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Sady laughed at the look on Matt's face when she opened the motel door. He pushed past her with a snarl when she asked what happened. He poured a shot of cough syrup, downed it, then poured another before he answered.
"Your cousin's a coward," he accused. "He left me standing at the counter, while he 'took a phone call,' the dirty liar! He ran out the door and didn't stop, leaving me to fend off the attack of Mary Jane. It's not funny, Sandy-Sue! She backed me into a corner, and if the door hadn't opened, she'd be having her way with me!"
"Stop being a drama queen and go take a cold shower," she snickered. "That's what you get for leading her on."
"You turn into an evil woman when you're in Sinful. You know that, don't you? By the way, what did you do with my cell phone the first time we were here?"
"I tossed it into the stream by the B-and-B," she replied.
"I got back-charged for that phone," he grumbled.
"Take it up with Uncle John," she suggested. "Now go take your shower, because I'm getting hungry."
"We're not eating at the diner," he said flatly. "Mary Jane's probably circling it like a shark, getting ready for the kill."
"Fine," Sady replied. "I'm going to the park to see if the pottery booth is still there. You can pick me up when you're ready."
Sady was disappointed to see all the booths gone. With nothing else to do, she sat on a park bench and watched the passersby. An elderly man stopped to look at her, and she smiled at him.
"I saw you today," he said. "You were at the old Colbert house, weren't you?"
"Guilty as charged," she admitted, patting the bench next to her. "Would you like to sit?"
"I'm Horace," he said as he sat next to her on the bench.
"I'm happy to meet you, Horace. My name is Sady. How did you know I was at the Colbert house?"
"I live next door," he chuckled. "So many visitors come looking for Louis' treasure. They should just open the house and charge admission."
"It's silly," Sady smiled. "But who can resist the lure of a treasure hunt? Horace, do you think Louis ever had the contents of the Long safe?"
"I don't know. We met only a few months before he passed. By that time he was a quiet man... and studious. I know he considered his vast book collection to be a treasure."
"The town sold off his belongings, but I assumed it was mostly household items. I had no idea he collected books. That interests me, because I used to be a librarian," she told him.
"You should go to the Sinful library," Horace suggested. "The library received his book collection, and many are still on display or available to check out."
"I'll do that," Sady promised. They both looked up at the sound of a horn and Sady said, "That's my ride. Thank you for stopping to chat, Horace. I enjoyed it, and I'll go to the library tomorrow." Sady bounced to the car, happy to have a new lead. When she told the guys of her talk with Horace, Matt laughed.
"Only a librarian would be excited over an old book collection," he teased.
"Do you have a better idea?" she asked. Then, "Yeah, that's what I thought. Try to wear your intelligent look tomorrow, or they'll send you to story hour with the kids."
"It has to be more fun than looking through dusty old textbooks," he muttered.
"Fine, I'll reserve you a spot," Sady told him. "I hope you sit next to the kid wearing a stinky diaper!"
"Don't be mean, Sandy-Sue. We get enough of that in the elevator at home with the Davis kids!"
Ryan demanded an explanation. As Matt drove to an out-of-town restaurant, Sady filled Ryan in on the family that lived in their building. He chuckled when she told him about their babysitting experience... including the diaper changing/potty training episodes.
Matt pulled off the highway into a gravel parking lot, filled with ruts and trucks with monster tires. Sady gave the building a skeptical look. "Are you sure you want to eat here?" she asked.
Matt turned to glare. "What's wrong with this place?"
"Did you even look at it?" she asked in wonder. "Open your eyes, for starters! Torn window screens aren't a good sign, Matt. I bet there's fly strips, mouse traps, and rat poison in the kitchen."
"The places with good food always look like this," he replied. "They're too busy cooking to bother with the appearance. Besides, the parking lot is full!"
As they got out of the car Sady whispered to Ryan, "It's full because there's a ten foot flashing neon bottle of beer on top of the building. It's so the drunks can find their way here in the dark! We're obviously not in a dry county."
Matt led the way into the restaurant/bar and found a table. Sady pulled out her chair and wiped her hands on her jeans. "It's sticky," she hissed to Matt. She sat, then her eyes got big, and she said, "My elbow's stuck to the table!" With a jerk, she yanked it loose.
"I'll ask the waitress to wash the table," Matt offered.
"NO!" Sady yelled then looked around, embarrassed by her outburst. "Don't do that because then she'll get mad and spit on our food. Don't you watch TV documentaries?"
