Until Then

by McLaughlin, Heidi

  “This case against me. How will I know when they’re suing me?”

  “My criminal law is rusty, which is why I’m going to ask my colleague Jefferson to help me again. But from what I remember, the other side needs evidence. You can’t just go to a lawyer and say, ‘I want to sue someone’ without having facts and evidence to back up your claim. I’ve seen the notes, and unless Donna is hiding information, that’s all there is so far—just her notes on what the client has told her.”

  “How do I defend myself?”

  “You’ll answer the claim in court, but before that happens, Jefferson, myself, and my private detective will know everything. When we face the judge, and they present their case, we’ll prove them otherwise.”

  “Not gonna lie, Ren. I’m scared.”

  She nodded and ran her fingers through his hair. “I know you are. Part of me thinks I should’ve waited to tell you, but I wanted you to be prepared.”

  “I mean, I’m glad you did, but also I can’t believe you have a private detective.”

  She laughed. “Yes. I use him a lot with my divorce cases.”

  “Why?”

  “Because spouses lie. They hide things that they shouldn’t.”

  “You must see a lot of ugly in your world.”

  Rennie shrugged. “I do.”

  “Maybe this is why you’re so nonchalant about Theo?”

  Rennie scooted a bit closer and placed her hand under her head and left her other one in between her and Graham. “I wouldn’t say I’m nonchalant about Theo, Graham. What you witnessed—that was me losing it because of what he did. However, when I think about him and why I’m not more upset, it’s because I fell out of love with him months ago and didn’t realize it. I’m hurt because he lied to me, and I don’t like liars. I’m angry because of the situation he put me in. But I’m not sad, because there is someone out there for me.”

  Is that someone me? They had missed their chance years ago, and while there could be another opportunity now, he wouldn’t feel comfortable starting a relationship with her when her breakup was still so fresh.

  “You’ll find the right guy, Ren. I’m sure of it.”

  “I know I will, Graham Cracker.” Rennie closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Graham studied her until his own lids closed, and sleep took over.

  When Graham woke, Rennie lay sprawled out on her stomach, with her hair fanned out. He had never spent any time looking at a woman’s hair and wondered what color Rennie classified her hair as. Growing up, she was blonde or dirty blonde, as he remembered her saying. Now, she had a variety of colors mixed in with her natural color. He saw some brown, a hint of red, and some shade between brown and blonde, which he was sure had some fancy name for it.

  Graham felt around for his phone and found it down by his knee. They had been asleep for a couple of hours. It was clear after last night that Rennie needed it. Had Graham’s presence offered her some sort of peace? He liked to think it had.

  He slowly rose and snuck out of the bedroom. Later, in the evening, they would head out to the bar and have a good time. Rennie had been right earlier when she said if they were in Cape Harbor, he would’ve called her and asked her to keep him company at the Whale Spout. That was how well she knew him.

  Graham wanted to try and make New Year’s Eve special for Rennie. Regardless of their situation, she was still his best girl, and she deserved to have a special night. He left the boat, locking the door as he slid it shut, and jogged up the dock toward the store. He had an idea in mind but was also aware he was very late in the game to try and implement it. When he walked into the small market, there were a few other patrons in there. Thankfully and much to his surprise, he found exactly what he wanted, made his purchase, and headed back to the boat.

  The boat showed no signs of life, which was a great relief to Graham. His goal was to pull this surprise off before Rennie woke. He unlocked and opened the door slowly, trying to remain as quiet as possible, which, given where they were located, was a tricky task. Birds squawked overhead, eager and demanding morsels of food.

  He worked quickly and quietly in the galley. Graham opened the presliced meats and cheeses, filled the sink with the bag of ice for the bottle of champagne, and pulled crackers from their plastic sleeves. After preparing a plateful of snacks, he set it on the table. He stepped back and admired his work. The presentation wasn’t great, but it was something they could share while they got ready for the evening.

  Now, to wake her up.

