That was fucking awesome. She glanced over her shoulder, imagining that she could still see Steph walking down the street. She’s incredible.

This was definitely a good-memory night.

She hummed happily to herself as she slowly meandered through the bar, the only illumination coming from the neon sign in the back room and the LED screen of the cash register. Alex replayed the entire night in her head as she walked; the dinner, the conversation, especially when it had turned to music-

The dark shape at the end of the bar, which she had assumed was one of the stools, rose up to twice its size from the corner of her eye. “Alex?”

She gasped violently, sucking in a deep lungful of air as she instinctively threw herself against the wall behind her. “Oh my God!!” she exclaimed, desperately grabbing behind her for something to throw.

“Shit! Sorry! Sorry!” The shape slapped at the wall behind it, and the bar lights turned on. “It’s just me!”

Alex blinked as her eyes quickly adjusted to the light. “Ryan?!”

The bearded park ranger held his hands out in a calming gesture. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you!”

“What the hell, man?! You almost gave me a heart attack!!”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Ryan took a breath. “I wanted to see you, but you weren’t here, so I figured I’d wait, and I think I feel asleep, and the lights turned off on me. I swear I wasn’t trying to scare you!”

“Well you fucking failed at that!” Alex grabbed her chest as she tried to steady her breathing. “Christ, dude!”

“I…” Ryan paused, then slumped his shoulders as he sighed. “… this was not how I wanted to start this conversation.”

Alex willed herself to calm down, as she took a few deep breaths. “How were you trying to start it, dare I ask?”

“By apologizing. In person.”

Oh. Right. I never responded to his texts. Alex wasn’t sure how she felt about the park ranger, considering how he’d hung her out to dry at the town meeting a few days prior. Though she would admit that his text message had felt sincere.

“That couldn’t have waited until tomorrow?”

“I guess it could’ve.” Ryan scratched the back of his head. “Though my mother always said the longer an apology takes, the less it means.”

Alex hummed in disapproval, as she crossed her arms.

“Look, I know, I fucked up.” Ryan sighed as he sat back down on the stool behind him. “Trust me, I’ve been getting earfuls from half the town.”

That was when she noticed the bottle in front of him. And the glass. “Have you been drinking?”

“Mm?” He followed her gaze to the bottle. “Oh. No. Well, not heavily anyway, I just had the one.”

“How long have you been here?”

“About thirty minutes.”

She looked at him quizzically. “Why didn’t you come earlier today?”

“I, uh…” He drummed his fingers on the bar. “I was talking to a lawyer. And… visiting my dad.”

Ah.

Well, that explains the drink.

“Is he… still at the station in town?” Alex asked hesitantly.

“For now. Pike said they’re transporting him to Denver tomorrow.” Ryan shrugged morosely. “He’s agreed to testify against Typhon, so they want him someplace more secure.”

Alex inhaled slowly, before exhaling through her nose. Then she walked up to the bar, hoisting herself into the stool across the corner from Ryan. “… how is he doing?” she asked in a low voice.

“Okay, all things considered. He’s been answering whatever questions the investigators ask him, though he’s spending most of his time in a cell.”

“Good.”

“I know.” Ryan heaved a sigh, then picked up the bottle in front of him to refill the glass. “It’s… he’s been my hero for my entire life, Alex.”

She nodded.

“Even before that cave-in, when he…” Ryan hesitated, giving her a quick look before continuing. “All I wanted to do was be like him. Not as a miner, I mean, but as a person. Kind, generous, quick-thinking, a strong leader…”

Alex studied Ryan, before shifting her focus. A bright blue aura cascaded over the park ranger’s figure, as he stared into his glass.

Did they say how long you’ll be there? Ryan’s voice sounded distraught.

I don’t think I’m coming back, son. Jed’s rough voice almost made Alex shiver, and she quickly blinked the aura away.

“You miss him,” she stated. “Even after everything.”

“I know I shouldn’t. Not after what he did to you. But I can’t help it.” Ryan avoided eye contact. “Sorry.”

Alex tried to process that, to figure out if she was supposed to be upset at him or not. But she didn’t know how she was supposed to feel either. She elected to nod silently, as she folded her arms on the bar in front of her.

