Tea Leaves and Runaway Brides (His Cup of Tea #8)

Chapter 1

Darius

I line up my final putt on the eighteenth green, the late afternoon sun casting long shadows across the manicured grass. The ball rolls smoothly toward the cup, catching the edge and spinning around the rim before dropping in with a satisfying plop.

"Nice one, Darius!" Tom calls out, marking his scorecard.

Ike groans as his ball lips out, missing by mere inches.

We gather around the edge of the green, pulling out our scorecards and comparing numbers.

The June breeze carries the scent of freshly cut grass and the distant sound of laughter from other golfers finishing their rounds.

Tom has been grinning like an idiot all day, and I can't blame him.

Getting married in two weeks and playing decent golf will do that to a guy.

"Alright, moment of truth," Renny says, phone in hand.

He finishes the tally and snorts.

"Well, it looks like the groom won," he says, pointing at Tom.

"Congrats, man," I say as the four of us head off the green.

"Damn, Tom. Find the love of your life and win your bachelor party golf game? I don't think that's quite fair," Ike teases him.

"Well, how about I buy the first round at the Nineteenth Hole?" our engaged friend says, grinning at us as we all enthusiastically cheer.

Once settled by the window overlooking the golf course, he orders us a pitcher of beer to start with and several appetizers.

"I'll make the first toast. Here's to Tom, who somehow found a woman to agree to spend the rest of her days with him," I begin, and our friends laugh, but then I tack on, "But in all seriousness, it couldn't have happened to a better guy. I'm super happy for you, buddy. Congratulations."

We clink glasses and take long draws of our cold beer. The June day was only on the warm-side, but it still feels good to have a tall cool one after playing a full game of golf.

"So what about you, Darius?" Renny says, giving me a pointed look.

"What about me?"

"Well, dude, it's been quite a long time since you've had a lady on your arm."

It's been a while since my friends have bugged me about my solo life. After two decades of being a widower, I have grown content with my quiet existence running the campground, but my friends seem to think I'm missing out on a major aspect of life.

"Listen. I'm open to dating. I just doubt I'll ever fall in love again," I reply, focusing on my beer.

"You don't know that," Tom says. "Nell was a fantastic human, and she loved you like mad. I remember all of us being pretty jealous of that at the time. But there's no way she would have expected you to stay single for twenty years after she passed."

"I'm not staying single because of her. It's just different than it was back then. You know? I mean, she and I met in college. It was so much easier to just randomly meet someone who you click with than it is now that I'm in my fifties."

"But you say you're open to it?" Ike says.

"Yeah. If I meet someone, I would be open to it. You're just not going to find me searching for love online or something."

Renny opens his mouth, but before he says anything, I put my hand up.

"Alright, enough. This isn't my bachelor party or my party at all. Todai is about Tom."

With that, the three of us turn our focus on the soon-to-be husband.

The campground is relatively quiet when I return.

I check in with my employee, who is shutting down the front office.

Russ has been my summer season employee for the last five years.

He's a chill nomad who bounces around in his RV throughout the year, but every summer, he returns to Sea Glass and works for me, helping run the campground.

Chief is hanging with him and jumps on me as soon as I walk through the door.

"Hey, buddy," I say, giving him scratches up and down his back. Looking over at Russ, I add, "All good here?"

"Yep. Pretty chill night. Spot eleven had to move to fifteen because the slope is getting worse, so I'll work on that tomorrow," he says.

"Alright. Thanks, man. I'll see you in the morning."

I leave the campground office, my husky following close behind.

The June evening air has a hint of warmth left in it as I walk to my cabin.

I double-check the garage to make sure all the doors are locked before heading inside.

Kicking off my boots, I grab a beer from the fridge and settle onto the couch.

Chief gnaws intently at the bone he's been working on this week in front of the cold fireplace.

Playing some Neil Young on a smart speaker, I toss my legs up on the coffee table, releasing a long sigh.

Sure, my life is pretty chill and quiet, but I like that.

I take several sips of beer in the silence. After a minute, I say to Chief, "But I guess I do get lonely sometimes."

He gives me his best husky baby blues and continues chowing down on his bone.