Page 13 of Broken Butterfly
“Actually, yes I have. I love it.”
“Excellent,” he says. “No one on this bloody boat plays and I usually wind up playing Solitaire by myself.” Robert hands me the deck of cards to shuffle and pulls a beautifully crafted wooden cribbage box out of a drawer in the table. Ah, this is a game table. Cool.
“What’s going on?” Fallon inquires as he saunters in. His hair is windswept, and he brings with him the smell of the ocean.
My gaze sweeps him from toe to head. “I thought you were asleep.”
“Nope. I screwed up my sleep rhythm a long time ago. Usually up all night, and then sleep most of the morning.”
“That’s not good for you.”
“Yes, Mom,” he yawns and sits beside me. “What are we playing?”
“Cribbage. Want me to deal you in?”
“Yeah. Might as well. Robert, can you call the kitchen and get some coffee brought up?”
I slap Fallon’s arm. “Fallon! Leave the poor man alone.”
“It’s not a problem, Miss Elizabeth.”
“Not at two in the morning. Where’s the coffee maker? I’ll go make it.”
“Kitten, sit your ass down.”
“Don’t tell me what to do. I can make coffee if I want to.”
“Not while you’re on my boat. The only thing you need to do is rest and relax.”
“Fallon, for Christ’s sake. It’s just coffee.”
Poor Robert is standing idly by, waiting patiently, his formal posture restored. Fallon, however, doesn’t care that we have an audience. He leans over to get in my face.
“You’re having nightmares and not sleeping. You need to rest to get better.” How does he know I had a nightmare?
“Were you spying on me while I was asleep?”
That cocksure Fallon smirk makes its arrival. “No. You were loud enough that I heard you through the door, if you must know.”
Robert slips away while Fallon and I glare at one another.
“What did you hear?”
“Enough. Now stop fighting me on everything. You’re supposed to do what I say, remember?”
“Oh, please.” I roll my eyes, then acquiesce.
“Thank you.”
“You’re not welcome.”
“Happy Halloween, kitten.”
Well, shit. “Happy Halloween, Fallon. And thanks for caring,” I sincerely tell him.
Chapter 5
Day 3: Finding Elizabeth
