he slapped down a king in an empty space in the line-up.
Rex Monroe shifted, straightening out his bad leg. Griffin didn't bother looking up. "Don't you have a date with The Golden Girls about now?"
"My cable's out. Entertain me."
Instead, Griffin decided to ignore him.
"I have the patience of Job," Rex cautioned after a few minutes had passed.
"You mean you're a job. But not my job. Go harass somebody else."
"Maybe I'll find your sister, tell her you're sitting outside with nothing to do. Looking morose."
The threat put Griffin on his feet, startling Private, who let out a bark. He didn't want Tess or anyone else checking on him, damn it. "I'm not morose."
"You're in a happy frame of mind, then?"
"Sure." He strode to the yard's narrow flower bed and bent over to yank at some weeds, as if he gave a shit about them. "For your information, I'm in a very happy frame of mind."
"Huh," the old guy said, slyness entering his voice. "Does this happiness have to do with Jane?"
Griffin grunted. Jane. She'd worn this silly hat the other day, lowered all the way to her eyebrows. For a few moments, on the deck of Captain Crow's, he'd thought she was going to prove cooperative. She'd been close at his side as he'd approached Tess, all compliant and cuddly. That should have been the tip-off. How long could the librarian last like that? But hell, what was wrong with her, having a sudden attack of the truth?
"Jane bugs the crap out of me," Griffin said, ripping a dandelion out by its roots. Its fluffy head reminded him of Jane's fluffy hair. He liked her hair; it twisted and turned, making him want to bury his fingers in it and then... Gah! With a jerk, he tossed the stupid weed away. She was like that, rooting into his head where she didn't belong and wasn't wanted. Messing with his cool equilibrium.
"I guess your sister gets the credit for your good mood, then."
"Oh, right," Griffin said. "Like I want to get involved with her and her domestic dilemmas."
"Looks like you won't," the ancient one said, his voice mild. "Since you've found a way to palm it all off on poor Jane."
"What, you got a spy camera installed around here? And poor Jane, my ass. Poor Jane is actually Annoying Jane who does not follow instructions. If she'd stuck with the program and told my sister that we were...that we had a thing happening here, then Tess would have left me my privacy. She's big on people falling in love."
"Skye says she's had a change of heart about that."
Skye. So she was the codger's source. He'd been nosy and meddlesome from the very beginning, and that hadn't changed, even after all these years. "Did our friendly property manager drop off your monthly allotment of Metamucil today? Followed by a big dose of gossip?"
"Gossip or not, don't you wonder what happened to Tess's marriage?"
Private flopped onto his back on the grass beside Griffin, which required him to perform the obligatory belly rub. "Yeah, I..." he started, then heard himself. "No, I do not wonder what happened. It's none of my business. That's between her and her husband, Deadly Dull David, which right there probably says it all."
"I met him at their wedding reception. He seemed very nice," the old scold replied.
"Gage came up with the name," Griffin mumbled. "You know Gage, he can't imagine anyone enjoying the suburban nine-to-five."
"People change. Grow up. Or down, as the case may be, like when they make their own sister someone else's problem."
Griffin threw up his hands. "Jane again! Why do you keep bringing her up?"
"I'm not the one keeping her around indefinitely. She's a very pretty young woman. Is that why you don't cut her loose?"
Griffin didn't need to explain himself. And not just because the explanation wouldn't put him in a very good light. On second thought, maybe if he disgusted his elderly neighbor he'd go home. "Think about it, old man. If I kicked Jane out of the cove, who would keep my sister out of my hair? This way, Jane is the gatekeeper. I tell her I'm working and she makes sure Tess and her tribe keep their distance."
And it also meant he needn't give his agent some excuse about why he'd gotten rid of her. Frank might legitimately object to that, since he was the one who'd engaged her services in the first place.
"You've kept your distance from Tess and her kids since