Page 1 of Seductive Nights

1

Margo trudged into the hospital room where her husband, of twenty-three years, lay dying. She rotated her head, then tried rotating her shoulders, but they were stiff. She'd been in this damned hospital for nearly a week. Ever since Logan finally stopped being stubborn and went to see his doctor.

She vacillated between being pissed at Logan and being sad. She knew he'd been sick for a while, yet he refused to go to the doctor. Wasn't that just a typical man? Finally, when his pain increased to a point he couldn't tolerate, and he couldn't keep food down, he relented and went in to see his doctor. Only to be told the worst news of all.

He was dying, and he had very little time to live. As a matter of fact, he was immediately admitted into the hospital, and that's where he'd been, and she'd been since. Tests were inconclusive at this point, and she shifted between worry, fear, and irritation that in this day and age, how could a test result be inconclusive? As of this morning, he was comatose, and she knew his death was imminent. She looked across the room at her sisters, the three of them tittering and tattering quietly, and all of them froze when she walked in. If she didn't know better, she'd think their looks were guilty.

"What are you three talking about? You've had your heads together for the last day and a half. You're getting on my nerves."

Her older sister, Carley, stepped forward. "We're sorry. We know you're stressed right now, and we're not trying to add to your stress. We're just trying to figure out some of the arrangements. Wondering if you're finally in the right mind to talk about that."

Margo let out a deep breath and turned her head to stare at her husband, Logan. He hadn't moved in hours. He was frail. The color of his skin was gray. She knew the end was near. She knew him well. Her entire adult life they'd been married. They'd started Price Real Estate Company more than fifteen years ago, and they'd made it a huge fucking success, and now she was going to have to run the whole thing herself. Not to mention all the things. The house. The business. And she didn't know how she'd do it without her partner in crime. They'd done everything together over the years. When they'd made a conscious decision not to have children, that decision was made based on their desire to travel. The real estate business offered them the life they'd dreamed of. Success offered them travel to exotic locations.

Carley put her arm around Margo’s shoulders and squeezed her. "Margo honey, can we at least talk about a few things with the service? And don't you think you should call your pastor and have him come in to give him last rites?"

Margo swallowed the dry, hard knot that just materialized in her throat at the thought of having to watch as her husband was given last rites.

Finally, she responded softly, "Yes, please call my pastor. And yes, we should make some arrangements. Nothing big and ostentatious. Friends and family. A small gathering in the church basement after the service. He would have wanted it that way. He was so private about so many things. I don't want to take that away from him at a time when his wishes should be honored the most."

Margo's youngest sister, Josseline, scoffed. Margo's eyes landed on hers. "Are you saying he wasn't private?"

Josseline's cheeks turned pink, her lips thinned, and her jaw tightened. "Oh, he was private, all right."

Margo raised her eyebrows. "And what does that mean?"

Her younger sister, the sister in between her and Josseline, Holly, nudged Josseline. Holly shrugged, "Nothing. It's just been a stressful time for all of us, and we just hate seeing you so sad."

Josseline nodded slowly, and Margo stared at her sisters one at a time. They'd been here for her. Gosh, they'd been her best friends her whole life. She didn't need outside friends. She had these women, and they were fantastic, fabulous, loving, beautiful, smart women. She had the immense pleasure of being related to them. That was a bonus not every person got in life.

Josseline excused herself. "I'll go call the pastor."

As she walked by, she grabbed Margo's hand and squeezed. "I love you, Margo."

"I love you too, Josseline."

Her sister moved past her and out the door.

Margo stepped to the side of Logan's bed and took his hand in hers. It was cooler than it had been earlier. The time was certainly near. That was a fact. Some chiming and pinging were heard from across the room, and her sister Carley said, "I'm sorry. I forgot to turn my phone off. I'll step outside and see who needs my attention, then turn it off. She moved quickly through the door before Margo could say anything to her. It was fine if she had her phone on. Their lives didn't stop because Logan's was about to, right?

Her shoulders slumped. How would she navigate all of this? Did she go on with her business and her life as if she'd never had Logan all these years? How did one do that?

A few moments later, a nurse entered the room. The first thing she did was touch Logan's forehead. She listened with her stethoscope to his breathing, which was so faint it was hard to hear. She typed something into her handheld computer, which looked like a bulky phone. When she finished, she glanced at Margo and smiled softly. "Is there anything you need, Margo?"

"No." She took a deep breath, "I mean, do you know how...? I mean," she watched Logan for a moment, afraid to say the next words.

She lowered her voice and whispered, "Do you know how much longer?"

The nurse shook her head slowly, her lips turned down in a frown. "I'm afraid we don't, but I can tell you it'll be imminent. I've just texted the doctor and asked him to come up here one last time."

A tear dripped down Margo's cheek and her sister Holly stepped forward and hugged her. "I'm so sorry, Margo. I'm so sorry."

At that moment, Logan took a deep breath, and all Margo could do was stare.

2

Jace Marriott stood on Sunset Beach Road in front of his bar. He stared at the bar, then turned his head to the right and stared at the thrift shop next door. It was an older building made of cinder block, painted faded fuchsia, though that was peeling. It looked in need of repair, but he just found out it was going up for sale, and he wanted it. He wanted that old, dilapidated building torn down, and he wanted to expand Sarge's Sandbar. The bar he'd grown immeasurably over the last year. He wanted it to grow even further. Not so big that it would be a big giant bar with no personality. What he really wanted was to expand the inside a bit more, so he had more kitchen space. His food business was growing by leaps and bounds. He wanted the bar area to be expanded. And he'd just been informed the town council expected him to have a buffer of thirty feet all around his business as a noise barrier. He'd offered to plant trees around the area as a buffer. They said they'd take it under advisement. That meant he needed the thrift shop because, right now, he was encroaching on that buffer. He wasn't sure what he was going to do if he couldn't get the thrift shop and he couldn't plant trees. That was going to be his next big challenge.

He strode toward the front door as a truck approached. He turned to see his friend, Quinn, driving toward him. Quinn waved as he passed, then pulled into the parking area at the Sandbar and Jace hustled to meet him.

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