“What have you heard?” he demanded quietly.
Richard held up his hand in a placating gesture. “Nothing. I’m just saying, I’ve seen it happen. Keep your guard up.”
“You’re sure nobody’s spreading tales?”
“I haven’t heard any. It was just a word of warning.”
Bobby nodded. “Okay, then. Thanks.”
“Where are you heading now? Want to grab some lunch?”
“Not today. I’ve got to go see a man about a horse,” Bobby said wryly. With any luck, Tucker would have found the blasted thing in the middle of Harvey’s living room.
8
Eager to get started on the work that had brought her to Trinity Harbor, Jenna took her sketch pad and a notebook with her to the riverfront the next morning. The day had dawned without a cloud in the blue sky and a welcome breeze to break the midsummer heat. She felt almost as carefree as she had on school vacations years ago, filled with that expectant sense that adventure was right around the corner. If only she could capture some of that anticipation and pass it along to her daughter, Jenna thought with a sigh.
She chose a spot on a decrepit bench, its weathered boards warped and the paint worn away. It gave her a good vantage point from which to study the stretch of land Bobby intended to develop. There was a public fishing pier a few blocks in the distance, as well as a pier where a sightseeing boat docked most days. She’d heard the announcements for the tours when she and Bobby had walked along the waterfront the day before.
There was a tang of salt in the soft morning air and just the faintest whiff of suntan oil from the handful of sun-bathers who’d come out early to beat the heat of the day. It was funny how a scent like that could transport her through time, back to the days when her mother had been alive and they’d sat side by side on a blanket on the sand at Ocean City or Rehoboth or any of a dozen other beaches where they’d gone on summer vacations before everything had changed.
In those days, the visits had been business trips for her father. He’d already been building a reputation for seaside development. But for Jenna and her brothers, those times with their mother had been magical. Jenna still had a mason jar at home filled with pale blue and green sea glass collected on those summer outings. Sometimes when she held it up to the sun, she swore she could still smell the beach scents and maybe even a lingering trace of her mother’s favorite perfume.
Now she had a chance to create those same kinds of memories for her daughter. Not that it was going to be easy. Darcy sat beside her now, a book from her summer reading list untouched in her lap. She had complained bitterly when Jenna had taken her to the cozy bookstore in town and insisted on something educational, rather than one of the thrillers that kids were crazy about.
Still, though Darcy wasn’t exactly exuberant, at least she wasn’t pouting. Jenna was learning to be grateful for small favors, even if this one had been accomplished with a bribe. She had agreed to take Darcy and Tommy to the nearby state park after lunch, if Darcy finished her required reading.
“You know what, Mom? Tommy says people are always finding shark’s teeth and stuff in the cliffs,” Darcy told her eventually, her eyes shining with rare enthusiasm. “Isn’t that awesome? I can hardly wait to get there. How soon will you be finished?”
Jenna could barely contain a grin. Darcy had been quoting Tommy nonstop since she’d crawled out of bed that morning. It was an apparent case of hero worship in the making.
“We just got here. And you haven’t read the first page of that book yet. Five pages, minimum. That was our deal.”
“But I’m ready to go to the park now,” Darcy said, scuffing her feet in the sand.
“Too bad. I have work to do. So do you. Now, get busy and read.”
Darcy turned her attention to her book. She was a fast reader, and five pages were nothing once she actually started to concentrate.
“Mom, I’m bored,” she announced, closing the book. “Can we go? I can’t wait to climb the cliffs and look for shark’s teeth.”
“Forget it. You won’t be climbing any cliffs,” Jenna warned her. “But I understand there’s a public pool there, or you can swim in the river.”
“The pool,” Darcy said at once. “Tommy says there are jellyfish in the river.”
“Well, if Tommy says it, it must be true,” Jenna said. “Walk on down to the edge of the water here and check it out. Just stay where I can see you.”
“Are you going to be a really long time?” Darcy asked plaintively.
