Borrowed Time

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The rest of the day passed quickly and I was home before I knew it. I’d taken to bringing Fitz home with me most nights from the library, mostly for my own comfort instead of Fitz’s. He seemed perfectly content at the library, curled up in his fluffy cat bed, but I loved having him next to me on the sofa while I read or sleeping at the foot of my bed. Tonight, he watched me with a twinkle in his eye as I heated up leftover spaghetti for supper. He seemed to anticipate that he was going to end up with a little ground beef at some point in the process, which he did.

After I ate, I pulled out an overnight bag and looked at my closet. Nothing seemed to leap out at me as appropriate for a house party. I decided to start with the easy stuff and opened my drawers instead, pulling out PJs and underwear. Definitely a swimsuit and a towel, since we’d be on the lake. I got those out and then reluctantly looked at my closet again. There was a black dress I could wear in case it was a fancier party than I’d been led to believe. Although I couldn’t really see Luna choosing to go to anything very fancy—or, if she did, she’d likely not dress like everyone else, anyway.

I pulled out a couple more things, knowing I was over-packing, but figuring it was better to have the right clothes with me. I glanced over and saw Fitz in the overnight bag, wide-eyed and peering mischievously out as if he was preparing to leap on me. I reached out my hand and he bumped his face against it and then resumed his play in the bag.

A few minutes later, I climbed into the bed and Fitz jumped in with me. I had my Agatha Christie book with me, And Then There Were None, which I was reading for the third or fourth time. But my mind was too busy and I couldn’t seem to calm it down enough to focus on the story. I was wishing, illogically, that Grayson could have been one of the guests for the weekend. I thought again how tough it was to know exactly where he was coming from. I was either totally misreading his signals or he was totally not sending them out. I wasn’t sure which was worse.

Finally, after a few minutes of hashing things out in my head, I was ready to hop back into the story. I realized, after I put the book down for the night and turned the light off, that a mystery about a house party with a murderer in attendance was possibly not the best choice under the circumstances.

The next morning, I drove Fitz back to the library and let him in the building and then hurried back home to finish getting packed. I got a text from Luna saying she’d come pick me up—quite possibly to ensure I showed up at all.

I gobbled down a quick breakfast, packed my toiletries up, and then heard a cheerful toot of a horn and locked up the house to join Luna.

She beamed at me and I saw that her hair was a different color than it had been the day before. She put a hand up to it. “Like it?” she asked.

The purple and green stripes wouldn’t have suited everyone, but strangely, they looked really good on Luna. Or at least, they looked right on her. “You look amazing,” I said, completely genuinely.

“Thanks. You do, too.” She gave me a critical once-over before giving me a thumbs-up. “You always look beautiful, you know, but at the library you’re pretty buttoned-up looking. I’m glad you’re wearing something more casual.”

I’d spent a lot of time figuring out what to wear, so I appreciated Luna’s feedback. I ended up with a brown knit dress.

I’d never ridden with Luna before and winced as she took off at a fast clip. “Don’t worry,” she said in a cheery voice as I clutched at the door, “I’m a great driver.”

I wasn’t sure about great, but she was definitely a speedy driver and minutes later we were pulling into the driveway of a massive house on the lake. Luna finally came to a complete stop. “Just look at that view,” she breathed.

It was pretty spectacular. The leaves were changing and creating a red and orange backdrop to the serene quiet of the lake. The house was tremendous, but somehow managed to pull off not being ostentatious. It had a nice, cabin-y feel to it, even though it was more of a mansion than a cabin. Somehow, I hadn’t expected something this huge. The house was made of a dark wood with floor to ceiling windows to take in the view. The yard was scattered with hammocks and wooden benches and small flower beds to invite guests to have quiet moments outside. The mountains were right past the trees bordering the lake and looked so close that it almost looked as though you could touch them.

Luna grinned at me. “This is gonna be fun. Thanks for coming with me.”

She drove to the bottom of the long driveway. Although we were right on time, it looked from the number of cars there as if everyone else had already arrived. There was lots of room to park, though, without blocking anyone.

I clutched the bottle of wine that I’d brought as a hostess gift and took a calming breath as I climbed out of the car. Luna bounced out and hustled me toward the front door, which was ajar.

“We’ll go right on in then,” said Luna beaming as she pushed the door further open. I shut it on the other side and followed Luna into the brightly-lit space.

It was just as beautiful on the inside as it had been on the outside. Grace had opted for lots of wooden furniture mixed with warm-colored fabrics. And I was pleased to see there were bookshelves everywhere. Naturally, I thought books made for the perfect décor.

A woman in her late thirties with blonde hair and wearing an elegant caftan sort of coverup came toward us. Luna gave her an enthusiastic hug and then introduced me. “Grace, this is Ann. Ann, Grace.”

Grace gave me a two-handed handshake and said warmly, “Hi, Ann. I’m so glad you could make it out this weekend.”

The last lingering feelings of possibly intruding on the group quickly disappeared and I gave a sigh of relief. Grace was clearly completely genuine about her welcome.

“I’m happy to be here,” I said, feeling pretty genuine myself. “You have a beautiful home.”

She beamed at me and glanced around. “Thank you. I’m finally really happy with the way it turned out. But I promised myself I’d never have another house built as long as I lived! I knew on one level that it would mean a lot of decisions, but I don’t think I really realized exactly how many decisions it would take. I mean, even trying to decide between a hundred different faucets. I’m just relieved it didn’t end up being a total disaster.”

I said, “You must have really good instincts.”

Grace laughed. “No, I think I just had a really good designer. She made sure to show me only options that would work. But it was still a lot of options. Come on in and I’ll get you a drink and introduce you to everybody else.”

