“So what did you all do for breakfast?”
“Marcus hiked out to the road, thumbed a ride to McDonald’s and came back with Egg McMuffins for everyone.” Dani smiled at him again.
“Pretty much saved the day,” Travis said, an edge of sarcasm in his voice.
“Wait a minute.” I gestured at Dani. “You said John had Pop-Tarts in his backpack. Why didn’t you eat those?”
John raised a hand skyward as though he were in a classroom. “I know this,” he said. “Pick me! Pick me.”
Dani rolled her eyes at him. She didn’t seem as tense now.
“Go ahead,” I said to John.
“When Chef Marcus here was foraging for powdered milk he left my backpack outside the tent and a raccoon took the Pop-Tarts, the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and two pairs of my socks.”
“That was a long time ago,” Marcus said with a smile.
I smiled. “And for the record, Marcus is a vey good cook now.”
“Back then the problem wasn’t a lack of cooking skills,” Travis said. “It was taking something you had no business putting your hands on.”
The table grew silent. John exhaled and shook his head, muttering something I didn’t catch. Dani closed her eyes, resting her forehead on her hand. Marcus went into police officer mode. He set his cup and then his napkin on the table with precise, economical movements. Then he turned his attention to Travis. “This isn’t the time or the place for whatever problem you have with me.”
“Trav, don’t do this,” John said. He stood up. “We should get going.”
“I’m just sharing stories with Marcus’s girlfriend about the good old days,” Travis said. He was talking to John, but his eyes never left Marcus’s face.
This was where my mother would say, “Fish or cut bait.” Actually, she’d probably use a more colorful expression that involved getting off a pot but the sentiment was the same.
“It was good to meet all of you,” I said. “But I have to get going as well.” I stood up and reached down to rest my hand on Marcus’s shoulder. I was just like Owen with his paw on a kitty treat: I was marking my territory.
“I see the women in your life still rush to your defense,” Travis commented, one hand playing with his coffee cup. The snarky edge to his voice was more pronounced.
Marcus pushed back his chair and got to his feet. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Eric over at the counter watching us. I knew all I had to do was raise a hand and he’d be at the table.
“Is this where I’m supposed to go all caveman and take a swing at you?” Marcus asked.
“C’mon, Trav, don’t be a tool,” John said to his friend.
Travis got up as well. “Did you tell Kathleen how you stabbed your best friend in the back?” Feet apart, shoulders squared, I could see confrontation in his body language as well as his words. He was a big man and his anger made him look even bigger
“Don’t do this,” Dani said.
“Defend him the way you always do.” Sarcasm dripped off of Travis’s words.
What could have happened that he felt so wronged after so many years? I didn’t have to wait long to find out.
Dani sighed and pushed a stray strand of hair back off her face. She looked tired all of a sudden. “Fine, then,” she said. “Kathleen, Travis and I were a couple in college, until Marcus and I met.” She swallowed hard. “And we started seeing each other . . . behind Travis’s back.”
My first thought was why hadn’t she just broken up with Travis if she wanted to date Marcus, but I hadn’t always made good decisions when I was in college, so who was I to judge? “We do dumb things when we’re in college,” I said. “I know I did things I’m sorry for now.”
I looked at Travis. He hadn’t made a very good first impression, but I couldn’t help feeling sad that he hadn’t been able to let go of something that had happened so many years ago. He seemed to be wearing his hurt like a hair shirt. Why on earth was he still working with Dani?
Travis’s dark eyes flashed. “First of all, we were more than a couple. We were engaged. And second, I caught them together in—what’s the polite term? A compromising situation? It was more than a dumb thing, Kathleen.”
His words hit Dani like a slap. Her face reddened and she bit her lip.
I could feel the tension vibrating in Marcus like a plucked violin string. “Leave,” he growled, his voice low and harsh with warning. “Stay away from Dani. Stay away from Kathleen and stay the hell away from me. If you think my badge means I won’t defend the people I care about you’re very, very wrong.”
John grabbed Travis’s arm. “Let’s go, man,” he said.
Travis glared at Marcus, who met his gaze seemingly calmly. I think only I could feel the hum of anger his body was giving off.
John caught the neck of Travis’s shirt with his free hand and pulled. “We’re going. Now!” he said, sharply.
Marcus’s jaw was tight with tension. I knew he was grinding his teeth together and I was impressed with his restraint.
Travis shook off John’s hands, shoved his chair out of the way and headed for the door.
John closed his eyes for a moment and blew out a noisy breath. When he opened them again he looked at us and gestured in the direction of the door. “I should go . . . check on him.” He shrugged and gave me a wry smile. “Kathleen, it really was good to meet you. I’m sorry about . . .” He made a helpless gesture in the air. “ . . . everything.” He reached for his wallet but Marcus shook his head silently.
John rested his hand on Dani’s shoulder for a moment. She seemed to shrink inside herself as though she were cringing with embarrassment.
Dani said nothing until the door closed behind John. Then she sighed. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“It’s not your fault.” I said. “I’m sorry that Travis got hurt and I can see you both are, too.”
“You probably think I’m a—”
I shook my head. “I think I’m glad I got to meet you, Dani. And I hope I’ll see you again while you’re in town.”
She nodded, swatting at a stray strand of hair. “Thank you, Kathleen. I’m very glad I got to meet you. And I’m glad Marcus has you.”
“I’ll get this,” I said to Marcus, gesturing at the table. “Stay here with Dani. I’m going to head over to the library.”
He hesitated for a moment and then leaned over and kissed my cheek. “Thanks,” he said. “I’m sorry about this.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said. “I’ll talk to you later.”
I headed over to the counter. Eric held up his largest take-out coffee cup and raised an eyebrow.
“Please,” I said.
“Everything okay?” he asked quietly as he picked up the coffeepot.
I glanced back at Marcus and Dani. He was sitting down facing her, elbows resting on his thighs, hands with fingers interlaced hanging between his knees. Dani was listening as he talked, still twisting her ring around her finger.
“I uh . . . I think so,” I said.
Eric handed me my coffee and the bill. I glanced at it and pulled enough money out of my wallet to cover the total plus a tip.
“Guy’s crazy about you, you know.” Eric inclined his head in Marcus’s direction.
I gave him a smile. “Thanks, Eric,” I said. “Have a good day.”
When I stepped outside John was alone on the sidewalk.
“Hi, Kathleen,” he said, giving me a wry smile. “My plans for the day have changed. Any chance I could get a look at your herbarium? Or have you had enough of us?”
I gave him a smile that was probably more professional than friendly. “I was going to walk over to the library. Would you like to come with me right now?”
He looked back at the café. “Yeah, why not?”
We started down the sidewalk. I took a sip of my coffee. John looked out toward the water. The sky was a deep, seemingly endless shade of blue. “This is a nice place,” he said.
I nodded. “Yes, it is.”