Page 44 of Moonshine and Magnolias
“I wish I could. I miss that place. We used to hang out there all the time in high school.”
Wendy gave her a tight-lipped smile. Her cousin had loved the place. Boys lined up to buy her flavored coffees. Wendy sat there and watched it all with only her special drink for company.
“Say hi to Mrs. Kempert for me,” Brandi said.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back in a few hours to help with dinner.” Brandi gave a smooth grin and scooted out the door. “I have my own to-do list for a change.”
As soon as Jordan finished her business calls, Wendy was going to take her to the coffee shop for a change of scenery. Scenery that didn’t include almost six-foot, sexy-voiced, history investigators. Jordan wanted to help with Pansy Hamilton, and there was a fair amount of work to be done that didn’t need prior knowledge or a lot of skill.
She settled into the chair and played with the end of her neat ponytail. How had everything gotten so muddled in the past twenty-four hours? Like that jerk from last night. Like Rob and this morning. Like aspirin and if taking double the dose would give her double the benefits.
The knock on the door frame was accompanied by a deep voice that definitely wasn’t Jordan. “Ms. Marsh?” Hal Upshaw hesitated at the threshold, not meeting her eyes.
She waved him in. “Mr. Upshaw, good afternoon. What can I do for you?”
He stood in front of the desk and ran his hands down his thighs in a gesture she recognized as Rob’s. He glanced around the room before his gaze settled in her general direction, his face set with resignation. “I need to tell you something. It’s about Rob.”
“About Rob?” she echoed. “What is it? Is he okay?”
“Well, first, he’s still with the campers on the tour.” Hal visibly swallowed and looked over at the window. “He’s fine. He doesn’t know I’m doing this.”
This couldn’t be good. “Then maybe it’s something that shouldn’t be done.”
Hal paced the room. He stopped in front of the fireplace and brushed his fingers across one of the bricks. “There’s something he needs to tell you, but he hasn’t done it yet. I know you guys haven’t… anyway, it may affect how you feel about him, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.” He cast a shy glance in her direction and hung his head when they made eye contact. “But if you’re the kind of woman that I think you are, that he hints when he talks about you, you’ll digest this news before acting on it. It doesn’t change who he is on the inside. Who he’s always been.”
Her head throbbed with his words. “Unless you’re going to tell me he’s a serial killer or is investigating the Hall for non-payment of back taxes, I’m not comfortable with this conversation, Mr. Upshaw. If your brother has something to tell me, he can tell me himself.”
He sighed and looked at the door with longing. “It’s just such a sensitive topic.” He rubbed his hands over his face and took a deep breath. More similarities between him and his brother showed. He wore the same style of jeans and a t-shirt. They had the same thick brows and eyes. Even their mouths held the same characteristics, but Hal’s always seemed to be on the verge of a frown.
Wendy stood up and put her hand on the door. “I’ll see you at dinner, Mr. Upshaw.”
“Rob is impotent,” Hal blurted. “He has erectile dysfunction.”
Whoa. “I did not need to know that.”
“He’s had this problem for as long as…” He cleared his throat. “At any rate, he’s been taking medications. Different kinds to see if they can solve the problem. Sometimes they work, for a while anyway. He started a new one before we began our research trip. I don’t think he’s had a chance to test...” He stopped talking, shifting his eyes down.
Heat crawled up her neck at what Hal didn’t say. At least Rob hadn’t discussed anything physical that had happened between them with his brother. She wiped her hands on her skirt. “You need to leave.”
“I’m sorry.” He paced as if his concern propelled him around the room. “I’m only telling you this because he didn’t come upstairs last night. I see the way you guys look at each other and if he didn’t say anything but if he couldn’t… I mean, if it doesn’t…” He groaned.
“I get the idea, Mr. Upshaw.”
“If he brings it up, it would save him the embarrassment if you told him I spilled the beans and that you don’t have to talk about it.” He strode to the door and took Wendy’s hands. “He’s my brother and I love him. I’d trade places with him if I could.”
A small ping of guilt swept her conscience. Talk about letting feelings dictate what you did for someone you love. “Good bye, Mr. Upshaw.”
He gave her a slow, sad smile, then departed the office with a speed that said he was as happy to end the conversation as she was. She had no time alone to make sense of what he said as Jordan breezed into the room. “I’m ready. Let’s blow this punch bowl.”
It was a short drive to Cuppa Joe’s. Wendy ignored the unease that slithered through her and updated her friend about the threesome request from her dance partner the previous night. The chatter helped keep her mind off Rob and what she should do. It’s not like she could go up to him and say, “Hey, how’s it hanging? How would you like it to hang?”
Maybe she’d do as Hal suggested and let it blow over. No pun intended.
She parked her car in front of the row of shops and gathered the papers and computers. Jordan swung her laptop bag over her shoulder and followed Wendy to the building. “Oy, that guy was such a jerk. I wish Sebastien had given him the swollen mouth instead.”
“Instead of what?”
