“You seem nervous. Do I put you ill at ease?” he asked with that same sickening smile.
“Not at all. I have two missing guests that went birding earlier.” I pulled my phone from my pocket. “I should call someone. They’re older. They could’ve succumbed to the heat.”
I jumped when he moved in and grabbed my arm. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll help you look.” Stinslin removed his hand when I stared down at it. “I understand all too well what it’s like to be missing someone.”
I wanted to say don’t try that bullshit line on me anymore, but I bit my tongue instead. “I’m sure you do.” I still had no signal, but Stinslin didn’t know that.
I watched as he moved deeper into the brush and turned to look at me. “Aren’t you coming?”
I stalled, hoping that BJ or Audrey would show. “The girl in the picture with your sister, the one you showed me a few days ago, she looks familiar. Who is she?”
Stinslin looked momentarily surprised by the question. “A friend of Kristen’s.”
I shrugged. “I could swear I’ve seen her somewhere before, maybe she stayed at the inn once.”
“Perhaps.” Stinslin seemed to grow impatient. “Are you coming or not?”
I couldn’t will my legs to move—my body refused to cooperate. My jaw started working as he looked at me oddly. “I hear something.”
In the distance, I could hear BJ bitching up a storm. She grated my nerves, but I’d never been so happy to see and hear her as she and Audrey appeared in a clearing nearby.
“You scared the birds away with that damn horn.” Even at a distance, I could see how red BJ’s face was, and I was fairly certain it wasn’t from exertion. She was pointing and winding up for a full-blown tirade when she spotted Stinslin. “Did you find your sister, young man?” she asked as she approached.
“Not yet, but I’m pretty certain she’s still on the island.” He shot me a glance. “I’ll find her, don’t you worry.”
BJ set her fiery gaze on me. “What is your problem?”
“Adrienne isn’t feeling well. I need to get back to the inn now. I’ll have someone take you back out this afternoon.”
“Don’t bother,” BJ said hotly as she stomped past me.
“Thanks for you offer of…help,” I said to Stinslin. I turned to follow BJ and Audrey, and Stinslin’s parting shot made my blood turn to ice again.
“I’m certain I’ll see you again real soon.”
Chapter Sixteen
For a break from BJ’s incessant bitching, I called Elaine and let her know we were safely on the road. As I spoke to her, I had that same sensation I often did with Adrienne—I was repeating what she already knew. The second I snapped my phone shut, BJ began her tirade anew. “I’ve not seen one Bahama yellow throat, only gulls and an occasional Caribbean coot.”
Takes a coot to know a coot, I thought as BJ’s rant faded into the background. Perhaps, I was developing some sort of sixth sense, but I had the feeling that Elaine was more in tune with her gift than her offspring. It was the subtle narrowing of her eyes when I found myself thinking of ways to push Stinslin into making a move so Colie would arrest him. There were also times when I’d find myself worrying about Adrienne and the stress she was under, and I’d catch Elaine looking at me with a compassionate gaze. The thought of having two people easily privy to my thoughts was unnerving and irritating.
“Are you ignoring me?” BJ shouted from the backseat.
We’d had our share of hard-to-please guests. I’d begun to pride myself in keeping a cool head, but that changed when BJ hit the back of my seat. I pulled the Jeep onto the shoulder of the road and killed the engine. Audrey appeared to slide down in the passenger’s seat when she got a look at my face.
“Five-star resorts have often failed to meet my expectations. I don’t know why on Earth I picked this hole-in-the-wall place. I should’ve known that you couldn’t provide the kind of service I expect.” BJ folded her arms and looked out over the water, shaking her head. “It’s my fault, really. It’s what I get for giving the little gals a chance.”
“I’m very curious about the big guys you’ve patronized,” I said calmly. “Do they capitulate to all your demands? Cater to your every whim until they make it right in your eyes?”
BJ looked back at me with a smug expression. “Always.”