“That depends on whether you leave me alone long enough to get my work done.”
Darcy heaved a dramatic sigh and retreated toward the river. Gingerly she stuck one toe in the water, then jumped back. “Mom, a jellyfish almost got me,” she squealed.
“Then keep your feet out of the water,” Jenna retorted.
“That’s no fun. Can we go yet?”
Jenna groaned. Obviously using that outing to the park as a bribe had backfired. Darcy wasn’t going to be content until they were in the car and on their way.
“Going someplace?” Bobby inquired, appearing out of nowhere and dropping down onto the bench beside her.
“Where’d you come from?” Jenna asked, cursing the little blip of excitement that rushed through her at the sight of him in a snug pair of jeans and a faded gray T-shirt. Why did he, of all the people in the universe, have to be the one who made her pulse race?
“I just had a meeting with Tucker,” he announced, his legs stretched out in front of him. “I was on my way back to the yacht center when I spotted you.”
She turned to him hopefully. “Does your brother have any leads on the missing horse?”
Bobby shook his head. “Sorry. Not a one. Nobody saw anything, which means it probably happened before daybreak—my elderly neighbors Sue and Frannie have the neighborhood under surveillance by seven most days. The guard is still among the missing. My hunch is he’s taken his family on an extended vacation courtesy of the thief.”
Jenna sighed. “That’s not good, is it? If there are no leads right after a crime, what are the odds that Tucker will find any as time goes on?”
“Don’t worry about that,” Bobby said grimly. “Believe me, my brother is highly motivated. I’ve put his professional reputation on the line. He’ll get that horse back.” He glanced toward the river, where Darcy was picking up shells and pieces of green and blue sea glass to start her own collection. “What was Darcy saying about going somewhere? You aren’t leaving town, are you?”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but no,” Jenna said, chuckling at the dismay he didn’t even attempt to hide. “Actually, Daisy and I are driving Darcy and Tommy over to the state park this afternoon. I’d hoped that the plan would buy me a little time to get some work done this morning.”
Bobby glanced at the sketch pad. “What have you got so far?”
Ruefully, Jenna showed him the blank page. “I got a later start than I’d hoped, and once I sat down, my mind started drifting.”
He regarded her intently. “To?”
“A long time ago, when my mother was alive and I was just a girl.”
The look he cast at her was filled with understanding. “The same thing hits me when I come out here, too. King wouldn’t set foot on the beach, but my mother used to gather Daisy, Tucker and me up and haul us down here or over to the state park for picnics at least once a week. After she died, Tucker and I used to ride our bikes into town and come here, but it wasn’t the same.”
“How old were you when she died?” Jenna asked.
“Twelve. I remember it like it was yesterday. How about you?”
“I was fourteen.”
“A tough age,” Bobby said.
“I’m not sure there’s any good age to lose your mom,” Jenna said, thinking back to how lost and frightened she’d felt. There had been so many questions she’d never gotten to ask, so many dreams she’d never had a chance to share. To make matters worse, only two months later, her father ha
d shipped her off to school, where she’d felt even more isolated and alone. It had created a distance between her and her brothers that had never been breached.
She glanced at Bobby, but his expression behind his sunglasses was unreadable. “You, Tucker and Daisy were lucky,” she said. “You all stayed together.”
“King would never have considered separating us. For all of his flaws, family is the most important thing in the world to him, and families stick together.” A slow grin crept across Bobby’s face. “Of course, that didn’t apply to his brother who’d managed to get his hands on a prize bull that King wanted. They haven’t spoken in thirty years, even though Uncle James lives in the next county.”
Jenna laughed. “So that’s where the stubborn streak comes from.”
Before Bobby could react to that, there was a scream of protest from just up the beach. Jenna recognized that voice. She was on her feet at once, but Bobby was faster. Before Jenna had even fully registered that there were half a dozen kids in their early teens surrounding her daughter, Bobby was in the middle of the crowd, one arm protectively around Darcy’s shoulders, his other hand firmly around the scruff of a boy’s neck.
