Page 44 of Intoxicating Pursuit

Second Night at the Canyon

M y body was hard-coded to Eastern time, and I woke the next morning before everyone else.

The whiskey’s after-effects were tangible, and I tried to combat them by drinking a tall glass of water while the coffee brewed.

A peek in the refrigerator revealed a breakfast casserole and a dish of fruit.

I prepped a plate as quietly as I could and carried it outside.

The cool morning air carried summery smells of pollen and earth, and birds chattered faintly from the orchard.

Otherwise, a calm hung over the farm. The boondocked RVs rested like slumbering giants on a large grassy area bordered by an aging barn and empty farmhouse, where a rusty swing set moved gently in the breeze.

Past the shorn clearing, rows of willowy, dwarf cherry trees stretched to the distant road and the low mountains behind us.

Settling into one of the camping chairs, I took advantage of the quiet and caught up on life for a moment.

I called Mom first. She updated me on her day but then dug in a complaint.

Oscar had taken up vigil on a lawn chair outside her cottage and was following her everywhere she went.

“It’s a little much, Sammy. Can you convince him to give me some space? ”

I assured her Oscar was only trying to do his job, but I could hear the irritation in her voice, even from three thousand miles away. “Hang in there, Mom. I know this is inconvenient.” She told me to quit fretting over her and headed out to her day.

I hung up the phone and thought about Tina.

How could I have forgotten her birthday was this week?

I had been a lousy friend lately. She was going through a likely divorce, and I’d been so occupied that I’d failed to call her constantly, bring her chocolate, and do whatever else I could to make it better. Now this. What’s wrong with me?

Guilt wouldn’t improve the situation though, and I decided a nice present would help. I ordered an online gift certificate from the local spa in Chestnut Hill. A day’s worth of care would do her good. A call would be important, too—a text message wasn’t going to cut it.

She picked up after a few rings, sounding strained. “Sammy?”

“Happy birthday, Tina!”

“Ah, well, thanks.” She did not seem enthused.

“You don’t sound birthday-level happy.”

“Well, it’s a normal crazy day. Trying to get a week's worth of work done, and Nathan has karate.”

“Nothing special planned?”

“Well, since Andrew is checked out, I was presuming I might be having dinner with my best friend this weekend? Karate sort of makes tonight moot.”

“I would love that.” However, with the way my life had been going, I felt like I could only plan twenty-four hours at a time. “There’s sort of a lot going on though. Can I get back to you on it?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I cringed.

“You’re too busy for a birthday dinner with me?”

The RV door squeaked open, and Gabe came down the steps in a scrubby t-shirt, scratching his beard and blowing on a mug of coffee.

“It’s not that I’m too busy. It’s just that we had to step out of town again.”

Gabe sat down facing me, rubbing his eyes to wake up.

“You’re traveling again? Sammy, that’s terrific! But also weird. Why don’t I know about this? Where are you?”

“I. . . honestly, I can’t say.”

“ You can’t say? Sammy, what’s going on with you?” Tina didn’t give me a chance to respond. “And actually, I’ve been meaning to call. A strange man has been camped out on your porch this week, and I swear he’s following your mom around, too. Should I call the police?”

“No. He’s okay. Look, I know I’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

“And yet you’re not explaining.”

“I'm sorry. I’ve been a crappy friend lately, too. Listen, I promise I'll call as soon as we’re back. I really do want to see you and get an update about everything.”

“Okay. Sounds like maybe I need an update, too.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. I got you a day at Chestnut Spa. Any three treatments you want. I can watch the boys while you get pampered, okay?”

“Thanks, that’s very sweet,” she said flatly.

Her boys were shouting in the background, and I realized that, with Andrew gone, no one would be making her day special.

“Listen, I have to run,” she said. “But, let me know what’s going on soon. I’m starting to worry about you.”

“I will. And please treat yourself as well as you can today, all right? We’ll celebrate as soon as I get back to town. I promise. . . Love you.”

“Love you, too.” She sounded miffed. “Bye, Sammy.”

We hung up, and I rubbed my forehead. I hated lying to her and not telling her what was happening with my life. It felt all wrong.

“Is that the birthday girl you were mentioning?” Gabe asked.

“Yes.”

“Didn’t really sound like a festive call.”

“She’s a little ticked off, I think. I've been a rotten friend. Her husband filed for divorce, and I’ve scarcely been checking in. On top of that, I’m practically lying to her about my life. It’s not great.”

Gabe squinted at me. “You haven’t told her about the blackmail?”

