Faith, Honor & Freedom by Shannon Callahan

her. I also know her seemingly harmless pokes do have an effect on Lana, although she would never tell her mother that.
    I let it go, and pull her into a genuine hug. I probably spent more time in this house growing up than I did at home. “Sorry Tanya, is Steve in the living room?” I ask, for the sake of politeness. There’s an Oakland game on, and I know that he wouldn’t miss it for anything.
    “You know he is, go on in. Lana needs to come help me set the table. I look over at Lana, trying to gauge how pissed off she still is. Judging by the way she still refuses to meet my eyes, I’m going to say things aren’t looking too good for me.
    I turn and walk down the hall and to my left, entering their quaint living room. An old blue, comfy couch lines one wall, and a blue recliner, where Steve sits, hunched forward, lines the other. It must be a good game tonight. The TV is on the far wall, and fortunately for Steve, it looks like the A’s are in the lead.
    “Hey Steve, looks like a good game,” I say in greeting. Steve is nearing his sixties now, but aside from a few grays, you’d never know it. His piercing light blue eyes always haunted me after Rhett died. He was a spitting image of his old man, and to see what he would have looked like after living a good life has always been a stab in the chest.
    “Oh, they’re playing well tonight. It’s definitely our year this year!” he says excitedly, and I have to laugh. He says it every year, win or lose. If there’s one word to describe Steve, it’s loyal, and that doesn’t pertain to only baseball.
    “Good to hear, Steve.” I’m more of a football type of guy; I like the action and the aggression more than anything, but I’d never tell Steve that. I’ve always wanted his respect.
    “So, how’s it been going son? Any break in the serial killer case?” he asks. He knows I’m not supposed to give him any more information than I give the general public now that he’s retired, but he somehow always manages to coax more out of me.
    “Not much—we’re still searching Jenny’s house, interviewing neighbors, and getting alibis from convicted sex offenders in the area. His last job was rushed, so hopefully we’ll be able to use something we found.”
    “That’s too bad. Hopefully the lab finds something,” he says, and I nod. He turns his attention back to the game for a minute as a loud eruption of applause blares through the television’s speaker. “Damn it, get it together boys.”
    “Do you want another beer, Steve?” I’d love a drink of something stronger, but I know they don’t keep any hard liquor in the house. Mostly, I just want an excuse to go see Lana.
    “Sure, sure,” he says, eyes still glued to the screen. I rise and walk toward the kitchen, but stop when I hear Lana speak my name.
    “… Weston is a nice guy, Mom, but I’m just not interested.” Well if that isn’t a punch to the fucking gut, I don’t know what is. But what did her mom say that prompted that?
    “Oh honey, you just haven’t given him a chance.”
    “Mom, enough okay? I’m seeing someone, and he’s pretty great. I think you’d like him; he owns a construction company.”
    “You bring him by the house. We’d like to meet him and be the judge of that ourselves, yeah?”
    “Yeah Mom.”
    I use the break in chatter to make my presence known and enter the kitchen. It’s dated, but hell, you could lick the floors in here it’s so clean. Tanya has always kept up an impeccable home, and they have both always been modest people. They choose to spend their money on a good time, rather than material possessions.
    “Weston, what can I get you?” Tanya asks me.
    “Two beers, if you don’t mind,” I say, glancing over to Lana, as her mom walks to the fridge. She looks back at me with a mixture of pain and anger on her face, and I have to wonder what they were talking about that I missed. I give her a small smile, and she returns a forced one.
     
    “So what