Chapter Twelve #4
She laughs. “They won, but we didn’t see the shit. We missed an exit and ended up in Canada.”
Her voice is soothing as she tells me about the highway that leads to Canada without the option to turn around. She smiles fondly as she recalls how frustrated her dad was when they were held up too long to make it to the game, since none of them had their passports on them.
“I’ve never seen my dad crash out like that. He said he was never going to Michigan again.”
“The whole state getting banned for one missed exit is crazy.”
She slides her eyes over to me. “Please. One thing my dad gon’ do is talk shit. He’s been to three games since then.”
My arm slides up the steering wheel as I laugh. “Your dad is wild.”
She answers with a tight-lipped smile, caught up in the haze of her reminiscing. “That was my last family trip before I moved to New York. We still travel all the time, just not road trips. More flying and enjoying events I can include them on.”
“If you could take a road trip anywhere, where would you go?”
“Hmm, road-tripping to California might be fun. It’s clear across the country so there’s so many fun stops you could make.”
“That does sound fun. It would probably be a long trip too.”
“The longer, the better.” She sighs. “What about you? Where would you go?”
“I’d probably go to Canada. But, you know, on purpose.”
Her shoulders shake with laughter. “But can you even say you’ve lived if you haven’t gone by accident?”
Once we get the new hose clamp and are able to drive at a normal speed, we get to Newberry Cove right as the sun is starting to set.
I drive us to the hotel we booked for our stay. It’s not the five-star luxury hotels I’m sure Dani is used to. It’s a family-run business, but something about this place called to me, and with everything we’ve seen so far, I’m hesitant to ignore anything that feels like a sign.
“Let’s see if we can get some answers here.” I nod to the hotel entrance.
We walk into Hotel Serenity and are transported to a nature site.
The ceilings are made of shiplap and have green vines hanging from the slots. There are potted plants in varying sizes on the shelves along the walls that give the lobby a comfortable feel. Somehow the air even feels drastically lighter in here than it did outside.
There’s a wall made of stones behind the front desk, not one of them looking the same as another.
The receptionist looks up from her computer and smiles at us. Her sisterlocs are pulled up into a bun and her white blazer is pristinely pressed.
“Welcome to Hotel Serenity. How can I help you?”
While I sort everything out with the reservation, Dani examines the lobby, studying every minute detail before she turns her sights on the woman helping us. Taking in her body language and tone, I watch her transform into Dani the professional right before my eyes.
“Can I ask you a question, Traci?” she asks, reading the woman’s name tag.
“Of course.”
“We’re actually here because our friend who recently passed grew up here.”
Traci puts her hand over her heart. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you. We’re trying to visit some places that meant a lot to her. I’m wondering if you could help us. Did you know a Tanya Holden?”
Traci takes a moment to consider, shaking her head after some thought. “Doesn’t ring a bell. I’m sorry.”
“How about Tanya Gaten?”
Her maiden name feels so odd to hear. She wore the name Holden like a badge of honor that could never be stripped from her.
Recognition spreads across Traci’s face. “Oh my God!” she screams, making Dani rear back. “Sorry. I didn’t know her personally, but she’s a legend around here. Her whole family is.”
That doesn’t surprise me at all. Of course she comes from a long line of legends.
I’ve always been curious about Tanya’s family.
As far as I know, none of the Gatens ever visited Baltimore, and we know she wasn’t going home to Newberry Cove often, if at all.
It’s good to see her family legacy is viewed in a positive light, even if she didn’t stick around to add to it.
Traci gives Dani the rundown of which Gaten family members we should talk to, her tacit admiration for one cousin in particular crystal clear.
Dani chats with her like they’ve known each other for years. This is the version of her I’m used to seeing, effortlessly charming, bending anyone to her will. Traci’s entire demeanor has changed from ultimate professional to Dani’s gossiping best friend.
A phone call to the front desk breaks the pair apart, freeing me to grab our room keys.
As we’re walking to the elevator, Traci calls after us. “You should go to Mackey’s tonight. Guarantee you’ll find at least one of the Gatens there.” She pushes a button on the phone and goes back to her call.
When we get in the elevator, Dani sighs. “I really hope Mackey’s is a restaurant. I’m hungry as hell.”
I laugh as the elevator creeps up the floors. “I’m hungry too. Let’s drop our bags and head out?”
She looks at me like I’ve grown two heads. “Um, no. I’m gonna shower first. I smell like I’ve been on the road for six hours.”
I match her expression. “You have been on the road for six hours.”
“Exactly.”
“So, what does that smell like exactly?” I lean toward her neck and take a deep inhale, pleased when her body shudders beneath me. “You smell fine to me.” Better than fine.
She licks her lips as the bell dings and the doors open to our floor. She moves first, sidestepping around me into the hallway.
“Is there a different odor associated with being on the road for five hours? Or seven?” I continue as I catch up to her.
She huffs. “I don’t know, and let’s be clear, I smell fantastic all the time. Sometimes a girl just needs a reset,” she insists.
She’ll get no argument from me.
She stops at the door marked 312, my room. “I can take my bag from here, Micah.”
