“Ezra,” I cautioned. However, I didn’t move to stop him. My guy was not hasty or impulsive. He didn’t act out of anger. He wasn’t a rash man.
Which is why I was completely taken by surprise when he strolled across the restaurant and grabbed his startled soon-to-be-ex-brother-in-law’s shoulder, and demanded, “Just what the hell are you playing at, Rob?”
Rob gaped at Ezra, astonishment plain on his face. “Easy?”
“Oh my, God. Easy?” Cousin Penny scooted back in her chair and stood up. “I am not doing this,” she said. “Rob, I’m sorry. I just can’t.”
“You need to tell me why you’re here with him,” Ezra demanded.
“That’s none of your business,” she announced.
Ezra gestured to Rob. “Since this fool is still married to my sister, it is my business.”
Their voices were raised loud enough to get the attention of the other diners. I debated on intervening, but Ezra trusted me to handle my stuff. I’d trust him to handle his.
“Now, take it easy, Ezra.” Rob held out his hands in a “calm down” manner. Apparently, he was smart enough to keep his own emotions in check. “I know this looks bad, but there ain’t—”
“No.” Penny cut him off. “You don’t owe him an explanation.” She looked back and forth between the two men. “Besides, this is over.”
“Now, Penny, don’t—”
“No,” she said firmly. “Over and done. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“We can have this conversation now, or….” Ezra narrowed his gaze at her as he removed his hand from Rob. “Would you rather do it in front of all of our family at dinner tonight?”
Penny’s eyes widened, and she looked genuinely afraid as she grabbed her purse and fled to the bathroom. Since it didn’t look like the men would come to blows, I grabbed my purse and went to check on her.
There was a chicken on the women’s restroom door with a sign above it that spelled, Hens. I imagined the men’s bathroom had a rooster. Inside, there were five stalls, four regular and one handicap. I could hear sniffling going on behind the second closed stall door. One thing I wasn’t going to do was try to talk to someone while they were on the toilet.
Instead, I went to the sink and washed my hands. I looked at myself in the mirror, horrified by the way the LED lighting washed out my skin. After drying my hands, I took a tinted lip balm, no scent, from my purse and dabbed a little color on my cheeks before applying it to my lips, then reassessed. Still bad, but better.
There was a nose blow and a toilet flush before Penny came out to the sinks. She barely looked at me, her eyes red and puffy, as she washed her hands.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“I’m fine.” She gave me a suspicious glance before grabbing a few paper towels. “Or I will be.” Penny took a bottle of cologne from her purse and pumped a fine mist in front of her, then leaned into it.
It had sweet notes of berries and bergamot, and the scent made my head spin.
“You smell good enough to eat,” a man says as he pulls a woman close. They’re standing by a gold-flecked kitchen counter, a white fridge with a dent and a thick scratch on the top freezer door behind them. “Do you like it?”
The woman holds a bottle of cologne in her hand. She sniffs it. “I love it.”
He nuzzles her neck. “God, how did I get so lucky?”
She wraps her arms around his waist. “I am a catch,” she jokes.
“You are,” he says. “And when this is all over, I’ll make sure you have the life you always dreamed of.”
“And we’ll get Kyle?”
He kisses her. “Of course. We’ll be a family.”
“You make me so happy, Jay.”
“And I plan to keep making you happy for as long as we live.”
The undercurrent of near obsession choked me.
“Are you all right?” Penny asked. “Your whole face went pale.”
“It’s the lighting.” I gave my cheeks a light pinch. I knew I’d be running into her again, so I confessed my identity. “I’m with Ezra, by the way.”
She sighed with mild frustration. “Of course you are.”
“We drove up from Garden Cove for the family Christmas.”
Penny’s face relaxed a little. “Easy’s always been bossy. I guess growing up as fast as he did does a number on you. But he hasn’t been around for a long time, so he doesn't get to nose around in my business.” She threw her paper towels in the trash. “I get that Aunt Lynn wanted him to come home this year, his dad being sick and all, but that don’t give him a right to poke around in my business.”
Was his dad sick? Ezra hadn’t said. Maybe it was something he wasn’t ready to talk about. I could understand that. When my mom first got sick, I had a tough time sharing the news with people. But, whether or not her being at the restaurant with Ezra’s sister’s ex not being his business was debatable. “Isn’t Rob his brother-in-law?”
Her soft expression turned hard, and she fixed me with a glare. “I wouldn’t betray my family. Not like some people.” It was a not-so-subtle dig at Ezra. “But, even if I would, it definitely don’t give you any right to my business either.” She held her purse to her body. “Look, you seem like a nice lady and all, but take my advice, don’t put your nose where it don’t belong.”
