Wildflower Promises by Fox Giselle

Author:Fox, Giselle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Giselle Fox Books
Published: 2023-07-07T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“DON’T FRATERNIZE WITH the unicorn. He’s trouble,” Hatch said as he paddled away from a rogue flotation device. The unicorn in question appeared to be suffering from a severe case of deflation.

“Is Ash back yet?” I asked.

“Haven’t seen her,” he replied.

“Did you sleep?”

Hatch aimed his big toe at the main house. “He’s got a theater in there. Six hours of Star Trek, a strong air conditioner, and an inflatable duck are all a man needs for a good night’s rest.”

“Can I quote you on that?” I took a seat on the edge of the pool and let my feet hang in the water. The sunbaked pool deck had that morning-after scent of fermented fruit and booze. Empty cups littered every surface. There was a pile of broken glass and a chunky pink puddle under a lounger. Even the palms looked seasick. “This place is nasty,” I muttered.

“Indeed, it is,” Hatch said, lifting a fresh cocktail from the cup holder in his duck. He toasted the air between us.

I moved to a lounger under an umbrella and worked on my article while Hatch continued his float under the shade of a palm. Someone came out with a platter of fresh croissants and coffee. After leaving it on a table in front of me, he cleaned the deck until everything was back to its pre-party state. Hatch was on his third cocktail and as many cups of coffee by then and was looking downright chipper. Even his tan was coming along nicely.

“Come to think of it, they said they were going over to the fairgrounds,” he mumbled, out of the blue.

“Who, Ash?”

“Someone there she had to meet. Gaz set it up.”

“Good to know,” I said, hoping I didn’t sound as though I’d been fixating on her whereabouts.

Ash wasn’t back until much later. Hatch had already returned to his air-conditioned theater for a duck nap while I lingered around the pool and worked. Sometime mid-afternoon, I heard cars coming down the driveway.

I tried to be relaxed, I swear, but when I couldn’t hear what they all were saying, I broke cover and peered over the fence. Gaz was parked in the shade of the barn. A giant, opalescent-white 4x4 with gold chrome bumpers and the darkest tinted windows I’d ever seen was parked beside it.

Ash was talking to Gaz and a blond woman dressed in white and gold to match the truck. Ash was smiling and laughing. I sat back down on my lounger and closed my laptop, then quickly opened it again. If the party came out onto the deck, I didn’t want them to find me idling, all lonely and friendless. So I slipped on my knock-off shades and plugged in my earbuds, pretending to work. After a while, I couldn’t hear voices anymore. When I peered over the fence again, they were gone.

“Oh! Hello,” said a voice behind me.

I whirled around. The blond woman and Gaz were standing there. The woman’s eyes dropped to the empty tray of chewed-up fruit rinds and the long line of melted cherry slushy glasses that were now attracting flies.

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