Chapter 5 #2
Charli’s brows shot up and she couldn’t keep the beaming smile from her face. “What? Really? That’s fantastic!” She glanced over and met Jack’s confused expression as he tried to follow their conversation, and she grinned even wider. “Do you think you’ll be here for a while?”
“Well, it looks like we’re there only for a day, but we can totally hang out with you...and Jack, too, if he’s available.” Charli chuckled at the way Annette accentuated his name.
“That’s great! I can’t wait to see you and I have so much to tell you.”
“Uh, yeah, you do and a certain sexy someone to introduce me to.”
Charli giggled, her heart warming. It had only been a few days, but she had dearly missed her friend. “I think that can be arranged. What day are you arriving?” Jack’s brows rose and his head cocked to the side at her words.
“We’ll be there on Wednesday. The ship arrives in port early morning I think, and we pull out early Thursday morning. We’re heading down to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico from there and then back home.”
“Okay. That sounds perfect. From what I’ve seen so far, you’re gonna love it here. The weather is incredible. And I have some things to show you.”
“Oh, I’m certain I will love it down there and I can’t wait to see what you have to, um, show me,” Annette practically purred. “Well, I gotta finish packing here. So, I’ll see you later. Bye!”
Charli rolled her eyes as she put her phone on the bar. She took a sip of the mojito Steve had placed in front of her and sighed. It was light and minty—perfect.
“Was that your best friend?” Jack asked cautiously, his face appropriately wary.
“You could say that. Annette’s one of my best friends, but she’s also my assistant. In fact, my entire life would probably fall completely apart without her.”
“Oh really?” he replied as he leaned toward her. “Did I understand correctly that she’s coming down here for a visit?”
Charli grunted. “After the firm played it’s little game of musical chairs the other day, I told her to take as much vacation as she wanted. So, she’s going on her dream cruise with her sister. One of their stops next week is Key West. They’ll be here for a day.”
“That’s cool,” Jack offered. He slowly took a sip of his drink, then scrunched his face.
“What?” Charli asked, then took another drink of the best mojito she’d ever had.
He continued to stare at her thoughtfully, and then offered, “She sounds like a handful, a real force of nature.”
Charli snorted, nearly spewing her drink. “She totally is! She’s also the sweetest person you’ll ever meet—and she wants to meet you, by the way. Practically insisted on it.”
He grinned. “I look forward to it.”
Charli smiled, thoroughly enjoying Jack’s easy nature.
It was a refreshing change of pace from the sharks she’d worked with and known in Boston—men who always had an agenda behind every move they made.
Jack was definitely different, but there was something about this guy she couldn’t figure out.
In her experience, men just weren’t this nice, they were chauvinistic, or calculating and scheming, or narcissistic and self-absorbed. Something didn’t quite add up...
“Well, okay then.” She held up her glass. “Here’s to our partnership, Jack.”
Jack’s grin widened, and he held up his drink. “To our partnership.” He paused for a moment, and then with a twinkle in his eye, added, “May it be as fruitful as we hope, and then some.” He clinked his glass to hers and took a gulp.
Charli’s brows shot up.
Fruitful? That’s an interesting word.
Did she dare to imagine? Surely she was reading too much into it. Or was it just wishful thinking?
She mentally shook her head and took another sip of her mojito, glancing around the dim, old bar. The walls were covered with photos of various sizes and ages, a small stage on the back wall, and the numerous signs that warned against whining or complaints of any kind.
“The Spent Pickle is Key West’s oldest bar, right?” she asked Steve as he cleaned a glass with the towel he carried over his shoulder. He arched a brow at her and gave her a nod.
“I’m sure you get this all the time, but did Hemingway ever visit?”
Jack groaned at her question, seeming to hold his breath. Steve blinked several times. “Well, of course he did.”
Charli looked at Jack. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
Jack’s lips curled up in the corner and then he gestured toward the far corner of the bar. “See that table over there? That’s where Elvis arm wrestled Hemingway.”
“What?” Charli’s eyes bulged. “Are you serious?”
Jack bobbed his head. “Yeah. It’s a well-documented event that was witnessed by an entire crowd.”
“Wow. That’s incredible!” Charli breathed.
“Yeah,” Jack responded lightly. “I told you. The shit gets real down here...always has.”
