Page 24 of Cold Hard Cash

“Yeah.” Jimmy knew his entire face was bright red, able to feel the heat radiating off of his skin. He couldn’t help but smile when he thought about Cold, sighing as he added, “But I don’t think it’s gonna last.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t think he’s looking for anything serious,” Jimmy replied after a few moments, choosing his words carefully.

“He’s an idiot then,” David said, snorting roughly, “because you’re amazing. Anybody would be lucky to have you.” It seemed as if he could sense how awkward Jimmy was feeling about discussing his love life, so he opted to change the subject himself this time. “How’s Maury doing? Still rough as hell?”

“Always,” Jimmy chuckled. “But he’s good. Finally quit smoking. You know, mostly.”

“Hey, anything less than the three packs a day he used to smoke is an improvement!” David smiled fondly. “I’ll always be grateful for him looking out for you. He’s a good man.”

“The best.”

“So, how are your classes going?”

“Fine,” Jimmy fibbed innocently, forcing a strained smile. As far as David knew, Jimmy was still in college despite having dropped out a few years ago to work on getting the case reopened. David also thought that Jimmy was working at a local law firm as an intern, and he’d actually been fired from that job last year for snooping around for information on said case.

“Just fine?” David probed.

“Yeah! I’m, uhm, just taking the one class right now,” Jimmy stammered. He was a terrible liar, but he didn’t want his father worrying about him. “Probably gonna take another semester off soon.”

Brows furrowing together, David sighed. “Son, if you keep taking time off, you’re never going to be a lawyer.”

Jimmy’s smile turned a little sad. “Yeah, I know, Dad. It’s okay, I’m going to get it figured out. I just have to keep saving up so I can pay for my classes myself. I’m already kinda drowning in student loans.”

“Yeah.” David nodded in return. “I know, slugger. I just want you to have a good life. Graduate, pass the bar, get a good job.” He grinned, teasing, “Get your old man out of prison.”

“Hey, I’m working on it!” Jimmy laughed. That had been the original plan before he couldn’t afford to pay his tuition anymore. He wanted to be a lawyer so he could free his father and eventually help others that were wrongfully imprisoned.

But using tuition money for legal fees does not a lawyer make, and Jimmy had chosen to keep pursuing his father’s case instead of continuing school.

“Seriously,” David said, “I want you to be happy. Gotta keep an eye on your debts, you know. You don’t want those to get out of hand.”

“Right,” Jimmy replied, grinning stupidly. He had a hell of a debt that he was working on right now, but he wasn’t exactly complaining about how he was working it off.

“What is it?” David quirked a brow. He actually snickered, teasing again, “Hmmm, somethin’ got you thinking about that new fellow?”

“Wha—? No! Why, why would you say that?” Jimmy stuttered, scrubbing his hand over his face.

“Because I can read you like a book,” David said with a small smirk. “You’ve got the same googly-eyed look that you used to get with Anna.”

Jimmy’s smile faded.

“Shit. Sorry, kiddo,” David apologized, cringing slightly.

Anna was Augustus Duplin’s daughter and Jimmy’s childhood crush. The loss of their friendship was a casualty of the break between Jimmy and Augustus. Anna easily took her father’s side over Jimmy’s, and it had broken his heart to lose her. They hadn’t spoken more than a few words to each other since Jimmy left the Duplin home.

Jimmy still thought of her often, but that part of his life was over. His crush had turned into full blown puppy love when they were teenagers, though Jimmy never confessed his feelings. They were best friends, and he never wanted to do anything to lose that.

But Jimmy couldn’t give up on his father, and when he turned his back on Augustus, he ended up losing her anyway. She moved out of Strassen Springs years ago to finish school. He didn’t know what had become of her, but he hoped she was happy.

“It’s okay,” Jimmy said with a shrug. “It was a long time ago.”

“Everything feels like a long time ago now,” David remarked, leaning forward on his elbows, cradling his chin in his hand. “You know, I’m really glad you came today. There’s something I wanna talk to you about. Seriously.”

Jimmy frowned, tilting his head. “What is it, Dad? Is somebody messing with you again?”

“No, no,” David said quickly. “Nothing like that.” He sighed, his face wrinkling up in distress.