Secrets in the Shadows (9 page)

Seeing that she was near tears, he escorted her out to the small front porch to sit on the swing, running off all the other partygoers. Drawing up a stool, he sat down in front of her, handing her a clean handkerchief and a bottle of water.

“Wipe your eyes.” She complied, and then opened the bottle and took a tentative sip, fearing that it might be spiked. As she drank, she swiped at her cheeks where tears continued to fall. She was furious with her cousin, and hurt because Margie had put her in that situation.

“What’s your name?”

“Lauren, Lauren Taylor.”

“You’re not from around here. Did you come with somebody?”

“My cousin Margie.” She tensed at the anger on his face. “You know her, then. Can you find her for me? I’d like to get out of here.”

He sat quietly for a minute then nodded. Standing, he went to the screen door, stepping inside to holler for someone named Jamie. When the lanky teenager came to the door, Travis instructed him to look for Margie and bring her outside. As the boy went off to do his bidding, Travis sat back down in front of Lauren. Twisting the top off the beer he had grabbed when he hollered for Jamie, he took a long pull and set the bottle aside. Lauren eyed him nervously, hoping she hadn’t made the situation worse.

“How’d she get you out here?”

“She told me that it was just a little party, a few friends around a campfire. I didn’t think it would be like…” She trailed off, unsure of how to describe the party in the cabin without offending him. “She disappeared when we got here, and I haven’t been able to find her.”

“Jamie’ll find her,” he reassured her. “When he does, you can get out of here. Are you okay to drive, or do you need me to get someone to take you home?”

“No, I’m okay,” Lauren rushed to say. “I just… I don’t go to parties like this. No offense.”

He laughed, not appearing offended. “I’d be better off if I didn’t go to ’em, either. Hell, this is my house, so I guess I’m doubly damned.”

Jamie came out onto the porch, pulling an obviously reluctant Margie behind him. Travis stood up so fast that the stool flew backward, tumbling down the steps to the stepping stones in the grass below.

“What the hell do you want? I was just starting to relax with Gary. You know Gary, right?”

Lauren was shocked, both at her cousin’s tone and her appearance. Margie’s neck was splotchy with hickeys, and her blouse was halfway unbuttoned.

Margie didn’t seem to notice and stood staring up at Travis, who had gone rigid. He stared back at her for several long moments before turning to Lauren. His fists clenched. A muscle ticked in his jaw.

“You need to go now.” His voice was soft and dangerous.

Lauren could tell that he was holding on to his temper by a strand, and she nodded in agreement. Standing, she edged around him, tugging her cousin’s arm. “Come on, Mar, we need to get home.”

Margie shook her off, sneering. Lauren could smell the alcohol on her breath as she spoke.

“I don’t want to go home, Miss Priss.” The words caused Lauren to draw in a sharp breath. “I’m staying right here.” Margie glowered at Travis, as if silently daring him to challenge her.

Seeing Travis’s face turn red, Lauren yanked on Margie’s arm. When her cousin turned to see what she wanted, Lauren hauled back and slapped her with all the force she could muster.

Margie raised her hand to her face and stared at Lauren, unable to speak.

“You listen to me, Margie Vernon, and listen very carefully. I am going home. With or without you in that car beside me. If I have to explain to your parents why you aren’t with me when I get back there, so be it, but I am not staying here any longer!” She turned to Travis, who eyed her with some measure of respect. “Thank you for rescuing me. I’m sorry we caused you trouble. Will you call her a cab and send her home if she doesn’t go with me?”

“I will.”

Margie pushed past both of them, fighting tears. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll go with Lauren.” She stumbled down the steps into the dark, heading in the direction of the car.

“Jamie, escort them to their car. Drive safely,” Travis told Lauren.

Lauren still wasn’t sure how they managed to get home that evening without Margie’s parents becoming aware of her drunken condition, but somehow they’d done it. Margie apologized profusely the next day, and Lauren made her swear to tell her what was going on, but it never happened. The following night, Margie was gone, and things had never been the same since.

Thinking back on that party, Lauren looked across the table at Travis. “Just in case I never properly expressed it, I really, really appreciated you stepping in that night.”

“I’m sorry I had to. She never should have brought you out there.” Sighing, he changed the subject. “Now that I’ve depressed the hell out of you, how ’bout we move on to something else?”

“That sounds nice. What?”

“Oh, I don’t know. How about dinner? You, me, a nice restaurant, some good food. How’s that sound?”

Lauren hesitated. “I don’t know. I think it would feel a little weird.” She looked up and noticed Charlie coming through the door. She waved at him and stood. “I have to go.”

Travis stood as well, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a business card and handed it to her. “Call me if you change your mind. Sometimes having someone to talk to who shares your past can help. I get the feeling you have as many ghosts from that summer as I do.” He walked around the table and bent down, kissing her cheek. “Take care.”

She watched him go, then gave herself a shake and headed to the register to help get Charlie’s order ready.

Janet, who had come out of the kitchen, laughed at something Charlie said. “I’ll get your order boxes from the back.”

He called after her. “You need some help with that?”

“No, I’ve got it, thanks.”

“How are things?” Lauren asked when she reached the register. “Did your repair guy get the parts in?”

“He’s over there now, working on the ovens. He should have them fixed in a couple of hours.”

“I know Guy will be thrilled. He’s very… touchy about his kitchen.”

Janet came out of the kitchen with Helga close behind, both carrying large cake boxes. Guy had ordered four chocolate cakes and four Italian cream cakes, in addition to an assortment of pastries. The women placed the boxes on a table near the front door and headed back to the kitchen for the rest of the order.

