“And you’ll have the Inn,” Elise added in very clipped tones.
Somehow, she made the casual words threatening. Was she shy and uncomfortable around someone she hadn’t seen in years and had never had anything in common with? Or was it something more?
Elise pushed back her chair. “I’ll be in touch, Seth.”
“Thanks.” He stood and stuck out a hand.
He was all fumbling gestures and stiff points. Elise wasn’t much smoother, raising one hand and then the other. Their handshake seemed overly enthusiastic and lingering.
Ashley glanced away from the awkward goodbye. Was this what she looked like around her husband? At least she could count out the other woman as a love rival. Ashley had to figure out a solution to a new problem. How did she make Christopher fall in love with her again?
“Goodbye, Ashley,” Elise said.
Ashley lifted a hand and nodded.
Seth sat and leaned forward. “Hey, are you okay? We can reschedule if this isn’t a good time for you?”
“Umm?”
“I heard about the lake. Are you feeling alright?”
He did? Heat swept up her neck as a shiver raced down her spine. In a second, she was back in her sopping clothes, feeling foolish on the Prim’s boat. “I’m fine.”
“You were at the lighthouse? Did you see anything unusual? Any strange movements in the water?”
She shook her head.
“That’s too bad. Zach is going to write an article about your ghost.”
“Oh?” Her response was more gasp than vocalization. She hated her initial reaction to question whether Zach believed her ghost story or wanted ammunition against Christopher.
“When I went public about the lake monster, I had an initial rush of leads. Maybe you’ll get something positive out of it. Before we talk about Soupy, I was hoping you could drop something off at the Inn?”
“Sure.”
He pushed a box on the ground toward her.
Bending, she was glad for the excuse to hide her face under the table and take a break from the conversation. “What’s this?” she asked, reaching inside for a smooth faux leather portfolio before straightening.
“The menus for the Inn. It took me several attempts to stop the smearing and fix the formatting. But I hope Christopher will be pleased. Third time’s the charm, right?”
She opened the menu and widened her gaze. The letterpress printing on textured paper invited her to run her fingers down the sheet. “I can’t imagine he won’t be. These are beautiful.”
“Thanks. I invested in a new machine when I took over. I had to work through the kinks of the process. But now I have a handle on it. I should be good to go from here on out. I promise.”
She closed the menu and held it to her chest like a talisman. Christopher would be the biggest supporter of anyone trying to better themselves. And he believed in Seth. It’s why Seth had so many opportunities to fix the mistake and why Christopher encouraged her to help.
What memories had Christopher made? She’d always thought of him as her partner in crime. As the lead character, he was her equal and her foil. Never her sidekick.Was reality totally different? She slipped the portfolio into her purse behind the envelope.
In the chaos of the day, she’d forgotten to give the package to Christopher. She could have handed it over in the car on the drive home from the hospital. She was lucky her bag hadn’t been blown apart by the explosion or tossed into the water. What had the delay cost him? A job? Would he have to stay?
“You said you had some ideas about Soupy?” Seth asked.
“Yes.” She nodded, glad to push aside her worry over her husband’s next act. “My impression from the other day is that you’re leaning into the paranormal phenomenon with real facts about mosasaurs.”
“Exactly. The book is informational about mosasaurs and the ancient history of this region.”
“I think it’s the wrong direction. It’s not very endearing to hear about prey, especially considering you propose this creature is in the lake and could devour us all. That’s not a positive for tourism.”
