by Lena Gregory
While Gia strolled through the room, trying to appear casual, she kept the older man in her line of sight.
He sipped his coffee, didn’t seem to be in any rush to go anywhere, but didn’t bother to look at his menu and didn’t seem interested in ordering food when Willow stopped to refill his cup.
Gia stopped beside his table and extended a hand, as she’d done with other customers. “Hi. I’m Gia Morelli. It’s nice to meet you.”
If his deer in the headlights expression was any indication, he hadn’t planned on having to introduce himself. He took her hand. “Sean.”
Sean McNeil? He seemed about the right age. She hesitated a moment, hoping he’d add a last name. When he didn’t, she tried again. “Are you from around here?”
“Originally.”
“Well, what brings you back?”
“Actually, I was just on my way out. Got an appointment to keep.” He slid his chair back and stood, leaving his now full cup on the table. “Nice meeting you.”
She couldn’t think of any way to keep him there, so she reluctantly let him go. “Nice meeting you, too. I hope you’ll come again.”
“I’m sure I will.” He kept his gaze straight ahead as he walked out, then held the door open for someone to enter.
Hank Sanford grunted what might have passed for a thank-you as he strode through the door and headed straight for Gia.
Ah, jeez. She’d finally gotten out of the kitchen and now all she wanted to do was run back there and hide. She stopped at a table and introduced herself to an elderly couple, allowing Willow to greet Hank and offer him a seat, hoping he’d just accept, have something to eat, and be on his way, but her luck wasn’t that good.
Hank ignored Willow and homed in on Gia. He marched across the café, jaw clenched, hands balled into fists. Hunt hadn’t been kidding when he’d said you should see the other guy. Hank’s face was a mess of cuts and bruises.
Gia pasted on a smile. The last thing she needed was a confrontation in the middle of the café. “Hello, Hank. How can I help you?”
He puffed up his chest. “I’m lookin’ for Maybelle’s cell phone.”
“I’m sorry. I haven’t seen it, but I can check the lost and found.”
He stared hard at her. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Are you gonna check?”
“Oh, right.” Gia headed behind the counter and pulled out a basket of odds and ends people had left behind. An umbrella, a baby bottle—which Gia had cleaned before putting in the basket—and several sweatshirts. No phone. She looked up into Hank’s eyes. Even though he could clearly see there was no phone in the basket from where he leaned over the counter, she said, “I don’t have it, Hank, I’m sorry. What makes you think she lost it here?”
“The last time she remembers having it was the morning she came in here to talk to you.” He had the good grace to blush and look away.
“Well, if anyone had found it, they would have either given it to me or put it in here.” She shoved the basket back beneath the counter. “If it turns up, I’ll be sure to call.”
“Do that.” He turned and walked out without so much as a thank-you, clutching his left side as he yanked the door open. Apparently the damage Hunt had inflicted wasn’t confined to Hank’s face.
Chapter 20
Cole took off his apron and tossed it into the hamper, then stretched. “I have to admit, it felt good to get in front of a grill again.”
“Thank you both so much.” Gia gave each of them a hug. “I couldn’t have gotten through today without you.”
“Of course you’d have gotten through.” Earl winked. “We just made it easier.”
“How about a cup of coffee and something to eat before you go?” Gia locked the door, glad to be done for the day but happy with how things had worked out.
“I wouldn’t say no to something small. Maybe one of those chocolate muffins.” Cole pointed to a glass cake dish filled with muffins and sat at the counter.
Earl sat on his usual stool two seats over from Cole. “I’ll take a blueberry.”
Gia placed their muffins on dishes and set them in front of them, then grabbed the coffeepot and started to fill their mugs.
Cole spun around on his stool, leaned back, and rested his elbows on the counter. “I can’t believe how much the place has changed since back in the day.”
“That’s right,” Earl said around a mouthful of muffin, “I remember you pitching in behind the bar now and then.”
Coffee splashed on Gia’s hand. “Ouch.”
“Are you all right?” Cole spun back around and took her hand.
“It’s fine, thanks.” She grabbed a paper towel and dried her hand. “You used to work here?”
“Not really, just lent a helping hand now and again like I did for you today.”
“Did you know Sean McNeil?”
“Yes. Good man, Sean.”
“Yes, he was,” Earl agreed. “Shame what happened to him.”
Gia set the coffeepot back on its burner and leaned her folded arms on the counter. “What happened to him?”
Cole gestured to Earl, then bit into his muffin.
Earl sipped his coffee. “Floyd Masters happened to him. Never did like that man, or any other member of the Masters clan. Bunch of no-goods if you ask me.”
“Yup, even Floyd’s sister’s brat.” Cole snapped his fingers, his face twisted into a mask of concentration.
“Hayes.” Earl’s eyes twinkled when he looked at Gia. He knew exactly how she felt about Captain Howard Hayes.
Cole pointed at Earl. “Yeah, that’s the one. Thinks he’s something special now, but he’s no better’n he ever was.”
As much as Gia would have loved to hear the Masters’ family history, especially when it sounded as if there were a scandal of some sort involved, she needed to get them back on track. “So what did the Masters family do to Sean McNeil?”
