Hannah nodded. “That’s good. I can show you after and maybe work a little with Zyah.”
Player made his escape just as Soleil, Anya, Breezy and Scarlet left. Blythe and Zyah took Anat to the ladies’ room, leaving him to join Alena and Lana. As he did, Terrie Frankle, the physical therapist, waved them over to her table.
“Player, this is Lucy Bellmont. I was telling her that your club owns quite a bit of the properties in Caspar. She’s lived there most of her life. Lucy, this is Player. I met him at the Gamal house.”
Player gave the Bellmont woman a smile, all the while wondering what Terrie wanted. Terrie was always unfailingly sweet to Anat, but the moment Terrie had insisted she wanted to be alone with the older woman and Anat had clearly been in pain after, he had changed his mind about the physical therapist. Now, watching her closely, he wasn’t so certain anything about her was genuine.
“This is Alena and Lana,” he introduced his Torpedo Ink sisters and waited for Terrie to have her say.
“Lucy is interested in a job at the grocery store in Caspar, Player. I know Zyah works there and Inez has something to do with the store. Do you have any idea if Lucy should just go into the store and get an application or does she have to go into the one here in Sea Haven? That was what she was going to do.”
Terrie liked to be in the know. Or was she trying to determine whether or not Torpedo Ink owned the store with Inez? It was a safe bet that they did, since they owned a good deal of the downtown properties, just as Terrie had pointed out.
“I think if you put in your application at either of the stores, Inez would be fine with it,” Lana answered for him. “I happen to know she’s working at the Caspar store today, so she might even interview you on the spot. Another woman was going there today in the hopes she had time to interview. They need a lot of help.”
Lucy broke into a smile after looking a little strained, as if she hadn’t been so happy that Terrie had asked Player for help. “Thank you.”
“Inez really does own the store, then?” Terrie asked.
“That’s the word on the street,” Lana said. “Torpedo Ink has been helping her out with stocking until she can get it up and running. Good help isn’t easy to find.”
Player’s gaze flicked to Terrie’s face. She’d definitely been looking for information. “Enjoy your lunch, ladies.” He stepped back to make room for Anat’s wheelchair to get through the aisle back to her place.
“Did I miss anything important?” Anat asked.
Player leaned over and brushed a kiss on her cheek. “Only that I saved you a cookie and I refrained from shooting the sheriff. I think his wife put a bunch of toads in his car. That’s a gift that could come in handy.”
Sabelia cleared the empty hat cups from the table, pausing to agree. “I believe you’re right, Player. I’ve been trying to perfect that one. I do need something to practice on. You wouldn’t give me the make and model of the vehicle Preacher drives, would you?” She used her sweetest voice.
Lana swung around. “Is my brother deserving of toads in his personal truck?”
“Preacher is your brother?” Sabelia straightened to her full height, which was a little ridiculous next to Lana’s tall figure. “I mean aside from being Torpedo Ink.”
“Yes.”
Sabelia flashed an impish smile. “He was extremely rude and called me a moron along with a wealth of other things. But I also was just as rude back, and he didn’t get me fired, so we’re even, and I don’t know how to put toads in his truck unless I catch them, which I have no intention of doing. I just thought if I was going to practice something like that, he might be a good one to practice on. At least his vehicle.”
“If you decide to pursue your craft, let me know. I’ll do all I can to assist you,” Lana said.
Sabelia laughed. Player thought the sound lifted some of the darker shadows talking with Terrie had given him. Sabelia’s laughter had a similar tone to Hannah’s when it was real.
Lana slipped into the seat across from Anat, intent on striking up a conversation with her and Blythe. Player didn’t blame her. Anat was a gift, and just being close to her could brighten anyone’s world. He wanted to be near Zyah. He looked around for her. Alena and Zyah stood by the window, looking out at the street. He joined them, crowding close to his woman, inhaling her scent, breathing away the last traces of gloom.
Zyah leaned into Player when he wrapped his arms around her waist. She loved the feel of his body against hers. His strength, and the way he was unflinchingly so possessive, so proud to let everyone know she was with him, made her feel inexplicably happy. She didn’t need a man to be confident. She knew who she was, but being with Player brought her joy.
He had given Anat a wonderful time with so many visitors. Her grandmother was in her element when she was regaling others with tales of her past and her colorful homeland. She was a good listener as well, encouraging others to tell her everything about themselves. Those qualities made her popular among old and young alike.
Player and Zyah hadn’t wanted to tire her out on her first real day out, so they had chosen to take her to the Floating Hat for tea and a luncheon. Blythe, Alena and Lana were going to join them. She didn’t know if it was a coincidence, but it was wonderful that Breezy, Anya, Soleil and Scarlet had happened in for tea as well. Anat had really enjoyed meeting them.
Alena slung her arm around Zyah. “I could have used you at the restaurant last night—we were slammed.” She nodded toward Jonas. “He had to come in last night because that little weasel Perry Randall wouldn’t answer his cell phone.”
“What was wrong? He was having dinner with Francine.”
Suddenly, there it was, all over again: that terrible dread Zyah had been feeling from the night before. She’d thought the premonition was over her grandfather’s drawing, but the feeling had hit her long before she’d gotten home. It had started right when Francine had driven up to the curb drunk in her grandmother’s prized Cadillac. She found herself pressing her body closer into Player’s.
“Perry’s parents were robbed and attacked last night,” Alena continued. She half turned to keep her body slightly at an angle away from Anat.
Player tightened his arms around Zyah’s waist, and she was grateful for his support.
“Why did Jonas come looking for him so quickly? How bad was it?” Player asked Alena the question Zyah had wanted to ask but couldn’t get the words out. She was terrified of the answer.
“His father is in a coma, Player. I don’t think he’s going to make it. And his mother isn’t in much better condition. Honestly, from what I understand, Perry could lose both his parents. Jonas, of course, didn’t tell Perry that, only that it was bad and Perry needed to get to the hospital. Blythe told me this morning when I asked. She’s got connections at the hospital.”
Zyah pressed her hand to her stomach, afraid she might vomit. Who in the world would beat older people to such an extent that they would put them in the hospital? Almost kill them?
“The thieves are escalating just the way Jonas said they were. I don’t understand why they aren’t leaving town the way they have every other place they’ve robbed,” Player said.