“Well then, it gives me great pleasure to inform you that we ‘little gals’ handle things differently. When we get back to the inn, pack your things, and I’ll have someone take you anywhere you want to go on this island as long as I don’t have to hear or see you. And if I can’t pay some poor fool enough money to put up with you for that long, I’ll do it myself, but I’ll strap your ass to the hood like a deer to avoid having to listen to you.”
BJ’s jaw sagged as a flush trailed from the collar of her shirt and moved quickly up her face.
“And, BJ, the reason you haven’t seen any birds? They hate you.” I turned before I started laughing maniacally and reached for the keys in the ignition.
“No one has ever put me out!” BJ boomed from the backseat. But before I could utter a snide comment, Audrey, the diminutive silent partner…lost her mind.
“Yes, they have!” she screamed in a high-pitched, anger-infused voice. “We have been tossed out of so many places I’ve lost count.”
I had no idea what BJ looked like, but I was fairly certain she looked a lot like me—jaw agape, eyes wide.
Audrey ripped off her seat belt, turned in her seat, and got up on her knees. She pointed, yelled, and banged on the headrest for what I figured was five minutes before ending with, “I don’t know what the hell is going on with you lately, but you are mean and completely out of control. I’m tired of it, you hear? Tired of it!” The last part was said in a pitch so high it made my ears hurt.
Part of me wanted to laugh, and the other part was simply too afraid, especially when Audrey turned her gaze on me. Breathing heavily with a wild-eyed expression that I’d only seen in werewolf movies, she said to me, “We only have a day left here, and I do not want to stay anywhere else, and there will not be any more tirades. Do you hear me?”
My eyes nearly crossed as I looked at her shaking finger a hair’s breadth from my nose. “Yes, ma’am.”
The rest of the ride was made in silence.
*******
When we arrived at the inn, BJ got out of the Jeep and marched like a sulking child back to her cottage. I watched Audrey saddle up to the bar and order a double bourbon on the rocks.
“Hayden, the water line to the big ice maker is clogged, and Jacob is in town. Can you take a look at it?” Iris asked before I could retreat.
“Sure.” I grabbed a wrench and went to work, but before I was halfway through with that project, Naomi, who was covering the bar, told me that we were low on vodka and of course, bourbon, and she was unable to find Iris, who had disappeared. So I stopped what I was doing and went to the storeroom and stocked the bar. My water line fix that should’ve taken twenty minutes took an hour.
As I left the bar in hopes of going home, I felt the day’s tension building behind my eyes and in my neck. The list of “shit that went wrong” suddenly felt like a heavy sack on my shoulders, and inside was BJ, Stinslin, and Adrienne’s blood pressure, and new family, although helpful, added to the stress. And in a matter of days, my family would show up for the birth of our baby. So when one of our staff crossed my path on the trail and told me that a laundry washer had finally given up the ghost, I cracked.
A breath slowly escaped me and ended with a guttural growl. The poor woman looked as though she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to run or cry, so I did both for her. I took off in a dead run with one destination in mind—a clump of banana trees that had escaped my previous wrath.
I hit the largest of the group running full blast. The impact nearly sent the soft trunk over with me hanging on to it like a monkey, cussing, kicking, and punching. It retaliated by spraying me with some sort of
goo, but I was undaunted. I was ripping at leaves, and bananas were flying when Iris walked up.
“Hayden, you want to talk about it, girl?”
“Not right now,” I grunted out as I pummeled the tree.
“Carry on then,” she said as she went on her merry way.
“Frickin’ serial killer on my island!” I kicked the stalk a good one. “Crazy baby dreams—no sleep, no sex.” I punched the tree three times. “Psychic in-laws!” I ripped a leaf. “And BJ and BJ and BJ,” I screamed as I ended with a volley of kicks and punches. The birds I was certain that BJ had wanted to see flew out of the brush in droves.
Exhausted, I dropped into a pile of leaves. “Can I just have one issue at a time?” I yelled up to the sky. “Why do they all have to come in a six-pack?”
“Aunt Hayden, are you all right?”
I looked up at Teddy and wiped my eyes. “Um, sure. Just taking a break. Why do you smell so bad?” My gaze followed the rope he was holding. I turned over onto my belly and came face to face with a goat. “Where did you get that?”
