“I was a treat.”
“You were a little brat,” Samuel said with a laugh, drinking his beer. “Reckless, stupid, and didn’t listen to anything I said. I’m surprised you found a woman who would put up with you.”
“A lot easier than raising a girl.”
Samuel gave me a bemused look. “Really?”
“Yeah, at least you didn’t have to explain why blood came out of me every month.”
“Did you teach her how to put on make-up as well?” Samuel asked. “Go dress shopping with her?”
I laughed. “Fuck you.”
Samuel chuckled and raised his beer to me, taking a long swig. “You’re doing a good job,” he said, looking at me seriously. “She’s a strong girl. Gonna make you proud one day, that one.”
“She already does.”
Samuel eyed me for a moment, smiled and nodded. “Good boy.”
I watched my father for a few seconds, really taking him in. I owed the man a lot, and sometimes I wished I could be half the father for my daughter that he had been to me. I never really appreciated everything he’d done for me until I was stuck with a three-year-old, on my own, with nothing but YouTube videos for support.
“By the way,” I said, leaning in and resting my elbows on the table. “Heath Collins passed by here today, just before you got back.”
Samuel frowned. “What does that little prick want?”
The change in tone took me a bit by surprise, and my DEA instincts kicked in. “Told me he wanted to talk to you about the acreage by the lake. Something about having friends who wanted to buy them.”
“That shit’s been harassing me about that land for weeks now,” Samuel replied. “Got himself mixed up with the wrong kind of people, that one. Him and that other p
inhead, Garth Liston. His daddy owns the tire store out by the highway.”
“Garth Liston?” Just saying the name left a bad taste in my mouth. I remembered Garth Liston. His parents had owned the biggest house on our street and Garth always acted like his shit didn’t stink. He was an entitled, smartass in high school; a fucking bully, a total jock until he blew his knee out. I expected that he had not changed much, given the look on my father’s face.
“Yeah, that one,” Samuel said. “Piece of shit. Just like his old man before he died. I drive all the way to Kingston to buy tires. God forbid I put money into any Liston’s pocket.”
I smiled. I loved it when the old man got riled. “What do they want the land for?”
Samuel shrugged and shook his head. “Some hot shot from Atlantic City wants to build a kind of resort or something,” he said. “Got a license for a casino and all. It’s supposed to bring tourism into Kent, open up a bunch of jobs, all that.”
“A casino? In Kent? Really?”
“Hey, you got money you want to throw away, be my guest,” Samuel said. “Just don’t come knocking on my door.”
“Did you know the name of the investor?”
Samuel shook his head. “Nope. And couldn’t care less,” he said. “I’m not selling.”
I sat back and tried to make sense of what my father was saying. Sure, a resort in Kent wasn’t a completely bad idea, especially with the junior college nearby and the sudden burst of gated communities all around. Still, there were dozens of places where something like this could have been more profitable, and a lot easier to set up. Heath’s interest in the land made a lot more sense now. I could see him grabbing onto an investment opportunity like this with teeth and claws. What Garth’s connection to all this was, though, I had no idea.
“Does Garth still live in the old house up the street?” I asked. “Maybe I could drop by and get a better idea of what’s going on.”
Samuel shook his head. “Moved out a long time ago. His mother married some rich guy by the name of Harlow, I believe, the guy who built Harlow Estates just outside town, near the college.”
I remembered passing by the large sign that promised “A community for the elite” and thinking just how conceited the developers had to be to use that as their slogan.
“He’s got his own house and all, opened a club right next to the student dorms. Called it something ridiculous, I can’t remember.”
I made a mental note to check that out later.