Until Then (Cape Harbor 2)

“Speak of the devil.” Bowie pushed away from the table with his phone in his hand and disappeared down the hall. Rennie watched until he was out of sight, wondering why Graham called instead of showing up.

“I’m exhausted,” Brooklyn stated for all to hear. When Rennie looked at her, she had her arms stretched over her head and yawned. “Four a.m. is going to come so early.”

“We could sleep in and wait until Cyber Monday,” Rennie suggested. “The sales are just as good, and we don’t have to get dressed, fight for a parking spot, deal with traffic, or carry bags through busy malls.” All valid points, even though she wanted the one-on-one time with Brooklyn.

“True, but I like to touch what I’m buying. I want to see the box, read the fine print, and make sure the product is quality.”

“You mean unlike the snuggly blanket you found online that only fit a Barbie doll?” Brystol asked her mom.

“Exactly!” Brooklyn exclaimed. “This is why I can’t be trusted to shop online.” She looked directly at Rennie. “And don’t even get me started on reviews. You know most of them are fake anyway.”

Rennie scoffed but secretly agreed. She had been burned a time or two with deals that seemed too good to be true, and when the product arrived not to her liking or the specifications on the website, she had to battle some foreign entity for a refund. Black Friday shopping would commence in the morning.

Bowie came back into the room and paused as he held his phone in his hand, looked from the device to the table where his family and friends sat, and moved slowly toward his seat.

“What’s wrong?” Brooklyn asked as Bowie sat next to her. She reached out and put her hand over his.

“It’s Grady.” Bowie paused and glanced at his phone. “He’s in the hospital in Port Angeles.”

“Was that Graham? What did he say?” Brooklyn fired off her questions in rapid succession.

“He asked me to check the ferry schedule, and he’d let me know. Nothing else.”

“I’m going to drive over,” Rennie blurted out.

Brooklyn turned sharply toward her friend. “Why?”

Rennie stood slowly as she composed her thoughts. Her gut told her she needed to be there for Graham. Sure, they weren’t as close as they used to be, but he was still her friend. “I don’t know. I just need to be there for him. Make sure he and his parents are okay.”

“I’ll go with you. I know George. He’s probably sitting outside. He hasn’t dealt with Grady very well,” Bowie added.

“Okay,” Brooklyn sighed. “You guys go—keep me updated.”

Rennie saw the disappointment in Brooklyn’s eyes. Was it because Bowie decided to go, or was it because Rennie was leaving, and it likely meant no shopping trip for tomorrow? The drive alone would be at least seven hours round trip.

Against her better judgment, Rennie took the elevator back to her room. She hated small confined spaces and especially feared metal boxes that rattled, squeaked, and shook. She was in a hurry, though, and wanted to get on the road. She changed into a pair of jeans and an oversize sweatshirt, packed her yoga pants, grabbed her laptop and the book she recently started, and threw her toothbrush in her bag just in case. Rennie had no idea what to expect but wanted to be prepared in case it meant a restless night in one of the uncomfortable waiting-room chairs.

She took the stairs on her way back down, and instead of walking through the ballroom and to the secret door, Rennie went out the front door of the inn. She hadn’t expected to find a valet driver working on Thanksgiving night and had planned to get her car from the parking lot. She also hadn’t expected to find Bowie waiting for her.

“I figured I would drive. I know the roads a bit better, and I have a feeling George will want to come back to town later.”

Rennie nodded and slid into the front seat. She closed the door, buckled up, and sighed. “Am I being presumptuous?”

“It’s hard to say. We don’t know what we’re going to find. For all we know, they could be on their way home.”

“Do you think that?” she asked.

Bowie shook his head. “No. I think if Grady was in the hospital and it wasn’t urgent, Graham takes the long way around. As it is, I have a bad feeling.”

“Me too.” Rennie knew only what Brooklyn had told her about Grady. When she saw Graham, his brother was never a topic of conversation, and she understood why. Grady’s outburst over the summer had left a bad taste in her mouth. He had been volatile toward Brooklyn while they sat around the bonfire meant to honor Austin, pointing his finger and slurring his words as he cursed at her friend, telling Brooklyn it was she who should’ve died, not Austin. Rennie had been warned that Grady was the town drunk, and he proved everyone’s words to be true that night. She didn’t want to think about what Grady had done to land himself in the hospital.