“Yes, but I thought you were messing with me.” All I could do was shake my head. “I mean … come on. He looks like that guy from that show we watched that time we were sick.”
“You’ll have to be more specific.”
“You know, the one set on that ranch with the two obnoxious kids who were supposed to be adults but made us look mature.”
“Ah.” Recognition dawned on Zach’s face. “Sam Elliot.”
I glanced at the other Sam. “Is that where you got your name?”
Sam scowled at me. “No. My real name is Samuel Clemson Sewell.”
“That’s quite the mouthful,” Zach drawled.
“Whatever.” Sam puffed himself out so he stood taller. “I know who I am. I don’t need your approval.”
“We’re not being obnoxious,” Zach assured him. He knew how important it was to keep the guests happy. “It’s just … that mullet is magnificent. I’m a little jealous if you want to know the truth.”
Since Zach looked as if he’d stepped off the pages of a men’s magazine, that was hilarious on the face of it. Sam didn’t appear dubious, however.
“If you need some tips, we’ll be here all weekend.” His voice was deep and gravelly. “We have a spreadsheet to best project your hair growth. There’s a barber on hand to look at what you’re dealing with as well.”
Zach somehow kept a straight face. “I’ll take that under consideration.”
Sam leaned toward Zach and lowered his voice. “The ladies love it.” He waggled his eyebrows. “If you’re in a dry spell—and I can see why you might be—this is the way to go. Trust me.”
Zach’s lips quivered. “Well, I definitely hate it when I’m in a dry spell.” He moved closer to me. “Um … I think I’m going to head upstairs.”
I didn’t blame him. If I didn’t have to be present for the check-in—the group requested the security chief to be at the door so nobody tried to sneak in without credentials—I would be somewhere else. Heck, anywhere else would’ve been preferable. “Yeah. Is Livvie upstairs?”
“Last time I saw Olivia, she was with Ruby.” Zach grew more animated. “Did you hear what happened to my dad this morning?” He looked far too excited about a story that involved projectile vomit.
“I did hear.” I bobbed my head. “I saw Ruby when she was coming back with some supplies from the pharmacy. She looked a little pale but otherwise okay.”
“It was so weird.” Zach shook his head. “She was perfectly fine one moment, the next she was spewing all over Dad.” He tried to look serious, then burst out laughing.
“I don’t think it’s funny that she’s sick,” I hedged. Normally, I would be right there laughing with him. For some reason, knowing that Ruby was the one struggling didn’t sit right with me. Sure, I’d been careful to keep things light, fun, and superficial ever since … well, ever since the event I refused to think about. That didn’t mean I wanted anything bad to happen to her.
“Oh, I don’t think it’s funny that she’s sick,” Zach said hurriedly. “I just think it’s funny that Dad got puked on.”
“Well, that part is funny,” I agreed. “It’s weird that she got so violently ill out of nowhere, right?”
Zach shrugged. “She probably ate something bad. I made sure that I sent out people to cover her stuff today. If she’s up in her room all day, it will be okay.”
“Well, hopefully it’s just a twenty-four-hour bug.”
“That would be the preferable outcome,” he agreed.
I SPENT TWO HOURS WITH THE MULLETSand mustaches before making my escape. Once I was certain that Sam was distracted, I put three of my top guys on the convention and made my way to the sports bar for a late lunch. I preferred the ambiance in the sports bar—it was all high-fiving dudes and intense gamblers rather than flirty females in ill-fitting outfits—and I was more than happy to scarf down my burger and fries amongst the company of my people.
I was just settling down to watch a bit of a basketball game when Ruby appeared out of nowhere.
“I’ve been looking for you.” Her affect was dull, her eyes dead. She was also white as a ghost.
“Are you okay?” Concern for her well-being—was she still sick?—reared up and had an emotion I wasn’t familiar with coursing through me. “Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”
“I just came from the doctor,” she replied. Normally, Ruby had an expressive face. She was a giggler. Sure, she liked getting into mischief—a lot of it actually—and she had a devilish side. No matter what, you could always tell what she was thinking. Today, her face was a complete void.
“Is something wrong?” All I could think was that she’d found out some terrible truth about her health. Was it cancer? “You’re not dying, are you?”
