Last Call (31 page)

She struggled to breathe while assimilating
his confession. She’d held back from having relationships because
of Robby. But he’d be leaving in three months, and it was time for
her to start living life for herself.

Gavin seemed like a great place to start.

She stood on tiptoes and dropped a soft,
tender kiss on his lips. “I can’t remember ever watching the sunset
on this beach. And I’d much rather walk with you than walk
alone.”

The vibration of Gavin’s cell was a rude
interruption to their sweet moment, and he was tempted to ignore
it. But he was sure it was Callie, and he couldn’t ignore her, not
after everything she’d done today. And not after the torturous past
several hours she’d no doubt endured with Max.

Unclipping the phone from his belt, he said,
“As much as I hate to break this off, I need to take this
call.”

Sunny stepped back and nodded. “I’ll go out
there so you have some privacy.”

He snatched her hand before she could
disappear through the doorway. “I—”

What the hell was he thinking? “Love you”
were going to be the next words flying out of his mouth, but his
brain kicked in and overrode his tongue.

Did he love Sunny? It seemed a perfectly
natural thing to say. And now that he was giving it some serious
thought, it felt right, too.

The phone vibrated in his hand again,
snapping him back from whatever freakin’ dreamland he’d slipped
into. He pressed the call button so it didn’t go into voicemail,
then whispered to Sunny, “I’ll be right out.”

She disappeared through the door, and he
rubbed a hand over his face to wipe away the sweat before putting
the phone to his ear. “Yeah.”

All he heard at first was static and then
Callie’s voice came across the line. “Gavin, can you hear me?”

“Yeah. Where are you?”

“On my way to Jason’s.”

Jason?

“Who’s Jason?”

Through the static, he thought Callie said,
“A guy from the club.”

Wow, she’d only been over Gavin a day, and
she was already back on the horse. He knew all along if Max stopped
pushing her, or at least stopped supporting her idea of a
relationship with him, she’d find someone else.

“There’s a lot of static, so I’m having a
hard time hearing you. Bear with me if you have to repeat
things.”

“I’m scared, Gavin.” Her voice shook, and it
sounded like she was working hard to not break down. “He’s furious,
and I honestly don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“Jason?” What the hell was she doing with a
guy she was scared of?

“No! Daddy.”

Gavin squeezed his eyes shut and tried to
switch gears.

“I thought Daddy was going to have a heart
attack in the restaurant. I’ve never seen him so furious. He
started yelling about hell to pay, and…” A sob broke through the
line. “He threatened to disown me if I didn’t cancel the contract
with you."

Gavin sank against the stainless steel
kitchen counter. He’d been afraid Max would try to intimidate
Callie into breaking the deal. He even warned her that Max would
play the “disown” card. But she’d been firm in her decision to sell
him the property.

She said she wanted to be on her own, and
having the money from the sale of the fishing pier was the only way
she could do it. Maybe Gavin should've given her more time to think
it through, to really consider the risks and potential
ramifications.

Guilt and grief swamped him. He had to
believe Max would eventually forgive her, but he’d make her life
miserable, just as he did everyone else who didn’t play the game as
he dictated. “Callie, if you want to change your mind, I won’t hold
it against you.”

“Hell, no.” The static subsided and he jerked
the phone away from his ear, shocked by the ferociousness of the
response. “I’ve seen a side of him over the past several days I
never thought existed. I need to do this for me. I need to be on my
own, out from under his and Mother’s control, so I can figure out
who I am and what I want.”

Pride shoved his guilt aside. Not pride in
the way they’d managed things, because the deal had been sneaky and
deceitful. But pride for Callie and how she handled all of this. He
laughed to himself as he thought back to his and Max’s conversation
a few days earlier. This probably wasn’t what Max had in mind when
he said he hoped Callie settled down.

“I’m sorry he’s angry with you. I knew he’d
be furious, but I really hoped he'd take it out on me, not
you.”

A half-laugh, half-sob came through the
phone. “He only yelled at me, Gavin. I’m terrified of what he’ll do
to you.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I have a
picture of the guy he called last night. I know who to be on the
lookout for.”

