3 - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Charlie Ray Buckshot married Maia Lee in an outdoor ceremony at the beach.

Maia was surprised that Charlie Ray had invited his ex-wife, Madeline, to the wedding.  She had divorced him, and taken pretty much everything he owned, including the mansion they once shared.  Maia figured he was just trying to make peace, especially since he lived in the pool house next door, which is where he and Maia would be living. 

But it soon became apparent that Charlie Ray was brooding over something.  For starters, he drank a lot.

And Maia wasn’t positive, but she could’ve sworn that she saw Charlie Ray next door, occasionally flirting with Madeline.  Was he trying to make Maia jealous and prove to himself that she loved him?  Or had he only married her to prove to Madeline that he could find someone new, as she had done?  

This wasn’t the kind of life Maia had hoped for.

To make matters worse, Madeline’s live-in lover, Finnegan Sawyer, started finding excuses to visit the pool house and kept hitting on Maia. Gross!

She decided enough was enough and was determined to confront them all.  As much as she loved mystery, this was ridiculous.  She and Charlie Ray had been invited for dinner at Madeline’s, and once everyone was there together, Maia intended to find out what was going on.

Author's Note--Oftentimes while writing my updates I get songs stuck in my head based on what's happening in the plot or just whatever I happen to be currently listening to, which may later end up as titles or somehow alluded to in the text. Whenever possible, I'll share them at the end of these chapter posts.