Summer Secrets by Barbara Freethy

down? Can I get you a drink?” Ashley asked.
    Naomi shook her head. Standing stiffly in the middle of the living room, she looked as uncomfortable as Ashley felt. “I’ll get right to the point. Sean has signed on to race in the Castleton. I want you to talk him out of it.”
    “Me? I can’t talk him out of it.”
    “You’re the only one who can.”
    “Sean and I aren’t even friends anymore. He’s been gone for years. We barely know each other.”
    Naomi dismissed that with a shake of her head. “Sean has been in love with you since he was twelve years old.”
    “But that was a long time ago,” Ashley protested, not liking the look in Naomi’s eyes. “We had a teenage crush, that’s it.”
    “I know my son. That was never it. But we can argue about that later. Right now, I need you to focus on getting Sean out of that race.” Naomi’s lips drew together in a tight line. “I can’t lose him, Ashley.”
    “I’m sure he’ll be all right,” she said tentatively.
    “The only way I can be sure is if he doesn’t go. If you were a mother, you’d understand how hard it is to watch your child head straight for danger. I can’t let him do it. Not without trying to stop him. Will you help me?”
    Naomi’s pain was so palpable Ashley could feel it coursing straight through her. But she didn’t know what to say. Sean wouldn’t listen to her.
    “You’re my only hope,” Naomi continued. “His father and I have tried. Sean seems determined to do this, as some sort of quest to retrace Jeremy’s path. But I don’t want him to go down that path. The sea already took one of my sons; I won’t let it take another. You were out there once, Ashley. You saw how horrible it could be. You saw what the sea could do to a boat and a few men who thought they were invincible.”
    Yes, she had seen all that. In fact she still saw it now in her dreams -- in her nightmares.
    “I don’t want to lose Sean. I don’t want to spend the next year worrying about whether or not there’s a storm blowing his way. I want him on solid ground. I want him to be safe. Please, Ashley, you have to try.” She could see the desperation in Naomi’s eyes.
    “All right. I’ll try,” she replied. “But don’t expect too much.”
----
    She should have been late, Kate thought as she pulled into the parking lot next to the Fisherman restaurant exactly on time. She’d wanted to make Tyler wait for her. He thought he had her pegged, and he was right, dammit. Both her watch and the clock in her car read exactly six o’clock. She was embarrassingly punctual.
    Stalling, she tilted the rearview mirror and checked her face one last time. With the blush on her cheeks, the light blue shadow on her lids, and the soft pink on her lips, she almost didn’t recognize herself. Why on earth had she put on makeup for this guy? This wasn’t a date. It wasn’t even a friendly dinner. It was a battle. She couldn’t let herself forget that, couldn’t let herself get lost in a pair of incredible dark blue eyes that reminded her of the waters of the Mediterranean.
    Moving the mirror back into place, she wondered if she was doing the right thing. Just because she’d agreed to have dinner with Tyler to head him off from other sources didn’t mean he wouldn’t go after Sean or Ashley or Caroline tomorrow. In fact, he probably would. Which meant this dinner was a complete waste of time. Of course, if she were honest, she’d have to admit that having dinner with him appealed to her on a personal level. And, obviously, if having dinner with a reporter was appealing, she needed to get out more. She needed to work on a social life. In truth she was a little lonely. It wasn’t a crime. People got lonely, especially people who’d been working nonstop the past few years.
    Maybe she’d call someone tomorrow. Maybe Neal Davis. He’d asked her out before. And be was nice looking, not to mention responsible, decent, kind … boring. Or maybe it was just his