Deep Waters

sorry for Davis. He decided it was time to take charge of the situation. He came out from behind the counter and slapped the other man on the shoulder. "Give it up, Truitt. You can't win this one. Come on, let's go communicate."
    Davis's expression turned mutinous. "I'm not in the mood for a cup of tea, damn it."
    "Neither am I," Elias said. "I've got a better idea. Let's walk down to the Cove Tavern. I'll buy you a beer."
    Davis hesitated, bemused. "I don't—"
    Elias paused in front of Charity and leaned down to brush his mouth lightly, proprietarily across hers. Then he took the steel key ring out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Here. You can lock up."
    "Fine." Charity beamed. "Thanks, Elias. I really appreciate the effort you're making."
    "Don't," he warned, "call me sweet."
    She blinked. "Don't you think you're a little overly sensitive on that point?"
    "That's me. A real sensitive kind of guy." Elias gave Davis a small push toward the front door. With a last, frowning look at Charity, Davis reluctantly started down the nearest aisle.
    "I'll see you at home," Charity called after them.
    Elias glanced back over his shoulder. "Don't forget Otis when you close up."
    She wrinkled her nose. "As if I could."
    "Heh, heh, heh," Otis said.
    There was no point rushing home, Charity told herself. Elias and Davis were going to be gone a while. She leaned on the pier rail to watch the two walk along the beach toward town. They were soon lost in the gathering fog.
    Elias and Davis would have a lot to talk about, she assured herself. With any luck, a couple of beers would facilitate their communication. She hoped she had been right to push them together like this.
    Slowly she straightened from the rail and started back toward the door of Charms & Virtues to fetch Otis. She knew he would likely become anxious if he found himself alone in the shop at the close of day. His old fears of being abandoned might return. Otis was not a lovable bird on his good days. When he got stressed, he was downright insufferable.
    Charity's footsteps echoed on the pier timbers. It was nearly six. The Crazy Otis Landing shops had emptied for the day. The last of the customers and browsers had departed. The carousel was silent and still. The parking lot was empty except for Davis's Jaguar, Elias's Jeep, and her own small Toyota.
    She paused to listen to the water lapping at the pier pilings. The incoming tide created a murmuring sound. At times like this when she was alone on the landing it seemed to her that she could actually hear the waves whispering, just as the old legend claimed.
    It was so important that Elias and Davis become friends.
    Charity became aware of the tension in her shoulders. Deliberately she stretched to release it. She took several deep abdominal breaths and felt the stress level sink. She continued on her way to Charms & Virtues.
    "Don't worry, Otis, I'm still here," she called out as she pushed open the front door of the shop. "You haven't been abandoned."
    Otis grumbled from his perch.
    "You're going to come back to my shop with me for a while. You can sit on the coatrack just like you used to do before Elias arrived."
    "Heh, heh, heh."
    Charity went behind the counter and found the old towel she had used in the past to protect her skin from Otis's claws. She wrapped the towel around her arm and then held out her wrist. "Hop aboard. I'll bring your food dish."
    Otis muttered but stepped smartly onto her arm. Charity braced herself. The bird was heavy. "Nothing personal, Otis, but I think you may be putting on weight."
    He glared at her.
    She picked up his feeding dish and walked back toward the front door of the shop. "We'll pick up your travel cage when we leave."
    "Level with me, Winters. What are you doing out here in the sticks? This isn't your style." Davis took a swallow of beer and settled back in the booth. "I don't give a damn if you sell the entire town of Whispering Waters Cove to one of your mysterious offshore clients, but I don't want Charity hurt."
    "Off-shore clients aren't what they used to be." Elias mused. "There was a time when you could do almost any kind of deal with them so long as it involved the magic words waterfront property, but those days are gone."
    He wrapped one hand around his beer glass and idly surveyed the moderate crowd that had gathered in the Cove Tavern. It was six-thirty, and the handful of local business people and shop clerks who had drifted in after work had already gone home