  Graham had so many thoughts of how to do this. He could go down and tickle her feet. She hated it, but it made her laugh, and he loved hearing that sound come out of her. He could yell her name, but that seemed cold and impersonal. He could crawl back into bed with her, gently move her hair away from her face . . . and he would want to kiss her. The yearning to press his lips to hers started in the bookstore and increased tenfold by the time they sat down for ice cream. There had been numerous times throughout the day when he could’ve tilted her chin toward him and leaned down to kiss her. Any other time, and not days after her breakup, he might have done it.

  Maybe it was time he started listening to her.

  He pulled his phone out, brought it to life, and pressed the icon for his music app. He opted for some soft jazz and set his phone down on the table. Graham inhaled deeply and took the steps down to the bedrooms. He paused before he came to Rennie’s open door and gave himself a pep talk.

  She’s hinted. Now it’s your turn.

  He stepped in and found her sitting up. She would never know how much this upset him, how his heart fell from his chest, and how he wanted to weep because he had finally found the courage to find out if he had read her correctly.

  Graham smiled and motioned toward the galley. “While you were sleeping, I stepped out and picked up some light snacks. I figured we’d eat at the bar or whatever.”

  Rennie slid off the bed and came toward Graham. Her messy hair was now in a ponytail, which tempted Graham to tug on it. “I’m excited to go out.”

  He laughed. “I know you are,” he said as he shook his head. “I have a feeling tonight is going to be crazy.”

  “Duh, crazy fun.”

  Her enthusiasm made him feel young and carefree. At least for the night, they’d be the Graham and Rennie of old. He followed her up the stairs and went to the champagne bottle. “Bowie doesn’t have much for flutes or anything, so plastic cup or tumbler?”

  “How about we save the champagne for later? We can toast the new year or something when we come back from the bar.”

  Graham had no qualms with her suggestion and set the bottle back into the makeshift bucket of ice. He sat down across from Rennie and helped himself to the food. “You know, I only eat this type of food on holidays, and it only seems to be in the winter. I’m sure Brooklyn will have a plate of these types of snacks for their Super Bowl party.” His attempt at small talk seemed trivial and awkward.

  You’ve known this woman half your life; stop being weird.

  “Yes, but hers will be cut into little footballs,” Rennie pointed out. “I don’t even know what she uses to make her platters look so . . . festive?”

  “Beats me,” Graham added. “I’m the guy you call for a keg. Beer, I can do. Maybe a few bottles of alcohol, chicken wings, or something off the menu.”

  “I haven’t had beer and wings in a long time.”

  “Six months is a long time to you?” he asked. When she made her grand reentrance to Cape Harbor and came into the Whale Spout, the group of them sat around and drank beer and ate everything off the menu, wings included.

  “Now that you’ve said it, no. But it seems like a lifetime ago. Coming back to town, I fell into such an easy routine. Once we all caught up, it was like Brooklyn never left, and I had always been around.”

  She opened the door, and he was going to use this opportunity to his advantage.

  “Why did you stop visiting? You knew I was there, didn’t you?” Graham had alway
s wondered why Rennie never came around.

  “Mostly out of respect for Brooklyn. She wanted to put everything behind her and didn’t want people asking where she was.”

  “Even with Brystol visiting all the time?”

  Rennie shrugged and picked at the piece of cheese she had on her plate. “The whole situation with Carly was weird. Their dynamic was odd. Brooklyn and Carly rarely talked, and if they did, it was about Brystol and when she was coming to visit. But then, Brooklyn would get a check from Carly for thousands to put toward her business or to pay for Brystol’s needs.”

  “Maybe Carly paid Austin’s child support or something.”

  “The interest from Austin’s trust fund went to Brooklyn for support.”

  “And now, the kid owns everything.”

  “Even part of Chamberwoods,” Rennie pointed out. “What do you think Grady is going to do when he gets out of rehab?”

