“Everything OK, Jay?” George asked, and for the first time that afternoon I realized I wasn’t the only person in the room. I finished screwing the top on to the liquor bottle I’d been throttling and turned to face him. He stood leaning against the doorframe of his office, his arms crossed over his stomach.

“Yeah. Everything’s fine,” I said, offering a half-hearted smile. He chuckled and shook his head at me.

“Fine, my ass,” he said and stepped toward me. “You remember what fine stands for? Fucked up, insecure—“

“Neurotic and egotistical, yeah, yeah, I remember. Don’t start that self-help crap with me.”

“OK, but seriously, what’s wrong?” he asked. I opened my mouth to speak and closed it almost immediately after. My throat burned. I wanted to tell George about Dan and the offer he’d made, but I couldn’t do it. George never knew about Dan and me, though I’m sure he’d had his suspicions, and even after all this time I wanted to keep it that way.

He didn’t seem to have recognized Dan the night before, and that was a good thing because I didn’t think I could handle him peppering me with questions about Dan right now. Truthfully, I wasn’t sure I would’ve had any answers for him anyway. It was complicated. Things between me and Dan always had been.

But at the same time, there wasn’t any way I could tell George about Dan’s offer without our personal history bleeding into it. Apart from all that, the idea of having to see and work with Dan on a daily basis stirred up all kinds of things inside me I hoped I’d never feel again.

When Dan won that stupid singing show and skipped town not long after, I promised myself that if I ever saw him again—and I doubted I ever would—I wouldn’t make the mistake of getting involved with him twice.

But what choice did I really have? George and I couldn’t go on pretending everything was normal. Someday soon the doors on Jimbo’s would close for the last time, and it would eat me alive for the rest of my life if I’d had a chance to save the bar and didn’t take it. George would probably never forgive me, and any chance I might’ve had at redeeming myself in the eyes of our dad and Beauclaire at large would’ve been shuttered along with the bar.

“Hello? Earth to Jason,” George said, taking the liquor bottle out of my hands and setting it on the glass shelf behind me.

“I’ve just got a lot on my mind, that’s all,” I said. It wasn’t a lie.

“Well, shake it off or something. We’re opening soon,” he said. “I can’t have you a scattered mess. Beauclaire High has their homecoming game tonight so we might actually have to do some work later.”

“Good, maybe that’ll distract me from everything,” I said. And by everything I meant Dan. George shook his head at me, punched my shoulder, and walked back into his office. He left the door cracked, as usual, and part of me wanted to stroll right in there after him and tell him everything. A different part of me realized how stupid the idea was.

“Shit,” I groaned under my breath and slammed my fist into the counter, making the mugs rattle and clink together. I ran my hands under the icy water from the small sink by the beer tap and splashed it over my face. I had to tell him, at least pass on the offer, even though the idea made my stomach twist.

How on Earth would I explain it? Oh hey, my long-lost ex-kinda-sorta-boyfriend, who just so happens to be a big shot singer now, rolled back into town and wants to give us a huge loan—no strings attached. Whaddya say, George? I could already see the look of incredulity on his face. He’d laugh me out of the bar and tell me to take the night off to get my head on straight.

But I had to try, so I took a deep breath and stepped into George’s office.

“Can I help you?” he asked without looking away from his computer screen.

“We need to talk,” I said.

“Well don’t just stand there, then, you’re makin’ me nervous,” he said and waved a hand at the seat beside him. “I’m glad you came in here, I feel like there’s something you ain’t telling me,” George said.

“Yeah? How’s that feel?” I asked as I sat down, immediately regretting the words. He raised his eyebrows at me.

“Oh, it’s gonna be like that, huh?”

“I shouldn’t have said that.”

“You’re damn right you shouldn’t have. Now go on, spill it. You’re sitting on something and whatever it is is making me anxious as hell.”

I sat down and waited. I didn’t know how to start.

“Look, I fucked up by not telling you about the foreclosure. I should’ve spoken up sooner, and I shouldn’t have dumped it on you the way I did. I thought I could keep things under control and I wouldn’t need to tell you, and then the foreclosure notice came and…” he trailed off. It was more words at once than he’d spoken to me in the last two months combined. Part of me enjoyed watching him squirm. I stared at him while he stared back at me and rubbed the sweat from his palms on his jeans.

“So, you know what? No more god damn secrets in this family. We’ve dealt with enough of that crap from Dad. We’re brothers, we should tell each other everything, especially now,” he said. “So whatever the hell it is you think you can’t tell me, spit it out. I’m all ears.” I laughed and shook my head. “What?” he asked. “Come on, it can’t be any worse than what I told you yesterday.”

