As if I needed him to explain that to me. “And you’re telling me this because…?”
“Don’t play cock and bull games with me, son,” he said.
This comment required me to gulp down a laugh because A) no one called me son, not even my father, and B) I didn’t know what the hell a cock and bull game was but Ranger was the last person I wanted explaining it.
“We know what we saw last night and we’re here to tell you that we won’t tolerate you treating Sunny with anything less than complete respect.”
That was funny considering I was beginning to get the impression Sunny might want nothing more than to be thoroughly disrespected in bed.
“And we’re not the only ones,” he continued. “The entire town is of the same mind. If you hurt Sunny, we’ll be at your door.”
Great. That was just great. So good. Not a thinly veiled threat. We didn’t do threats in Friendship. We gently suggested that we’d engage in some collaborative ass-kicking. Small-town charm, folks. There you had it. Coming for you with the walking stick of death. “Well. Thanks for letting me know.”
Ranger tapped his stick on the ground, gave me a stern nod, and marched away with Phil Collins beside him. Stunned, I watched them until they turned onto Market Street and fell from view.
“Hey. What was that about?”
I dragged my gaze to Sunny. She wore another one of thoseGET NAKEDshirts and a marigold yellow skirt that knotted at the waist. Nothing else in the world mattered. “You don’t want to know.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and glanced in the direction they’d gone. “It looked kind of serious.”
I waved toward Market Street. “No, not really,” I said unconvincingly. “Just…Ranger’s deep thoughts of the day.”
“Then why do you look like you swallowed a cactus?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Probably has something to do with the two espresso shots I downed before getting an earful from Ranger. Those things don’t mix.” I pointed to her building. “You need a new roof.”
“Wait a second,” she said, holding up a hand. “Did Beth make that espresso? She didn’t say anything about you coming in.”
I shook my head. “No, we have a small machine behind the bar. For espresso martinis. That sort of thing.”
Sunny laughed and I didn’t fucking care what happened with Lance or the pitchfork-wielding villagers or anything else. I wanted this more than I could care about any of that, and a small part of me knew that I was clinging to the one good, beautiful, sexy thing I had right now and borrowing trouble for the future but I didn’t care. I knew the risks. I knew what I’d lose.
“I’m sure your setup is fine but we can do better than that,” she said. “And don’t forget: we have cookies too.”
I’d forgotten about the cookies. “That’s not a bad point.” I motioned to the building again. “About this roof—”
“I know, I know,” she said, staring up at it. “I know it’s in rough shape but I was hoping to make it through the year before taking on that project. Best-case scenario, we’d do the roof and solar panels together and make it a one-shot renovation but we can’t pull that off right now.”
“It would be cheaper than dealing with a busted roof and water damage. Especially if you have to shut down for a week while it’s all fixed.”
“I don’t require your advice on the matter but thank you for sharing it nonetheless.”
“It’s not advice when it’s a fact,” I said. “Have you called around? Received any quotes? Because I’m sure there’s an option for—”
“Just the people I wanted to see today!”
At once, Sunny and I turned our heads in the direction of that voice. A white man with a remarkable salt-and-pepper mustache lumbered toward us in a lime green madras plaid suit that seemed excessive even for summertime on the coast. Sunny’s shoulders sagged just enough for me to notice.
“Mr. Campbell,” she said, holding a hand up in greeting as he approached. “What brings you to Friendship today?”
“After yesterday’s excitement, I knew I had to pay some calls to my favorite small business owners,” he said. “Don’t think I didn’t see you at the meeting last night, and since I know you’re both engaged in local affairs—”
“I’m sorry, who are you?” I asked.
He laughed and patted his chest like this happened all the time. “Where are my manners? I’m Gaines Campbell, president of the regional chamber of commerce. Your dad and I go way back,” he said.
I stifled a groan. God only knew what Rabbit had agreed to or told this guy.