I mean… Jed is his father.

Gotta understand that, if nothing else.

Wait a minute. She tilted her head, remembering what Ryan had said. “Why were you talking to your dad’s lawyer?”

“I wasn’t.”

“I thought you said you were.”

Ryan shook his head as he looked up. “I was talking to my lawyer, not my dad’s.”

“Your-” Alex blinked. “Wait, why do YOU need a lawyer? Are they charging you with something?”

“No, it wasn’t that kind of lawyer. I’m not in trouble.” Ryan took another drink. “Though I’m probably about to be in way over my head.”

“Why?”

He set the glass down and looked at her. “My dad made a deal with the prosecutor, since he’s cooperating, pleading guilty, and testifying against Typhon. In exchange, rather than seizing all his assets for legal fees, they’re allowing him to transfer most of them to me. I was meeting with an estate lawyer to sign a bunch of paperwork.”

“Assets? Like his money?”

“No, that’s going to the lawyer. But he signed over almost everything else, like his house. And truck.” He hesitated. “And the bar.”

Oh. Alex leaned back in her seat. “… you own the Black Lantern now?”

“Yea.” He looked around, heaving another sigh. “Well, not officially. It’ll take a couple of weeks for the bank to process the change of ownership. But the lawyer and loan officer said that given the situation, I can pretty much take over immediately.”

Alex nodded slowly, then looked down at her lap, biting her lip. “… is this a roundabout way of you kicking me out?”

“What?” his brow furrowed. “No. Of course not. Why would I kick you out?”

“Because I put your father in prison.”

“You…” Ryan exhaled slowly. “No. No, you didn’t. And… given everything he did, I’d be kind of a shitty friend if I held that against you.”

Alex raised an eyebrow.

“Although now it occurs to me that you might not want me as a friend.” Ryan picked the glass back up and tossed back the rest of his drink. “Guess I can’t blame you for that. Or Steph.”

“You talked to Steph?”

“More like she talked at me. Loudly, and with some pretty creative insults.” He set the glass down. “Congratulations, by the way.”

“On what?”

“I heard Steph’s radio broadcast this morning.” Ryan smirked. “I made an elementary deduction that you’re the chick who made her the better offer.”

“Ah.” Alex blushed. “Yea, I guess that was a little obvious.”

“So are you two… together now?”

“She said I can touch her drum set.”

Ryan arched his eyebrows.

“That’s not a metaphor,” Alex quickly clarified. “I mean her actual drum set.”

“Hm.” He smirked. “Then she must really like you.”

“We were, uh, actually on our first date before I walked in here,” Alex admitted.

“Nice. How’d it go?”

“Really well.”

“Glad to hear it.” He looked at the bottle in front of him, before pushing it away. “We got kind of distracted. Like I said, I’m sorry for not having your back during the meeting. I should’ve at least been willing to hear you out.”

Alex nodded, looking at her hands. “Sorry for not replying to your text. And… thank you, for letting me stay here.”

“You’re welcome.” Ryan cleared his throat before siting up straight. “I did have one favor to ask.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s probably gonna take me a while to figure out how to run this bar, but I know we need to be open in order to make money. I talked to the kitchen staff already, and they’re good to work tomorrow, but I still need a bartender and waitress.” He nodded at her. “You think you’d be able to open up at nine-thirty?”

It was Alex’s turn to arch her eyebrows. “I still have a job?”

“Technically, I don’t think you ever lost it. Unless you don’t want to work here anymore.”

“I do,” Alex said quickly. “I like this place. And I enjoy the short commute.”

Ryan smirked. “Yea, I bet.”

“Also, I hear the boss is an okay guy.”

“Well, better than being called an asshole.”

“Let’s put a pin in that.” Alex folded her arms. “You did tell Steph that I touched her drums when I got here.”

Ryan shrugged. “Hey, she had her wooden sword in one hand and Valkyrie in the other. And told me that if I didn’t tell her who touched her cymbal, one of them was getting my balls.”

“Coward.”

“Yea, well, I hear that wussing out is underrated.”