26. Coward’s Death
Coward’s Death
Sheridan
When they say cowards die over and over again, I get it.
Especially staring at Fly’s message.
I’ve been staring at it forever, trying to figure out how to respond without sounding pathetic.
What do I do?
He’s going to think you’re ignoring him.
No, he’s not. He’ll think what any normal, sane person would think: that you’re busy. Which you are.
Well, if having fun with friends is busy. And giggling is busy.
I needed this silliness in my life so much. It’s going to make going back home even harder, but I’ll worry about that when it happens.
“So, what are we going to do for Dylan’s bachelorette party?” Mindy lifts her glass off the table. “We can’t ignore this momentous occasion.”
“No one say a strip club, because the only ones I want to see taking off their clothes are those bikers.” Savie swirls her straw around in her drink.
It’s fair. Those men are fine…including Fly. Now is not the time to imagine him with his shirt off. “Why do we have to do something raunchy? What about a girls’ night in?”
“I love that idea,” Piper grins.
“What about a murder mystery night in? We all get to be characters in a story. And we need to figure out who did it. We could ask some of the guys to play along as characters,” Garnet throws in offhandedly.
“I love that idea. We could do it at Winnie’s place.” Cordelia leans in and whispers, “It would be the perfect spooky backdrop.”
“My place isn’t spooky—”
“Yes, it is,” Mindy and Cordelia say in unison.
“Old castles do set a certain tone. And with all the people who were killed there—”
“Ottilie, you aren’t helping.”
“I didn’t hear that last part.” Leonie smirks as she reaches for another scone. “But they’re right. It would be a blast running through your house doing a murder mystery.”
“There aren’t any bodies in my house.” Winnie lifts a tea sandwich to her lips. “Anymore. And that sounds good to me. But everyone needs to wear a tracker in case they get lost.”
Get lost? How big is Winnie’s house? Are they serious about it being a castle?
“When can we do this? There’s hardly any time.” Dahlia is the voice of reason, it seems.
“What about this weekend?” Mindy grabs a cluster of grapes off a tray. “We could get the costumes tomorrow. We’re all in town.”
A weekend event?
“Saturday morning for brunch? Then we’ll finish Sunday evening or when someone solves the mystery and reveals the killer.
” Ottilie lifts the pen she always seems to have with her.
“But who is going to make sure no one cheats? We can’t get one of those games because all you would have to do is look up the answer. ”
“Um…I might have the solution for that.” Garnet raises her glass instead of her hand. “I wrote one a long time ago. Just for the fun of it. We could use that one. I’ll jot down character cards for everyone. But we’ll need a lot of male players for it to work.”
“On it.” Mindy and Dylan say at the same time.
Will Fly join in the festivities? I hope so.
Just text him back with something. Even if you can’t be honest, say something.
Sheri
My favorite drink is chocolate milk.
See? There, that wasn’t hard.
He’s going to laugh.
So what? Fly’s smile is amazing. Making him laugh over something trivial isn’t a bad thing.
“Um. I hate to bring this up, but what about food?” It isn’t surprising that the pregnant lady was the one who remembered that little detail. Greer’s belly has grown seemingly in the last few days that I’ve been here.
“My chef can handle the food. But if she needs help, I have a caterer that my family uses that will help out. There’s no need to worry that baby boy of yours will be fed.”
Why doesn’t it surprise me that Winnie has a chef or a caterer on speed dial? How would these women act if they knew I was sitting amongst them, homeless?
Don’t go there.
Your life isn’t their problem.
Your financial issues are yours alone. No one is responsible for supporting and sheltering you.
Don’t be a burden.
No one wants to hear about the problems trash like you might have. Grammie’s voice plays loud and clear in my head.
The food turns into sawdust in my mouth. I set my fork down and try to focus on the joy around me.
***
“Oh, I have the best news.” Dahlia reaches across the car divider and takes Maverick’s hand.
Now I know there’s a meme somewhere about a man cringing when a woman says this, but Maverick’s grin at Dahlia’s words is enough to have me turning my head to give them privacy.
Not that I can give them much, trapped inside this tank of an SUV.
“What’s this good news, Dahl?” He takes her hand and lifts it to his lips, kissing each of her knuckles.
Fine, I’m kind of bad at not being nosy.
“We’re throwing a bachelorette party for Dylan this weekend.”
