So. My life is taking off.
“Can I get you anything else?” I gather Ben and Declan’s empty flight.
Ben waves his hand to tell me no refills. “You’ve served enough. I’ll have to wait until Declan and I can check into that guest ranch you’ll be overseeing.”
“Without the ranching,” Declan adds. “Just the drinking. Is he doing wine?”
“No plans,” I say with a grin.
Carlos rises out of his chair. “Let me help you with those.”
He takes the glasses from me, and I collect more as I go. When we get to the bar counter, he waits at the end for me to drop off our haul.
When I reach him, I turn my back. It’s not private, but it’s the best we can do.
“What’s up, Carlos?”
Worry and sympathy fill his eyes. “You hear from him?”
Carlos doesn’t know how serious it was with me and Calder. He probably heard something, and maybe Calder even told him a portion of what went on. Yet no one knows just how close we got but us.
Not close enough to stay together, though.
“No. Nothing.” I push a lock of hair that I didn’t get into my ponytail behind my ear. “We agreed to keep things going as is until the fair this weekend.”
Then, after that, they’ll have their people dissolve it with Carlos’s help.
He nods. “I sent them all a ‘how ya doing?’ text and got back a one-word response.” He sticks up his index finger, and then adds a second one. “Two words, actually. ‘Fine. You?’”
A giggle leaves me, and there haven’t been many of those since Calder left. “Sounds about right. They’re back to being uber-successful CEOs.”
“It’s no worse than our lives.”
I give him a placating smile. “Wealthier, though.”
The corners of his eyes crinkle when he laughs. “Definitely that. How are you doing?”
“I don’t know.” It’s the first time I’ve answered that honestly. “Normally, I’d talk to Holly, and she’d give me advice.”
He smiles. “She loved you like a daughter. I talked to Sawyer. She said she was coming.” He twists to look around.
Just then, the door opens, and she walks in with Beth Sterling.
I wave at them and point to the two seats at the bar. They’re right on the corner. Relieved, Sawyer leads the way between the tables. She gives Carlos a quick hug when she reaches us.
Beth slides onto the stool. Her pale hair’s pulled back, and the freckles across her nose stand out against her tanned skin. “Wow, all of Scandal is in here. The patio is loaded.”
“It’s great to see. What can I get you?” I lean close. “It’s on the house. For all the help you’ve been over the years.”
A green tint glosses her cheeks. “Oh, no. I don’t think my stomach can handle a beer.” She puts her hand on her belly. “I think I need to, uh, quit with gluten or something. Don’t worry, I’m not infectious.”
“I’m the wrong doctor to treat you,” Sawyer jokes.
Carlos peers out the window to the patio. “Is that the good deputy out there?”
Beth lights up. “Finn?”
“He’s the only good one,” Sawyer mutters.
