Sam
That’s justwhat Grace did. After breakfast, she slipped into her bathing suit, grabbed a towel and headed down to the pool. She lounged poolside, beneath one of the umbrella tables, sipping on a margarita for several hours, just enjoying the day. The sun and the sweltering heat could melt an ice cream cone in five seconds flat. Ice cream trucks probably didn’t stick around these parts. Kids bounced in and out of the water as parents scolded about running and keeping their voices down. A few couples filled the chairs and the pool. It seemed this was the only water source around that promised to beat the Texas heat. Several shirtless cowboys wearing jeans and hats were in the distance, sitting astride horses while wrangling the animals she’d seen the other day.
Grace held the phone to her ear.
“Tell me again what possessed you to go to Texas,” her best friend, Chloe, said.
“I’m helping Sam.”
“You’re on a first-name basis with my competition?” Chloe shrieked.
“I can’t help that he’s your competition.” Grace frowned. “You know I’m a sucker for helping people in need, and he needed my help.”
“Have you ever thought that maybe he knows what you had planned about getting some inside information on his business? You can’t trust him.”
“Relax, Chloe. He’s not playing me. He needed a wingman, and I’m helping him. My sisters threatened him into canceling the contract. So….”
“So….no insider information.”
“Afraid not, but I’ve come up with a few ideas how to get your dating agency back on track.”
“Is this seat taken?” An older brunette woman asked while pointing to one of the empty chairs at Grace’s table.
“I’ve got to go, Chloe. Tell my sisters I’ll be back in a week.” Grace hung up before Chloe could press for more than Grace was willing to share. She glanced up at the woman and gestured to a chair. “Help yourself.”
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your call.”
“Oh, it’s okay.”
The woman sat down, slipped her big straw hat off her head, and set it on the table, just as a waiter appeared with an umbrella drink. The stranger smiled up at the server and slipped him some cash before he scurried off.
“I’ll never get used to this Texas heat.” The woman took a long draw from her drink while picking up her hat to fan her face.
“It’s similar to Florida,” Grace said.
“Oh, you’re an out-of-towner. What brings you to these parts?” There was a hint of Texas twang in the woman’s words.
“A wedding.”
“I’m Annalise.”
Annalise was beautiful. A southern lady that looked like she could dine with royalty in one breath, and in the next, could be just as comfortable out on the range with a bunch of cowboys.
The fine laugh lines around her eyes and mouth showed that she’d spent several years enjoying life. She was nowhere near as snobby as the bridesmaids that Grace had met.
“I’m Grace.” Grace shook the woman’s hand.
“Friend of the bride or the groom?” the woman asked.
“Neither,” Grace said, sipping the last of her wine. “I’m here as moral support for the groom’s brother.”
“Does he not like weddings?” Annalise asked.
Grace shrugged. “I’ve known him for less than a week, but it was long enough to know that the bride royally screwed up when she screwed him over. He’s a good guy. Decent, sexy, and he makes me laugh. What more could a woman want?”
“What more indeed,” Annalise said. “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you do for a living, Grace?”
“I’m a medium. I talk to dead people.”
