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Ryan grumbled even louder when they finally got off the bus in Sinful. "How can you breathe?" he asked. "The humidity is like a sauna!"
"You get used to it... I guess," Sady assured him. "Come on, let's see about rooms at the bed-and-breakfast."
A few minutes later she stood in front of the B-and-B, a look of horror and denial on her face. "Closed for renovation? No, this can't be happening!" she yelled.
"It's okay," Ryan said. "I saw another place when we got off the bus- the Sinful Inn."
"No," Sady shook her head adamantly. "That sign is just a trap to lure innocent visitors." She placed her hands against the front door of the bed-and-breakfast with a hopeful look. Pulling away with a sigh, she moaned, "No!"
As she stepped off the porch, she looked up at the sound of a horn. Her mouth dropped. "What are you doing here?" she growled at Matt, who leaned against a rental car.
He grinned. "John sent me here on business. Would you like a ride to the Inn?"
"I'm getting the business and being taken for a ride," she mumbled.
"Okay, go ahead and walk," Matt told her.
"Wait," Ryan called. He dragged Sady down the sidewalk. "We'll take you up on that offer. It's too far in this heat. Thank you!"
Sady fumed the few minutes it took to drive to the motel. When she saw the sign she brightened. "Newly renovated rooms? Matt, why didn't you tell me?"
Matt held back a smile while Sady rushed to the front office. A minute later the office door slammed, and she got into Matt's car with a scowl. "And why didn't you tell me you already reserved rooms? And who comes to visit this town, anyway? Other than stupid people? Like me!"
"To be fair, one of the rooms is undergoing renovation and not available to rent yet," he explained in a voice guaranteed to make her mad.
"Fine," she snapped. "Now give me a room key."
"They only had two rooms available," he told her.
"Good, because three in a bed never works! I hope you two have fun together. My key?"
Matt and Ryan gave her the same look, and she narrowed her eyes. "Seriously? You two can't share a room?"
Matt snorted. "A room, yes. A bed, no." Ryan grinned when Matt handed him a key and kept the other.
"I hate you," she muttered to Matt as he grabbed her bag and led the way to the room.
"No, you don't," Ryan called to her.
"I hate you too," she yelled down the sidewalk. Matt opened the door and waited for her to enter.
She stopped in the doorway, shocked. Then her sense of humor took over, and she giggled. "What happened?" she whispered to Matt. The room had different carpet. Sady was glad to see the nasty shag carpet had been replaced. The owner replaced it with carpet squares. Only not the commercial grade squares used in offices. Or even the mismatched squares one could purchase by the box for a discount. They made their own squares, from carpets of every style and color.
"I knew it!" she laughed, as she grabbed Matt's arm and pointed. "They used a piece of the old shag. What else did they renovate?"
Matt set her bag on a chair, while Sady checked out the room. "Wow, towels in the room? And a queen-size bed? I don't know if I can stand the luxury," she joked.
"I don't think you'll have to worry," Matt told her. "Check out the bed."
Sady dropped onto the bed and bounced a few times. It creaked and squealed, so she hopped off and lifted the bedspread. "I've never seen a motel use old-fashioned bed springs," she said in awe. "Where do you suppose they found them?"
"Probably a barn sale," Matt laughed. "I hope you brought ear plugs."
Sady lifted a towel and remarked, "And I hope you got extra towels, because I'm going to need both of these. They look about as useful as a sheet of paper!" She dropped the towels and pulled him by the hand to the door. "Let's go see Ryan's room."
She opened the door to find Ryan standing there, a stunned look on his face. "If I disappear, tell Erin I love her," he said.
"Who's Erin?" Matt asked. Ryan absently handed him his cell phone, a picture of Erin set as the background.
"Erin's his fiancée," Sady told Matt.
"I didn't know these places existed outside of a movie set," Ryan said.
Sady snickered. "It's an improvement over the last time we stayed here."
