Cough glanced at Mick. “You good?”
“I’ll be fine when somebody tells me what the hell is going on.”
Shee put a hand on her father’s shoulder. “We’ll fill you in. Why don’t you rest?”
He snorted a laugh. “You couldn’t get me to lie back in this bed again with a gun to my head.”
“That could be arranged,” said Croix, waggling her weapon. She grinned at Mick. He grinned back.
Shee felt a tinge of jealousy.
Outside, sirens wailed. Mick frowned, struggling to his feet.
“Help me get dressed,” he said to Angelina. “I need to keep whatever happened here out of the paper.”
&&&
The next morning, Shee sat on the porch with her coffee, watching a pair of osprey circle over the river, searching for fish.
It had been a long night. The police had a lot of questions. Only Mick’s pull with the sheriff kept them all from being dragged to jail until the authorities sorted out what happened.
“You’re up,” said Angelina, pushing through the screen door. She lowered herself into the Adirondack chair beside Shee and balanced her own mug of java on the wide arm.
“Kind of,” said Shee. “I feel like a crazy person.”
“Three hours of sleep can do that to you.”
“Yeah. I’m sure that’s all it is. Lack of sleep.”
Angelina took a sip of her coffee. “So how’s it feel to be free?”
Shee took a deep breath and slowly released it through her nose. “That’s what I was thinking about. You know, I’m not sure free is the word. I feel more...untethered.”
“A lot to process.”
“Yep.”
“But Mick’s awake. Mason’s here...”
Shee scoffed. “Not for long.”
“I dunno...” Angelina bounced her head left to right. “Mick asked him to stay.”
“Here?” Shee stabbed a finger toward the ground as Angelina nodded.
“Yep. Mick says he needs to bulk the staff. We almost lost them all last night.”
Shee laughed. “I’d like to think that isn’t going to happen again.”
Angelina shrugged. “I wouldn’t bet on it.”
One of the osprey dove and the women fell silent, watching as the bird plucked its breakfast from the river.
“He didn’t ask me to stay,” mumbled Shee.
“Mason?”
“Dad.”
Angelina rolled her eyes. “That’s a given. Don’t be a stupid mopey kid.”
She sighed. “And Mason said he’d stay?”
“He did.”
Shee chewed on her lip as Angelina watched her.
“You don’t want him to?”
Shee shrugged. “I don’t think he can forgive me.”
Angelina reached out and placed her hand on Shee’s.
“He’s staying.”
“But—”
Angelina held her gaze. “You don’t stay to not forgive someone.”
Shee smiled, hot tears brimming in her tired eyes.
Something clattered in the kitchen behind them. Mick’s voice roared.
“What the hell happened to my kitchen?”
THE END
Want to read about Shee’s first two weeks in Jupiter? Read Pineapple Turtles.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy Vansant is a Wall Street Journal and USA Today best-selling author who writes with an unique blend of thrills, romance and humor. She lives in Florida with her husband and several gopher tortoises who refuse to pay rent.
To keep up with Amy visit her humor blog/author site and sign up for her newsletter at:
http://www.AmyVansant.com
Other Books by Amy Vansant
Pineapple Port Mysteries
Funny, clean mysteries full of unforgettable characters
Kilty Urban Fantasy - Romantic Comedy/Thrillers
Funny, suspenseful thrillers with a touch of romance & fantasy
The Slightly Romantic Comedies
Classic romantic romps
The Magicatory
Middle-grade fantasy
