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I smiled sadly. “That’s a good point. You sure you don’t mind?”
Beck shook his head. “Not at all.”
The Sunset Hotel looked just like the pictures on its website. Painted in Caribbean green, with bright white shutters and trim, it had that laid-back, island vibe. Two employees in floral uniforms danced to overhead reggae music as we pulled up. The taller of the two men opened my door with a smile.
“Welcome to the Sunset Hotel.” He offered a hand to help me out of the car. “Are you checking in today?”
“Umm… No. There’s a bar here, right? I just came to have a drink.”
“Our bar is the place to be for the sunset.” He gestured to the open-air lobby. “You just go straight through to the back and down the stairs. You can’t miss it.”
Beck walked around the car. “You want me to come with you?”
“Oh no. I’ve interrupted your day enough. You have work to do.”
“It can wait.”
“I can’t ask you to do this with me…”
“You didn’t ask. I offered. I’ll just stick in the background in case you need me. Let you do your own thing.”
My palms were sweating, and I felt a little lightheaded. The thought of having someone I knew nearby did bring me comfort. So I nodded. “Okay. Thank you.”
Beck tossed the keys to the valet. “Keep it for a little while?”
“Sure thing, mister.”
My heart raced as I walked into the hotel. I probably looked like a criminal, the way my eyes darted from person to person. Beck wrapped a hand around my hip and gently squeezed as he leaned in and whispered, “Breathe, sweetheart.”
I nodded and inhaled deeply. Once we were through the lobby, steps led down to an outside patio. The beach bar was visible below.
Beck and I stopped. “No one has looked old enough to be your father so far. So I take it we haven’t passed him yet?”
I shook my head.
“What does he look like?”
“Oh.” I pulled out my cell. “I can show you.” I typed into my phone and scrolled around the hotel’s website. “He looks like an aging beach bum—sun-bleached, sandy colored, shoulder-length hair. Tan. Sunglasses that hang around his neck from a Croakie.” I found the picture I was looking for under theAbout Ustab and turned my phone to show Beck.
He smiled. “Exactly how I would’ve pictured him from your description. Thanks. At least now I can help you keep an eye out.” He looked down at the bar below. “Did you really want to go to the bar, or did you want to take a look around first?”
“His bio says he can often be found working behind the beach bar, barefoot.”
“Alright then. You ready?”
I shook my head. “No.”
Beck chuckled. “Let’s go anyway.”
We walked side by side down the stairs to the beach. The bar had a thatched-palm roof that rustled in the breeze and bright blue seating around three sides. A few tables were off to one side, one of which was occupied by a couple in bathing suits.
I stopped as we reached the wooden path, less than a hundred feet away. “I think that’s him.”
Beck’s eyes zoned in on the man behind the bar. Sunglasses on top of his head held shaggy hair back, and he had a cigarette between his teeth as he opened a beer bottle. Beck nodded. “Certainly didn’t do any false advertising. I think that’s the same shirt he had on in the picture on the website.”
I couldn’t stop staring. “He’s nothing like William.”
“No?”
