My defensiveness must’ve shown because Sammy jumped in to defuse the sudden tension.
“That’s great,” she said. “Not everyone likes their boss and their job, right, Amy?”
Amy’s smile was forced. “Right.”
But Anisha wasn’t as easily placated. “You know the history between Parker and Dean, don’t you? What that asshole Parker did to him?”
“I know that it was in the past and it’s none of my business,” I said, getting to my feet. “If you’ll excuse me.”
Grabbing another crappy beer from the cooler, I popped the top and went in search of Ryker. He was in the middle of a conversation about a ’68 Mustang he was thinking of buying and restoring, so I just settled in next to him. Glancing down at me, he smiled and draped an arm over my shoulders.
I listened to them talk for a while, deciding about two-thirds of the way through my beer that hey, it wasn’t so bad after all. When I finished that one, I went and opened another.
Amy stepped up behind me as I was taking a swig. “Hey,” she said with a smile. “I just wanted to apologize. Anisha was out of line. We’re just all very … protective of Dean. That’s all.”
“I like him, too,” I said. “Or else I wouldn’t be here.”
“We were just surprised. We haven’t heard Parker’s name in a really long time.”
“So what happened?” I asked. “Why do you all hate him so much?”
“You really don’t know?” she asked, scrutinizing me.
I shrugged. “I’ve heard bits and pieces from both of them, and of course their sides of the story are vastly different. It’d be nice to hear from an outside party what happened.”
The wind had torn her hair from its braid and she took it down, tying it back in a ponytail as she talked.
“Well, it all started when they came back from deployment,” she said. “Troy and I were high school sweethearts and have been friends with Dean since forever. He and Troy lived by each other in that shitty trailer park. Parker was never really one of us, never really fit in, but Dean liked him, so we accepted him.
“Parker and Dean were inseparable,” she continued. “I don’t know what had happened to bring them together—neither of them would ever say—but they had each other’s backs all through high school and into the service. I didn’t think anything could ever come between them. Until they met Natalie.”
Natalie. The woman they’d both fallen in love with, the woman who’d committed suicide because of it.
“Tell me about her,” I said.
Amy shrugged, her face blank. “She was a little thing. Pretty. Delicate, kind of, I guess. Men like that sort of thing, or at least Dean and Parker did.”
“That’s all?” I asked when she stopped talking.
“It’s unkind to speak ill of the dead.”
That was unexpected. I’d assumed, given how Ryker and Parker had referred to Natalie, that she’d been sweet and nice. Maybe I’d assumed wrong. “You didn’t like her?” I prodded.
Amy hesitated, turning her gaze out to stare at the water. “I think … Natalie was someone who was hard to know. And I think infatuation can make people overlook things that should be obvious. And both Parker and Dean were very infatuated with Natalie.
“Dean loved her, but she’d slept with Parker. It was hard for him to reconcile her betrayal with his love for her.” She shrugged. “That’s probably why he took it out on Parker. He couldn’t bear to lose Natalie, so all his anger was directed at his supposed best friend.” Her voice was bitter. “Then Natalie killed herself, and he’s blamed himself ever since.”
She took a deep breath and faced me again. “But like you said, it’s all in the past.”
“And yet, none of you have forgiven Parker,” I persisted.
“He broke Dean’s trust,” she said. “That’s not something easily forgiven.”
Our eyes met in mutual understanding and I gave her a nod. Regardless of how I felt about the situation, Ryker and his friends believed Parker had betrayed him.
“So you didn’t really say how you met,” she said. “How long have you guys been dating?”
“A little over four months,” I replied. “Ryker was working on a case that involved Parker. We met and he asked me out. Well, he didn’t really ask,” I amended. “More like told me I was going to dinner with him.”
Amy laughed. “That sounds like Dean. He’s never had a confidence problem when it comes to women. But I think it’s awesome that you’ve been together this long. I think it’s the longest actual relationship he’s had in years.”
That surprised me. “Really?”
She nodded. “It took a while for him to learn to trust again. I’m glad he brought you today, though. He hasn’t brought anyone around for our approval in years.”
“Well, I don’t think Anisha’s going to approve,” I said ruefully.
“She’ll come around,” Amy said. “Especially if Dean is happy.”
“You’re talking about me, Amy?”