by Sarah Fox
“It was nice to see you again, Marley,” Rowena said to me.
“You too. Enjoy the tennis match.”
Both women smiled at me before setting off in the direction of the tennis courts.
I was about to rejoin Brett over by the lemonade stand when a woman gasped and a handful of people scattered in all different directions. I swung around in time to see Jay give Levi a hard shove that sent him stumbling backward. More people scurried out of the way.
Levi quickly regained his balance and swore at Jay. Then, before I could even blink, Levi punched Jay in the jaw.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Parents grabbed the hands of their children and rushed them away from the fight. Jay recovered from the blow to his jaw and lunged toward Levi. Two men grabbed Jay from behind, hauling him away from Levi. At the same time, Brett got in front of Levi, blocking his path to Jay.
“There are kids here.” Brett put a firm hand on Levi’s shoulder. “This isn’t the place.”
My heart lurched with fear at the prospect of Levi turning on Brett in the haze of his anger. To my intense relief, Levi stepped back and held up his hands in surrender. He was breathing hard, his eyes narrowed, but as the other men pulled Jay farther away, some of the tension eased out of his taut muscles.
Pippa rushed over. “What on earth was that all about?” she demanded of Levi. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.” Levi shot a stormy glance at Jay, who was shaking off the men who’d subdued him. “That jerk needed to be taught a lesson.”
“You shouldn’t waste your time on him,” Pippa scolded. “You could get charged with assault!”
As if a switch had flicked, Levi’s focus shifted from Jay to Pippa and the remaining tension in his body drained away.
He put a hand to her face. “I’m sorry, babe. I shouldn’t have let him get to me.”
“What did he do?” Pippa voiced the question I wanted to ask.
Unfortunately, we didn’t get a good answer.
“Never mind,” Levi said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Let’s get out of here.”
Pippa took his hand and they started walking toward Rowena, who was waiting for them a short distance away.
“Was it the photos?” I asked before they could take more than a couple of steps.
Levi spun around to face me. “You saw the photos?”
“What photos?” Pippa asked, clearly confused.
“I saw some of Jay’s photos,” I clarified. “Enough to know he doesn’t have much respect for people’s privacy.”
Levi’s jaw tensed. “He doesn’t have much respect for anything.”
“What photos?” Pippa asked again.
“I’ll explain later.” Levi took her arm and steered her away from me.
Rowena joined them, and the three of them disappeared into the crowd. Now that things had settled down, everyone was getting back to what they’d been doing before the fight broke out.
Brett rested a hand against my back. “What was that all about?”
“I’m not exactly sure,” I said. “Did you see who started the fight?”
“No, they were already in the thick of it when I heard the commotion and turned around.”
“At least it didn’t get any worse.” I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “And I’m glad you didn’t get hit. You scared me when you ran into the mix.”
He kissed me on the forehead. “I wanted to make sure no one else got hurt.”
That was just like him, watching out for everyone else. I gave him a hug.
“We lost our spot in line,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me.
“Doesn’t matter,” I said, unconcerned. “We can try again.”
I wanted to kiss him, but I was acutely aware of all the people around us, so I contented myself with holding his hand as we got back in line to buy some lemonade. There were even more people ahead of us this time, but eventually we got our drinks.
As we enjoyed our lemonade, we wandered around the park again, watching the various games and races. When we spotted Sienna and her friend Bailey competing in the teen egg-and-spoon race, we stopped to cheer them on. They came in fourth, but they were in high spirits. It was good to see Bailey smiling. Back in the winter she’d gone through a rough patch and had seemed sad or angry most of the time. Now she was like a different person.
Brett and I chatted with the teens for a few minutes before moving on to watch a sack race that was about to start.
“Want to join in?” Brett asked once we realized that the next race was for adults.
“I think I’ll just focus on my lemonade,” I said. “You?”
“I’m good here.” He closed his hand around mine.
“Is that…?” I stepped to the side to get a better view of one of the women climbing into a burlap sack at the start line. “It is! It’s Beryl Madgwick.”
“Who?” Brett scanned the line of racers without recognition.
“She’s one of the oldest competitors at this year’s Golden Oldies Games,” I explained. “She was featured in one of the videos at the opening ceremonies. She’s down there at the far end.”
Brett’s eyebrows rose when he got a look at her. “How old is she?”
“Ninety-two. Can you believe it? She competed in the track and field events, and now she’s going to be in the sack race.”
We weren’t the only ones whose attention had been caught by the senior’s participation in the race. Jay was back—thankfully focused on photography rather than fighting—and Tommy was there too. They both snapped photos of Beryl as she got ready to hop her way to the finish line. When the race began, Jay and Tommy hustled along the sidelines to capture photos of Beryl in action.
