No Ordinary Summer

by Linda Barrett

She reached for her kids. “Group-hug time.” Emily joined Josh on her lap. “And we three will march on together just like we have been doing. Daddy can still visit you, and you can still visit him. How does that sound?”

  Emily glanced at her big brother, and Shelley hid a smile. Her daughter took her lead from Josh most of the time and was doing it now. Josh was silent for a moment. Then in a quiet voice, he said, “Four would be better than three. And Daddy forgets to visit a lot. But I guess that’s the way it is.”

  The sadness and resignation in the young voice tore Shelley’s heart. But it wasn’t until little Emily started patting her brother’s arm in comfort that Shelley lost it. The sweet gesture destroyed every bit of composure she’d mustered, and quiet tears fell.

  She rubbed them away. “How about I take this fabulous family of three to Neptune’s Park later on? Nana and Poppy, too.”

  Emily’s eyes sparkled and she held up her hand, fingers outstretched. “That’s five, Mommy. See, three of us and one Nana and one Poppy.” Emily pushed and pulled her fingers to match the addition.

  “You’re absolutely right, my brilliant daughter. No calculator needed for you.” Shelley sighed in relief. Despite her sadness, Emily would be okay. Not only could she be distracted by a host of activities, but also she’d always tended to cling more to Shelley than to Carl anyway. As long she had her mother, she’d be fine. At least for now. And that’s all Shelley could cope with at the moment.

  But Josh worried her. “Want to invite Jessie and the professor with us tonight, Josh?”

  His face lit up for a second, but then he shook his head. “Nah. We’re only going to be friends for the summer. Better not get too used to them.”

  Stunned by his comment, Shelley couldn’t speak. Her eight-year-old had started to build a wall around himself.

  DANIEL STONE SAT on his deck directly above Shelley’s, his morning paper still mostly unread, his coffee mostly untouched and his position as eavesdropper mostly uncomfortable. He could hear the conversation between Shelley and her children, and was awed by both her personal strength and her understanding of the kids’ reactions.

  When he’d first gone outside to start his day, he’d had no idea that anyone was on the downstairs porch at all. The quiet of the morning, however, allowed words to drift clearly on the air. When he realized how personal the conversation was, he picked up his paper and his coffee and moved inside. Jessie followed him.

  He could still hear the children’s voices, but could no longer decipher their words. Then the door banged shut and quiet reigned downstairs. He sighed in relief, picked up his newspaper again and stepped onto his deck. He put the Andersons out of his mind. Until he heard Shelley’s voice coming directly from below where he sat near the front railing.

  “He can’t take them from me, Dad. We have an agreement and there’s no reason for the judge to change it. Unless Carl buys him off.”

  Daniel sat in shocked silence. Buy the judge off? Did she really have to be concerned about that? He heard her speak again.

  “Oh, my God. Maybe he could do that. He’s got influence now, as well as money… But I’m their mother. The kids need me.”

  As if on cue, Emily’s voice sounded. “Mommy.”

  “I’ll see what she wants,” Philip said.

  Daniel heard the door close. He jumped out of his chair and looked over the edge of the wooden railing. Shelley stood facing the ocean, her head in her hands. He could see her shoulders rise and fall with every ragged breath.

  “Good morning, neighbor,” he called in a quiet voice.

  She whirled, wiping her eyes and then shading them as she looked up. “Hello. I was just going inside. I’ll catch you later.” She looked toward the door.

  “Hang on a sec,” said Dan. “Maybe I can help.”

  She stood perfectly still. “You heard me just now, didn’t you?”

  “I’m sorry,” he replied. “Voices travel.”

  She turned away, her arm sweeping toward the glistening blue ocean and quiet beach. “I thought I’d find peace here at Sea View House, but I guess our problems follow us wherever we go. It’s really too bad. There shouldn’t be heartache in the middle of such serene beauty.”

  “Don’t be fooled,” Dan replied. “Mother Nature can be just as savage as she is peaceful.”

  “Like our lives,” she said. “A roller coaster. Either an uphill battle or a downhill, out-of-control event.”

  Daniel shrugged. “I can argue that, but not while watching you get a crick in your neck. My porch or yours?”