Teddy looked proud. “Mr. Jacob gave him to me for helping with a project. His name is Gibbs.” Teddy jerked a thumb at Odis, who was leaning against a tree. “Mr. Odis is allergic, and he can’t help me give Gibbs a bath.”
“And you’d like me to help you.” I added Gibbs to my list of gripes.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I could never refuse Teddy anything, so I followed behind him and smelly Gibbs to his house. Odis, our protector, trailed behind us with a grin. When we arrived, Teddy handed me the rope and dashed into the house, returning a minute or two later with a bottle of shampoo.
“Lavender, huh,” I said as he handed me the bottle. “He’ll be the envy of all the other goats.”
Teddy assigned me to lather duty, and he had the enviable position of hose operator. I expected a fight when Gibbs got the hose, but he looked unfazed as Teddy soaked him down. I applied a liberal amount of shampoo and worked Gibbs’s back into a lather.
“Okay, I think he’s ready for a rinse.”
Teddy looked at me with his brow furrowed. “You have to get his tummy.” He lowered his voice. “And his privates.”
I drew the line at goat nuts. “I’ll do his belly, but he’s gonna have to wash his own…stuff.”
“Aunt Hayden, that’s where he stinks the most.”
“And how would you know that? Did you put your face down there?” A thought struck me, and I looked around for Iris. “Did your momma put you up to this?”
Teddy shook his head. “She doesn’t know. If I make him smell good, she’ll let me keep him.”
Even if the goat’s ass was gold-plated, I doubted that Iris would let Teddy keep him. I looked up at Teddy for a second and caved. “Okay.”
“Get his booty hole, too.”
“All right now, boy, you’re pushing it. I’ll do his…private things, but you’re doing the booty hole if this is gonna be your goat.” I was hoping he’d think the task was too gross and give stink-ass Gibbs back to Jacob.
Teddy exhaled and squared his little shoulders. “Okay, gimme some soap please.”
I squirted a glob into his hand and stifled a laugh as he lifted the goat’s tail. I went to work on the belly and chest, hoping that would suffice, but Teddy was watching me closely. I grimaced as I made a swipe across Gibbs’s balls. He stopped chomping on one of Iris’s plants and looked back at me. “Trust me, sport, it was much more enjoyable for you.” Gibbs snorted and went back to munching.
“Teddy, if you ever doubted my love for you…well, you should know now that I do,” I said as he rinsed Gibbs.
*******
When I walked into the house, Elaine and Kristen looked alarmed at my appearance. Adrienne did not. “Banana trees again, love?” she asked from where they had her tucked in on the couch.
“A few,” I admitted sheepishly, “and I…washed a goat.”
Adrienne’s eyebrow arched.
I held up my hands. “I touched goat testicles with these.”
Adrienne made a face. “I was going to ask you to help me up.” Elaine did instead. “I’ll start the water for your shower.”
Neither Elaine nor Kristen said anything as they watched me slink down the hall. Adrienne had the water running as I walked into the bathroom. She patted my face before she unbuttoned my shirt. “Do you know what I look forward to the most right now?”
“Sleeping on your stomach? Moving around without an entourage constantly reminding you to get off your feet? Seeing your private parts without looking in a mirror? Eating whatever—”
Adrienne put a finger to my lips. “Taking a shower with you and spending some time alone together.”
“How are we going to do that?” I asked grumpily as I pulled off my shorts.
“It’s a surprise.”
*******
I felt a little better after our shower. Adrienne seemed especially excited as she dressed. She took my hand as we left the bedroom and led me toward the door.
“Where are we going? You’re supposed to be taking it easy.”
Adrienne grinned back at me. “I talked to Dr. Sonjay, and she said a simple excursion would be good for me.”
Slowly, we descended the stairs. Adrienne had to stop twice and catch her breath but insisted that she was all right. “My back is killing me from lying on that couch all the time,” she said as I helped her into the cart.
I followed her directions and drove down a fresh-cut trail running through the brush behind the house. “Who did this?”
“Jacob. He’s been a bit bored with his guard duties, so I took him up on his offer.”
