Evercrossed

the communal bowl. Dhanya glanced at Ivy, shook her head, and fastidiously scraped out the section where he had just scooped.

Trying not to laugh — at Dhanya or Max — Ivy headed upstairs to change into a clean top and shorts. When she joined the others outside, Max was standing next to Will, watching him slide burgers onto the grill.

?You?re not planning to join a frat?? he said to Will, his light eyes round with surprise. ?What are you going to do all day? You’ll die of boredom.?

?I?ll think of something. Studying for instance.?

?But how are you going to meet people?? Max persisted. ?Facebook?s good, but fraternities, they?re the melting pot of America.? Will laughed. ?Never thought of them that way.? Beth sat a few feet away from them, listening. It wasn?t unusual for Beth to be silently observant at social events — taking mental notes, happily gathering dialogue and details for her stories.

But the ?happily? part was missing, Ivy thought studying her friend’s face. It looked more like Beth was cramming for a test, ?Doesn?t anyone want to play with us?? Kelsey called from the badminton game.

?You?re going at it way too seriously for me,? Ivy replied, carrying a soda over to the swing. Dusty followed her, and she lifted her hands so the cat could jump in her lap.

?And for me,? Max said. ?With Bryan, I play only electronic games.? Kelsey’s competitor, who was medium height but powerfully built, pointed to his friend, lifted his elbows, and squawked like a chicken. Max shrugged it off.

?So let’s quit I?m thirsty anyway,? Bryan said to Kelsey, then strode toward the ice chest and foraged through the frozen chips. ?No Red Bull?? ?Just Mountain Dew and Coke.” Dhanya answered.

Max toasted Dhanya with his can, then said to Bryan, ?This is a classy affair.?

?Then we should at least have wine Bryan mumbled, grabbing a Coke. He sat on the swing next to Ivy, which made the cat jump off.

?I like you, too, kitty,? Bryan said to Dusty, then turned to Ivy. ?And you are??

Kelsey blew threw her lips. “You know who she is.?

?Ivy,? Max told his friend. ?Will?s one and only,? Kelsey added. ?Well, that?s very limiting,? Bryan responded.

Ivy fought the urge to roll her eyes “Nice to meet you.? Both his build and his movement indicated that Bryan was a good athlete. He wore a T?shirt with BOSTON UNIVERSITY printed across his massive chest and shorts that bore the college?s insignia. His thick dark hair and green eyes were striking. His Irish complexion gave him a ruddier tan than Max?s.

?We were telling Bryan and Max about your accident,? Kelsey said to Ivy, dragging a lawn chair over to the swing, ?how your car was totaled and all.?

?I would never have known it, looking at you and Beth now. How are you feeling?? Bryan asked. ?Fine. The same as before.?

Max leaned forward. ?What kind of car ran you off the road??

?Probably a Ferrari Four Fifty?eight,” Bryan quipped. ?That?s what Maxie owns.

People with Ferraris always drive like they own the road.?

?All I could see were the headlights,” Ivy explained, ?so I have nil idea what it was.?

?Were the headlights low to the road?? Max asked, spooning the bowl of dip with his half?eaten pretzel. Ivy glanced toward Beth, then said, ?Neither of us was thinking like witnesses to an accident. We didn?t notice those kinds of details;?

Bryan nodded and laid his hand on her arm. ?Must have been a pretty scary scene.? Kelsey, facing Ivy and Bryan, put her feet on the swing between them. ?I wonder whatever happened to that guy who was in the hospital when you were.

Ivy — you know, our friendly local amnesiac.? Out of the corner of her eye. Ivy saw Will stiffen.

?Our friendly local amnesiac?? Max repeated. ?Yeah, some guy they fished out of the ocean in Chatham, the same night as Ivy?s and Beth?s accident?

?Really?!? Bryan said with surprise. Then he turned to Max: ?Do you think he went to your party?”

?No,? Kelsey said. ?I would have remembered him. He was gorgeous — even beat?up. He has these incredible, seductive eyes.? It lasted no more than a half second, the flash in Bryan?s eyes, but Ivy had seen it.

Kelsey had succeeded in pushing the little green button in him— and in Will.

But Bryan was better at covering up his jealous moment; Will continued to scowl.

?I don?t know about that? Dhanya replied. ?I thought the guy was kind of scary.?

?Amnesia,? Bryan said thoughtfully. ?Why didn?t I think of that? I don?t know.

Officer, none of this looks familiar. . I have no idea, Mom… Really, babe? I can?t remember anything. What a great excuse! Will snickered.

Ivy changed the subject. ?Do you play a sport for BU??

?Hockey.?

?Yeah?? Will replied, interested. ?They?ve got a great team.?

?How long have you been playing?? Ivy asked. J?I can?t even remember the first time I stood on a pair of skates and held a stick. I think I was six months old Kelsey laughed. ?

?A child prodigy. He could walk at six months!? Bryan grinned at her. ?No, but I could skate.? ?Your dad was into hockey?? Ivy guessed. ?My mom. She was from a hockey family — all brothers. I work for my uncle, who owns the rink in Harwich. Every year I come to the Cape to help him with summer hockey camps.

And I work out, keeping in shape for the season.?

?Six a.m., he?s at the freakin? rink at six a.m. every morning,? Max told them, ?even if he has to drive there from a party.?

?Max exaggerates,? Bryan said, turning back to Ivy, flashing a bad?boy smile, ?I always leave parties by four thirty, so I can get in an hour of sleep before I hit the ice.?

Ivy simply raised an eyebrow and Bryan laughed good?naturedly. ?So how about coming around for some lessons? Private lessons,? he added, raising an eyebrow back at her. ?I?m a good teacher.? Uh?oh, Ivy thought.

?We?re out of salsa,? Kelsey said. ?Your turn to fetch. Ivy.?

?Glad to,? she replied, vacating her place on the swing, figuring Kelsey would be sitting there when she returned. Little green buttons everywhere.

Fifteen

ON THE FIRST DAY OF WORK AUNT CINDY HAD MADE it clear that, at an inn, where your job was to be cheerfully helpful to guests, arguing or turning a cold shoulder to another employee was prohibited. ?Get over it or fake it,” she had said.

Tuesday morning, Ivy and Will were assigned to the breakfast room; they faked it. But when a toddler threw his jelly toast on the floor, and the two of them bent over at the same time and knocked heads, Ivy began to giggle.

?I?ve got it,? Will told her, reaching for the goopy toast. Before Ivy could straighten up, the toddler poured milk over the side of his booster chair. Ivy felt a splash on her head, followed by liquid dribbling down her back. Will stared at her sopping hair and Ivy laughed at his expression. Grabbing a table linen, he started blotting her head, which made them both laugh.

By the time the tables were cleared and the dishes in the dishwasher, most of yesterday?s tension had disappeared.

?We should leave here about two forty?five,” Will told Ivy as they left the inn together. ?After we get the bonfire permit, we can check out Race Point, then find a place for dinner in Provincetown.?

?Sounds good,? Ivy replied. At the cottage, she picked up her music and headed to church. She was determined to make her practices regular and focused as it had been in Connecticut.

But as Ivy warmed up at the keyboard, her mind continually played back moments from yesterday — Guy standing behind her as she played the sonata, Guy lowering his head close to hers as they stood at the edge of the sea.