Софи Райан - Telling Tails

He sighed softly. “All right,” he said. He looked at me. “Please tell her I’m sorry.”

“I will,” I promised.

I put the rest of the dishes in the sink and wiped off the table. Charlotte and Mr. P. agreed to share a cab, and I went out on the steps to wait with them. As soon as the taxi pulled away from the curb I headed back inside.

Rose was on the sofa in my apartment. Elvis was sitting next to her. They both looked up when I came in the door. The cat licked his whiskers, which told me Rose had gotten him a treat. Probably more than one.

“Charlotte and Mr. P. have gone home,” I said. I went into the kitchen, poured myself a glass of lemonade from the pitcher in the refrigerator and sat down on the other side of Elvis. “They’re both sorry they upset you. All they want is to be sure you’re all right.”

“Sorry is as sorry does,” she said, a little petulantly, it seemed to me.

“Don’t give me that,” I said, sucking on a chunk of ice. “Mr. P. wanted to go out in the dark to look for you, and Charlotte always has your back. She’s been one of your best friends longer than I’ve been alive.”

Rose stroked Elvis’s fur but didn’t say anything.

“And speaking of best friends who care about you,” I began.

That got her hackles up again. “Sarah Grayson, are you taking Liz’s side over mine?” she challenged.

I slid down until I was basically sitting on my tailbone. “I’m not taking anyone’s side,” I said. “I’m just stating a fact.” I took another sip of my lemonade. “And for the record, if the tables were turned, we both know you’d be telling me to go see a doctor, just to prove there wasn’t anything wrong with my head.”

Rose leaned toward Elvis. “That’s why I like cats,” she said. “They don’t have nearly as much to say as some people do.”

The cat murped his agreement.

I tipped my head back and rolled my neck from side to side. “They can’t drive, either,” I said. “So they can’t take anyone over to see Jeff Cameron’s sister in the morning.”

I stared down into my glass and set the ice cubes swirling. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Rose struggling not to smile. She finally lost the battle and leaned against me, grinning. “Do you always get what you want?” she asked.

I rested my head against hers. “No,” I said. “So I’m going to enjoy this little victory.”

Elvis wiggled out from between us, shook himself and jumped down from the sofa.

Rose sighed. “Detective Andrews is a lovely young woman,” she said. “And I do appreciate that she went over to the Camerons’ house with you. She’s a good friend.”

I nodded.

“But she tends to think that the simplest explanation is the right one, and while that might be true most of the time, it’s not true all of the time. Life just isn’t that neat and simple. It’s messy sometimes, and this is one of those times.”

“Yes,” I said. What I didn’t say was that I had a feeling it was about to get a lot messier.

Chapter 6

Rose yawned and lifted a hand to cover her mouth. “I’m sorry, dear,” she said. “I promise it’s not the company.”

“It’s been a long night,” I said. “We could both use some sleep.”

“I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

“Stay here,” I said, leaning forward to set my glass on the floor beside the sofa.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’m just going to go home and go to bed. I won’t do anything rash, I promise.” She put her hand over her heart.

I stretched my arms up over my head. “I know that,” I said. “But you did take an awful whack on the head.”

“I’m fine,” she repeated. “I don’t even have a concussion.”

“That’s because you have an exceedingly hard head.” I made a face at her and she laughed. “Humor me, please,” I said. “I don’t want to have to sneak into your place at two a.m. and hold a mirror up to your mouth to see if you’re breathing.”

Rose laughed again. “All right. I’ll stay.” She held up one finger. “As long as you sleep in your bed and I sleep here on the pullout.”

“Deal,” I said. The sofa bed had a good mattress and I knew Rose would be comfortable.

Elvis launched himself back onto the sofa between us. He poked the cushion a couple of times and then looked expectantly at Rose.

“You may have to share with Elvis,” I said.

“That’s not a problem,” she said, reaching over to stroke his fur. “He won’t be the first hairy male to share my bed.” Her gray eyes twinkled.

I clapped my hands over my ears and shut my eyes. “Too much information,” I exclaimed. I could hear her laughing anyway.

I made up the bed while Rose went to get her pajamas and toothbrush. “We have to make Rose call her daughter in the morning,” I said to Elvis. He cocked his head to one side and gazed at me with narrowed eyes as if he were thinking, How do you plan on doing that?

I was pretty sure I could nudge Rose into calling Abby. I knew she cared about me as much as I cared about her, and in the end she’d do it for that reason alone.

I’d spent summers in North Harbor with my grandmother as far back as I could remember. The rest of the year I’d lived first in upstate New York and then in New Hampshire. Both my father and mother had been only children, so I hadn’t had a pile of cousins to hang out with during the summer. My grandmother’s friends, Charlotte, Rose and Liz, had become my surrogate extended family, a trio of indulgent and loving albeit opinionated aunts.

When the radio station where my late-night syndicated radio show originated changed hands, I was replaced by a music feed from the West Coast and a nineteen-year-old guy with a tan and ombré hair who gave the temperature every hour. I’d come back to North Harbor at the urging of my mother, who knew how much I loved the town. When I decided to open Second Chance, Rose, Charlotte and Liz had been almost as thrilled as my grandmother. They were family. I’d do anything for them.

Rose came back carrying her pajamas, her toothbrush and one of her ubiquitous totes.

“What’s in that?” I asked.

She handed the bag to me. “Just a few things for breakfast. Would you stick it in the refrigerator, dear, please?”

I stuck the bag in my less-than-full fridge. Rose had been giving me cooking lessons for months now, and to everyone’s surprise—especially mine—they seemed to be starting to take. Now I needed to work on making a grocery list and making time to hit the store.

I peeked in the bag as I set it on the shelf, catching sight of eggs and what looked like Canadian bacon.

“I could cook breakfast,” I offered. Just because the doctor had said Rose didn’t have a concussion didn’t mean that she shouldn’t take it a little easier.

“I know you could, dear,” she said. She looked at the opened sofa bed. “Oh, that looks lovely and cozy.”

“You can take the bathroom first,” I said. “There’s lots of hot water for a bath. I want to check the store’s Web site before bed.”

Rose gave her head a little shake—which didn’t seem to cause her any pain, I noted. “You work too much,” she said. “At this rate the only hairy man you’ll be sharing your bed with is Elvis.”

I poked a finger in each ear. “La, la, la, la, la,” I sang loudly.

All that got me was a smile. Rose picked up her pajamas. “I think I will have a bath,” she said. “I do like that nice deep tub of yours.”

“I put out some towels.”

She nodded. “Thank you, dear. It’s a bit late now, but remind me to call Abby in the morning.”

“How did you know I was going to ask you that?” I said.

She tapped her right temple with a finger. “I’m very smart.”