Sunny Side Up (Lake Erie Mysteries Book 1) by Maureen K. Howard Page A

again. I was pretty upset, I mean, twice in one day! But I didn’t feel like walking all the way back into town to look for it. I found a pack of matches from the Island House in my shirt pocket, and I don’t even remember putting them there. I wasn’t drunk, that’s for sure, so all of this weird stuff kind of bothered me.”
    I held my coffee cup in both hands, enjoying the warmth, and waited for him to continue.
    “While I was down near the lake, smoking my cigar, I heard all of the sirens. I guess I was so distracted looking back into town that I didn’t notice a recently snuffed-out campfire near the edge of the water. I tripped right over it and ruined my shorts, scuffed up my new shoes, and lost my cigar. Apparently, I shouldn’t walk and smoke at the same time. I’m sorry I got so upset. I guess the combination of June and Cliff and shopping just had me on edge. And then there’s the fact I keep losing things and finding things. You know it takes me a while to learn how to relax again at the beginning of the summer and get used to all of our weekend friends.”
    The corner of his lip twitched a bit in a poorly disguised smile. “And you know I really am sorry about June’s assignment. She’s good at her job, and she seemed to be enjoying herself. I also noticed there were some interesting dynamics starting up between June and Jack.” There was that lip twitch again.
    “I’m sure June got enough material to work with. If not, she knows her way back to Kelleys if need be. She comes here a lot on her own, you know. There is also the Internet, which she probably could have used in the first place. A trip to the island was just much more intriguing. I noticed some exchanging of phone numbers happening over drinks, too. This might get interesting. How about a refill on that coffee?”
    He held his cup out to me and I brought our mugs down to the galley for refills. We spent the next half hour or so lingering over our last cup of coffee and speculating about the cause of all the sirens and commotion the night before. We accomplished nothing. Neither of us still had the slightest clue.
    By 8:00 a.m., June was back at the dock just like she promised. My bike was parked right beside Hamm’s; she had already returned her rental bike, and now she was standing by, awaiting orders from the captain.
    We performed all the duties required in preparation for getting underway. June took charge of the hose and electric cord while I made my way to the bow of the boat, unhitched the dock line from the cleat, untied the spring line, and waited for my cue to push off.
    Once Hamm had maneuvered the boat out of the marina and set his course for the mainland, June and I relaxed and curled up and got comfy on either side of the wraparound seat.
    “This isn’t what I had planned for the holiday weekend by any stretch of the imagination. You didn’t have to come back with us, but thanks. You had such a nice room, and you seemed to have something starting up with the handsome detective.”
    “Nonsense! My boss paid for my room on Kelleys, and I’ll probably take the ferry back tomorrow for the parade. I’m dying to find out who will be crowned the new King and Queen. Maybe it will be Clifton and you!” She laughed, and before I could reach over and smack her, she added, “Sorry, I meant Sirena.”
    “Ha, ha. Very funny.”
    “Jack Morgan isn’t going anywhere either, and I know where he lives. Well, not the exact location, but hey, we’re talking Kelleys Island not Chicago or New York. Besides, it’ll be nice to spend one night on the houseboat and get caught up with everyone on the dock. Meanwhile, we might as well decide what we are going to wear tonight.”
    “I guess you’re right. I wasn’t planning on it, but since we’ll be back at Beacon Pointe anyway, we can go to the yacht club Memorial Day party tonight. We’ll have to figure out what food we’re going to bring too.”
    So we spent the rest of the short