“Since Daddy would never think to look for me
at Jason’s, I’m going to stay there until this blows over. I’ll
have my cellphone. You can call me on that if you need me.”

“I’ll check on you tomorrow to see how you’re
doing.” He was about to hang up when he remembered there was a new
player in the game. “Wait,” he said. “Tell me about this
Jason.”

A giggle blended with a sob. “He’s the host
from the country club. He’s the one who drove me to Anticue the
other night.”

“Oh, great. Next time I’m at the country
club…” His words trailed off as he realized there wouldn’t be a
next time
. He’d never enjoyed his time spent there, and now
he had no reason to go. “Have a good night, Callie. I’ll give you a
call tomorrow.”

“Gavin?” After a long pause, she said, “I
know everything's going to be different now that you don’t work for
Daddy. But… will we still be friends?”

Gavin swallowed hard to clear his throat of
the emotion welling up inside him. He cared for her, tremendously,
and nothing would change that. “Of course. I’d never lose touch
with you. Besides, I’ll need to check this Jason guy out. Make sure
he’s good enough for you.”

Laughter filled the line as she
disconnected.

***

Gavin’s exuberance idled down ten notches
while in the kitchen, and a sense of doom and gloom oozed into
Sunny’s gut. As he approached
his
barstool
,
she said,
“Something’s wrong. What happened?”

He shook his head no, then flopped down. He
dropped his forehead into his hands and stayed like that for so
long Sunny was about to jump out of her skin with concern. Finally,
he said, “I feel bad for Callie. She’s always adored Max, and the
past few days have been rough on her.” He took a long drink of his
beer. “I think… I hope Max will eventually forgive her, but it’s
going to be a long, long time before she’s daddy’s little princess
again.”

He cut his gaze to the end of the bar, then
back to her. “Where’s Robby?”

She knocked her head back and glanced to the
ceiling. “I wasn’t sure I could trust him to behave around Ed, so I
had him stay upstairs. I told him I’d call if I needed him.”

The corner of Gavin’s mouth twitched as he
turned his cold, scary-as-shit gaze onto Ed. “Max knows everything
now. I think it’s time to call Robby.”

Butterflies jostled for position in her
stomach and she began to tremble. She leaned over and spoke softly,
in case she misunderstood Gavin’s intent. “We can confront Ed
now?”

Gavin shrugged and took another sip of beer.
“Ed can’t tell Max anything he doesn’t already know.”

Sunny snatched up the phone and dialed
Robby’s cell. When he answered, she said, “Hey, c’mon down. Gavin
said it’s clear for you to say and… well, I’m not going to allow
you to do whatever you want. But you can say your piece.”

Robby must have been running down the stairs
while on the phone, because the door to the bar burst open before
she replaced the receiver. She expected him to come in with guns
blazing, but he seemed more hurt and disappointed than mad, and the
look of despair on his face broke her heart.

He glanced at Ed, then shifted his gaze to
the floor, as if it hurt too much to look at the man they’d once
considered a dear friend. Rather than heading for Ed, he came
behind the counter and quietly said, “I’m afraid I won’t say things
right. You talk. I’ll take the barstool cover.”

She laughed as she squeezed him in a hug.
“You know,” she said, in a low voice, “this isn’t personal against
us. He tried to hurt the whole town. And I’m sure he only did it
for the money.”

Robby nodded and rubbed his eyes. “I know.
But it still feels personal.”

She squeezed his hand, then moseyed toward
the end of the bar, where Joe and Ed sat with curious expressions
on their faces. Because of her and Gavin’s kitchen conference and
the way Robby burst through door as if his ass were on fire,
everyone in the bar knew something was amiss.

Sunny just told Robby this wasn’t personal,
and she mostly believed that, but there was one part of this
equation she did take personally. And while she was grateful for
the way things were turning out, she still didn’t appreciate being
played.

“Hey, Ed.” She paused, making sure she had
her thoughts together. “When Gavin came in here the first night,
did you know who he was?”

Joe looked at Ed with a ton of
what’s-she-talking-about on his face.

