“ ’Cause you’ve got your head up your ass, instead of on your business, where it belongs.”
By an act of will, Angus calmed himself. If he hollered, Junior would only pout. Yelling never got him anywhere. But it was tough to keep his disappointment and anger from showing.
“Alex was at the airfield this afternoon with Reede.”
“So?”
“So, if I’d gotten there ten seconds later, I’d’ve caught them screwing against the side of an airplane!” he roared, forgetting his resolution to restrain his temper.
Junior bolted from his chair. “The hell you say!”
“I know when animals are in heat, boy. I make part of my living breeding them, remember? I can smell when they want each other,” he declared, touching the end of his nose. “He was doing what you should have been, instead of gambling away money you didn’t even earn.”
Junior flinched. Defensively, he said, “Last I heard, Alex was out of town.”
“Well, she’s back.
”
“All right, I’ll call her tonight.”
“Do better than that. Make a date, see her.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it!”
“I said, okay!” Junior shouted.
“And something else, just so you’ll hear it from me first. I’ve asked Reede to rejoin ME.”
“Huh?”
“You heard me.”
“What… what’d he say?”
“He said no, but I’m not taking that as final.” Angus walked toward his son until they were nose to nose. “I’ll tell you something else. I haven’t decided who’ll be working for whom if he takes the job.”
Junior’s eyes reflected his pain and anger.
Angus poked him in the chest. “You’d better get busy and do what I told you to do, or one of two things could happen. Either Reede’ll be sitting at your desk, assigning you jobs like cleaning out the stables, or all of us will be making license plates in the Huntsville prison. Either way, you won’t have afternoons to while away playing poker.”
Angus stepped back and gave the edge of the table a vicious kick with the pointed toe of his lizard boot. It toppled over, sending cards, poker chips, ashtrays, and bottles of beer crashing to the floor.
Then he marched out, leaving Junior to clean up the mess.
Chapter 31
The waitress set down two chicken salads served in fresh, hollowed-out pineapples and garnished with sprigs of mint. She asked Junior Minton if he and his guest needed refills on iced tea.
“We’re fine for now, thanks,” he said, flashing her his hundred-watt smile.
The country club’s dining room offered a view of the golf course. It was one of the few rooms in Purcell County that didn’t reek of Texana. The soothing pastel decor would have fit in anywhere. Junior and Alex were among a small number of luncheon diners.
She applied her fork to an almond sliver. “This is almost too pretty to eat. It beats the B & B Café’s blue-plate special all to heck,” she told him as she munched on the nut. “I’m sure if I ever saw the inside of the kitchen, I’d never eat there. It’s probably crawling with roaches.”
“Naw, they chicken-fry them and serve them as appetizers.” Junior smiled. “Do you eat there often?”