Page 82 of The Pretenders of Copper County
Reed snorted and moved away to put his belt on.
“Do you think I’m silly or naive?” I asked. “For still hoping Danny’s innocent, even now?”
“Not even a little.” Reed buckled his belt. “Believe it ornot, your faith in people is one of the things I lo—” He broke off in a choking cough and stared at the wall, eyes wide.
I looked at the wall too, but there was nothing there except faded floral wallpaper. “Reed? Hello?” I waved a hand. “Are you okay? Do you think you’re catching my cold?”
“Huh? No. Yeah. I’m…” He stood. “I’ve gotta go.” He stalked out of the room.
“Wait, what about your shoes?” I called.
“Fuck.” He turned around and grabbed his boots, stuffing his bare feet into them. He pressed a hard kiss to my lips and headed for the door once more.
“Don’t you want coffee?” I frowned at him from the bedroom. “It’s only eight.”
“Yeah. I mean, no. I have things to… to figure out.” Reed ran a hand through his hair, grabbed his keys, and pulled open the door. “I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Yeah. See you—” The door to the caretaker cabin slammed shut. “—later.”
What the heck was that?I shook my head as I finished getting dressed. Then after making the bed, toasting myself a bagel, and tidying up the kitchen, I put together a charcuterie plate using the last of the ingredients I’d bought the other day and headed through the sun-dappled autumn woods to Dolores’s camper.
She opened the door on the first knock, dressed in a bright orange velour tracksuit appliquéd with sequined autumn leaves. “Honey! I was just thinking about you. I said to Bob, ‘Bob, I’m gonna look in on Chris today.’ I said, ‘That boy is off his stride. I wonder if he’s been fighting with that handsome hubby of his.’ And he said, ‘Mind your business, Dolores.’ Can you imagine? As if I haven’t been minding Bob’s businessforhim for over twenty years, which is a hell ofa lot more than his first wife ever did, let me tell you. So I told him, I said, ‘Never you mindmybusiness, Bob. If Chris is still glum, I’m going to give that tall drink of water he’s hitched to a piece of my mind ’cause no way should a ray of sunshine look that sad.’ That’s what I said. And now here you are.” She narrowed her eyes and looked me up and down. “And you seem better, so I suppose your husband is safe from me.”
“Reed?” I shook my head. “No, Reed’s great. Reed’s… he’s the best. And I’m fine, I promise.” I held up my mini charcuterie plate. “I’m here to talk boards, if you’re still interested.”
“Hell yes.” She stepped back, ushering me inside and onto one of the padded benches by her banquette table. “You picked the perfect time. Bob’s gone down to the dock so he can sit around gossiping with the locals and pretend to be fishing. If he were here, he’d haveopinions. ‘Dolores, what are you gonna do with a custom charcuterie board when we live in an RV, please tell me?’ As though it wasmyfaultheretired and wanted to sell the house. Four thousand square feet in New Jersey, and now I’m reduced to this.” She waved a hand in the air like a game show hostess. “But Iwillhave my charcuterie board, damn it.”
“You’re from New Jersey? That’s so cool! I—” I cut myself off at the last moment. I still wasn’t supposed to be telling people who I was, was I? Reed hadn’t said, but it was probably better to be safe than sorry. “I’ve always loved New Jersey!”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, if we ever get back, I’ll invite you over and give you an excuse to visit. You can make a charcuterie on my new board.” She opened an overhead cabinet, took out a laptop, set it on the table, and gestured to me. “Now, showme the goods.”
I pulled up my Etsy account, and the two of us fell down a rabbit hole.
“See, this is the kind of personalization I think is so cute.” I pointed at the screen. “It’s acacia wood with a custom inlay, which is why it’s so expensive. But it would be cool to have it say, ‘The…’ uh.” I frowned. “What’s your last name?”
Dolores’s phone rang, and she glanced down at it before dismissing the call. “Smith.”
“Oh.” I blinked. “Okay, well, that’s easy enough. The Smiths. It’s… it’s nice, right?”
“Not bad,” she agreed, nodding slowly. “But tell me about this one.”
“Ah,that. That’s for the serious charcuterie enthusiast,” I said. “It’s got multiple tiers and little bowls for olives and dips?—”
Her phone rang again, and this time, she picked it up to look at the screen.
“Who the hell is Paul Fine, O’Leary, New York?”
I shook my head. “No clue.”
She sighed. “If this is another spam caller, I’m gonna lose my shit,” she promised. She swiped the screen. “Hello? Oh, Bob, it’s you! What in the world? Why are you calling from—oh.” She glanced around the living area of the camper. “Yes, I see it. It’s right on the coffee table. Well, come back for it, then. Oh? How big a fish?” She listened for a long moment. “Good for you, sweetheart. Yes, I’m sure it’s very disappointing that you don’t have your phone to take a picture. Oh! Well, why didn’t you say so? Good grief. Yes, I’ll bring it down.”
She hung up and shook her head. “That man. I tell you. Just terrible at communicating.”
I opened my mouth, then shut it again. “Uh-huh. Sounds awful,” I agreed.
“I’m just saying.” She shoved her feet into a pair of bedazzled Crocs. “How am I supposed to know what’s going on if you don’t tell me, am I right? Helpmehelpyou, Bob. Show a little follow-through.” She sighed. “Now, you wait here, sweetie. I’ll just pop down to the dock and then be back. Find me the perfect board while I’m gone.”
I nodded again. But after she clomped down the steps and hurried away, I found myself thinking about communication, along with everything Reed and I had discussed. I clicked on a new browser tab and opened my email to send Danny another message.
