Free Room for Murder (Book 4 in the Lighthouse Inn Mysteries) by Tim Myers Page B

lunch
when Mor drove up. Alex walked out and met him on the front porch.
The big man was carrying two paper bags, a large one and a much
smaller one.
    “ I didn’t call you,” Alex
said with a grin.
    “ I know. I got lonely, with
Les gone and all. You can’t tell me nothing in this place is
broken.”
    “ Sorry, we’re in good
shape, but if you hang around long enough, I’m sure something will
need fixing. What’s in the bags?”
    “ A surprise, and lunch. I
grabbed a couple of burgers at Buck’s. You supply the Cokes and
we’ll eat out here.”
    Alex said, “You feeling okay?”
    “ Yeah, I’m fine,” Mor said,
puzzled. “Why do you ask?”
    “ The last time you bought
me a meal, I was in the ninth grade and Greg Frye had just stolen
my lunch money.”
    Mor shrugged. “I need to talk to you about
some wedding stuff, so I thought we’d do it over burgers.”
    Alex grabbed two Cokes and met Mor back out
on the porch. Mor said, “I got a hamburger for Elise, too.”
    “ I don’t know where she
disappeared to. I guess I’ll have to eat it myself,” Alex said with
a grin.
    “ Tell you what, we’ll
arm-wrestle for it.”
    “ Why don’t you just go
ahead? I’d hate to deprive you.”
    After taking a few bites, Alex asked, “So,
what do we need to talk about for the wedding?”
    Mor looked down at his feet. “It’s not
exactly the wedding. It’s the bachelor party.”
    Alex laughed. “Don’t worry; I know how to
throw you a party.”
    Mor said, “That’s just it. Emma’s putting
her foot down. No women, no carrying on, shoot, I had to fight her
to get alcohol approved. Beer’s the best we can do.”
    “ Is this a wake or a
bachelor party? I can’t imagine the most eligible bachelor in seven
counties giving up his last rite without a fight.”
    “ Well, you can believe it.”
Mor said. “We’re both getting a little long in the tooth for that
foolishness anyway. You know what I’d like, just between the two of
us?”
    “ I don’t have a clue,” Alex
said honestly.
    “ I’d like to grab a few
beers with you and Les, toast the old life, then get to bed early.
I’ve been to too many parties where the groom got so carried away
he was barely awake to enjoy the ceremony the next day. No sir, my
wild days are far behind me. Are you disappointed in me?” Mot
asked, his gaze on the smaller bag in his hands.
    “ Are you kidding?” Alex
asked. “I was almost looking forward to my speech compared to
throwing you a bachelor party.”
    Mor said, “That’s a relief. So it’s
settled--It’s going to be just three old bachelors hanging out and
trading stories one last night.”
    “ Sounds like a plan to me,”
Alex agreed. “Okay, if you’re not going to bring it up, I will.
What’s in the other bag?”
    Mor held it out to him. “Reach in and
see.”
    Alex put his hand in the bag gingerly and
pulled out a small square of wood with an E etched on its face. He
dug his hand back in and found ten more Es inside, all carefully
lettered and smoothly polished.
    Mor said, “I know the inn’s Scrabble game
lost all of its Es when one of your guests took them as souvenirs,
so I decided to make you some new ones.”
    “ The game won’t be as
challenging this way,” Alex admitted with a smile. “Thanks, I
appreciate this.”
    Mor said, “Hey, it’s the least I can do for
someone who’s not going to throw me a bachelor party.”
    Alex laughed. “I can do better than that. I
won’t throw you a birthday party either when March 11 rolls
around.”
    Mor looked at his watch, then said, “I’d
better get moving. I’ve got a list of jobs a mile long to do at
Grady Hatch’s place. Did you hear he’s putting his house up for
sale? He wants to buy a motor home and see the world. I’ve got to
admit, there’s a part of me that would love to go with him.”
    “ You’d get bored in three
days, and we both know it. You’ve got to have something to do to
keep yourself busy, my friend, and your