See You at Sunset (30 page)

Or on top of her. Or underneath her. They’d done it all, and Holly was still shamefully eager for more.

“
Pretty damn good
is something of an understatement when it comes to our deputy sheriff,” she said, trying for a lighter tone.

Morgan lifted a hand. “I rest my case. And it happened when you started to open up to him and listen to your heart, instead of coming up with reasons to push him away. It’s okay to listen to your heart every once in a while. It’s okay to be vulnerable.”

Holly mentally grimaced. For years, she’d instinctively rebelled against that very thing. “Not to be too dramatic, but ever since Drew died, I feel like I’ve only got half a heart. And sometimes that even feels like too much.” She scrunched up her nose. “I know that makes me a total wimp.”

“Not even close. You’ve had way more loss at your age than anyone should have to bear. But to say you’ve only got half a heart is just crap. You’ve got a whole one, and it’s a big, beautiful, generous heart that wants to love again.”

Then her friend reached across and took her hand, looking her firmly in the eye. “You can’t let Drew’s death define you forever, because you deserve more than that. And I know Drew would agree with me.”

Holly flinched.

“Yeah, I know, I’m an awful person and you should tell me to shut up,” Morgan said quietly. “But I love you way too much to see you wasting your life on idiots like Jackson Leigh. All I want is for you to be happy again. And really happy, not just busy with your career. That’s cool and all, but it doesn’t get you where you live.” She tapped her chest, right over her heart.

When Holly didn’t answer, Morgan started to look impatient. “Look, Holly, I know you better than anybody. You need meaningful work but you need love too. And right now you’ve only got one of them.”

Morgan was right, but the words of agreement seemed to stick in Holly’s throat. She managed a tight nod.

“So you probably hate me now, right?” her friend asked, looking comically rueful. “Well, I have a pitcher of lemonade in the fridge. You can dump it over my head if it would make you feel better.”

Holly choked out a laugh. “Stop being silly. I love you more than life itself, and I’m just glad and grateful that you’re being honest with me. I mean it.”

“Whew, that’s a relief,” Morgan said, fanning herself.

“You’re probably right about everything,” Holly said with a sigh. “Now I just have to find a way to actually believe it.” She tapped her hand against her chest. “In my heart.”

“Cain and Horton, round two,” Micah said out the window of his cruiser.

Walter Okrent, the site superintendent at the ecoresort, rolled his eyes. “Jesus Murphy, man, you don’t give up, do you? You’re a pain in my ass, Lancaster. Don’t you know we’re trying to get a resort built here before the end of the century?”

Micah chuckled. “Just a few more questions, Walter. Ten minutes, tops.”

The crusty old super took a step back from the Tahoe. “Okay, those two are doing some shoveling out front this morning.” He waved at Micah to go ahead.

Micah parked as close as he could to the resort building and then headed toward the main entrance with its spectacular ocean view. A small crew was laying down crushed stone for the paved walkways, and a Caterpillar backhoe was digging a trench on the other side of the entrance. There was no foreman in sight.

He did, however, spot his two prime suspects.

Cain glanced up at Micah and poked his friend. Horton looked startled for a few seconds, then shook his head disgustedly. Both men leaned on their long-handled shovels, trying hard to look both casual and badass.

And failing at both, as far as Micah was concerned.

“Wow, Deputy,” Cain said with a smirk, “I guess you enjoyed my company so much last night that you couldn’t stay away.”

Horton looked sullen but kept his mouth shut.

“Over there.” Micah pointed to a cleared area near the bluffs where they’d be out of hearing range of the other men in the crew. He turned on his heel and headed that way. Cain and Horton trailed behind him.

“There was another break-in last night,” Micah said, after they’d come to a halt. “At the house beside the Jenkins General Store.”

“So what?” Horton asked belligerently.

“Do you two have anybody who can vouch for your whereabouts between nine forty-five and twelve fifteen last night?” Micah flicked his gaze to Horton. “I guess I’ll start with you, since you were so anxious to jump in.”

Horton’s fists clenched, his face reddening. “Fuck you. This is harassment. I don’t have to answer a goddamn thing.”

Cain gave his buddy a calming pat on the shoulder. “Jace was at a poker game with some of his friends, and it didn’t break up until well after midnight. Isn’t that what you told me this morning?”

