Free Riptide by Dawn Lee McKenna

to come for a beer?”
    “No, it was just happenstance.” She heard him take a pull on his beer. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
    “Are you sure I shouldn’t come over there?”
    “I’m certain of it,” Wyatt said. “You have a nice night, now.”
    Wyatt disconnected the call, and the car suddenly seemed inordinately quiet, except for the AC. Maggie rolled up her window and backed out of the driveway.
    It took a great deal of effort for her not to turn toward Boss Oyster as she headed home.

    Wyatt closed his phone and set it back down on the bar.
    “She must love this,” David said, grinning.
    “She seemed pretty excited about it,” Wyatt said, deadpan. He drained the last of his beer and looked at David. “You want another one? On me this time.”
    “Sure, why not?’ David answered. “I’ve been working on my cabin all day.”
    Wyatt raised his hand at the bartender and pointed at their beers. “How’s that going?”
    “Pretty well. It needs a lot of cosmetics, but it’s a solid boat.”
    “I’m happy for you. I think it’s great,” Wyatt said. “She’s proud of you.”
    David smiled and shrugged a bit, then looked at his empty beer bottle. “Yeah, well. The way I got the money together might not be so cool, but I’m happy, too.”
    Wyatt leaned a little closer to David. “How does a cop’s husband manage to get into that line of work, anyway?”
    David looked a little uncomfortable with the question. “She didn’t tell you?”
    “No. We never got into much detail on that topic.”
    “My cousin. He has a…uh… garden out in Tate’s Hell Forest.” David blinked and swallowed. “Hey, leave him alone, okay? He’s small time. And he’s a nice guy.”
    “Don’t stress yourself, David,” Wyatt said. “By the time I found it, it would be legal anyway.”
    “Well, anyway, I did some short runs for him, over to Tampa, then he vouched for me with some larger guys.”  
    David stopped as the bartender brought them two more bottles and Wyatt handed him some cash.  
    Once the bartender was gone, David leaned in and spoke quietly. “I suspect it took a while for them to stop expecting Maggie to come flying in, but they were okay after a while.”
    Wyatt nodded. “Well, I’m glad you’re out.”
    “Me, too,” David said, nodding. He sat back and took a long swallow of his beer, then looked at Wyatt for a minute.  
    “What?” Wyatt finally asked him.
    David shrugged and smiled. “I’m trying to come up with some way to ask your intentions without asking ‘What are your intentions?’”
    “Maggie,” Wyatt said.
    “Yeah.”
    Wyatt fiddled with his cork coaster a bit before answering. “They’re honorable,” he finally said.
    David gave him a half-smile. “I was afraid of that.”
    “You’re still in love with her.”
    David smiled and shook his head. “No. Sure. Of course I am.” He laughed a little. “She may have thrown me out, but she never gave me a reason to not love her, man.”
    Wyatt nodded. David leaned his elbows on the bar.
    “Listen, Wyatt. We might not hang out or play ball together anymore, but we know each other pretty well. I’ve always liked you. She’s gonna be with somebody someday. It might as well be you.”
    “That’s a pretty generous attitude, considering,” Wyatt said.
    “What else am I gonna do? She’s not coming back,” David said. “But she’s still my best friend.”
    Wyatt nodded and held up his beer. David tapped it with his own and they both took a drink. Then Wyatt saw a somber look come into his eyes.
    “Just don’t be fooled by that tough exterior she likes to put on, man,” David said. “She’s more vulnerable than she lets on.”
    “Okay.”
    David picked at the label on his bottle for a bit. “She gets these nightmares, always has. Some old lady chasing her down a beach. She won’t talk about them, so don’t ask. But it helps if you’re just there.”
    “I’m not sleeping with your ex-wife, David,”