Chapter 22
Irushed to her and sat on her bed. She buried her face in her pillow. The phone she clutched in her hand beeped, signaling that the person on the other end had hung up.
I rubbed her back. “I’m hanging up the phone for you,” I explained, taking it away.
Once I put it on the cradle, she sat up and hugged me so hard I nearly fell backward. I returned her embrace.
“Amber, h-h-he’s—”
“You don’t have to say it!” I rocked her, gently. Dead. She couldn’t say the word “dead.” I was sure of it. The tears that cascaded down her face weren’t ones of relief. “Alive” would have been easy to say. Her heavy sobs made her rise and fall repeatedly in our embrace. “Let it out,” I said, stroking her hair. She buried her head in the crook of my neck. Her tears soaked through my shirt. Soon, my own joined hers as they flowed down my face.
She pulled away, her makeup smeared and face flushed. “I’m sorry.”
“What on earth for?”
“Before you left, I… You were just trying to look after me.” She choked back more sobs.
“Don’t worry about that. We’re fine.”
I leaned back on her pillow and guided her down next to me. She was trying to apologize for yelling at me earlier. Never again would I leave right after a fight. I was sorry too.
She eventually stopped crying. It came in spurts until she seemed to wear herself out. Each time, I held her.
Once she managed to calm down, both of our stomachs began to churn. The gurgling sound caught us off guard and made us chuckle.
“I guess we are both hungry, huh?” I said.
“Yeah, no kidding.”
She hadn’t been eating much ever since Cam left to take care of her father’s debt. She needed to be cared for. “I could make soup,” I offered.
“I could eat some.”
We had our late-night snack. Fiona managed to eat a little soup with crackers. I had so many questions about Cam, but it was too soon to ask them. Unless she opened up to me first, I wouldn’t pry.
“You’re probably wondering who I was talking to on the phone.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“I was.”
“It was Henry. I knew his father got the paper delivered to the pub, and he would take them home. I wanted him to see if he could find any articles on what happened to Cam.”
“Oh, we don’t have to talk about it now.” She had been through so much. I could find out later what happened to Cam after she had time to process it and get over the shock of losing her boyfriend.
“I know, but you deserve to know what happened. You’ve been there for me the whole time.”
“Fiona, you don’t owe me anything, not even an explanation.” I reached for her hand and squeezed it briefly.
“I want to give you one anyway. What I do know is the bare minimum the press has found out. According to the police, Cam was killed”—she gulped—“during a shoot-out between him and men that are associated with a drug lord who runs the slums in Jersey. Since the men who killed Cam got away, the investigation is ongoing. Considering these criminals are responsible for the deaths of multiple cops, I figure they will eventually get what’s coming to them.” A wicked grin escaped her mouth.
“I’m so sorry, Fiona.” I shook my head.
“Me too. I didn’t think I could hate my father any more than I did. Turns out I was wrong, so very wrong. Cam somehow paid his debt to the mob to save me. But it cost him his life.” Her tears came again.
I rushed to her side and held her. “No more talking about it tonight. Please, stop.”
“Okay,” she muttered.
Since I didn’t want to leave her side, I walked with her back to her room and crawled into bed with her. I couldn’t sleep until I heard her soft snoring.
∞ ∞ ∞
The next day, I awoke before Fiona. I crept out of her bed, careful not to wake her. I was up earlier than normal. By nine thirty, I’d already had coffee and a banana.
As I brushed my teeth, I remembered the fireman, Gabe, talking about the chili cook-off. It was at noon. I could give Gabe a menu to take to the firehouse, and the firefighters could order from the pub once Henry knew what items we could make.
There was no way I was leaving the apartment and worrying about Fiona while I was out. Fiona’s well-being took precedence over eating chili and flirting. Maybe Daisy could stay with her.
After a short phone call, Daisy agreed to stop by just after four. It was the soonest she could come. Although I would miss the event, I would stop by the firehouse and hope to see Gabe. If he was at work later, I would have a chance to reconnect with him.
I called Henry to see how ordering the new appliances was going. He had ordered a new stove. Replacing some parts could salvage the refrigerator in the kitchen. He hadn’t figured out what items to offer for carryout, but the fridge in the bar was still working. I suggested sandwiches for now. Henry agreed to two of them, along with some potato appetizers. I highlighted the items on a takeout menu I had in the apartment. He suggested we wait until the painting was done and the electrical was working to start the limited menu.
As promised, Daisy came over at four o’clock. I left Daisy and Fiona at the apartment and went out. The guilt of leaving Fiona the day after she found out her boyfriend died was eased by knowing she wasn’t alone.
When I arrived at the firehouse, a gentleman answered the door. “I’m here to see Gabe,” I said, realizing I didn’t know his last name.
“Follow me.”
We went to an area with a speaker system on the wall. He pushed the button. “MacGrath, you have a visitor.”
That’s one way to find out his last name.
“He’ll be with you in a moment,” he said.
Gabe opened the door. “Amber, what a pleasant surprise! I looked for you at the cook-off but didn’t see you.”
“Sorry about that. Something came up, and I couldn’t make it.”
“No problem. We have some leftovers. Do you want to try a sample?”
“No, thanks. I already ate. Besides apologizing for missing the event, I wanted to drop off some carryout menus. The highlighted ones are the items we can deliver by, say, the end of next week, hopefully.”
“You deliver here?” He flipped through the small menu. “I never thought about ordering from the pub for takeout. Would you be the one delivering it?” His dimples framed a smile.
How could I not deliver after that? “I think that could be arranged.” I raised my eyebrows.
“You let us know when we can call, and I’ll get some orders ready.”
“Will do.”
“Since the pub is being renovated, does that mean you’d be free for coffee tomorrow?”
The idea of being one-on-one with him on a date made me speechless. He looked deeply into my eyes, but I still couldn’t form words. All I could manage was a nod.
“I work second shift, so coffee is at, like, four in the afternoon.”
“Where?” I was so overwhelmed by his mouthwatering good looks that I was proud of articulating a single word.
When he said the name of the diner Fiona and I frequented, I snapped out of my lustful haze. “Actually, I’m not sure.” I didn’t know when Cam’s funeral was. I needed to wait until Fiona got through that ordeal before making dates. “I probably can. I’ll know for sure later.”
“Can I have your number and call you later? Maybe another day would be better.”
“Okay.”
He took out his cell and put my number in it.
“Thanks. I’ll call you tomorrow.” His dimples formed again. He was so damn cute it nearly made my knees weak. “Meanwhile, I’ll take a look at that menu.”
“Sounds good.” I smiled and walked away. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was checking me out as I left. God, I hoped so.