“Five guys were at the table,” Horton grumbled. “Call ’em if you want to waste even more of your time.”

Micah drew out his notebook and handed it and a pen to Horton. “Write down their names and any phone numbers you know.”

As Horton wrote, Micah focused on Cain. He was back to being the smooth operator, not the belligerent jerk he’d confronted at the VFW hall. “I know where you were between approximately ten forty-five and eleven twenty-five, but what about before and after?”

Cain heaved an aggravated sigh. “Oh, let’s see. Well, first I was sitting on my ass in front of the TV watching the Red Sox game. When that was over, I was bored, so I decided to check out some dance I’d heard about. But some dumbass deputy fucked that up for me, so I went back home and sulked until my girlfriend got home. Then we… oh, well, you can guess,” he said with a shit-eating grin. “What can I tell you? That hot babe I was dancing with got me a little worked up.”

Micah wouldn’t take that lame-ass bait. “No alibi then?”

“Nope. Stupid me,” Cain mocked.

That was the damn truth. “So what time did your girlfriend get home? I’m assuming it was after you got back from the dance, or do you and Brandy have… what do they call it? An open relationship?”

Cain started to look pissed but had enough control to dial it back. “Must have been about twelve thirty. She’s on the evening shift, and the last couple of nights she’s had to stay late for inventory or something.”

“There’s no ferry at that hour, so how does she get home? Water taxi?”

“Yeah. Costs a bitch, but that’s the price you pay for living out here in this little corner of paradise,” Cain said.

Micah took his notebook back from Horton, noticing that he’d provided only one phone number. It was a start.

“By the way,” he said to Cain, “where does Brandy work?”

The guy frowned. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“I’ll need to confirm some of this with her employer. After the crap that went down at the Pot, I’m pretty interested in her whereabouts too. As a matter of fact, I intend to keep a very close eye on both you and Brandy Keele from now on.”

“Just leave her out of this,” Cain growled. “Your beef’s with me, and it’s obviously personal now. Maybe it’s time I filed a harassment complaint with the sheriff’s office.”

“Sure, you do that. But right now, just answer my question.”

“Here’s your answer, Deputy—go screw yourself. You want to know anything else, you’d better arrest me.”

Cain walked away. Horton flipped Micah the bird and followed his friend back to their crew.

Micah found it interesting that Cain got so riled at questions about his girlfriend. He’d even balked at telling him where the woman worked. It was weird, because Micah had probed about Brandy more out of thoroughness than any intention to spend a lot of time investigating her. But what Cain had just said, and even more what he refused to say, had sparked his interest.

Unless Brandy Keele was a liar—and knowing that would tell him something too—finding out where she worked should be a simple matter of one phone call.

Chapter 25

D
espite taking a shower and a short nap, Beatrice still looked haggard when she came downstairs to the kitchen. Worry for her sister and the stress of camping out at the hospital were leaving their mark. Holly hoped she could talk her aunt into staying home for a while. Florence would be quite all right without her, but convincing Beatrice of that would be an uphill battle.

“Can I get you something?” Holly asked as her aunt lowered herself onto one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

Beatrice gave her a wan smile. “A cup of tea would be lovely, dear.”

“How about a blueberry scone? Morgan made them fresh this morning. It’ll be a while until dinner is ready.” She was making a mac and cheese casserole, one of her aunt’s favorites.

“Maybe later.”

Holly put the kettle on. “So it looks like Florence will be there at least a couple more days?”

“I’m afraid so,” Beatrice said with a sigh. “You can imagine how she reacted to that news. But I think they finally convinced her that the extra tests really are necessary. And the doctor was quite blunt about her chances of a stroke if things don’t change.”

“Change meaning new medications and a lot less stress, right?”

Beatrice nodded. “But I’m not sure my sister is quite ready to hear that.”

Holly had often wondered whether her tendency to stick doggedly to a chosen course had been passed down from Florence. Her aunt was the ultimate hardhead, but Beatrice almost always went with the flow. It wouldn’t be a bad thing if Holly took after Beatrice a bit more.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” her aunt said, perking up a bit. “Carrie Adams and Dottie Buckle were on the same boat as me. They’d spent the day shopping in the city.”

