with the fact that his ex-wife was gone. But what was she doing? Where did she go? He was beginning to realize he should have kept his mouth shut and not threatened her. That was all the warning she’d needed.
And then his gut knotted.
What if she went to the feds out of spite? What if the feds put her in witness protection? I need to put out some feelers and see if there’s anything stirring that might come back on me.
He took another drink and then set the wineglass aside and opened the window between him and the driver.
“Paddy, replace this wine. I don’t like it. I’d prefer something from the German pinot noirs, I think.”
“Yes, sir,” the driver said, and accelerated through the green light.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the Venetian Resort hotel and casino. Paddy jumped out and circled the limo to open the door for his boss.
Blaine exited the car and was immediately greeted by an employee who escorted him to where the private lunch was being held. As soon as Blaine walked into the room, his blood pressure settled and his wayward thoughts about his ex disappeared. He was in his element and on familiar ground.
* * *
Dan Amos came by Cathy’s house after the rain finally stopped, bringing a Mexican casserole and a tres leches cake.
“Alice sent food, and I’ll confess it took an extreme amount of my willpower not to sample it on the way over. Her saving grace is that she made the same thing for us for supper tonight, so your food is intact.”
Cathy inhaled as he carried it into the kitchen for her.
“Wow, that smells good,” she said.
“I put the cake in the refrigerator. She said to tell you it needs to stay cold. The casserole will be fine sitting out until after you’ve finished supper.”
“Thank you so much…both of you, and please tell Alice how much I appreciate it.”
“Will do,” Dan said. “Before I leave, do you mind if I get up in the attic to make sure the roof doesn’t have any leaks? You’re the first renter who’s lived here since the hurricane, and I want to make sure the roof repair held.”
“Oh sure, do you what you need to do,” Cathy said.
“Thanks,” Dan said.
He stepped back out onto the porch, then brought in a ladder, carried it down the hall to the attic access, then climbed up and crawled in.
She could hear him walking around above, and felt grateful for having a competent and honest landlord. A few minutes later he climbed down.
“It’s all good and dry as a bone up there,” Dan said. “I’ll get out of your way now. I have a couple more houses I need to check before I quit for the day.”
“Here’s hoping they’re all nice and dry,” Cathy said.
Dan gave her a thumbs-up and left with his ladder.
Cathy watched him loading up and then driving away and wondered what had happened in his life that made him give up the high-powered lifestyle of a prominent criminal lawyer and settle in this little town doing his own repairs on his rental properties. Then she shrugged. Everybody had a story to tell, even her, although nobody here in Blessings knew a thing about hers—except Dan.
A short while later, there was another knock on her door, and the woman standing on the porch holding a sack of groceries immediately introduced herself.
“Hi, sugar! I’m Ruby Butterman. I run the Curl Up and Dye salon, and I heard through the Blessings grapevine—otherwise known as the gossip circle—that you’re a bit incapacitated right now. So, these goodies are from me and the girls at my shop. When you get to feeling like it, stop by for a free shampoo and style.”
Cathy was enchanted. “Thank you so much. I run by your shop almost every morning…or at least I did before I messed up my ankle. I appreciate the offer and the goodies so much. Please pass on my thanks to the girls as well.”
Ruby set the groceries on the seat of Cathy’s walker and then handed her a card from her shop.
“This has all my contact info on it. Call if you ever need anything, okay? I’ve got to get back to the shop. I have a client coming soon.”
She waved, then turned and dashed off the porch and drove away.
Cathy rolled the sack of groceries into her kitchen and put up a quart of milk, a loaf of fresh bread, some meat and cheese for