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“No, sir. I’m good.”
She winked as she grabbed the handles of the bags and rolled them along the decking, the thump, thump of the wheels echoing, surely all the way to the cottage.
When she was about halfway up, Gus took off, and the peace and stillness returned, just the katydids buzzing and a whinny from the woods breaking the silence. It was Cypress Cove.
“Anyone home?” she shouted, stopping at the gate to the porch, a new addition since the last time she’d been there.
“Aunt Elizabeth!”
A voice yelling from behind the cottage and the yipping of a small dog followed, and before her eyes, Maggie appeared. She flew at her aunt and in seconds had decompressed into a sodden heap of tears.
“My goodness, child! What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know. I’m so glad you’re here. I guess I’m acting like a jerk, but since I got here, I feel like everything fell apart.”
“It’s just the cycle of living. Let’s get inside. I’m calling Casson’s right now to install window air conditioners.”
That made Maggie laugh as they walked up the stairs together.
For the next hour, they got Elizabeth settled in Maggie’s former bedroom, and after she called Alfonso Casson, who said Steve would be out in an hour, the women fixed lunch together, side by side in the kitchen. The sound of a diesel truck at the gate got Maggie’s attention.
“Steve wouldn’t be here yet,” she said, and she looked out the door to see Justin unlocking.
“Now what the hell does he want?”
“Who is it?”
“Justin Chastain,” she mumbled. And then she noticed something missing.
“Brulee!” she screamed, but Justin was in front of the porch with a small fur ball in his arms.
“Someone with a good memory cut through the woods to the clinic.”
In tears again, Maggie took Brulee from Justin, scolding herself. “My aunt came in by boat, so I ran around front and forgot about the dog.”
Aunt Elizabeth joined them on the porch. “Miss Bonnet,” he said, nodding his head, “nice to have you back. My father is going to be thrilled.”
They chatted about Vic Chastain and then back to Brulee.
“The dog was there, and then she wasn’t,” Elizabeth said. “We must have left her outside when we entered the cottage.”
“She’s bad. She wasted no time jetting over to the clinic. What if someone had stolen you?”
“No one wants dogs around here,” Justin said, chuckling. “We all have plenty of dogs. Chances are she would have come back home, but it gave me an excuse to come by and see your aunt. News traveled fast.”
“Some things never change,” Elizabeth said. “Have lunch with us?”
Justin looked at Maggie. “Is it okay with you?”
“I guess so,” she said with a smirk.
They went inside, being sure to close the gate and the door, and Brulee got in her crate and promptly fell asleep. During lunch, the conversation swirled around the people of the cove and who had asked about Elizabeth.
“I might be the designated message bearer,” Justin said. “Do you want to hear about it?”
“Oh god, I’m almost afraid,” she said. “Floyd was scared to death his wife would see me in his car for the two blocks we drove…”
“How do you know that, Aunt?” Maggie asked, appalled.