She stormed out of the restroom the same way she’d come in, with a flourish.
I gave a quick salute to the backside of the door. “See you.”
When I got back out into the restaurant, Ezra was sitting back in our booth, and both Rob and Penny were gone. I’m not sure what had transpired between them, but there were no tables overturned or chairs broken, and all the diners were back to enjoying their meals and each other. All good news.
Even better news, Trudy beat me back to the booth with the onion rings and the fried okra. I slid into my seat. “Wow, these look as good as they smell.”
The corner of Ezra’s lips tugged up into a sheepish smile. “They’ll taste just as good.”
I took one of the appetizer plates that Trudy had brought with the food and squeezed some catsup onto it. I took a thin-cut onion ring, its outer shell light and crispy, and did a quick dip before taking a bite.
Holy hells, I was not disappointed. “You need to learn how to make this batter.” I didn’t cook, but sometimes he did.
Ezra picked up one of the onion rings. “I’ll put it on my to-do list.”
“This would be good as a fried chicken coating too. So crispy, almost like a shortcrust, but thinner and tastier. Perfect amount of seasoning as well. Salty with a slight peppery kick.” I took another bite. “And the onion is thin and cooked to perfection.”
My veracity for the onion rings seemed to lighten Ezra’s mood. “We should see about getting Jordy to add it to the menu at the coffee shop.”
Jordy Hines, the owner of Moo-La-Lattes in Garden Cove, was married to my business partner and bestie, Pippa. “I’m not sure we can convince him that scones and onion rings go hand in hand, but I would be there every day for it.”
“You’re already there every day.”
“Uh-huh.” I picked up a piece of fried okra and popped it into my mouth. Holy crap, it was excellent too. This was quickly becoming my new favorite restaurant. Minus the drama, of course. “So.” I finished the bite. “You wanna talk about what happened over there?”
“The guy’s married to my sister and out with my cousin. Pretty cut and dried.” He arched a brow. “Unless you have some information that I’m not aware of.”
“While we were in the restroom, Penny sprayed some cologne, I don’t know how old the memory was, but she was in a romantic clinch with a guy named Jay.” I gestured to the table where she’d been sitting with his brother-in-law. “Is that a nickname for Rob?”
“Not that I’ve ever heard.”
“And she said something about someone named Kyle,” I continued. “I’m not sure how he fits in the picture, but it sounded like it could be her kid, maybe.”
“Her son Kyle,” he confirmed. “The kid has to be ten or eleven now. His father got full custody when they split.”
“Ouch.”
“She was a mess back then,” Ezra smirked. “Seems like she still is.”
Trudy picked that time to bring our tenderloins. They were pounded thin, breaded to perfection, and way too big for the toasted bun. There was a side of steak cut fries, along with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions. “Here you go.” Trudy set down a small tub of mayo. “Enjoy, you two.”
“Thank you,” I said with enthusiasm. “This looks awesome.”
Trudy beamed. “Let me know if you need anything else.”
“You got it.” I spread mayo onto the bun, topped my tenderloin with all the fixings, then cut my sandwich in half. I rubbed my hands together because this was a hand-rubbing moment. “I’ve never been so excited about a sandwich before.”
Ezra chuckled. “I see that.” He finished putting his own together. “Were you able to talk to Penny?”
I shrugged. “She said she wouldn’t betray family, then told me to mind my own business. That doesn’t really scream, hey, I’m not having an affair, but there was also something in her tone. She sounded like someone…in trouble.” I took a bite and melted into my seat. “Mmmmmm.”
Ezra bit into his sandwich too. “Oh, yeah,” he agreed mid-chew. “Just as good as I remember.”
His eyes were pinched with worry as we finished our meal without any more conversation. Frankly, I was concerned too. I’d already been worried about meeting his family, but now that I knew his dad was sick, it was going to make things potentially more awkward. Regardless, Ezra was always there for me when I needed a rock or shelter, and he gave me space when I didn’t. I could and would do the same for him.
We had planned to go directly to the local bed and breakfast first to check in before driving over to Ezra’s childhood home to see his folks, but I wondered if some of his anxiousness was worry for his dad. He hadn’t seen him for a while, and illness could take a toll.
I’d managed to plow through half my sandwich and a few of the fries, but my stomach was threatening to burst if I ate any more. I pushed the plate away from me so I wouldn’t be tempted.