  “Neither. I’m going inside. But thanks for offering to help. We’re both teachers, Daniel, and neither of us is qualified to take on my ex-husband.”

  Startled, Dan remained quiet before saying, “Stay right there. I’m on my way.” He jogged down the staircase, then rounded the corner of her porch until he and Shelley were facing one another, separated only by the wooden railing. Could it be that after all this time, she was unaware that he was a licensed attorney? “Uh, Shelley?”

  “Yes?”

  “I am a teacher—on staff at Harvard—but I’m also a trained litigator. An attorney. I teach law. Business law.”

  Her eyes widened in horror. “Another lawyer! I am such an idiot about men! You are just what I don’t need in my life. Thanks for your offer of help, but no thanks, Professor. I’ll handle the situation myself.”

  “Hey. I’m on your side, Shelley. Remember that when the going gets rough. If you change your mind, I’m here.”

  Her arms akimbo, she finally stilled. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should remember that sharks fight until one wins. I just don’t know yet which one of you has the sharper teeth.”

  He winced. “Low blow.”

  “Maybe it just struck home.”

  She couldn’t be more wrong, but Daniel said nothing. He watched her walk back inside knowing she was frightened about a custody challenge and was lashing out. He could take the insult, both to himself and to his profession, but maybe it was just as well she had no interest in him. He might be willing to begin exploring a new social life, but he wasn’t ready for a roller-coaster ride.

  LAST NIGHT SHE’D WANTED to kiss him, and today she’d treated Daniel like a pariah. Ten minutes after she’d left him on the porch, Shelley closed her eyes in disgust. She owed him an apology. She shouldn’t have painted all lawyers with the same brush.

  She’d liked him well enough a month ago, the night of their first meeting, when Jess had scared the wits out of her. Liked Daniel well enough to think about him a lot. Then she’d tucked those thoughts away while she considered Carl’s plan. What a mistake! Despite the pressures from his mother and her parents, and—she had to admit—her children, she should never have considered reconciliation for a minute. Whatever love and personal respect she’d had for Carl were gone.

  She’d go forward from here, steering clear of personal relationships, and concentrating only on Josh and Emily. She’d face any custody battle if or when Carl instigated one. One thing she knew for sure. Nobody was going to take her children away.

  Thoughts of the kids made her mind leap to the baseball season. She’d partner with Daniel on Josh’s team as if it were a business arrangement, which it was, sort of. In fact, they had an organizational meeting scheduled for Wednesday evening. She’d invite him to go with her and apologize for today’s outburst. And then they’d just be neighbors and volunteer partners for the rest of the summer. She felt herself relax, pleased with her plan.

  In theory, it was a great idea, Shelley mused on Tuesday evening. In fact, she’d seen Daniel only at a distance since Sunday morning. He and Jessie took to the beach before sunrise and after sunset and stayed outdoors forever, or so it seemed to her. In between, there was no sign of the professor at all. Of course, her life was pretty busy, too, and their paths hadn’t crossed. Her last resort would be to tape a note on his door if he wasn’t home now.

  She left through the kitchen, walked around to Daniel’s
entrance and rang the bell. The outside light came on immediately, and then Daniel appeared at the top of the stairs.

  “Hey, Shelley. Come on up. If you can stand it.”

  She understood his meaning as soon as she walked in. The small apartment was a mess. Papers everywhere. Two computers—one PC and one laptop—both on.

  “I should have had a research assistant,” he said. “But, stupidly, I turned the offer down.”

  “Don’t trust anyone else?” she asked.

  “No… Wanted to be sure I had enough work to keep my mind occupied.”

  “Oh,” she said, for the first time examining Daniel rather than the apartment.

  Deliciously disheveled. Scruffy, mussed and looking sexy enough to attract a harem if he’d wanted to. His powerful shoulders strained against the fabric of his dark T-shirt, and Shelley’s fingers strained against the desire to stroke his broad chest. Not in the plan, she reminded herself.

  “Uh, what are you working on?” she asked.

  His eyes twinkled, the corner of his mouth turned up. “Ethics. A curriculum in legal ethics that will help turn great whites into small guppies fit for a home aquarium.”

