Chapter 14
fourteen
FRANCIE
The following night at eight o’clock sharp I’m sitting at the bar of The Salty Dog, aware that I’ve made way more effort than a date at a beach bar – even a gorgeously renovated one like this – deserves.
I managed to get five thousand words written by two o’clock, then went for a walk along the cliff, trying to think through the next scene. After that, I spent over an hour getting ready for this non-date that only exists because Asher is so convinced I don’t have a boyfriend.
And yes, he might be right, but I hate that he’s always right. Sometimes I’d like the man to have egg on his face.
“Oh wow, you have the most grounded energy I’ve seen this year,” a slightly-too-high-pitched voice says. I turn to see Reed Marks standing next to me. Or at least I think it’s him – he looks at least ten years older than the photo on his profile.
“Hello.” I smile. “And thank you.” I think that’s a compliment. “You’re… very grounded too.”
He pulls up a stool. He’s wearing white linen pants that billow around his legs – slightly see-through, and I’m almost certain he’s not wearing anything underneath. But worse than that? He’s wearing those barefoot shoes with the individual toe compartments.
Oh no, I have the ick. And we’ve only exchanged one sentence.
“What can I get you?” Maud asks, eyeing him.
“Do you have chlorophyll shots?” he murmurs.
She gives him the side-eye. “We have tequila.”
He sighs, like that’s the most offensive thing he’s ever heard. “Spring water, please. Alcohol is very bad for the chakras.”
“I don’t know them,” Maud mutters, her brows crease. “Are they local?”
My lips twitch.
Maud brings over the water, and Reed unrolls a little hemp pouch, pulling out a glass straw. “Gotta take care of those dolphins,” he says, inserting it with care.
I glance at my watch. This is already a disaster. Maud catches my eye with a frown.
“If you need anything,” she says, emphasizing each word to me, “you call me over, okay?”
“Of course.”
“Skyler might drop by later,” she adds. “And Hudson.”
Reed closes his eyes and inhales deeply, then opens them like he’s about to give a TED talk. “This bar has weird energy. Probably the LED lighting mixed with unresolved trauma.” He glances at Maud. “Have you tried saging the air?”
She looks affronted. “It’s cleaned every morning. I think we use Clorox.”
“I know a great eco-cleaning company. Want the number?”
“I’m just the barmaid.” She backs away fast.
I turn back to Reed. If nothing else, he’s great character inspiration. “So what brings you to Liberty?” I ask him, aware that if this gets back to Asher I at least need to look like I’m interested.
“I’m here for Eliana Markham.”
I blink. “The actress?”
“She’s healing from burnout. I’m her breathing consultant. She flew me in from California.”
“On a private jet?” I raise an eyebrow, thinking about what animal that would impact.
He nods solemnly. “Obviously that’s not ideal, environmentally speaking, but healing burnout is sacred work.” He gives me a pained look. “My carbon guilt is part of her karmic release.”
Right. I nod, checking my watch again. Maud’s seen me here. That should be enough to get word around. Or at least to Asher.
“Have you tried breathwork?” Reed asks, glancing at my chest. I instantly regret my dress.
“Um, no?”
“You’re tense. Breathe in.” He hovers his hand over my chest. “Let the oxygen burn away the tension.”
“Oh, I’m not tense. I’m fine.”
“Francie?” Maud calls, holding out a white landline handset. “Can you come to the phone?”
I jump up. “Sorry about this,” I tell Reed.
“Those things are poisonous,” he mutters. “The rays are bad for the atmosphere.”
Maud ushers me behind the bar. “Are you okay?” she half-whispers. “Who is that guy?”
“I’m fine,” I promise.
“I called Skyler. She wants to talk to you.”
I take the handset. Behind me, Reed is lifting his arms in the air like he’s about to summon a weather system.
“Hey,” I say, letting out a breath.
“Maud says you’ve got a man bun situation. Are you joining a cult?” Skyler asks.
I laugh. “He doesn’t have a man bun. But he does have toe shoes.”
“The barefoot ones? Ew.”
“Right?”
Another voice murmurs in the background.
“Hudson says if he starts chanting, you have to run.” She pauses for a beat. “Asher’s here too.”
My stomach tightens. Of course he is. This is good, right. Now he’ll know I’m not a liar. Even if I am.
I clear my throat. “I should get back to my boyfriend.” I whisper it so Reed can’t hear. He probably already thinks I’m a psycho.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Skyler asks, sounding genuinely concerned.
I raise my voice a notch too high. “I’m good.”
More murmuring.
“Asher wants to talk to you.”