“I know we’re supposed to meet your parents at two-thirty before going to the Santa Walk, but do you want to go by their house to check in before we go to the Thorny Creek Inn?” With Elaine and the girls staying at Ezra’s parents, there hadn’t been any room for us to stay there.
“No.” He shook his head. “I’d rather go to the B and B first.” He gave me a slight smile. “I’m kind of excited to stay there. I’ve always wanted to see the inside of it.”
“It’s been around for a while, huh?”
“For longer than I can remember. I’ve been out there a couple of times. Both times for outdoor weddings.”
Since it was his hometown, I’d let Ezra make all the arrangements. I hadn’t even bothered to look up the Thorny Creek Inn, but now I was curious. “It must be a pretty good-sized property if it’s used for wedding venues.”
“It’s on twenty acres and only a mile out of town. Close enough to be convenient, but with the appeal of being out in the woods.”
Ezra’s cabin, where he lived now, was out in the woods. It was cozy and secluded, and he had his own small dock right on the lake. He loved being away from the bustle. I’d always thought the reason was because of his work. Dealing with people at their worst day in and day out could take its toll. My dad and my ex-husband had both been police officers, and the job had sometimes done a number on them. But he talked about the bed and breakfast as if the idyllic location had been something he’d always aspired to.
I gave a soft laugh. “You really don’t like having neighbors, do you?”
He arched a brow at me. “Why? You trying to get me to move to town?”
I tried to keep the panic out of my eyes. “Not at all.” I liked our arrangement. We saw each other almost every day, and we spent most nights together going back and forth between my house and his cabin. Even so, I liked having a place that was just mine. I loved my independence almost as much as I loved Ezra, but for him, I might consider…. Why was he smirking at me?
“I can see the wheels about to come off in your brain, Nora. You don’t have to worry. I’m not trying to move in with you or get you to move in with me. I like what we have just the way it is, same as you.”
I resisted the urge to let out an audible whew. “I wasn’t worried.”
He snorted on a laugh, his grin widening. “Don’t take up gambling because your poker face is awful.”
“Ha ha,” I said blandly.
Trudy came over with a pitcher of Diet Coke. “Can I top you off?”
“Just the check,” Ezra replied. “I think we’re done.”
“Do you want a to-go box?” she asked me. Ezra had wiped out his plate
“We wouldn’t have anywhere to store it,” I lamented. “But thank you. Everything was delicious.”
As she walked away, we heard shouting and a car alarm. Ezra and I both turned to the window. Outside, very near my car, Penny was in a heated conversation with a stocky-looking man, though it was hard to tell his shape with all his winter gear on. He had tan canvas coveralls and a hood from a hoodie covering his head, His back was to us, so I couldn’t see his face. He wasn’t dressed the way Rob, the soon-to-be-ex, had been dressed in the diner, but that didn’t mean anything. Rob could’ve put the coveralls on after he left.
The guy gave Penny a shove, and she stumbled back and fell to her butt. The man didn’t make a move toward her. He was saying something, but his voice had quieted, and we couldn’t hear him.
Penny, who looked stunned but not injured, called him a few choice words as she moved into a crouched position.
Ezra slid out of the booth. “Can you grab the check?”
“Go.” I waved him out. “I’ve got this. I’ll meet you outside.”
I glanced back at the window, and Penny was gathering a handful of gravel in her hand.
“Don’t do it,” I heard Ezra say loud but firmly.
The man in the coveralls took off running.
“Hey!” Ezra shouted. “Stop.”
The assailant hauled butt across the road to the gas station on the other side and disappeared around the back.
Penny got to her feet and dropped the rocks before putting out a hand to stop Ezra. Her face was angry as she spoke to him. I could imagine it was a whole lot more of “mind your own business” BS. Well, at least she wasn’t hurt.
Trudy came back to the table with the check. She gestured toward Ezra and Penny. “That girl is chaos on a stick.”
“You know Penny?” I asked.
“She was a few years younger than Ezra and me, but yeah. She’s always been a little wild.”
“Drugs?” I don’t know why the thought popped into my head. Penny was skinny but not emaciated. Still, when it came to trouble, drugs were often involved.
Trudy shrugged. “Who knows?”
“What about Rob…” I couldn’t remember if Ezra had told me his last name, so I added, “The guy she came in with.”
Trudy’s eyes widened with surprise. “Rob Phillips?”
“I guess that’s him. Is he trouble?”
“In a different way,” Trudy said. “He’s HPD.” When I raised my eyebrows, she explained, “Hillside Police Department. Rob’s a cop.”