Page 131 of Falling for the Enemy

“Is it raining there?”

“Pouring. A storm tore in off the coast about an hour ago. You almost lost power.”

“The generators will kick in if anything goes out.”

“I gotta say, Soren, it’s no treat having a two hundred pound horse on your lap. I think King believes he’s a lap dog.”

He thought of all the times King deferred to Cordelia. “Yeah, he’s a bit sensitive. I’ve been working on ways to toughen him up.”

“You should get one of those weighted vests. I hear they calm dogs down during storms.”

The thought of King, frightened and alone, triggered a strange paternal desire to rush home and protect him. But that was impossible. He still had to get through tomorrow morning’s round of golf before he could jet back home.

“Give him some treats and try rubbing his belly. He loves that.”

“I don’t think you understand my current predicament. He’s got me pinned to the floor with no intention of letting me up.”

“Try putting on music to drown out the thunder.”

“I have the TV on, but it’s not really helping. He’s shaking like a leaf. Face it. You got a lemon.”

“He’s not a lemon,” he growled, hating the thought of his boy trembling. “He’s only three.”

“That’s like twenty-one in dog years.”

“When did you become such a fucking dog expert?” Frustrated that he was two hundred miles away and helpless to help his dog, he snapped, “Keep petting him and don’t leave him alone if he’s scared. I’ll check back in in the morning.” And ended the call with a huff.

Soren arrived at the country club just as dawn broke clean and cold over the Newport golf course. The conditions were reserved for the truly ambitious, not those with champagne headaches who would wince at even the greyest October sky.

He was ready to start the day. Every hole moved him one step closer to getting home. He searched the club promenade and course for any sign of Warren. All the LSVs were parked neatly in a slanted row, young caddies waiting sleepily to earn their tips that day, but the man was nowhere in sight.

Frost still silvered the rough where the sun hadn’t reached. Soren selected the most alert caddie. “Are you available?”

“Yes, sir.” The young boy instantly perked up.

“Good. You’re with me. I want to move fast today, so try to keep up.”

The boy nodded and moved Soren’s clubs to an unclaimed golf cart.

Soren checked his watch as he paced, waiting for Warren to arrive. The fairways rolled out ahead in long ribbons of green. Beyond the fourth green, the Atlantic threw itself against the rocks in slow, foaming crashes. Salt air carried the mineral bite of the sea on a dick-shriveling breeze. Later, the scent of cut grass and cigar smoke drifting from the back holes would take the lead.

“Christ, Hawthorne, this is a tee time made for summer,” Warren called, strolling in with a privately appointed caddie at his back. Unlike the boy Soren had selected, this middle-aged caddie wore a navy polo shirt with the Aldrich crest. “You got something against sleep?”

“No, sir. Just always been a morning person.”

He gave an approving nod and squinted out at the horizon. “I think you might be trying to get one over on me.” His caddie followed them to the first hole as Soren’s fumbled for his driver. “But I’ll have you know, I’m a competitive son of a bitch, so if that was your plan you’re about to see it fall to ruin.”

After a great struggle, Soren relieved the boy of the club. “I love a good challenge, sir.”

“You were here first.” Warren waved him to the tee.

“No, no. You first. I insist,” he politely declined.

It was like watching a brittle strand of pasta slowly soften as it warmed up. Warren’s first hole was evidence he still had some champagne in him from last night, but he soon found his groove and proved he’d grown up swinging clubs on courses like this.

By seven-forty, they’d made the turn onto the fourth. Every step closer to the last hole had Soren recalculating his exit.

The eighteenth hole should wrap right on schedule by eleven-thirty. Wheels-up by noon, forty-five minutes to Portland, then the drive into Hideaway Bay with time to spare before the room yelled surprise at two.