Chapter 16 Taran #2
“Hear what?” Tierney’s enquiry was hushed.
“The divorce is finalized. He”—she nodded her head toward an oblivious Murray—“was trying to break their marriage contract and failed. Apparently, Jill has access to the company’s funds until Murray remarries.”
I sucked in a breath. “That’s terrible. Surely, she can’t just take money from the company without tax implications?”
“She’s taking a very generous ‘salary,’ and apparently Murray is worried he might have to sell the company before she bleeds it dry.”
“I’ll never understand women like her.” Tierney shook her head. “London and I saw it all the time in New York. I mean, don’t get me wrong—I think women should be compensated for running the household and taking care of their children while the guy works, but the compensation should be fair.”
“Aye, I agree. But Jill used to bugger off without Kelly all the time, leaving Murray scrambling for a sitter whenever he had to work. She’d leave the island for days with no word and waltz back home like nothing had happened.
That’s why he finally divorced her. Then she gets Kelly in the divorce, even though it seems like she couldn’t give a shit about her.
And her ‘salary’ is on top of child support Murray is already paying for his daughter.
” Cammie realized she was raising her voice in anger and whispered, “It just pisses me off. He’s a good guy and he doesn’t deserve this.
I mean, Kiera has a real reason to be angry at Quinn, and she was so cool and chill about their divorce. They’re friends even now.”
“Did Quinn cheat?” London popped a mini cake in her mouth with a casualness that belied her question.
Cammie’s eyes flashed. “No, he didn’t cheat.” Her gaze flickered to me and back to London. “But he married Kiera when he was in love with Taran, and Kiera stuck around for far longer than she should have.”
I sucked in a harsh breath at the announcement.
“Jesus, Cammie, I love you, but that mouth of yours.” Tierney shook her head with gentle reproach. “It stings sometimes, babe.”
Cammie shrugged, giving me a pointed look. “Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind.”
Before I could respond with something I might regret, a shadow fell over us.
We all looked up and Murray stood there.
He glanced around our group, then halted at London. I knew I wasn’t imagining the sudden electricity in the air as their gazes held. When my roommate’s cheeks reddened, I decided to cut through the tension. “Hi, Murray. How are you?”
The fisherman, with seemingly slow reluctance, dragged his attention from my pretty friend to me.
I’d always thought Murray had the most gorgeous eyes, a light mossy green framed by thick, blunt dark lashes.
When I was younger, I thought they were wasted on a boy, but now I knew differently.
While he kept his brown hair fairly neat and trimmed, his beard was currently overbearding in a big way.
He had massive shoulders from hauling catch, and I noted the hole near the collar of his long-sleeved tee. Overall, he had the air of a man who was too busy to take much care of himself.
“All right. How are you, Taran?” Murray asked in a deep, rasping voice.
“Well, thanks. Anything we can help with?” I really hoped he hadn’t overheard our conversation about him.
“Why aren’t you out with a crew?” Cammie asked before he could respond.
Again, he glanced at London before responding to Cammie. “Got Kelly. Jill had something come up, so Kelly’s here for a couple of weeks. Didn’t want to miss spending time with her.” His lip curled up at the corner. “But apparently, thirteen-year-olds prefer to be with their pals.”
Cammie chuckled. “Sounds like Heather at that age. And this age, actually.”
“Great,” Murray muttered dryly. “I’m looking for Quinn. Have you seen him?”
“Aye, at the docks, saying goodbye to the kids. They’re off back to their mum’s.”
So soon? I wondered how Quinn was handling that.
Then I remembered he’d pissed me off only a few days ago and decided I didn’t care.
Totally.
Did not give a shit.
Kind of.
Damn him.
“I’ll go find him, then.” He raised his coffee cup to us. “Enjoy your morning.”
We said our goodbyes and I was about to turn away when Murray glanced back over his shoulder as he opened the store door. His eyes connected with London’s who flushed and looked down into her coffee cup.
Murray hesitated for a second and then strode out.
What was that?
I studied London who stared into her cup like it was the most interesting thing she’d ever seen.
Looking up, I saw Tierney and Cammie had clocked the tension between London and Murray too.
“What was that?” I mouthed to Tierney.
She shrugged and then shook her head as if to say Leave it.
London raised her head, cutting off our silent exchange. She noted our strange expressions. “What?”
“Nothing,” Tierney answered a little too quickly. “So … maybe next time we do book club, we should all read the same book?”
“Sure,” Cammie agreed. “Honestly, I’m starting to think I’m missing out on this whole romance malarkey. It sounds … stimulating.”
Despite the fact she’d annoyed me mere seconds ago, I couldn’t help but snort even as my eyes and mind wandered out toward the harbor.
While Tierney attempted to persuade Cammie there was so much more than spice to her romance books, I couldn’t help but think of Quinn, standing alone at the ferry terminal, watching his children drift away from him.
I didn’t want to wonder how he was feeling … but Cammie’s words from earlier had found their mark. Had Quinn’s marriage to Kiera failed because of me?
I was too afraid to ask him.
Yet I couldn’t get the powerful thought out of my head now that Cammie had planted it there.