Page 88 of Never Fall Again

“Married men who, conveniently enough, don’t bring their wives when they visit.” Bronwyn didn’t look happy about it, but she did look a bit smug. “I double-checked. Four of the six have been visiting for more than five years. But their frequency tripled or quadrupled in the last three years.”

“Anyone stand out?” Cal directed the question to both ladies.

Bronwyn leaned toward them, pen in hand. “I’ll preface this by saying that I don’t think any of these men are guilty of anything more than maybe having a wee bit of a crush on our Landry.”

Landry grabbed for the pen, but Bronwyn jerked it back.

“But these two are the most frequent.” She circled two names. Ignacio and Derrick.

“No last names?” Cal would find out, but it would be easier if Bronwyn shared on her own.

“Not yet. I’m already skating on thin ice here, Cal. If our guests get a hint that we aren’t protecting their privacy, they’ll bolt.”

“Guests who break the law can’t expect to be afforded protection here.” Cal pointed in the direction of Landry’s studio. “You’re making a strong statement that you protect your staff and your guests by chasing down criminals using whatever means necessary.”

“I agree.” Bronwyn jumped to her feet and paced the space behind her chair. “My family is losing their collective minds. I’m in the hot seat. If it were up to me, I’d give you every guest portfolio I have and tell you to question them all. But if I’m not here, The Haven becomes a very different place, Cal. You wouldn’t believe some of the cockamamie ideas some of my cousins have floated around. I’m holding back the tide. If The Haven goes the way some of them want, none of us will be safe here. We’ll lose our livelihoods and our town. I’m trying to be sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Hey. I get it. I do. I’m sorry. I’m just—”

Cal dropped his head to Landry’s shoulder for a moment, and the contact sent a jolt of affection and desire and a little bit of desperation through him. He raised his head to look at Bronwyn. “I’m not okay right now, Beep.” He’d left Maisy with Mo yesterday. She ran all over the place with Eliza and was tired. If she were here, she’d have her head in his lap and be doing her thing to help him settle down.

“I know you aren’t. I’m sorry.”

“I can’t lose anyone else. Not this way. Notanyway.” He turned to Landry. “I know you don’t want to think about these men this way. I respect that. But try to see it not as accusing them of anything but as absolving them of involvement.”

“That does sound better.” Landry smiled. “I can do that.”

“Great.” Bronwyn clapped her hands together. “Let’s go through this list so I can send it to Mo.”

“What?” Cal couldn’t believe his ears. Willing interaction between Bronwyn and Mo?

“Don’t make a big deal out of it, and it won’t be a big deal.” Bronwyn returned to her seat. “He said he’ll run the names through his databases, and he has a contact somewhere in the middle of the state who’s a genius at tracking down stuff like this.”

“If Mo thinks he’s a genius—”

“She. She’s a genius.” Bronwyn corrected him with a smile. “Don’t make that mistake to Mo. He’ll bite your head off and accuse you of misogyny. Ask me how I know.”

“Noted. So, if he thinks she’s a genius, then she must be off the charts. Mo’s no slouch.”

Bronwyn shook out her arms and tapped the paper. “Okay, let’s focus, people. We need names.”

Landry made comments about every person.

“He’s nice.”

“His wife is an actress, and he comes when she’s overseas.”

“He’s a flirt, but he’s never been inappropriate.”

“He never talks. Ever. I don’t know anything about him.”

“He’s hilarious. And madly in love with his girlfriend. He’s planning an epic proposal.”

Finally, they got to Bronwyn’s two top contenders.

“Derrick—he was a forensic scientist.” Landry filled them in on what she knew about his career and first wife. “After the divorce, he went on a long bimbo binge—that’s his description, by the way—before settling down to work on his career. If he’s dating anyone, he’s kept it under wraps.”

Cal whistled. “You know a lot about him.”

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