Liv’s office door opened and Keagan walked in. “Liv, are you okay?”
Seated behind the desk with Tobi on her lap, she wondered how he knew. They hadn’t seen each other since Sunday. He didn’t have firsthand knowledge of her phone calls with the girls, her witness of Beau’s odd behavior, or of her own rattled demeanor. How did Keagan do it?
He sat across from her. “The gate. You left it unlocked and it’s eleven p.m.”
“Well.” She glanced at the computer screen with her favorite gardening website in view, at her hands stroking Tobi’s fur, at the monitor again as it winked off, and finally at him. “I’m okay.”
He grunted.
“I talked to the girls. They’re fine. Except Sam voiced concern yesterday about Jasmyn, who seems a little too over-the-top idealistic about her plans to buy the restaurant. Jasmyn called today and confided that her boss’s wife has cancer, which means the sale needs to happen immediately. Beau took off for Hollywood. I have no idea for how long. Louis’s gone into the hospital for tests, Tasha has strep throat, and the new van driver, who brought Coco back from her senior activities center, couldn’t find the Casa, so it took forever to get her home. She was frazzled.”
“You’ve had a day.”
“Yes, I have.” She waited, giving Keagan time to ponder. “What do you think? Besides the life-is-difficult stuff.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched. “It’s too soon for Jasmyn to make a major commitment like that.” His voice was brusque. “She needs to give herself a whole year to recover.”
Liv had not expected such a harsh response from him. “Maybe I could offer that bit of wise advice to her.”
“I already did.”
“She’s a stubborn little fighter. She could make it work.” Liv’s shoulders sagged. How she hoped Jasmyn would not make a mistake. No. How she hoped Jasmyn would just change her mind and leave Valley Oaks altogether.
Keagan stood, muttering something about stubbornness, and went to the door.
“Keagan, why is Beau in Hollywood?”
He stopped and turned. “It’s complicated.”
“You brought him into my world and now I’m hooked. I like him in it. Is he coming back?”
“I don’t know.” He sat down again. “When I met him a few years ago, he’d work out every day at the gym like a man possessed. Eventually he calmed down. He told me that he and Tallie Shay had been engaged.”
“The actress?”
“Yep. I don’t know why he lives here and she lives there, but he goes up every so often.”
Liv sighed. “And here Jasmyn and I thought he had a crush on Sam. I guess I can cross that romantic scenario off my list.”
He gave her a funny look.
She smiled and refrained, as she had so often refrained, from asking why he did not have a significant other, other than herself, in his life.
He soon left and she burst out laughing. “Oh, Tobi. Evidently, I am his only significant other. Dear Lord, I do appreciate how he watches over me, but let’s get real. He needs someone else, and I am willing to share.”
The next morning, Liv’s unease still festered.
“Lord, I don’t want to meddle. You know I don’t want to meddle, but…”
She found the phone number for the Flying Pig in Valley Oaks and hoped Jasmyn was not there.
Danno Johnson answered the phone. His voice sounded exactly how Jasmyn had described him, gruff and yet gentle, distant and yet approachable.
Expressing her motherly love for the young woman he had watched over for years was like having a chat with an old friend.
They were on the same page.