“Which was?” I then looked to where Adrienne was pointing. Jacob had cleared all the way down to a thin strip of beach. He’d left the overhang that provided a natural canopy. Beneath were two hammocks tied to posts that Jacob must’ve spent hours pounding into the ground to make the perfect height for a pregnant woman to safely get in and out of. Iris had to have been involved in the project, as well. Between the hammocks was a table with a tray of fruit and what appeared to be a pitcher of lemonade.
Adrienne beamed as she gestured to it all. “Our own private beach.”
“Oh, honey!” I wanted to cry as I took in our little haven. “This is…this…is definitely worth a goat.” I knew then what project Teddy was talking about.
“It’s just ours.” Adrienne took my hand and tugged me toward the hammocks. “No one knows about it but Jacob, Teddy, and Iris. And unless you’re on the water really looking for it, no one will notice.”
My joy was cut short as I thought about Stinslin.
“Jacob is close by, and there are others.” Adrienne leaned in close. “No love-making right now.” She rubbed at her lower back. “Not that I could anyway.”
I kissed her softly and stroked her face. “Later, we’ll go up and take a long bath in that giant tub of ours. Maybe that’ll help.” We strolled over to the hammocks, and I helped Adrienne into the one with a few extra pillows—more evidence of Iris’s participation.
After I poured us both a glass of lemonade, I stretched out with a sigh. “This more than makes up for my morning with BJ and Audrey.”
“Iris said you took them birding.” Adrienne smiled at me sympathetically. “Where did you take them?”
My mind began screaming, doughnuts, think of doughnuts, as my mouth sagged. One of Adrienne’s brows shot up, and I began to stammer. “A trail…in the woods. They didn’t see anything, though. I made way too much noise. BJ went totally bat shit crazy on me. Pretty day, isn’t it? Nice breeze and—”
“What trail?”
It was too late. I was screwed. Adrienne got that faraway look in her eyes as my brain began confessing in between songs of doughnuts.
She slammed her glass on the table between us, sending the lemonade pitcher flying. “The one by Crenshaw’s cabin! Hayden, you promised.”
“Now look.” That was all I got out as Adrienne began rocking
back and forth like a turtle trying to right itself. Before I could get to her, she’d spun her hammock so far sideways that it dropped her into the sand with a thud.
I scrambled to help her, but she swatted angrily at me. “I’m so sick of being hemmed up in that house while you wander around obviously mindless.” She allowed me to help her to her feet, then slapped at my hands. “Colie is the policeman, not you.” Adrienne stomped toward the cart with me following behind none too closely. She climbed into the driver’s seat and didn’t wait for me as she threw it into reverse. “I need a partner! Not someone I’m going to have to raise right along with this baby.”
I ran alongside the cart and jumped in. Jacob had thought about everything but a turnaround, and we were heading up the trail backward as Adrienne went into a full-blown tirade that rivaled every one I’d ever had.
“Baby, listen.”
Adrienne slammed on the brakes and bounced me off the plastic dashboard. “Don’t you ‘baby’ me,” she yelled as she pointed a finger in my face. “I know you’ve been under stress, I get that. But have you considered what it’s like for me? I’ve been confined to a couch while you keep secrets from me. Kept company by a cousin and a…woman who is probably my long-lost mother. I have to keep guard over every thought and think about everything I say.”
“Well, welcome to my world,” I shouted as my own temper flared. “That’s every day for me, minus the couch, which frankly is sounding really good right now. If you or Elaine is not eavesdropping on my every thought, then Ms. Sketch-a-lot is drawing up pictures.”
“And it’s a good damn thing,” Adrienne shouted over me. “It takes the whole island to watch over you. If you’re not falling through something, you’re running over it. And don’t get me started on—”
Adrienne had taken advantage of a wide spot in the trail and whipped the cart around. She never noticed me fly into the brush. I lay there listening to her as she drove on without me still screaming at the top of her lungs. “You’re so worried about him coming here, yet you go right to where he’s staying. I was just telling you this morning how much you’ve changed, then you do something like this. You—where the hell are you?”
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