She checked the time again. Two. Not sure why she was agreeing, she fired off a text to Joe telling him she’d love to have dinner, then went in search of her aunt. Torie found her standing outside the coffee shop. The Pantry served sandwiches, salads, pastries, and surprisingly good coffee. While her aunt spoke with another employee, Torie got a breve, then stood a few feet away waiting for her turn with Aunt Genevieve.
Her aunt turned toward her as the employee left. “Is there a problem, Torie?”
“Not with the hotel, Ms. Hallston. An intruder has broken into my cottage several times, and someone stole some of my things out of Joe Abbott’s truck last night. When I got back to my cottage, the thief had broken in and left the stolen items inside. The state trooper thinks I shouldn’t stay there alone for a few days while he investigates, and I wondered if there might be a room at the hotel where I could stay in the meantime?”
Her aunt frowned. “That’s most inconvenient, Torie. We have a full house right now.”
It took all of Torie’s resolve to bite her tongue. “Should I stay at one of the other hotels?”
She’d known her aunt wouldn’t want club business spread to other hotels. “I’ll see what I can do. There might be a storeroom where we can put a bed.”
A storeroom. What was the woman thinking? The hotel was busy but not that busy. “Thank you, Ms. Hallston. I’ll go home as soon as the state police says it’s safe.”
“Broken into?” Her aunt’s hazel eyes raked Torie from head to toe. “What were they after? You hardly are the type to be harboring crown jewels or anything of value.”
Did her aunt think money was all that mattered? Torie wasn’t sure she’d be around by the time everything came out, but she hoped she was nearby when Aunt Genevieve realized she’d been dissing her own niece all this time.
“Do I have your cell?”
“Yes, ma’am, it’s in the system.”
“I’ll text you what I discover.”
“I appreciate it.” Torie forced a smile, then backed away.
Her phone broke into song—her father’s ringtone of “Daddy’s Hands.” She glanced back to make sure her aunt was out of earshot, then answered it. “Hey, Dad, what’s going on with you? You didn’t answer earlier.”
“I was out diving. Just got to the boat. What’s up, honey?”
He was actually acting like this was a real vacation. When was the last time she’d seen him do anything just for fun? Ages.
“You’re not going to like it.” She explained what had happened in the past twenty-four hours and could almost hear the steam spewing around her father’s head.
“Who would dare attack you?”
“It wasn’t an attack. More of a warning. Like don’t forget I’m watching you.” Put like that it sounded even creepier. “I mean, the guy hasn’t tried to hurt me or anything.”
“You need to go back to Scottsdale, Torie. I won’t have you in danger. I’m here now. I can poke around Lisbeth’s death.”
“I’m not leaving. This guy must be worried about what I’ll find out. If I leave now, he’s won. I can’t let that happen. I love you, Dad, but I have to do this. I really called to ask if you can arrange for a room at the hotel for me for a few days, but I already took care of it. Well, at least I think so. Aunt Genevieve says she can have a bed put in one of the storerooms.”
“She what?” he yelled.
Torie held the phone out from her ear and chuckled. “I doubt she’ll really do that. It was all bluster.”
“I’ll make sure she gives you a good room. The connecting room next to mine is empty.”
“That’s a suite. She won’t let me have that.”
“Oh yes she will,” he said grimly.
“If you intervene she’ll know something is up.”
“I’ll tell her I heard there was an employee with a problem, and as caring employers, we should take good care of that person. I’ll mention I think you should get that room. Or I’ll just arrange it and tell her. That’s a better idea. Then she can’t try an end run to bypass me.”
“Are you sure? It might make her angrier.”
“Like I’ve ever been afraid of her. She brought your mom a lot of grief, and she and Lily were nothing alike.”
“I didn’t know there was bad blood between them.”
“Maybe not bad blood but wariness. I dated Genevieve first, and she was livid when I dropped her and dated your mother.”
“Dad! You never told me that. You heartbreaker, you.”
He laughed. “There was no great love lost between us. All she ever wanted was my money. Your mom never cared about that kind of thing. After we were married, I made sure Genevieve had a respectable position in the company to compensate. I don’t think she ever saw it as anything less than her due.”
Torie felt the first stirrings of pity for her aunt. Maybe there was a reason she was so bitter.
Chapter 15
“Dad, come quick, the gulls are after the hatchlings!”
The sun was already sinking, leaving shadows and casting the sky in magenta and purple hues. Torie would be here at the picnic area on St. Andrews Beach any minute. He didn’t have time for turtle rescue right now, but his daughter would never forgive him if a gull made off with one of her little ones.
The soft sand slowed his run toward the line of sea grass and rocks where the latest sea turtle nest lay hidden. Hailey waved her arms and shouted at the screeching gulls with their black heads as they dive-bombed the hatchlings. The scent of the sea blended with the aroma of the steaks grilling near the picnic table, and he glanced at his watch. He had about five minutes before he needed to flip them.
“Shoo, shoo!” He waved his hands, then grabbed a palm frond nearby and chased off the gulls.
Protecting the march of the turtles with the frond, he walked with them to where the foam rolled onto the sand until each one disappeared into the surf.
Hailey hovered anxiously nearby until she was sure they were all safe. “Thanks, Daddy.”
“You’re welcome. I could use your help with the food now. I’ll flip the steaks if you get everything out of the truck.” He’d been able to pick up his vandalized truck earlier this afternoon.
“Okay. I hope she likes the brownies I made.” Hailey loved to bake, and though she was only eight, she had a talent for it.
She skipped along beside him back to their picnic spot. “I like Torie. She is never in a hurry and always listens to me.”
“I’ve noticed. She seems to like you a lot.”
How hard would it be to bring a new relationship into their lives? He and Hailey had been managing on their own for three years, and they had everyday life down to a science where everything worked. What if meeting Torie changed everything in a bad way? He’d never want Hailey to think she’d lost her place in his heart.
All this was new territory, and he wasn’t sure how to navigate the tangle. But maybe he was jumping the gun anyway. The feelings stirring for Torie might not be anything. Or they might not be reciprocated. It was too early to be thinking of those kinds of what-ifs.