“You’re not so bad yourself, Larry Grosso.”
She saw him smile.
“Later?” he asked.
“Absolutely.”
He gave her hand a squeeze, and they continued down the pathway.
Nash was standing on his massive cedar deck, spatula in hand, burgers sizzling on the grill. Pot lights decorated his lush lawn, while overhead beams glowed burnished amber against the polished wood.
He nodded toward the open glass doors. “Beer in the fridge, or there’s a corkscrew on the counter.”
“You have a gorgeous home,” said Crystal, gazing in awe at the ultra modern kitchen and the sparkling pool and hot tub combination off the far edge of the deck.
“Thank you,” said Nash.
“He uses it to seduce women,” said Larry, heading through the door with the wine.
“I imagine it works quite well,” said Crystal.
Nash grinned unrepentantly.
“You probably want to stay away from my sister,” Crystal joked.
“I wouldn’t go near a woman who didn’t know the score,” Nash assured her.
Crystal’s gaze slid to Larry as he opened the wine. Did Larry think she knew the score? Had he concluded-like so many men in the world-that she took sex casually?
The vibes she was getting from him felt sincere. But maybe it was all part of a game. And maybe he thought she was playing along.
He looked up, met her eyes and smiled. “Red or white?” he called.
“White, please,” she answered, the intimate smile reassuring.
“Grab me a beer?” asked Nash, closing the lid on the propane grill.
Larry stepped out of the kitchen, a glass of red and one of white dangling from the fingers of one hand. In the other, he held Nash’s beer. He handed them each their drink. Then he gestured to a cushioned love seat grouped with a couple of chairs around a low oblong table.
Nash turned out to be a marvelous cook. He produced gourmet burgers with salsa and avocado on homemade multigrain buns.
He’d only lived on Myrtle Pond for two years. Like Larry, he’d bought an aging house and rebuilt.
Crystal tried to press him for details of his life before the bait shop, but he was vague, other than to say he was an architect who’d given up the rat race. He clearly enjoyed having Larry as a new neighbor, and the men engaged in several good-natured arguments about the best way to redesign Larry’s Victorian.
Mostly, Crystal got lost in the detail.
Around midnight, her cell phone rang. Surprised, she extracted it from her handbag, trying to figure out who might call so late.
“It’s Amber,” she said to Larry, noting her sister’s number with a sigh of frustration.
She flipped open the phone. “Hello?”
“Auntie Crystal?”
Crystal came alert, sitting up straight with shock at the sound of her niece’s voice. “Jennifer? What’s wrong.”
Jennifer sniffed. “Mommy’s not home yet.”
“Are you alone?” Damn Amber. Damn her. Damn her.
Larry came to his feet.
“Lisa Beechman’s babysitting.”
“Who’s Lisa Beechman? Where’s David?”
“David’s in bed. Lisa says she has to go home now. She’s really mad. I tried and tried Mommy’s number.” Jennifer’s voice broke, and Crystal’s heart squeezed tight.
“Honey, can I talk to Lisa?”
Nash was silent, while Larry was giving her a what’s up? look.
“I’ll go and get her,” said Jennifer in a small voice.
Crystal covered the mouthpiece. “Amber’s out, and the babysitter has to leave.”
Larry glanced at his watch.
Nash stood. “I’ll get the truck and tell Hank to turn on the runway lights.”
“Thanks,” said Larry.
“Hello?” came a clearly annoyed girl’s voice on the other end of the line.
“Lisa? This is Jennifer’s Aunt Crystal. Do you know where Amber went?”
There was a chopped sigh. “Somewhere with that guy.”
“Zane?”
“Yeah. I guess. She promised she’d be back by ten. I have to work tomorrow, and there’s no way-”
“Can you hang on for another…” Crystal glanced at Larry.
“Forty-five minutes,” he said.
“Forty-five minutes?” Crystal finished.
“Isn’t there anyone closer?”
Crystal thought of her mother, but her parents would be asleep. It would take them half an hour to get there. And she could well imagine the family turmoil if she brought her parents into the middle of this one.
“It’s the best I can do,” she told Lisa. “I’m really sorry. We’re coming in by plane, but we’re all the way out at Myrtle Pond.”
The young girl heaved another sigh.
“I’ll pay you double,” Crystal offered.
“I guess,” said Lisa. “It’s not like I’m gonna walk out on two little kids.”
Unlike their own mother, came Crystal’s immediate and uncharitable thought.
“I’ll be there just as soon as I can,” she pledged. “Can I talk to Jennifer again?”
“Just a sec.”
Larry took Crystal’s hand, urging her to her feet and pointing to where Nash had the truck running.
“We’ll get our stuff later,” he told her as they started down the deck stairs.
“Hello?” came Jennifer’s little voice.
“Hi, honey. Did your dad come back?”
“Yes,” said Jennifer in a small voice.
“I’m on my way over so that Lisa can go home.”
“’Kay,” said Jennifer.
“Can you hang on for just a little while?”
“Uh-huh.”
Larry boosted Crystal into the truck, and she slid across the seat to make room for him beside her.
Nash put Rufus in the back and, once in the truck, he pulled it into gear.
“Is David asleep?” asked Crystal.
“I think so,” said Jennifer.
“Can you check? Can you make sure he isn’t having any bad dreams?”
“Okay.”
“Thanks, honey. And I’ll see you soon. I’ll sleep there tonight, then it won’t matter how late your mommy gets home.”
“Will you come and tuck me in?”
“Of course, I’ll tuck you in. I’ll give you a big old hug and a smoochie kiss.”
“I might be in David’s room.”
“Then I’ll find you there.”
“I might be asleep.”
“I’ll hug you anyway.”
“’Kay.”
“You ready to say goodbye?”
“I guess.”
“Okay. Goodbye, Jennifer. I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye, Auntie Crystal.”
Crystal flipped the phone shut, silently cursing Amber’s carelessness.
Larry stayed silent, but she could see his jaw was tense.
“My sister,” she explained unnecessarily. “I guess she forgot about the time.” Crystal waited for cutting words of condemnation against Amber.
“Then we better get you over there,” Larry said simply. “Is Jennifer okay?”
“She sounded upset, but I think she’s hanging in.” Gratitude rose in her chest for his matter-of-fact reaction to the problem.
Crystal’s heart went out to her little niece. And though she wasn’t admitting it out loud, she was furious with her sister. She was a mother, not just a party girl.
“Zane is back or he never left,” she told Larry, watching the headlights bounce along the dark, rural road.
“So I gathered.” His tone was grim.
“I’m guessing they’re drunk,” she admitted.
Larry nodded in the dim light from the dashboard.
“The important thing is Jennifer and David,” she said out loud, more to herself than anyone else. She wanted to rail at Amber, but that would be unproductive at the moment.
Larry gave another nod.
“You’re mad, aren’t you?” she asked him.
He turned his head to look at her. “I wish there was somebody for me to be mad at. I don’t know Amber, and I’ve never met Zane. None of this is your fault, and it damn sure isn’t the children’s.”
“I ruined your evening.”
His arm went around her shoulders. “Amber ruined yours.”