“Floyd spent two years trying to shut McNeil down. Wanted to section the building off into apartments, like he had a bunch of other houses in town. Made himself a small fortune buying up houses cheap, then putting tenants in them and collecting rent. Never did maintain any of the houses, though.” Earl took another sip of coffee. “Then one day, that kid of his came in.”
“Followin’ right in his father’s footsteps, that one was,” Cole added.
“Yes, sir. Apple didn’t fall far from the tree in that family. Kid came in one day… What was his name?” Earl scratched his head.
“Frederick,” Cole supplied.
“Right, Frederick. Twenty-one years old, barely old enough to drink, and he struts in like he owns the place. Drunk as a skunk and dumber than a bag of rocks, carryin’ on about how his daddy was going to own the place.”
Cole’s expression hardened. “Yeah, but still, Sean shouldn’t have served him. He knew better.”
“No, he shouldn’t have. But I know Sean. He avoided conflict like the plague. Said he just wanted him to go, so he served him a shot and a beer and sent him on his way. Just dumb luck the kid stepped in front of a car.” Earl shook his head. “Anyway, after the accident, Floyd Masters made Sean’s life miserable. He bad-mouthed him all over town, told people he’d murdered Frederick sure as if he’d taken a shotgun to him. Families stopped coming in. Local businessmen stopped coming in. Pretty soon, Sean was left with a bar full of derelicts he couldn’t control.”
“Went downhill fast from there, but Sean kept his chin up and tried to make a go of it,” Cole said. “Until Sara Mills was killed.”
“Yup,” Earl agreed.
“What did Sara’s death have to do with Sean?” Gia couldn’t see a connection, and yet, there had to be one, didn’t there?
Earl shrugged.
Cole swallowed a bite of muffin before answering. “No one ever knew, but
they were good friends. Then she was killed, and Sean closed up one night and never came back.”
“Does anyone know what happened to him?”
Earl looked at Cole.
Cole shook his head. “Not that I ever heard. But I haven’t thought about that time in a long while. Funny how you move on to other parts of your life, and twenty years go by before you remember to catch up with people.”
“Unfortunately, by then, it’s often too late.” The sadness had returned to Earl’s eyes, and she couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking about his wife.
Earl and Cole chatted a while longer about past mutual acquaintances and town history before agreeing to meet up for breakfast the next morning.
When they were done, Gia thanked them again, locked up behind them, and headed for her office. She flopped into the chair behind her desk, exhausted, and opened her laptop. She only had a minute or two before she had to meet Savannah, but she wanted to see if electricity had been restored to Rolling Pines. Even though she’d packed the small overnight bag, she’d prefer to go home to a nice hot bath.
She stretched her arms over her head. If she was going to continue kayaking, which she definitely wanted to, she’d have to start working out or something. She massaged her back while she waited for the community page to load.
Once it loaded, she scrolled through pictures people had posted of the damage to the development. Downed trees, missing roof shingles, one car that had been crushed beneath a falling tree, another that had overturned. All in all, people considered themselves lucky the damage hadn’t been much worse. Six posts down, she finally found what she was looking for. Electricity had been restored.
Gia closed the laptop and shoved it into the oversized canvas bag she used as a purse, but left her overnight bag where it was. It couldn’t hurt to have a change of clothes in case she ever decided to spend the night in the apartment.
Savannah had already left to pick up Thor and take him for a walk in the park.
Gia dialed her number.
She picked up right away. “Hey there.”
“Hey. Where are you guys?”
“Almost back to the café. Do you want to grab dinner?”
“Sounds good, but do you mind taking it out to my house. I’m shot, and I want to go home. You’re welcome to spend the night if you want.”
“All right. If you can swing by my house on the way, I’ll pick up a few things, then ride out with you. I can come back with you in the morning and get my car.”
Gia locked up and met Savannah out front. She put Thor in the backseat and headed for Savannah’s.
Savannah switched on the radio, flipped around until she found a station playing love songs, then turned it low. “I called Leo, and he and Hunt are going to stop for barbeque and meet us at your house.”
“Xavier’s?”
“Is there any other kind?” Savannah’s stomach growled and she pressed a hand against it. “I can’t believe how swamped you were today.”
“Me neither. If I could do that every day, I’d be in good shape.”
“Of course, it would help if they were all paying customers.”
“That would help.” Gia laughed. “I’m just glad I was able to do something to help.”
They watched the scenery go by. The town of Boggy Creek had been spared any major damage, but some of the outlying areas hadn’t been so lucky. Paths of devastation had been cut through the landscape. Lines of trees had snapped in half, homes destroyed, cars overturned.
Gia pointed out a pile of rubble that had once been a house. “I don’t understand how one house could be leveled, but the house next to it has no damage at all.”
“Weird, right?” Savannah sat up straighter and leaned closer to the window. “You can actually see the trail the tornado followed.”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this. I’m not saying I want to leave or anything, just that this would be hard to get used to.”
Savannah continued to stare out the window. “I don’t think anyone could get used to this.”