“Okay, kids, that’s it. Break it up. Go pick on somebody your own size,” Bobby said.
His order was far milder than Jenna would have made it. Her heart was still hammering a mile a minute at the image of those bullies ganging up on her baby. She was certain they’d had nothing more in mind than taunting Darcy, but that was terrifying enough.
By the time she reached the small circle, tears were streaming down Darcy’s cheeks. She broke free from Bobby and threw herself into Jenna’s arms, sobs shaking her shoulders.
“Mommy, they said I looked like an alien,” she said, her voice choked. “One of ’em grabbed at my hair and said it wasn’t even real, that it was clown hair.”
Jenna cursed herself for the decision to force Darcy to live with her green hair. “I’m so sorry, baby. Kids always like to pick on anyone who’s different. You know that. It wasn’t about you at all.”
“But it was mean,” Darcy said, hiccupping.
“Yes, it was.” Jenna glanced up and saw that most of the kids had scattered, but Bobby still had a firm grip on the apparent ringleader. Engaged in what looked like a very intense conversation with the boy, Bobby finally gave a nod of satisfaction, then nudged the young teen in their direction.
Looking totally chagrined, the boy approached Darcy. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, his eyes downcast. “That was really dumb. We didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Well, you did,” Darcy said, clinging to Jenna’s hand but staring the boy straight in the eye.
The boy glanced up at Bobby, then back at Darcy. “I’m Pete. I’m a friend of Tommy’s.”
“You don’t act like you’d be a friend of Tommy’s,” Darcy challenged. “He’s nice.”
Pete regarded her with an even guiltier expression. “So am I, once you get to know me. We were just goofing around.” He risked a glance at Jenna. “We really didn’t mean any harm.”
Jenna wasn’t swayed. In fact, she was having a very difficult time not giving the kid the swat on the behind he deserved. “We appreciate your apology, but I think you should go now.”
Pete glanced at Bobby. “I’m really sorry.”
“I know,” Bobby said. “We’ll talk about this later.”
After Pete had run off, Jenna looked at Bobby. “You know him?”
“Fairly well, as a matter of fact. He’s a good kid.”
“Oh, really? Do you find terrorizing a nine-year-old acceptable behavior?”
“Of course not. Look, can we get into this another time?” he suggested, with a pointed look at Darcy. “I think maybe the best thing for Darcy would be a stop at Earlene’s for some ice cream.” He winked at her. “What do you think?”
“I love ice cream,” Darcy said enthusiastically.
Now that the crisis was over, Jenna felt the strength drain right out of her. Sitting down in the air-conditioned chill of Earlene’s appealed to her almost as much as it obviously did to Darcy. Sitting there with a man willing to make excuses for a pint-sized bully held no appeal at all.
“I’ll take her,” she said. “I’m sure you have work to do.”
“I’m covered at the restaurant till dinner,” he replied, regarding her with amusement. “For a woman who’s been pestering me to death for meetings, you suddenly seem awfully eager to get rid of me.”
“Because right this second I find you extremely annoying,” she shot back.
“Consider it turnabout,” Bobby retorted. “You’ve been irritating me since the day you set foot in town. We can make peace over ice cream.”
Jenna sighed. “Fine. Whatever.”
Darcy was regarding them both with a troubled expression, but it was Bobby who managed to get a smile out of her. He leaned down with a whispered comment that brought a sparkle back to her eyes.
“What did you tell her?” Jenna demanded as Darcy ran ahead of them to Earlene’s.
“I told her she shouldn’t pay any attention to her mom’s bad manners,” he said. “I said it was probably some Yankee flaw in your character.”
Jenna whirled on him indignantly. “Excuse me?”
He shrugged, his expression impossibly innocent. “Well, you have to admit you weren’t very gracious. A Southern woman is taught from the cradle to be gracious. I can only attribute your attitude to some Yankee gene.”
