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  The search through the cupboards for the second time came up empty. She leaned against the counter in defeat…then smiled. Right in front of her eyes sat a can of coffee beside an automatic coffee maker. Coffee would do in a pinch and wake her up.

  The coffee pot stopped spitting out coffee, and Margarine poured herself a mug. Time allowed her to come up with two different ways to deal with the deception. Either ignore what she’d witnessed last night or do something about it. Never one to ignore a problem, she knew what she must do.

  Margarine sat at the kitchen table, and a few hours later, Remy walked into the room. She nursed her fourth cup of coffee and prepped herself for what she needed to get done. Let him try to fool her again.

  “You’re up early.” Remy swept a chaste kiss on her forehead and reached in front of her for the unused coffee cup Margie had placed there earlier.

  “You must be feeling better. I bet the sleep really helped.”

  Remy’s cell phone rang, preventing her answer. He rushed from the room to answer it. She groaned. Fine, she’d sit here until he realized something was wrong, and she’d calmly explain how she knew he’d lied…and she wanted him to take her back home.

  The second time Remy ambled his way into the kitchen he came back fully dressed, except for the necktie he attempted to tie around his neck. Now what? He’d made plans with her for today, so why was he wearing business clothes?

  “I have to go out for a bit. The lead foreman at the construction site needs to see the permits we obtained last night before he’ll allow his men on the property.” He scowled and pulled at the mess he’d made of his tie. “Babe, can you tie this damn thing?”

  Seemingly invisible to him, she stood and retied his necktie. Of course he didn’t notice how upset she was. With him pulled in all directions…business, Gloria…she came last on his list. The housekeeper-turned-lover couldn’t compete with business.

  “Thanks, babe.” He hugged her, gave her a quick kiss, grabbed his cup of coffee, and yelled he’d be back in a little bit.

  The slam of the front door broke her resolve, and the lone tear she held back slipped down her cheek. She brushed it away and sniffed. Business came first for Remy, and she admired that trait. It was one of the major turn-ons for her. Her family only kept jobs long enough to gather enough money to hit another town or to stay in a motel for a few days. She liked the fact Remy worked so hard for everything he owned.

  This time she didn’t wait around for Remy but instead took off for a walk along the lake. For her own sanity, she needed to figure out what to do. She needed to set boundaries.

  All the television therapists advised other people who suffered with relationship issues to set limits and expect nothing else. Maybe it would work with Remy and her. She’d forbid him to have any contact with Gloria and give him one more chance. She loved him. She didn’t deny it. She also believed he loved her—in his own way.

  Although, if she’d learned anything from her parents growing up, she would stop trying to do the right thing and just have a yelling match with a couple of dinner plates thrown at each other’s heads. The fight would come to a stop, they’d have great make-up sex, and afterwards they’d go on living life. She’d seen that method work a lot.

  The waves from the motorboats speeding too close to the shoreline forced the water to come up and over Margarine’s feet. She jumped the wave to save her rolled up jeans from getting wet, but didn’t act fast enough.

  She waded out into the cool water of the lake and sucked in her breath at the shock of the temperature compared to the outside air. She didn’t dare go out past her knees.

  She’d never learned how to swim in her childhood. Her one lesson happened the time her parents threw her in the motel swimming pool and shouted for her to flap her arms. She finally figured out her feet touched the bottom of the pool and stood up, but not before swallowing half the pool water. Ever since, she’d remained scared to death of having her head below the surface of the water.

  She examined her arms. More time had passed than she’d thought. Her shoulders had already turned a shade of pink, and the way the skin on her nose tightened when she squinted against the glare of the sun told her sunburn was in her near future.

  Margie followed the pebbled path back to the condominium and strolled around to the front. She withdrew the key from her pocket and almost ran into Gloria, who exited the house.

  “Looks like the experts were right. Butter does melt when left out of the refrigerator.” Gloria sneered and pointed at Margie’s sunburned cheeks.

