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She went up to a solid early evening crowd. Part of her relaxed in the familiar as she walked behind the bar. Before she took over from Nick, she drew a couple of drafts while he finished up.
“Talked to the boss last night. Came in, had a meet with Nell. Meet your new assistant manager.”
“Yes!” She slapped high fives. “That’s the good news I needed tonight. You need to go home and celebrate.”
“I called my mom after I signed up. She cried a little. In a mom way.”
“Aw.”
“Then she said how I’d be manager inside six months.”
“Hey!”
Laughing, he cleared a tab. “I said how could I give her more grandbabies if I worked all the time, and she changed that tune fast. Then said to thank you for pushing me a little bit.”
“She’s welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Then she stood at the bar, looked out at the floor, looked through the glass to the patio tables. She’d get through, she told herself.
She’d get through because she had to.
And she had to tell her ladies—no choice there either. When she came down in the morning, it gave her a lift to see the two of them, both dressed for work, sitting out on the patio, surrounded by flowers as they drank their coffee.
She’d put a damper on that morning ritual, but they’d get through that, too.
After making her version of morning coffee, she went out to join them.
“You’re up early,” her mother commented. “Gram and I were just luxuriating, since we don’t have to go in until eleven. Maybe even stretch it to noon.”
“And I’m thinking we bring home pizza. Should be early enough for you to grab a slice or two if you want.”
“Who says no to pizza?”
Morgan sat and took a moment, just one more moment.
A hummingbird, bright as an emerald in the sun, gorged at the feeder while a downy woodpecker drilled madly at the suet. Flowers they’d planted in the spring bloomed, spiked, spread in cheerful abandon.
Here, in this one more moment, everything held good and sweet and lovely. Gavin Rozwell wanted to spoil that, to end that.
She simply couldn’t let him.
“I spoke with the federal agents yesterday.”
“What happened?” Quickly, Audrey straightened in her chair.
“I want you to know they’re handling it, but I got a credit card bill in the mail. Not my card, not my charges.”
“That creature,” Olivia began, “because I won’t call him a man, is relentlessly evil.”
“No argument. But Agent Beck said he’d made another mistake with this. I believe her. He charged things in New Orleans, so they know he was there on those dates.”
“He wants to scare you.”
“And he did, Gram, but I’m okay now. Honestly, the confrontation I had—no, it was a fight, call it what it was. The fight I had with Opal Reece at Après was almost worse. And with this, the FBI’s handling it, they’ll deal with the credit card company, they’ll trackhis movements in New Orleans. Maybe, with luck, figure out a way to find where he went after. It’s too much to hope that he’d stay there, but they’ll have a trail. I think.”
“We should plan a little trip. A few days away. Go to the beach,” Audrey continued. “Sit under umbrellas and drink mai tais.”
“Mom.” Morgan reached out to pat her mother’s hand. “The answer isn’t in beaches and mai tais. And it’s way too soon for me to take time off. I’m being careful. Everyone’s being careful, and it’s a pain in the ass. What I want? I want to be able to sit out here just like this, looking at the garden, watching the birds, and knowing Gavin Rozwell is sitting in a cell looking through bars. The day I can do that is going to be a happy day.”
