Page 16 of The Last Grift
Elton nodded as if all of this made complete sense to him.
“She also told me your name and that you lived here on Heartstone Island.” He’d left the letter stuffed inside the Honda’s glove box but had it memorized. “And that she’d been paying someone to keep an eye on it for me.”
“That she has, son, that she has. I’ve done my best to take care of it, but I have to admit that age has gotten the better of me in the past few years. Would you like to see it now or wait for the weather to change?”
Did he? Something in the old man’s tone warned Gabe that maybe he didn’t.
“Let’s get it over with.”
NINE
GABRIEL
Tuesday
“Needs some elbow grease,”Elton commented dryly.
Gabriel grunted his agreement; even he could see that his inheritance,The Golden Ticketscrawled across its bow, was in shambles. He’d felt a prick of excitement when Elton had turned into the Riddle Bay Marina. A boat was an asset, something he could possibly sell. Alternatively, it might be a place he could hide out on for a little while, just until the dust settled.
Not this fucking boat. The hope of a quick cash cow or cozy bolt-hole disintegrated at the sight of the thing. He wondered if it was even seaworthy. Gabe didn’t know much about boats; his experience came from living in the Pacific Northwest and watching them from ferries or the shore.
The rain and wind picked up again. Except for where his jacket protected him, Gabe was close to soaking. Elton was so bundled up in winter weather gear that Gabe could only see the tip of his nose and one of those almost sentient eyebrows.
Not to sound ungrateful, Mom, but what the fuck?
The coat Elton wore appeared to lift upward of its own accord and then lower back down. Gabriel shivered in his parka, bracing himself against the cold November wind. He was officially fucking freezing his ass off, the headache from the earlier encounter with Calvin and Dwayne lingered, and the gash on his thigh twinged. He was falling apart.
What work would he need to do to make the boat livable? Just a roof over his head would be nice right now. For a pleasant minute or so, he’d thought that Elton was leading him to the well-maintained vessel at the end of the pier. He’d briefly imagined sunny days reading his book on the deck, waving to other locals.
Nope.
Although theTicketwasn’t the boat in the worst shape; that award went to one tied up a little further along.
“How bad is it?” he asked.
Hadn’t MacGyver lived on a sailboat for one season? Gabriel needed to channel his inner MacGyver.
One thing the boat had going for it was that it had even less of a legal connection to him than the Honda.The Golden Ticketwas not licensed under his mother’s name, Elton informed him. The chances that the Anderson brothers and their Colavito protectors would connect him to an all-but-sinking sailboat were low.
“It looks worse than it is.” Elton was probably trying to sound reassuring.
“It’s just…” He stopped. Self-pity would achieve nothing and change nothing. In general, he was an optimist, but this glass wasn’t even half full. The water had long ago evaporated.
Gabe eyed the sailboat again. Looking closer, he could see that the boat’s name had actually been artfully painted by hand along the bow in metallic gold paint. There was probablysomething else good about it too. Maybe if it hadn’t been raining and forty-three degrees outside, he might have been able to appreciate the boat’s charms a bit more.
In search of warmth, Gabriel shoved his bone-cold fingers deeper into the pockets of his jacket and squinted hard through the sheet of gray drizzle. Beside him, Elton remained silent. Gabriel figured he had a lot of practice at it.
“What are the chances of me being able to live here?” Gabe finally asked.
Elton glanced up at him, his expression skeptical. He didn’t know if it was directed at the sailboat or Gabe.
Future. Reinventing himself. One last time.
“I checked the inside this past summer, and it’s not that bad. Like I said, it just needs a little TLC,” Elton said. “This isn’t generally the time of year for a restoration project like this, but you can make it somewhat comfortable. Eventually, you’ll need to update a few things and get squared up with the marina’s board.”
Before setting out from Elton’s home, Gabriel had briefly explained that he was in need of a place to stay for a while. Not wanting to share his life story with a virtual stranger, he’d omitted a few details. He’d definitely left out the part about Peter and the Anderson brothers. And Calvin and Dwayne. More of a change of scenery situation than a running for his life deal. From the knowing gleam in Elton’s eye, Gabe doubted he’d fooled the old man. He’d known Heidi, after all.
Under his feet, the ancient wooden pier creaked and shifted, and the resulting groan echoed out over the bay. To Gabe’s uneducated eye, the dock was in need of emergency repairs as well. He didn’t think he was wrong about that, even if what he knew about boats and piers wouldn’t fill a sticky note. The extra small kind.