  Margie ignored the slut and stepped around her. The calmness she’d achieved down at the lake evaporated at the sight of Gloria. How dare she come and go from the house Remy set up for us.

  “What, no brilliant comeback? I’m disappointed.” Gloria wagged her head and stuck her lips out. “By the way, Remy isn’t back yet, and you shouldn’t expect him until two o’clock. He wanted me to come give you the message, since he couldn’t get you by phone.”

  Margie turned around and stared down at Gloria from the top step. Remy wanted Gloria to deliver a message. Well, if Remy didn’t want to deal with her himself, she’d just deal with Remy through Gloria.

  “Are you having an affair with Remy?” Margie waited for an answer, not surprised to see Gloria’s face light up and her smirk disappear.

  “I wouldn’t call it an affair, really. We do go way back, dear, and your relationship with my Remy is so new…” Gloria patted her uptight hairdo.

  “Are you fucking my man or not?” Tired of pussyfooting around, Margie demanded an answer.

  “So elegantly put. I’m going to plead the Fifth and let Remy tell you that himself.” Gloria waved over her shoulder and sashayed down the driveway.

  It really is true.

  Gloria didn’t deny it, and Margie knew in her heart this charade of a relationship needed to end. If she stayed, she’d always wonder every time Remy left the house if he visited that bitch.

  Margie wasted no time. She called a cab to come pick her up, threw her clothes in the suitcase, and waited outside the house. It all took no longer than ten minutes. Remy didn’t deserve a reason why she left. If he wanted to know, Gloria could tell him.

  The bright yellow car from Lakeshore Cab Service pulled up to the curb. She threw her suitcase in the back seat and jumped in.

  Margie didn’t have a plan on where to go until she closed the cab door. She’d find Reefer. He would always take care of her if she asked. “Destination, Miss?” The cab driver gazed in the rearview mirror and chewed on an unlit cigar.

  “The closest train station, please. And hurry.”

  The cab smelled of cigarettes and sweat. Margie pressed a hand to her stomach and cracked the window to inhale the fresh air. Her stomach didn’t sit well at all, and she worried she may be sicker than she thought.

  She used the time in the cab to call Reefer on the cell phone Remy had given her. She hoped Reefer still stayed in Oregon.

  She’d throw the cell phone in the trash at the train station in case Remy knew a way to track her through her phone calls. To stay with her parents was a chance she didn’t want to take. Her dad liked Remy and might give her location away if he contacted them. Plus, she wasn’t up giving to an excuse to why she ran away. Reefer never asked questions. He only watched her back.

  The cab came to an abrupt stop. She grabbed the back of the driver’s seat to stop her descent to the cab floor.

  “That will be thirty-eight dollars.” The driver held out his hand.

  She handed him two twenty-dollar bills, left the cab, and caught her reflection in the glass separating the ticket office from the general public. Her hair was a mess of tangled curls, dark circles invaded the space under her eyes, and her nose shined bright red from the sun. She resembled a pile of shit and didn’t feel much better.

  “I need a one-way ticket to Astoria, Oregon.” She slid her debit card through the open spot under the window.

  The train dep
arted in one hour. Her stomach tied up in knots, she hoped she could last one more hour before escaping the town without Remy realizing she’d left. If he found her…

  Who am I kidding? Gloria keeps him too busy to worry about his housekeeper.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Honey, I’m home.” Remy shut the front door with his foot, his arms laden with every type of food the Eat-n-Dine Family Restaurant in town offered on their menu. With work over, the rest of the stay would center on him and Margarine.

  The house sat dead quiet, and Remy figured Margarine napped.

  “Better get up, babe. Food’s going to get cold.” He removed the Styrofoam containers from the brown paper bags and set the array of food on the table.

  “Don’t tell me you want to be served in bed.” He rounded the corner and came to an abrupt stop. He took two strides to the open bathroom, did a quick survey, and came up empty handed. Where did she go?

