"Has Emma made any progress?" he asked.

"Not that I've heard," she said. "Apparently, there were quite a lot of people who would have preferred Robbie Vine to be no more."

"You know I'm not one of them, right?" he asked.

Lindsey glanced at him and knew just like she always had that Sully could never have harmed Robbie.

"I know," she said.

"Not that I didn't want to punch him in the jaw a couple of times," Sully said. "But even if you had chosen to be with him in the end, I hope you know I only want you to be happy."

She wasn't sure why Sully was being so forthcoming with her but she liked it. She put her hand on his arm where it rested on the bar. "Thanks."

They stared at one another for a few moments and Lindsey felt as if Sully was letting her see a side of him that he usually kept to himself. He was letting her know that it had bothered him that she and Robbie had developed a friendship, but that he would never begrudge her happiness.

She smiled at him, and he leaned close and said, "I've really missed you."

Lindsey opened her mouth to tell him the same but she was interrupted.

"Dinner is served." Ian put two plates down on the bar in front of them.

Lindsey leaned back from Sully and smiled at Ian. Sully glared at him, and Ian asked, "What? That's what you ordered, isn't it?"

"Yeah, a heaping plate of lousy timing," Sully said.

Ian glanced between them and grinned. "Nothing worth having is acquired easily, and I should know. It took me three solid years of begging to get your sister to agree to marry me."

"That's because she's too good for you," Sully said. "If it were up to me, you'd still be begging Mary to make an honest man of you."

"Spoken like a true older brother," Ian said. "Tell me, Lindsey, do you have an older brother I should be calling?"

Lindsey laughed as she took her silverware out of her napkin roll. "My brother, Jack, is much too busy gallivanting all over the world. He only comes when I sound a distress call."

"Which you are too proud to do," Sully said. He put his napkin on one knee while he tucked into his cheesy potatoes with his fork.

"Not too proud," Lindsey said. "Just waiting until I really need him."

She broke off a piece of the flaky fish and popped it into her mouth with a little bit of the crabmeat stuffing. It was warm and moist and seasoned perfectly.

"So, how is it?" Ian asked.

"Excellent," she said.

"Terrific," Sully agreed.

Ian beamed at them and then moved down the bar to refill another patron's drink.

"So, you never told your brother when you and your ex broke up?" Sully asked.

"Oh, I told him," she said. "But I didn't make a big deal out of it. Relationships end. It happens."

"Did you ever tell him about us?" Sully asked. He wasn't looking at her but instead studying his plate. Lindsey got the feeling this was important to him.

"Yeah, I told him when we started dating," she said. "He liked that you were a boat captain."

"I like him already," Sully said.

"I also told him when we broke up," she said.

"Oh."

"Yeah, and I cried," she said. "Then he wanted to sink your boat."

"You cried?" Sully's voice was soft and he looked at her with eyes that were narrowed with guilt and pain.

"Yes, but I think I was just being overly dramatic," she said. "I had just had a near-death experience, after all."

"I'll never forget it," he said. His blue gaze met hers in a look of such angst that Lindsey felt her breath catch.

It occurred to her that maybe Sully hadn't dumped her because he felt she needed time to consider whether she wanted to be with her ex or not, but rather because he had come so close to losing her that it scared the snot out of him and he had done what any same person would do: cut and run.

She stared at him and he asked, "What?"

"There you are!" Violet came racing into the restaurant. Her caftan floated around her and she looked harried as if she'd been running all day. Nancy was right behind her, looking equally stressed but wearing her favorite blue track suit.

"What are you people doing here?" Violet continued. "Don't you know that tonight is dress rehearsal? We have to go!"

Sully glanced at his watch. "Violet, breathe. We have a half hour until we have to be at the theater."

"Really?" Violet asked as she sank into a nearby stool. "Oh, bother."

Nancy slapped the bar to get Ian's attention. "Two cosmopolitans, Ian, and make them doubles."

"Is that wise?" Lindsey asked.

"You're right," Nancy said. "I probably should have ordered triples."

Sully and Lindsey exchanged a grin and dug into their food. For a few brief moments, Lindsey felt as if everything in her world was okay. She was with Sully and they were surrounded by their friends. Then the door to the Blue Anchor banged open and in strode Sterling Buchanan.

23.

"Definitely should have ordered a triple," Nancy said. She took the drink Ian handed her and downed half of it in one swallow.

"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Violet snapped. "What the hell are you doing here, Buck?"

The entire restaurant went quiet as everyone glanced from Violet to the man in the suit.

Lindsey leaned close to Sully and said, "An old boyfriend of Violet's."

"What is it with old boyfriends coming to Briar Creek?" Sully muttered. "Violet, do you want me to show him the door?"

"And me," Ian chimed in. "It's my restaurant. If someone needs tossing, I've got dibs."

"Spoilsport," Sully said.

"Enough you two," Violet said. "Answer me, Buck."

"It's good to see you, Vi," he said. His gaze seemed to drink in the sight of her.

Violet La Rue was a beautiful woman. Her dark complexion was rich and exotic. She had large brown eyes and a gently sculpted face with high cheekbones, a square jaw and a generous mouth that gave her cheeks deep dimples when it curved into a smile. She was wearing her usual flowing caftan, but it clung to her curves and managed to look sexy instead of matronly.

