Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 97199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 486(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Just as my eyelids flutter shut and my heartbeat starts racing, a loud bang startles us both.
I feel William flinch slightly, and by the time my eyes are open, his gaze is cast toward the door of the bar. I follow his lead and notice the doorknob is turning back and forth from the outside, all while someone or something is banging on the door. I can’t see who it is since I pulled down the shade that covers the door’s window as soon as the sun set hours ago.
The doorknob continues to spin as the knocking subsides. Apparently, the fake alarm company sticker isn’t foolproof for warding off would-be thieves.
“Give me a minute,” William says with all the calmness of a man taking a leisurely stroll in a meadow on a summer day. There’s no urgency in his voice or his movements.
He closes the distance between where I’m standing and the door as I stand in place watching.
Another loud knock breaks through the silence again, but before it quiets, William turns the lock on the door and opens it wide.
He’s not holding a weapon, and he’s not in any sort of stance to lunge at whoever is waiting on the other side. He’s an imposing presence, though. The breadth of his shoulders takes up most of the width of the doorjamb, but I’m still able to catch a brief glimpse of who is facing him on the other side of the door.
“Good evening, Hildy. It’s nice to see you again,” he says with warmth in his tone.
“William?” My great aunt’s voice is edged with surprise. “You’re here?”
“I am.” He steps aside to let her pass. “Opal is right over there.”
I see the second Hildy realizes what she’s interrupted. Her gaze glides over what’s left of our dinner sitting on the bar, and then it settles on the Turquoise Crown board game on the table next to where I’m standing.
She silently crosses the space until she’s directly in front of me. The look on her face is one I haven’t seen very often. Her brow scrunches as she mouths, “I’m sorry.”
As her gaze drops to my hand, she lets out a light gasp. “That’s beautiful, Opal.”
I try to keep my hand steady as I hold the pill box up toward the light so she can see it in all of its brilliance. “It is, isn’t it?”
“You got that for her.” Hildy turns to point a finger at William. “You did, didn’t you?”
He shoves both hands in the front pockets of his pants as he walks toward us. “I wanted to give Opal something to thank her for the special gift she gave me.”
“The special gift?” Hildy’s gaze snaps back to me. “How special are we talking?”
I know my great aunt well enough to know when she’s about to drop a sex-related pun, so I stop that before it leaves her lips. “I gave William the special edition of Turquoise Crown.”
Disappointment tugs at her. I see it in the way she lets out a small sigh. “Oh, yes. I forgot about that.”
Wanting to explain, I step around her and meet William on his path back to the table. “Aunt Hildy was generous enough to part with one of her special editions.”
She picks up my glass and sniffs my drink before placing it back down. “It was my pleasure. I’m going to grab a glass of water. The walk here left me parched.”
As much as I want to ask why she’s here at all, I don’t. I can get into that later when William has left, and I’m alone with my aunt.
Her hand dives into her coat pocket right before a jingling sound fills the air. “My key didn’t seem to work in the lock, Opal.”
“I had the locks changed,” I explain as I watch her retrieve a tall glass before filling it from a pitcher of water I keep behind the bar. The ice cubes that were in it hours earlier have long since melted, so it’s tepid at best, but she doesn’t seem to mind. She finishes the entire thing in one swallow before she pours herself another glass.
“You did?” she asks.
I nod. “The first contractor I hired lost the keys, so I went ahead and called a locksmith.”
“Smart move.” She smiles. “If it’s not too much trouble, can I get…”
“I’ll have another set of keys cut for you tomorrow,” I interrupt what I know she was about to ask.
This space belongs to me now, but I want her to stop by whenever the mood strikes, whether we’re open or not.
“It looks like someone is about to win the game,” she quips before taking a sip from her glass. “Let me guess. It’s Opal.”
William lets out a chuckle. “That stings, Hildy.”
“It’s true, though,” she states. “Opal is the best of the best when it comes to Turquoise Crown. I should leave so you two can finish what you started.”