Devlin's Defiance: Book Two of the Devlin Quatrology (38 page)

“
But now,
back to business. I loved the new way you went at it, and that POV
stuff also helped me solve a problem I was wrestling
with
last night.”

“
With
Rosemary?” she asked, smiling.

“
No, with
a scene I'm writing.”

“
SCR.”

“
Ah.
Good one.”

“
So you
like the new one?”

“
Love it.
It's even better than the one I thought was perfect.”

“
They're
yours, both of 'em. Do whatever you want to with 'em.”

“
God,
Dallas, that really is so generous of you. You sure I can't pay you,
do something for you?”

“
Nah,
that's fine. Just remember, we have to keep it a secret that
I
wrote it.”

“
Right; I
promise. I'll keep calling you Dallas, not Dallas. Cross my heart.”
He did so.

“
Here you
go, Gordy,” Chelsea said, putting two carryout boxes on the
table. “Still doing that grazing thing, huh?”

“
Yup.”

“
And he
got me started on that, too,” Dallas said.

“
You
know, you look familiar. Have you been in here before?”

“
No, not
before today.”

“
Well,
for some reason” –

“
She's a
writer, Chel; maybe you've seen her picture on her books?”

“
I don't
– wait a minute. Are you – oh, my god, is it – oh,
I can't – what's your real name?”

Dallas told
her.

“
Oh, my
god! I LOVE your books; I've read all of them, every one. They're
so” – she looked around and lowered her voice – “so
sexy!”

“
I'm glad
you like them.”

“
Can I
get your autograph?”

“
Sure.
What do you want me to sign?”

“
Oh, I'm
such a ditz. I've got one of your books in my bag in the back.
Would that be okay?”

“
Sure, no
problem.”

“
Oh,
thank you, thank you. I'll be right back,” Chel said, rushing
away.

A few people at
other tables looked over at the excitement. Dallas looked down,
holding her hand beside her face.

“
Gordy,
can we get out of here as soon as I sign her book? This happens way
too often.”

“
What
does?”

“
There
are some downsides to celebrity.”

“
I can
imagine.”

“
You ever
been surrounded by a bunch of old women who call you a slut, a whore
and worse?”

“
No, not
really.”

“
Well,
not everyone likes my books like Chelsea does. And those women aren't
shy about expressing their opinions.”

“
Oh,
geez.”

“
And I
can see a lot of that type in here right now.”

Gordy looked
around and noticed a couple of women whispering to their table
companions. Then he looked closer at one of them and
recognized
Alice from the Hat Squad.

“
Uh-oh.
I see what you mean.”

“
Here you
go. Can you make it out to Chelsea?”

“
Of
course,” Dallas said, smiling up at her. “Anything
special you'd like to me write?”

“
How
about 'To Chelsea, my biggest fan'? Would that be okay?”

“
Sure.”
Dallas scribbled in the book, smiled and gave it back to
Chelsea.
“There you go.”

“
Oh,
thank you, thank you. I'll treasure this always. Would it be okay
if Gordy took a picture of you and me together?”

Gordy looked
around, noticed Alice starting to move in her seat, and said, “How
about if we do that outside, by the front door?”

“
That'd
be great.”

Gordy and
Dallas got out of their seats and headed to the front door, passing
Dottie on the way.

“
Chel
told me who you are. Thank you for dining with us.”

“
Hey,
Dottie, we're gonna take a quick pic, okay?”

“
Sure, no
big – oh, can I be in it, too?”

Chel looked at
Dallas, who nodded.

“
Great.
Thank you.”

Gordy hurried
them out the front door, where the three women
posed
as Gordy took the photo, and then Dallas scampered to her car and
drove off, smiling and waving at Gordy, as he and Chelsea and Dottie
waved back. Chelsea and Dottie went back inside as Gordy headed for
his car.

“
Oh,
geez, I forgot to pay the bill,” Gordy said, and headed back
into the restaurant.