“So who was the guy you were talking to when I came in? He looked familiar.”

“Travis Tyler. He’s a real estate developer from Madison.”

He nodded, picking at the edge of the counter with his thumb. “So, he’s a friend of yours?”

She hesitated, not sure how to classify Travis. “I guess you could say he’s a friend, yes. It’s complicated.”

“Ah. He must be one of your collection, then.” His voice was full of sarcasm.

Lauren wasn’t sure she had heard him correctly. “Excuse me?”

“Well, you seemed awfully cozy when I came in, and you sure did seem to be having a good time at the Lighthouse the other night. I’m just saying…”

She stood back, shocked at his tone and his implication. Crossing her arms, she tried to rein in her temper, but lost the battle. She lashed out verbally, not noticing when the front door opened. “Oh, I understand exactly what you’re saying. What, are you jealous that you’re not on the ‘list’?”

Charlie’s face flushed, and he opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when a man cleared his throat. Lauren saw David standing just inside the door, wearing his “cop” face. Ava and Josie, David’s second wife, had stopped on the sidewalk and were looking at something on the concrete. He stepped inside casually, letting the door fall closed, and walked up to the counter.

“Don’t let me interrupt.” He gestured at Charlie. “I think it was your turn.”

Lauren groaned and dropped her head into her hand.

Charlie shook his head, jaw clenched. “Jesus, another one.”

“That does it.” Before she could think about it, she opened the pastry case and picked up a butterscotch pie. With the arm that had twice taken her high school softball team to the state championships, she let the pie fly. It hit an astonished Charlie square in the face, the tin sticking a few seconds before it slowly slid away from the crust to land at his feet with a clang. The majority of the pie followed shortly afterward.

There was absolute silence in the dining room.

“Oh, my…” Janet, coming back out front, rushed to the sink and grabbed a roll of paper towels. “Lauren, what were you thinking? Are you okay, Charlie?” She hurried to his side and tried to clean up the mess.

“I’m fine.” He stared at Lauren through the whipped cream and filling, but didn’t say anything else. Janet handed him the roll of towels and stalked off to the kitchen, muttering about mops and frustrated bosses.

“Mommy?” Ava’s puzzled voice sounded from the door, where she and Josie stood. “Why is Charlie wearing a pie?”

Ashamed of her behavior, but still furious, Lauren cleared her throat. Before she could answer, David spoke.

“Josie, would you mind taking Ava to the bookstore for a few minutes?”

“Um, no. That’s probably a good idea.” Josie sent her a sympathetic smile and ushered a still-curious Ava out the door.

Her ex-husband looked at each of them in turn, his gaze resting on Lauren. “Want to explain this?”

She shook her head. “Not particularly.”

He looked at Charlie. “You?”

“Nothing to explain.”

“Uh-huh. And you probably have a bridge you’d like to sell me.” David sighed. “Am I correct in assuming that you’re the Charlie who is Win and Molly’s new neighbor?”

Charlie nodded.

“I don’t think I want to know what you did to make her that mad. As long as he hasn’t hurt or bothered you?” he asked Lauren.

“He doesn’t bother me in the least.”

Eyebrows raised, David nodded. “I can tell. Okay, then.” When she narrowed her eyes at him, he held up his hands. “Just an observation.”

She addressed Charlie. “I guess you want an apology.”

He shook his head. “No, ma’am. All I want is the restaurant’s order so I can get the hell out of here.”

Janet came back out in time to hear that statement, and David caught her eye. “Lauren and I are going to take a walk. Can you take care of this gentleman?”

“I think I’d better. Go on, boss lady. Get some fresh air.”

With a low growl, Lauren stomped out from behind the counter and headed for the front door. She waited for traffic to clear and crossed the street to the park, walking fast. David had to hurry to catch her. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything immediately, just let her walk. When she finally slowed, he gently touched her arm.

“You okay?”

To her horror, she felt tears prick her eyes. “No. Oh, my God, I can’t believe I did that. What’s wrong with me?”

Leading her to a picnic table, David sat her down. Sitting beside her, he took her hand and rubbed it, much like her father would. To her surprise, he was smiling.

“What’s so funny? I just attacked a customer with a pie!”

“I know. And he happens to be this fabulous guy Ava couldn’t stop talking about all week. She told us that Win thinks he’s ‘a good prospect.’ You can imagine the explanation we had to come up with to cover that one.”

Lauren rolled her eyes and pulled back her hand. “Please. As if I’d even consider that overbearing, pompous lout.”

His smile widened. “You just keep protesting. I’m not buying it. Why’d you get so upset?”

She sighed. “He insulted me. Said I had a collection of men.”

David’s smile dimmed. “He doesn’t know you very well, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.”

“No, he doesn’t. And he isn’t likely to ever get the chance, now. Just because he saw me on a date the other night, and I happened to be talking to Travis Tyler when he came in to pick up his order. That’s not a collection.”

“It isn’t, but if he’s jealous, he might not be exactly rational.”

She shook her head. “Can we talk about something else? Please?”

It was David’s turn to groan. “Yeah, but I’m afraid you won’t like the topic.” Leaning forward, he rested his arms on his legs, hands loosely clasped between his knees. He looked away, across the street toward the bookstore where Josie and Ava were shopping, and took a deep breath.

“I ran into Rob Vernon the other day. He had some information, something he wanted me to pass on to you. Carl and Mary Margaret are back. Rob thought you should know.” He let her absorb the information. When the silence stretched to a couple of minutes, he glanced at her.

Seeing his concern, Lauren sighed. “Why’d he come to you? He could have just called me.”