Anita piped up, “Oh, and let us not forget that if there were men silly enough to have come up with such a ridiculous plan, they would have checked the forecast and known that a coastal storm was coming.”
A hiccup of giggles had the women nearly rolling from their chairs. Danny rubbed his jaw to hide his smile. Their laughter was infectious.
“All four of you idiots needed rescuing over the course of three days.” Julie’s stare bore into Danny.
It had been nearly three years since the Empty Contest, and still he remembered with precise clarity having to make that middle-of-the-night phone call to a less-than-happy wife.
“Already snug in bed when you called…” She shook her head. “Lucky I love you."
No matter how annoyed she had been that stormy night, with each retelling of the story, Danny saw the sparkle of humor and glimmer of love in her eyes and on her upturned lips. It had been there when she dropped off the gas container and shielded him with an umbrella as he replenished his tank.
“See, at least I didn’t drag my wife outta work or outta bed.” Chester grinned, knowing full well that Allan and Chris had faced similar unpleasant fates with their cars and their spouses. Little bastard.
“No, you dragged your poor bar manager out of her bed, you old jerk,” Julie partially teased. “Tara was pissed when she called me the next day.”
“Tara got real happy the next night.” Chester lifted his glass and winked.
“Nice.” Allan high-fived Chester, and Danny grimaced. No matter how old he got, thoughts of his father having sex still made him uneasy. “Wipe that scowl of your face, son, and let no one forget, I was the winner of the Empty Contest. Sweet Lil’ Jessi Jane rode me thirty-two miles once she read empty.”
Julie’s body trembled with laughter while Anita rolled her eyes.
“What? I name my cars,” Allan explained, “and they treat me well.”
The table erupted into hysterics before Allan had finished his sentence.
“Speakin’ of being treated well…” Chester’s confident words were spoken slowly, grabbing Danny’s attention.
Danny leaned in before making eye contact with Julie alone.
“I’ve spent my life servin’…first with America’s finest, then for them. It’s been an honor and a pleasure, but…I’m done.”
“What are you saying, Ches?” There was no hiding the concern in Julie’s voice, nor the strength in the way her small hand gripped Danny’s under the table.
Chester chuckled. “Julie girl, alls I’m sayin’ is I’m sellin’ the bar and moving to Key West. Time to stop servin’ drinks and start havin’ some sweet lil’ honeys servin’ me.”
With jaws collectively dropped around the table, Danny spoke first. “Wow, Ches. Holy shit, man, I never thought the day would come, but I’m happy for you. For real, congratulations.” So few people worked as long and hard as Chester Murray had. The man deserved retirement while he was young enough to enjoy it.
Julie beamed. “Oh, Ches, I’m so excited for you. The women have no idea what’s headed their way.”
With another squeeze to his hand, Danny knew that Julie was about to share their news, so he squeezed back in approval. He swallowed back the excitement that he’d been dying to share the whole evening.
***
“WHEN IS THE move happening?” Julie couldn’t have been happier for the man who had been like a father to her for the past fourteen years. But there was a piece, a small piece that felt selfish, that wished Chester would live a short drive away forever. Especially now.
Chester explained that he had people in Key West, and one of them had been looking to sell their house. Chester had purchased it a month prior but kept it on the down low until he’d found someone willing to buy Chester’s Bar for a fair price. He hadn’t expected the bar to sell so fast for such a profit, but it did. “I’ll be leaving in about four weeks.”
“Four weeks…” Allan frowned. “Anita and I’ll come up here before you leave to say good-bye.”
“Fuck no,” Chester grumbled. “I don’t do good-byes. Not ever. You two wanna come to my place and help my old ass pack, be my guest. We can all go out for dinner or drinks—hell, we can hang out at this old place called Chester’s.” He winked. “Hear it’s under new ownership. But when you leave, it’s ‘see ya later.’ Got it?”
Julie’s heart thrummed as Chester spoke. The end of an era was approaching; big changes were on the way. Danny patted her knee, a reminder that they too had news to share, and it was time.
Julie felt a smile break across her lips. “So, Ches, do you think you could find it in your heart to make your way up north in about six months?”
“What?” the entire group asked in unison.
Excitement lit up her insides. The news was still so fresh to her and Danny. “You tell them,” she implored her equally radiant husband.
Danny brought their joined hands to the table top. His fingers were warm and strong as they grasped hers. “As you know, we’ve been waiting for over two years to adopt a baby. For the past week, we’ve been in talks with the adoption agency about a seventeen-year-old girl who’s only twelve weeks pregnant. Her parents aren’t supportive of her keeping the baby once it’s born, and the baby’s father isn’t in the picture. She’s giving the baby up for adoption, and she chose us to be the adoptive parents.”
“Oh… oh…a baby!” Anita jumped up from her chair, rushed around the table, and threw her arms around Julie.
“This calls for another round of champagne,” Chester ordered to the server. “And to answer your question, Julie girl, wild cowgirls couldn’t keep me away.”
“My question is, why the hell did it take you two so long to share this news?” Sheila’s motherly tone always tickled Julie. “Seriously, am I the only one thinking it? Or am I the only one ballsy enough to say it?”
“I’m with Sheila on this one,” Allan said as his fingers drummed a quick beat on the table top. “We’re having dessert already. Jeez, what were you waiting for?”
Julie turned her gaze from her father-in-law to her husband. Danny’s eyes glowed with enjoyment and tenderness; she knew he felt her excitement just as deeply, just as powerfully, just as intensely as she did. “We were waiting for the sweet moment at the end of dinner to share our sweet news.”
“And it doesn’t get sweeter or sexier than this,” Danny’s gravelly voice muttered a split second before his lips claimed hers. Passion and longing met in one brief kiss—Christ, she couldn’t wait to get home.
Allan cleared his throat, which cleared Julie’s erotic thoughts. “Please don’t forget you have house guests. Anita and I love you, but we don’t want a repeat of Independence Day 1996. Some pretty explosive fireworks that night.” Allan winked.
“Dad,” Danny groaned while Julie felt her face heat. “We promised we’d never discuss that again.”
“No, son, you promised we’d never talk about it again.”
Laughter filled the emptying restaurant.
“Aw man, I love that story,” Chris chimed in. “Nothing funnier than having your dad ask you to keep it down via Post-It note. Fan-fucking-tastic.”
Julie’s cheeks flamed. “No disrespect, but you guys aren’t so quiet yourselves.”
Instantly Allan and Anita fell silent and Danny’s shoulders shook.
“It’s true,” Danny admitted, his lips twitching with humor. “Time we came home for Christmas—first time we met you, Anita—you guys wouldn’t have a sleepover while we kids were staying at the house. But when I took Julie out one evening to look at the Christmas lights, you two used the alone time to your advantage. It seemed Jules and I came back a bit too soon, though you both came right on time.”
Julie giggled and Danny squirmed.
“Oh… oh…” Anita gasped. “That’s horrifying. You’re right, we should never talk of those times again.”