her. His voice dropped a few octaves and he asked, “Are you sick?”
“Probably one too many margaritas. Can you walk me to the room?” She pulled on his arm, leading him away from the table. Greg didn’t say anything, just stood, blocking Butch’s view of the target of his anger.
As they walked past, I saw Lois pat Greg’s arm and nod her thanks. I waited for the couple to reach the hotel entrance before moving to Greg’s side. I looked up at him. “That was intense.”
“Butch can be a little over-the-top at times.” Levi slapped Greg on the back. “I appreciate the support, dude, but there was no way Butch was going to hit me. He and I have an understanding.”
Greg put his arm around me. “I’ve got to get some sleep. Especially if we’re heading out on the boat tomorrow. Talk to you all in the morning.”
We heard the good-night calls and he waved a hand behind us, acknowledging the words but not slowing down. I hurried to keep up with him. When we got into the elevator, he slumped against the wall. “Now, I remember how crazy those guys are. It’s like being back in high school.”
“What was the fight about?” I brushed a lock of hair out of Greg’s eyes. He looked beat.
He didn’t look up, instead he sighed. “Something that happened over twenty years ago.”
CHAPTER 4
Greg promised to tell me the story before he left the next day, but after enduring his tossing and turning during the night, I’d slept through his four o’clock alarm. When I’d finally woken, he and the fishing boat had left hours before. I stretched in the too-soft bed, enjoying the softness of the high thread-count sheets. Brenda knew how to run a high-end hotel. I thought about Emma and hoped my dog was enjoying her sleepover with Toby. Toby Killian lived in the shed turned apartment behind the house along with being a part time barista at my shop, the guy also served as one of South Cove’s finest. Basically, the guy never slept. But Emma loved him and he was good with her, so I didn’t feel uncomfortable with leaving her for the weekend.
However, I missed her. We typically ran first thing in the morning down on the beach. She loved pretending she could catch the sea gulls. And the gulls loved teasing my golden retriever. They had a history and a system.
A lot like the group I’d met yesterday. They definitely had history. I wondered: What had gotten Butch worked up that fast? I’d blame it on the alcohol, I saw way too many buckets of beer and shots flowing to the boys’ table yesterday. Except Greg had mentioned their high school history. Or at least that’s what I’d assumed he’d meant.
I opened up my laptop and typed in the town where Greg had grown up: Sioux City, Iowa. I got a lot of hits, but when I added all the men’s names, I got articles from the local paper about them and their lives since the accident.
“Accident?” I racked my brain to try to remember if Greg had ever mentioned being in an accident, but I came up empty. I had just clicked on the first article, which seemed to be a summary of the others, when a knock came on my door. I bookmarked the link and leaving my laptop open on the bed, went to answer the door.
“Hey, sorry to bother you, but the van’s waiting and everyone’s inside, but you.” Brenda studied me with a concerned glance. “Are you okay? Should I send one of my volunteers with the group to do the tour? I have them all on call this weekend to help me with the group.”
I glanced at my watch, the morning had gotten away from me. “Let me run under the shower quickly, then I’ll be ready. Sorry about the delay.” I stepped back, intent on closing the door, but Brenda blocked it with one hand.
“One more thing. One of the women looks like she’s been crying all night. I heard there were some loud voices at the pool last night. Is everything okay with that Lisa?” She looked at me with understanding gaze.
“You mean Lois.” I shrugged, not wanting to get involved in the whole thing. Besides, how would I know, really? I just met the group. “I think so, I’ll try to pull her aside today to talk to her.”
“I’d appreciate that. I hope everything is okay. I have some referrals to the women’s safety council, if she needs help.” Brenda shoved a card into my hand. “Maybe you could give her this.”
I held it up and nodded. “Sure, if she says anything to make me think she’s not okay, I’ll pass these on.”
“Sometimes they don’t say. You should pass them on no matter what.” Brenda said through the narrowing slot where I was trying to close the door. Brenda had used a women’s network to leave her husband. I didn’t know all the facts, but even I could see Craig Morgan had been a bad man. Now, Brenda volunteered with the organization that had saved her life.
“Gotcha. I’ll see what I can do.” I pointed to the pajamas. “I really need to get ready now, the ladies are waiting.”
“Oops, sorry.” Brenda flushed and turned away toward the elevator. I closed the door and looked at the card. How did I explain handing off a card offering battered women’s services to not only a total stranger, but to one that was married to a guy Greg went to school with and still considered a friend?
Yep, my life just got more complicated and mostly because I didn’t know how to say no. Ever.
The driver was the older man we’d met yesterday at the beginning of our tour. Joe, James, no, John. I smiled but he narrowed his eyes and took off as soon as I had closed the door. As the van accelerated, I bumped my shoulder into Allison who helped me find my seatbelt after I got settled in the seat next to her.
I had him drop us off at Coffee, Books, and More, with a promise to pick us up at the winery no later than 4:00 p.m. At least I thought it was a promise. It was actually more like a grunt. At least I had my cell and I could call Brenda if John didn’t return for us.
The plan was for us to hit the shops on the way to lunch at Diamond Lille’s, our one and only greasy spoon in South Cove. Then continue shopping on the way back to the winery where we could get a few drinks before heading back to see how the guys had fared on the water. But first, I, I mean, we could get a coffee from the shop.
I had a touch of a hangover from the margaritas last night. Sugar and alcohol were a bad mix, especially since I loved the darn things so much. As I walked in the door, Toby looked up and horror filled his face.
My hands when instinctively up to smooth down my hair. “What? Do I have a bug in my curls? I know I didn’t put any makeup on, but I can’t look that bad.”
“I told the vet not to call you; that I’d take care of it.” Toby walked over to meet me. “It’s really not as bad as they made it out to be. She’s just a little sick right now. I caught her before she ate the whole thing.”
I stared at him, confused. Deek should have been working, right? I glanced at the clock, it was after ten. Deek must have just left. Then I realized who Toby was talking about: Emma. Something was wrong with Emma. That could get me out of this crazy couples’ weekend without a backlash. Greg knew my dog was important to me. Heck, it might be the excuse to get him out too. “What happened to Emma?”
“She got into my bag of chocolate chips. Man, she had a mouthful before I could stop her. Sissy down at the vet’s in Bakerstown says Emma’s going to be fine in a day or so. They’re keeping her overnight for observation, just in case.