“No. Absolutely not. I need at least two weeks to arrange security for all of you. Two days isn’t enough to assemble a team to keep you and your nutty friends safe.”
Dahlia giggles.
“This isn’t funny. Your last party took ten years off my life.” He shakes his head. “The only way this party is happening is if I’m there, armed to the teeth.”
She grins. “Good, because you’re invited.”
Dahlia snookered him.
The shock on that man’s face is priceless.
“And you won’t even need to jangle when you walk, because you won’t need to be armed. The party is taking place at Winnie’s house.”
Don’t look.
Don’t look. I peek anyway.
Is Maverick going to pass out from shock or lose his mind from irritation?
Either one is going to be funny.
“All of you are staying at Winnie—the scary one’s—house for the entire party? There will be no mad dashes out to do something that will give me gray hairs?”
“You’re going to look so sexy with some gray around your temples.”
“Woman, answer the question.”
“You’re way too stressed about a party.”
“Keeping you safe is my reason for living. Now give me all the details so that I can start making some calls and finding men with guns that I trust to protect you and your silly friends.”
Fair. We were silly then, and we were definitely silly today at lunch.
“You don’t need to do that…Well, you sort of do, but I’ll make the calls. We’re inviting all your friends to join the party as well.”
Maverick has friends?
“Payne can’t come. He’s busy trying to find Immie.”
“That man is almost as stubborn as you are. She isn’t lost. She just needed some space.”
“And he needs to know where she is every second of the day to make sure she’s safe.”
That’s beyond sweet…and just a tiny bit stalkerish.
Dahlia rolls her eyes. “She’s checked in several times. Immie is just fine. She had some things to take care of, and then she’ll be back. He needs to understand that.”
Maverick shakes his head. “Neither you nor she will win this one, Dahl. Payne protects what’s his. Just like I protect what’s mine. Which is why I need you to tell me if any of you plan on sneaking out of Winnie’s house during this party.”
“I’m insulted that you would think we would sneak.”
Why sneak when we can just walk out? Though that probably isn’t the answer he’s looking for.
“When you and your friends get together, trouble just kind of happens.”
We actually work kind of hard at it, but I don’t think he wants to hear that.
Instead of getting any more involved in their conversation, I pull out my phone to see how Fly responded to my message earlier.
Fly
Dark or milk chocolate.
Sheri
Milk, and I’m surprised there was no laughter.
Fly
There’s nothing funny about building strong bones while you get your chocolate fix. With or without cookies?
Sheri
Well, if there are cookies…
Fly
Aren’t there always cookies?
For people who own mansions, there probably always are.
Sheri
Do you also like to build your bones?
Fly
Never had chocolate milk.
What?
Sheri
Impossible. It’s a requirement for every school-age kid to pick the chocolate milk. Don’t tell me you were one of the rare, weird children who got plain milk.
Fly
No milk at all
That feels so very wrong.
Sheri
Everyone needs to try chocolate milk once in their life.
Fly
Really?
Sheri
Yes, really. That is something that can’t continue. We must remedy that immediately.
Fly
Saturday?
Is that it? Did he just ask me on a date, and now I have to say no?
Sheri
Saturday is no good for either of us.
Fly
***
Sheri
In the next few hours, you and some of the other men in your gang are going to be invited to a weekend party.
Fly
It’s a club, not a gang. And what party?
Sheri
The kind that involves me and you getting lost somewhere alone.
Wow, I made that sound way sexier than it should.
Fly
Tell me more.
Should I?
Sheri
It doesn’t replace a first date.
Though spending the weekend together before our first date sounds naughty.
Fly
Then we'd better go on our first date tomorrow.
Tomorrow?
Sheri
We’re picking costumes for the weekend tomorrow.
Fly
Tomorrow night? Say around 5pm.
Will we be done by then? I have no idea, but I can tell them I have plans.
Yeah, right. If they find out you’re going on your first date ever, they will all lose their minds, and I will be inundated, quite literally, until he picks me up.
Sheri
Where can I meet you?
Fly
Nowhere. I’m picking you up.
How do I explain the chaos that will erupt if these women find out?
Sheri
Um…do you know what will happen if my friends find out that I’m going on a date with you?
Fly
Your friends terrify me, but not enough to stop me from picking you up.
Sheri
Okay, but you can’t say I didn’t warn you. I’m spending the next week or two at Dahlia and Maverick’s house in Urbium. Do you need the address?