“Maybe not worse, but definitely not better.”

“Don’t make me beat it outta you,” he said, a trademark line of his from our time as kids. Though he’d put on some extra weight since then, I didn’t doubt he could do just that.

“Alright, fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you first.” He rolled his eyes and stood staring at me expectantly. He looked like the spitting image of Dad, even down to the way he crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the hardwood floor. “Remember that guy who came in here last night?”

“You mean the guy who left you a hundred dollar tip? How could I forget?”

“Yeah, him. He’s not just an old friend,” I said, feeling my face catch fire as the words left my mouth.

“And here I thought you were acting weird for no reason. I thought I recognized him, but I wasn’t sure. He’s that trumped up country singer from town, ain’t he?” George asked.

“He sure is,” I answered, hoping against all hope the conversation would stop there.

Dan and I didn’t talk to each other much before, mostly because he was so sexy he was dangerous for me to be around. I wasn’t closeted back then, per se, but I kept my distance because I was convinced if I didn’t associate with “guys like him”—whatever the hell that meant—no one would suspect anything about me and I could go on living my life as an eternal bachelor in peace.

But like any good glutton for punishment, I’d been drawn to him. I couldn’t stay away, no matter how badly I needed to, and it was just as true when he’d come into the bar last night as it’d been years before. The spark hadn’t dulled, and that scared me more than anything else about the situation.

“So, what’s the deal with you two? You’re acting all awkward like your old fuck buddy came back to town or something,” he joked, completely unaware of the truth of what he’d said. Was he really that clueless?

“It’s complicated.”

“Complicated?” he asked, frozen. I turned my gaze to the ceiling, trying to fight off the embarrassment burning to life on my face.

“Jesus, you weren’t joking, were you?” he asked, his voice gone suddenly low. “You have a history with Dan Montgomery? Beauclaire’s Own Boy?”

“Yes, but would you please keep your voice down?” I asked and he burst out laughing.

“Well, hot damn. Good for you,” George said and pat me on the shoulder. I stared at him, my mouth hanging open.

“Good for me? Come again?” I asked. George had never cared about me being gay, but he also never cared to hear any details about it.

“I mean, it ain’t every day that your little brother hooks up with somebody famous.”

“He wasn’t famous back then,” I said.

“Like that makes any difference now. The boy can sing, I’ll give him that. Was he as good in the sack as I’d reckon he is?” George asked and I nearly spit out my front teeth.

“Are you serious right now? Like are you actually asking me about details of my sex life?”

“Only if you want to share ‘em,” he said with a smile.

“George, have you had some sort of awakening in your old age you need to tell me about or are you drunk?”

“Screw you, I ain’t old and I ain’t drunk. Besides, we’re talking about you, not me,” George said and winked. I didn’t know how the hell to take that, and I didn’t really want to think about it anyway, so I let it go.

“So, yes, things were awkward last night when he came in here. It was almost like he did it deliberately like he’d known I’d be here and it would fuck with my head,” I said.

“And why would it fuck with your head? You break his heart or somethin’?” he asked. Maybe he was more aware than I’d thought he was.

“Yeah, something like that,” I said. I didn’t want to get too far into the weeds with him. “Why else do you think he decided to run off and join the country circus?”

“Jason, I swear, trouble’s more attracted to you than flies are to pig shit,” George laughed as he shook his head at me.

“Yeah, you have no idea,” I said.

“Oh, I think I’ve got some idea,” he said. “So, is there more to this little Brokeback Mountain story?”

“You’re unbelievable,” I said, though I couldn’t help laughing. This definitely wasn’t the reaction I’d expected to get from George, of all people, but I was grateful for it. Maybe I could tell him about the offer Dan had made and, hell, maybe he’d actually go for it.

“There’s more,” I said.

“Of course there is,” he said and let out a long sigh. “Well, go on with it then.”

“You know that Dan’s rich and famous now, right?” I started, unsure of where else to begin. I had to preface this ridiculous offer somehow.

“Duh,” he laughed. “What about it?”

“Well, it sounds crazy but he left me a note last night before he left the bar,” I said.

“I don’t need to know what it said,” he started but I cut him off.

“No, I wasn’t like that, get your head out of the gutter. Jesus.”

“Then what was it?”

“He offered to help us out financially with the bar,” I said and the room fell totally silent as if the air had been sucked out all at once in a vacuum.

“Are you shitting me? Don’t play games with me like this,” he said. “It’s really not funny, not funny at all.”

“I’m not playing games, I’m being totally serious. I couldn’t believe it either, but for some reason, he decided he wanted to help us, and what other choice do we have?” I asked.

