Amber Affairs by Patricia Rice

Author:Patricia Rice
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Book View Cafe

Josh didn’t have to do more than stop by the jewelry store to tell the auburn-haired jeweler about the showdown. After that, the Lucys seemed to grasp the situation by osmosis. The shopkeepers began closing their doors. Men carrying crystal-knobbed walking sticks came in off the mountain and out of the woods.

Still in his biking togs, Josh ambled up the street and admired the collective security. The white Cadillac maneuvered into one of the last spaces in the parking lot. Staying in the shadows of the boardwalk, he slipped into the café. As much as he wanted to pummel Dell into dirt, this was Amber’s show, as the audience proved. If Dell was here, he’d settle with him later, on his own grounds.

The place was packed. Most of the occupants were watching the parking lot. Several lifted walking sticks in acknowledgment of his entry, but they left him to find a place in a dark back corner of the counter near the juice bar. He could see out the window and keep an eye on Amber at the same time. She had taken a stool center front at the counter, with her back to the door. If she were six inches taller, she’d be a Viking goddess.

He tried to catch a glimpse of the car’s occupants, but only Crystal Abercrombie emerged. A broad-featured blond, she stormed toward the tarot shop and glared at the tarot shop’s CLOSED sign. She rattled the knob, pounded on the window, then kicked the door for good measure. When that produced no results, she swung around—and marched straight for the café. Good call.

She had not aged well. Once a heavy smoker and addicted to tanning beds, her skin had turned to wrinkled leather. Apparently she’d run out of money for Botox, and crow’s feet lined her eyes. She wore fake black lashes that clashed badly with her bleached hair, currently cut short in an apparent effort to achieve a Nordic elf look, maybe. She was built like a thick stump. Amber’s soft curves were much more interesting.

The noise level in the café dropped several decibels as Crystal marched in. Amber’s bright hair and colorful clothes were an easy target. She winked at him to show she was okay. Josh gratefully accepted the cup of coffee someone shoved at him.

“Where’s Zeke?” Crystal demanded loud enough for half the town to hear.

“Hello, Mother.” Amber swung around on her stool. “Has there ever been a time when you greeted me with a smile of welcome and a hug?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I had to keep you in line so you didn’t ruin your life. And you managed to do so anyway, despite all my efforts.” She gestured at the old-fashioned café with its aging mural of hippies and Formica counter. “Look at this dump! You could have had a mansion in Malibu and you settle for the set of Deliverance? I won’t allow Zeke to waste his life as a failure like you.”

Fiona, who was running this set from Deliverance, offered a crooked smile.

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