Ed shifted on his stool and swiped a stream
of sweat off his beer bottle. He pressed his lips together,
shrugged, and shook his head. “No. I’d never seen him before.” He
flashed his normal toothy grin, which caused her chest to ache,
because, dammit, he was family and he betrayed them all. “He’s
spent enough time around here lately, though, we’ve all gotten to
know him pretty well.”

Ignoring the sadness seeping into her chest
and the desire to brush all this aside as a big misunderstanding,
she said, “Did you suspect he worked for Max Holden that first
night?”

Some of the color drained from Ed’s face, but
he held her gaze unwaveringly. “Who’s Max Holden?”

Joe’s eyes narrowed and he flipped his gaze
from Ed to Gavin, who sat silently, letting Sunny and Robby handle
things their way.

Ed readjusted his ball cap and took a drink
of his beer before reiterating his position. “I don’t know Max
Holden.”

She leaned onto the bar and stared at him for
a moment, trying to regain control of her crumbling emotions. She
was still angry and hurt. But now that her bar was no longer in
danger and the town was safe from the threat of a resort, she was
mostly sad.

“Did you do it for the money? Or did you have
other reasons?”

He laughed uncomfortably and glanced at Joe.
“I don’t know what she’s talking about.” He turned back to Sunny,
and for the first time, she saw an old man behind those eyes. A
tired, old man.

Robby came up behind her. “Do you have to
give the money back if the ordinances don’t get changed?”

“You son of a bitch,” Joe said, vibrating
with anger. “I can’t believe you took the bribe.”

Ed’s face turned red and his hands trembled
as he stared down his old friend. “You’re a fool if you didn’t. I’m
seventy-two years old. My business is barely hanging by a thread.
What would happen to me and Jane if one of those big-chain gas
stations came in?”

A few of the others in the bar had started to
pay attention to Sunny and Ed’s exchange, but now everyone stopped
what they were doing and moved closer. Ed must have felt like a
trapped animal because his eyes grew wild and his voice escalated
to a level she’d never heard from him.

“It’s just a matter of time before those
ordinances get changed, anyway. Why not go ahead and get on with
it? The money I got will make sure Jane and I can make it for the
rest of our lives. Hell, I’ll even get a day off now.”

Sunny pushed off the bar and stood up
straight. “The resort isn’t going in. I’m not selling this piece of
property. And as of this afternoon…” She paused and looked at
Gavin, unsure if she could tell the rest.

He smiled and nodded.

“Gavin owns the fishing pier, so the resort
will never go in. At least, not right here, not as long as Gavin
and I are alive.”

Robby’s head snapped back and forth between
Gavin and Sunny at that newsflash, but she was focused on the panic
spreading in Ed’s eyes. “Don’t do this, Sunny.” He reached across
the bar for her hand, but she snatched it away. “He’ll kill you, if
that’s what it takes. He’s crazy and vicious, and he’ll do anything
to get what he wants.”

Sunny shook her head. “Those are just rumors,
Ed. Gavin spent all day looking for proof to the contrary, and
there’s none to be found. Yeah, he may try to intimidate and bully
me into selling, but I can handle that.” She turned and smiled at
Gavin and Robby. “I have tremendous backup, so I’ll be fine.”

Ed eased back onto the stool. He was
genuinely concerned for her safety, and she had to wonder if he’d
been bullied into taking the bribe. Ed’s shoulders slumped. “I’m
not the only one,” he said softly.

Robby snorted. “Like that makes it okay.”

“How many are there?” Sunny asked, wanting to
make sure they accounted for everyone.

Ed played with the moisture on his beer
bottle. “Five.” He didn’t look up, didn’t make eye contact with
anyone. “I don’t know who they are. I only know there’s a majority
now.” He started to turn his head toward Joe, then looked back to
the bottle. “I guess you’re not one of them.”

“Hell, no, I’m not one of them.”

Somewhere, throughout the conversation,
Sunny’s anger at Ed had turned to sympathy. Sympathy for getting
himself into this mess and not only losing his friends, but
probably his self-respect, as well.

Joe, however, was still firmly in the angry
camp. “That son of a bitch approached me, but I’m no sellout. I
told him to go to hell. You could’ve done the same thing.”