Baby, It's You (18 page)

Bobbie opened her mouth, ready to object, but Kari jumped in. “No! Of course they were flukes! I got one really big tip today from a guy who drove his family here in a Mercedes SUV. I mean, how often do we see one of those around here?”

“
Exactly
,” Bobbie said.

“It didn’t have anything to do with the spoon thing,” Kari said. “That was kind of silly.”

“Of course it was silly. I mean,
really
.”

“After all, Bobbie’s been at this much longer than I have. I can only hope someday I’ll be as good as she is.”

Bobbie’s mouth moved, but no sound came out. Her face turned a funny shade of red, as if she was burning on the inside and the flames were trying to make their way out. Finally she just gathered up her money and walked away.

“Oh, my God!” Gloria said, her eyes wide. “That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I thought the top of her head was going to blow off!”

Over the next several days, Kari still had fun with the families, and Bobbie continued to all but disrobe in front of the men. But for some reason, Bobbie didn’t seem inclined to compare tips at the end of the day, and the snide remarks seemed to fall by the wayside. Kari didn’t care if Bobbie liked her or not, because she’d learned that liking was one thing, but respecting was another.

This meant Kari could make money. Never much money at a job like this, but enough to keep body and soul together without somebody else telling her what to do with her life. She never could have imagined a job like this one in a tiny little town could make her feel so
free
.

One evening she had the late shift, and she and Rosie were the last ones out the door. As Rosie drove away, Kari got into the Bomb. She stuck the key into the ignition. Turned it. Pumped the gas pedal. It made the same horrible grinding noise it always did, but this time it didn’t start.

She stopped. Backed off. Waited a few seconds and tried again. Still a lot of grinding, but the engine wouldn’t turn over.

She looked back at the café, but Rosie was already gone, and the place was dark. Unfortunately, all the other shops on the square were probably closed, too.

Nina. If she hurried, she might be able to go to the wineshop and catch her before she left. With luck, she’d have jumper cables.

Kari started to get out of the car, only to see a man standing along a brick wall near an alley between two of the shops. It was dark, and at first she didn’t recognize him. Then she realized it was camera guy. He just stood nonchalantly by the wall smoking a cigarette, paying no attention to her.

Then slowly he turned and looked over his shoulder.

At this distance, she couldn’t tell if he was looking at her or not, but she still felt a quiver of apprehension. Now that she thought about it, how many amateur photographers his age hung around a small town like this one for weeks on end? Whenever he came into Rosie’s, he was full of questions for her. Personal questions. She’d written him off as a guy who was probably interested in asking her out but didn’t have the guts to do it.

Now she wasn’t so sure.

Instead of getting out of the car, she locked the door, grabbed her phone, and called Marc. After three rings, he picked up.

“I have a problem,” she said.

“Problem? What problem?”

“The Bomb won’t start.”

“Crap. Are you sure there’s gas in it?”

“Yes.”

“Then it needs a jump. Hope it’s just the battery and not the alternator. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

“Marc, there’s something else.”

“What?”

“There’s a guy who’s been in the café a few times. He always asks to sit in my section. He asks a lot of personal questions. Now that I think about it, I’ve seen him quite a few times over the past few weeks. He told me he’s just an amateur photographer, but I’m getting a bad feeling about him.”

“What kind of bad feeling?”

“Like he’s watching me.”

“Then we need to talk to the sheriff.”

“The guy is here right now.”

“
What?
”

“He’s standing in that alley between the bookstore and the art gallery. I think he’s watching me. It’s probably nothing, but—”

“No. It’s not nothing. Go back inside the café.”

“It’s closed. Locked up.”

“Who else is still in the parking lot?”

“Nobody. It’s just me.”

“Are you inside the car?”

“Yes.”

“Lock the doors.”

“I did. But Nina might still be at the shop. Maybe I could—”

“No! Don’t get out of the car! I’ll be there as soon as I can, but I’m also calling the sheriff.”

“The guy’s not doing anything wrong. What can the sheriff do?”

“Just stay put until you see either me or the sheriff. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you.”

Just then the guy looked over his shoulder again, and Kari’s apprehension turned into full-blown anxiety.