  “I don’t know,” Graham said, shaking his head back and forth slowly. “I can’t offer him a job, obviously. He has one skill, and that’s fishing, but I fear he’ll have some PTSD from the accident that might prevent him from going out on a boat. I want to help him, though. I don’t want him to fall back into the pattern he was in.”

  “Maybe Bowie has some work for him?”

  His eyes went to hers. “That’s a great idea. I’ll ask Bowie when I get back and bring it up to Grady when I see him next week.”

  “How is therapy, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “Great, I think. We’ve talked about life, the damage his drinking has done, and skirted around the accident. My only complaint is the drive. It’s long and tedious, but whatever gets Grady the help he needs. And my dad is coming around. It’s a slow and steady process with him.”

  “He’s a proud man,” Rennie pointed out.

  “That he is.” Graham picked up a cracker and added a slice of salami and a piece of cheese to it before sticking it in his mouth. He looked out the windows and saw ships coming into port and motioned toward the water for Rennie to look.

  “Maybe this is a happening place for New Year’s.”

  Graham laughed. “I’m sure it is, Ren. I’m going to go shower.”

  He got up from the table and went to his room. The shower on the boat was about the same, if not a little worse, than the one on his houseboat. However, he loved that the bathroom was in his bedroom, and he wouldn’t subject any of the neighboring boats to anything lewd. He washed quickly, something he was very used to. He chose not to shave, leaving what little growth he had on his face to protect against the wind. Graham used his hand to clear away the condensation from the mirror and examined himself. He combed the scruff on his face down and applied his cologne and turned slightly to the right and then left and smiled. He was going to the bar with Rennie. Tonight was going to be like old times. According to Rennie, it was going to be crazy fun. It had been a long time since he had let loose, and even if he didn’t show it, he was excited.

  When he stepped into his room, he walked around freely without a towel, and some weird part of him wanted to rejoice and dance around at his ability to be naked. He could still recall the mortified look on Shari’s face when she saw him in his birthday suit.

  Graham dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark-blue button-down, thankful for the wrinkle-free fabric; otherwise, he would have had to wear one of his T-shirts, which weren’t in the best shape. He put on some socks and shoes and then stood in front of the mirror. He looked presentable, and it was the best she was going to get.

  When he made his way to the helm, Rennie was there waiting. “Wow, you look better than I do,” she said, and he smiled at the compliment, even if it wasn’t true. Rennie had on a red dress that stopped at her knees, black heels, and a pearl necklace with matching earrings. She’d pulled her hair to the side and exposed most of her neck. She looked good enough to eat and was far out of his league.

  Gorgeous. “I’m going to have to fight all the men that come toward you tonight.”

  “Is that your way of giving me a compliment?”

  Graham chuckled. “Yeah, I guess I’m not particularly good at relaying my feelings. You’re unbelievably beautiful, Ren.” He held his arm out, signaling for her to walk out in front of him. As she stepped out, a wave rocked the boat a bit too much, and she wobbled. Graham caught her before she toppled over. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he whispered. They made eye contact, and each sucked in their breath. Her cheeks flushed, and he was sure his did as well. She peered at him intently. Was she waiting for him to make the first move? His gaze traveled over her face, and he searched her eyes for the okay to kiss her. His fingers traced along her cheek, downward to her chin. Her lips parted, and his head tilted.

  “Happy New Year,” someone yelled. They pulled apart and saw another couple on the dock, waving. Graham wasn’t sure if he wanted to scream at them for interrupting a moment between him and Rennie or go thank them, because as much as he wanted to kiss her, he still had reservations.

  “Same to you,” Rennie hollered back. “Shall we go?” she asked Graham as she reached for his hand and tugged him along. He snapped out of the daze he found himself in and squeezed her hand to let her know he was right there with her.

