Page 29 of Unscripted Love
“You basically implied that there’s no fucking way that Jimmy De Soto hopped on a dinghy and headed to the Bahamas and that he’s most likely hiding out nearby so he can kill Josh to get back at Gabe,” Meredith recapped.
“I said that?” I asked. “Oh man, I was just plotting for my book out loud more than anything. Damn, Jazz, I’m so sorry I said that to you.”
“Book plotting?” Meredith scoffed. “What, you have a Gabe in your book who also happens to be a cop with an ex-partner on the run from the law who may or may not want to kill him for ruining his career?”
“No, not really, but that’s what I would do if I were writing this scenario in a book. I would have De Soto come after Josh, and I’d do it in a big way, but this isn’t fiction this is—”
A knock at the back door scared the hell out of us and interrupted me before I could finish. In fact, we all screamed like girls.
“Oh my God!” Meredith exclaimed. “It’s him!”
“De Soto wouldn’t knock, Mere. He’d just kick down the door,” I said.
“Like that makes us feel better,” Meredith said hotly. “What’s the matter with you? You start writing some sexy suspense novel with a serial killer and BAM, you turn a little creepy yourself. I can’t imagine what your search engine must be like on your laptop. That’s probably the feds looking for your disturbing ass.”
“Josh, you guys okay in there?” Emory asked through the back door as if he didn’t just hear us all screaming.
Meredith continued to rip me a new one while Josh got up and unlocked the door.
Emory looked around the kitchenette and asked, “Is this a bad time?”
“Meredith is ripping into Chaz for misbehaving; same speech, different ear,” Josh told him.
I would’ve much rather listened in on the conversation Josh and Emory had, but I worried what Meredith might do to me if I ignored her. I knew that most of her blustery attitude came from fear for our friends. I covered both of her hands with mine and looked into her warm brown eyes. “It’s going to be okay, Mere.” I had no real way of knowing that, but the alternative was too scary to contemplate.
When I arrived at the animal hospital, my insurance agent was waiting for me. I hadn’t called her office yet, so I figured she must have heard about the break-in through town gossip. “Good morning, Holly,” I said to her. “How are you today?”
“Sounds like I’m doing better than you,” she said dryly. I think I first met Holly in preschool. We became fast friends and remained that way all our lives. She was the girl I took to senior prom, the one I had wished I could love, and the first person I told I was gay when I realized that I never would. Her family owned and operated the only insurance agency in town for the past five decades. Her father decided to retire early a few years back, and Holly took over the business as I had from my grandfather.
“It could’ve been worse,” I said, unlocking the back door.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner,” Holly told me. “We were out of town for one of Dexter’s soccer tournaments and didn’t get back until late last night.”
“You’re not late, Hol,” I told her. “I hadn’t even called your office yet. How’d Dex’s team do?”
“They played amazing,” she replied. I heard the pride in her voice and saw it sparkling in her green eyes. “The good news is that they advanced to the regional finals, but the bad news is that they advanced to the regional finals. I’m so proud of Dexter’s accomplishments, but a tiny part of me is ready to stay home for one weekend and just read a book. Besides being tired all the time, I worry that playing soccer at this level is too much pressure for a nine-year-old boy.”
“I think he’ll be okay as long as it’s still fun for him,” I told her. “It might be time for a break if soccer becomes ‘have to’ instead of ‘get to.’”
Holly tilted her head while she thought about what I said. “That’s sound advice. You should tuck that away for when you become a father.”
“Noted,” I said with a wink. I liked that Holly said “when” and not “if” like it was a foregone conclusion that all of my dreams would come true someday, not just my professional ones. “Officer Wen took official photos for you that he’ll attach to the report, but I’ll show you my biggest concerns.”
“Officer Wen forwarded everything to me this morning. His report indicated that none of your medications or merchandise was stolen. Is that correct?” Holly asked.
“It’s true,” I replied. “I updated Wen last night once Alyssa and Terry completed the inventory. They had to be after the heavy-duty drugs and trashed the place when they couldn’t get their hands on them. They busted up our shelves, cabinets, tables in reception, and even our damn potted plants and flowers. It was completely random. I’m so damn thankful they didn’t hurt any of the pets boarding here this week.”
“Absolutely,” Holly agreed. “We can replace your stuff, but we can’t replace someone’s beloved pet.” She shook her head. “I’ll forward all the documentation to your claim adjuster, and I don’t think it will take long before you receive a check to replace damaged items.”
“Do you have a carpenter referral?” I asked Holly. “I’d rather get him started on repairs rather than wait on the check.”
“I sure do,” she replied. “Let me look up the number for you.”
“Dr. Vaughn,” Alyssa said, interrupting us. “The Jenkinses are on the phone. Buttercup’s water broke, and it appears that her foal is breech.”
“Holly, I need to go. Could you give the information to Alyssa?”
“Sure thing,” Holly told me. “I hope everything turns out okay for Buttercup and her foal.”