The two of them laughed. I did not.
“Hey, that was ajoke.” Beale kicked me under the table. “As in,ha ha? Funny? What crawled up your butt?”
“Your sense of humor,” I said gruffly. “And it died there. Mason’s not staying on Whispering Key.”
Rafe snorted. “Why do you care? What’d this kid do to you?”
I shook my head. Mason Bloom had gotten under my skin like a freakin’ burr, that’s what he’d done. He’d made me jealous of my own cousin and his stupid, fake-injured shoulder. “Nothing. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up. And he’s not a kid. He’s thirty-something anyway. Older than me, maybe even older than you.”
“Ancient,” Rafe said.
I opened my mouth to respond, when Gloria teetered into the kitchen from the back hall wearing a pair of purple high heels, a frilly lilac dress, and an enormous bow atop her head.
“Boys, it is hotter than the devil’s backside out there!Shoo. You don’t realize how nice and cool the bunker is until you get out in the yard.” She crossed the room to lean on the counter by the coffeepot before looking at me. “You back already, Fenn, honey?”
“Back from where?”
I adamantly refused to fetch any more doctors from airports.
“Doc Mason’s suitcase got delivered from the airline this morning! You’re supposed to bring it to him.”
“No, thank you,” I said politely. “Today’s my day off, and I already got conscripted into air conditioner repair. Loafers can haul it up the stairs himself.”
“Whether Mason can or can’t doesn’t matter,” Big Rafe said, coming in through the back door, a vision in fluorescent orange. “Deliver it to him at the clinic. And would it kill you to be friendly?”
There were so many things wrong with this, I wasn’t sure where to begin. I decided to start with the basics. “We don’thavea clinic.”
“Sure we do! Second floor of the old rec center is now Whispering Key Medical Center.” Gloria smiled as she handed Big Rafe a coffee. “I was just there yesterday, and it’s looking just lovely.”
“Yeah?” I frowned. “Everything okay?”
“Fine, Fenn, honey. Just prickly heat! Doc Mason was really attentive. And you wouldn’t believe what he’s done with the place. Working day and night, him and Taffy, to get everything set up.”
Big Rafe eyed me over his coffee cup. “You were supposed to be helping him.”
“He hasn’t asked me for help.”
“And have you offered?” Big Rafe countered. “No. So bring him his damn bag.”
I sighed. “Do we even know that he wants the bag at the clinic? Do you know if it’s medical supplies? Maybe it’s just filled with his collection of second-best loafers, and after I cart the damn thing all the way up to the second floor of the rec center, I’ll have to cart itall the wayback down again.” I was aware that I was whining. I just didn’t care.
“You’ll survive.” Big Rafe smiled grimly. “Bringing him his bag is a thoughtful gesture. It’s all part and parcel ofguest satisfaction. And while you’re there, you’ll see what other kind of help he needs, and make sure he gets it.”
“Whyme?Beale’sall friendly with Mason,” I said sourly. “Sendhim.”
The fact that I absolutely did not want Beale getting anymorefriendly with him just proved that I needed to avoid Mason a little longer.
“Yeah!” Beale agreed. “I could go—”
“Beale’s busy,” Big Rafe interrupted.
“I am?” Beale’s forehead wrinkled.
“You are,” Big Rafe confirmed. “So’s Young Rafe.”
Rafe snorted and spoke for the first time since his father had come in the room. “Yeah? Doing what, Dad? Preparing for the Labor Day Extravaganza?” His voice was so cold I felt the chill from across the table.
“As a matter of fact.” Big Rafe grinned, clearly pleased with himself. “That’s my big announcement! You’ll never guess who volunteered to come play—”
