Promise Cove (A Pelican Pointe Novel Book 1) (83 page)

“
N
ice
g
u
y
.
”

S
he
sighed
and
said
sof
t
y
,
“
T
ag
ge
r
t
and
the
r
e
st
of
P
elican
P
oin
te
.
”
N
o
thi
n
g
e
ver
seemed
t
o
be
enough
for
th
i
s
t
o
w
n,
she
thought
as
she
car
r
ied
H
ut
t
on
past
N
ick
and
back ups
t
ai
r
s
t
o
r
e
sume
her
pain
t
i
n
g.
B
ut
N
ick
s
a
w
the
look
of disappointment
in
her
e
y
es.
E
ve
r
y
time
she
t
u
r
ned
around she
had
t
o
deal
w
ith
an
o
ther
problem,
some
s
t
u
p
id
in
f
raction sh
e
’
d
commit
t
ed
ag
ainst
the
r
es
iden
t
s
of
P
elican
P
oin
te
.

I
t
w
as
get
t
i
n
g
old.

Later that morning
, a few minutes after eleven, as Nick stood at the work table he’d set up in the garage measuring laminate flooring, he heard a vehicle pull into the driveway. On the off chance it was another Mr. Taggert-like neighbor come to complain, he intended to head them off before they upset Jordan. Stepping out of the garage, he saw a man get out of a black pickup. When the man looked up, met his eyes, he started grinning at Nick.

“Son of a bitch,” the man said good-naturedly as he shook hands with Nick, and then slapped him on the back in the way of man hugs. “My lieutenant’s really out here in the boonies. When I got your call, I told Sheryl you were probably pulling a joke on me
and that I’d drive all this way only to have you call and say, ‘gotcha.’”

“No gotcha,” Nick said, as he pulled Ben Latham into a bear hug. “It’s good to see you. But drop the officer shit, though. Okay? Thanks for coming, Ben. I owe you one for this.”

“Nah, we both know that’s not true.”

“How are Sheryl and the kids?”

“Great. Sheryl’s pregnant again. Just found out yesterday. Number three.” Ben wiggled his eyebrows up and down.

“Congratulations. Three, huh?” Thinking of what a handful Hutton could be sometimes, N
ick wanted to know, “How do you handle three?”

“Three’s not that much different than having two.” At least Ben hoped that was true. In spite of his doubt about it, Ben gave him a confident laugh remembering something his wife had told him. “You just recycle all the baby stuff, like strollers and clothes and don’t get too hung up on gender-related things and pretty much
takes it from there.” Eyeing the look on Nick’s face, all of a sudden Ben got curious. “What’s really going on here, Nick? What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?”

“
A
s
I
t
old
y
ou
on
the
phone,
I
’
ve
w
a
l
k
ed
in
t
o
a
me
s
s.
C
ome
on,
Ben,
let
’
s
ta
ke
a
w
a
l
k
.
I
need
t
o
e
xp
l
ain
a
few thi
n
gs
.
”
A
s
the
two
men
t
ook
off
throug
h
J
or
d
a
n
’
s
f
l
ower
g
arden
then
f
u
r
ther
out
in
t
o
the
bac
k
y
ard
a
w
a
y
f
rom
the ho
u
se,
N
ick
proceeded
t
o
b
r
i
n
g
Ben
up
t
o
speed
a
bout
J
or
d
a
n
’
s
predicament
and
the
lies
h
e
’
d
t
old
he
r
.

S
g
t
.
Be
n
L
a
tha
m
ha
d
se
r
ve
d
unde
r
C
a
p
tai
n
Sc
o
t
t
P
h
il
l
i
p
s and
Lieu
t
enant
N
ick
H
a
r
r
is
in
I
raq.
I
f
a
n
y
one
could
unders
t
and
the
si
t
ua
t
ion
N
ick
fou
n
d
himself
in,
it
w
as
roc
k
-solid
Be
n
L
a
tha
m
.
W
h
e
n
N
ic
k
ha
d
f
i
n
i
she
d
l
a
y
i
n
g
a
l
l
h
is
car
ds
on
the
t
a
ble,
he
looked
st
r
aight
in
t
o
Be
n
’
s
e
y
es.
“
S
he
ca
n
’t
k
now that
y
ou
and
I
k
new
Sco
t
t
.
N
o
mention
of
I
raq.
T
hat
’
s
b
o
t
t
om
line, Be
n
. I
h
a
ve
n
’t got
t
en around
t
o
e
xp
l
aini
n
g who
I am, how
thi
n
gs
were
in
I
ra
q
,
how
thi
n
g
s
went
do
w
n
that
d
a
y
.
”

“Soun
d
s
l
i
ke
a
cove
r
t
o
p
.
I
m
a
g
ine
here
w
it
h
C
a
p
tain P
h
il
li
p
s
’
s
w
ife.
I
hop
e
you
k
n
ow
what
you
’
r
e
d
o
in
g
,
ma
n
.
W
ould
n
’t
it
be
a
he
l
luva
l
o
t
ea
s
ier
if
you
j
u
st
t
o
ld
he
r
what happened?”

“
Y
o
u
w
an
t
t
o
ta
l
k
a
b
ou
t
tha
t
d
a
y
,
Ben
?
W
a
l
k
he
r
through
what
happened
t
o
her
h
u
sband
s
t
ep
by
s
t
ep?
H
ow
a
bout wh
i
le
y
ou
’
re
here
y
ou
sit
her
do
w
n
and
h
a
ve
a
hea
r
t
t
o
hea
r
t
w
it
h
he
r
a
b
ou
t
a
l
l
o
f
i
t.
H
o
w
’
s
that
?
I
’
l
l
hea
d
in
t
o
t
o
w
n,
g
r
a
b a
bee
r
,
and
let
y
ou
ta
ke
care
of
it
.
”