Covering her mouth, she shook her head. Im sorry, but you look like hell. Your hair is all" She waved a hand around his head. "a mess, your eyes are barely open, and are you aware that youre weaving back and forth even though youre sitting down?

He grinned. You should see the other guy.

{ 147 }.

Tough, was he?

His hood ornament is now his earring. Lane lifted up an arm and flexed his biceps. Real man over here"

As a set of sharp footfalls came toward them, Lizzie glanced over her shoulder and muttered something under her breath.

Turned out it was that English butler making a beeline for her"

except the guy pulled up short as he saw Lane.

Will you excuse us, Lane, Lizzie said quietly. Ive got to work something out here.

Work out what? he asked the butler.

The Englishman smiled in a way reminiscent of a mannequin at a mens store. Nothing that you need to be concerned with, Mr. Bald- wine. Miss King, if you would be so kind as to come to my office when you are finished with"

Whats happened? Lane demanded.

Just a misunderstanding, Lizzie muttered.

About. What.

Lizzie focused on Mr. British Holier Than Thou. The champagne flute order was cut, and he thinks I called Mackenzies and changed it, but I didnt. Im happy to help with setup when the stemware and plates arrive, but Im not responsible for coordinating any of that part of the order. The tents and tables are my job, and theyre exactly what and where they need to be.

Mr. Harriss eyes narrowed. This is a conversation best conducted in my"

So it has nothing to do with her. Lane smiled coldly at the butler.

And youre done here.

Lizzie put a hand on his arm, and the contact was such a surprise, it actually shut him up. Its okay. Again, Im happy to do whatever I can to help. Mr. Harris, do you want me to go speak with Mackenzies and try to figure out how to fix this snafu?

The butler glanced back and forth between them. I know what I ordered. What I cannot explain is why only half the count arrived here.

Look, I dont want to tell you your business, Lizzie said. But mis- { 148 }.

takes on their end have happened before. What we need to do is find out what else is missing and give them a call. It shouldnt be a problem" did you put the order in personally or go through Rosalinda?

I utilized Ms. Freeland, and I gave her the proper counts.

Lizzie frowned. She knows how much we order. Shes done this for years.

She assured me all would be taken care of. I assumed that the only explanation was someone else on the account reduced the number.

You go find her, and Ill get Greta and start counting through ev- erything. Well get this sorted" at least we found out today and not tomorrow morning.

There was an awkward moment during which the butler said nothing" and Lane wondered how much of the very reasonable plan he was going to have to cram down the little dictators throat.

Very well, the butler said. Your assistance is much appreciated.

As Mr. Harris walked away, Lizzie took a deep breath. And so we enter the T- minus twenty- four hours stage of things.

Cant some of the other staff do the counting? Its not your problem.

Its all right. At least if Greta and I do it, I know its right. Besides, everyone else on Easterlys staff is swamped, and its not like the adjunct chefs can spare"

Lanes phone started ringing, and he took it out of his pocket to si- lence the noise. Who the hell is this? he asked when he saw the local area code.

She laughed again. You can find out by" brace yourself" answering the call.

Are you giving me a hard time?

Someones got to.

Lane smiled so wide, his cheeks stretched. Okay, lets roll the dice and see who it is. He hit the green means go and said in his best Lurch voice, Yooooou raaaaaaaaannnng"

Lane" oh, God, Lane, I need help.

Gin? He sat up in the chair. Gin, are you okay?

{ 149 }.

Im downtown at the Washington County Jail. You have to come bail me out" I"

What the hell? What are you"

I need a lawyer"

Okay, okay, slow down. He got to his feet. Youre talking so fast I cant understand you.

His sister took a pause and then said four complete sentences that bottomed him out.

All right, he said grimly. Im coming right now. Yes. Right. Okay.

I will.

When he hung up, all he could do was trace Lizzies face with his eyes.

Whats wrong? she asked.

My father had Gin arrested. Ive literally got to go and bail her out at the county jail.

Lizzie put her hand over her mouth with shock. Is there anything I can do?

No, Im going to take care of her. But thank you.

