The metal in his hand gave a sharp, heavy jingle as he rocked from one foot to the other.

“You ought to treat yourself to something like this, Dan,” Rob said.

He gazed past my shoulder at the dark upstairs windows of the house.

“A woman like Vanessa needs a bit of comfort.

She wasn’t made to live on a tight budget forever.”

“We do fine,” I said.

“Doing fine is for folks who don’t know how to make a real deal,” Rob said.

He grinned, his teeth flashing in the white glare of the headlights.