  The bar wasn’t any farther than the restaurant they had eaten at the night before. He held the door for her, and as soon as they walked in, he realized how overdressed they were. Most of the patrons were in jeans and T-shirts, a few even in sweatshirts. They found a high-top near the back by the pool table, and she asked the couple playing if anyone had the next game. When the woman said no, Rennie looked at Graham, who understood what she wanted and put money down to signal they would play them. Graham knew he and Rennie would have no problem hustling the table away from them. It was almost comical.

  Graham and Rennie ordered a pitcher of margaritas, a couple glasses of water, and a plate of nachos to share. Graham made sure Rennie didn’t have any issues getting up onto the tall chair, and as he expected, she boosted herself up there like a pro. He had no idea how she managed to move in her heels, but she made walking in them look natural.

  The waitress brought their pitcher of margaritas along with two filled glasses, which, judging by the smile on Rennie’s face, made her happy.

  “What do you think? Do we have this table?” Her eyebrows went up and down, making Graham laugh.

  His Rennie was back.

  Graham glanced at the table and nodded slightly. “I think you can actually take both of them yourself.”

  She chuckled. “Should we let them play for a bit or just send the message early?”

  Rennie hustled. It was what made her stand out over everyone else. However, if they showed their cards too soon, the night could be boring. On the other side of the coin, if the bar filled, they could have to wait awhile to play again.

  “Your wheels are spinning.”

  “I’m thinking.”

  “Me too. I say we lose the first, but barely. Send a message we’re a formidable foe.” Graham reached across the table and offered a fist bump to his pool partner.

  Their plate of fully loaded nachos arrived at the same time the other couple told them their game was over. The man informed Rennie and Graham he would break. The way he spoke rubbed Graham the wrong way. He also didn’t care for the way the guy stared at Rennie.

  Graham stood and introduced himself to the guy, who said his name was Jon. They shook hands, and Graham ran his hand along the felt of the pool table, feeling for any bumps and gathering any loose pillings.

  “You a pro or something?” Jon asked.

  “Nah, just like a clean table.” Graham was far from a pro, but he could play a mean game of pool. He motioned for Rennie, who downed her margarita and came over to him. “Pick your cue. You should go first.”

  “Wife know how to play?”

  Graham smirked. “She’s all right. Sometimes I have to help her.”

  Rennie started coughing, and Graham knew it
was her response to his joke. She was better than Graham, but Jon and his lady friend did not need to know that quite yet.

  True to his word, Jon broke and couldn’t knock any balls down. Graham and Rennie walked around the table, and he pretended to show her shots as they spoke to each other in hushed tones. Graham nodded a lot; rested his hand on his chin, as if he was thinking; and pointed a few times until Rennie decided where she would strike first. Their goal: knock in one, maybe two “lucky” shots before missing one, and let the other couple think they had the upper hand.

  By the end of the game, more people had gathered. A couple teams had put their quarters down, calling for next game. As it was, Graham and Rennie would sit out two games, and then they’d start running the table on people.

  Their plan went off without a hitch, and as Graham lined up the cue to hit the eight ball, he purposely tapped the balls together lightly, leaving the black ball on the edge of the pocket.

  Jon rubbed his hands together before he reached for his cue. He added chalk to the end, which Graham thought was overkill. He had set the guy up nicely. All he had to do was tap it in. It almost pained Graham to watch, but he stood next to Rennie and focused on the table. He found himself holding his breath, wishing the eight ball wouldn’t drop. But when it did, Jon and the woman he was with, who never introduced herself, jumped up and down, hooting and hollering. Being gracious losers, Rennie and Graham went to their high-top, continued eating their nachos, and ordered another pitcher of margaritas and more food.

  “Probably not how you thought you’d spend your New Year’s Eve, huh?” Graham asked Rennie.

  She reached across the table and linked her fingers with his. “This is exactly where I want to be, Graham.”

  With her was where he wanted to be as well. The only difference between his and Rennie’s sentiments was how he’d felt when Jon referred to Rennie as Graham’s wife. He wished he had asked her a long time ago to marry him.