“Marc?”

“Yeah?”

“Hurry.”

M
arc leaped into his truck and hit the highway, trying to call the sheriff along the way. When he finally got in touch with him, he was working a traffic accident five miles out of town and couldn’t respond.

As Marc entered the city limits, he called Kari back to tell her he was almost there. She said the guy was still in the alley and he was still watching her.

Instead of pulling into the parking lot where Kari was, Marc parked his truck on the street behind the square three doors down from Rosie’s and got out, walking quietly to where Kari said the man was standing. When Marc came around the corner of the alley, the guy jumped with surprise. Marc grabbed him by the collar, spun him around, and shoved him against the wall. The guy’s eyes flew wide open with surprise, and then his expression settled into an angry snarl.

“Who are you?” Marc said. “And why are you following Kari?”

“Get your fucking hands off me!”

Marc had four inches in height and fifty pounds on the guy, so he saw no reason to comply with that particular request. “I asked you a question. You’ve been following Kari. Why?”

“It’s not a crime to watch a woman.”

“But trespassing on my property
is
a crime.”

When the guy swallowed hard and didn’t respond, Marc knew he’d found his trespasser.

“Let’s see some ID,” Marc said.

“I don’t have to show you shit.”

“Would you rather show the sheriff?”

“I’m not doing anything wrong.”

“There are stalker laws.”

“I’m not a stalker!”

“Prove it.”

Marc released the guy, and he took out his wallet and produced a business card. Marc blinked with surprise. “You’re a private investigator?”

“That’s right.”

“Who are you working for?”

Once again, the guy refused to answer.

“I asked you who you’re working for,” Marc said, with a heaping dose of malice in his voice.

“I don’t have to tell you a damned thing.”

Then all at once it came together for Marc, and he knew what the guy wasn’t telling him. And the very thought of it made his blood boil.

“Her father?” Marc said. “Is that who sent you here?”

When the guy lifted his chin a scant inch and narrowed his eyes, Marc had his answer. He couldn’t believe it. But after Kari’s father had tried to get her to marry a complete asshole and then cleaned out her bank account when she wouldn’t return to Houston, should Marc really be surprised?

“What did he hire you to do?” Marc asked.

The guy paused, clearly trying to decide how much to say. Finally he shrugged nonchalantly. “Nothing much. Just keep watch on his crazy daughter and report back.”

That son of a
bitch
. “What did you tell him?”

“That his daughter is keeping company with a certain vineyard owner who can’t seem to keep his hands off her. She graduated pretty fast from that cottage right up to the big house, didn’t she?”

If Marc had been angry before, he was livid now. Clearly that one night outside the cottage wasn’t the only time this guy had been at the vineyard. The very idea of this bastard spying on the two of them was more than Marc could take.

“Your assignment just came to an end,” Marc said. “I want you out of this town tonight, or you and I are going to have a talk with the sheriff.”

“Fine with me. I was getting tired of this shitty little town anyway. Though I gotta say I wasn’t getting tired of watching her.” He nodded toward Kari. “From what I could tell, you’ve been watching her plenty yourself.”

“You heard me,” Marc said. “Leave town.
Now.
”

“Sure. I’m out of here. But just between you and me, I know Stuart Worthington. And he’s not going to stop until his darling daughter is back in Houston and under his thumb again.”

The guy gave him one last go-to-hell look and sauntered off. Marc was glad Stuart Worthington wasn’t standing in front of him right now. If he was, he might just have to put his hands around his throat and never let go.

Marc watched the guy walk away, then turned and strode toward the Bomb. Kari got out and met him halfway. “I saw you talking to him. Who is he?”

“He’s a PI.”

She looked stunned. “A private investigator? Why would he be following me?”

“Because your father hired him to.”

“Oh, no.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Was he the guy outside the cottage that night?”

“Looks that way. He’s probably been your father’s eyes and ears in this town ever since the asshole got back to Houston and told him you refused to come back with him.”

“You mean he’s been watching me the whole time?”

“He’s been watching
us
the whole time.”

