Page 66 of Operator
And for now, I’ll take what I can get.
* * *
Later, we gather at Bunny and Dad’s. The police have come, taken statements, and cleared away the body, but I won’t feel safe there and don’t want Gwen to be alone. Not because I believe she’s in danger anymore, but because I don’t want her seeing the blood and remembering…William or Ian.
Ford, Peyton, and Lexie join us, as do most of the town. It turns out when one of their own is threatened, even the black sheep is considered close family. Johnny and Phyllis bring food from the diner. Someone brings a couple of cases of beer. Dad turns on the radio, and Bunny busts out photo albums dating back decades.
I don’t realize why it makes my chest ache until Gwen comes up to my side and wraps an arm around my waist. Her lavender eyes meet mine, soothing the ache instantly. “Now you get to have a funeral for him,” she says softly.
And there it is. She knew exactly what I was thinking and put words to what I was feeling. “I guess so. How are you holdin’ up?”
“I’ll survive. What about you?” She doesn’t flinch away when Johnny and the cashier from the grocery store give us a side-eye as they pass to the grill. In fact, she snuggles closer in my arms.
“You and Violet are okay, so I’m okay.”
Ford and Peyton make their way over to us, handing out beers. “What happens next?” Gwen asks.
“Not a damn thing for you,” I say with a stern glance down. “You’ve been in enough trouble to last me a lifetime.”
She sputters indignantly. “But what about Ryan Tate and what happened the night he was killed? The people who paid William?”
“We’re going to figure that out,” Ford responds easily, tipping his beer at me. “Don’t you worry.”
Peyton rolls her perfectly done-up eyes. “Well, duh. We figured that, big guy. But what she means is, what dowedo next?”
“You two don’t do anything,” Ford says bluntly. “We will track down the other three and figure out what the hell is going on.”
“Do you think James has something to do with it?” Peyton asks, then lifts her hands in defense when Ford and I glare at her. “What? I’m just asking. It’s suspicious he was here, isn’t it?”
“It just means that we’re on the right trail,” I say, and hold Gwen close. At least, that’s what I hope it means. James can’t be involved…can he?
“We need to talk to Dean,” says Ford.
“The playboy?” Gwen asks, wrinkling her nose.
Peyton snickers. “I thought the same thing when I first saw him.”
Ford nods. “If you say so. But he’s the only one we can get in touch with right now.” Then he looks to me.
“What? Are you volun-telling me for the job?”
“You got it. I dragged you into this mess. Now it’s your turn to convince him.”
I scoff. “I was very nice about it, and I hardly busted your balls at all.”
“You won’t get so lucky with Dean, but then again, you don’t have tits and ass and he’s nice to anything with tits and ass.” Ford drinks deeply from his beer.
“A real charmer,” Peyton says wryly. “We’ve got to head back to Windy Point in the morning, but you’ll keep in touch, won’t you?”
At this, Gwen brightens a little. “Actually, I was going to see if you guys wanted to drive down to Florida with us. I’m going to be checking out my new job in a couple of weeks. I figured we could make a little vacation out of it. Especially after all that’s happened. Is it too short of notice?”
Ford groans and Peyton squeals. Ford isn’t the vacation type. He prefers to keep to his mountains, but based on the glee on Peyton’s face, I doubt he’ll be saying no to her.
The girls make plans to connect via social media, and Ford and I talk in hushed tones about how to track down James and get in touch with Killian. I’m not looking forward to dealing with Dean, but he’ll come around.
Eventually.
We spend the rest of the night reminiscing with Ian’s friends and humoring the little old ladies as they gush over Violet, who barely lets me put her down the whole night.
