The Summer of Sunshine and Margot(103)

“It could if we had something unique,” James mused. “Maybe different textures or colors. Or rocks from different parts of the country. Maybe tell a story of what the continent was like before man first stepped foot on it.”

Declan saw a muscle twitch in Heath’s jaw and nearly laughed out loud. He knew exactly what his partner was thinking—some version of “Kill me now.” Rocks telling a story? In a place like The Huntington maybe, but not in a hotel garden.

“I wonder if we could do anything with fossils,” James asked. “That would be interesting.”

“But not unique.” Jessica pouted. “A lot of places have fossils and even rock gardens. I want something special. Something no one has ever seen before.”

And I want to go home, Declan thought. He wanted to be in his house, or even his yard, listening to Connor go on and on about his new ant farm. The one that—

“Ants,” he said, putting down his coffee mug.

All three of them looked at him with identically blank expressions.

“Ants,” he repeated, and pulled his tablet out of his briefcase. “Ants have been around for millions of years. The weight of the ant population equals the weight of the human population. There are super colonies of ants that stretch thousands of miles, across entire continents.” His son would be so proud, he thought happily.

He typed into the search bar of his laptop, then waited until the photo of an ant farm appeared on the screen. He turned the tablet so everyone else could see the picture.

“Ants,” he said again. “They’re hardworking, familiar and small. They’re low maintenance and no one else has the world’s biggest ant farm at their hotel.”

He pointed to the tubing. “We could make it beautiful, have lighting for evening strolls. There could be different species and signage with facts.” He wasn’t sure if he’d just solved the problem or gotten himself thrown off the job. He supposed if he got fired, at least he could go home.

Jessica and James looked at each other.

“I like it, Jess,” James said. “Ants are ubiquitous and that is perfect. We need to figure out the design, but as Declan pointed out, ants are small. Imagine how the ant farm could twist and turn.”

“No one else has one.” Jessica’s voice was eager. “I love it.” She laughed. “Yes, let’s do ants. What’s the next step?”

Heath cleared his throat. “I guess we find an ant expert and go talk to him.”

“Or her,” Jessica corrected.

“Yes. Or her.” Heath typed on his tablet, then turned to Declan. “Looks like we’re going to Texas.”

  Alec wasn’t sure he’d ever been to the Glendale Galleria. It was a perfectly nice shopping center, with lots of stores and people. It was well lit, open and friendly—the antithesis of how he was feeling.

As he walked the length of the mall, ignoring the stores and shoppers, he tried to reconcile who he had always considered himself to be with who he had obviously become. He’d worked hard to create a life that was orderly and purposeful. There were those who wouldn’t see the value in what he did, those who thought the ancient scraps of papyrus should go undeciphered, but their opinions didn’t matter. He preferred the opinions of other scholars, university professors and fellows, and his peers. He was well respected, admired even. He had created a perfect life in a wonderful home and somehow it had all gone to shit.

After a lifetime of reining in his emotions, after years of training to keep himself orderly and responsible, after carefully considering every action, he’d become impulsive and unpredictable. He’d physically attacked another man—he’d nearly hit him. The need to come between Margot and her ex-boyfriend had grown until he’d reacted without thinking. It was the incident with the wine, but on steroids. He wanted to say his life was out of control, but it wasn’t his life—it was him. He was the problem.

He knew the cause—he understood how one small act had led to another and another until he had spiraled out of control. While he only blamed himself for the results, the catalyst came in the form of a beautiful woman, a warm and intriguing laugh, a sharp mind with a unique worldview. He had seen her, wanted her, developed a relationship with her and had entwined himself with her. He’d allowed himself to experience a connection and in doing so he had lowered his carefully erected barriers until emotions were free to come and go, grow and wane. He’d allowed that side of him, the dangerous, impulsive part of him he feared and sought to control, to run amok and now there was a price to be paid.

He started for the parking garage. The decision had been made. He’d known what he had to do long before he’d left the house, but he’d needed to be sure he was willing to do what was necessary to restore world order. There was a price for everything—his relationship with Margot had reminded him of that. And now the bill had come due.

  Sunshine was surprised when her cell phone rang about nine-thirty in the evening and she saw Declan’s name on the screen. He’d already called earlier to talk to Connor and check in with her. Foolishly, she considered those brief conversations the highlight of her day. The man was traveling on business—of course he wanted to check in. It wasn’t as if he were calling because he missed her.

“Hi,” she said, putting down her magazine. “How’s it going?”