He said it in such a way Mercedes was certain that the last thing he was - was sorry.
Sam Ivey extended a hand. “Shall we start again?”
Mercedes resisted the urge to slap his hand away, fully aware her mother and Cool Bones were watching. Not to mention it would make her appear childish. She hesitantly placed her hand in his and a jolt of heat coursed through her veins.
She quickly jerked her hand back. “Of course.”
Sam’s eyes twinkled and he slowly slipped his hand into his pocket. “I was wondering about the local cable company, if you could tell me who you use.”
Carlita rattled off the name of the cable company and Mercedes excused herself, slipping back inside the apartment and closing the door behind her.
She pressed a hand to her beating chest, surprised by her reaction to Sam Ivey’s touch.
She immediately pushed the thought aside, chalking it up to her intense dislike of the man, certain her body was trying to warn her away.
Carlita returned to the apartment a short time later. “Why did you run off? I was hoping you and Mr. Ivey, I mean Sam, could get to know each other better.”
“I…didn’t have anything to say.” It was the truth. As soon as Mercedes touched Sam Ivey’s hand, her mind went blank, and she didn’t like the feeling one iota. She quickly changed the subject. “What’s for lunch?”
“I’m having a late lunch with Glenda Fox. You’re welcome to join us.”
“Nah. I think I’ll call Autumn to see if she wants to run to the shopping mall with me.”
“Have you had a chance to look at Pete and Tori’s agreement?”
“I gave it a quick glance. It looks like a standard agreement. I didn’t see a dollar amount. I gave it to Tony to see what he thinks.”
“Thank you.”
“I love the pirate idea,” Mercedes said. “Maybe we should take another dinner cruise on the Mystic Dream to check it out.”
“The Mystic Dream isn’t going to be going anywhere anytime soon.” Carlita briefly told her daughter about the damage to the boat. She mentioned how she overheard the news reporter say the owner, Lawson Bates, was pointing fingers not only at Pirate Pete, but also at Glenda’s husband, Mark. “I called Glenda to give her a heads up and that’s when she asked if I could meet her for lunch.”
“Maybe you don’t want to get involved in this business venture. It sounds as if Bates might be the type to pay Pete back and damage the pirate ship.”
“That’s a thought, Mercedes. I wonder if Pete thought about that, too.”
“I’m gonna give Autumn a call.”
“I think I’ll take Rambo for a walk.”
Mercedes returned to her room while Carlita went in search of her pooch. “You wanna take a quick walk around the block?”
Once outside, Rambo trotted down the alley toward his favorite parking lot watering spot.
While they walked, Carlita thought about the damaged riverboat and Lawson Bates. What if Lawson convinced himself Pete was the one responsible for the damage and he decided to seek some sort of revenge?
The last thing Carlita needed was to battle a Savannah business owner who had it in for one of her business partners…or even her!
Thankfully, she hadn’t committed to Pete or Tori yet. Perhaps it was best if she postponed her decision for a day or two, to see what happened once the pirate ship arrived.
After Rambo watered the grass, they swung by Ravello to inspect the final restaurant renovations.
She found the workers in the back, installing high-end appliances in the commercial grade kitchen. She admired the spacious walk-in cooler, large oven, eight-burner cook top and gleaming stainless steel range hood.
After the brief tour, they exited through the back door and returned to the alley. “What a beautiful day,” Carlita told her pooch as she fished her house keys out of her front pocket.
“Help!”
“Did you hear that?” Carlita glanced over her shoulder, but didn’t see anything. “My hearing must be going.”
She shoved the key in the lock and twisted the knob when she heard a loud clanging noise and a second call for help.
Carlita nudged Rambo inside the apartment.
It was then, she noticed someone dangling from the second story fire escape of the building across the alley.
“Stay here.” Carlita slammed the apartment door shut and darted to the back of the building where she found her former tenant clinging to a metal grate. “What in the world?”
“I’m stuck.” Elvira’s legs swung back and forth. “I need a ladder.”
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m hanging on for dear life,” Elvira gasped. “I need a ladder.”
“Hold on. I’ll see if the restaurant workers have a ladder that will reach you.” Carlita ran inside the building and into the kitchen. “I need a tall ladder. Quick!”
One of the workers dropped what he was doing. “There’s one in front.” He hurried out of the room and returned moments later carrying a large metal ladder.
“I think that will work. Follow me.” Carlita led the way out of the building and to what was left of the fire escape. “She’s stuck.”
“You got that right.” The man unfolded the ladder and slid it forward until the top rung was directly below Elvira’s feet.
“Hold on.” The man slowly climbed the ladder. When he reached the top, he grasped the edge of the metal grate with one hand and Elvira’s left leg with his other. “You’re going to have to wiggle back a little and then start sliding down. I’ll guide you.”
Elvira grunted, but did as the man said and slowly inched her way backward.
Carlita shaded her eyes and held her breath as she watched the man guide Elvira