Kari closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, Marc. God—I’m so
sorry
.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“No. It is. Ever since I showed up on your porch that night, I’ve been nothing but a problem for you. You had to give me a place to live. A car to drive. Then there was that mess with Angela. And now all this with my father. I wouldn’t blame you if you put me on that bus to Houston, and this time you made sure I stayed on it.”

“No. I don’t want you on any damned bus to Houston.”

For some reason, tears filled her eyes.

“What’s the matter?” he asked.

“Nothing. I just—”

“Just what?”

“Thank you,” she said.

“For what?”

“For wanting me here. I don’t know where I’d be right now if it weren’t for you.” A tear trickled down her cheek, and she wiped it away. “I’ve never had a job that my father didn’t give me or didn’t help me get. I’m not proud of that, but it’s the truth. The job at Rosie’s—I know it’s not much, but I did it myself, and that means something to me. I know you’re still helping me with everything else. But eventually I’ll stand on my own two feet. I promise you I will.”

“I know you will,” Marc said, leaning in to give her a kiss. But what he didn’t tell her was that if something else happened, something insurmountable, something so hard to handle that she needed his help, he intended to be right there for her. No matter how hell-bent Stuart Worthington was on getting his daughter back to Houston, Marc had news for him. He’d do everything in his power to ensure Kari stayed right where she was.

The next Sunday morning, Kari sat on the deck with Marc, feeling the cool September breeze swirl around them. Kari flipped through her Kindle while Marc scrolled through one weather app after another, and it occurred to her that she’d never felt so happy to be anywhere in her life. The dogs were in the yard, doing what dogs did—running, sniffing, fake growling, and rolling in the grass together.

“You know Brandy’s in love with Boo,” Kari said. “What do you think? Are they too young for a real relationship?”

“I just want to know why good girls always fall for bad boys.”

“Boo is
not
bad!”

“He barfs on the floor. Knocks over trash cans. Gnaws on chair legs. Shall I go on?”

“But he’s good at heart.” Kari leaned in and gave Marc a kiss. “So what’s the weather report?”

“Clear skies for the next five days. There’s a storm front brewing in the west, but it’s supposed to swing north.”

“Isn’t it about time for harvest?” Kari said, hating to ask the question. Harvest meant everything was going to change for all of them, so she wasn’t looking forward to it.

“Yep. I have the crew scheduled for the first of next week.”

And right after that, Marc would be leaving. That meant their time together could be measured in days now rather than weeks.

If only he would stay…

That thought came into Kari’s mind, and just as quickly she sent it packing. No sense hoping for something that was never going to happen. Instead, she needed to be enjoying every moment they did have together.

“Do you realize in all the time I’ve been working at Rosie’s, you haven’t been there during one of my shifts?” she said.

“Is that right?”

“That’s right. Why don’t you come over for lunch tomorrow? I’ll have Marla seat you in my section. I’ll show you how I can sling hash.”

“Rosie doesn’t serve hash.”

“Must you be so literal? And I promise not to dump coffee in your lap.”

“Now, there’s a selling point. ‘Come to Rosie’s. We won’t give you second-degree burns.’”

“Bring Brandy,” Kari said with a smile. “I have a dog biscuit with her name on it.”

Marc nodded toward the dogs, who were lying together in the sun, panting happily. “I’ll have to check her schedule. She may already have a date.”

Kari couldn’t wait for Marc to come to Rosie’s. She felt so good these days about her job. Yeah, it was still hard, and she was still exhausted at the end of every shift. But she found out that when she stuck with it, it got easier, and she had actually started to enjoy going to work.

But she enjoyed going home to Marc even more.

At noon the next day, Marc parked his truck in a space on the square so he and Brandy could head to Rosie’s. As he started to get out of the truck, his phone rang. When he saw Angela’s caller ID, his heart skipped a few beats. He hadn’t heard from her since the disaster the other night, and he wasn’t completely sure what to say to her now. He took a deep, calming breath and punched the button to answer the call.

“So how are things going?” he said.

“Okay.”

“Did you have that talk with Kim?”

“Yeah. I talked to her.”

“And?”

“And she told me she doesn’t care if I don’t like her staying up late and bringing friends over. She says I’m too uptight, so it’s my fault there’s a problem.”

