Page 56 of Save the Date
“Do you have a car here?”
“Yeah. Of course. I’m parked on the square.” Tommy looked up at him through his good eye. “I can drive.”
“Nuh-uh,” Jack said. “You can’t hardly walk. No way I’m letting you get behind the wheel of a car. You still living at your mom’s place? On Wilmington Island?”
“I ain’t saying.”
“Fine,” Jack said. “I’ll just drop you off at the ER at Memorial. Let them deal with you.”
“No! Okay. We’re still in the same rathole in Spinnaker Cove.”
“That’s better. You ready to roll?”
Tommy shot Jack a hopeful look. “I could use a drink. For pain.”
“You could use a kick to the head,” Jack said. “You’re underage, probably got, what, a couple minor-in-possession citations already? And you think I’m gonna pour you another beer?” He pulled the boy to his feet. “Let’s go.”
Tommy stood, unsteadily.
“Keys?” Jack held out his hand.
“Fuuuuck.” Tommy dug them out of his pants pocket and handed them over.
Cara followed them to the front of the hall. It was nearly ten, but the party raged on. In the middle of the dance floor, Maya and Jared danced alone, bodies pressed close together, performing what Cara thought was a fairly credible tango.
On the sidewalk, Jack turned and gave her an apologetic smile. “Sorry. But this kid’s mom is an old family friend. Tommy’s not a bad guy, but he seems to attract trouble. I better get him loaded up. Want me to drive you around to your van?”
She looked over at Tommy, who’d draped himself over a parking meter, head resting on his chest. He seemed to be humming something.
“No need. Now that the bad guys are gone. What about you? You’re driving him all the way out to Wilmington Island? I could follow you out, give you a ride back.”
“Thanks, but no,” he said. “I’ll catch a ride back to town.”
“You’re sure?”
He touched her cheek lightly, his voice full of regret. “No. But that’s another story.”
Suddenly, with no warning, he pulled her close, his arms wrapped around her waist. He kissed her quickly. She’d had exactly two glasses of wine, but she felt dizzy, so she pulled him closer. His tongue slipped through her lips…
“Blllleeeechhh.”
Tommy was crouched on the curb, his head between his knees. “Bllleccchh.”
Jack released her, reluctantly. He shrugged. “Kids. Okay if I give you a call next week?”
She gave him another quick kiss. “You better.”
23
The South Carolina low country was a sea of green and gold, contrasted against a pure blue sky. Wildflowers bloomed in muddy ditches, and carpets of red clover paved the higher ground along the roadway.
As always, in her mind, Cara was composing arrangements. She could see a small jelly glass filled with those lowly ditch daisies, wild violets, and red clovers, with slender stalks of sweet grass spiking and spilling over the sides of the glass.
Brooke Trapnell had professed no real interest in flowers, but she did have definite color biases. With her dark hair and fair skin, tones of silvers, blues, pinks, and lavender might be nice. She’d nixed purple, but lavender wasn’t really purple. When she got back to the shop, Cara decided, she’d put some flowers together, snap a picture, and text it to Brooke. Texts, she’d already discovered, were the best way to communicate with this busy bride.
So much to get done for this wedding, in such a short time span. Thankfully, she’d already gotten commitments from Layne at Fete Accompli to cater, and found two of her favorite photography studios that had openings for July 6. She’d emailed links to both photographers’ websites to all parties, and as soon as Brooke, or more likely, Marie, got back to her, she’d get that nailed down.
Patricia Trapnell had already sent audio clips from the orchestra she was determined to hire, and since there was no obvious reason to veto them, Brooke had reluctantly agreed, so Cara had called the orchestra’s booking agent that morning, and their contract was sitting on her desk back at the shop.
