Page 77 of Bubbles at the Beach House Hotel

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

As I pulled away fromWill’s office, I decided to go home. We’d talked about the importance of communication, and I wanted to let Vaughn know the situation.

When I got home, Vaughn was down at the sailboat cleaning it up from the last time we’d used it. Some men liked to fuss with their cars; mine liked to fuss with his sailboat.

I called out to him as I walked down the slope to speak to him.

He looked up, grinned, and waited for me to come closer.

When I did, he set down the bucket of water and reached for me.

Our lips met, and I nestled against him, feeling protected and loved and very grateful, most of all, for our life together and how we shared it.

“How are things with Arthur? And how’s Will doing?”

“Why don’t I fix some sandwiches, and we can talk about it? It’s pretty complicated within the family.”

“Okay, I’ll be up in a minute,” said Vaughn. “I want to hear all about it.”

###

Later, after sharingmore than lunch with Vaughn, including midday lovemaking, I headed to the hotel and went to find Bernie.

I’d been thinking about Lorraine and our need to support her. She might need privacy. We could provide her with a room at the hotel or, perhaps, she could stay at my house. With Thanksgiving in a couple of days and the two weddings we had for the weekend, I prayed she’d be able to work and would want to work to keep busy.

Bernie was in his office talking on the phone when I knocked on the door and opened it at his request.

He indicated a chair in front of his desk, and I took a seat to wait for him to finish his call.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he told me after he ended the call. “As you may have guessed, that was Mike Torson. He and I were discussing a secure place for Lorraine to stay so she wouldn’t have to deal with any reporters at her house.”

“I’ve already thought of it. If we don’t think she should stay here, she can stay at my house. I’ve already talked to Vaughn about the possibility. As she’s part of our hotel family, we need to protect her.”

“Agreed,” he said. “She’s presently at home. I believe Arthur has posted bail, and he’s with her. Would you agree to take them both into your home? I know the situation is difficult with Rhonda and her family, and I don’t want to do anything to cause trouble between you.”

“Tell you what, I’ll talk to Rhonda, and she can decide for me. As you said, I don’t want any bad feelings between us and our families.”

“That sounds reasonable,” said Bernie. “Let me know when you’ve made a decision.”

“Will do,” I said and left his office.

Rather than meeting again at Rhonda’s house, I decided it was best to ask her to join me here. This would be a business decision, not an emotional one regarding our families. I'd honor her wishes if Rhonda didn’t feel it was right.

###

Before I started theconversation about Lorraine with Rhonda, I said, “How are things going with Will?”

“After you left, we talked about the situation and the need for us to talk about everything,” said Rhonda. “I understand Will didn’t want me involved with his business, but he can’t let worries almost kill him. In the future, this upset might be a reminder for him.”

“And now?”

“He and Reggie will need to smooth out this huge wrinkle in their relationship. It’s hard to work with family. Reggie needs to understand that Will made a business decision, not an emotional, hurtful one.”

“I can imagine how conflicted Will must have felt when he suspected things were not right with the advice.”

---