It took all his self- control not to lean in and kiss her like he used to.

Instead, he settled for reaching up and brushing her cheek" and leaving before she could marshal a friends dont do that.

Holy hell, what was his father up to now.

B ack when Edward had been a smoker, he had frequently wo- ken up in the morning in mid- reach, his arm and hand going for his Dunhill Reds before he was conscious of having so much as rolled onto his side.

Now he did the same, only he was going for the bottle of Advil.

Shaking four gelcaps into the palm of his trembling hand, he put the pills in his mouth and swallowed them down with the dregs of the vodka hed taken to bed with him. Grimacing as his version of breakfast headed to his stomach, he lay back on his pillow.

Hed given up smoking during his recovery. Actually, the abduction had been the first step in breaking him of the habit.

{ 150 }.

Ironic, that nearly getting killed was probably responsible for help- ing him to live a longer life.

He toasted the bottle into the air. Gracias, muchachos.

Before his brain could get locked into that endless loop of hideous, Day It Happened sequences, he shifted his legs to the floor and sat up.

He didnt look at his right thigh or calf. For one, the ragged seams of his Frankenstein flesh were burned into his mind. For another, he didnt sleep naked anymore, so there was nothing showing.

The cane was necessary to get him upright, and his balance was off not just because of the injuries, but the lack of sleep and the fact that he was still drunk. Limping to the bathroom, he left the lights off so the mirror wasnt an issue, and he used the toilet, washed his face and hands, and brushed his teeth.

The confirmation that God still hated him came when he stepped outside the cottage ten minutes later and was blinded by the bright sunlight" and his hangover headache.

What time was it? he wondered.

He was halfway to Barn B when he realized hed taken the bottle of hooch with him. Kind of like a safety blanket.

Rolling his eyes, he kept going. Miss No- Cussing- Ever might as well get used to him and the booze now" no reason to present her with an illusion of daylight teetotaling that would only get shattered later. If she couldnt deal with his habit, she might as well leave on her first day.

The sound of a squeaky wheel turned his head to the right, and a split second later, Shelby came out of the far end of the barn, her body cocked at the waist behind a tremendous load of horse manure in an old rusty wheelbarrow.

Guess Moe had put her to work already.

Hey, he called out.

Without losing a beat, she waved over her shoulder and kept going to the compost area behind the nearest outbuilding.

As he watched her, he envied her strong body" and maybe noticed, absently, that the sun on her hair turned the many blond streaks nearly white. She was wearing a navy blue T- shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, { 151 }.

and the same high- quality boots shed been in the night before. And after disappearing around the lip of the walling, she reappeared twice as fast as she should have, considering the amount of manure shed had to dump.

So she was efficient, too.

As she approached, her eyes were bright and alert, her cheeks flushed with the effort. Almost done. Ill start on C next.

Jesus, Moe has you" sorry, he said before she corrected him.

Damn, Moe has you working already? And dont tell me I cant use damn. Ill drop the God and the JC references, but that is as far as Im going.

She let the feet of the wheelbarrow settle on the cropped grass. Or- ange juice.

Excuse me?

Jeb Landiss daughter nodded down at his bottle. Yall can keep the damn, but Id like to see you with something other than"

Have you always been so judgmental?

" vodka in your hand this early in the day. And Im not judging you.

Then why do you want to change a strangers behavior?

Youre not a stranger. She wiped her brow with her forearm. Its not even nine a.m. I gotta wonder why you think you should have a drink so early.

I was feeling dehydrated.

No running water in your house? There was last night.

He sloshed the liquid around. This does the job just fine. Think of it as my version of vitamin C.

She muttered something under her breath as she leaned back down to the handles.

What did you say? he demanded.

You heard me.

No, I didnt. Which was not exactly true.

Shelby just shrugged and kept going, that body of hers moving un- { 152 }.

derneath her simple clothes, performing its duty without any apparent discomfort.

And then it dawned on him. Shelby.

She paused and glanced over her shoulder. Yes?

You said youd gotten all the horses.

Yup.

In A and B.

Yup.