  He ran out of the house and down the path to the lake. Business had taken longer than he thought it would, and Margarine had more than likely decided to visit the lake without him.

  A scan of the shoreline came up empty. He spotted a fisherman farther down the beach and jogged over.

  “Excuse me, but have you seen a woman about this tall…?” Remy held his hand up to his chest. “She has the wildest hair you ever saw and the face of an angel.”

  The angler grinned. “You just described my dearly departed mother, but I do believe I saw the woman you want. She was here a while ago, walking along the water’s edge. She appeared deep in thought and passed right by me without a how-do-you-do.” The older man shook his head. “If I were you, I’d buy some flowers and have them ready for when she comes home, because whatever you did, your woman didn’t look very happy.”

  Remy walked slower back to the house. Margarine not happy? Maybe the old man confused her with someone else. Margarine always smiled and made him believe life was one big party to celebrate every day—together.

  Remy stepped into the house and listened. Nothing. He checked the bedroom again. The bed remained unmade. He scrutinized the room. Something didn’t sit right with him.

  Nothing in the room belonged to Margarine.

  He sat on the side of the bed, picked up the pillow, and crushed it to his chest. The sudden pain around his heart tightened and seemed to squeeze the life out of him.

  “Margarine!”

  Only the echo of her name answered him.

  Chapter Twenty

  The door opened the second Margie stepped up to Reefer’s motel room. She lost her grip on the suitcase, and Reefer caught her and pulled her to his chest before her legs gave out. She’d made it.

  Reefer carried her right into his room and planted her on his couch. She let him kiss her on the cheek and closed her eyes. The last thing she knew, Reefer covered her with a blanket.

  Margie woke up to Reefer standing over the stove. She stretched her arms above her head and groaned. A day in a train seat had pushed her muscles to their limit.

  She joined Reefer in the kitchen area and grabbed toast from the toaster. She kissed her best friend on the cheek and set out to butter the slice. The routine pleased her, and she smiled.

  She’d spent many mornings in Reefer’s room, sharing breakfast and talking about all her dreams and wishes. He always listened and never judged her wild dreams—even if he didn’t always understand them.

  She added the toast to the two plates piled with scrambled eggs. Her stomach growled. He’d even added olives to her eggs, just the way she preferred them.

  “Your dad called.” Reefer handed her one of the plates and walked over to the couch.

  “You didn’t tell him I was here, did you?” She shoveled a fork full of eggs into her mouth. She was starving. The sandwiches out of the vending machine on the train lacked taste, and with her stomach so upset lately, she needed real food.

  She didn’t want to deal with everyone in the family yet. She needed a few days to work her way up to wrapping her brain around what had happened.

  “You asked me not to.” Reefer frowned. “I don’t go back on my word.”

  She sat beside him and squeezed his leg. She shouldn’t have asked that of him; she’d taken advantage of his personality of not being one to talk much. Without a doubt, not many people in the world remained so devoted and loyal to others the way Reefer lived.

  “How long are you staying here?” she asked.

  “Depends on you.” Reefer shrugged.

  She nodded and found it hard to swallow past the lump in her throat. He always shoved his plans aside and helped his bad luck friend through her latest troubles without a thought to what he wanted to do in life.

  “You know I love you.” Margie sniffed and swiped her arm over her eyes to clear the tears away.

  He grabbed his heart and fluttered his eyelids. “I told ya years ago we had a good thing going.”

  “You’re so full of it.” She laughed at his antics. “If you remember right, our one and only date ended with me laughing while you tried to kiss me. I couldn’t stop thinking about that time I made you eat that minnow we’d caught out of the creek.”

  “True. It probably has something to do with running around naked as toddlers together too. We’ve scarred each other for life.” Reefer nodded.

  Margarine finished eating everything on the plate, her stomach full. The fact she’d started again at step one with needing a job hit her. This time she didn’t even have her bike. That hurt.

