Ivy moved closer to the window. She saw no one among the trees at their end of the house, but the bright moon threw sharp shadows; it would be easy for a person to hide there.
The cottage doors were rarely locked. Feeling slightly uneasy, Ivy pulled on her shorts and headed for the stairway.
Cht! Cht!
She spun around. At the same time Beth sat up. ?Ivy??
?Yes.?
?Ivy?? Beth cried out again, sounding frightened. Ivy hurried back to her. |I?m here.?
?It’s him. He?s shooting at the window!? Ivy laid a hand on Beth?s shoulder, ?No, no, it?s not.? She sat on the bed. ?It was probably something from the trees, seeds or whatever.?
?It’s him!? Beth insisted, then saw that Ivy was wearing her shorts and shoes.
?Don?t go outside.??
?Everything?s okay. I was just going downstairs to check things.?
?Don?t! It’s him!? Beth?s eyes were wide with fear. Ivy put her arm around her friend. ?You?ve been dreaming, Beth.? ?Are the doors locked??
?I?m going to check them now,? Ivy replied, standing up. ?No, Ivy! He?ll do anything to get you!?
?Beth, listen to me. You?re getting this mixed up with your dream.?
Cht! Cht!
They both turned to the window. ??What?s that?? Dhanya asked, sitting up in bed.
She climbed out and tiptoed across the room to them.
?Don?t go near the window,? Beth told her. ?He?ll see you.?
?Who will?? Dhanya asked.
?Dhanya!? a male voice called. ?Max!? Dhanya and Ivy said at the same time.
?Did you hear? It’s just Max.” Ivy told Beth, feeling both relieved and annoyed.
Dhanya frowned. ?Why is he here? I don?t want to talk to him.?
?Dhanya!? Ivy went to the window, shoved up the screen, and leaned out. ?Go home. Max.? He emerged from the shadows. ?Ivy! How are ya?? He sounded pleased to see her — and drunk. ?It’s late. Go home.?
?I wanna talk to Dhanya,? he said.
?She doesn?t want to talk to you. Not in the middle of the night.?
?Dhan?ya!?
?Shhh!? Ivy pulled back inside the window. ?He?s going to wake the guests,? she told Dhanya.
?Tell that coyote to stop yelping/? Kelsey called from her bed. ?I need my beauty sleep!?
?I won?t speak to him,? Dhanya said to Ivy. ?I haven?t yet decided if I like him.?
She started back to bed. ?I?m sorry.” Ivy said, ?but if Max wakes the guests or Aunt Cindy, we?re all in trouble. You?re coming outside with me. You?re talking to him and sending him off.?
?You go, girl!? Kelsey cried, then flopped back on her bed.
Beth shook her head, holding her pillow to her chest, as if it were protection.
Dhanya reluctantly put on a robe and shoes, then followed Ivy downstairs.
When Max saw them marching toward him, he stood up, and just as quickly, sank back against a tree. Ivy sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was drive to Morris Island in the middle of the night, but she couldn?t let him drive himself if he wasn?t sober.
?Dhanya! You?re breakin? my heart!? Dhanya rolled her eyes. ?How?d you get here?? Ivy asked him. He pointed unsteadily toward the inn?s lot. ?Bryne.?
Ivy struggled to understand. ?Bryan? He?s here? Where?s your keys??
?Bryne,? Max said again. Ivy turned to Dhanya. ?Talk to him and keep your voices low. I?ll check the lot.? The yellow Ferrari sat in the middle of the lot, Bryan in its driver?s seat, plugged into his iPod. His eyes were shut.
Ivy called his name several times, then shook him lightly. Startled out of his sleep, he swung his whole body toward her, fist raised. ?Hey! Hey, it?s me.?
?Ivy!? he said, surprised, and dropped his arm. ?Have you been drinking?? He pulled out his cell phone to check the time. ?Not for two hours.? He sounded clearheaded.
?Would you mind getting out of the car?? she asked. He laughed. ?Want me to walk a line, officer??
“Yup.”
He complied, grinning.
?Listen,? Ivy said, ?your buddy isn?t scoring any points with Dhanya. Take Max home… quietly.”
Bryan nodded. ?Understood. I apologize.? He retrieved Max, who, after pimply talking with Dhanya, seemed to be a happier camper.
Ivy and Dhanya wearily entered the cottage, and after a moment?s thought, Ivy locked both the front and back door. When she climbed into bed, Beth was lying with her eyes closed, the sheet pulled up to her chin. Resting on the pillow, close to her face, the amethyst glittered in the moonlight. j§. I ?Good night,? Ivy said softly. ?Everything?s okay now.?
?Don?t be fooled,? Beth replied. ?He?s making plans. He wants revenge.?
FRIDAY MORNING, BETH AND IVY WERE ASSIGNED TO the garden to weed and deadhead. While Ivy pried at stubborn roots, Beth silently worked her way down the rows of faded blossoms — snip, snip, snip. She had spoken little since the morning alarm went off, bringing each conversation Ivy had begun to a quick close with a one?word answer.
?So you don?t remember Max coming around, yelling for Dhanya??
?No.?
?Do you remember dreaming?? Ivy asked. ?No.? I
?Beth, are you mad at me?? Beth snipped off a flower head that was still blooming. ?No.? Ivy gave up.
At three p.m., Aunt Cindy thanked everyone for a solid day?s work and shooed them off. Beth, Dhanya, and Will sunned in the garden, the girls falling asleep, and Will finishing up some sketches for The Angel and the Alley Cat. Kelsey, deciding she had been much too available to Bryan, headed to Nauset Beach, targeting an area on the long strip of oceanfront that was known to attract surfers.
Ivy returned to Pleasant Bay and handwrote a rambling letter to her motherMaggie disliked e?mail. Describing Provincetown and recounting funny moments with the inn?s guests, Ivy omitted everything of real importance.
That finished, she debated whether to send a text message to her friend Suzanne. She knew that Suzanne?s trip to Europe was her way of putting distance between last summer and now.
When Suzanne told Ivy and Beth that they wouldn?t be hearing from her for a while. Ivy had understood. Suzanne had been totally in love with Gregory, and he had milked that passion as much as he could. Drawing Ivy into his web, he continually strove to make Suzanne jealous. In the end Suzanne, like Ivy, lost someone she truly loved.
Taking out her iPhone, Ivy typed in:
Arriving home just before six. Ivy found Dhanya standing in front of the long mirror that was attached to the bathroom door, turning this way and that, studying herself in a short, flirty skirt.
?I think I?d better wear my bikini bottom under this.” she said, leaning over, looking at herself upside down in the mirror.
?Well, if you?re planning to do a lot of that, yeah,? Ivy replied, smiling.
Beth emerged from the bathroom combing through her wet hair. She smelled of herbal shampoo.
?Chase called,” Dhanya told her. Beth frowned. ?He?s been calling my cell all day.?
?Well, now he?s calling mine. Did you give him my number??
?No. It?s on my phone and I lent it to him to make a call, but…? Beth?s voice trailed off.
?Anyway,” Dhanya said, ?I told him you?d phone when you finished your shower.? ?You shouldn?t have.?
?But I thought you?d want to bring him tonight,” Dhanya said, and turned to Ivy. ?Bryan?s uncle gave him passes to his indoor rink, and we?re all invited.