"Really?" she asked. "You are not the type to get sentimental, so what is it that you want?"

"You know what I want," he said. "Another chance for us."

"Uh-huh, so you've said," Violet replied. "How does your wife feel about that?"

"She understands that a man has-"

"Oh, shut up!" Violet interrupted him. "I know exactly what you're doing, what you've been doing with your fancy bouquets of flowers and all that garbage. You're trying to woo me back in hopes that Charlene will give you a chance. Well, forget it. I'm not buying the long-lost-love bit."

"So cold, Vi," he said. His voice was reproving, and Violet arched an eyebrow as if to say she so wasn't going to play games with him.

"Spill it," she said.

"As the father of your child-" he began.

"Oh, no, you don't," Violet interrupted amidst a chorus of gasps. "That child is a grown woman with children of her own. You chose not to be her father when she needed one, so don't be thinking you can be one to her now."

"I think I want to punch him," Sully muttered to Ian.

"Get in line," Ian said.

"I've tried repeatedly over the years to be in her life and in yours," Sterling said. He looked annoyed. "But the two of you have been very insulated by your little actor friends. You always shut me out, Violet, and Charlene followed your example."

"Oh, please," Violet snapped. "I am not interested in your revisionist history. You didn't show up in her life until she was eighteen. And yes, she has had a lot of surrogate fathers, and they have been wonderful to her. Robbie Vine, in particular, was more of a father to her than you've ever been."

"Well, given that Robbie is dead now, don't you think it's time for her to get to know her real father?" Sterling asked. He looked so angry that Lindsey felt a chill creep down her spine.

"The choice is hers," Violet said. "But I'm pretty sure you know that, just like you know what her answer is."

"But that's unacceptable," he said. He yanked on the cuffs of his shirt. "Violet, you have to undo the damage you've done. Time is slipping by."

"You narcissistic jackass. You walked out of her life before she was even born and now you're aware of the time going by?" Violet said. "Man up and live with the consequences of your choice and stop trying to blame it on everyone else."

"That is-" Sterling looked nonplussed to be spoken to in such a manner, and Lindsey had to keep herself from cheering out loud.

"What? The truth? You can't buy a child's love, Sterling. You have to invest yourself, not your checkbook, into your offspring. Now, I'm sorry that high-pedigree wife of yours couldn't provide an heir for you, but Charlene has no interest in you or your fortune. So, respect her wishes and leave her be."

"This isn't over," Sterling said. His jaw was clenching and unclenching as he tried to keep his temper. "I sent Harvey Wargus here to write about the show. He'll write whatever I tell him to. He can make or break you, Vi."

"So that's why that toad is here," she said. "So, when romancing me back into your life didn't work, you decided to send Wargus after me and the show. This isn't Broadway. Who cares if Wargus trashes the show? Or did you have a different plan? Were you hoping to discover something damaging about me that you could use to cause a rift between me and my daughter?"

Sterling's lack of an answer was telling.

"News flash-there isn't anything she doesn't know about me, because that's how we roll. It's called honesty. You should try it sometime," Violet said.

"Vi, you have to give me a chance or I'll-" Sterling threatened but Violet interrupted.

"Or you'll what?" she said. "Murder me like you did Robbie?"

Sterling looked shocked, and Lindsey didn't think he was a good enough actor to be faking.

"You can't believe-" he began but she interrupted again.

"Oh, yes, I can," she said. Her voice dripped contempt like it was acid. "I believe you're capable of doing anything to get what you want. Sully, Ian, I think you need to take out the trash."

Ian vaulted over the bar as if he had a springboard back there. He and Sully stood shoulder to shoulder and moved forward with the formidable stance of a brick wall.

"Gentlemen, you would be ill advised to touch me," Buchanan said, looking decidedly nervous.

Ian looked at Sully. "I can live with that."

"Me, too," Sully agreed.

They moved forward. Buchanan moved back.

"In fact," Sully continued, "I was thinking Mr. Buchanan here looked thirsty for a little taste of the sea. Maybe we can see if that suit of his is drip-dry."

As one, Sully and Ian each stomped a foot forward. Buchanan bolted through the door, moving faster than Lindsey had thought possible. Ian and Sully laughed and knuckle bumped one another. Lindsey turned to find Violet lifting her glass to them.

"Well done," Violet said, and then she downed her drink. She handed the glass to Nancy and clapped her hands. "Okay, people, we have a show to put on. Roll out."

As the others prepared to leave, Lindsey turned back to her plate and hastily tried to shovel in the rest of her dinner. Sully returned to his seat and did the same.

"You all go on ahead," Sully said. "We'll meet you over there."

Lindsey noted the hopeful glances that they got from the others, but refused to acknowledge them. She had no doubt they were all hoping for reconciliation between her and Sully. Whatever.

When they finished eating, she refused to let him pay for her dinner, and he gave her an exasperated look, but she held her ground.

Together they made their way to the theater. It was dark now and the wind whipping in off the water had a definite nip as it yanked and tugged at the hems of their jackets, trying to sneak up their sleeves and scratch them with its chilly fingers.