“Uh-huh,” Holly said, dropping a pair of tea bags in the pot.

“Well, they were certainly singing your praises, dear. They really like what you’re doing with the store. They said they loved the pottery and the new coffee machine.”

“Wow, that’s really nice to hear.”

“Yes, and they told me the store is practically the talk of the town. They meant that in a good way, of course. Dottie said she’s sure tourists are going to flock here.”

“Well, sales do seem to be picking up some.” Holly had started to feel cautiously optimistic, although it was early days yet. “But I’ve still got a lot to do to round out a full selection of artisan works.”

“I can’t wait to tell Florence what they said. Maybe that will finally start to convince my stubborn sister.”

They could only hope.

Holly decided to grab the bull by the horns. “I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to be able to stay, Aunt Beatrice. I’m under terrible pressure from my new partners. If I don’t get down to New York very soon, I…”

Holly wasn’t quite sure what would happen. Would David and Cory cut her out of the partnership if she didn’t start pulling her weight? When they’d approached her months ago, all they’d talked about was the trio’s
awesome synergy
. Now though, they’d clearly started to question her commitment. She sensed they no longer fully trusted her.

From a strictly business standpoint she could see why, but their lack of understanding grated on her. The more she talked to them, the more she realized how little she actually knew about them as men, not just as dynamic marketing experts. What did they believe in on a personal level?

Holly couldn’t pretend to have been a paragon of responsibility when it came to her own small family, but she’d always known she’d be there for her aunts whenever they needed her.

“I thought something like that must be going on,” Beatrice said, frowning. “Since you’ve been home, you’ve looked worried the whole time. I hate that, Holly.”

She couldn’t deny that all the stress was taking its toll. And since she had a mirror, she knew she was beginning to look thin and worn down as well.

It’s a wonder Micah even finds you attractive anymore.

Whoa. Where the heck had that thought come from? She forced the images of the sexy deputy to the back of her mind. “I’m trying to find ways of managing it all, Aunt Beatrice.” The tea was finally ready, and she was tempted to add a splash of scotch to her cup.

“I’m sorry you’ve had to run the store all this time, Holly. We shouldn’t have asked you to do that.”

“Actually, I distinctly recall volunteering.” Holly smiled as she sat opposite her aunt.

Beatrice ruefully acknowledged the point. “In any case, you really should be thinking more about your own business, not ours.” She fixed Holly with a penetrating gaze. “That is, if you really do want to go to New York.”

Holly stifled a sigh.

“I say that,” Beatrice went on, “because the way you’ve been talking about it lately, I’m not sure you really do.”

“But I have to, Aunt Beatrice.”

“Why, dear? Is someone holding a gun to your head?”

Holly shifted in her chair. “You know I’ve always wanted my own firm.”

“Yes, and your ambition does you credit.”

“But?”

Her aunt gave the tiniest of shrugs. “I have to wonder what the point of success is if it doesn’t make you happy.”

Holly’s fingers involuntarily tightened on her mug. “What makes you think I’m not happy?”

“Dearest, after all these years, I know when you’re happy and when you’re not.”

Holly couldn’t even convince herself, so how could she expect her aunts—who were effectively her mothers—to think she was happy? “Well, it’s awfully hard after you lose your husband,” she said, falling back into her old defensive pattern.

“Of course. But this isn’t about Drew. Your work hasn’t been making you happy for quite some time now, and that boyfriend of yours certainly hasn’t either.”

“Ex-boyfriend, you mean.”

Beatrice’s thin gray brows crawled up her forehead. Holly hadn’t mentioned the debacle at Lily’s party, nor of course had she said a word about soaking-wet sex on a private dock with the island’s deputy sheriff.

Her aunt’s worn face split into a grin. “Now that’s progress. But I hope you’ll think hard about that new job of yours too, because Florence and I wonder whether moving to New York will make you happy.”

Holly had to smile back. “You’ve always been there for me. Always.”

Beatrice started to look a little misty. “I wasn’t lucky enough to get married and have children. But I’m so blessed to have my sister and my niece, and to be able to live in a place where people truly care for each other. Florence and I don’t have much in the way of money, but we feel very rich anyway. And I’m happy. Florence and I both are, even though she doesn’t like to let anybody think that. Your happiness is all we want now, Holly.”