Fate Actually (Moonstone Cove #2) - Elizabeth Hunter Page 0,44
I’m getting kind of tired too. That might be rubbing off.”
“Marissa?” Katherine snapped her fingers by the woman’s ear.
She started. “What? Where am I?”
“At home. You were telling us who Whit was going to meet with his black book.”
She giggled. “Oh yeah. The secret book. He was going to meet Ruben. He always had a meeting with Ruben.” She rolled her eyes. “Maybe they had a… an open relationship too.” She giggled. “That’d be a good one. Ruben and Whit.”
“Why would that be funny?”
Marissa rolled her eyes. “Because Ruben haaated Whit. So much. But he pretended not to. And he wanted me. He told me so. Said if Whit wasn’t around, I’d be his.” She waved a hand. “Like… whatever, right? He’s not my type. I was already married to a farmer once. No, thank you. I don’t care about all your plans and… caves and stuff. What is that even?”
“She’s starting to ramble,” Katherine said. “Ask her about the book again.”
“Not really.” Her eyes were drooping and she burped out loud. “S-sorry. I don’t feel good.”
“Are you making her throw up now?”
Toni felt her nausea rising. “I can’t help it. All my morning sickness tends to come at night.”
“Do you at least feel it less if you push it into her?”
“Kind of?”
“I do not want this woman throwing up on me,” Megan said. “We need to finish up here.”
“Who else was he blackmailing?” Katherine asked. “Who else did he have meetings with?”
“Uh… Marla Price at the Ledger. And… Ronnie, his accountant here. He was real mad. Ronnie was always real mad.” She blinked long and hard. “Oh, and Pamela at the club. They had a couple of meetings.” Marissa’s eyes got teary. “I think he was fucking her too.”
“Good Lord, this man was vile,” Megan said. “Can we wrap this up?”
Marissa was slumped on the side of the couch, holding her stomach. “I am going to puke. Oh my God, Toni, I’m going to puke.”
Toni let her arm go and felt an immediate backwash of nausea. “Okay, we need to get out of here.”
“Hey, Toni?” Marissa’s voice was plaintive. “Toni, can you tell Nico for me?”
Toni felt a little guilty for prying Marissa’s brain open. She sighed. “Sure. What’s up?”
“I miss…” She blinked. “I miss…”
“You miss Nico?”
“I miss… sex with Nico.” Marissa groaned. “He was so much better than Whit. Stronger. More stamina… I mean, he could be bossy, but—”
“Lalalalalala!” Toni stood quickly, covered her ears, and turned to the door. “Okay, it’s time to go.” She nearly ran for the door. “Brain bleach!”
Megan was cracking up. “You mean you don’t want to hear the sexual exploits of your cousin?”
“He’s like my brother!” She walked out the door and inhaled deeply as the ocean breeze wafted over her. “Okay, that’s better.”
Her stomach settled. Her mind cleared. Katherine shut the door behind them, and Megan started down the stairs.
“Well,” she said. “That was certainly illuminating.”
“And a little frightening,” Katherine added. “Please do not ever do that to me.”
“I promise,” Toni said. “I don’t really want to do that to anyone. Ever again.”
Chapter 15
Toni drove home directly from interrogating Marissa. She was exhausted, a little nauseated, and a lot hungry. The last thing she expected to see was Henry’s pickup truck in her driveway.
She pulled her Mustang into the barn and parked it next to the ancient blue truck she was fixing up in her spare time; then she walked out and past Henry’s truck, where she heard a soft whine.
Earl popped his head up from the bed.
“Hey, buddy.” She reached up and patted him. “What are you and your dad doing out here, huh?”
Your dad.
Henry was going to be a dad.
A dad of her kid.
It was still a head trip.
Toni released the tailgate on Henry’s pickup and patted the edge. “Come on, Earl. You can get down.”
Earl just lay down in the bed of the truck and sighed deeply.
“Huh.” She closed the tailgate and walked up her front steps. The front door was open, but the screen door was keeping the bugs out. “Henry?”
“Hey!”
Toni walked in the house and saw him stick his head out from the kitchen doorway as she was taking off her boots. “What are you doing in my house?” She wasn’t upset exactly. It was just out of character. Henry was usually overly polite and went out of his way not to intrude on her territory. “And why won’t Earl get out of the truck?”