“The other choice we have is to let this bar die an ugly death, the same death it should’ve died years ago, instead of trying to prop it up,” he said. I couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. As much as I hated Jimbo’s Bar and Grill, and everything it stood for, George had always been proud of it. How could he just let it go like this?

“Wait, let me get this straight. Somebody with more money than most of the people we know combined strolls in here and offers to bail us out of a really awful situation, and you’re just gonna turn it down?” I asked.

“Let me tell you something, Jason, ain’t nothing free, and I can promise you that this hotshot ex of yours has something in mind. Why else would he have offered to do that? It sure as hell don’t benefit him,” George said.

“How can we know that until we try? He didn’t seem to want anything, just something to take his mind off of things going on at home,” I said. I didn’t really understand why, but their desperation clawed at my insides.

“Because he said it, though not in as plain language. I don’t know if it’s some sort of nostalgia or what that’s gotten kicked up inside that guy’s big head, but I can promise you that whatever he’s got in mind ain’t good,” he said.

“We should at least talk to him to see where he’s coming from. He might just be trying to help,” I said.

“I haven’t met many Hollywood types, but I know one when I see one, and I know what kinda shit they get up to. This reeks of a bad plan to me,” he said. That made two of us, but again, what other choice did we have? George might’ve resigned himself to going down with the ship, but I wasn’t ready to drown yet.

“You’re not even considering this, I feel like you’re totally closed off. Why can’t we just call him up and see what he wants —”

“What the hell do you think Dad would do in a situation like this? You think he would sell his soul to some rich dude making wild promises? I highly doubt it, and I can’t believe you’re considering it yourself, but then again you always were a little different from the rest of us, weren’t you?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I said, my voice louder than I intended for it to be. Was he trying to take a dig at me for being gay?

“It didn’t mean it like that, I just meant that you think differently than the rest of our family, and you always have. You’ve gotta big heart in a small town, and it’s gonna get you in trouble. I can’t believe it hasn’t already,” George said.

“Maybe so, but big things don’t get accomplished without heart. And you’re wrong about Dad. If somewhere along the way someone had offered to help bail him out of trouble, I think he would’ve agreed in a heartbeat. He never wanted to be trapped in this place, no more than we did, and I think this is our chance to turn things around. We’re not going to get another chance like this,” I said.

“It just doesn’t feel right,” George said, drumming his fingers on the desk. I couldn’t argue with that.

“You’re right, it doesn’t, but it’s the only option we have. Besides, talking to Dan about whatever it is he wants to offer doesn’t mean we have to accept the offer, you know? If it’s a bad deal, we just walk away and we’re back to square one. It can’t hurt to try,” I said.

“Why do I feel like you’re trying to pull the wool over my eyes? You still got feelings for this guy?” George asked and my face flushed with heat.

“No, I don’t, but even if I did, why would that matter? I’m just trying to save this place. I’m trying to save us. If this bar goes under, we go under with it, or did you forget that?”

George sighed and ran both of his hands through his hair as he slumped back in his chair, which creaked and moaned from the stress. As rugged as he looked these days, the chair was in worse shape. Hell, the entire bar was.

“No, you’re right. I don’t know who I am or what the hell to do without this place, as much as that sucks to say,” he said a few moments later. My heart thrummed, but I didn’t give in to the excitement because there was obviously more to the equation. George wouldn’t give in that easily.

“Neither do I, and you know I even hate to admit that,” I said.

“So what then? What we do?”

“I can call him, I can do it right now. He left his phone number for me with the note. Maybe we can set up a time to meet and talk things over,” I said.

“All right, fine, make it happen. But don’t forget that if this milk goes sour, you’re gonna be the one stuck drinking it,” he said.

“Oh, trust me, I won’t,” I said. The same way I’d never forget the way I’d let Dad and my own cowardice ruin things with Dan right as they were getting started. Even if we worked something out and agreed to do business together, which didn’t seem likely, I couldn’t afford to let things get tangled again.

The last time Dan and I had worked together when he was just a server in the bar that no one knew from Adam, things got complicated fast. This time, they’d have to be different. Much more was on the line for me, personally and professionally, than there had been back then, and more than that, I didn’t think I could live with him running away again.

Because he would run away, as soon as his manager or the next world tour came calling, and I couldn’t blame him for that. Who the hell would want to stay in Beauclaire if they didn’t have to? So many of us spent our childhoods promising ourselves and our parents that we’d leave and never come back.

But Dan had come back, and though he said it was to take care of his mom, I couldn’t help wondering if that was the whole truth—and I wanted to find out.