Luna said, “Everybody sure got here super early. We’re right on time.” Luna was pretty sensitive about being on time because it used to be a thing at the library where Wilson noticed she was coming in a few minutes tardy each day. His displeasure had definitely made her more punctual.

Grace grinned at her. “I guess everyone wanted to start their weekend earlier.”

We followed her into a tremendous kitchen with several eating areas which somehow managed to retain the cabin-like feel of the house while having all the latest gadgets. She walked up to a large island in the center of the space where she’d set up a makeshift bar.

Grace said ruefully, “I hope you won’t think badly of us that we’ve started drinking. In our defense, the drinks are Bloody Marys and mimosas.”

“Totally respectable drinks for the morning,” agreed Luna stoutly.

Grace added, “We also have soft drinks, ice tea, and water. So whatever you feel like. I thought we’d go out on the boat in a few minutes since everyone’s here. I had my favorite deli cater a brunch for us and I thought it might be fun if we had it out on the boat.”

“That sounds amazing,” I said with a smile. And it did. It beat weeding books out of the library collection, which was what I’d have been doing if I was at work.

Luna went boldly for a Bloody Mary. I wasn’t sure exactly how much alcohol was in the Bloody Marys or the mimosas, so I decided to pour myself a small glass of white wine. A little bit of Dutch courage would be good for me, and at least I’d know exactly how much alcohol I was consuming.

We followed Grace into a huge living room with vaulted ceilings. There was a massive stone fireplace at one end. The furniture looked cushy and comfortable and a single piece likely cost more than most of my den furniture put together. There were four men and women in there and they called out a greeting as we came closer.

“Okay, ready for the introductions?” asked Grace.

“I’ll quiz you later,” said Roz mischievously.

A handsome man in his late 30s waved at me. “Let’s introduce ourselves,” he said. “I always think it’s easier to remember that way than with someone pointing and giving a whole bunch of names at once. I’m Scott Haynsworth.”

The blonde woman next to him grinned. “And I’m Kelly, Scott’s girlfriend.”

A serious-looking man wearing black-framed glasses looked around and then spoke. “Kyle Hubbard.” He hesitated. “Good to meet you.”

“And lastly, Felicity Patton,” said a thin woman with long, dark hair.

Grace clasped her hands together. “Now that little administrative task is done, let’s head out on the boat.”

Kelly asked, “Is it going to be warm out there? Or should I bring a sweater with me?”

“I’ll keep you warm,” said Scott with a wink, gallantly putting his arm around her.

I noticed that Kyle only seemed to have eyes for Felicity. When she glanced his way, though, he looked flustered and turned away.

We all helped Grace carry the coolers and assorted food containers out of the house and down a brick pathway to the boat. Somehow, in my mind, I’d been expecting a run-of-the-mill pontoon boat. This boat was anything but, and I wasn’t sure why I’d been thinking a pontoon would go with the property it belonged to. This wasn’t a boat . . . it was a yacht. It had an enclosed downstairs and an upper deck that was open. It looked like a house on the water. Luna and I exchanged a quick look.

Grace saw the look and said, “Don’t worry, I don’t usually have a boat like this here. It would be way too big for just me. In the dock is a ski boat and another boat. I rented this one for the weekend. It even came with a captain.”

Sure enough, I saw there was a man wearing a captain’s hat ready to assist everyone getting on the boat. I thought that was overkill until I noticed some of the party actually seemed to have already had a couple of drinks and were a little unsteady on their feet. He also helped get the coolers and food on the boat.

“Music, I think,” said Grace with a grin. “I got a preview of where everything was earlier.” She took out her phone, which had already been synched with the ship’s stereo system, and soon classic rock was playing through the speakers.

“Alcohol, I think,” said Scott with a wink. “I’ll play bartender.”

I noticed that the captain’s brow crinkled and he studied Scott with a frown for a moment before leaving to start piloting the boat.

Scott created a bar on one of the tables scattered across the bottom level of the boat.

Grace said, “We should probably have some drinks upstairs, too, since that’s where most of us will probably end up hanging out.”

Felicity asked, “It won’t be cold up there?”

“Maybe on the way out. But the captain is going to put down an anchor at a scenic part of the lake and we’ll be there for a while to enjoy the view and eat and all. It shouldn’t be cold then,” said Grace.

We stayed on the bottom level while the boat made its way out. Luna and I helped Grace unpack the food. There was a lot of food and it looked delicious. There were containers of every kind of sandwich spread imaginable: chicken salad, tuna salad, a veggie spread, egg salad, deli hams and turkeys and sliced turkeys and fancy mustards and mayos to go with them. The bread was fresh and clearly from a bakery and there were all different types. She’d also brought in all various fruits and chips and sides to go along with them. It was enough food to feed an army and I wasn’t at all sure I would be hungry for supper.

Grace said, “Let’s go ahead and eat. Somebody has to go first.”

There was a moment of hesitation as there so frequently is when it’s time for people to start eating and nobody wanted to look greedy or pushy. Scott said, “Oh, come on, people. I’ll go first, okay. But someone has to go second.”

“Me!” said Luna enthusiastically.

Scott strode over and fixed himself a couple of sandwiches and loaded his plate with potato salad and deviled eggs with Luna right behind him. After that, everyone followed suit and soon the atmosphere was more relaxed.

I sat down next to Luna and she smiled at me. “So, what do you think so far? This boat is crazy, isn’t it?”

I nodded, mouth full of sandwich. I had the feeling that it wasn’t just the boat that was crazy.

Luna followed my gaze and chuckled as Scott gulped down a shot of vodka and whooped loudly. “Yeah, I agree with you. Scott’s a little crazy, too.”