“Is there a girl involved here, Mikey?” Spence asked.
“No,” Michael shouted before lowering his voice. “I don’t want a girl. I like being single,” he finished.
“I don’t believe you,” Cam said. Obviously something was up.
“I’m done with this conversation. You guys need to get a life of your own if you’re so freaking worried about the love lives of other people.” Michael stomped off.
“He’s got a point,” Cam said. Then he hotfooted it toward the cooler, where he grabbed a fresh beer and decided he was better off sitting by the fire to brood, alone, until the steaks were done.
“WOW, IT APPEARS as if two of your sons are pretty upset,” Joseph Anderson said with a congratulatory clap on Martin’s shoulder.
The two old men had witnessed the brotherly banter and they were grinning like fools though trying to remain hidden by the large oak tree in Spence’s backyard.
“Yep. I knew setting that file on Cam’s desk would do the trick. Grace kept on shooing him away and he wasn’t moving fast enough for my liking,” Martin said. “But now I’m also curious about what’s going on with Michael.”
“I have to say, you learned from the best, but you might just be exceeding me when it comes to matchmaking,” Joseph replied. He had to struggle to keep his naturally booming voice low.
“I’m just glad you were able to make it down this weekend. I have a lot to fill you in on,” Martin told him.
“Yes, phone calls get mighty old after a while,” Joseph agreed.
“What are you two doing hiding behind this tree?” Maggie asked, making both men jump.
“Quiet, woman, or you’re going to get us caught,” Martin warned her, holding a finger to his lips to silence her further.
Maggie jerked her arms across her chest and let out a huff. “Don’t you shush me, Martin Whitman, or I’ll smack you.”
“Are you three insane? You’re starting to draw attention to yourselves over here,” Eileen said in exasperation as she approached with Bethel. “How are we supposed to sneak away for our secret meeting if all eyes are on us?”
“Maggie started it,” Joseph grumbled.
“I most certainly did not,” Maggie replied haughtily. “And a gentleman would never shush a lady.”
“You’re right, darling,” Martin said. “We weren’t being very inconspicuous. Let’s go back to my place and get to planning. We’ll give Cam and Grace a little more time to pull themselves together, but if they don’t start moving faster, we might need to poke them along. We also need to start making plans for Michael. I can see something is up. I want to know what it is.”
The group began moving toward their cars.
“What is going on with Michael?” Bethel asked. “I must have missed something.”
“He’s been disappearing for weeks at a time and he’s being very secretive about it,” Martin grumbled. “I just don’t like it, especially after the display tonight.”
“Well, don’t you worry about it, Martin. We’ll get it all worked out,” Eileen assured him with a pat on the back.
“Of course we’ll figure it out. I have no doubt of that with you all here,” Martin said, and he gazed at Eileen long enough that a slight blush suffused her cheeks. “Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”
“Oh, Martin. You’re such a flirt,” Eileen said with a youthful giggle, instantly shaving twenty years off her age.
“Only with you,” he told her with a wink that made the blush turn into a full-blown flush.
“You two done flirting? It’s cold out here,” Bethel growled, but she softened her remark with a smile.
“We weren’t flirting,” Eileen insisted as they reached the car and climbed into the backseat.
Maggie chuckled. “Oh, come, now, Eileen, it’s more than obvious that the two of you have been flirting for years now.”
“You girls just hush. I don’t want Martin to hear you, and he’s about to open the driver’s-side door.”
“Maybe the two of you need some meddling done on your behalf,” Bethel offered. The wheels were turning behind her eyes as she looked at Maggie.
“Don’t you dare!” Eileen snapped, and playfully slapped Bethel’s knee.
Then they couldn’t say anything more, because Martin and Joseph climbed into the car. The women hoped the two men didn’t notice the sudden silence.
“Hold on, ladies. We’re going to take the back way home,” Martin said with a laugh.
The group of lifelong friends had been through thick and thin together, and they were just barely tapping the surface of their adventures.
After a couple of hours, the crowd had thinned slightly, but the music had been turned up, and the party seemed to just be getting started. Grace knew she should try to sneak away, catch a ride back into town with someone, and let Cam figure out later that she was gone. But for some reason she didn’t want to. What she wanted to do was enjoy the slight buzz drifting lazily through her body, sit by the glowing fire, and have Cam sitting right next to her. Her mind began to wander.
That most likely wasn’t the smartest thing she could be doing. But why should she be smart all the time? Wasn’t it okay to be naughty once in a while? Everyone thought Grace was the experienced one, the person who had the world in the palm of her hand.
She’d grown up with a wealthy family, in a beautiful home, and she’d traveled. Man, how she’d traveled. She’d gone to Europe, Australia, Japan, Russia, and so many other places, she couldn’t even name them all. And she’d done most of it alone because she’d been running, either from her parents or from the ache in her heart after men had betrayed her. But one thing was for sure—Grace was sick and tired of running away.