  “What am I suppose to do, Reef? I don’t have a job and I don’t have my bike.” She got up and took her paper plate to the trashcan in the kitchen.

  “That’s an easy fix. It’ll only take me a couple hours to get your bike back. I’ll take Crowbar with me and be back before you know it.” Reefer wadded up his plate and tossed it to Margarine to throw away.

  She did need her bike, and even if she didn’t want to ever pay a visit to Remy again, she wasn’t willing to lose her motorcycle over any man. It’s better if I let the boys get it back for me and save me from a dramatic scene with Remy. Later, she could plan where to go. This time far enough away that Remington Montgomery couldn’t hire a detective to find out where she’d gone.

  “Okay. Just don’t get caught. I don’t want him finding out where I’ve gone. A clean break. I couldn’t handle it if I had to face him again.” She took a deep breath and ran her hands through her hair.

  “Are you sure you’re making the right decision? Last thing I heard from you, the two of you were happy. Is this one of your I’m-pissed-so-I’m-running-away moves?”

  She shook her head. Nope, he belongs with Gloria.

  “Not this time. It’s the real deal. He…” She looked away.

  “He what?” Reefer stepped closer. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

  Her emotions fragile, she dared not speak about what happened or she might begin bawling and never stop.

  “Do I need to pay him a visit?” Reefer bent his knees to gaze straight into her eyes.

  She managed a weak smile. The idea brought some appeal with it. For about ten seconds. Okay, twenty seconds.

  “Nah. I’ll survive. Just get my bike, and I’ll be out of your way in no time.” She’d light out of town and find another place to set down roots. This time better off with the money she’d saved from her job with Remy.

  ***

  Remy had slept no more than two hours in the last four days. After he realized Margarine didn’t get kidnapped, but ran away and took all the clothes she’d brought to Tahoe with her, he spent every minute trying to track her down.

  He came up with no reason as to why she’d left. She forgave him for how he’d acted the night at the opening, and they’d both looked forward to their time at Tahoe.

  He ran his hand over the stubble on his chin; he’d been afraid to slip off to shower or shave and miss a phone call from Margarine. Her old bag she used for a suitcase sat in front of him on his desk. He hoped she might come back
home for it, or at least her motorcycle. Moreover, the second she came back, he hoped could fix whatever troubled Margie enough to make her run away without even a goodbye.

  A bang at the other end of the house jerked him to attention. Someone had entered his house. Margie? Afraid he might scare her off, he forced himself to sit back in his chair and pretended he worked on the papers scattered over his desk.

  The clicking of high heels down the hallway got louder. With each step, Remy’s heart sped up faster and faster. He fought the desire to run to her and make her promise never to leave him again.

  The person who appeared in the doorway wasn’t the person he wanted back in his house. He frowned.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” He ran his hands over his face.

  Gloria pouted, marched her way into the office, and stood in front of his desk. He glared at her, too tired to deal with all the crap she brought with her each time she came around.

  “I brought over the papers Father wanted you to sign.” Gloria removed the folder from her bag and waved it in front of him. “Why the bitchy mood?”

  “Have you ever heard of knocking?” Remy didn’t take the folder from her. Until Margarine came back, he refused to work.

  Gloria tossed the folder on the desk. “Your garage door was open, so I let myself in the back door. I figured you were about to leave so I didn’t want to miss you going around to the front door.” Gloria sat down in the chair opposite Remy.

  “What do you mean my garage door is open? I haven’t gone anywhere.” The moment he spoke the words, he shot out of the chair. He ignored Gloria and ran down the hallway to the garage.

  The spot where Margarine’s Harley sat earlier now lay bare. What the hell?

  “Fuck.” Remy punched the door. Pain shot up his wrist. He whirled around and hurried back to his office.

  “Get out, Gloria.” He slammed himself into the chair and opened a drawer on the desk.