what she liked, disliked or otherwise, she had options to consider, difficult decisions to make. She didn’t know why she slid her hands into her back pockets, but the moment she felt the baseball cap, it hit her.
With shaking fingers, she touched the bill of the cap.Dean had said Lakers were Red Sox fans. Was that what she was? A Laker?
It was time she found out.
Holding Dean’s gaze, she said, “You mentioned that the rest of the Lakers want to meet Kaylie and me.”
He nodded.
“When?” she repeated.
The pupils of his eyes dilated in the fading twilight, but he looked pleased as he said, “Sunday. One o’clock?”
So soon?
But she’d made her decision, and there was no turning back. “Where?”
“At my brother Reed’s place.”
“Does he live on the island, too?”
Dean nodded. “Mya knows the way.” He looked directly at Mya. “Reed, Sylvia and the boys live in the old McCaffrey place near the cove. The family extended the invitation to you, too.”
Elle and Mya stared after him as he climbed behind the wheel of a dusty four-by-four and drove away. “He’s not exactly a conversationalist, is he?”
Mya shook her head, for it was true. Dean was a man of few words. But what he said, he meant. Still, she’d received more enthusiastic invitations from the dentist.
A gust of wind dragged at the lapels of her jacket. Drawing the edges together, she thought about Dean’s visit tonight, and then she thought about his invitation.
All the Lakers, all at once, all under one roof. Why not just get out the whip and the horsehair shirt?
Until today, she could count on one hand the times she’d been to Keepers Island these past nineteen years. Just as Elle’s conception had changed the course of Mya’s life nearly twenty years ago, her recent arrival in Maine was changing it again. It was forcing her to face serious issues she’d buried a long time ago.
Seeing Dean again reminded Mya of how intense he could be, how dark and brooding, and how dangerous that combination had been to the rebellious girl she’d been. The hold he’d had on her all those years ago was strong. She happened to know the hold she’d had on him was equally so.
That was then.
Sunday was two days away. And Mya knew darn well that wild horses couldn’t keep her away any longer.
CHAPTER 8
T he first thing Mya noticed when Dean opened his brother’s door on Sunday was the aroma of fresh-baked bread and steaming seafood. The second was noise. It exploded upon them. High-pitched voices of boys engaged in raucous roughhousing blended with laughter and what sounded suspiciously like space lasers and explosions and someone yelling for the boys to stop. Dogs growled and barked playfully. Someone yelled for them to stop, too.
The ferry from Portland had left right on schedule. Casco Bay had been calm, and even though Mya, Elle and Kaylie had arrived on the island a little early, Dean had been waiting for them at the harbor. Dean had installed a car seat for Kaylie in the backseat, and Elle sat beside her. That left the front passenger seat for Mya. Dean pointed out landmarks to Elle. Mya had watched out the window as the familiar sights went by. Nerves had clamored in the pit of her stomach all the way.
Elle seemed more quiet than nervous. Stepping over a pair of small, muddy tennis shoes and a partially chewedrawhide dog bone, she said, “It sounds like all hell’s breaking loose in there.”
Dean held the door. “Around here all hell breaks loose on a regular basis.”
The four of them entered a big country kitchen and mayhem. A little boy was playing tug-of-war with a large brown dog. The dog was winning. Two other boys were facing a computer screen. Joysticks in their hands, they rooted for their spaceships and shouted at each other with all the rowdy vehemence of true competitors.
Up to her elbows in sudsy water, a red-haired woman called, “Dougie, let Buster have his blanket. Michael and Brad, turn off that
With shaking fingers, she touched the bill of the cap.Dean had said Lakers were Red Sox fans. Was that what she was? A Laker?
It was time she found out.
Holding Dean’s gaze, she said, “You mentioned that the rest of the Lakers want to meet Kaylie and me.”
He nodded.
“When?” she repeated.
The pupils of his eyes dilated in the fading twilight, but he looked pleased as he said, “Sunday. One o’clock?”
So soon?
But she’d made her decision, and there was no turning back. “Where?”
“At my brother Reed’s place.”
“Does he live on the island, too?”
Dean nodded. “Mya knows the way.” He looked directly at Mya. “Reed, Sylvia and the boys live in the old McCaffrey place near the cove. The family extended the invitation to you, too.”
Elle and Mya stared after him as he climbed behind the wheel of a dusty four-by-four and drove away. “He’s not exactly a conversationalist, is he?”
Mya shook her head, for it was true. Dean was a man of few words. But what he said, he meant. Still, she’d received more enthusiastic invitations from the dentist.
A gust of wind dragged at the lapels of her jacket. Drawing the edges together, she thought about Dean’s visit tonight, and then she thought about his invitation.
All the Lakers, all at once, all under one roof. Why not just get out the whip and the horsehair shirt?
Until today, she could count on one hand the times she’d been to Keepers Island these past nineteen years. Just as Elle’s conception had changed the course of Mya’s life nearly twenty years ago, her recent arrival in Maine was changing it again. It was forcing her to face serious issues she’d buried a long time ago.
Seeing Dean again reminded Mya of how intense he could be, how dark and brooding, and how dangerous that combination had been to the rebellious girl she’d been. The hold he’d had on her all those years ago was strong. She happened to know the hold she’d had on him was equally so.
That was then.
Sunday was two days away. And Mya knew darn well that wild horses couldn’t keep her away any longer.
CHAPTER 8
T he first thing Mya noticed when Dean opened his brother’s door on Sunday was the aroma of fresh-baked bread and steaming seafood. The second was noise. It exploded upon them. High-pitched voices of boys engaged in raucous roughhousing blended with laughter and what sounded suspiciously like space lasers and explosions and someone yelling for the boys to stop. Dogs growled and barked playfully. Someone yelled for them to stop, too.
The ferry from Portland had left right on schedule. Casco Bay had been calm, and even though Mya, Elle and Kaylie had arrived on the island a little early, Dean had been waiting for them at the harbor. Dean had installed a car seat for Kaylie in the backseat, and Elle sat beside her. That left the front passenger seat for Mya. Dean pointed out landmarks to Elle. Mya had watched out the window as the familiar sights went by. Nerves had clamored in the pit of her stomach all the way.
Elle seemed more quiet than nervous. Stepping over a pair of small, muddy tennis shoes and a partially chewedrawhide dog bone, she said, “It sounds like all hell’s breaking loose in there.”
Dean held the door. “Around here all hell breaks loose on a regular basis.”
The four of them entered a big country kitchen and mayhem. A little boy was playing tug-of-war with a large brown dog. The dog was winning. Two other boys were facing a computer screen. Joysticks in their hands, they rooted for their spaceships and shouted at each other with all the rowdy vehemence of true competitors.
Up to her elbows in sudsy water, a red-haired woman called, “Dougie, let Buster have his blanket. Michael and Brad, turn off that
Similar Books