  “Ouch!” she said, feeling the heat rise to her face, not only because of the shark reference—a subtle reminder of the insult she’d hurled at him—but also because of her more shocking thoughts, which weren’t insulting at all! “That’s one of the reasons I’m here, Daniel. To apologize.”

  He waved her words aside with a gesture. “Accepted. You had other matters on your mind.”

  “And I still do,” she admitted, meeting his gaze. “But I had no call to take it out on you and your profession. How about joining us for dinner tomorrow night, and afterwards I’ll take us to the Little League meeting.”

  “I accept with pleasure,” he replied immediately. “I’ve inhaled those aromas from your place a time or two, and now I’m salivating.”

  Her mind raced for a meal requiring short preparation time yet providing a selection he probably wouldn’t prepare for himself. “How about grilled salmon, steamed asparagus and small roasted potatoes? Or, if you don’t like fish…”

  He held up his hand. “Fish is great. But tell me the truth, do your kids eat a meal like that?”

  She grinned. “I hate to admit how many PB&J sandwiches have supplemented their dinner over the years. They think dinner is always an experiment in my house and they’re the guinea pigs.”

  He leaned closer to her and whispered dramatically, “Could they be right?”

  His fragrance of musk and masculinity slammed her senses, stimulating memories she wanted to banish. Her insides tightened. Dear God, she had to get out of his apartment before she made a fool of herself.

  “Sure, they’re guinea pigs,” she replied in a husky voice, surprised she was able to remember the question. “See you tomorrow about five-thirty.” She ran from the Crow’s Nest as though flames were licking her heels, and barely heard him say, “I’ll bring dessert.”

  WHIPPED-CREAM ÉCLAIRS for dessert. As he took the box of sweets from his vehicle, Daniel thought of a few other places he’d like to cover with whipped cream besides flaky pastry shells. But Shelley didn’t quite trust him. And without a connection forged by trust, or at least respect, having sex would be just that. Strictly a physical release. He needed more. Not love. Certainly not love as in “till death do us part.” Been there, done that. But…now…finally, he needed something! Something beyond a quick dip in the pool.

  Ironically, Shelley wanted him. He knew it. He could read desire easily enough, and her swift departure last night only confirmed it. In the end, she’d done him a favor, because he’d responded to her with the same intensity.

  He walked around the back. Shelley’s kids were playing on the deck, their grandparents setting the outside table, and he knew dinner would be free of any tension, sexual or otherwise. Now that he was no longer a threat to their daughter’s future in Washington, D.C., Ellen and Phil had been treating him just fine. Like good neighbors.

  As for the children, well, Jessie was the key there. Jessie…and the fact that he and Shelley had saved the baseball team. That was the story according to Casey Parker and his cousin, Katie, and Josh absolutely believed it. More significantly, however, the boy had seemed to place his dad and Daniel on separate tracks. Maybe he’d taken the cue from his grandparents. Maybe he’d figured it out himself when he’d said, “Daddy forgets to visit a lot. But I guess that’s the way it is.”

  A lot for a kid to handle, but he’d put his money on Josh. That was one terrific boy.

  “Evening, everyone,” said Daniel, climbing the three steps to the deck. He waved at the Duffys, then turned to the children with a wink. “Shall I invite Jess to join us?”

  Their animated response reminded him to chat with Shelley about getting them a pup of their own. “Be right back,” he said, heading for his own doorway. When he returned with the dog, Jess made a beeline for the kids.

  Dan opened the door and saw Shelley standing over the stove, doing something to the contents of a pot. Her face was rosy, her lips softly smiling, and she was humming under her breath.

  “You’re beautiful.” The words traveled from inside his head and popped out of his mouth.

  She twirled toward him, her look of astonishment comical. “It’s my kitchen-glamour look. Welcome.”

  He held up the carton. “Needs refrigeration.” And so do I.

  TWO HOURS LATER, during the meeting at Town Hall, he promised himself a cold shower as soon as he returned to Sea View House. The business part of the meeting had just concluded, and now he and Shelley were being introduced as the new coaches for the Parker Plumbing Team of eight-year-olds. The applause was vigorous as they were handed bags of equipment, rule books, game schedules and tons of advice.