I clapped and cheered as the racers crossed the finish line. Beryl had finished in the middle of the pack, but considering that all the other competitors were at least twenty-five years younger than her, I thought she’d done impressively well. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one. Tommy and Jay moved in for more photos of her, and I recognized Rob from the Wildwood Cove Weekly as he navigated his way through the crowd to speak with Beryl.
“She puts us thirtysomethings to shame,” Brett said.
“Right? She’s incredible.”
We were moving off to check out some of the other games when I realized that Felicia was standing a few feet away from us. She didn’t see me. She was too focused on glaring at Beryl, who was still chatting with Rob.
“If looks could kill…” I said under my breath.
“What’s that?” Brett stopped and turned back to me.
I tipped my head in Felicia’s direction.
“What’s up with that?” he asked when he saw Felicia giving Beryl the evil eye.
“I’m not sure.”
I took Brett’s hand and we wove our way through the crowd, leaving Felicia and Beryl behind us.
“I don’t know about these games,” Brett said quietly as we walked.
“The ones right here?”
“The Golden Oldies Games,” he clarified. “Although some of it seems to have spilled over to these ones.”
“Some of the craziness, you mean?”
“That’s one word for it. The games might be all fun and good sportsmanship on the surface, but beneath that…”
“You’re right. I think most of the athletes and others involved in the games are probably good people, but there’s definitely a lot of animosity between some of them. Yvonne seems to be the source of a lot of the anger, but not all of it.”
“Like the two guys who were fighting.”
“Like them,” I agreed. “I know Jay had a picture of Levi and Pippa kissing, but I wonder if there were others.”
“You mean more private ones?”
“That’s what I’m thinking. I’m not sure the picture I
saw would be enough to make Levi so mad. Then again, he does seem pretty protective of Pippa.”
I let out a sigh as we paused to drop our empty drink containers in a recycling bin.
Brett gave my hand a squeeze. “Getting tired?”
“A little. Mostly I’m tired of my mind being such a jumble.”
“Maybe you’re trying to do too much these days, focusing on too many things.”
“You’re probably right, but I don’t know how to shut my mind off,” I said.
“How about a walk on the beach? Maybe that will help you to relax.”
“But we can stop for ice cream first?”
“Of course.”
“Then let’s get out of here.”
Brett was in full agreement with me until someone called his name. We stopped in our tracks.
“It’s Mr. Clinton,” Brett said quietly.
“Your grumpiest client?” I asked with apprehension.
“The one and the same.”
“Brett Collins, I need a word with you!” The elderly man was storming toward us.
I stepped away from Brett. “I’ll meet you over there.” I nodded toward a tree growing by the side of the road.
I swiftly abandoned Brett to face Mr. Clinton on his own. I only felt a hint of guilt for doing that. He dealt with Mr. Clinton’s grouchiness on a regular basis and tended to take it in stride.
The park was more crowded than ever now, and I had to edge my way around two families who were laughing and chatting together. I found a small patch of free space between the tree and the curb and stopped there, checking my phone for messages while I waited for Brett.
I smiled when I saw that Lisa had sent me photos of Orion. I sent her a recent photo of Flapjack in return. I’d snapped the picture the other day when the tabby was chasing a butterfly out in the yard. Maybe I was biased, but I thought it was adorable.
I didn’t have any other messages, so I returned my phone to my pocket, hoping Brett would be free to leave soon. I barely had my phone tucked away when someone shoved me hard from behind.
Before I could stop myself, I flew off the curb and into the street.
As I crashed to the pavement, a bicycle zoomed right toward my face.
Chapter Twenty-Six
All I had time to do was close my eyes.
The impact came, but not where I expected. I thought the bike would smash into my face, but instead it hit me hard in the arm. My eyes shot open as the cyclist went flying and the bike clattered down on top of me.
I was only half aware of voices shouting and exclaiming around me. I was too stunned to truly notice anything aside from the pain pulsing in various parts of my body.
“Marley!”
The sound of Brett’s voice snapped me out of my haze.
Somebody lifted the bike off of me as Brett crouched by my side.
He put a hand to my face. “Are you hurt?”
“Only a little.” I pushed myself into a sitting position, my whole left side protesting. “I think.”
“Maybe you should stay put.” Brett shifted his hand to my shoulder. “I’ll call an ambulance.”
“No,” I said quickly. “I don’t need an ambulance. Does the cyclist?”
“No, I’m okay.”
I looked up to see a man in cycling gear heading our way. He had a long scrape down one arm, but he seemed to be moving normally.
“Just a few bumps and scrapes,” he said. He took his bike from the man who’d lifted it off of me and thanked him before turning back to me. “What about you? I’m really sorry. You came out of nowhere and I didn’t have a chance to stop. I tried to swerve…”
I shook my head, but stopped when my neck and shoulder ached. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Brett asked. The deep crease between his eyebrows told me how concerned he was.
“Okay enough to get up off the road before something else hits me.”
I held out a hand and Brett took it, carefully helping me to my feet.
