupe. The other dancer was Latino with nicely browned skin and an armful of tattoos that went from his wrist to the top of his shoulder. His hair was dark and short and his eyes lit up when the light hit them just right. There were dollar bills sticking out of his thong, so Matt could tell while it wasn't a lively crowd, they at least tipped. The bartender returned with Matt's beer.