“I haven’t told her anything . You sort of asked me not to. I mean, Ian knows about the pictures, but otherwise, I’m sneaking around behind the backs of my friends right now.” I didn’t look at him. I kept my eyes closed and massaged my temples, disappointed with myself.

“You know, I didn’t mean you couldn’t share things with close friends. I was just hoping to avoid a broadcast.”

“I know this wasn’t your design.” I tried to remember how everything unfolded, how I got myself in this situation.

“Maybe I should have told Tina a while ago. I think I would have filled her in on the way to the concert, but the moment wasn’t right.

Then after that, it was sort of a secret.

Then the blackmail started, and it just seemed too complicated. Now it’s all screwed up.”

“She came to the concert with you?”

“Yes.”

He scratched his cheek, took a sip of coffee, and scrunched his brow while he seemed to work something over in his mind. “I know we’re trying to lay low, but do you trust her to keep a confidence?”

“I’ve known Tina since grade school, and she’s never failed me. I trust her completely.”

“Well, do you want to call her back?”

“Ugh. I think until I can be with her face-to-face, it might be better to wait. She’s kind of angry. I should explain everything in person.”

“Well. . . I mean, do you want to call her back together? Maybe we could wish her a happy birthday?”

Tina would pass out. She might even forgive me . “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“If she can truly keep it to herself, I’m not uncomfortable.” He shrugged. “Maybe it’s an idiotic idea, but I’m just sick of myself. I’m so paranoid and uptight that I’m screwing up your friendships. I don’t want that. So, I’m thinking. . . baby steps. Let’s just say hi.”

“Okay. I’m sure she’d love that.”

I clicked her contact again and waited while the phone rang repeatedly. I imagined her glaring at my number, trying to decide if she wanted to put up with me twice on her birthday.

She finally answered. “Sammy, what is it?” Here words sounded clipped.

“Tina, listen, I feel like crap keeping things from you. I want to explain what’s going on. At least a little bit. I just need your word you’ll keep it to yourself, because we really are having some security issues.”

“ Security issues?”

“Yes. Long story. But that’s an armed guard you’ve seen at my house.”

“ An armed guard? Sammy, what have you gotten yourself into?”

“Can you FaceTime for a minute?”

“Fine,” she snipped.

Her video flashed to life, her hard gaze and pinched lips leaving no doubt about her sentiments. I turned my video on, too, and panned the image wide.

Gabe smiled and raised his coffee mug to her. “Happy birthday, Tina. Thanks for letting me borrow your bestie. Sorry it’s turned into a circus.”

Shock and then a disbelieving grin replaced Tina’s scowl. “Sammy? What. Is. Happening?” An incredulous smile widened across her face.

“I’m sorry. I know I’ve been cagey. It’s just not been my secret to tell—"

Gabe piped in. “Come on. Let’s just sing Happy Birthday to her.”

We did our best. Gabe’s voice was a melody of sonorous, early-morning beauty. Mine was a dumpster fire. We sang with gusto, though, and Tina was in tears by the end.

“Thank you.” She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “Gabriel, I just love your music. Thank you so much.” She laughed. “And Sammy, for chrissakes, when you start hanging out with Gabriel Walker, you’re supposed to tell me!”

“It’s Gabe, Tina, and this is all my fault. You simply must forgive Sammy. She’s been swimming through a sea of my stupid crap these days.”

Tina huffed out a laugh. “Okay, okay! You’re forgiven.

” She was smiling and shaking her head, still swiping at her wet cheeks.

“Here and I thought this was gonna be the worst birthday ever. . . But, girlie , you are in so much trouble.” Her voice was playful, and her grin was so big I could count her teeth.

I laughed with her. “The good kind of trouble, right? The I-can’t-wait-to-hear-about-it kind of trouble?”

“ Oh my God , yes! I’m clearing my calendar now.” Something crashed in the background, and one of the boys started bawling. She glanced over her shoulder and sighed. “I better go check on the craziness. Thanks for the best birthday song ever though, and be good to my girl, Gabe.”

He grinned diabolically. “Can I be at least a little bit bad?”

“ Oh my God! Sammy, holy shit! ” Tina was laughing and crying all at the same time. I’m guessing she had been sorely in need of a little birthday joy, and she was probably on a Gabe-induced cloud now to boot.

“Tina, I promise to fill you in on the whole thing. But right now, there’s some bad stuff going down. Meghan’s with me. Mom’s safe with Oscar—the big guy on our porch. So, we’re all right, and I’ll probably be back this weekend, but I just don’t know for sure.”

“Okay, got it.”