Well, shit.
“Can you change rooms?”

“It’s too late for that. If you want to change now, you have to get a letter from God.”

“Well, it’s your room, too. Have you talked to your resident advisor? Maybe she can talk to Kim.”

“Oh, right. Like that’s going to solve anything? It’ll only piss Kim off. And then she really will be awful to me.”

Marc started to say,
Come on, Angela! That’s bullshit! Didn’t I teach you to stand up for yourself?
But he could hear that shaky, on-the-verge-of-crying tone in her voice, so he knew he’d better shut up.

“You’ll be here Sunday for Shannon and Luke’s wedding, right?” he asked her.

“Yeah. I’ll be there. I’d never miss Shannon’s wedding.”

“Kari offered to fix dinner for the family after the wedding.”

Silence. And it dragged on so long Marc wondered if he’d lost the connection.

“Oh,” Angela said finally. “So she’s still there?”

“Yes. Will you stay for dinner?”

“I don’t know. I probably need to get back to school. I have a sociology test on Monday.”

“Come on, Angela. I’d like to see you for a little while.”

Yet another long silence. Then a heavy sigh. “Okay. I’ll come to dinner.”

Marc felt a surge of relief. “Good. That’s good. I know Uncle Daniel wants to see you, too. And Aunt Nina. We’ll have a nice time.”

“Whatever.”

That word frustrated the hell out of Marc, because she acted as if she didn’t care about any of this when he knew she felt exactly the opposite. He couldn’t even imagine what Sunday was going to bring.

After he said good-bye, Marc stuck his phone back into his pocket, and he and Brandy got out of the truck. As he was walking inside, he happened to see Luke coming out of the hardware store down the street. He had Fluffy on a leash.

Marc waved, and Luke approached. “Plumbing parts,” he said, holding up the bag in his hand. “I
hate
plumbing.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Leaky faucet. Shannon tried to fix it. She’s good at a lot of things. Plumbing isn’t one of them.”

“And now you get to fix her fix?”

“Exactly.”

“Let me know if you need some help.”

“Thanks,” Luke said. “Here for lunch?”

“Yeah. Want to join me?”

“Shannon’s expecting me back at the shelter, but what’s thirty minutes? A man’s gotta eat, right?”

A few minutes later, Marla seated them in a booth by the front window. The dogs circled and sniffed, then lay down beside each other.

Marc looked over to see the kitchen door swing open. Kari came out, carrying a plate in each hand and baskets on her arms. She saw Marc and gave him a smile as she delivered the food to the family in the next booth. Then she swept by their booth and gave each dog a pat on the head and a dog biscuit.

“Hi, Luke!” Kari said, standing back up. “I didn’t know you were going to be here, too.” She took out her order pad. “So what’s it going to be, guys?”

“Chicken fried steak,” Luke said.

Kari wrote down the order, then turned to Marc.

“Double cheeseburger,” he said.

“Got it. Do you want that zombiefied?”

As Marc was trying to figure out what she could possibly mean by that, Gloria breezed by. “Definitely get the zombie version,” she told Marc with a wink. “It’s
so
worth it.”

“Then by all means,” Marc said, feeling totally lost but loving the smile on Kari’s face.

“Coming right up,” Kari said with a gleam in her eye. Then she hurried off to give another diner his check. Marc watched her walk away, thinking how goofy she looked wearing blue capri pants with her pink apron and Angela’s beat-up sneakers. But even looking goofy, he swore she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

He finally dragged his gaze away and looked back at Luke. “So how are things going? Pretty soon you’ll be a married man.”

Luke smiled. “It’s about time. Shannon’s obsessing over the wedding. Her mother’s obsessing even more. But to tell you the truth, it’s the honeymoon I’m interested in.”

“Where are you going?”

“San Antonio. We’re just getting a suite at a nice hotel for several days. Shannon doesn’t want to stay away from the shelter any longer than that. But I’m going to make sure that at least while she’s on her honeymoon, she forgets all about it.”

“Smart man.”

“Your harvest is coming up soon. Are you really leaving after that?”

“Yep.”

Luke shook his head. “We’re sure gonna miss you.”