Her Christmas Homecoming by Shirley Wine

Author:Shirley Wine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Escape Publishing

Chapter 9

Joe walked out onto the back terrace, but couldn’t see Marta in the dim starlight; the moon had yet to breach the horizon.

‘Marta?’

A movement near the edge of the deck revealed her position. He walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. ‘I talked to Christophe.’

She turned her head in his direction. ‘And?’

‘He started waffling about client preference, yadda, yadda, yadda, but eventually he weakened and I got to the guts of the matter.’

‘And that is?’

Joe took a slow, deep breath, his hands tightening on her shoulders. He’d far rather not add to Marta’s distress, but she did need to know what she was up against. ‘It’s personal. It appears Mike O’Sullivan was the band leader’s cousin.’

‘Shit!’

‘Yeah, it’s a bummer, but it does explain his stance.’

‘Maybe.’ She stiffened, her lips compressed in a thin line. ‘But it’s not exactly fair to punish me because of my brother’s actions.’

‘Precisely,’ he murmured against the skin of her neck. ‘It’s also unprofessional, and I pointed this out to Christophe.’

‘What was his response?’

‘He hummed and hawed, but me calling him about you put him on the spot.’ Joe chuckled softly. ‘He spluttered a bit when I asked him if he was prepared to employ a band who held no qualms over letting him down without warning, especially as their reasons didn’t have a prayer of standing up to a challenge in an employment court.’

‘What did he have to say about that?’

‘He’s going to contact the band then if the answer is what I suspect it will be, he’ll ring you back.’

The words had no sooner left his lips than her phone warbled, breaking the night stillness. She fished it out of her pocket and looked at the screen, then winked at him.

‘Christophe?’

Joe watched her, intent on her reaction.

She listened and her gaze swivelled upward and locked with his, her expression for once easy to read: shocked disbelief. She finished her call and stood there, staring blankly at the black phone screen.

Joe damped down his impatience. ‘What did he have to say?’

‘He wants you and me at Chez Christophe tomorrow morning at nine for a dress rehearsal. Are you okay with this?’ Marta started to laugh. ‘You offered to be my musical backup, Joe—why?’

‘Why?’ He stepped closer and caught her shoulders and looked into her eyes. ‘Because you need the work,’ he said, unable to keep the husky note of longing from his voice. ‘You need someone reliable and not given to letting you down over petty grievances.’

‘The death of a cousin isn’t exactly a petty grievance.’

‘If their boycott was aimed at your brother, then no, but aimed at you, it’s exceedingly petty.’

He hoped this would satisfy Marta. He didn’t want to disclose Christophe’s suspicion that it was someone with a grudge against Marta who was stirring up the musicians, and this worried Joe.

‘Besides,’ he said, his voice soft as slowly, inexorably he drew her closer, ‘we’re friends and always in the past, we’ve protected each other’s backs during the tough times.

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