Every new resort needed a ‘wow factor’.
But I couldn't concentrate. With all the guests pouring by my office, I could hear them snickering and gossiping about Katie. Wondering how she could let a catch like Michael go and wondering if she had been cheating on him.
Fucking morons.
Theorizing she was a lesbian or a gold digger that couldn’t keep up with the lifestyle or whatever. Made me sick.
What kind of people had she fallen in with at college? The city was supposed to broaden her horizons, not close her up into this petty little group.
I couldn’t take it anymore, so before I unleashed my wrath on the cowards, I decided to get myself a drink.
Dylan wouldn’t like the fact that I was drinking on the job, but I didn’t care. My mind kept swirling with how Katie was doing. I hadn’t seen her since we’d helped her get settled into her room last night. I wanted to know how she was, but I was trying to respect her need for privacy.
I doubted she wanted to see anyone after what happened last night.
When I entered the bar, I watched Katie’s brother raise his beer in the air. Hunter was tall like myself, with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes like his sister. Though where Hunter was long-legged and lanky, Katie was all luscious curves and femininity.
“Hunter, my maaaan! What’s got you day-drinking?” I asked.
“It’s celebratory,” he said as I sat down next to him.
“A beer, thanks,” I said to the bartender. “Celebratory, huh?”
“Michael was a fuckin’ prick, and now he’s gone. No more havin’ to pretend I like the son of a bitch just so Katie could stay longer.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Every time they came to visit, it was on his schedule. And things had to be like he liked them. Shit in the fridge. Healthy food on the table. Nothin’ fried, greased, or cooked in oil.”
“Sounds like a good time,” I said flatly.
“And if he didn’t like somethin’, he made an excuse to leave. An’ she was always expected to leave with ‘im. She followed him, Caleb. Didn’t stand at his side but followed him like some obedient servant. I don’t know what the fuck was wrong with her, but I’m glad she’s done with it now.”
It made me angry to hear some of the things Hunter was rattling on about. Her ex-fiancé sounded like an abusive control freak. It made me relieved that Katie wasn’t going to be marrying a man like that, but that didn’t mean her heart wasn’t broken.
I tipped my beer up to my lips and guzzled it down, then breathed a sigh of relief.
I didn’t know why I felt all that relief.
“You’ve always been so protective of Katie. Why didn’t you say somethin’ if you didn’t like the guy?” I asked.
“I did. Many times. But she kept brushin’ it off, talkin’ ‘bou
t how he was doing so much for her and momma. She changed around him, Caleb. She ain’t the sister I remember.”
“Explain,” I said.
“She stopped partyin’. Stopped drinkin’ beer. It was all ‘wine and sparklin’ water’ whenever she came over. She traded that loud voice of hers for somethin’ more tempered and hell, she fuckin’ stopped cussin’.”
“People grow up and change. What makes you think it was Michael?” I asked.
“Cause the change didn’t start ‘til after their first fight.”
“What did they fight about?”
“Her partyin’ in college. I don’t know what was said. She still won’t talk ‘bout it. But after that argument, she called me cryin’ ‘til she fell asleep. I was in a fuckin’ airport ‘bout to book me a ticket to the city before I heard her snorin’ into the phone.”
“And her snorin’ stopped you?” I asked.