A scoff from Steve had both of them turning their heads toward the old barkeep. He gestured toward them with the glass and towel in his hands. “The stories from the old place you two just inherited are way wilder than anything that happened here or at any other bar on the island.”
Charli’s jaw dropped. Her gaze moved to Jack and then back to Steve. “Really?”
Steve nodded. “It was the hotbed for hedonism down here for a while. Don’t know if Hemingway stayed there—I doubt it since his house was right around the corner.
But I’d bet he visited a time or two. The list of movie stars and other celebrities is pretty impressive.
And,” he stressed, “once you two get it cleaned up, you can bet you’ll be getting tons of requests from the historical societies and ghost tour groups to showcase it. ”
Charli looked down at the bar as she thought about that and then glanced back at Steve, narrowing her eyes. “How did you know that we inherited it?”
Steve snorted. “Can’t fart around here without somebody knowing about it. Everyone knows about Dottie leaving the place to you two.” He gave her an evil grin. “Now we’re all gonna sit back and watch what you do.”
“We’re gonna honor Dottie’s wishes and fix it up,” Jack answered in a sharp tone, a determined look on his face. “Everyone can count on that. And you can pass the word around that we’re not selling either.”
Steve held his hands up in surrender. “Never suggested that you should.”
“You didn’t,” Jack answered, a fierce gleam in his eye. “But I know what the others will be saying.”
Steve pressed his lips together, an air of pride flashed briefly on his face. “Well, all right then.” Then his face sobered slightly and he turned his gaze to Charli. “I know I said this before, but your aunt was quite a lady. We all miss her.”
Charli bobbed her head, unable to speak around the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. For some reason, Steve’s offer of condolences were about to breach the emotional dam that she had so carefully built.
She jerked when Jack’s hand came to her back and rubbed lightly.
She glanced at him and nearly melted at his soft expression.
He had commented earlier about comforting most of the island for the last month.
She could believe it—he was that good at it.
She, who never took a second date and hated to cuddle, literally just wanted to sink into this guy.
Maybe my hormones are out of whack...
She cleared her throat awkwardly and smiled at Steve. “So tell me more about the ghost tours.”
Just as he opened his mouth, there was a shrill whistle that made Charli cringe and nearly fall off her stool. Then a loud voice shouted, “Found them. They’re in here.”
Steve looked past Charli’s shoulder and groaned. “Oh, for the love of... Ladies, I seriously can’t deal with your crap today.”
“Oh, don’t get your panties in a wad, Steve. Drama queen doesn’t look good on you,” the voice snipped. “Besides, we’re not here for you. We’ve been searching for these two.”
Charli’s eyes widened at the sharp retort and gave Jack a side-eye glance when he chuckled into his tequila.
She glanced warily over her shoulder and nearly jumped at the sight of several women crowded just inside the open door from Whitehead Street, all staring at her intently.
She recognized Flora and Hazel from the will reading, but the others were a mystery.
Charli turned on the stool to face them and stared in awe, noting their colorful sundresses, varied hair styles, and expressions that went from stern to cheerful to serene. “Um...can I help you?”
“Oh, honey,” said the woman who had just sparred with Steve. She reached out a hand. “We’re here to help you.”
“Me?” Charli replied, suddenly wary even as her hand reached out automatically. “What’s going on?”
One lady huffed and planted her hands on her ample hips. “Jack Sullivan, where are your manners? Aren’t you going to turn around and introduce us? I know your momma taught you better. Do I need to have a conversation with Faye?”
Grinning, Jack swiveled on his seat and placed his right hand on the bar behind Charli, as if protectively embracing her.
“No, you don’t. Ladies,” he drawled with a nod.
“Charli, I’d like to introduce you to your fellow members of the Royal Conch Society.
” He pointed to the two women on the far right.
“You met Flora and Hazel at the reading yesterday.” They waved at Charli in unison, eager grins on their faces.
He gestured to the apparent leader of the group. “This is Miriam.” She nodded solemnly at Charli, her hands folded in front of her.
“And that’s Iris and Cornelia,” he added, pointing out each member. His lips pursed, and he looked at Miriam. “Where’s Sadie?”
Miriam waved a hand dismissively. “She had a doctor’s appointment.” Miriam looked back at Charli, her gaze intent. “But she would have been here if she could. She’ll join us later.”
Charli felt her brows rise. This was an intense group, but she liked them instantly. She smiled and waved awkwardly. “It’s nice to meet all of you.”