  Daniel glanced at Shelley and knew she was forcing a smile. Could be she didn’t relish being the center of attention—nor did he, for that matter—or, could be the reality of coaching just hit her head-on. The percentage of moms at the meeting was small.

  He bent his head to hers. “It’s an equal-opportunity league, Shelley,” he whispered, “not just for children, but for coaches, too. You’ll be fine.”

  Worried brown eyes looked back at him. “Oh, the gender thing doesn’t bother me. It’s the practices. How am I going to hit flyballs for them to catch?”

  He laughed out loud and impulsively gave her a hug. “Sweetheart, we’ll do the best we can.”

  Surprise and warmth replaced her concerned expression, but before she could reply, Matthew Parker, Casey’s dad, walked up to them with his hand extended.

  “Thank you, Shelley. Thank you, Daniel. Everyone thanks you for taking over the team this year. Especially my son, who wants to disown me except he also wants Laura as a mom, as well as a new cool house to live in before school starts again.”

  “We’re glad to do it,” said Shelley. “Ready, willing and able. Don’t worry about a thing.”

  Daniel swallowed his laughter and nodded.

  “How’s Sea View House these days?” asked Matt, still shaking Daniel’s hand. “My favorite place in this whole town. That’s where I found Laura and fell in love with her.” His arm dropped to his side, and he stared over Daniel’s shoulder with an unfocused gaze.

  Daniel glanced at Shelley and rolled his eyes. He saw her swallow a chuckle.

  “We walked the beach for miles,” continued Matt. “Laura wanted to get back into shape after her bout with breast cancer and chemo and the grief over losing her mom. But we discovered a bonus on our walks. At night,” he said softly, “you can see every star in the heavens….” His voice trailed off.

  “Thank God he’s getting married in three days,” said Ralph Bigelow, one of the ROMEOs, as well as a coach of the older boys. “It’ll put him out of his misery.”

  Daniel silently seconded the opinion.

  “For a plumber, you’re talking mushy, real mushy,” said another coach.

 
; “Yeah, yeah,” replied Matt with a laugh. “And I’m expecting you all to be at the ceremony. The announcement was in the paper. The whole town’s invited for champagne and fireworks on the beach this Saturday night. We’ll be setting up along the shore near Sea View House.” He looked at Shelley and Daniel, and slowly his smitten expression changed into one of horror. “Oh, she’ll kill me. I forgot to ask you about using your driveway. She wants to walk onto the beach from Sea View House.”

  Daniel glanced at Shelley’s glowing face. The answer the groom was hoping for was written right there. “Of course,” he said, as though there could be any other response. “We’d be…uh…honored.”

  “Thanks,” said Matt. “Couldn’t choose any other location. We’ve already got the permit, and Big Ralph here is in charge of the pyrotechnics.”

  “And we thought fireworks celebrated independence!” said retired police chief Rick O’Brien.

  “Look who’s talking!” replied Matt. “You and Dee are married—what?—less than a month! And you’re looking mighty fine, Chief. Mighty fine.”

  The Pilgrim Covers were still joking about marriage and weddings when Daniel and Shelley left the meeting and loaded the team’s paraphernalia into her car.

  “The way Matt Parker talks, you’d never know he and Laura are going to have a lovely reception at the Wayside Inn after the ceremony on the beach,” said Shelley as she handed Daniel a copy of the team’s schedule after he closed the trunk.

  “Matt’s mind is on Laura. Period.” Dan understood the phenomenon. “He could eat mud afterward and not care. Or notice. As long as he has her.”

  Shelley’s silence hung in the air. “You sound as if you’re no stranger to the feeling, and yet…despite everyone’s good intentions, I don’t believe it lasts.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I’m a little cynical about the subject of monogamy right now.” She turned away from him and walked to the driver’s side of the car.

  So that had been the reason for the breakup. He’d suspected infidelity, but had had no evidence to confirm it. “Not all men are unfaithful, Shel,” Dan said in a gentle tone after he got into the car. “Don’t let Carl destroy your belief in a future. A good future, filled with love.”