"I think you watch too many of them," he retorted. The waitress appeared and handed them greasy menus. When she came back the men ordered food, and the waitress turned to Sady.
"I'll have a glass of water, and a straight whiskey," she said with a smile. The waitress' brows went up, but she didn't comment. At the looks Matt and Ryan sent her way Sady explained. "The glass of water is just a ruse. I'm warning you, don't drink it! Montezuma gets his revenge north of the border too. The whiskey is just mouthwash to kill any germs that might accidentally find their way into my mouth."
“You're paranoid,” Matt accused.
“No, I'm smart. You boys ordered burgers with mayo and coleslaw? Wrong, wrong, wrong! Something from the deep fryer might have at least killed the bacteria.”
Matt snorted, and Sady continued, "Didn't we have a similar conversation when we went camping? You didn't learn your lesson, did you? Well, when you're up all night, I'm going to send you to Ryan's room because misery loves company, and I want to sleep tonight!"
***
"Are you deliberately aiming for every pothole?" Matt yelled as Sady drove the car back to Sinful. "Or did you drink that whiskey on an empty stomach?"
"Yeah, what he asked," Ryan groaned from the back seat.
"No, to both questions. I'm driving home a point," she replied. "Always trust the person with the most experience. When will you learn?"
"I don't care! Just tell me you have your bag of magic medicine with you," Matt moaned.
"You should know better than to even ask," she said, sounding disappointed. "The Boy Scouts aren't the only ones who are always prepared. Beauty queens- past, present, and future- all learn the necessities early on. A roll of antacids beats a tube of lipstick every time."
"Please tell me you have more than antacids because we need more than that. Oh, God! Why are you stopping at the diner?" Matt asked desperately.
"Because I haven't eaten, my foolish friends. You wait here while I order the special to go."
"Did you have to say 'go'?" Ryan asked, wiping the sweat from his upper lip. "Hurry, Sady!" Then he asked Matt, "Why is she laughing?"
Sady got her food and broke the speed limit the few blocks to the motel. Both men jumped from the car before it came to a stop, rushing for the rooms.
"Don't worry about me," Sady called after them. "I'll just be out here eating my dinner where it's peaceful... and quiet." Soon Matt beckoned from the door of their room, and Sady got out.
"Is it safe to enter?" she teased. He gave her an anguished look, and she dug into her travel bag. He lunged for the bottles, and she held them out of reach. "Don't be greedy. You have to share. Now hold out your hand. I'll ignore that look and your rude remark because I know you didn't mean to insult me. I'm going to Ryan's room. Don't lock me out because I have all the medicine with me."
Ryan opened his door, his face alternating between white and red. He didn't need to be told to hold out his hand. Sady patted him on the head and said, "I've given you extra, so don't take them all at once." He opened his mouth and shoved in the whole batch of pills. His eyes bugged, then he ran for a glass of water while she watched in amusement.
When she left, she said under her breath, "It must be a man thing."
Matt was already in bed when she got to the motel room. Sady wasn't sleepy but she got ready for bed, anyway. After flopping around for twenty minutes Matt growled at her, and her sense of humor took over. Sady shook with silent laughter, making the whole bed quiver.
"What's wrong?" Matt whispered, turning on the lamp.
"This!" She pounded her feet on the mattress and the bed springs screamed in protest. "There won't be any sinning in the Sinful Inn," she gasped with laughter.
"Knock it off over there," a gruff voice yelled from the next room. "I'm trying to sleep!"
Sady continued giggling.
"Quiet down, will you?" Matt hissed. "The guy in that room is the size of a truck, and I'm in no condition to defend myself. I don't want to get pulverized, if you don't mind!"
Sady giggled and bounced her feet again. The springs continued to squeal. A voice came through the wall. "I'm warning you for the last time!"
"Stop it!" Matt grabbed Sady to hold her still. "Are you done?" he whispered.
She gave one final giggle and nodded. When he let go with a sigh of relief, she bounced on the bed one more time.
The man next door let out a roar, and Matt grabbed his stomach with a groan.
Sady yelled through the wall, “Sorry, fella! I have a bad back.”
"He wouldn't beat up a woman, would he?” she whispered to Matt.
“Did you see him? I wouldn't put it past him. But, I'm warning you, if you shake this bed one more time he's going to have to take a number,” he complained.
“You lost your sense of humor when you ate that questionable hamburger and the spoiled coleslaw,” she told him.
“I hate you!”
“I know.” Sady snickered one more time before she forced herself to be still.