Page 60 of Sandbar Sunrise
“So, he’s not trying to torpedo it or bring in some competition or goodness knows what? He’s done everything he can think of to be a thorn in our sides.”
J.J. was irritated to hear Libby complain about Stone. “No, if he is, he’s hiding it well. I hate to say it. I like the man.”
“Whoa, that’s it, now we know, these drinks are way too strong,” Viv joked.
“Right,” Libby laughed.
“I haven’t even had one,” J.J. pointed out, “so there. But you two were the ones who’d said he was on the up and up. You were right. I was once in a row, so far, wrong.”
Libby put a hand to her forehead as though she was going to faint.
“Alright, alright.”
Stone arrived with the drinks. “Are you okay, Libby?”
“I don’t know. J.J. just said she was wrong about something. I’m not sure if I’ll actually recover.”
J.J. took the beer Stone offered and then sucked down a long cool sip.
“Her instincts are good,” Stone said. “She spent the morning the other day doing books for D.J. and the afternoon haggling with a hair color distribution company. I can’t believe she was wrong in any capacity.”
“That’s a smart man,” Viv said, clinking her glass with Stone.
“D.J.’s books? Why are you doing D.J.’s books?” Libby asked, and there was an edge to her voice.
“I used to help with Dean’s. Same thing.”
“Dean had an accountant, a CPA firm, that I worked with extensively,” Libby replied. “The key to keeping Dean’s schedule and budget was keeping the numbers on point.”
J.J. didn’t like Libby’s tone. “How do you know what the key to Dean Tucker’s business was?” She smiled when she said it, but she knew there was now a matching tone to her voice.
“He went through costs line by line on all our projects. It was meticulous.”
Viv and Stone stood back as the two women squared off. J.J. didn’t like the way this was going.
“I did Dean’s books, secretarial work, scheduling, bid prep, and just about everything else in his early days. I know full well that when you’re starting out, you need a Gal Friday.”
“D.J. had full access to my assistant and to—” Libby stopped then, seeming to swallow whatever next point she wanted to make.
“Look,” J.J. said. “I’m going to help my son just like I helped Dean, and I did help Dean, even if you were out in the world living your life when we were here building ours.” J.J. was probably too curt, too hurt, to soften her voice when she said it. But she wasn’t going to feel bad for helping D.J. He needed support, and she was now here to give it.
“No, sure, yeah, that’s right. I’m sorry. I think of him as at Dean’s level, and he just started out.”
“Right. It’s going to take some time.”
“Sure, yes, of course.” Libby put an arm around her, and they squeezed each other. They were BFFs. Their relationship wasn’t so delicate or precious that it couldn’t withstand a little tiff.
If that’s what this even was.
The tension between them further dissipated when Keith made his way to their part of the booming party.
“Keith, this is amazing,” J.J. told him. “You brought it back to life and then some.”
“Thank you, high praise! Look at this. Two townies make good.”
Keith was from Irish Hills, like J.J. They were the only two who stayed year-round. They both used to count down the winter days until their friends of summer would return.
J.J. felt so happy for him. She’d been there when his wife got sick. When he’d watched her fade away. He deserved this second act. So did Libby.
