before, so maybe he has some ideas about what to do around here. How’d you sleep?”
“Fine. I don’t think Olivia is still here. Maybe she’ll come back?”
“I don’t feel her either, Ellie. Like I said, maybe it was a one-time thing.” Which was kind of unfair of Olivia, Abby thought—to show up without explanation, and then disappear again, possibly forever. But she had no control over Olivia.
The sound of a car pulling up behind the house startled her, and when she went to the kitchen door she was amazed to see Ned. He looked tired but triumphant, which wasn’t an easy expression to pull off. Abby skipped down the steps. “You must have left at dawn!” she said, pulling him close.
He kissed her thoroughly. “I didn’t bother to sleep. At least I missed the traffic.”
“What on earth is so urgent that one day makes a difference?” Abby asked, tugging him toward the kitchen. “I suppose you haven’t eaten.”
“No to the latter, and I’ll explain the other thing later. Hi, Ellie. Who’s that?” Ned said, pointing to the kitten, who was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, observing him eagerly.
“Hi, Ned. I’m still thinking about names. What do you think about Spooky? Or maybe Shadow?”
“She looks far too self-possessed for either of those. Keep working on it.” Ned extended a hand to the kitten, who butted her head against it, purring. “You said something about food, Abby?”
“French toast, coming up. But unless you brought your own syrup, you’ll have to make do with jelly. Coffee?”
“Please!” Ned dropped into a chair and accepted the coffee mug that Abby handed him.
He looked exhausted. She felt a small shiver of worry. Was there something he wasn’t telling her? Something wrong at work? One of his parents was sick? Or maybe he hadn’t told her the full story about Leslie and George, and it was worse than she thought. Was Ned wondering how to tell Ellie?
Ellie seemed oblivious to whatever was going on with Ned—or so Abby thought until she noticed the sidelong glances Ellie kept throwing his way. Ellie knew something wasn’t right. Damn, having all these psychic links made even ordinary conversations difficult, because there were currents under the surface.
Abby helped herself to more coffee and sat at the table. Ellie had found something—was that really a toilet paper roll?—and was tossing it around the floor for the kitten to chase. “How bad was the storm inland?” Abby asked.
“Not very. All bluster, but no real force. It looked okay driving down this way, too. A few limbs down, but no real damage.”
“We were lucky. I found a really interesting binder of clippings about the Hurricane of 1938—that really was a disaster.”
“You know, I think Daniel mentioned something about that, the first time I was here. If you look at the outside, there’s a very faint change in color on one side, which is where the high-water line was back then.”
“Wow! That is a lot of water.”
“I saw some crabs yesterday!” Ellie exclaimed. “Swimming in the water just out there.” She pointed toward the bay.
“We were thinking about looking for Old Silver Beach today. I bet a lot of shells washed up in the storm.”
“Could be,” Ned said, finishing his breakfast.
“Unless you’d rather take a nap first?” Abby asked anxiously.
“I think I’d feel better if I got out and moved around for a while. Maybe a nap this afternoon?”
“Okay. Ellie and I can go food shopping while you’re asleep. And you can take care of Kitten there.”
“Well, then, Ellie, you’d better wear her out!” he said, half laughing. He turned back to Abby. “You want to go now?”
“Okay—it may be crowded later, right?”
“And all the good shells will be gone!” Ellie added.
Ned smiled at her eagerness. “Then let me dump my stuff upstairs, and I’ll show you how to get to the beach, okay?”
“Do we need swim stuff?” Ellie asked.
“No, but you do
“Fine. I don’t think Olivia is still here. Maybe she’ll come back?”
“I don’t feel her either, Ellie. Like I said, maybe it was a one-time thing.” Which was kind of unfair of Olivia, Abby thought—to show up without explanation, and then disappear again, possibly forever. But she had no control over Olivia.
The sound of a car pulling up behind the house startled her, and when she went to the kitchen door she was amazed to see Ned. He looked tired but triumphant, which wasn’t an easy expression to pull off. Abby skipped down the steps. “You must have left at dawn!” she said, pulling him close.
He kissed her thoroughly. “I didn’t bother to sleep. At least I missed the traffic.”
“What on earth is so urgent that one day makes a difference?” Abby asked, tugging him toward the kitchen. “I suppose you haven’t eaten.”
“No to the latter, and I’ll explain the other thing later. Hi, Ellie. Who’s that?” Ned said, pointing to the kitten, who was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, observing him eagerly.
“Hi, Ned. I’m still thinking about names. What do you think about Spooky? Or maybe Shadow?”
“She looks far too self-possessed for either of those. Keep working on it.” Ned extended a hand to the kitten, who butted her head against it, purring. “You said something about food, Abby?”
“French toast, coming up. But unless you brought your own syrup, you’ll have to make do with jelly. Coffee?”
“Please!” Ned dropped into a chair and accepted the coffee mug that Abby handed him.
He looked exhausted. She felt a small shiver of worry. Was there something he wasn’t telling her? Something wrong at work? One of his parents was sick? Or maybe he hadn’t told her the full story about Leslie and George, and it was worse than she thought. Was Ned wondering how to tell Ellie?
Ellie seemed oblivious to whatever was going on with Ned—or so Abby thought until she noticed the sidelong glances Ellie kept throwing his way. Ellie knew something wasn’t right. Damn, having all these psychic links made even ordinary conversations difficult, because there were currents under the surface.
Abby helped herself to more coffee and sat at the table. Ellie had found something—was that really a toilet paper roll?—and was tossing it around the floor for the kitten to chase. “How bad was the storm inland?” Abby asked.
“Not very. All bluster, but no real force. It looked okay driving down this way, too. A few limbs down, but no real damage.”
“We were lucky. I found a really interesting binder of clippings about the Hurricane of 1938—that really was a disaster.”
“You know, I think Daniel mentioned something about that, the first time I was here. If you look at the outside, there’s a very faint change in color on one side, which is where the high-water line was back then.”
“Wow! That is a lot of water.”
“I saw some crabs yesterday!” Ellie exclaimed. “Swimming in the water just out there.” She pointed toward the bay.
“We were thinking about looking for Old Silver Beach today. I bet a lot of shells washed up in the storm.”
“Could be,” Ned said, finishing his breakfast.
“Unless you’d rather take a nap first?” Abby asked anxiously.
“I think I’d feel better if I got out and moved around for a while. Maybe a nap this afternoon?”
“Okay. Ellie and I can go food shopping while you’re asleep. And you can take care of Kitten there.”
“Well, then, Ellie, you’d better wear her out!” he said, half laughing. He turned back to Abby. “You want to go now?”
“Okay—it may be crowded later, right?”
“And all the good shells will be gone!” Ellie added.
Ned smiled at her eagerness. “Then let me dump my stuff upstairs, and I’ll show you how to get to the beach, okay?”
“Do we need swim stuff?” Ellie asked.
“No, but you do
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