“Is that awkward for you?” Vanessa asked. Hal glanced at her over the top of his glasses, and she rephrased the question. “What I meant was, since your husband died-”
“I understand exactly what you meant, and yes, of course, it’s awkward. Neither one of them would throw me a line if I fell in the middle of that Bay out there.” Maggie pointed out the window. “I understand why, of course-their father was an older man of some means when we married, he’d been widowed for about twenty years, and he’d neglected to tell the boys that he wanted to remarry. So I had three strikes against me going in.
“But it wasn’t what either of the boys thought. I didn’t want the property, and they are welcome to the house and the money their dad left behind.” She smiled somewhat wryly. “I’m just as happy to be someplace where it’s warm at this time of the year.”
“So, are you planning on going back there?” Vanessa asked.
Hal was pretty sure he could tell by the look on Vanessa’s face that she was afraid of what Maggie’s answer was going to be.
“I will.” Maggie nodded. “But mostly just to pick up my things. These past few years, I spent most of my time taking care of Carl. Now that he’s gone, there’s no place for me there.”
“So where will you go?” Vanessa’s eyes narrowed as they focused on her mother.
“I have no idea, and right now, I have no plans.” Maggie flashed her best smile. “Why, dear, were you thinking of asking me to stay with you for a while?”
“I was just curious,” Vanessa replied, ignoring Maggie’s obvious plea for an invitation.
“So, Grady”-Maggie turned her attention back to him-“what do you do in Montana? Do you ranch?”
“No. I only have a few acres, not enough to raise much of anything,” he told her.
“What do you do for a job? I understand you’re no longer with the FBI.”
He nodded. “I left the Bureau a few years ago. Since then, I’ve qualified as a wilderness guide. I take groups or individuals camping, hiking, backpacking; that sort of thing.”
“Can you make a living that way?” Maggie asked.
“Maggie,” Vanessa admonished. “Why would you ask him that?”
“Well, sweetie, you’ve been spending a lot of time with this young man this weekend.”
“He’s… sort of… a bodyguard.” To Hal, Vanessa sounded defensive.
“Well, then, let’s just say it’s maternal prerogative.”
Vanessa set her glass on the table. “Where was your motherly concern when your just-turned-eighteen daughter wanted to marry a man who was twelve years older than she was?”
“Vanessa, I told you at the time that I did not think that marrying Craig was a good idea.” Maggie’s glass hit the table as well.
“You didn’t try to stop me.”
“I could never stop you from doing a damned thing you wanted to do. You said you wanted to marry him and-”
“No, no. I said he wanted to marry me. You were supposed to stop me. You were supposed to say he was too old and you weren’t going to let me do it.” Vanessa’s eyes flashed anger, and for a moment, Hal thought she was going to get up and walk out. “What did I know? I was only eighteen years old.”
The ensuing silence was so dense, Hal thought he could cut through it. He cleared his throat, trying to think of something to say that might salvage the moment. Fortunately, the waiter appeared with their dinners.
“Well, now, the tuna looks great, doesn’t it, ladies?” Hal said. He got a nod from Vanessa and a distracted glance from Maggie, which was, he supposed, about the best he was going to get.
The silence returned and lingered right through the rest of the meal. When it came time to order dessert, Vanessa excused herself.
“I’m going to have to call it a night,” she said. “I have to be in the shop first thing in the morning to start my inventory, and it’s been a very long weekend.” She leaned over and kissed Hal on the cheek. “Thank you for dinner.”
“You’re welcome.” He leaned close and whispered, “Thanks for humoring me. I appreciate the effort. Oh, I almost forgot.” He stuck his hand in his shirt pocket and removed a set of keys. “The keys for your new locks. The locksmith left them at the station.” He handed them to her. “They both fit all the locks on the house.”
“Thanks, Hal.” Vanessa rummaged in her bag for her key ring.
While she was removing the old and sliding on the new, Grady asked Hal, “Do you happen to know if anyone’s working on getting a match for those prints?”
“Garland worked on it this afternoon, but so far, nothing. Of course, there were so many prints in the shop, it’s going to take some time,” Hal explained.
“I thought it was premature, but I thought I’d ask anyway.” Grady stood and shook Hal’s hand. “Thanks for dinner, Hal. I’m sure I’ll see you again. Maggie, it’s been a pleasure.”
“You don’t mean that, but I appreciate the thought, Grady,” she replied. “It was nice meeting you. Take care of my little girl. Don’t let anything bad happen to her.”
“Oh, Maggie, for God’s sake,” Vanessa muttered.
“I will try my best to keep her safe,” Grady promised.
“Good night, you two.” Vanessa took Grady’s hand and headed for the door.
“What do you suppose his intentions are?” Maggie murmured after Grady and Vanessa were gone.
“Well, now, I think he’ll do whatever it takes to keep her from harm’s way, just like he said.”
“You could do that just as well.”
“Maybe, maybe not. He’s a lot younger and stronger, and he’s had the benefit of a lot of training that I didn’t have.”
“Yes, but you’ve got a gun, right?” Maggie asked. “Do you think he has a gun?”
“Probably not,” Hal said after thinking it over. “I doubt he set out for his sister’s wedding thinking he needed to come armed.”
“Maybe he should have a gun.”
“Maybe he should.” Hal thought it over. Maybe he should…
Maggie turned to Hal. “I know what you were trying to do tonight, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I know you want for Vanessa and me to get along, and I appreciate that so much.” She paused. “It didn’t go too badly, do you think?”
“Not too,” he agreed, and signaled for the check. He’d hoped for better, but he knew it could have been much worse.
Well, he thought as he finished the rest of his beer, it was a start. They were talking-maybe not so much friendly talk, but at least they were talking. Judging by what Maggie had told him last night, it had been a long time coming.
He felt protective of both of them, the woman he’d once loved and the girl he’d taken into his heart and come to love as his own. Over the next few days-for however long Maggie was staying in St. Dennis-he’d do his best to help them make their peace. But in the end, he knew, it was up to them. And then there was Beck. Hal shook his head. If he thought it was rough trying to get Maggie and her daughter on the same page, the thought of getting Beck to come around to even discussing Maggie made Hal’s head hurt. Well, he reminded himself, he had almost two full weeks before he’d have to deal with that. One problem at a time, his father always told him. One problem, one solution. He smiled as he signed the credit slip for their dinners, remembering all his father’s clichés that could apply. Rome wasn’t built in a day. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. And Hal’s personal favorite: miracles take time.
Well, maybe a miracle was what it was going to take to make this all work out right for all of them. Where to find one… now, that was another matter altogether.
Chapter 15
YOU’RE awfully quiet,” Vanessa observed as she and Grady walked the last block to her house.
“I’m just trying to stay observant,” Grady replied.
“You mean in case someone’s following us? It’s still light out. It’s tough to stalk someone in this neighborhood when all the kids are still outside playing and so many people are sitting on their porches or out for an evening stroll.”