His eyes bulged. "And you willingly came back? I'm worried about your state of mind, cuz!"
"It's not all bad," Matt told him. "The diner here will take away most of your pain. And what it doesn't help, the cough syrup will."
"I hoped for something more substantial," Ryan said. "Like moonshine!"
"Trust me, the cough syrup comes pretty close," Matt assured him. "Would you like to drive to the diner or walk?"
"Walk!" Ryan yelled. "Sorry, but that bus trip... She didn't warn me the trip lasts an eternity," he complained to Matt.
"You're just soft," Sady accused. "If you'd ever done a circuit on the beauty bus..."
"Don't let her get started!" Matt warned. "She'll take away all your good food and withhold vital medical attention when you need it. You'll end up with a bottle of water and a fat free, tasteless rock disguised as a cracker."
Ryan's brows went up. "I take it there's a story behind that remark. You can tell me about it over supper." In the diner, he took one side of the booth for himself, forcing Matt and Sady to share the other side. The men exchanged a smile, and Sady rolled her eyes, giving Matt a shove. After they ordered, Matt told Ryan about the recent job the company did, and the camping involved.
"And that's another reason I won't complain about that bed," Sady told them. "At least not much," she added. Ryan laughed when Sady told him about Amanda's RV. Matt's face turned red, then he shook his head in resignation.
"A word of caution," he told Ryan. "Try to stay out of Amanda's cross hairs."
"Too late," Ryan said. "She threatened to pull my organs out through my eye sockets with a rusty coat hanger if anything happens to Sady. And I believe her!"
"Thanks for taking some of the heat," Matt joked. Then their food arrived and they quit talking to enjoy the meal.
"Now that's sinful," Sady sighed after they finished eating. She smiled at the waitress she remembered from their previous visit. "It's a good thing I only come once a year, or I'd need a tow truck to get out of the booth."
"I'll tell Francine," the waitress told them. "I'm Ally, by the way. Be sure and come back."
"Boys, she was talking to me, so make sure you stay out of my way," Sady warned with a grin.
The bell on the door tinkled as it opened, and the blonde Sady saw on her first visit walked in with two older women. Her eyes rested on their booth for a second, then she led the women to a table at the back without acknowledging them. Ryan gave Sady a curious look, and she shook her head. "Don't ask, please."
"Just for you, I'll mind my own business," he replied.
Sady turned to Matt. "I didn't know it was so much fun to have family! Did you have fun with your cousin?"
Matt scowled. "You had to bring it up, didn't you?"
Sady nodded and pestered him. "Come on, tell us about it." Turning to Ryan she told him Matt took his cousin to the senior prom. Ryan spewed the water he just sipped.
"Thanks, big mouth," Matt told Sady.
"Please?" she asked. "Pretty please?"
He reluctantly pulled out his phone and flipped through the photos. "I saved it only because I knew you wouldn't let it drop!" Sady grabbed the phone.
At her look of astonishment, he said, "If it makes you feel better she's gained a few pounds and had laser eye surgery. She got her braces off a few years ago, and she's no longer into do-it-yourself haircuts. I can't speak to her taste in clothes though. I guess it must be better because she's married now and has a couple kids."
To his surprise she didn't laugh. "I think it was a sweet thing to do," she said. "Your mom was right."
Ryan grabbed the phone and laughed. "Dude, how much alcohol did it take?" Matt snorted, and Sady scolded them both.
"Just for that you're paying for my meal," she told them, getting up to leave.
"What happened to sweet and nice?" Ryan asked.
"Amanda happened," Matt explained. "Don't even try to win that one."
On the walk to the motel, Sady asked Ryan where they'd start their search for Louis Colbert's treasure. Matt looked skeptical, so Ryan explained the story. When he finished, he told Sady, "I thought we'd talk with a few of the long-time local residents. Some of them must have known Louis."
Sady gave Matt an anxious look, and Ryan picked up on it. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"Will you just take my word for it if I tell you there's a few people we should avoid?"