Her room is only a few doors down at 318, so I allow her to slip her weekender bag off my shoulder, but the way she holds my eyes while her hands caress my arm has me suddenly regretting being a gentleman and booking separate rooms.
“See you soon,” she says as she reaches her door.
“Soon,” I echo.
By the time we get to Mackey’s, the dinner crowd is in full swing.
Dani looks relaxed and confident in her black sleeveless jumpsuit, white button-up, gold jewelry, and black heels.
Her chosen fragrance tonight is subtle. It’s soft and clean, with a faint essence of roses lingering in the air as she walks.
She catches the attention of many people as we approach the sports bar—unsurprising, but comical nonetheless.
There are a couple of seats here and there at the bar, but we opt to stand at the end, slightly removed from other guests. Of the three bartenders, the middle-aged man with the short curly fro and kind eyes is the one to approach us.
“How you doing, guys? What can I get you?” he asks with a jolly smile spread across his round face.
I start to ask about Tanya and her family, but Dani puts her hand over mine. “Can I have a Tequila Mockingbird? With watermelon juice and no crème de menthe?” She looks over to me, waiting for my order.
“Uh, can I get an old-fashioned, please?” I ask.
He nods his acknowledgment before turning back to Dani. “Top-shelf or well, sweetie?”
She flashes him a sickly sweet smile. “Top-shelf, of course. Oh, and a food menu, please?”
Somehow, his smile becomes even more jolly. “You got it,” he says as he passes her a menu and walks off.
She ignores my raised brows in her direction, opting to focus all of her attention on the menu.
“That menu is riveting, huh?”
“Yeah, should I get fried green tomatoes or no?”
“Dani,” I say, barely keeping the laugh out of my voice.
“Hmm?” she hums.
“Care to share why you stopped me from asking about Tanya?”
Finally, she takes her eyes off the menu. “Because you have to ease into these things.”
“Really? Because you got straight to the point with Traci.”
She rolls her eyes as if her logic makes perfect sense.
“That was different. It was just the three of us there. You can’t just walk into a bar full of people and start asking about a whole family.
Especially a family that apparently everyone knows.
You’ve gotta build a rapport. So, just sit back, relax, and let me do my thing. ”
The person closest to us leaves, so I grab their chair for Dani and remain standing. “Okay, fine. Do your thing. And yes, you should get fried green tomatoes.”
She smirks as she passes the menu over to me.
The bartender comes back with our drinks, ecstatic when Dani gushes over the taste of hers. She orders our apps and entrées, even the one I told her I wanted earlier.
Dani learns his name is Aaron, and from then on, she has Aaron eating out of the palm of her hand. He checks on her constantly, making sure her glass is always full and her smile is always prominent.
The fish and chips she ordered are delicious, so I’m happy to let her continue taking the lead.
Aaron sets a small container of sauce in front of Dani. “Brought you this. It’s chile-lime sauce. I promise it’s gonna really set those wings off.”
Dani wastes no time dipping her hot honey wings into the sauce and digging in. “Aaron, you are a God among men,” she exclaims.
Once again, he looks awfully proud of himself. “I’ve been told that a time or two before.”
Oh, brother.
After the dinner crowd somewhat dies down, Aaron comes back over to us. “Where you folks from, anyway?”
Dani uses that opportunity to finally tell Aaron why we’re here.
“Tanya Gaten,” he exhales. “I was sorry to hear she passed.”
Dani tells him about the hunt Tanya has sent us on, and he’s captivated by her every word. “I gotta ask, is everybody in Tanya’s family as dramatic as she was?”
He holds his stomach as he belts out a laugh. “That’s like asking if water is wet. Matter fact …” He pauses to survey the bar, his eyes landing on his target. “Tony!”
A tall, brown-skin man with glasses looks over from one of the high tops as Aaron waves him over. Tony approaches with caution. Another brown-skin man covered in tattoos and a brown-skin woman with a shaved head follow closely behind.
“I ain’t even do nothing yet, Goose,” Tony says to Aaron.
“Shut up, fool. This here is Dani and that’s Micah. They were friends of Tanya.” He turns to Dani. “The three stooges here are Tony, Michael, and Ella Gaten. Tanya’s cousins.”
Michael assesses us carefully. “You look a little young to have been friends with Tanya. Were you some of them wayward children she loved to take in?”
Ella smacks him in the shoulder. “No decorum-having ass.” She turns to us both. “I’m the only one with an ounce of intelligence in this group, so you can talk to me.”
“She got about as much smarts as she does hair,” Michael mocks.
“Two scoops,” Tony echoes.
Ella flips them both off without looking their way. She asks Dani what we’re looking for and when Dani tells her, she holds her finger up to her lips and pulls out her phone.
A woman with a raspy voice answers Ella’s call on the second ring. “What you want, Ella Reese?”
She gives us a sympathetic smile. “Auntie, you know anything about some kind of deathbed scavenger hunt Tanya set up? I got two people who say Tanya sent them.”
The woman is silent on the line. She’s silent for so long that Ella checks to see if she hung up. “Auntie?” Ella goads.
“Tomorrow morning. Tell them to come see me,” the woman says before hanging up.
Dani and I share a look of horror. What the hell has Tanya gotten us into?