Page 104 of Backtrack

“It’s a bed in a suite on a cruise ship,” Joellen said. “I’m not sure there is a shitty end.”

Lola’s nose turned up in a half-grimace, a clear no-one-asked-you implication.

Cutter glanced at his watch. “Two hours to departure,” he said. “We better grab our stuff from the hotel.”

“I’ll run back to the Gilmore and get it,” Lola said. “My legs could use a stretch.” She stood and looked at Joellen until the other woman got the hint.

“I guess I should go back to my room.”

“I’ll walk you,” Cutter said.

“Aren’t you afraid it’ll spook the bad guys if they see us together?”

“He’s not gonna hold hands!” Lola scoffed. “Anyhow, I reckon this whole brouhaha is because Bart Preston and friends had unfinished business with your date. If Cutter scares away an aggressor, that’s good. When it comes to protection responsibilities, we arrest when we can, but we protect always.”

“Lola’s right,” Cutter said.

“And what if they are still after me?”

“I’ll be right there,” Cutter said. “In the meantime, you can figure out if there is any other reason someone could be after you.”

“I was thinking about that, Arliss,” Joellen said. “You’ve pissed off hundreds of people over the years. What if you’re the target? Maybe this is all happening because my last name is still Cutter.”

Lola gave a well-I’ll-be-damned shrug.

Cutter nodded. Out of all the words his ex-wife had spoken since she first called, this made the most sense.

Lola put a telephone hand to her ear and looked at Cutter, mouthing the words,Call me if she tries anything, Boss, plenty loud enough for Joellen to hear. A moment later, she was gone.

“That girl really likes you.” Joellen smiled. “Can’t imagine why.”

“She’s fiercely loyal,” Cutter said. “We’ve been through some stuff, that’s certain.”

Joellen stood at the door, gazing at him like she was in a trance. He’d forgotten how pretty she was when she smiled. It made sense. She could have been Mim’s sister, which was what drew him to her in the first place.

“We should get you to your cabin,” he said.

“Right.” She shivered. “Listen to me, Arliss. I’m not trying to blow up what you and Mim have—”

“That’s a relief,” he said, deadpan. “Let’s—”

“Do you remember Grumpy’s little horseshoe nail story?”

“Of course I do.”

“I wonder what little thing happened to screw us up. … It wasn’t always bad. Was it?”

“Well, let’s see here, Joellen.” Cutter groaned. “To use Grumpy’s metaphor, our horseshoes were loose well before you and I even tied the knot. It wasn’t your fault.”

Joellen rolled her eyes. “Just what a girl wants to hear,” she said. “It’s not you, it’s me.”

“It was true then. It’s true now.”

“Don’t you wonder if this, I mean you and me bumping into one another, might be kismet.”

“You called and said you were in trouble, Jo. We didn’t bump into each other.”

“But look at us.” She leaned against the wall, both hands behind her butt, and gave a playful wag of her head. “I mean, you did come to check on me. You don’t think the universe is trying to tell us something?”