The other two dogs came close to Shabina, one on either side of her. “I started thinking if I hadn’t wanted my father to buy me new shoes for school, or a new backpack, he wouldn’t have wanted to start a company that made so much money. It was my fault that he needed to make that kind of money. I grew too fast and they had to keep buying me new clothes all the time. If I wasn’t growing, he wouldn’t have to work so much. We wouldn’t have to travel to so many other countries and put us at risk.”
There was silence as the two women looked out into the gardens. Stella loved her own house, but if she had to choose another one, just for the grounds alone, she would have wanted to live here. Once the gates were closed, it was as if they were in their own world. She felt that way at the resort.
“You were so lucky to find this place, Shabina. It’s really extraordinary.”
“Raine found it for me.”
“I didn’t know that.”
Shabina nodded. “In those early days, I was still very much afraid. I was determined, but afraid. You know Raine and her computer skills. She knew everything there was to know about me in probably two-point-five seconds. She knew I was looking for a house, a piece of property, with some grounds to it. I had told the real estate people I wanted gardens and enough land to walk and exercise the dogs, but I think Raine knew what I needed. This was a private sale. She got me a tour. The moment I saw it, I knew this was what I wanted. The kitchen is a chef’s dream. The grounds are unbelievable. And there are suites so when my parents come, even though there’s a guest house they won’t stay in, they can use one of the suites.”
“They won’t stay in the guest house?” Stella repeated.
“Nope. Not a chance. My mother says she refuses to give up the late-night girl talks, and if I’m truthful, I enjoy them. I don’t want to give them up either. Dad says he doesn’t want to give up raiding the refrigerator, that he starves without me in the house to cook.”
“I thought your mother cooked.”
“He claims she’s given up cooking the good dishes in favor of the kind that are supposed to be healthy.” Shabina laughed. “Naturally, he says this in her hearing so she chases him around the room, just so he can let her catch him.”
“Your parents sound lovely, Shabina.”
“They are lovely. So many couples wouldn’t have survived the trauma of their only child being taken and gone for so long, but it made them stronger. They have a bond that seems unbreakable. I want that for myself but …” She broke off and shook her head. “I think one has to actually go out with or be friends with a man before they can have an unbreakable bond.”
Stella laughed. “That’s true. Poor Sam, to hear him talk, he waged a secret campaign for the last two years because I was so closed off to the idea of a relationship.”
“Sam is so impossible to read,” Shabina said. “I would watch him at the Grill when we all got together. He always came. He and Denver seem to be good friends. And it’s very clear that Carl Montgomery likes him. Carl wasn’t too happy with you stealing Sam out from under him. He told me it’s hard to find good workers, and Sam was one of the best he’d ever had. Skilled and had a good work ethic. Around here, with the dirtbags coming in, you just don’t get that combination often.”
“We were dirtbags, Shabina,” Stella said. “We came here and didn’t even know we were considered dirtbags.”
“I showered daily.” Shabina burst out laughing. “I rented a house because of the dogs. But we were talking about Sam. He always sat on that one barstool just a little apart from us, one barstool over or just away from our table. His face was in the shadows. Did you notice that?”
“I noticed everything about Sam,” Stella admitted. “Denver usually sat next to him. Sometimes, if Carl came in, he did. And once in a while, Craig. I’ll bet you noticed when Craig came in, although he wasn’t in uniform.” Stella nudged Shabina.
Shabina laughed again. “You’re awful. See why I always end up blushing when any of you mention poor Craig? The point is, it was impossible to tell what Sam was thinking or feeling. He was just there, but not in this creepy way, more like a protective way.”
That surprised Stella. “You got that feeling from him?”
“Most of the time, yes. Unless Sean and his crew were insulting me on the dance floor, and then he just walked over and intense menacing vibes would pour off him. He didn’t have to say anything. He just looked at them and they usually left or went back to the bar. He could be scary. I ought to know, I’ve had protection details most of my life.”