"Uncle John's friends?" Ryan inquired. Sady nodded, and he agreed. "I wondered why you didn't speak to the blonde who came into the diner. Sorry, occupational hazard! I won't mention her again."
"Maybe we can ask Walter," Sady suggested.
"Walter runs the general store, and probably hears more gossip than the hairdresser," Matt explained. "Walter also sells the best cough syrup you'll ever buy."
Sady led the way, with the men following at a slower pace. By the time they entered the store Sady and Walter were already exchanging a hug. "He remembered me!" Sady told the men.
"I never forget a beautiful woman," Walter shrugged, looking pleased.
"Oh, no. We're not going there again," Matt told him.
"Ignore him, Walter," Sady advised.
"I intend to," he told her with a twinkle in his eye. "You fellas look around first. Then if you can't find what you need I'll be along to help you. First things first though." He turned to Sady and asked how she'd been. Without letting on to her Sinful connection, she told him that she settled in Michigan.
"Are you and your young man hitched yet?" Walter asked. Sady didn't reply, and Walter shook his head. "Is he blind or stupid?"
"Both," she whispered.
"I heard that," Matt said, standing right behind her. "And I'm neither, Sassafras."
Sady turned to Walter. "Add slow to the list."
"Don't wait too long," Walter cautioned Matt. "If I were younger, she might not have made it out of Sinful last year."
"Aw!" Sady gave Walter another hug.
"Silver tongued devil, aren't you?" Matt scowled.
"Maybe," Walter admitted. "But I'm not stupid, blind, or slow."
"Score one for Walter," Ryan said to Matt. "Now, where's the famous cough syrup I've heard about?"
Walter pulled a few bottles from under the counter. "Go get some juice or something," Sady told Matt. "Please?" she added with a smile.
As Matt turned toward the juice aisle, Walter said, "That's more like it! You can't keep a lady like this waiting too long or she'll get the juice somewhere else." He winked at Sady, while Matt could be heard grumbling.
Ryan nudged Sady, and she said, "Oh! That's right. Walter, do you remember a man named Louis Colbert?"
Walter grinned. "On a treasure hunt, are you?"
"More like a good story," Ryan admitted.
"Yeah, I recall old Louis. Of course, I was pretty young at the time, but he attracted a lot of attention as I recall. The person you want to talk with is Beth-Ann Clayton. Her family has lived in Sinful for generations. She's getting up in years, and she's forgetful at times, but no one else knows the history of Sinful like Beth-Ann." He gave them directions to her house, then checked them out. "Good luck," he called after them. Sady turned to wave, and Matt pulled her away from the door.
"Enough flirting," he teased. "I don't know if Walter's heart can take it."
"At least Walter has a heart," she retorted, leaving the men behind again.
"You'd better fix that before it gets worse," Ryan advised. Matt gave him a sour look, and Ryan chuckled. "I've already been there. And I don't plan on ever going back!"
Matt stopped him and gave him a nervous look. "You, uh... was it hard?" Ryan raised a brow in question, and Matt continued. "Proposing? Is there a wrong way? It's not something a guy wants to blow."
"There's no wrong way, when you have the right woman," Ryan smiled. "But just a suggestion- if you ever decide to propose... don't do it in a place like this."
"Rejection?" Matt asked, wiping the sweat from his brow.
Ryan snorted. "From Sady?" Then he laughed, shaking his head. "No, you just don't want to look back and remember the smell of a putrid, stagnant pond."
Matt grew relieved, then embarrassed. "Hey, this stays between us," Ryan told him. Then, "I never knew a pretty woman could be such a pest," he said, as Sady waved and yelled for them to hurry.
"Did you two get lost?" she asked with a huff of impatience.
"Just a detour," Ryan assured her. "Breakfast at the diner at eight?" he asked.
Matt and Sady nodded. Ryan grabbed a bottle of cough syrup before heading to his room. "It's that time of year," he coughed.