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need to talk on it, babe. But not now." He got a sunny
smile, the frown clearing up.
"Okay." He was easy. "Go get your sister on the
phone, and I'll call Nate. We'll work shit out."
"We will." Bouncing, Dillon tucked Coke's
checkbook away in a drawer and went to grab a phone,
just dancing.
He chuckled, shook his head. He loved Dillon in this
mood -- happy and bouncy, ready to go and do and see.
He forgot to call Natty for a bit, in fact, listening to
Dillon chatter to his sister. Gracious, he'd bet they were
a hoot together.
Dillon's eyes met his, and he got himself a sweet grin.
Somebody was happy.
Damn happy.
That could sustain him for a good long while. Even if
he did have to make phone calls.
***
Dillon had Coke. Coke had his ID and a check. They
were gonna go to the bank and start a little checking
account for Coke to use while he was up north. Little.
Twenty thousand dollars. Dillon was trying not to jump
on Coke and demand to know everything there was to
know about the man and his finances. He couldn't
believe that Coke just popped cash into a checking
account. There was an obscene amount of cash sitting
there, just sitting. Not working at all.
Money should work for you. That was Dillon's
philosophy.
Coke's seemed to be that money was a necessary evil.
Lord. They would bank, then head to the grocery.
"You're thinking pretty hard, honey. You okay?"
Roughstock: And a Smile Coke s Clown - 79
"Huh? Oh, I was just plotting your investment
future." He grinned over at Coke for a second. He'd
found that this much snow made Coke a little twitchy if
he didn't watch the road.
"You want to do stuff with it, have at. Just leave me
enough for taxes and my truck payment."
"I won't break you, babe." It was awesome that Coke
trusted him. Really.
"I know." Coke didn't seem stressed out about it at
all.
"Did you get the list Susan made?" His sister was like
a drill sergeant. She had brand names and everything.
She'd faxed it. She lived exactly four and a half miles
from him.
"I did. And I talked with her on the phone twice and
got all four text messages. She's a trooper."
"She's something." Susan loved Coke. A little
unnaturally. Damn it.
Coke's eyes were laughing. "Now, now. Sisters are a
blessing."
"Do you have sisters?" He knew he shouldn't dig. It
made Coke tense. But it popped out.
"I know lots of folks that do." It didn't escape Dillon
that that wasn't an answer.
"Yeah. Does Nate have sisters?" He hoped the man
had twelve.
"God, yes. Six. All townies, believe it or not."
"No shit?" Six. Okay, Dillon actually felt bad. "No
wonder he's a harpy."
"Hey, now. That ain't very nice." Coke's grin was
tickled, though.
"What? Sometimes I'm entitled." He and Nattie had
an agreement bashing the man's nose went a long way
toward evening their score -- but Dillon still got to bitch.
The interfering turd had gotten in between him and
Roughstock: And a Smile Coke s Clown - 80
Coke, back at the beginning and it was like an old, old
bone bruise. Not hurting, but still there, if you poked it
hard.
"You mean you don't appreciate him meddling in
your love life?" Butter wouldn't melt in Coke's mouth.
"No, sir. I want him out of my bedroom, you know?"
He patted Coke's leg. "You? You, I like."
"That's good. I ain't going nowhere." Coke's phone
rang, and Coke sighed. "You want to guess which
cowboy it could be?"
"Jason." Dillon shook his head. Or AJ, or Nate, or-or-
or.
"I'll guess Tag." Coke flipped his phone open without
looking. "'Lo?" Coke grinned wide. "Well, hello, Miss
Brenda. How are you? You got them boys there with
you?"
Brenda? Oh. Oh! Jason's mom.
Missus Scott sounded like one of Charlie Brown's
teachers. Not that he was eavesdropping.
"No? They staying at AJ's? What? Well, good Lord!
Congratulations! It's about time that man made you his."
Dillon grinned a little. He wasn't sure what was up,
but it sounded good.
Coke looked over at him, smiled. "Jason's momma's
getting married. Jack finally popped the question!"
"Oh, wow. That's cool!" It was. He'd heard Jack was
a good guy.
Coke nodded and started asking questions, jabbering
away. Dillon grinned, shook his head. Brenda had to be
ten years older than Coke, easy, but Coke was... Fearless
Pharris, the cowboy confessor.
Everyone knew Coke. Sometimes he forgot that those
folks didn't all know each other, though. Still, it bugged
Dillon that a man that was in everyone's family didn't
seem to have ever had one of his own. It was just weird.
Roughstock: And a Smile Coke s Clown - 81
It made him itch a little. That little thing he called his
nosy bone wanted to dig and dig.
Coke hung up, grinned at him. "She's getting married
in February, early on. We'll have to head down for it."
"We can do that. By then we'll be tired of snow. Not
to mention working."
"Good deal." Coke leaned back and grinned. "She
sounds tickled as a pig in shit. I wonder how Jase is
taking it."
"I bet he's fine." Jason would be happy for his mom.
Dillon knew it.
"I hope so. I need to get over there, too, get to
working on him. I should have been doing more, but...
shit." Right, because Coke could have done so much
with his broken neck and broken hand.
"Babe." Dillon turned into the bank parking lot,
shaking his head a little. "You do what you can. We'll
get it done."
Dillon was surprised that any of them had survived
last year, what with Jason's head injury, Coke's broken
neck, and them almost losing Sam Bell. Shit, he'd even
dislocated a shoulder.
"Here we are." The bank was deserted, so it shouldn't
take long.
"Cute little bank. This where you go?"
"It is." He'd been going there since he was a kid, and
it had changed names three times.
"Cool. I like a place where they know you." Coke
headed in a little like he was heading into the arena.
Dillon watched happily for a bit, then followed along.
Lord, he liked to look at Coke.
Coke went right up, smiling at the old lady that had
worked the front desk for at least ten thousand years.
"Howdy. I'm interested in starting a joint checking
account, please, ma'am."
Roughstock: And a Smile Coke s Clown - 82
"Sure." What was her name? Alice? Alice smiled,
then nodded at Dillon. "Mr. Walsh."
He'd become Mr. Walsh when he started depositing
over a million a year in paychecks. Alice handed over
some paperwork and Coke peered over it, then handed it
to him. "Make sure it's in both our names, cowboy."
"You bet." They'd need Coke's ID and all, but it
would be easier to start a joint account as an add-on to
his already-there services.
Alice watched with bright eyes while he filled out
paperwork and went to sit with Coke to wait for a
banker.
"So, where's your favorite place to eat here in town?"
"Albert's. Twenty-four-hour diner." He was so
lowbrow sometimes. People would laugh.
"Diners." Coke nodded. "You taking me there for
lunch?"
"I am. They have a patty melt to die for." Oh, now he
was hungry.
"Oh, man. Good onion rings?" Coke was a whore for
the fried and crunchy.
"Yeah." He winked. "And fried pies."
"You had me at grilled onions on hamburger."
"I know. I like to tease."
"Dillon! Hey." The banker was George Stahman,
who had gone to high school with him. Yay. Coke
looked the man over, hazel eyes sizing George up like
the man was an unknown bull. Coke really didn't like
banks at all. "What can I help you with, eh?"
Dillon stood and shook like he was expected to. "We
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