“No,” I say. Too fast, too sharp. “I have to get back. Tell him I’m busy.” Because yes, I’m doing this pantomime to get him off my case, but the man isn’t stupid. A couple of pointed questions and he’ll see right through me.
“Okay, okay.” She pauses. “Call me later.”
I hang up and hand Maud the phone. “Thanks,” I say, then return to the bar where Reed is telling the man next to him that he once released ten years of trauma by screaming for eight days straight.
The man looks terrified.
“Hi,” I say, still standing. “I’m so sorry, but I have to get home. An emergency.”
Reed frowns. “That’s sad. I really felt our energies could mesh.”
I’m not sticking around to find out if that’s code for tantric breath sex. Instead I smile and pull out my cell to dial Simon.
But he doesn’t pick up. Of course he doesn’t.
ASHER
“What do you mean she hung up?” I ask Skyler, frowning. “Did you tell her I wanted to talk to her?”
“Of course I did. I guess she was in a hurry to get back to her date. Who apparently is a lot older than her.”
Skyler grins, glancing at Hudson who looks like he’s also trying not to smile. Which is stupidly weird, because I know the man is as protective of Francie as I am. She’s Autumn’s friend. Part of our circle. We take care of those our loved ones love.
“How old?” I ask.
“Maud thinks he’s forty. Maybe older. Says it’s hard to tell because he dresses like a teenager. Anyway, Francie is fine. She just wanted to go back to her date.”
So it’s him. “What’s his name?” I ask her.
“Dear lord, I don’t know. I didn’t ask his shoe size either.” Skyler shakes her head and stretches her arms. “I’m heading up to bed.” She kisses Hudson’s cheek softly, and I see my brother melt at the sensation of her lips.
As soon as she’s left, Hudson turns to look at me, eying me up like I’m something he doesn’t quite understand. “What’s going on between you and Francie?” he asks me.
“Nothing. She’s Autumn’s friend, and I’m worried about her.”
He takes a deep breath, like he’s trying to find the right words.
“I know that Annalise screwed you over,” he begins.
It actually looks painful for him to say it.
Fitzgerald men aren’t deep talkers. We don’t do emotions, we don’t talk about our trauma.
We just fight through it. From our childhood onward it’s been the only way.
“It’s okay,” I say, patting his arm. “You can tell Skyler I’m fine.
” Because I know she’s the one who put him up to saying something.
“I was over Annalise a long time ago. She and her brother lost. I won. I’m glad to be out of it, and I’m very happy being single.
I’m not planning on falling headfirst into a midlife crisis and start banging my much younger sister’s best friend. ”
He presses his lips together and nods. “How did you know Skyler put me up to this?” he asks.
“Because I’ve known you all my life.” If I’m uptight, Hudson is practically Victorian. “And I can see the physical pain in your face at asking. Just tell her we had the conversation and everything is fine. Now do you want a drink?”
He shakes his head. “I should probably head up to bed.”
I don’t take it personally that he prefers to spend time with his wife rather than me. That’s how it should be. “Okay.”
He goes to leave then turns around. “Do you think you could check out the security cameras at The Salty Dog?” he asks.
I hold my phone up. I have access to all the cameras we’ve installed throughout the island. Only on Fitzgerald property, of course, but that’s the majority of the buildings. “Already on it.”
I’ve also already sent a still photograph of the guy that Autumn’s dating to my security team to run a search on him, but I don’t tell Hudson that.
“Is she still there?” he asks, lingering.
I glance down at my phone, only to see her gathering up her purse and sweater. “She’s leaving,” I say tightly.
Our eyes meet. “Go to bed,” I tell him. “I’ve got this.”
He’s not used to letting anybody else be in charge. But he nods anyway. “You’re right. She’s young. Sweet. Don’t let him do anything to hurt her.”
“Of course I won’t.” My jaw is tight. Any jealousy I felt has been replaced by genuine concern. I like Francie. And Hudson is completely correct. She’s sweet, smart, too beautiful for her own good. Any guy would fall for her… if he wasn’t already trying not to.
As he leaves the room, I head over to the computer on his desk that I used earlier to show him the progress on the security upgrade and switch it on, sitting down hard in the leather captain’s chair as the three screens flicker to life.
A few taps of the keyboard allow every camera on that side of the island to be displayed. I hone in on the one outside The Salty Dog, just in time to see her leaving the bar, the asshole’s hand resting on the small of her back like he owns her. My fingers tighten into a fist.
Mine, some primitive part of me growls. Then I shut it down, hard. She’s not mine. Not even close.
But I still spend the next ten minutes tracking them all the way to the lighthouse.