“What did he say?” She turned to face him in her seat, eager and nervous, honing in on him.
“He said that Abbott seemed agitated. He lost three hands straight, which was unusual, then he left in the middle of a game to take a call—also odd, since he usually ignored his cell phone and got irritated when the other guys interrupted a game taking phone calls. A little later, he took a break and went to the john, but they could hear him talking on the phone. He left without speaking to any of them.”
“The call must have upset him. Maybe it was from Faye. Maybe she called him, rather than the other way around. Had he been drinking? Did you ask Mitch that?”
“He hadn’t noticed, but Bill Fallon called him the next morning and told him that if anyone official asked about Abbott, he should say that Abbott had had his usual iced tea. That seemed odd to Mitch.”
“So Fallon did think Dad was drunk. It’s still weird that he was right there at the scene. I don’t buy his story about the medicine run for his wife.”
“Maybe the first call your father got came from Fallon. Maybe Fallon wanted to meet your father somewhere.”
“To talk about Mom, maybe? I don’t know. There are too many possibilities.”
“Which is why we need to know more before we—”
“Accuse anyone. Got it. You made your point last night.” She shot him a look.
“Like I said, I never get tired of being right.”
“So how did your meeting go?” she asked him.
“Not bad. The mayor’s an obstacle right now. We need the right candidate to take his place. I’ve got to keep Troy from jumping into the race. My ace in the hole is that he hates politics. He wants to work for the town, not a bunch of constituents ready to recall him.”
“Will the timing work? The election and your shift to full-time manager?”
“Good question.” He’d begun to worry, too, with his father behaving as he had been. He shook his head. “Forget that. We’re supposed to be relaxing.” He took the turnoff toward the river.
“Wait. Are we going to the river for a picnic?”
“We’ll eat eventually,” he said.
“Then is it a hike? It’s beautiful this time of year.”
“Kind of,” he said, smiling in advance, knowing she’d love his idea, certain it would be exactly what they both needed, a chance to enjoy some harmless fun together. He parked in the lower picnic area. A path wound around the hill to a series of caves. There were several trails down to the river from there.
He got out and headed for the back of the Land Rover.
By the time Tara joined him, he’d donned his helmet, grabbed his gun and held out hers.
“Paintball?” She laughed out loud. “You’re kidding!”
“The range closed down a few years back, but I bought up some pellets. I figured we could rock-hop and use the caves and outcroppings for cover. What do you think?”
“I think you’re brilliant.” Her voice was lighter than he’d heard since she’d returned to Wharton. He’d forgotten how good it felt to make her happy.
“The paint’s mud-colored and biodegradable.”
“That is so you. Set up a wild stunt, but protect the environment.” Her admiration warmed him. For all that he understood her, she understood him, too. And he realized he hadn’t felt that connection with anyone in ten years, not even with Candee.
She took the cartridge he offered her. “I’m rusty,” she warned.
“It’s like riding a bike.”
“I think that’s what they say about sex, isn’t it?”
“That, too.” Their gazes tangled. Each time this happened, the urge became stronger and the voice of reason weaker.
“I brought sweats and towels in case we land in the river.” He raised a hand. “Do not call me Do Right Boy. You’ll thank me when you’re shivering.”
“Fair enough.”
He took out the two bags of paint pellets and handed her one.
“That all you got?” she said.
“I won’t need half this to beat you.”
She pretended to aim at his chest, then blew smoke from the end of her gun, a very sexy move that sent a jolt through his equipment, made him want to yank her to him and kiss her hard. Thank God, they’d be in constant motion for a while.
“Bring it on,” he said, but she needed the win more than he did, so he intended to lose. “I figure we’d play capture the flag.” He paused. “Except I forgot the flags.”