As he finished
settling the bill, he glanced over and saw Alice
muttering
to the two women at her table and starting to get up again.

He then made as
graceful an exit as he could, breathing a sigh of relief as he
started his car and got onto Bonita Beach Road, heading home.

- 100 -

February
6, 2013
9:27
a
.m.
local time

Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant,
Wales

“
Timing
is everything,” she muttered, limping across the lobby and
glancing out the front window, “some of the time.”

As the target
came through the arched front door of the hotel and stepped into the
vestibule, the Ocelot fumbled with the back of her right hand at the
handle on the inner vestibule door, muttering
angrily
to herself and wobbling slightly on her cane.

Seeing her
distress through the glass panes of the door, the
target
reached out and opened the door, then stepped back to let her pass by
him into the vestibule.

“
Och, I
thank ya mightily, sonny” she said in a crackling, raspy
brogue. Then she stopped in the doorway, blocking his progress, and
craned her head up, studying his face.

“
Och,
I've seen ye around the village, haven't I?”

“
Yes,
ma'am, you have. I've been here for a couple of weeks and I'll be
staying another two or three.”

“
Ye've a
funny way o' speaking, ya do. Where ya from?”

“
New
York, ma'am.”

“
Och, the
Big Orange, right?”

“
Apple,
ma'am, the Big Apple.”

“
Apples,
oranges, it's all da same. So what's yer name?”

“
Patrick,
ma'am.”

“
Och, a
gud Irish saint, he was. I'm Margaret, but ye can call me Peg.”

“
Nice to
meet you, Peg.”

“
And I
you,” she said, holding out her hand, which he shook. She
wobbled a bit on her cane and grasped his hand more tightly for
a
moment, until she regained her balance.

“
Are you
all right, ma'am?”

“
Just a
wee touch o' vertigo. Try not to get old, sonny.”

“
I'm
afraid it's inevitable, ma'am.”

“
Och,
you'd be surprised, sonny, you'd be surprised. But I must
be
on me way, so I'll just wish ye a fine day, a comfy evening and a
good night's sleep.”

“
Thank
you, ma'am” –

“
Peg,
please.”

– “
Peg,
and the same to you.”

- 101 -

February
6, 2013
1:07
p
.m.
local time

Bonita Beach, Florida

“
Oops,”
Gordy said, wobbling a bit. “I musta stood up too fast.”

“
You
okay?” Ro asked, steadying him.

“
Just a
little dizzy,” he replied, bending over and holding his head
down.

“
Ah,
that's better,” he said, straightening up slowly. “Just
my low blood pressure.”

“
Low?”
Janet asked.

“
Yup.
I've got to talk politics four or five times a day just to get it
up
to near normal,” he said, smiling and arching an eyebrow.

Rosemary
chuckled and Janet laughed, a bit nervously.

“
Okay,”
he continued. “One question.”

“
Yes?”
Rosemary said.

“
Why did
I stand up?”

This time, both
Rosemary and Janet laughed a bit nervously.

“
Just
kidding. Gotcha.”

Rosemary
chuckled, but Janet still could only laugh nervously.

“
Okay;
let's go get those hot dogs. Janet, Norm, want anything?”

“
Nothing
for me,” Norm said. “Janet?”

“
No,
thanks.”

“
Okay.”

As they headed
up to Deb's hot dog stand, Gordy asked, “So how did you like
Dallas' new draft?”

“
Loved
it. Very, ah, stimulating.”

“
How
about the POW shifts?”

“
You mean
POV shifts.”

“
Oh,
right; QH acting up again.”

“
Nice
touch. And I think it adds even more to the, ah, eroticism of the
piece.”

“
Well,
she is a BORN writer.”

“
Sure is,
in lower case, too.”

“
Yeah.
And this is so outside their boundaries. I loved it as soon as I
read it. And I was glad I was sitting in Dotty's and not here on the
beach.”