Murder in Waiting - Lynn Cahoon Page 0,77

cell for the weekend.”

“Thanks. I’ll give him a call after dinner.” I hung up the phone, and instead of tucking it away, I put it on the table.

“What in the world is going on?” Amy looked at me, then the phone. “Don’t tell me something happened to the house.”

“No. At least, it didn’t because Greg stopped the bad guys.” I went on to tell them all about what happened, stopping the story to order food because they’d waited for me to get off the phone. They had ordered drinks, and as soon as my beer arrived, I ignored the chilled glass and drank down half of the bottle. When I ordered my dinner, I added in another beer. “So, long story short, Emma’s fine and Greg’s on his way here as soon as he gets done locking up the ones who tried to get into the house.”

“Do you know what they were looking for?” Justin asked as the waiter started setting food on the table in front of us.

“My guess? After hearing what Mike had to say, I think they were going to set it on fire. And probably steal some easy-to-fence things. We don’t have much. But I bet Greg’s new television wouldn’t have been found in the fire. Or any of the computer stuff in the office.” I took another sip of my beer. “I’m just glad Emma’s okay.”

Amy pointed her fork at Sara and Mike, who were now watching us. Mike was on his phone, apparently getting the same news I’d just received. “What about those two?”

“They’re feds. Along with having cover jobs like being an author and a Realtor. She’s the one who tried to push me into selling the house.” I cut off a piece of my salmon and took a bite. It was heaven. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the taste and sent a prayer of thanks up for Emma’s safety. I’d never had to worry about her before. Well, just once when Toby left some chocolate down and she ate it. But that had been an accident, because he’d been fighting with his then-girlfriend, Sasha.

We sat quietly for a while and just ate.

“I’m sorry I pulled you here for a party.” Amy put down her fork and took a sip of her margarita. “I knew things were going on. We could have postponed this.”

“No.”

The emphasis of the word made both Amy and Justin look at me. I’m pretty sure they thought I’d gone a little crazy. I set down my fork and took both their hands. “We have to learn to celebrate the good things in life. Like your upcoming wedding. This party was long overdue. Your engagement party was overshadowed by Aunt Jackie dumping Harrold. You both deserve something that’s just for you. And I’m looking forward to celebrating with you.”

“That was really sweet of you.” Amy leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Thank you.”

Justin lifted his drink glass. “To Jill and our South Cove friends. Thank you for making life interesting.”

I clinked with the couple, then took a sip. “I’m thinking our lives will never be boring.”

“You know, you and Greg could tie the knot this weekend. Just have a Vegas wedding. We’ll all be here anyway.” Amy took another sip of her margarita, then quickly set it down and reached up to her forehead. “Brain freeze.”

Laughing, I went back to my dinner. “Serves you right. What part of this-is-your-weekend didn’t you hear?”

I wasn’t going to tell her that the thought of being married again scared me. I mean, I loved Greg. That was certain, and we seemed to be well suited for each other. We liked being together and we had a lot to talk about. But what if that died? Where would we be? And what about kids? Did saying yes mean getting a brood of kids started? I worried about leaving my dog for a weekend. What would I do if I had a baby? Who would I trust enough to watch her while we traveled?

My mind was racing and I didn’t like any of the questions or answers.

Amy shook my arm. “Earth to Jill. Do you want to go to a show with us? We’re going to the circus one. We can get you a ticket.”

I finished my second beer. “I think I’m going to go find the pool and sit and read until it’s too dark to be outside. Then I’ll go to my room and read.”

“We came to Vegas for fun.” Amy pouted.

I nodded.