They rode in silence for a while, both lost in their own thoughts. There wasn’t much sense updating Savannah on what she’d learned from Cole and Earl, when she’d just have to go through it all again when she sat down to dinner with Hunt and Leo. She hadn’t had much time to talk to Savannah with everything that had been going on lately. “Have you talked to Leo?”
“Sure, he was at the house last night.”
Gia nudged Savannah’s arm. “You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I do know what you mean, and no, I haven’t talked to him.”
“Are you going to?”
Savannah continued to stare out the window at mile after mile of random patches of devastation. “Some of the downed trees and wires are just from wind, not tornadoes touching down.”
Gia accepted the change of subject. When Savannah was ready to talk, she would. “Did they say exactly how many tornadoes touched down?”
“Not that I’ve heard, but I was kind of busy all day.”
“Thank you for staying today. Was your boss okay with it?”
“Yeah, he didn’t even open the office today. Not much sense in trying to sell houses with half the town working on cleanup and the other half glued to the news.”
“I suppose.”
Gia turned up the radio, and Kenny Rogers filled the car singing about his lady, drowning out the hum of the tires against the smooth blacktop and Thor’s soft snores.
When she turned into her driveway, Hunt’s jeep was already there. She climbed out and opened the back door for Thor.
He bolted for the jeep.
Savannah laughed. “Think he smells the barbeque?”
“Probably. He’s never in that much of a hurry.” Thor liked to linger in the yard whenever Gia let him get away with it.
Hunt and Leo got out with three giant bags and a cup holder with four drinks, then tried to balance everything while keeping Thor down.
“Thor, come.” Gia used her sternest voice.
Thor glanced at her, bounced around a few more times, probably in hopes of getting a treat, then gave up and ran toward the house.
Balancing the cup holder, and keeping one eye on Thor, Hunt gave her a quick kiss. “Hey there, gorgeous.”
Heat flared in her cheeks. “Hi.”
Savannah looked away, trying to hide her smirk.
The bruising around Hunt’s eye and a spot on his jaw had turned a nasty yellowish green. It hadn’t looked as bad in the barely there light the night of the storm. She traced the bruising with her finger. “That looks like it hurts.”
“Nah. It’s fine.” He brushed it off, so Gia let it go, and they went inside.
While Gia fed Thor and let him out, after carefully surveying the yard, Savannah set the table, and Hunt and Leo set out the food.
Gia’s stomach growled. “I’m starved. I haven’t eaten all day.”
“Well, we certainly got enough.” Leo folded the empty bags and set them on the counter.
“Are you two off for the night?” With Thor taken care of, Gia finally sat down.
“Nah, just for a little while.” Hunt started piling chicken on his plate. “We’re headed back after dinner.”
“Are there still people missing?” Gia handed Savannah a container of potatoes.
“A few still unaccounted for, but it could be some of them are out of town and didn’t tell anyone. At least, that’s what we’re hoping,” Hunt said.
“What about Harley? Has anyone heard from him?”
Hunt shook his head. “Not yet. But he’s not on the list as missing, because he disappeared before the storms hit.”
“Don’t worry, Gia.” Leo laid a hand on hers. “From all accounts, this isn’t the first time Harley’s gone missing for a couple of weeks. He usual
ly just shows back up out of nowhere and resumes his old habits.”
She nodded, at least a little comforted by his words.
“Come on now, eat something.” Leo handed Gia a container filled with chicken. “That was a nice thing you did today, you know, feeding the rescue workers for free. Many of them probably ran out of the house without a dime in their pockets when the calls for help started pouring in.”
“It was the least I could do. It’s always so hard when something like that happens. You want to help, but you don’t know how.” Gia filled her plate with pulled chicken, a couple of ribs, and roasted potatoes. “Could you pass the rolls, please?”
Savannah handed her a bag of rolls. “Have you tried the coleslaw? Out of this world.”
“How come you never introduced me to Xavier’s before I moved here?”
Savannah licked barbeque sauce off her finger. “I don’t know. I can’t imagine how this place could have slipped my mind.”
“Me neither.” Gia took a bite of chicken.
“You’re awfully quiet, Hunt. Everything okay?” Savannah asked.
“Just thinking.”
“Well, try not to hurt yourself.” Savannah grinned.
Hunt threw a balled-up napkin at her. “Ha ha.”
Gia smiled, happy to finally see Hunt a little more like his old self. Too bad she had to bring up the case. “Remember the man I told you about? The one who came into the café a few times, then I saw him again at the restaurant the night Savannah and I went out to dinner?”
“I remember.” Hunt forked up a mound of shredded chicken.
“He came in again today, and I introduced myself to him. He said his name was Sean.”
Hunt’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth. “Sean what?”
“He didn’t say.”
“What did he say?” He lowered his fork back to the plate.
“Nothing much. I asked if he was from the area, and he said he was originally from Boggy Creek, but that was it. After that, he got up and left.” In a rush. At least it seemed that way to Gia.
Leo took a sip of sweet tea before replying. “Wouldn’t that be a kick in the ass if he was here the whole time?”