Sunny said good-bye, feeling pleased with the plan, but no sooner had she hung up the phone than it started ringing again. One of the romantic couples was having GPS problems and had gotten completely turned around. Sunny stayed on the line, verbally guiding them through winding country roads, until the couple reached their B&B destination. By the time she managed to leave the office, pick up her dad, and get back into town, they couldn’t even find a parking spot near the Redbrick Tavern.
Kittery Harbor was an old town, and the oldest part was crammed in around the harbor. The streets were crooked relics of that long bygone time, as were the surviving buildings, constructed in the New England Colonial style of hemlock and spruce, with clapboard siding and shingled roofs. Their destination tonight, though, came from a more recent era, in a neighborhood with slightly wider streets and, as the tavern’s name suggested, brick construction. Wider streets didn’t necessarily mean better parking, though. Sunny and her father had to walk several blocks to get to the Redbrick, their breath steaming in the night air. Mike walked along steadily, his face ruddy from the chill, his white curls bobbing. Sunny couldn’t help noticing how much his hair had grown out since his Christmas haircut.
Almost without thinking, she raised a hand to her own reddish mane. She’d finally found a hairdresser who could tame her unruly curls, but the price of looking good was constant—and expensive—vigilance.
Mike climbed the steps to the entrance and opened the door. Once inside, they faced a blast of heat and loud, cheerful chatter bouncing off the big room’s tin ceiling and brick walls. The hostess warned them that they’d face a wait of nearly half an hour. What else could they expect from a Friday night? The place was jammed with diners.
Mike gave their names, and then he and Sunny found seats at the bar, where he surprised Sunny by ordering a seltzer with lime.
“At least the fruit makes it look like I’m having a real drink,” he said with a grin.
She asked the bartender for a diet cola; it didn’t seem fair for her to flaunt a beer under her dad’s nose while he sipped a seltzer. She had an instant to enjoy the warm glow of satisfaction at having finally gotten through to him . . . until her dad added, “I’m hoping that being good here might earn me some slack from the food police when I order a hamburger for supper.”
“A hamburger—not a bacon cheeseburger.” Sunny was willing to bend a little, especially since the Redbrick was famous for its burgers. “And no fries—how about a salad?”
Mike rolled his eyes but agreed.
*
“I guess that blasted foot is really giving Shadow some trouble,” Sunny said, trying to change the subject. “He didn’t come charging up as usual when I came home. And I didn’t like the way he kept licking at his paw. And then, every time I tried to get a look at it, he shied away.” The worry in her voice shaded into a hurt tone as she spoke.
Mike patted her arm. “I know, I know, he’s usually all over you. Look at it this way—he wouldn’t even come near me after he came limping in today.” He scowled, looking a little defensive. “I don’t even know how he got out.”
“My own stupid fault.” Sunny took her glass from the bartender and had a sip. “I opened the kitchen door this morning to wake myself up with a blast of fresh air. Shadow must have sneaked out while I was busy shivering.” Her tone went from self-accusation back to worry. “I hope Jane won’t find something really wrong when I bring Shadow over to see her tomorrow.”
“I think that damned cat’s indestructible,” Mike said, waving away any thoughts of veterinary problems. “I bet Jane thinks so, too. If you want, you can ask her now.” He had shifted on his bar stool and nodded at the other side of the room. “She’s eating over there.”
Sunny turned to look in the direction her father indicated. Even in a crowded room, it was hard to miss someone with Jane Rigsdale’s blond good looks. Jane sat facing the bar—and Sunny—but the vet’s intense blue eyes seemed focused on the man sitting opposite her.
For a second Sunny’s heart sank. Things would be a lot simpler between her and Will Price if it wasn’t for Jane. Jane and Will had been a couple years ago, back when Jane was the teen queen of Kittery Harbor and Will was a college student. They had broken up and gone off to lead separate lives, but like Sunny, both of them had since returned to the old hometown. Given the shortage of decent, unattached male material in the area, Sunny couldn’t blame Jane for trying to become Will’s once and future girlfriend.
She didn’t have to like it, though.