“I don’t need an ambulance,” I reiterated when I was standing, albeit not entirely steadily. I knew he’d been about to suggest that again.
A middle-aged woman brought a folding lawn chair over toward the curb. “Why don’t you sit down for a minute, dear? You look like you need to.”
“Thank you,” I said gratefully as I eased myself into the chair.
Pippa appeared out of the crowd. “I heard there was an accident.” Her gaze landed on the cyclist. “I’m a doctor. Does anyone need medical attention?”
“I’m fine.” The cyclist nodded at me. “She got the worst of it.”
“I’m not badly hurt,” I said as Pippa approached.
“Let her take a look at you,” Brett advised, still looking worried.
“What happened?” Pippa asked as she assessed my appearance with a practiced eye.
“I fell onto the road and got hit by the bicycle.”
“Did your left arm take most of the impact?”
At first I thought she’d figured that out from the way I was resting my arm on my lap, but when I looked down I realized that there were other obvious signs as well. My skin was scraped and already turning purple with bruises.
“My arm and my side,” I said. “My arm hurts the most, including my wrist.”
“May I have a look?”
I let her take my arm in her hands, and I answered a few questions as she assessed my injuries.
“I don’t think anything’s broken,” Pippa said a couple of minutes later. “But if you want an X-ray to be sure…”
I shook my head before she could finish. “I don’t think I broke anything either. I’ve sprained this wrist before, and it doesn’t feel any worse than it did then.”
“Let me give your side a quick check.”
After she did that, she seemed satisfied that I wasn’t badly hurt.
I thanked her for her help before saying, “I thought you and Rowena had left the park.”
“We did,” she said. “But our friend’s tennis match was delayed so we thought we’d come back and grab a bite to eat. Are you going to be all right for getting home?”
“Yes. My fiancé’s here with me.”
Brett rested his hands on my shoulders from behind the chair. “I can go get my truck so you don’t have to walk home.”
“That’s okay. I can walk.”
I thanked Pippa again, and she left to find Rowena.
The small crowd that had gathered after the bicycle hit me had mostly dispersed, everyone’s attention back on the activities happening in the park. As much as I was glad not to be gawked at, I knew the downside was that I might have missed the chance to speak with potential witnesses.
“I don’t suppose you saw what happened before I fell onto the road, did you?” I asked the cyclist.
“Before? I barely even saw you fall. One second the road was clear and the next you were there.”
“I know. It happened so fast.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” he asked.
“Absolutely. Sorry about what happened.”
“So am I. Take care.”
He hopped back on his bike and cycled off.
I stood up without too much difficulty and thanked the woman who’d let me use her chair.
Brett tucked a curly lock of my hair behind my ear. “Ready to go home?”
“I am, but…”
“Brett? Marley?”
We both turned at the sound of the familiar voice
Deputy Kyle Rutowski strode toward us. He was in uniform, although without his hat.
“I heard there was an accident.” He noticed my bruised and battered arm. “I was about to ask if you knew what happened, but I take it you do.”
“Marley w
as hit by a cyclist,” Brett explained.
“The cyclist didn’t stick around?”
“He did,” I rushed to assure him. “But he wasn’t hurt and I’m okay so he just left a moment ago.”
“Do you need to go the hospital? Your arm doesn’t look so good.”
“A doctor checked me out,” I said. “I really just want to go home.”
“Fair enough. I’m glad you weren’t hurt any worse.”
“Thank you. But there is one thing. I should have asked right away if anyone saw what happened, but by the time I thought of it, most of the potential witnesses had already moved on.”
“Why do you need witnesses?” Brett asked. “I thought you said it wasn’t the cyclist’s fault.”
“It wasn’t his fault, but it was someone’s fault that I ended up on the road. I was pushed off the curb.”
Concern clouded Brett’s face. “Intentionally?”
“I think so. I felt two hands on my back, and it was a really hard shove. I suppose it could have been an accident, but I don’t think so.”
“Do you have any idea who it was?” Rutowski asked.
“No clue,” I replied. “I didn’t even catch a glimpse of them.”
“Are you okay to hang around for a minute?”
“Sure,” I said, although all I wanted was to head home with Brett.
Rutowski turned to address the people milling about on the grass nearby. “Can I have your attention, please? If anyone was here in the moments before the accident happened, I’d appreciate a word with you.”
About half a dozen people came forward, including the woman who’d offered me her chair. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that no one had seen who’d pushed me. Most people had been focused on other things and had only noticed me after or just as the bike had struck me.
“It doesn’t sound promising,” I said quietly to Brett as we listened in on Rutowski’s conversations.
Brett settled an arm across my shoulders but didn’t respond. I glanced up at him and was surprised to see him frowning. It wasn’t often that he wore such a dark expression. I was about to say something to him when Rutowski wrapped up his questioning of the witnesses.