“I was born and raised in Baltimore.”
“But where was that school you were sent off to when you were at a very impressionable age?”
“Boston,” she conceded.
“I rest my case.”
“Do you really want to get into a debate over nature versus nurture?” she asked. “My genes are every bit as Southern as yours, and, frankly, in your case I haven’t noticed that those lessons in manners took all that well.”
Bobby looked affronted. “Don’t say that in front of King or Daisy. They did the best they could. Any lapses are my own responsibility.”
“Duly noted.”
He swept open the door at Earlene’s with a dramatic flourish that had Darcy giggling and even brought a smile to Jenna’s lips. “You’re crazy as a loon, Bobby Spencer,” she said as she brushed past him.
“But lovable,” he retorted.
Jenna was increasingly afraid that might be true.
For all of his joking around to lighten the mood, Bobby’s heart was still pounding when they reached Earlene’s. When he’d seen those kids taunting Darcy, seen the panic in her huge green eyes, he’d felt like banging some heads together.
He’d recognized most of the kids involved, and before the day was out, their parents would hear about how they were spending their summer vacation. The only reason Pete had lingered long enough to apologize directly to Darcy was because at heart he was a decent kid, who’d been through a very rough time himself. When the others had run, Pete had stood fast and faced Bobby.
After they’d finished hot fudge sundaes, Bobby flipped some change to Darcy. “Darlin’, why don’t you go to the pay phone over there and give Tommy a call? Let him know you’ll be by to pick him up in a half hour.”
Jenna frowned at him. “Planning my schedule?”
“No, buying myself a minute alone with you,” he said, regarding her seriously. “I want to explain about Pete.”
“You defended a bully,” she retorted, her temper clearly escalating all over again. “There’s no excuse good enough for that.”
“Just listen,” he admonished. “Last year when Walker first came to town and joined the sheriff’s department, there was a big drug investigation going on. It turned out Pete’s father, an ex-marine, was behind some serious smuggling in this region. He was killed the night Walker broke the investigation.”
Jenna frowned, but said nothing.
“I don’t know if you realize how small towns can be,” Bobby continued. “They can pull together in
times of tragedy, but they can also heap blame and ostracize. Pete took the brunt of the heat after the story broke about his daddy. Some of his friends weren’t allowed to be anywhere around him. Others labeled him a druggie, even though there was no evidence at all that he was using marijuana or in any way involved in his father’s crimes. He’s withstood his share of bullying and gotten stronger because of it, but he’s also struggling to find a way to fit in again.”
“Well, he certainly picked a fine way, didn’t he?” Jenna said.
Bobby let the comment pass. “Pete and Tommy have remained friends because Walker’s determined to see Pete through this with as few scars as possible. But Tommy’s a few years younger, and Pete’s desperate for friends his own age. He’s made some bad choices, like that crew he was with today. He won’t make that mistake again.”
“How can you be sure?” Jenna’s eyes were filled with sympathy, but there was still a hard edge underlying her words.
“Because Walker and I will see to it,” Bobby said. “We both try to spend as much time with Pete as we can. He needs some decent male role models in his life. He idolized his father, and discovering what the man was doing really shook him up. It’s made him question a lot of the values he was taught. Walker and I are trying to make sure he doesn’t confuse the message with the messenger. For all of his father’s flaws, he tried to teach Pete right from wrong.”
“What about the others? Is this just standard operating procedure for them?”
“If it was, it won’t be much longer,” Bobby said emphatically. “I’ll see to that, too.”
“So I’m just supposed to leave this in your capable hands?”
“That’s one way,” he agreed with a grin. “Or you could come along when I talk to their parents.”
Jenna reacted with unmistakable surprise. “You intend to do that?”
“You bet.”
“You’re not just dismissing it as childish mischief?”
“It’s never mischief when kids set out to torment other kids. There have been enough school shootings to testify to that,” he said grimly. “I don’t intend to let things in my town ever get to that stage.”
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