Page 79 of Sandbar Storm
“You weren’t here for the worst of it. He tried to bulldoze Irish Hills out of existence.”
Hope backed her up and nodded to Viv, who looked wide-eyed at the thought of it. The work she’d done to stop it was all upside down now. Nature and a billion dollars had conspired to undo all she’d accomplished.
Also, she’d lost her cool in front of, uh, everyone.
“It was bad,” Hope said to Viv. Then she turned to Libby, and added, “But he didn’t get anywhere, though. You won.”
“Yeah, but this is sneaky, this is some way to horn in, and I don’t know what, but it’s not good,” Libby said. She put her head in her hands. She didn’t have a list for this.
Goldie showed up a few minutes later.
“Hope, you good if the band and all ‘em come here? Their set is almost done, their surprise set,” Goldie remarked and looked pointedly in Libby’s direction. A fresh wave of embarrassment washed over her.
“Yeah, you got her?” Hope was referring to Libby like a hand grenade with the pin pulled. “I need to get back to the kitchen to help with the rush.”
“Viv and I will handle it,” Goldie said.
“I’m right here, you know. I can hear you.” Libby was trying to calm herself. She was trying to think like Stone Stirling.
“Man, you really flipped your lid,” Goldie told her. She poured herself a glass of wine from the bottle.
“Yeah, yeah, I did.”
“I think J.J. and Dean would have liked that. Memorial-wise, it was a lot less boring with your eyes bugging out and yelling at a billionaire. Really livened things up. You don’t normally see threats of violence at charity fundraisers.” Goldie was laughing now, and so was Viv.
“Ugh, okay, okay," Libby said, "it was totally out of line. I get it.”
“Over here,” Viv called out to a group entering the restaurant. She waived Joe, Tag, Greg, and Keith to their table.
“Wow, I thought I might have had to put the cuffs on you, slugger,” Greg said to Libby.
“I didn’t throw a punch. I wanted to, but I didn’t.”
“It’ll be okay.” Keith kissed her on the cheek.
“Did you see?”
“No, I just got here. I had to close up the marina.”
“Well, I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as they say,” Libby said. But she knew it had been a scene. She was calming down, though. The wine was helping. And having her friends here. They were more amused than scandalized. That was something, she guessed. “Did I overreact?”
“No, you just reacted normally, but in front of the entire town…and a mic,” Goldie said.
“Oh, man, I’d have paid to see you punch that guy in the face,” Joe said.
“I don’t know. He seems alright to me,” Tag said.
Libby shot daggers out of her eyes at him.
“Ouch, I felt those,” Tag groaned.
Hope popped in and out as they all settled in at their corner table.
Libby wanted to get to her phone and her lists and to plan her strategy now that Stone Stirling had a foothold in Irish Hills. It was exactly what he had always wanted. How had she not seen it coming?
But Keith held her hand. Hope served up some Nosh Plates. Goldie regaled them about the money Burgundy Four had raised for the Irish Hills Fund. And Viv just radiated something. Happiness. She was happy. Viv had the best perspective of all of them.
Libby calmed all the way down.
